Fanis the Bodyguard Episode 35, Time to Turn the Tables

                Fanis is in London at his cousin’s flat, where he lives as well.  As her personal body guard, he has split opinions.  On the one hand, he has always been protective over his little cousin so it’s a position he had done for free and now he gets paid for.  On the other, it was a little painful to see his cousin in a position that necessitated a bodyguard.  There were a lot of bonuses but perhaps the best was that he got to travel abroad frequently.  On paper, his cousin Kera was a Chinese artifact dealer.  Kera came storming into the living room where Fanis was.  Even though they lived in London, they were both still American citizens as they were born and raised there.  Kera asserted, “Well, your president has done it now.”

                “What?”

                “Remember when you were talking yesterday about how the Iranians were shooting rockets near the embassy because it technically wasn’t US soil so they weren’t actually violating Trump’s threat but they can still save face?”

                “Yes, I do remember that.”

                “Well, they launched a missile that hit a US base.  They officially attacked US soil.  Now let’s see what your boy does.  I told you killing Soleimani would spark World War III and now here we are.”

                “Did any Americans die?”

                “Yea, MSNBC said that thirty US soldiers were killed.”

                “That’s interesting, because every other news outlet says that no Americans were killed.”

                Kera opened her mouth to say something but then closed it.  She reflected and her voice betrayed that as she uttered, “the reporter did say it was unverified.  If I remember correctly, they were reciting Iranian news sources.”

                “Oh yea, like that’s really reliable” Fanis burst out sarcastically

                “Hold on” Kera dialed a number and spoke rapid Mandarin.  Kera and Fanis were fluent in many languages.  Although Fanis didn’t know Mandarin, it was crucial for Kera’s job so she was.  Fanis didn’t need to be fluent in Mandarin to read Kera’s facial expressions.  She was embarrassed and despondent.  When she hung up the phone, she put her head down and looked up to her cousin with a dejected look on her face, “The Iranians lied, no American died.”

                “Figured as much.  I stand by my position.  They purposely hit a target to not kill any Americans to save face.”

                “What’s worse for my narrative is that they said that they’re done retaliating.”

                “Oh, I don’t believe that for a second.  They attacked our soil, we need to respond.”

                “We can’t have another Iraq.  Trump was against going into Iraq so he better stay consistent now.”

                “I’m not saying to invade Iran, but he mentioned he had 52 targets, he should take one out.”

                “This constant retaliation and revenge is why tribal warfare goes on for centuries and nobody really knows who started it.”

                “Those tribes are evenly matched.  Iran is not our military equal.”

                “This constant back and forth will spark World War III”

                “Doubtful.  Syria backed down after we dropped the mother of all bombs.”

                “They don’t care if we destroy their country.  It’s a hell hole anyway.”

                “You mentioned that this tit for tat causes prolonged conflict.  Iran has been in a generational conflict with the United States.  They’re not going to stop.  Obama gave them over a billion of dollars.  It didn’t help.  We looked the other way when their proxies committed terrorist attacks.  We’ve tried being diplomatic.  It has failed.  The only thing the mullahs speak is death.  This bully needs to be punched in the face and punched hard.” 

                “World War III”

                “If you don’t have nuclear weapons, the only way to battle the United States is asymmetrical warfare.  They have little small terror groups that can pretend not to be state sponsored to hit us and we will feel bad taking out a 3,000 man force.  President Trump no longer feels bad.”

                “Mark my words; this is going to cost him the election.”

                “Alright”

                “Anyway, pack some stuff, we need to go.”

                “Where to?”

                “Vis”

                “Wow, really?  Beautiful island.”

                Vis is a Croatian island in the Ionian Sea.  It is a popular destination when people stay in the Croatian port city of Split.  It is Split that Kera and Fanis flew into.  After checking into the hotel, they took a half hour bus north to walk around ruins climbing on them.  There weren’t many tourists as people normally only stay in Split to take a day trip to an island so were unaware of the treasure just a quick bus ride away.   After the ruins, Kera and Fanis go to a bar and have beer.  Kera asks, “What were you talking about asymmetrical war with proxies?”

                “Since Reagan, American president have let Middle Eastern countries like Iran have little acts of terror all over the world.  America always claims it’s a rogue organization like ISIS, Hezbollah, Qud, or something that is not state-sponsored.  Reagan didn’t respond militarily with Iran when they kidnapped 52 Americans.”

                “Well, they kidnapped them under Carter. Like the day after Reagan was elected, they released them.”

                “Right, and he said the kidnapping had nothing to do with the state of Iran.”

‘               “But it obviously does because they can’t act without the mullahs and ayatollahs blessing it.”

                “That is precisely the message that President Trump sent when they had one of their proxies attack the embassy and he killed the Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis and Soleimani, the head of the Quds.  He went after state military leaders recognizing that the Iraqi and Iranian state was responsible and their using proxies as an excuse is over.”

                “Why did America let it happen though?  That’s what I don’t understand.”

                “They believed it avoided exactly what you’re talking about.  A prolonged war.”

                “We had that anyway.”

                “Yes, we did.  I agree with the President that he should’ve ended the lie that proxy attacks aren’t state sponsored.”

                “Well, like I said before, the response is going to escalate and we will be at war with Iran and they got the second largest standing army in the Middle East.  This is going to be worse than Iraq so maybe the previous presidents were right.”

                “Let them kill Americans all over the world because we’re afraid of them?  I don’t think so.”

                “Kera checks her phone and remarks, “Looks like congress is doing it again.  A Democrat congressman in California named Ro Khanna reminded everyone that we had peace under Obama and no embassies were attacked and Americans were safe…”  Kera started trailing off.  She knew what was coming.

                “I guess he missed Benghazi.  You know, that and Quadaffi killing didn’t go on for like two years or anything.  What does he mean keep Americans safe?  No Americans have died yet.  They did in Benghazi.  So far, Americans are safer under Trump with these embassy attacks.”

                “Just wait.”

                Not too long after she said that, she looks down at her phone and her shoulder slump as she seems dejected.  Fanis inquires, “What?”

                “Iran and the US have decided to step down and stop aggressions towards each other.”

                The facetiousness was ramped up to as high as it goes.  Fanis put out his hands and exclaimed, “Wait, so World War III is over?  Holy shit, this is huge.  I can’t wait for your grand kids to ask me about this and I can tell them about the half a day we spent listening to the all out debacle of World War III on January 8, 2020!.”

                “Shut up.”

                “God, Americans are such pussies.  I love Reagan but I got to be honest here, he started it.  Reagan, Bush Sr, Clinton, Bush Jr, Obama all could have put an end to this shit and saved American lives by not lying to us and holding them responsible for their little proxy killings.  Thank God President Trump has the balls to not cower to them because they won’t like us.”

                “Clinton bombed Baghdad.”

                “Yea, every time there was a scandal.  He implemented that 90 day unilateral military attacks without congressional approval by congress more than all the previous president combined.”

                “Well, President Trump is benefitting from it too.”

                “So are we and so is the world.”

                “Whatever.  I need to go back to the hotel.  We got to catch an early boat and get to Vis for our meeting.”

                They went back to the hotel and went to sleep.  The next day, they took the 9AM boat to Vis on the Jadrolinija, which is the main shipping line in Croatia.  Two hours later, they are in Vis.  Kera goes to her exchange and Fanis waits outside.  Seeing the security guard for the client, he nods.  The security guard hands him a piece of cheese offering it.  Croatia is known for their cheese and Fanis knows this but accepting it from a rival security guard makes him suspicious.  He replies, “You first.”

                The security guard rolls his eyes and pops it in his mouth before ripping off another piece and extending it to Fanis.  Fanis smiles and thanks him in Croatian.  “You look American” the guard announces.

                “That’s because I am.”

                “Crazy time for you American over there.  There seems to be a lot of corruption with the Democrats.”

                “Yea, the deep state is real.”

                “They really hate President Trump.”

                “It started before that.  Clinton went after his political enemies and so did Obama.  The first person to be labeled with the Russian collusion hoax was actually General Flynn in 2014.”

                “Whatever happened to him?  Last I heard, he pled guilty but I don’t know how much time he got.  Is he still in jail?

                “No, he fired his lawyers and his new lawyer, Sidney Powell, is feisty.  She has been fighting hard and forced the government to release all sorts of documents that shows that Flynn did nothing wrong.  Some things they are still withholding but she’s persistent.”

                “I’m sure the government is pretty mad about that?”

                “Yea, at first they offered him no jail time but now they’re pushing for six months because he’s fighting the plea.”

                “Well, fighting the government is usually a losing battle.”

                “Andy McCabe admitted to lying to the FBI too but nobody charged him.  Flynn was interviewed by the FBI in an ambush masquerading as asking for his help on something.  The FBI agents reported to their bosses that they didn’t think Flynn was being deceptive but they indicted him anyway.”

                “Why did he plead guilty then?”

                “They threatened his family and he didn’t think he had any other choice.  The government is good at intimidating you.  Plus, he had to mortgage his house to pay for legal fees.  He was running out of money.”

                “How is he paying for this new lawyer?”

                “He finally let the American public help him out.”

                “That’s very generous of you Americans.  I hope he really is innocent.”

                “Me too since I’m one of the people that donated.”

                Kera walks out the meeting with a smile on her face.  Fanis shakes hands with the security guard and walks off with Kera.  The two cousins take a bus to the other side of the island and check into a hotel.  There is a small island off Vis that two hours a day, because of the angle the sun hits it, it turns blue.  If you take the 9AM ferry from Split and rush to the other side, you barely miss the last boat to see the island so it requires an overnight stay on the island.  After checking in, they take a walk along the beach and look at the mountains and the beautiful turquoise Ionian Sea.  The water is too cold to swim but walking is nice.  After traversing the beach, they find a pizza place and sit down for dinner.  Croatia is heavily influenced by their Italian neighbors across the sea.  Their cuisine consists of pasta and whole pizza pies for individual consumption.  The difference is that Croats use more spices on their pizza, which Fanis believes is an improvement to the Italian version.  As they leave, a man walked up to them.  He calls out, “Don’t you American know that it’s not summer?”

                Kera steps behind Fanis as he sticks his chest out instinctively, “Yea, we do but we don’t like the crowds any more than you do.”

                “It’s rude to come to my country and not speak my language.”

                “Fanis rambled off ‘what do you want me to say’ in Spanish, Italian, Greek and Russian representing the other four languages he knew.”  The response came in what Fanis believed to be Croatian.  Fanis calmly retorted in English, “I don’t know Croatian except Kako Stai (How are you?)”

                The man went to shove Fanis and he instinctively chopped his arms away and drove his right palm into his chest.  He put up his hands and stated, “Whoa, calm down man.  We’re not doing anything to you.”

                “I got the Italian and Russian. By the way, it’s not a good idea to speak Russian in Croatia, but what were the other two languages?”

                “Spanish and Greek.”

                “How do you know Greek?”

                “We are Greek.”

                “You’re not American?”

                “We were born and grew up in America but our grandparents are from Greece.”

                “Oh, right.  I bet you’re not too happy with what your country did to the other Greek George Papadopoulos”

                “No, we are not.”

                “They put him in jail with Carter Page and Manafort right?”

                “Carter Page was never charged with a crime so no.  Papadopoulos did get two weeks in jail but he’s already served the time.  Manafort isn’t getting out for a while so no, not the same thing.”

                “Yea, they wanted to destroy everyone associated with Donald Trump.”

                “No, they wanted to punish Mike Flynn for defying Obama by speaking out against the Iran deal when he was his National Security Advisor.”

                “I don’t know this part.”

                “The other three were just a distraction.  The real target was Flynn because he knew all the shady things Obama did and he didn’t hesitate to say anything.”

                “Why do you think this?”

                “According to the recent inspector general report, on August 10, 2016, the FBI opened an investigation into Papadopoulos, Carter Page and Manafort.  Then six days later, they opened one on Mike Flynn.”

                “Then any one of those could be a distraction for the other three.”

                “No, it was all about Flynn because if you look at the Steele dossier, which everything was based on, there is a memo on August 10, the same day they opened the investigation on the other three.  It talks about the Kremlin engaging with Mike Flynn and Senior Russian officials as they funded a recent trip to Moscow.  None of that is in the indictment against Flynn so it was completely made up.  The point is, the memo was written on August 10.  If that’s when they realized this, why wait six days for him?”

                “You think they pretended to just throw it in at the last moment?  As if they forgot to mention him but really he was the number 1 target?”

                “Yes”

                “Interesting”

                “I also think that because in the dossier, everyone’s name is written in caps except Flynn.  They also only refer to people by their last name but use the full name for Flynn.”

                “Why does that matter?”

                “If you mess up the format in writing, it leads you to believe that it was done quickly.  Almost like he took his time to write it but just before releasing it, the FBI said, ‘we need something on Flynn’ so he just added it really quickly and gave it back to them.”

                “This sounds like a dream.”

                Kera spoke up for the first time, “We call it a stretch.”

                Just as they were beginning to feel better about the confrontation, the Croat threw a punch across Fanis’ face.  He wasn’t expecting it but was able to tuck his head in his shoulders to minimize the blow but it still hurt.  Kera tries to run but the Croat grabs her by the arm.  Fanis reaches out and grabs the Croat by the throat causing him to release Kera’s arm.  With her release, Kera sprints away as the Croat knocks Fanis arm away.  Fanis backs up and puts his arms up watching the Croat.  To Fanis’ surprise, he walks towards him with his hands down.  Fanis throws a punch but as he was caught off guard there wasn’t much behind it and it grazes off the Croat’s face and he barely reacted. The Croat crouches and drives his shoulder into Fanis’ solar plexus and chops at the back of his knees tackling him to the ground.  The Croat sprawls his legs to the side and drapes his right forearm over Fanis’ throat and leans on it cutting Fanis’ air supply.  Fanis’s face turns bright red as he scrambles to think of an escape.  He is surprised at how quickly he got the jump on him.  He knows pulling the arm off him is not realistic so he reached toward the Croat’s face.  He uses his peripheral vision to see that the Croat has his face turned away from Fanis.  Unfortunately, this is smart because it doesn’t give Fanis a clear target.  He reaches around the Croat’s head and drives his pointed and middle finger toward his eyes.  The Croat anticipated this so his left arm was covering his eyes.  Realizing the fruitlessness of it, Fanis balled his arm into a fist and slammed his hand on the man’s cheek.  This was more desperation as his face was now purple.  In order to move, you need to breathe and Fanis was not able to do that very well at the moment.  He hit the Croat two more times before his body gave out and his eyes glazed over in unconsciousness.  His last thought was that he hoped he lasted long enough for Kera to get away.

 

                When Fanis awoke, he was alone on the beach.  He immediately checked for his passport and calmed considerably when he felt it hit against his leg as he padded the pocket it was in  He sat up and reached into his pocket checking for his credit cards and money.  Everything was there.  He wasn’t robbed.  This confused him as he had no idea why the man attacked him.  He pondered if he was being watched and if he wanted Fanis to lead him to Kera.  He thought to go to another hotel but there was only one on that side of the island.  He sent a text message to Kera simply asking, “Are you okay?”

                The response came back quick, “Yea you?”

                Fanis thought about how to respond.  He lost the fight but although his neck was a little sore, he was okay.  He wrote, “All things considered, yes.”

                “You coming back to the hotel?”

                “Don’t’ know yet.”

                “Even if you’re followed, I’m better off with you than here by myself.”

                Fanis wasn’t too sure if that was true but it seemed likely. He walked to the hotel and went into the room.  He immediately pulled his gun from the safe and pointed it toward the doors to the room and the window.  After 10 minutes, he was satisfied enough to holster the gun.  They didn’t leave the hotel and turned in early.  Fanis didn’t sleep much as he thought someone would be coming for them.  Nobody did.

                The next day, Fanis was still on high alert when they went to take the ferry to the blue cave island.  They hop on board and it was really breathtaking and worth the extra day in Vis.  They then took a bus to the other side of the island and visited some Greek ruins.  Fanis and Kera were surprised to find Greek style ruins as they assumed Croatia was more Roman influenced.  Then again, the Romans were heavily influenced by the Greeks.  After they had their fill, they boarded the ship back to the mainland.  The next day, they headed back to London. 

                On the plane back, Kera groans, “Pelosi still won’t hand over the articles.”

                “McConnell should put a stop to this and just declare it null and void since she won’t.”

                “He actually did.  He released a statement saying that he has the votes to have the trial without the Democrats.”

                “Just like Schiff did in the house.  I love when Republicans use Democrat tactics against them.”

                “Two wrongs don’t make a right.”

                “Oh, they most certainly do.  Besides, McConnell is just keeping with the same rules as when Clinton was impeached.  What could be fairer than that?’

                “I just want this over with.  It’s so ridiculous and it blew up in her face anyway.  Just take the loss and move on to something else.”

                “That I agree with.”

                They land in London and head to the flat.  Fanis looks at his twitter feed and sees conservatives rejoicing.  As he reads the tweets, he raises his arms and yells out, “YES!!”

                “What?” Kera queries startled by the outburst

                “CNN settled with Nick Sandmann.  He got 25 Million dollars.”

                “That’s what got you all excited?” She poses incredulously.

                ‘Yea, I want that kid to be a millionaire.  I’ve never rooted for someone to be a millionaire but he’s the first one to take it to the fake news for spreading lies and thinking that a retraction buried on page 12A is sufficient”

                “Nobody has an actual paper anymore.  They just use their phones.”

                “You get the concept.  They are publishers so when they print lies, they need to be held accountable.  This is just one.  He’s got others and Tucker Carlson, Bongino among others are following suit.  Now there’s a precedent.  CNN tried to dismiss and failed.”

                “You think someone that has a drum beat in his face by a Native American deserves 25 Million dollars for not fighting back?”

                “No, I think he deserves $ 25 Million because after he did the right thing and didn’t react besides making a smirk, the entire mainstream media conglomerate came down on him and tried to ruin his life at the tender age of 16.”

                “He asked for a lot more than that.”

                “The real punishment is in the process of being sued.  That’s what Democrats always understood.  They knew that cases would get thrown out and they would lose but they did it to make the person take the time and money to defend themselves.  Good for Sandmann for turning the tables and doing it to the leftist media.  The fact that he won is an added bonus.  They impugned his character.  He was not a public figure so it wasn’t open season.  They need to suffer.”

                “25 Million”

                “An example had to be made.  It needed to hurt.  I hope other outlets have to pony up similar amounts.  I don’t know if he still has the individual ones but I hope they go through too.  I want not only this kid but his grandkids to be set for life at the expense of Fake news.”

                “I think 25 million can do that.”

                “This is America.  We don’t get complacent, we keep going and we keep fighting for more.  Keep it up Nick! I’m pulling for you!”

                “He can’t hear you.”

                “I put it out in the universe.  It got to him somehow.”

                “You don’t believe in ‘the secret’ and that universe stuff”

                “Who cares?  I may be wrong and that means he did hear it.”

                “Not sure that’s how it works.”

                “Oh it is”

                “Alright, if you say so.”

                Kera giggled and Fanis laughed.  They moved on to less serious topics and went about their day awaiting the next time business called.