Chapter 22
"Ah mon needs 'is drink!" Charlie fumed, scouting behind the cabinets and chairs of the building's foyer where the four of them had gathered to talk. The meeting with the Spanish Acting Minister of internal Affairs for North Africa had been nothing other than a waste of time. The Minister, a small man who appeared largely uncomfortable in his job, provided no useful information or direction but filled most of the hour by justifying Spain's policies, highlighting his army's dubious achievements and villainizing the country's nomadic population. "Talkin' our bloody 'ers off 'alf the day 'n not even offerin' us anythin' to quench our thirsts" Charlie summed up the thoughts of his companions. "Tis...tis immoral , that's what it'tis."
"Maybe he thought some of us had already had enough" Steve commented, moving to intercept Charlie before he wandered somewhere he shouldn't. The Spanish guards; 'Legionnaires' , the Minister had termed them; were openly more aggressive than the black-shirted Italian Arditi ; but in their eyes Steve saw a similar threat. " 'N what'da ya know abou' it, ya, ya..ya foreigner ' Charlie spewed, the insinuation, although not the word itself, as biting as his more colourful terms.
"I know Diana doesn't want or need to have any more attention directed our way than we already have." Steve measured his words carefully, weighed by the impossibility of his friend ever recognizing who he was. If this had been one of the effects of the Judge's decision; a decision Steve was starting to think of as a curse; he'd rather have remained in the Underworld. "And if we're to get out of this mess, working in a country we've never seen for a two-bit dictator with illusions of grandeur, we'll all have to keep a low profile. Besides, I'm not that much of a foreigner" Steve gambled; "fought in the War, attached to the British Expeditionary as a...under special service . That gives us something in common - both came out of it in one piece."
"A soldier, were ya?" Charlie took one step back; surveyed Steve from head to toe; then moved a bit further where he scratched his arse, a bit of recognition growing in his eyes and a smile easing its way onto his face. "Gotta give any mon who's been through hell the benefit 'a the doubt" Charlie considered, his defiance easing while his eyes continued to look closely at the man standing across from him; something familiar, Charlie thought, although he couldn't remember what that could be. "Then you'll join me in a drink to fallen friends", he suggested. "Donna know if I'll get used ta' that name 'a yours, though; ' Asdraio' . Don' fit on me tongue, not with me tongue bein' so parched. Maybe I'll just be callin' ya' Albert, if ya' don' mind."
"No problem with that" Steve breathed deeply, feeling he'd overcome one hurdle. "Yeah, we all know what it was like, to be in Hell." Steve guided Charlie toward a pair of chairs set against a far wall, along the way gesturing to Diana that he would watch over their friend while she and Sami tried to make sense of Diana's purpose in this country, and how Sami had managed to keep out trouble these past five years.
"Diana" Sami began, looking directly into her eyes as he always had. When they first met, Diana misunderstood this trait as something Sameer had developed to insure while he was focused on another's eyes, he could not miss where those eyes may be glancing, providing information and insight into that person's intentions; but later, Diana had realized while this may be true when Sami spoke with strangers; among friends, this attention was only a sign of respect and personal regard.
"After five years, to find you in Morocco; it is a miracle!" He clasped his hands and gazed heavenward. "Following our days in London, when the crowds cheered because the War had ended but all we could do was think of those we had lost...you disappeared. Mademoiselle Candy said you had urgent business, but did not say where you were going or when you would return. We did not believe you would leave your friends so quickly..." Sami ebbed.
"It was not right of me to leave so quickly, saying little to anyone. But there was nothing remaining for me in London; each time I walked to forget, I could only remember. Even assisting the English detective, Sherlock Holmes, did not help."
"Diana, you were a client of Sherlock Holmes! He is famous throughout the world...perhaps", he smiled; "not quite so famous as you, but still...did you engage him to unravel a mystery?"
"The women and I resolved that trouble by ourselves. Mr. Holmes believed he could offer assistance, and his presence resulted in only the smallest inconvenience. But that is not a story for now. Sami, I need your advice. We; my companion and I; are in a place we should not be. The Gods have sent us to this land, at this time, following the direction of someone I have never before met, for reasons I do not know. There has been no guidance from the Great Goddess Athena, and I am...afraid...of what my actions may cause, in this time."
"Afraid, Diana?" Sami scoffed. "I did not think it possible. Yes, this is a time of hardship for my people. But when has that not been so? All we can do, Diana, is act for those who cannot act on their own, and hope for a better future. This time too, will pass."
Diana sighed and leaned toward her friend, her voice quieted: "It is not this war I speak of; it is this time ; a time beyond the knowledge of the Amazons. Sami, for St...for my companion and I, a few days ago it was 1919."
"You feel as if time has moved quickly? Yes, the world has changed and we are now in the future..."
"No, this is the future. The Gods, in their wisdom; wisdom I do not understand and for purposes that have not been revealed; have sent us five years into your future."
During the following minutes Diana explained to Sami how she had left London to care for wounded soldiers aboard a British Hospital Ship; of her return to Themyscira, guided by a spirit who was certainly Chief, taken on his form of a raven; of her journey into the Underworld, confronting Hades and rescuing Steve from a fate which should not have been his. Then, of the strange movement between one world and the next, finding themselves in a land she had never heard of and years beyond the time she knew it should be.
"Sami, I do not expect you to understand, or believe. But I speak the truth."
"I may not understand, Diana" Sami replied without hesitation. "But of course I believe. You would speak only the truth. But tell me of this 'companion'; it is not Charlie, certainly? Despite his bravery, I cannot see Charlie willingly traveling into Hell" he laughed; "and returning. This companion you speak of, is this other man?"
"He is who I rescued."
"Perhaps I understand even less than I thought. Did you not say you entered into another world believing your duty was to Steve?"
"Sami", Diana focused, her eyes intense and compassionate; "He is Steve."
Sameer glanced toward the two men sitting near the far wall. Charlie, hands restless and eyes alert even as his body slumped, was as Sami remembered him. The second man Sami had never seen. With dark hair and shadowed eyes above a sharp nose, he rested comfortably in a chair slightly too large for his small frame. But as Sami looked more carefully, opening his eyes and freeing his mind, this man's appearance wavered as a mirage, in a moment changing from one form to another and back; until his features settled to blonde hair and broad forehead and clear, penetrating eyes; the figure of an athletic young man who was, without doubt, Steve Trevor.
"Diana...you have returned Steve from Hell? How can it be? Why did I not see him before? This is reason to offer many thanks, and a great celebration!" He moved to stand, his smile broad and actions eager, when Diana took his arm and prevented him from moving further.
"Steve cannot know you are aware of his true self. As I have said, the Judges have decreed he must atone for past wrongs and they have shielded from human eyes his appearance. Steve cannot fulfill his judgment until he views the world from eyes which are not his own; and we must assist him in his duty by acknowledging this truth."
Sameer clasped his hands to his face and bowed his head as in prayer, although his mind was too filled with thoughts to consider divine guidance. "As we have discussed, Diana, each of us shall one day return to this life in a new form. Only now, do I understand what that truly means. Blessed be those on the path they must travel" he offered quietly.
"Diana!" Charlie snorted from across the room. "A mon'll die 'a thirst. Isn't it 'bout time we be headin' out, Lass?"
"Yes, Charlie" she smiled. "Only a few moments."
"But, mon chère ", Sami grasped Diana's hand; "I have heard you call Steve ' Asdraio' ; what is the purpose of that name?"
"It is only a name I found onboard ship; there is no meaning."
"That's Italian, Diana. Do you speak Italian?"
"It is a language I did not know exists."
" 'A sdraio', Diana; means 'Deckchair'.
"Ah", she acknowledged. "That explains the sign."
"Sign?
" A sdraio non sono riservate. I believed it stated the title of the ship's owner."
" 'Deckchairs are not reserved' ." Sameer replied. "Well, Diana; you could have chosen worse."
"Marseille? Buenos Ares? The Islas of the Conquistadors? Sami, you have traveled around the world; yet you return to your home, even in this time of war? A war which cannot be the work of Ares...how is this possible?"
Inside a secluded cafe off a main street, Diana and Sameer continued their conversation as Steve and Charlie shared a bottle of wine; rather, Steve poured and sipped as Charlie drank.
"You must understand, Diana; mankind does not need the help of Gods to fight between themselves. The world is divided between those with abundance; and those that seek to take the abundance of others. Often, these two are the same, one army taking while another army seeks what has been taken. Morocco has little to give but land; sea; and the few resources that can be extracted from the desert. For first the French; then the Spanish; now both aided by Italy and Germany; that is enough."
Diana pushed aside her glass of water, confused that despite their Great War, mankind had still failed to learn how to live in peace.
"Two years ago, Diana, I knew this war would be horrible for everyone...in my small way, I sought ways for all parties to achieve small goals, while retaining their honor and their pride. In my ignorance, I thought the Spanish would be content to post rules and parade in the streets and be satisfied if we were to recognize their presence, even as we continued to live our lives and evade their directives. But that was not enough. They demanded our obedience, to accept them as our masters, to turn over all we had for the Spanish treasury. When demonstrations were held in the streets, innocents were killed. When desert tribes rose in revolt, the Spanish sent more soldiers and equipment; battles were reported daily, yet the Spanish drew further into the desert, believing their modern weapons made themselves invincible. Then, in a matter of days, it was reported their army had been defeated."
"The battle was lost, and the army retreated?"
"No, Diana; the Spanish were massacred. The desert tribes believed they had achieved a great victory, without realizing the Spanish would only return, in greater numbers and with more powerful weapons, threatening us all. I have remained only due to..." he looked onto the street, and at the other customers; "...due to faith, I would say, Diana. I had not thought of it before, but one cannot deny the connection to one's home. Even while I have friends in many other cities; a few cites, at least" he grinned; "here, I am alone. I cannot leave."
"But Sami, you can't be alone – what of your family? So many time you have spoken of your mother, your uncle."
"No, Diana, I have no one. That was all acting. My mother I had lost many years ago, Blessings be upon her soul. My brothers and cousins, lost to many wars, or killed for no war at all. Uncle is a...what do the magicians say? A misdirection. A character to draw attention away from myself so others see what they wish, and not what is in front of them."
"But surely, you have some family?"
"I have been alone from the time I was a child. You – Steve, Charlie, Chief and now you, Diana – are the only family I have known."
"Why, Sami? Why do the Spanish attack the innocent? Why have they not learned?"
"If this Mussolini who has sent you is truthful, perhaps he wishes you to speak for his country in a way that will find bonds between all our people. Perhaps he seeks to be known as a mediator who brings peace. But if he is as so many other men with little power who seek more, I fear that is not his reason for sending you on this mission."
"Mussolini Duce does not tell me what to do. I believe he is a good man, but I must follow the guidance taught to me by my mother; and my aunts; and Athena. It is the duty of the Amazons to guide mankind."
"I'm happy you are here, Diana, but this is not your battle. Mankind will learn only from their own failures, and often, not then. You ask why; the only answer I can give, is because there is no reason they cannot."