OKLAHOMA CITY, THREE WEEKS LATER

"And now for the finishing touch." Ruffin placed the framed photo on the wall and stood back. A smile traced his lips as he gazed at the image of him and Miranda, taken in the terminal of Piarco International Airport right before they left Trinidad and Tobago.

"We need a better picture of us." Miranda sauntered across the carpeted floor of her new apartment and pressed up against his side. "An airport terminal isn't the most romantic place in the world."

He wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her on the head. "I think we'll have plenty of opportunities to take better pictures, especially since you've seen the light."

She looked up at him with a wry grin. "'Seen the light.' How about I wanted to get as far away from the shitstorm in Washington as possible?"

Ruffin nodded. "Shitstorm" might be an understatement for what was happening in DC. Less than a day after the deaths of Titanosaurus and the Simbaaku, President Atherton resigned under mounting pressure from politicians and the public. Not that Atherton's problem ended there. Many in Congress demanded criminal charges be brought against him, everything from dereliction of duty to treason. The Justice Department was still sorting through all the legalities of that.

The Vice President, Lucas Eagan, had now assumed the presidency. Ruffin didn't think much of that guy, either, but at least he wasn't a cowardly pantywaste like Atherton. Still, a number of people didn't want Eagan, or anyone else connected with the Atherton administration, in the White House. A movement had begun for an unprecedented recall election. Ruffin didn't think the Constitution covered that.

Still, the political situation in the US was better than the one in Venezuela. With General Moscoso dead, at least a dozen different political factions attempted to fill the power vacuum. No one knew how long it would take for that whole mess to be resolved.

At least the cessation movement had died out. Sure a few diehards remained, mainly in Alaska and Texas, but with the Simbaaku threat gone and Atherton out of office, the states that had seceded quickly voted to rejoin the USA.

But the best thing to come out of the mess in Washington was Miranda quitting the CIA and coming to work for Shield International. When the world learned about the Battle of Puerto Cabello, the company had been hailed as not only national, but global heroes. Them, the Trinidad and Tobago Defense Forces, McGlothen's paratroopers and the crew of the van Speijk. As a result, President Eagan had told the Justice Department to end any investigation of Shield International ordered by his predecessor. In addition, hundreds of men and women had come to SI's corporate headquarters in Oklahoma City wanting a job with them. After all the casualties they suffered in Trinidad and Venezuela, they needed a lot of new blood.

"You probably need one more thing in here," Ruffin said.

"What's that?"

"Something with Godzilla on it. A poster or a figurine or a painting."

Miranda gave him a questioning look. "I don't know if a picture of a big mutant dinosaur would go with the décor."

"Who cares if it does? We need to honor the big guy. He probably played the biggest role in saving the world, even if he didn't know it."

Miranda shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe he did, in a way. Godzilla does seem to have a habit of showing up when the world faces some major threat."

"If that's true, let's hope we don't see him for a long time. Or at least for the next couple of weeks."

"Why the next couple of weeks?"

Ruffin grinned and reached into his back pocket. He pulled out two airline tickets. "Because two days from now, we're off to Hawaii, where we have a beach house on Diamond Head reserved for two weeks."

Surprise and joy lit up Miranda's face. "Oh my God, are you kidding me? But wait. I just got hired. Will Chief Briggs have a problem with me suddenly going on vacation?"

"Lucky for you I'm in good with the boss. I already had a few weeks of vacation time accrued, and after everything we went through, I think we earned some down time."

Miranda said nothing. She just smiled wide, threw her arms around Ruffin and kissed him. He scooped her up in his arms, causing her to squeal in delight.

"John, what are you doing?"

"I'm taking you to the bedroom. I want to get an early start on our two weeks of debauchery."

Miranda laughed as he carried her to the bed and laid her on it.

"I love you," she said.

Ruffin smiled as he stared at her alluring face. "I love you, too."

He leaned down and kissed her.

THE END

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you for reading my Godzilla fanfic. If you want more action-packed adventure, check out my original novel DARK WINGS and follow Delta Force Major Jim Rhyne as he battles otherworldly beings that have invaded Earth. DARK WINGS is available in paperback from Amazon, or as en e-book from Smashwords-dot-com.