Return of the Crown Prince
Chapter 16
Epilogue
16.1
President James Whitmore drummed his fingers on the desk while staring at the phone. Why hadn't his chief of staff called? The intercom buzzed. Whitmore grabbed the phone. "Yes, Delores."
"Artie Hinson is on the phone, Mr. President," she told him.
"Put him through," the president said. His secretary did so immediately.
"Hello, Mr. President. It is over, sir. Chef Ironside shot Phillip York. He is dead, sir."
"Did he name his accomplice here in Washington?"
"I will give the chief the honor of telling you sir." Hinson said.
"Mr. President, this is Bob Ironside."
"Bob, it is good to hear from you. I take it you have wrapped this case up. Is everyone alright?"
"We are all fine …except for Phillip York."
"Did York tell you who his Washington connection is?"
"No. It is a bit hard to reveal names with a bullet in your chest and two in your back. My staff got a bit carried away."
Ed looked at Eve who raised her eyebrow. "His life was in danger and he says we got carried away." He rolled his eyes, shook his head and smiled.
"I guess he thinks we should have waited to see if he got shot or not," Eve said.
Ironside patted the top of Otto's head. The Shepherd thumped his tail on the floor. "We had York's place searched. We found a very large off shore bank account. There were several transfers into the account. I'll bet you can guess where the money was transferred from?"
"Would I be too far off if I said it came from this side of the country?" Whitmore asked knowing the answer to come.
"You would be right on," Ironside answered.
"And were you able to find out who owned the account that the money was transferred from?" The president asked.
"A young man who works for you. He would have had access to the Pentagon's computers in order to change the picture on the man than put those chips in Eve and the crown prince." Ironside paused long enough for the president to become impatient.
"To quote a close friend of mine… are you going to tell me or do I have to guess?" Whitmore said. It brought smiles from Ed, Eve and Mark.
"I have turned over the information to Artie. He has forwarded it to the justice department. I am sure they will arrest your national security advisor anytime now," Ironside told him.
"Jamie Morgan. My god, Bob, I can't believe it." President Whitmore was quiet for a moment. The man had it all. He could have had a cabinet position after I am re-elected. I just don't understand it."
"You of all people must know by now that power corrupts. Look at everything you have been through since you became president. How many people did we take down for framing you for murder? Not all of those politicians and the others in positions of power could resist trying to steal the ultimate power. You didn't see it because you are the rare politician… the incorruptible politician."
Whitmore chuckled. "I am glad I have lived up to your expectations. Does that mean I will get your vote in the next presidential election?"
Ironside laughed. "The devil you know is better than the devil you don't."
"Thanks a lot, Bob. Here I thought you would vote for me because you thought I was a good president."
"Everyone has their own idea of what a good president is. I figure with you, I don't have to worry about you stealing the country blind."
"Well you are not going to get my vote, Mr. President, if you don't stop dragging Bob into Washington's affairs," Barbara Jones spoke up.
"Barbara, is that you? I have news for you. I am going to drag both of you to Washington for a state dinner. I figure we should have the crown prince and his father for the next one. You and Bob will be on the guest list and I won't take no for an answer."
"We will accept as long as you promise there will be no more cloak and dagger," Barbara said with a laugh."
"I promise, Barbara," the president said.
"You heard him, Bob. He promised," Barbara said with a smile.
"So what?" Ironside said. "When was the last time a politician told the truth?"
"Bob!" Barbara scolded him.
Whitmore just laughed heartily. "That's okay, Barbara …as long as I have his vote. By the way did you get all of the money back?"
"All but one million. Thank for the island in the Fiji's," Ironside said with a grin.
"I suppose you will want me to keep the justice department off your back too?" Whitmore laughed. "Now tell me how did everything go with the prototype?"
Ed interrupted just as Ironside was about to answer. "It went just fine. It was amazing what that thing could do. It was a terrific idea. I …"
"You talk too much," Ironside barked.
Whitmore laughed again. "Sorry, Ed. I tried to lure him here to Washington but he would have no part of it."
"That's alright Mr. President. It is a good thing you did not convince him. After he finished cleaning house, we would not have anyone left to run the government," Ed deadpanned.
After the laughter died down, Commissioner Randall said, "Mr. President, now that Chief Ironside has solved Washington's problems, I trust he can get back to cleaning up San Francisco. The crime rate goes up when he is out of commission."
"Yes, Commissioner, you can have him back. Send my chief of staff home on the next available flight. This place is chaos without him."
"Will do, Mr. President," Randall said with a smile.
"Is the crown prince there?" Whitmore asked.
"Yes, Mr. President. I am here," the prince answered.
"I want to apologize for the trouble that was caused with your father over the phony engagement. The state department will issue an official apology."
"I wouldn't hear of it, sir. In fact, I hope to make it a real engagement if Eve will have me."
Ironside turned his head quickly toward Eve to gage her reaction. She must have been picking up tips from him with the poker face she displayed. No one could have been able to tell what she was thinking …except the chief. It was the hardly recognizable rise of her right eyebrow. Ironside knew exactly what her answer would be.
"In that case, I hope you enjoy the rest of your stay in the United States. You are more than welcome to come to the White House if you would like," Whitmore said.
"Thank you, Mr. President but I should return as soon as possible. I will be flying home tomorrow.
"Have a pleasant trip home and thank you for your help in stopping these kidnappings. Please consider coming back as my guest of honor at a state dinner."
"It would be most enjoyable and an honor, Mr. President."
"Alright then. Bob, I thank you and your staff for a job well done. You will be the subject of the national news as you and your people are getting the credit for breaking up the diplomatic kidnappings. I cannot thank you enough …even if your methods are unorthodox. Your country is in your debt …but that doesn't mean we will be serving chili at the state dinner." Laughter sounded around the room. "Goodbye, Bob and thanks again."
Ironside hung up the phone. "Well, are we going to have dinner around here?"
Mark looked at his watch. "At this hour?"
"They did not serve dinner on board the flight," Ironside said gruffly.
"Speaking of the flight, Chief, would you mind explaining how what felt and looked like a real flight, never even got off the ground?" Eve asked.
"I think I can help you out there, Eve," Artie said. "We had originally planned to track you and the crown prince to York and then move in to rescue the two of you and capture York. The chief got cold feet about the plan. He did not like the risk to the two of you."
"It was then I remember reading about a new prototype the Air Force had. It was an exact replica of a plane. You would not know from looking at it that it was just a simulator …a very sophisticated simulator. They started with this prototype. They now have one for fighter jets but this prototype was done with a much larger plane. The windows of the plane are actually a video that is projected from the control room. In this case we projected the surrounding airport and hangar so if York looked out the window he would see the plane taxing out of the hangar and finally taking off," Ironside said.
"The cockpit is the exact duplicate of that of the real thing. But the windows are, again, a video projection controlled by the tower," Artie said. "As far as the takeoff and the landing, well the prototype is capable of simulating it in such a way, if a person did not realize he was in a simulator; they would not be able to tell the difference. It has the capability of the exact angles a plane creates in a takeoff or landing. While simulating being in the air, its passengers would hear the engines, even sees them out the window, if they were positioned over them."
"The prototype is capable of providing the swaying a plane does as it changes directions. It even can make your ears pop as it signals a change in altitude. In other words, children," Ironside continued, "it can do absolutely anything the real thing can do … as long as there is a pilot is in the cockpit flying the simulator. The control tower, which we had set up at the hangar, sent out all the visuals that were necessary to convince York that he was actually being flown to Iran. While the simulated flight to Iran was taking place, we brought in American soldiers of Iranian decent to pose as the Iranians I was supposed to be turned over to. The object was to get York out of the plane and into the open so that we would have him surrounded."
"What happened Chief? How did York know something was wrong?" Mark asked.
"A mistake was made," said Carl. "At the back of the hangar was an American flag in a stand that everyone forgot to remove. York saw the flag and knew instantly he was not in Iran. He tried to take revenge on the chief but he was ready for him. Then Ed and Eve decide to fill him full of holes from inside the simulator." Everyone laughed.
"That is why you did not want me to do anything," Eve surmised. "You already knew we would not leave the hangar." Eve looked at Ironside.
"And by the way, Officer Whitfield, you almost disobeyed my order," Ironside said with a serious look.
"I could not figure out why you did not make a move. I couldn't believe you would allow that plane to take off. Anyway, I am sorry, Chief. I knew you did not want me to do anything but I could not let anything happen to you either."
"Eve, you have to trust me," Ironside said.
"I do trust you, Chief. But I also care about you."
"A good police officer uses her wits, not her emotions," Ironside lectured.
"Yes, sir."
"Mark, how about something to eat," Ironside shouted.
"Okay, chief. Sandwiches and soda coming up."
"Thank you, Chief Ironside but I would like to take Eve to dinner if that is alright with her," the crown prince told Ironside.
"Yes, Miguel, I would love to." Eve and the crown prince left the office while everyone looked on.
"It appears you may lose an officer, Bob," Randall said after the door closed.
"If I do, it will be the best thing that ever happened to that young man," Ironside said. "Mark! Where are those sandwiches?"
16.2
The Lighthouse was unusually quiet but then it was extremely late. The owner had agreed to keep the kitchen open so that Eve and Miguel could have dinner. Eve always enjoyed a steak dinner but tonight she was only picking at her food. It remained largely untouched.
Miguel watched his dinner companion. He wondered what was bothering her. Was she concerned about how she would turn down his marriage proposal or was she going to accept and was sad about leaving her native country behind? "You have hardly touched your dinner, Eve. Is there something wrong with it?"
'What? Oh, no," she smiled. "It is fine. I guess I am not very hungry."
Miguel watched her. He only wished he could read her better or did he? "Eve, I know how hard it would be to leave your family, your work, and your friends but I must ask you to do so. I have fallen in love with you and want very much for us to be together. Please say you will marry me and return to my country with me."
"It is complicated, Miguel. You are asking me to give up the only way of life I have ever known."
Eve's head was down. Tears glistened in her eyes. The crown prince placed his index finger under her chin and lifted her head so that her eyes met his. "Too complicated to resolve?"
"I …don't know what to say. I love my family. I love Ed, Mark and especially the chief. I don't know how I could leave them all behind. Then there is my work. It is important to me, Miguel. The chief …he is in a wheelchair. He needs taking care of."
"From what I have observed, your chief is most capable of taking care of himself. That is not it, is it? You do not feel the same as I?"
Eve looked at Miguel. "Yes, Miguel, I do feel the same as you and if you were an American from San Francisco, I would not hesitate. However, you are not. You are from a country that is many years behind mine in the way women are treated."
"You could help me change that," he said softly.
"It would not be right for me to walk into your country and tell your people how they should live."
"But you agree it is wrong to treat women as second rate citizens, yes?"
"Of course I agree. It just would not be right for an American to judge your peoples' customs. It is up to your people to change it, not me."
"Then it is our way of life that stands between you and me?"
"No, Miguel. I love this country. I am proud to be an American and live in the greatest country in the world. I am not sure I want to give that up."
"No even for me?" The crown prince asked.
"It is not just about you. It is about us. Could we be happy if I was constantly regretting my decision to leave behind everything I have ever known?"
"I would do everything to make you happy, Eve."
"I know that, Miguel. I am not questioning that even for a second." She looked directly into his eyes and asked, "Could you renounce your heritage, leave your country, your people, your family and join me here in the United States?"
The crown prince dropped his eyes from her. "I have responsibilities to my people and my family. I am royalty and I am expected to someday take my place as king."
"You mean you couldn't do it, could you?"
"It would not be right of me. It would be selfish of me."
"Then you must understand what I am going through. I am not royalty but I have responsibilities to Chief Ironside, to Ed and Mark. We are part of a very successful team that protects the innocent in San Francisco. I cannot just walk away from the chief. You cannot possibly understand what they and my work mean to me."
Miguel smiled. "Yes, I can." He was quiet for a moment and then said, "Then we have arrived at an impasse, no?"
Eve returned the smile. "Yes, we have."
"An impasse with no solution?" Miguel asked.
"If there is a solution, then it has escaped me."
He looked away from her. "I don't know what else to say."
"There is nothing else to say, Miguel. Let's just enjoy each other's company for the rest of the time we have together."
"Yes, we will do that." He again looked at Eve. "I love you, Eve Whitfield. Part of me always will. I will never forget you."
"I will never forget you either, Miguel, or the love we have shared. The crown prince leaned in and kissed her with a passion she would never forget.
16.3
"Alright, you have emptied two bottles of my best bourbon and eaten every sandwich in the office. I would appreciate it if you would all get out of here and let me get some sleep," Ironside grumbled.
The door to the office opened and Eve came down the ramp. Ironside looked into her face. He instantly knew that she needed him. Everyone else seemed to sense that she wanted to talk to the chief.
"Okay, Chief. After the last forty eight hours we have put in, you should let us come in at eleven tomorrow," Ed suggested.
"Nine o'clock sharp, Sergeant," Ironside clamored.
"You really didn't think the chief was going to give anyone any time off, did you?" Carl grinned. 'Can you drop me off, Ed?" Ed nodded and the two detectives left the office.
Commissioner Randall got up. "Good job, Bob. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Artie, can I drop you off?"
"Yes, that would be great." He walked over to Ironside and shook hands. "Thanks for all you have done Chief."
"Dennis, would you mind dropping me at home as well," Barbara asked.
"Of course not. It would be my pleasure …that is as long as Bob trust me."
"I trust Barbara. I don't trust you," Ironside said raising his eyebrows. Barbara laughed, kissed him goodbye and left with Randall and Hinson.
"Mark, you can clean this up in the morning," Ironside told his aide in dismissal. Mark took that hint, went into his room and shut the door.
Ironside looked at his pretty police detective. He took hold of her hand and pulled it around his neck. Eve wrapped the other one around the other side of his neck and laid her head against his. "He proposed to you, didn't he?"
"Yes," she answered.
"And?"
"You are best detective in this country. I think you already know the answer to that question, Chief."
"Suppose you tell me anyway."
"I said no."
"Why?"
"What do you mean …why?"
Ironside kissed her hand. "You love him, don't you?"
"Yes."
"Then why did you say no?"
"You know why. I cannot leave you …, Ed, and Mark. We're a team."
"Eve, you know how important you are to the team but more importantly you know how important you are to me. It would hurt to lose you. I won't pretend otherwise. But if you love him and you turned him down because of me, don't. Your happiness is the most important thing to me." Ironside drew her closer to him.
The tears formed in her eyes and Ironside could hear the shakiness in her voice when she spoke. "It is not only you, and Ed and Mark. It is my parents and I love what I do here. I am a part of something important. If I married Miguel, I am afraid I would lose my identity. I am an American woman with the rights of an American woman. How could I possibly go with him to a country that treats women like second-rate citizens? How long would it be before I began to resent my decision and worse, Miguel? He doesn't deserve that, Chief. He deserves much better than that. He's loving, and kind and caring. I can't do that to him."
"Are you sure this is what you want?" Ironside asked quietly.
"No, it is not what I want. I want the fairy tale but I can't have it. I have to weigh both sides. On one side, I would have Miguel, but I would be living in a country where I would be prevented from being myself. On the other side, I would not have Miguel, but I have my family. I have my work and yes, I have you …Robert Ironside. What better friend could I have? And I have Mark and Ed. I have our team and the important work we do. I have my country, the greatest in the world that allows me to be anything I want to be. I cannot give that up, Chief. I cannot give up being a policewoman and I won't give up my job working for you. It is too important to me. You are too important to me. I love Miguel but it would never work. I know that and he knows that."
"Than what is the problem?" Ironside asked her still holding her tightly.
Eve broke down in tears. Ironside took her hand, guided her from behind his wheelchair, and pulled her into his lap. "It hurts, Chief."
He wrapped his arms around her, tucked her chin under his, and said something he had once told her before. "If it didn't you would not be worth a damn." As he soothed her, he said, "If we go through life and never feel hurt than we have never loved, never cared and never followed our convictions. You hurt because you have loved and you have cared and you have always followed your convictions. So this relationship was not compatible. That does not mean the next one will not be. You treasure what you had and you move on."
"You mean tomorrow is another day to hurt?" Eve said through her tears.
"No… to follow your convictions … to love … to care so that you will be worth a damn."
"Am I worth a damn, Chief?"
"To me you are, Officer Whitfield." Ironside said as he kissed her forehead.
The End.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Ironside characters. They were created by Collier Young. The rest of the characters were created in my mind to tell the story.
The next adventure is already creating itself in my mind
Kaleen1212