Safe in the Lion's Den Pt. 07

"I am." I replied, looking at her reflection in the rear-view mirror. "Prior to 2019, however, I was not."

The little girl suddenly realized her mistake, and immediately clamped her hand over her mouth.

"Oh Jack," she said contritely, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean-"

"It's okay." I interjected. "It was a legitimate question, but you know what? I'm kind of hungry, this place has a beautiful view and I see some empty picnic tables over there. Why don't we have some lunch, and focus on the here and now?"

Sophia nodded.

"Yes Sir." she replied respectfully.

"Sophia," I said quietly, "you aren't talking to a bodyguard anymore. You're talking to a friend. Please don't ever call me Sir again, okay?"

"Really?" she inquired. "You're the first adult who ever didn't want to be called Sir or Ma'am. This is new to me, Jack. You're like Santa Claus in a wife beater."

I had to giggle at her comparison.

"Well, that's something I never expected to hear!" I exclaimed. "I'm not sure what it means, but thank you, Princess. And I'm sorry I snapped at you before. I didn't mean to sound mean. I was just a little overwhelmed with the situation."

Sophia unbuckled her seatbelt, and popped her head between the seats again. This time, to my amazement, she planted a kiss on my right cheek and smiled broadly at me.

"I know." she remarked. "I'm not upset. I was just lamenting about the crayon mark through Jerry's head."

"Lamenting." I responded. "That's an advanced word for many Americans, but for someone your age, and with English as a second language, that's amazing. How old are you, anyway?"

"Eight." she replied. "I'll be nine next month. I guess I won't be celebrating it with my friends though."

I could hear the sadness in her voice; almost wistful, and I knew how she felt.

"Well, if you're still with me on your birthday, your mom and I will bake you a cake of your choice, and we'll invite all of my cats, and the surrounding wildlife that I seem to be feeding as well." I promised. "I'd like to get you enrolled in school as soon as possible though, so maybe by then, you'll have made some new friends that you can invite over."

Sophia smiled back at me.

"Thank you, Jack." she said appreciatively. "I don't know if that will happen, but you are very kind to offer us a place to stay."

"Well," I responded, "I have a house with no family, and you are a family with no place to stay. So, I guess maybe John paired us up for reasons other than national security."

"What do you mean?" Portia inquired, as we headed toward the picnic area. "Do you think he was playing Cupid?"

"I don't see John as a matchmaker," I explained, "but he is keen enough to see where all the pieces fit. I'm beginning to think that perhaps, he thinks that you and I can learn from each other. Relationships are a lot like business mergers. Some fit and some don't. Like I said before, I envy you and Sophia."

We sat down at one of the tables, and the view was amazing. The humidity was low for this time of year, so the visibility was above average. I opened the cooler and grabbed my foot-long roast beef and Swiss sub, and settled down, as both Portia and Sophia took their sandwiches as well.

"Hey Princess, can you hand me that bottle of cream soda?" I inquired of Sophia, who was closest to the cooler.

"Sure thing." she replied. "Do you want me to open it for you?"

"That's okay, Sweetheart," I replied, taking it from her as I put the sub in my left hand, "but I've got it. Thank you, anyway."

"How are you going to open it with one hand?!" she demanded. "It's all I can do, to open one of these things with both hands!"

"Like this." I stated, as I set the bottle on the table; sliding my hand down, until the heel and my lower three fingers gripped the top of the bottle firmly.

I placed my thumb and forefinger around the cap and squeezed tightly, feeling the ridges digging uncomfortably into my skin. I then rotated my fingers counterclockwise until the seal on the cap broke. It was a bit painful, but the demonstration was a success. Sophia stared at me in dumbfounded silence.

"Wow." she finally managed to respond.

"How in the fuck did you just do that?!" Portia demanded; oblivious to just how bad of a word that is to use in this country, and hence her overuse of it, like many other foreigners tend to do.

"I told you before, how strong my fingers are," I reminded her, "but once again, you chose not to believe me. I have never exaggerated my statements."

My gaze was suddenly diverted by a park ranger pulling up next to my car and exiting his vehicle.

"I'll be right back." I said quietly, as I stood up and caught his attention. "I want to report what happened with the deer."

"Okay, Guy." Portia acknowledged, as she and Sophia continued eating.

"Hey there, Brother!" I greeted the ranger enthusiastically, as I reached out in a fist bump. "I had a run-in with a deer, a few miles back up the road."

"What happened?" he inquired.

"Rounded a curve, and there it was; right in our lane." I explained. "I just locked everything up, and stopped about a snout away from a venison incursion."

"You didn't swerve?" he inquired.

"Obviously not, or we'd all be dead!" I snapped. "It was in the middle of a blind side curve. Unlike most people who are taught to avoid an accident, I'm actually trained to hit anything that pulls out in front of me.

"I'm not religious, but thank the lord above, that I drilled down on Bambi as I slammed on the brakes, instead of jerking the wheel and attempting a low Earth orbit from the side of a mountain. Look, I'm just trying to report an incident, okay? And don't try and tell me that that's news to you. That wall has been replaced at least three times in the past five or ten years. I could see the change in the color of the rocks and the mortar."

"Oh, that place." he responded. "Yeah, we have an incident there about every eighteen months or so. There are never any witnesses though, so until now, no one has ever survived to tell us what happened."

"Why haven't you put up any warning signs, or lights or cameras or something?" I inquired. "Even if you didn't know what was causing those crashes, some type of warning should be posted."

"We can't get the funding." he explained. "I've asked, believe me."

"I think I might just be able to help." I said with a smile, as I pulled out the sat phone and pushed John's contact. "Hey Bruh."

"What's up?" he inquired. "Anything wrong?"

"Sort of." I replied. "We almost hit a deer on the Blue Ridge Parkway a little while ago. If I wasn't trained to hit something in my way, we'd be at the bottom of a valley right now. I just talked to a park ranger, and he says it's happened before, and they can't get funding for warning signs or cameras or anything. Considering who was riding in my car at the time, I thought you might be able to call the Secretary of the Interior, and have him contact the park about this. Apparently, we were the first ones to survive the incident."

"Is that ranger nearby?" John inquired.

"Yeah, he's standing right here." I replied. "I told him I thought I might be able to get something done about the situation."

"Put him on, please."

"Someone would like to discuss the problem with you." I said with a smile, as I gestured for the ranger to take the phone.

He looked at me quizzically.

"I'd suggest you take this call." I prodded tersely; shaking it slightly to get his attention. "It's the President of the United States."