Living on the Edge Ii

By Jack Lane

Jim and Teena Lacy volunteered for SOG (Special Operation Group) after Jim returned from Korea, where he served in the 187th Airborne, a Regimental Combat Team. After extensive training, they completed assignments in various parts of the world.

This story covers their mission to verify intelligence reports that Russia had covertly moved Nuclear weapons and troops into Cuba. Their mission objectives were to confirm those reports and obtain photos for presenting to the Kremlin...when President Kennedy demands their removal. Time was a crucial factor, since America must prepare to destroy the facilities, before nuclear missiles can be launched.

Russia-Cuba started the process of increasing coastal defenses for an anticipated US invasion, while they were on their mission. Since their covert mission required strict radio silence, they were un-aware of the military buildup within the region...until they reached their rendezvous point, where Seal Teams were awaiting to extract them.

On arrival at the rendezvous point...a fierce battle erupted that resulted in critically wounded. That required shifting their Plan for Seal Teams aboard high-speed surface craft to extract those ashore.

On their arrival in Florida, a meeting had been arranged in Miami for Pentagon leaders to review the data collected, and prepare for destroying all military bases in Cuba IF Russia refused to remove their missiles and troops.

It is an action packed story with extensive covert actions. Additionally, it conveys the love (and passions) shared by Jim & Teena...that will be enjoyed by all. The last three chapters include surprise events, with an ending that will surprise everyone.

Prior to their Cuban mission, Jim & Teena were on other covert mission assignments in the Middle East, Colombia and Brazil, that was covered in a prior book named Living on the Edge.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jul 3, 2014
• ISBN: 9781496916792

Jack Lane

He is a mild mannered family man, but one whose life has been filled with exciting events that most people of the world only read or dream about. As the youngest child in a family of 14 children born in 1932, he spent the early years of his life on a farm near Vinita, Oklahoma. The extremely close family ties remained intact throughout the years. He volunteered for the Army on June 11, 1950 at the beginning of the Korean War. He spent two tours of duty in Korea prior to his discharge in 1953. In early 1951while in a hospital in Japan, a wounded soldier from the "187th Airborne" was placed in the bed next to him. The soldier, who was in his brother Troy’s Platoon, told him the unit had heavy casualties. Jack got an early release from the hospital and spent his convalescence leave searching Korea to find his brother who he feared had been killed. Luckily he found his brother alive and spent time with him. The events of the search and meeting were almost unbelievable. He spent 25 years working in the oil exploration industry. He and his family spent ten+ years on International assignments before re-assignment to the Dallas headquarters of TI-GSI, his employer. He resigned from TI-GSI in 1976 since Gilley Properties Inc., the family business started in 1970 had grown to the point it required his full attention. It ultimately included six housing developments plus the home building business where he was company president. In 1996, a 2nd family business named Five-Star Industries Inc. was started and rapidly grew to number-2 size in the DFW area behind BFI. Jack retired many years ago at the age of 55, but remained active in life. He and RENA have been married more than 56 years..

Book preview

Chapter - 1

Preparing for a

NEW ASSIGNMENT

After completing a three year (+) assignment in Brazil the long vacation period was nearing an end…so Jim and Teena started preparing for a new assignment.

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Teena and I had become extremely relaxed during our long vacation…which meant very little thought had been given to the business we were in, during that period. Now however, it was time to start preparing ourselves for the future, since we would soon need to report back to duty.

Fortunately (after relaxing for a month), we had resumed our daily physical exercising and training, during the last two months of our vacation period. We knew that was important, because our job conditions in Brazil didn’t leave time for us to keep in shape.

That included jogging at least five to seven miles per day, plus at least an hour of all our physical exercises, such as push-ups and sit-ups…plus numerous other exercises. We also did our martial arts practice, and routinely did target practice at the pistol range on a regular basis. Our jobs required us to remain in top physical condition and proficient with various weapons.

Since it was imperative that we remain in top physical condition, all the exercises and training, had long been a routine part of our lives. Fortunately, we enjoyed it very much, and there was little doubt that we would continue the practice throughout our lives…until either age or health didn’t permit us to continue.

Since Teena was at the hair dresser and had plans to do some shopping later, she would be away for several hours. As a result, I decided to just relax in our apartment…and review our past assignments in my mind, while nursing a glass of Chivas scotch.

We had elected to keep our first apartment in Tulsa, as our home base, even though we could afford anything we wanted. Teena was now an extremely wealthy lady, from her inheritance (and large settlement) she received…as a result of the air crash in which her parents were killed.

However, after I returned from Korea, she had elected to join me…to become a part of an un-named US Secret Services agency, as our lifetime profession. Since our combined incomes enabled us to live a good lifestyle…she made the decision to place her inheritance funds in a family trust for our children in future years.

Teena received her degree in financial management & invested wisely…so, she was now an extremely wealthy young lady. However, we both enjoyed the life and profession we had chosen to pursue, and were now looking forward to our next assignment.

It didn’t seem possible our vacation was now nearing the end…since we had been physically and mentally exhausted, at the end of the Brazil assignment. That was primarily because we had routinely been working 16 to 18 (+) hours a day during most of the last 18 to 20 months of that assignment.

The vacation had been so relaxing…it seemed like only yesterday, since we departed Brazil. It was hard to believe it was now time to start preparing ourselves mentally and physically for our next assignment.

I knew it would be several hours before Teena returned from the beauty shop and her shopping, so I felt this would be a good time to laze back, relax…and start refreshing my memory on the things that occurred at the end of the assignment.

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As my mind wandered…back over our lives together, it ultimately started focusing on the end of our last assignment in Brazil.

It had been uncertain whether we would return to Brazil, or perhaps be reassigned to another part of the world. We assumed that Tom’s people were trying to evaluate the situation, and the fallout that potentially may occur, as a result of the events, which culminated in the loss of so many people, in the drug dealer groups. They were inter-connected with drug dealers throughout the world…and all of them were extremely vindictive.

Many people who had provided evidence against drug cartel members (in the past), and given new identities by various Governments of the world, were found slaughtered many years later. In some cases, they simply disappeared, and no bodies were ever found. It was an extremely violent and vicious business with little regard for human life.

At our last meeting with Tom…he stated his preference was for us to return to Rio, where we would reside, & have responsibility for all our Agents through-out South America. However, it was still uncertain whether that would be wise, since it was unclear how many cartel members may have survived, and whether we were on a hit list.

As a result, Tom thought it may be best to proceed with caution, and look at other potential assignments. While everyone believed our true professions in Brazil had never been detected, there was no way to be absolutely certain.

Tom felt the American and Brazilian agents for the region would soon receive feedback from their sources, on whether our true roles there, had been detected. If it was still uncertain by the end of our vacation, he had other assignments in mind. One of those was in Europe, where we would be stationed in London, but would have responsibilities throughout Europe and the Middle East regions.

Teena and I discussed the various possibilities at length, and ultimately concluded it didn’t matter where our next assignment may be. Although we were very happy in Brazil, and would look forward to returning, we would adjust and be happy, no matter where we were assigned.

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As I lazed there sipping scotch and letting my mind wander back over the end of our last assignment…trying to get myself prepared for return to duty, my mind continued to roam…

Our last assignment in Brazil had extended to three plus years, before we could take a break. There were many crucial develop-mints in our efforts to understand, & become personally involved with the top Drug Cartel leader…so taking a scheduled vacation was simply out of the question.

Ultimately, our efforts to become personally involved with the major drug dealer of the world had been successful. It ultimately resulted in the deaths of the two people, who were the leaders of the world’s leading drug cartels.

The three (+) years of our Brazilian assignment evolved into a major cooperative effort, where we worked closely with both civilian intelligence agencies and Brazilian Military. It culminated in the deaths of the world’s two largest drug dealers.

During the course of that assignment, we met and became close friends with many people that will be life-time friends. As a result, both Teena and I felt extremely proud of what our efforts had been instrumental in achieving.

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As Special Agents assigned in Brazil, our primary assignment had been to study, understand, get to know…and socialize with the top drug dealer in the country. After about 18 to 20 months into the assignment we had made very little progress and started to become a bit discouraged.

Unlike the prior assignment(s), it was ultimately concluded we would use our real names in Brazil. Tom (our manager), had arranged for us to be there under the guise of being employees for a manufacturing company.

The chairman of the company (we represented) had been an old Special Services Agent…who had worked with Tom back in WWII. Because of the close ties, he and Tom made arrangements for many US Special Agents to be assigned to various regions of the world, as employees of his old friend’s company. I never knew the financial aspects of the agreement, but I’m certain the company was well compensated.

Those arrangements required a tremendous amount of time, effort and expense to monitor…since it involved their operations in many countries throughout the world. It also involved many people within our organization. As a result, it was certain there was a long-term contractual agreement between his friend’s company and the US Government.

Our mission in Brazil culminated in destroying the two major drug cartels for the region. We ultimately learned the two largest cartels that were operating there, were actually the two top drug dealers in the world.

The Brazilian assignment had been a real challenge, with many frustrating problems…that initially seemed beyond our capability to cope with, or resolve. We were (allegedly) there working as sales representatives for the large manufacturing company.

Our assignment objective had been to study, and hopefully get to know, & intermingle, with the top drug dealer in Brazil. During that period, we were working closely with the Brazilian Secret Services Groups. We also worked closely with a US Agent who was assigned to the US Embassy in Rio.

The last few months of our Brazilian Assignment had been extremely stressful (especially for Teena)…because that was the first-time she had personally been face to face with certain death, unless we reacted quickly. Although she had received extensive training, it was her first involvement in a live real-world event, for which she had been trained.

I had never seen anyone more calm (or complacent), than she was…and I had served in combat with numerous battle hardened veterans in Korea.

Fortunately, we were ultimately successful in achieving our objective and played a key role in working with the Brazilian Government (and the Brazilian Military)…in bringing it to a successful conclusion.

We were both now looking ahead, and anxious to find out what Tom had in mind for our next assignment.

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My mind continued to roam…thinking back on that night when we observed & recognized the assassination setup for Paulo and Lydia (i.e. Bob & Jeri Grey). Teena was so calm you would never have guessed it wasn’t just another training event.

It was however, an event where we faced certain death unless we acted immediately, in a calm professional manner, for which we were trained. The most amazing thing to me…was her calm reactions and professionalism, in the face of certain death…unless we took immediate action.

Although I had served with some excellent combat soldiers, that were extremely calm and vicious in a battle, I had never seen anyone more relaxed than Teena had been, on that night.

Her reactions were as though it was just another routine training exercise. There was no emotion of any type, other than the exceptional manner in which she performed. If I hadn’t known better, I would have believed she was an old battle hardened pro. It puzzled me, how such a beautiful educated lady…could be so calm in the face of certain death, unless we reacted immediately as we had been trained to do.

I was extremely proud of her…so much, that it is beyond my ability to describe.

_____________________

My mind continued to roam back over the end of our Brazilian assignment and ultimately focused on the events after our arrival back in the US.

After a few days trying to relax and unwind, we reported to our headquarters office. We knew Tom (our manager)…was anxiously waiting for us to report in, because he planned to schedule a meeting and work session with the staff.

The purpose of the meeting was to discuss and share ideas, for building a new computer data base…that would be used by all participating nations throughout the world. The initial primary objective was to create a worldwide database, to help monitor and track those in the drug trade.

Another primary intent for such a database was in the training of new agents…prior to their assignments. It would not only be useful in the training of new agents, it would potentially save many lives. It was becoming increasingly obvious to all of us, that we were entering a new age of technology, and the computer would become increasingly important in future years.

Tom knew that in order to achieve success in the efforts to control the drug trade, it would require the support & participation of nations throughout the world. He also knew it was imperative that a combined world-wide effort had to be made, if there was to be any hope of preventing further escalation, of the world drug problem.

In reality, the initial purpose of our training and the unit for which we were assigned…was intended and directed toward the national security of the US. Our first assignment (involving Israel) was directed toward that objective.

The next two assignments in Colombia and Brazil however, were both directed toward helping understand and control the dramatically increased growth in the use of drugs, throughout the world. Both of those assignments involved working undercover, with the various law enforcement agencies within each country.

Since the extensive training we had received was directed and focused on national security of our country, it was unclear to us…where our next assignment might be, or what it would entail.

We all realized…that we were entering a new revolutionary age of the computer. We knew the integrated computer technology would be an essential part of our business in future years.

Since many parts of the world are being controlled by Russia & China, it is unclear to all of us, what may lie ahead. That makes it highly probable however, that our future assignments will need to be focused on America’s national security.

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As I set there sipping a scotch…my mind continued to roam back over the years as I waited for Teena to return…

On our last assignment, Teena and I worked (undercover) as sales representatives of a worldwide organization, who’s CEO had worked with Tom back in WWII. They were both in special units that ultimately evolved into the elite US Special Forces units that still operate in today’s world.

That old working relationship, ultimately led to them entering into a contractual agreement…where many agents within our Special Units, work in various parts of the world (posing) as sales representatives of his friend’s organization.

On our Brazilian assignment, I (allegedly) worked as a sales representative…for the company of Tom’s friend. During that assignment, Teena and I worked closely with the Brazilian Secret Services, and with another US Agent, who was assigned as part of the US Embassy staff in Brazil.

During that assignment, we became socially involved, with one of the top drug lords in Brazil. The social relationship with his family, led to our close personal friendship…with the top drug lord in Brazil. That friendship (with Bob & Jeri Grey), combined with the close working relationship we had with Brazilian CIA agents, ultimately resulted in destroying two of the largest drug dealer organizations in the world.

The size and magnitude of so many drug facilities scattered throughout the country (which is slightly larger than the US), made it an extremely challenging operation…that required a tremendous amount of planning. That statement alone, puts the size and complexity of the efforts required into perspective.

Our efforts & working relationship with the Brazilian Agents during the assignment, was a crucial factor in the ultimate success of the mission assignment. As a result of the overall success…both the strategy and methods used will be shared as part of a joint worldwide effort to help curtail the drug trade.

_____________________

After we had relaxed for a few days, we felt refreshed & ready to proceed with business. We assumed it would require several weeks, with many meetings and long days, before we could take the vacation we were anxiously looking forward to.

As we entered Tom’s office, his secretary greeted us…then said…Tom has been anxious to see the two of you. He’s in a meeting right now, but should be back within a short while. He had planned to be back in the office about fifteen minutes ago, so the meeting obviously lasted longer than he expected…However, just as she said that, Tom entered the office.

After we chatted for a few minutes…he said…why don’t we have an early lunch? It will give us a chance to relax, before we discuss business. I knew you needed a few days to relax a bit, before getting into the grind again, so I wasn’t sure when to expect you. As a result, we’ll have to check the schedules of several key people to see when it would be a good time to schedule a meeting.

I would like for all the agents who are here at this time, to attend the initial meeting overview. You will need time to complete your report and recommendations, on how we should proceed from this point forward. It is important however, for all of us involved, to hear your preliminary thoughts, as soon as it can be arranged.

After that, we need to review our files and records, to better understand what we have learned from other agents in other areas. Although some of the records contain new data about several recent startups in other countries, most of it, is related to very different circumstances (that exist and vary)…in every region. We are anxious to review your conclusions, and integrate them into our training schedules.

I have another meeting at three PM that I can’t miss. After lunch, my secretary can show you where your office is, and brief you on all the files she has set out for you to review in priority order. A few of the files are rather urgent items I want you to be aware of, before you get wrapped up in the process of writing an overview of your Brazilian mission.

I also want recommendations for what we can do, to improve our operational methods to avoid some of our past mistakes. That will be particularly important for the training of new agents that will be joining us in the future.

He then looked at his watch & said I almost forgot…let’s go to lunch… Much of the data laid out for your review, just pertains to things we can discuss later, after you’ve had a chance to adjust and settled into a routine.

There is however, an urgent situation that I need to discuss with you…that will take more time than I have free today, because of several scheduled meetings. So, perhaps we can discuss it at dinner tonight.

As we were leaving for lunch, his secretary told him he had an urgent call that may require some time. Tom then said…it’s a call I’ve been expecting, that I need to take.

Since it will take awhile, & I have another meeting scheduled that I can’t miss, let’s plan an early dinner and cocktails tonight at your hotel. It’s my wife’s bridge night…& she won’t be back until about eleven PM.

I would like to have an overview of your Brazil assignment, before we have the scheduled meeting. There will be many staff people, plus several other agents…who are now here for refresher courses on new processes. There are also many new agents now here for processing, and orientation into our organization.

Although you report directly to me, we haven’t actually seen each other for about three years because of your undercover assignment. So…we’ll have a chance to relax and have a leisurely meal with some of your favorite wine, before we discuss business.

There are many other things that involve you personally, that we also need to discuss. Because of that, I needed to meet with the two of you privately. That will enable us to relax a bit…while you give me an overview of the Brazilian assignment, prior to your orientation to the staff…where there will be many people.

After that, there are many rather urgent things we need to discuss privately…regarding future operations and events.

There are also many things we need to discuss, that involve the two of you personally. Since much of that will involve the possibilities for your future assignments…I think it’s best to relax, and discuss it over dinner…with a few glasses of good wine.

With that, we agreed to meet at our hotel lounge at seven pm.

_____________________

Teena and I spent the afternoon reviewing data Tom wanted us to be aware of before our meeting. Most all of it involved some problems many of the agents were encountering in virtually every region of the world.

The military conflicts seemed to be occurring more frequently in virtually every region of the world. The intensity of problems throughout the Middle East never seems to end. It’s apparent that the Arab and Israeli conflict seems to grow more intense each day.

Additionally, the Russian influence and desire to spread their communist beliefs throughout the world, constantly adds fuel to the fire. It is apparent their ultimate objective is for world domination, by those with Communistic beliefs.

Generally however…Tom’s immediate concerns appeared to revolve around Israel, Egypt and several other Arab nations. There appeared to be little doubt that the Arab-Israeli conflict will continue to be an ongoing problem in the years ahead.

Additionally, it is apparent our close ties with both Spain and Portugal will require a continued close working relationship and exchanges of information. There have been recent terrorist threats in both countries.

Teena and I looked at each other for a moment. It suddenly became apparent to us that he may have another assignment in the back of his mind…that he wants to discuss.

We then realized why he asked us to study and become fluent in both Spanish and Portuguese languages, at the very beginning. He apparently had a plan for us to ultimately become involved in regions of the world, where those languages are spoken.

Of course, we had just completed an assignment in Brazil, where Portuguese is the language.

We knew our organization had many agents specialized in various languages, in countries throughout the world. Both Teena and I felt fortunate (and thankful), that he hadn’t selected us to be focused on languages in many regions of the world. The unrest between many Arab Nations and Israel made the entire region extremely volatile.

Since many of the Arabic countries of the Middle East region received both support and military supplies from Russia, it was extremely clear, that a Middle East war would eventually occur. The only question would be when.

It was now becoming obvious, that we would need to start studying both the Russian and Arabic languages, since the Middle East conflict would be an ongoing problem. It was also clear the spread of Communism would continue to grow.

Although we were thankful our first language assignments required us to speak Spanish and Portuguese…it was now very obvious, that we would need to expand it, to learn both Arabic and Russian. It was also extremely likely the major conflicts in the near future, would most likely be centered on that region of the world.

We speculated it was extremely likely our next assignment could potentially be somewhere within that region of the world. It certainly appeared to be a strong possibility, that Tom would want us to start preparing ourselves to better cope with anticipated problems that were now developing in those regions.

But…our thoughts and discussion, then switched to focus on some fun things we should consider on our vacation which was just around the corner.

_____________________

My mind continued to roam…back over the last days of the Brazilian assignment…as I waited for Teena to return home from the beauty parlor, and some shopping she wanted to do, before we re-entered the real world.

It just didn’t seem possible our vacation would soon be over and we would need to get ourselves mentally prepared to face the real world again…

My thoughts soon focused back to the brief meeting with Tom after our return from the Brazilian assignment…

Teena and I headed down to the restaurant a little early, thinking we would just relax and have a cocktail while waiting for Tom to arrive.

We were surprised to find he was already there having a drink. He had ordered a bottle of Red wine he knew we liked…I think he probably remembered, because we had shared it many times in the past years.

As we entered, Tom said…I finished my meeting a bit earlier than I expected. Since this has been a hectic week & this is Linda’s bridge night, I decided to come down early & relax for awhile by ordering a bottle of your favorite wine.

I then replied… A glass of wine sounds good…but a relaxed evening with old friends makes it even more refreshing…because the past several months have been hectic for everyone within our business.

After a relaxing dinner that evening…we gave Tom a brief overview on the key points of the Brazil assignment…that we would present to a rather large audience the following day.

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I looked at my watch to check the time… Since it was now past the time Teena said she would be home, I had to conclude she was still shopping.

So…I fixed myself another scotch…then continued to relax, just reviewing the Brazil assignment in my mind…

Tom told us… Our contacts haven’t been able to determine with absolute certainty, whether you’re true profession may have been determined by some of the Drug Cartel people that survived the raids in Brazil. As a result we aren’t sure if you will be on a hit list. It will require more time, for us to obtain reliable feedback from our regional contacts. As a result, I wanted to alert you of that possibility.

If we are unable to get any reliable feedback from our agents, it will be wise to give it more time. It may be better for you to remain in the US…or perhaps assign you to a different region of the world for awhile. I just wanted you to know that possibility exists.

Our good friend has several manufacturing facilities through-out the US with outlets and sales representatives in many parts of the world, so there are numerous possibilities. Although there doesn’t have to be any immediate decisions made, I felt it was appropriate to discuss the matter, and make you aware of a potential problem.

There are two possibilities we have at the top of the list that I believe would be very suitable for the two of you. In both situations, you would remain as a representative of our friends company. In each, you would both be required to travel to various parts of the world together.

The most likely assignments would be as members of our friends company, assigned to European and the Mid-East. In that case, you would initially be working out of London, and have reason to travel routinely to cities throughout countries of both Europe and the Middle East.

Currently, we believe that would be the most likely spot, where your talents would be valuable. Additionally, it should create the least amount of exposure, to many of those old Latin contacts. It could also give you ample reason, to routinely travel in many countries throughout the region.

While nothing is foolproof, I think it would give ample support for everyone to believe you are a true regional sale representative of our friends company.

After a few months…or perhaps a year or so, we would like for you to return to Brazil for about a year. That assignment would include responsibilities throughout the South American Region.

From there, I would like for both you and Teena, to spend a couple of years in the Far East. It is important for you to know our agents within the region, and become familiar with their activities and the problems they face in each country.

I also want both of you to start studying other languages. Primarily, that is because we visualize both of you to ultimately be key people, in both the selection and training of new agents, to be assigned throughout the world. We believe Russian and Arabic languages will be most beneficial, because that region of the world is where our services will definitely be required in future years. We can discuss it in detail later.

Prior to that assignment however, we feel it would be beneficial for you to spend at least two years in Europe and the Middle East, with responsibilities within each region.

That is the primary reason we want both of you to study and become proficient in at least two other languages, within that region of the world. Russian should be the next, because it is apparent there will be future conflicts throughout the world, as a result of both their policies and tactics. There will also continue to be conflicts throughout the Middle East. We can discuss the details of those later.

The objective however, is to ultimately have both of you familiar with each region of the world. That will be important, since you will have the overall responsibility for selecting and training of new agents to be assigned throughout the world.

That is the general thought process of our plans for the two of you. It is also why I want to ensure those thoughts and plans aren’t compromised. We have invested a tremendous amount of both time and money in your training, with that objective in mind.

In the meantime however, after spending a month or so here, getting us all familiar with what you have learned on your last assignment, you need to take a well deserved vacation. By the end of that period, we should have a reasonably clear picture of the best way to proceed.

We then spent the next couple of hours…discussing the many various possibilities of what that would entail. It was an interesting evening, and both Teena & I felt very comfortable with the overall thought process, and knew we would be happy with whatever decision Tom made.

_____________________

As I set there mulling things over in my mind…Teena came back from her shopping tour and the beauty parlor…

After showing me her new hair style and some of her new clothes, she said…it’s been a long tiring day. I’m ready for a glass of wine…so we can relax a bit, and decide what to do for the evening.

She then gave me her sexy little smile, & a long sensuous kiss, before saying… Does that give you any ideas about what we could do for the evening??

I replied…Another passionate kiss like that…will mean our passion can’t wait until tonight… I then gave her a gentle pat on the rear, as I left to pour us each a glass of her favorite red wine.

We then settled back on the couch, with Teena nestled in front of me, and started discussing what we should do, to get ourselves prepared for returning to duty. That had been our most common way to relax and discuss things…since we were first married.

I could tell from her cheerful attitude, that she was looking forward to getting back into the routine of what we both felt was an exciting life. We then spent the next several hours discussing various parts of the world, and speculating on the possibilities, of where our next assignment may be.

The last three months of vacation was the first time in our married life that we had spent so much time together, pursuing what we wanted to do, without any interruption.

We spent most of our vacation at home, except for the ten days with Mom and other family members in Oregon. On the return trip home…we took a leisurely drive back…and spent a weekend in Colorado Springs, before heading back to Tulsa…

During that period, Mom & Jody also came to visit us in Tulsa. That was the first time we had family members at our home, since we had been married. We still lived in the small one bedroom apartment we kept since we were first married, so we put them up in the Hilton…where we had spent our honey moon several years earlier.

It was also the first time since we had been married (about ten years earlier)…Teena and I had spent so much time together in peace, without being called back to duty. I think Tom must have realized we had been stressed out, so he decided we needed a long break without the thought of being called back…unless it was an emergency of some type. The solitude of such a long vacation was a new experience for us.

It was filled with many candlelight dinners that we both enjoyed so much…& it always ended up with the sensual passions of our love…that grew stronger with each passing day. It was truly like living in a dream world.

If we didn’t enjoy the profession we had chosen, it would have been tempting to live the life we could mow afford, because of Teena’s inheritance…as a result of her parents’ death in the plane crash…that occurred when I was serving in Korea.

As a result of Teena’s inheritance and her wise investments, she had become an extremely wealthy person…with net assets well in excess of $350 (+) Million (1960’s) dollars. So, we could afford to live a life of luxury…if we chose to do so.

However…we were very comfortable living on our combined earnings, and had no desire to do anything different. We were still perfectly happy, and had sentimental attachments to the little one bedroom apartment we had kept since our honeymoon.

I knew however, that within a few more years, she wants to have children…so it was obvious the life we were now living, would no longer be possible. We both knew that