Cooch by Cook Robert

Author:Cook, Robert [Cook, Robert]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3, mobi
ISBN: 9781623478117
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Published: 2010-07-12T18:30:00+00:00

East Coast,

United States Later

ALEX spent the next several years at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, getting a degree first in electrical engineering, then in computer science, spending much of his time studying. With the credits transferred for the courses he had taken on government money at William and Mary and at the University of Virginia while still working for Mac, Alex was able to earn both degrees in less than three years. His grades were so good that his advisor had suggested that an academic career at a prestigious institution was within his reach. Alex was restless, not ready to take a job, not wanting to pursue the PhD his advisor was pushing, and not sure why he felt one way or the other. Earlier, Alex had received a rather formal written invitation, forwarded after close examination at the Farm, to come to England to visit with Lord Archibald Alistair. Alistair was the father of a slain SAS captain with whom Alex had served while on a cross-training assignment with the Britain’s elite SAS in Scotland and again on a later mission. Colin Alistair had befriended Cuchulain before he had died; not many had.

Lord Alistair’s letter came at a good moment, and triggered Alex’s next move. For a time he’d had a sense of something missing from his life. Perhaps, because of having been a “patriotic assassin,” Alex longed to be more thoughtful, to consider the deeper side of things.

After consulting with his CMU advisor and an Egyptian friend on the faculty, and having promises of a handful of decent recommendations, he applied to the program in Arabic studies at Oxford. His grandfather would be delighted. There was much he wanted to think about, with academic guidance. It would be at least three months before he would hear from Oxford. Whatever the decision, Alex wanted to spend most of the waiting time in the desert. He’d get to England sooner or later.

Alex had stayed in touch with Mac, often weekly by phone. From time to time, Mac flew to Pittsburgh for dinner and a chat. When Alex mentioned his tentative plans for the next several years, Mac suggested a going away gift—a trip to South Dakota to shoot pheasants and spend a little downtime together. Alex was enthusiastic.

Alex flew to Minneapolis from New York, and Mac from Dulles. They met and checked in to start the puddle jumper run. The plane had twin turboprops and landed in several small airports before finally reaching Pierre, South Dakota. As they collected their luggage, a grizzled man in a camouflage-patterned ball cap and worn plaid wool shirt walked up holding a sign reading “MacMillan.”

“Mr. MacMillan?” he asked.

Mac reached out to shake his hand. “That’s me.”

“I’m Jason,” he said. “Let me help you with your stuff, and I’ll drive you to the lodge. You’ll have time for a drink before supper.”

“Let’s do it,” Mac said. “This is Alex.”

The drive from the airport lasted about thirty minutes. The land was flat and farmed, and the sun cast angled beams across endless fields of wheat and corn.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.