The Not so Secret Agent Ch. 13

"Oh, excuse me... I'm not real sure what to say at an event like this; maybe they sell de-collaring greeting cards downtown?"

Once inside Arthur stood in the vacant area usually reserved for court officials. The ceremony was quick and simple. A line of male and female criminals formed at the front of the courtroom. When it was her turn a very proud Spokesman Ralkliv stepped forward and proclaimed to the judge that his client was indeed ready for release. Samantha was crying happily when she knelt in front of the collar machine. White skin formed a ring low on her suntanned neck, Samantha and the other former criminals listened to the judge's short speech and then posed with their broken collars for a series of pictures.

Arthur had brought the engagement jewelry along; with the traditional white dress, braided hair, and jewelry Samantha now looked like a traditional Danubian woman. More importantly, the sentence was over, the torment and humiliation was over, Samantha was free.

Her first priority was to move out of her host's household; which the couple wanted as well since they could no longer order her around like a slave. For the remaining time before their October wedding Samantha had arranged to stay in the household of one of her friends from work; it was a major improvement.

Arthur and Samantha spent some of their very limited spare time looking around the city for a place to live. Arthur's fame preceded him; if landlords had 'No Spies Allowed' signs on their doors it would have simplified things considerably. Not everyone cared though, especially in the less fashionable neighborhoods.

To Arthur, a person who had spent much of the past few years sleeping next to a horse or in a crowded army tent, every house looked good. Samantha was more discriminating but they eventually decided on a decent small rental house that would be available in September.

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One day in June Spokesman Ralkliv called Arthur to his office to discuss an interesting opportunity. After three long years of searching; Ralkliv thought he had a good chance at getting his client a job with a private employer.

Of course, no self-respecting Danubian company was eager to have an enemy of the state in the office but this particular business used American software and was getting pretty desperate for a person who was both skilled with computers and fluent in English.

Ralkliv seemed almost as excited as his client as they went to meet with the manager. Arthur took the opportunity to shamelessly brag about his technical skills, education, and experience. Ralkliv's lips tightened as he listened to Arthur talk; he never could get his American client to act as humble as he was supposed to.

There was a brief tour and then, about an hour into the interview the manager sat down with Spokesman Ralkliv to discuss the conditions in which he could hire his client. Arthur sat silently to the side while they discussed his future.

Arthur had the job offer but there was a problem: an espionage conviction came with many restrictions; as it was Arthur couldn't even touch a computer or use a telephone except the one in his spokesman's office. And only a judge could lift those restrictions

Ralkliv pulled a few strings and got Arthur a hearing before one of the more open-minded judges. He argued that his client was not the national security threat they once thought he was; Criminal number 88588 was simply a young man who had acknowledged his mistakes and was trying to turn his life around.

Ralkliv pointed to Arthur's somewhat improved behavior, his engagement to Samantha, and his conversion to the Faith of the Ancients as evidence that he was making real progress toward reforming himself. It would be a mistake to hold him back from his potential.

The judge questioned Arthur extensively trying to uncover any hidden agenda, but unable to do so, he finally gave permission. Arthur started work the next day. For Arthur, it was a real treat to do work that required thinking instead of muscle and endurance.

That summer, everything that Arthur wanted seemed to fall into place. Samantha received the residency papers that allowed her to live in Danubia and the Ministry of Justice officially permitted the marriage. Their wedding was scheduled for the first Sunday in October; Arthur's priestess would perform the ceremony in the grove outside the Cathedral.

Wedding preparations were complicated in Danubia. There were meetings with government officials, classes they had to attend, and religious rituals that had to be performed.

Samantha was completely embarrassed by one such ritual. Part of a Danubian woman's Correct Path in Life was to bear children so of course they didn't see anything wrong with blessing her whole reproductive system. Arthur rolled about laughing when he found out some priest had blessed Samantha's vagina, remarking that: 'now he would definitely have to be more careful down there.'

In early September Mr. Jakt took Arthur out to a farm to pick up a gift. Mr. Jakt was playing the role of Arthur's father during the wedding and part of a Danubian father's duty was to provide the wedding sheep. Arthur named it T-Bone and kept it in Mr. Jakt's back yard.

Samantha left Danubia on the second week in September; she had plans to visit friends and family in the US and then escort her parents back for the wedding. It was far from the circumstances they envisioned for their only daughter's wedding but as her mom had said: Honey, if you really want to marry a naked criminal with a tracking collar around his neck then, uh... (At this point she usually broke down crying).

Tee visited for a couple days on the same week that Samantha left. Tee had been living in Belgium with her boyfriend, who was a mid-level bureaucrat for the US State Department. Arthur teased her about dating a thirty-year old geezer but she didn't seem to mind the age difference.

As the summer neared its end, Arthur spent most of his free time at the Church. The clergy always needed volunteers during the week leading up to the Day of the Dead; a time when the thoughts of most Danubians turned to their own mortality and the spirits of the dead.

Criminal number 88588 preferred to think about the living. He had a girl whom he loved, a career offering real opportunities, a few friends, and the Church services were even starting to make sense. For the first time since his arrest Arthur felt like his plans for the future were finally coming together. The life he wanted was just within his grasp.