Better to make a deal than fight, far better. The zealous boys on their mopeds won’t be here forever. They’ll age, they’ll mellow and take the little presents. And then I’ll be back. Me or my sons. We can afford to wait. We endure, like the mountains. So yes, I’ll treat with them; have them in for tea; smile and smile.
Meanwhile, the helicopters swarm back and forth, frantic little bees, bearing the proud generals to safety Don’t they know? Remember Saigon—it’s only a matter of waiting.
.
Friday fictioneers is a weekly challenge set by Rochelle Wisoff Fields to write a 100-word story in response to a photo prompt. You can find other stories here
Neil MacDonald Author 
Very apt, I do wonder what deal has been agreed.
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Thanks, Michael
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This piece packs a punch, Neil. The protagonist muses on his sons, but not on the sons and grandsons of his enemies.
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He didn’t get where he is by worrying about his enemies or their sons
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Dear Neil,
He sounds like a wily old fox.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Not a nice man, but a survivor
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Intriguing.
Was he a predator?
He’ll be back! Beware!
My Story-The Key House
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He’s not going anywhere.
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Oh ow, excellent story that’s hard to like right now. Very, very timely. Sadly, for women it’s a lot more difficult.
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Thanks so much
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Great little story, Neil!
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Thanks, Mason
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Topical, I fancy? It would be nice to believe the deal doesn’t involve 12 year old brides and subjugation of women but I doubt it.
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So long as he’s left in peace, he may not care
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It is a very good one please how can I be communicating with you guys more
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Thanks. Maybe try posting your own story?
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This is one of those stories that go down into my being and sits there waiting for the full truth to emerge. Great one.
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Thanks so much
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“We endure, like the mountains.” The credo of the invaded. Excellent prose, Neil.
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Thanks so much, Jade
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You’re very welcome.
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Neil, you couldn’t have written anything more suited to the events of the last few days, and then zipping back to the 70s. When will we ever learn.
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Thanks so much, Linda. The question is, what is the lesson we need to learn. My protagonist offers a solution, but only for himself
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Saigon, Kabul, and then . . . “History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.” Karl Marx.
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Very topical. His tactic has proven very effective.
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Thanks so much. Effective, yes, but only for the already powerful
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Grim narrator, grim and determined. You captured the time, Neil.
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Thanks so much, Sandra. I based him on Ismael Khan, the warlord of Herat
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Ooooooo sinister voice in this, Neil. I guessing a deal has been made with a devil of some sort.
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I think probably he is the devil
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Very skilfully written, Neil, and very topical. Zealous, mopeds, little presents, tea, smile – all pitch perfect vocabulary for taking us to the scene. Kudos!
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Thanks, Penny. Your comment is much appreciated
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Deep.
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Thanks, Bear
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Sprinkles or rainfalls of truth in your story, Neil.
Timely!!!
Have a safe weekend …
Isadora 😎
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Maybe. It’s speculation.
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Corruption always implodes.
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Always?
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Look at the many US foreign policy adventures that collapse and ask why.
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I think perhaps the why is often a lack of understanding of local social structures and power dynamics.
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Follow the money and who profits, believe me. The US has capitulated to a fundamental group that has won through terrorism on its own people. Even their clerics carry guns.
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like they say – You have the watches but we have the time. Very well crafted.
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Thanks so much, Sheena
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An astute and gripping observation about the wheeler dealer way of leaders. Most topical.
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Thanks so much
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Neil,
I like the way you put this. Ancient evils seem to distill into every landscape, every “warlord” — Saigon, Kabul, have theirs; Washington, London, have theirs. Biding their time? Their time is now. The banality of evil wrapped in the inexorability of a history that repeats itself.
pax,
dora
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Thanks so much, Dora. The warlords and the Taliban are two different things. The warlords’ time is not now.
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I take your point. The Taliban after all are going to have to contend with extraneous forces but the warlords – even as they bide their time – exert their force within the communities they rule, however local.
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“We endure, like the mountains” that’s the words of someone playing a long game. Sadly they are not going away and in some situations are a necessary evil.
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You’re right. He’s going nowhere
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