Cry Heaven, Cry Hell. Howard Gordon
about America and Britain being allies, and a loss of British protection possibly meaning a loss of friendly relations with America. He also stressed that this could initiate a new version of the One Hundred Years’ War between France and Britain and as well as weaken the economic effects of being tied to Britain, while sacrificing friendly relations with the U.S.A. because of the common Anglo/American history. He also discussed the economic advantages of being tied to the British Commonwealth and the healthy tourist trade with the U.S.A. They lectured at universities in Toronto, Ottawa, Alberta, Manitoba, British Columbia, McGill University, University of Montreal, and Concordia University. They went to resort camps in both Ontario and Quebec to spread their propaganda and create an agitated atmosphere against further connection to France.
Rodin, in one instance gathered a group of students at the park that was made out of the battlefield at the Plains of Abraham and reminded them of the battle fought, in which French clumsiness cost them Quebec, and how France was so unstable after the war that it could not even keep a government together. He reminded them that the French and Indian War was the tail end of the One Hundred Years’ War and, for all the talk of the “Glory that was France”, they lost the war. He also stated that, de Gaulle to whom they were looking for leadership, was hiding in England for a good part of the war shooting his mouth off on the radio, instead of fighting. Of course, both of them gave false names and wore disguises so that they were unrecognizable. This caused the French Government to discount their importance.
They met in Toronto and went to see the museums and a Latin American festival that had very sensuous music and dances that really turned both of them on sexually. That night in their hotel room Liana came to Rodin in a low cut, backless, translucent mini gown that stressed her pointed nipples and her long, shapely legs. She felt his tumescence and took it in her hand. He groaned and started to undress and let her finish the process for him. She lay down on the bed and slowly began to wriggle out of the gown pulling the still swollen Rodin down to her. Before entering her, he began to kiss her thighs and the triangle between them. As he entered her he began to nuzzle her thighs and her hardened nipples and her large apple shaped breasts, touching one and kissing the other. She moaned and begged him to take her. They began to rock together, and the room seemed to shake. They were as one and wanted their lovemaking to go on forever. Their juices met, and they fell exhaustedly asleep in each others’ arms.
They also went to Haiti, French Guiana, and any other place where there might be any hint of French influence to be sought and undermined whatever grain of it was possible. They also repeated the process of using false names and disguises that rendered them unrecognizable. They even went back to France itself and pointed out that the growing population of Arabs was creating a minority that agitated against the past brutalities that occurred when the countries were colonies, and they brought a growing amount of hatred against Jews with them. It was translated by physical individual attacks and destruction of temples. This created pockets of dissension that were expressed in newspapers, discussions in shuls, and meetings of the legislature.
The couple felt that they were achieving a certain notoriety as dissenters, and, in order to prevent the government from launching a full blown investigation, they decided to curtail their activities and concentrate more on lovemaking. During this period Rodin began to question the decision his family held about vengeance, and he began to share his queries with Liana. She, at first, was reluctant to give up the excitement, but it was replaced with an urge for motherhood.
When Rodin met Malkia and Craine in Lafayette Escadrille, he had no idea that he would become so attached to them. He at first saw them as an instrument to learn how to smuggle information to his family, as he saw them do. His aim was to use France to understand their strategy and employ the skills he learned against them in their empire. The love he learned for them marred his clever intention to just use them to learn how to defeat his mortal enemy. This would re-enter his persona when he learned that revenge was a sickness.
Chapter 3
The couple decided to visit America. They saw the sites in New York and found what a fast, exciting town it could be. Rodin was jogging and was approached by an attractive prostitute. Immediately after he refused her wares, he was attacked by a pimp and three cohorts. To satisfy them he reached into his pocket to get a wallet and pulled out a knife and slashed the nearest one across his nose. While the thug tried to stop the bleeding, in a swift motion, the renegade Frenchman slammed his fist into another’s ribs, and the bone could be heard cracking, as the would-be assailant fell to the ground. The third tried to put his hands up, but Rodin was already angered and grabbed the outstretched arm and broke it at the elbow. His parting words to the trio were, “How you make your bed is how you sleep in it. Have a nice nap, boys.” In another incident, he and Liana were in front of the Yiddish library, and he wanted to show off that he understood the Jewish language from some of his experiences (which stemmed from Malkia teaching it to him) and went inside and read a Yiddish dictionary to her. When they came out, a young man, dressed as a mime walked behind Liana and pulled up her skirt. Again, Rodin found himself grabbing an arm and hearing bones crack.
They found the food exotic in New York, and the city was a lot of fun. They enjoyed baseball games and Broadway plays, but the excitement was too much like Vietnam and wartime France. They wanted a little history and culture so they went to New England. They saw the House of the Seven Gables and stopped at the Von Trapp Farm in New Hampshire and heard the beautiful music brought over from Austria by this brave family. They toured the Green Mountains, where Ethan Allen fought. Then they went south into Virginia to a historical town where a mock Revolutionary War battle was fought, and they saw a very Jewish appearing man dressed as an American Continental Soldier screaming about kicking that damn Brit’s arse back to London town where he could go back to peddling stinking fish to Sherlock Holmes and Winston Churchill. A younger man, much bigger than him, and a once sturdy, older man were trying to restrain him. Rodin was curious about them. Something about the older fellow looked familiar.
Unable to stifle his curiosity, Rodin asked the older gentleman his name. His feisty response was to ask him, who in the blarney was this fart of a Frog to be asking about him. Rodin told the old gentleman that he resembled someone he once knew, but he was much older and gave him his name. All of a sudden the old codger’s eyes seemed to light up. He said he was Tyndall Mikawber, and his friends were Moses and Mendel Doleman. Rodin related how he knew Craine and Malkia in Lafayette Escadrille and how he helped Patrick get out of France during the war.
All crowded around the couple and asked for war stories from both wars. They went home and got drunk on Stout and ale.
Mc Tavish called Craine, and he, Pat and his girlfriend, and Molly (whom Craine had by now married) said they would be down in a few hours, as long as it took to drive. When they got there Rodin, Craine, and Pat talked about old times and updated each other. Craine shamefacedly owned up about his activity with Dinty O’Banion, Bugs Moran, and the labor unions. Molly was not shocked about this revelation. He also told Rodin about how the Ornams had tormented his family, how they had killed Malkia, and how he had paid them back and run away from Ireland. Likewise Rodin related how and why his family had a hatred for France, and described his and Liana’s activities in Algeria, the French Foreign Legion, France during and after WWII, Canada, Haiti, French Guiana, and Vietnam. Craine laughed heartily and said, “Brother, I thought I was bad. You sure weren’t anybody’s slouch. You have to watch the quiet ones.” Pat added that it took brains to get him and Corlando out of France. He further related that Corlando had had a relationship with the factory girl he picked up when they blew the munitions plant. He ended up marrying her, and they lived somewhere around Harvard. He heard that he lucked into some stocks and had all kinds of money.
In fact he and his girl, Randi had gone to a movie and ran into him and his wife at Your Father’s Mustache in Cambridge. They laughed over old time antics during the war. Randi nudged him and asked what he had to tell her about his growing up. Pat smiled and told her about trying to pick up a very beautiful German girl, who was a few years older than him in a German bar just before he came home. No one was getting anywhere with her because she was so experienced, compared to these young G.I.’s looking for a piece of tail. Since he knew Yiddish, German came easy to him, and he could communicate with