Chapter 34

34
GOVERNMENT HOUSE, RIO DE JANEIRO

The quiet of Government House was shaken by the noise of a great helicopter. The machine landed just by the front door and discharged an over dressed little man whom Jesus and Juan agreed must be the Interior Minister. He walked toward the mansion in the company of two other men, also in suits.

The three of them were involved in a heated discussion. Their raised voices carried incomplete yet revealing phrases to the balcony where Jesus and Juan were standing. It was not possible to tell which of three was saying what, but the gist of their intentions was clear enough.

"Get the other into sports so he. . ."

". . .concentrate on getting Him to agree to the. . ."

". . . counting on you to separate them. If He signs today, we'll be able to. . ."

". . .jungle boys. What can they know about. . ."

" . . .just as soon take 'em back where they came from, be done with it."

Jesus looked at Juan, "I don't like the looks of this. They want something, but I can't understand what it is. It seems as if they really don't like us."

"I already feel like I don't trust any of them, and I haven't even met them yet. I think we have to be very careful." Juan spoke quietly as he continued to gaze at the trio.

"Let's just wait until we have a chance to talk to them, then we'll know what to do. They might turn out to be nice people " Jesus said with His usual optimism.

At that moment Beatrice appeared to announce the arrival of the Minister. "He and his party will be waiting for You in the east sitting room."

"Why have they sent such a large helicopter to deliver the Minister?" Juan asked.

She smiled, then answered, "The Minister is a very, very important man. They tend to send larger and larger cars and motorcades and helicopters and airplanes according to the importance of the man they carry. The fact that the Interior Minister is coming to call tells me that they find You to be quite important, too, Jesus. Be on Your best behavior while You talk to him."

The only aspect of the sitting room that was reassuring to Jesus and Juan as they entered was the morning sun. Its bright light streamed into the dull room from a wall of east facing windows, casting shadows behind all the stuffy furniture, statues, potted plants and vases. The Minister and his associates seemed to blend into all the other clutter in the scene.

All three rose as Jesus and Juan entered. The Minister himself sneered as he sneaked a top to bottom appraisal of the two, then smiled while disapproving. "I am Hector Rimmer, Minister of the Interior, this is Hugh Kastner, my aide and Petr Votri, my secretary." Looking at Juan, he condescended with an almost fatherly tone, "You must be this Jesus everyone is talking about. I am so pleased to meet You." Turning to Jesus, he offered his hand. "And you must be Juan Gemarro."

The face of the Minister was smiling and friendly, but his body betrayed this cordial front. One could not avoid the sensation that here was a man accustomed to a life where everything he was ever called upon to touch was extremely clean, but now was faced with the unavoidable prospect of touching something that was extremely dirty. Even his handshake was limp, as if to not really contact the hand of Jesus or Juan. The result, instead of a warm invitation to friendship, was a hollow feeling as if one were infected with some irritating disease. Juan glanced at Jesus just long enough to catch the twinkle in His eye. Jesus suddenly made a loud squawking noise. It was the sign from their childhood, and it meant "jungle demons." This game was simple enough. The only rule was to do everything your mother ever told you not to do.

The sudden noise caught all three of the visitors off guard. Not knowing what to expect next from these savages, they nervously eyed each other.

For Juan the ruse was on. "Let's sit, Hector. No, if you don't mind perhaps we can sit on the floor as we always have in the jungle. That way I will be comfortable and fully able to consider what you are saying." After easily lowering his athletic body to the carpet, Juan looked over at the others. Jesus was already cross legged on the floor. "Hugh and Petr perhaps you can entertain Juan while I talk with the Minister."

The Minister of the Interior chafed at being called Hector by this peasant nobody. Nonetheless, he pulled an arm chair up close, Once again, his true feelings flashed for a moment across his smiling face. He turned to face the man he thought was Jesus.

But Juan wasn't through. "Oh, Hector if you sit in the chair I will have to look up to see you speak. We jungle people are very sensitive about having to constantly look up to men wearing suits, I'm sure you will understand."

The Minister sat for a moment in ruffled indecision, then slid unceremoniously from the chair. His belly prevented him from the cross legged posture Juan had adopted, but he finally maneuvered his short legs off to one side, laboriously recreating one of his phony smiles.

"Just what brings you all to visit us? I'm not sure that we have much to do with the affairs of the Interior Ministry." Juan led off disarmingly.



Juan reflected for a moment before answering. "I'm not sure we are civilized enough just yet to accept your offer. Perhaps a later opportunity to discuss our damaged thoughts with one of your doctors might reveal a possibility for either a cure or real progress with our problem. I must say that it is so very astute of you to have noticed this condition in us almost before even a word of conversation has passed! With such a mixture of compassion and sharp intuition, it is not surprising that you were elected as Minister!" Juan stared deeply into the man's eyes, feigning not only sincerity but true gratitude and admiration.

Hector Rimmer felt the part of the fighter who has leaned too far forward as he pursued his prey, only to then find himself helplessly off balance. He was honestly unable to tell if this Indian boy from the Amapan jungle was serious or not. If he were serious, it would be too good to be true. He found it difficult to draw his breath in his present posture. "Actually, the Minister of the Interior is not elected. The president appointed me to this position. I am responsible for the affairs of the entire nation of Brazil, both problems and opportunities."

"Then you were responsible for the Island of Paraneho where we were held captive so cruelly all those years. As Minister I suppose you would have had to approve of what happened on the island. Life there was so terribly difficult for Juan and me." Juan turned his eyes in a feigned gaze of the tormented. It was a sublime high drama not missed by his Friend.

Jesus also sat on the floor along with the Minister's associates just across the room, well within hearing distance of the other conversation. Both men insisted on laughing and joking based mainly on what they perceived to be an irresistible topic to any young man, sports. Juan's performance with the Minister was challenging Jesus to keep from laughing as He nodded in agreement to each proposal for an obscure strategy in some soccer match or the constant adulation of some player or other. These two were convinced that their 'Juan' would succumb to the mind numbing banter.

The Minister was apologetic, but devious. "No, no my dear boy, I had no knowledge of the events on Paraneho. No one in the Interior Ministry had any way of possibly knowing. In fact had we known, I would have cared very passionately, but the matter never came to my attention."

Juan responded, "Of course, you must have been very busy. Busy, that is, with some 'affairs' that were more important than poor Jesus, a victim of the wretched and evil Senor Robeles." Juan's presentation was approaching that of a vaudeville act. Jesus would occasionally glance approvingly in a momentary respite from the apparently endless account of the soccer game, an account which was patently obvious in its premeditation. At least the two of them were equal in deception to the Minister and his friends.

Both Jesus and Juan were constantly rubbing their bare feet, examining their toes and fingers and occasionally even picking at the clothing of their guests, as if to remove fleas. This part of 'jungle demons' was having the desired effect on the three guests.

The Minister made his play. It was time to change the subject. "I am curious about what your plans are at this point. Have you thought about your new life? Brazil is a wonderful place, full of wonders." Jesus immediately added His parrot parody from where He sat across the room. "Full of wonders! Full of wonders!"

Juan was ready. "I understand of course that after being thrown off my island home, I am next to be expelled from this gracious house. In fact, Mayor Janez made a point of telling us even as we arrived at this gracious refuge that our stay here would be temporary, meaning no doubt that it would continue at the pleasure of some politician, apparently from the Interior Ministry."

"Well, my friend and I are accustomed by now to this kind of conditional hospitality, although it is starting to shake our generally innocent and optimistic view of people. We have very little luggage thanks in large to the conditions of our life to date, conditions which were endorsed if not actively supported by your own lack of interest in our affairs. Nonetheless, we can move quickly, whenever you tire of having us as your guests." Juan punctuated this comment with a long, tragic sigh.

"That's not it at all. You may know from the newspapers that a great many people in Brazil are interested in you. They want to hear what you have to say." Minister Rimmer seemed to be moving closer and closer to Juan with each passing word. To a person just entering the room, it would appear as if he intended to kiss him. "In fact, that is the most important part of my visit. Both the President and I are prepared to offer you the full support of the government for your ministry. Support, I might add, which would include assistance in managing your financial affairs as well as expert advice on the best means to reach and influence the people with your message."

He continued. "Because of the deprivation of your childhood there are many subtle aspects of modern life which could cause you to make errors. Our people would be there to help you avoid all this. You might come to consider the Government of Brazil as the family you never had."

Juan fought back an urge to react to this, but instead, showed the Minister an insipid smile. "So there really is someone who is willing to care for us in our position of such disadvantage! I may have judged you too harshly, Hector!"

The Minister reached for his brief, withdrawing an alarmingly thick shock of legal papers. "This is the agreement which was prepared by the President's people. By the way, not to insult you, but you are able to read, aren't you? If it is a problem, I will leave my secretary here to read it to you and explain anything that is not clear. Would you like that?"

Juan kept sliding back away from the still breathless little man. "We can read a little -- more than enough to be able to understand the agreement. I would like to spend some time going through it tonight with my Friend, if you don't mind, But given my good intuitive feeling about your sincere intentions and your genuine concern for our well being, I don't think there should be any great problem. I feel quite confident in saying that I trust you to honestly have the character and intentions you have shown to me today."

Juan rose, holding the papers. "I want to thank you for visiting with us and for the obvious concern for our welfare you have shown. Now perhaps you will excuse us so that we may take up certain religious duties we have." At this last utterance, Jesus finally could contain His laughter any longer. What emerged from Him was more like a chortle, just enough to cast his soccer worshiping guests off balance.

The secretary, Petr Votri, stepped up to assist the Minister back to his feet. Jesus jumped up quickly and repeated the parrot call in the most vulgar manner possible. Predictably, all the men from the Ministry jumped, again. as they had each time before.

Jesus walked up behind Juan and started to look for fleas or other pests in his hair. "We should return to our rooms." The jungle style grooming's effect on the Minister was stunning.

All the occupants had risen now, shaking hands in preparation to depart. As the group moved toward the door, the Minister added in parting, "I will call tomorrow about the agreement if that is alright. Please don't worry about having to leave the house. We will be able to take care of everything."

Waiting until the last minute, just as the group was passing out through the front door and Jesus and Juan were halfway up the grand stair, Juan turned.. "I'll be sure to have our attorney here when we meet next time, Minister."

Hector Rimmer's face fell gray, but the pair had escaped up the stairway before he could speak again. He caught only a quick view of their bare feet disappearing down the second floor hallway.

Inside the chopper Hector Rimmer immediately called the President. "These two are nothing more than pushy little savages! They're Indians from the jungle! They still smell like the jungle for God sakes! No, he didn't sign it. I think he was close, but he waited until the last minute to tell me he had a damned lawyer!"

"I want that agreement, Rimmer. If we manage this opportunity well, we can put this country on the map. Everyone and his brother will want to come here and see Jesus -- just think of it man! Think of the prestige!" the President's voice had the tone of a man who considered the agreement already in place.

The Minister was more cautious. "Don't think that way. This situation is out of control, Sir. If I were you I would go ahead and embargo His assets. Once He gets connected with that money, there's going to be no controlling Him!"

"So far we can't find those assets. My people think Robeles may have moved 'em out of the country. Public opinion isn't going to permit that anyway. You get me that agreement, I'll handle the rest. Also, get me the name of this lawyer of His. Who the hell is it anyway? I hope it's not someone Robeles hired. Anyway, who ever it is, I'll see to it that he isn't going to be able to make it tomorrow. I'll keep the Man way from His attorney. You get me that agreement" There was a sinister tone in President Falau's voice.