Page 92 of Tom Clancy Line of Sight

“Illyrian tribes first settled here two thousand years ago, but others may have been here much earlier. The Old Stone Bridge was destroyed by retreating German forces in 1945, but it was finally rebuilt in 2009 by Turkish engineers using the exact same seventeenth-century building techniques and materials.”

“I’m betting the Turks don’t rebuild Hapsburg monuments,” Jack said. Smart advertising on their part. A great way to display their generosity and promote their cultural hegemony all at the same time.

“Not that I’m aware of.”

Jack took in the picture-postcard view, a real Rick Steves moment. They could just stop here and be done, as far as he was concerned.

Aida took his hand. “Let’s keep going. There’s so much more to see.”

Their next stop was Tito’s Bunker, a surrealistic trip back into the Cold War. The nuclear bomb shelter was secretly built by the communist dictator for himself and three hundred handpicked companions to survive a nuclear strike and live another six months.

The people who ran the bunker now got the bright idea to not only preserve as much of the original furnishings and equipment as possible, but also to stage it with modern art exhibits throughout its many rooms, since the bunker itself was a strange kind of Brutalist art form.

After touring the bunker, they drove about seventeen milesto the next town, Jablanica, which also bridged the Neretva River. About half of the drive was along the wide Jablanica Lake. Their destination was a large city park and museum, commemorating a famous victory by the Yugoslavian Partisan forces against the Nazis in World War II. A blown railway bridge, half collapsed into the river, was still in place.

“This is actually a bridge built and destroyed for a Yugoslavian war movie. But it looked so good and so real, the Tito government decided to leave it.”

They jumped back into the van, the road generally following the track of the wide and winding Neretva River through tree-covered mountains. The sky was crystal-blue, warmed by a pleasant, late-morning sun.

The farther they drove, the more Jack fell in love with the people and the scenery, which at times was quite dramatic. It was another reminder to him how big the world was and how many fascinating places there were that he had yet to discover. A hundred generations of people he had never really thought about had lived in this magnificent country. Too many of them had died in the wars that plagued the area since the time of the Caesars.

But for all of the interest he was taking in the tour, he was mostly curious about the woman driving the tour van. She fielded every question he had about geography and culture and local delicacies. And while she was amazingly well versed in the history of the Ottoman sultans and the Hapsburg emperors, she remained politely evasive when he probed about her own personal history, which made her all the more intriguing. Still, he kept trying.

“So, you’ve never been married?” Jack’s feet were up on the dashboard while Aida drove on the curving two-lane.

“No,” she said with a smile.

“Why not?”

“I was going to ask you the same thing, Jack.”

“I want to get married someday. Just need to find the right woman who has the time for a relationship.”

“Do you have the time for one?”

“Ouch. I guess I’m kinda busy these days.”

“And yet here you are, in the middle of Bosnia. Not so bad, is it?”

“Not bad at all.”

“I’m curious. Tell me about this ‘right woman’ of yours.”

Jack sat up.This is getting interesting.

“Smart is the most important attribute, after character. Beautiful is nice, but that comes from within. And, let’s see. How about transparent?”

“Transparent? That’s terrible!” she joked.

“Why?”

“A girl likes to keep a little bit of mystery about her. Don’t men find that more interesting?”

“Depends on what the mystery is, I guess. What about you? Who is your Mr. Right?”

“That’s easy. A man who loves his family. An honorable man. A man who works hard and provides for the ones he loves.” She shot him a glance. “And a man who doesn’t ask too many questions.”

“Well, I guess that takes me out of the running, especially since I have one more. Do you want kids?”