Concrete Jungle

Chapter 26

       Upon arriving home, Sasha got busy with Rahel preparing the documentary for release. They were going to release it in mid-November with the title of 'Witness: The Conclusion of The Liquidator & The 6 Year Old.' NatGeo again gave carté blanche to both women to make it however they saw fit and it would be broadcast on the website, their YouTube, and their tv channels. Though Rahel had all of her necessary equipment at home in Israel, she was invited to use the ones in the DC headquarters that were very state of the art and she was honored at the opportunity. This gave her more of a foothold within the company she dreamed of working in.

      While Rahel worked feverishly on editing and establishing the documentary, Sasha traveled to DC as well to record the voiceover for it. The two women spent many hours together working hard on making this momentous project have the finale it deserved. Though Sasha knew very little about filmography, Rahel explained every inch of it to her and again showed Sasha just how much them working together made her mature and grownup. They had just gotten back from a dinner when Ben called on their video chat app.

"How is it going over there?" He asked with interest.
"Pretty good, actually. Sasha is learning about film editing and we just had some superb steaks for dinner." Rahel bragged as Sasha giggled.
"Are you trying to make me jealous?"
"Absolutely!" Rahel declared and the three of them laughed.
"The documentary will be ready by its scheduled release date." Sasha said seriously then.
"That's terrific news! I can't wait to see it. Wish I was there with you both, but I don't think I'd be of much help."
"That's ok, you were there when it counted the most." Sasha replied kindly and he smiled.

     After they hung up, the women hugged outside of their rooms saying goodnight. Within a few weeks, everything was done and Rahel flew home to Israel to await the release while Sasha flew back to New York. The two women parted at the airport with tears and hugs along with many well wishes and looking forward towards the future. They knew without a shadow of a doubt that the three of them and perhaps Vasily too would definitely work together again and now they also had a very solid bond that nothing on earth could break.

     Which reminded Sasha of something and upon returning home in early November, she sat in her office and typed out a page long recommendation sheet on the company's stationery. After she was finished and reviewed it carefully, she sent it to Ben who called her two hours later.

"Wow, that was fast. It looks pretty good and concise."
"I didn't want to put it off any longer and he deserves to come onboard officially, especially with everything he did in the last mission." Sasha said with a small smile.
"I agree, I have been working with management here and drafting my own recommendation letter. I wasn't going to ask you about it until after the documentary release. Looks like, as usual, you're two steps ahead of me." Ben smiled on his end. He really did love Sasha; she was one of the best human beings he'd ever met, undoubtedly one of his best friends, and he often wished they lived closer, and were somehow related.
"I'm back in New York now and just waiting for the release so before I tackle the next project that's apparently growing weeds on my desk, I figured I would get this done now." Ben chuckled at the description.
"Growing weeds, eh? Didn't think you had another one so soon. Where to this time?"
"Actually, I accepted it right before Vasya's widow called me that first time, so I put it on hold and the senior editors were alright with it. Indonesia actually. Apparently some prehistoric bones were found near a semi extinct volcano and the paleontologists and geologists are working together so HQ knew I'd find it fascinating."
"Sounds like something right up your alley. Have fun; when are you leaving?"
"Right after the documentary release." Sasha smiled.

      That was her life in a nutshell. She was never home for very long; as soon as a new story emerged that struck her fancy, she was on the next flight out. After winning the Pulitzer, the CEOs wanted to promote her to senior editor in New York City but Sasha wasn't interested. She couldn't sit behind a desk 9-5, five days a week. That just wasn't her style nor what she signed up for. So instead they gave her the title of Senior Author and Project Manager along with a significant pay raise and let her run around the world writing wonderful stories.