Chapter 29: It Had Been a Week

It had been a week since the meeting with the Mage Council’s. And November 11 was fast approaching. It was a very busy week, with all kinds of administrative junk that was dumped onto Natalie, production stuff dumped onto Jeffery and Paula, and a bit of diplomatic static that was dumped onto Peter. There were some of the normal nasty mails from some members of the Eastern Europeans, but those were pretty easy to discount. But it showed clearly something that had been on my mind.

We were fast approaching a need to get a formal organization chart in place. Natalie let me know that we had almost a hundred members, including rotating members of the Fae community that were coming in part time. Clan Lambert was the fastest growing organization of Fae/Mage and combined peoples in the American Mage Universe.

What was interesting was the number of fae/human people we had coming to us seeking membership. And hedge witches from across the country that were looking to join our membership for both protection from other mages and for the exchange of ideas and abilities. Reggie was beginning to ask us what we were doing that kept attracting so many of his people.

For the half fae beings, it looked like a chance to be recognized as worthwhile and a part of something. Not fully adopted by the Fae, and not able to be “out” to humanity, it was a window of opportunity to escape from the world they were in, to one that was possibly better. There were a lot of people in this state that were neither powerful enough to do complex magic (besides being chameleons) but who looked “too strange” to be part of the normal world.

Oddly enough, the European council felt these “Half Breeds” were an inconvenient byproduct of bad mage and fae behavior. The American council was not far behind, with limitations on membership or respect. Both groups felt that the stigma of being carelessly (or criminally) bred beings were something that “should have been prevented.” Either by abortion or otherwise. Some of the stories of the Old South of the 1950s seemed calm by comparison to the prejudice against the Fae/human combinations.

Additionally, Brimstone and Brynstan were both looking for Bryn’s missing three brothers and two sisters. I had encouraged them to do that for two reasons. 1. Dragonets were fierce friends and very able partners in life. 2. I had places and people who would gladly adopt them as friends. Reggie being first among them.

I also had a very soft spot for the little guys.

Some of the solutions to our organizational problems were simple. Peter was our LEO. Law Enforcement Officer. He was going to set the standards for investigation, and enforcement of what few laws we were going to have over and above the rules adhered to by the Clan. Additionally, he was also a bit of a Mentor role for new emigrants. And we had opportunity for him to shine in that role.

Jeffery was our DOD. Our department of defense. His background, mindset, and focus had always on investigative matters, and when it was tuned to defense, he came up with ideas that surprised all of us. His mantra was “Not on My Watch”. He was good.

Paula was heading up the production wing of our group. Production meant not only Charged artifacts, it also meant artifact repair and cleaning (many desperately needed that). Paula also was managing the expansion of the library and archive. While those areas were not a large commercial success (like power), I felt that they would be an enormous influence and commercial impact when the new school got online that Reggie planned.

Natalie was our second in Command. She saw everything and acted as the switch point to send different things to the key people and nag me to pay attention to the things that were important. She signed documents, and agreements with the different entities we had to deal with, such as SunTrust, Banco de Brazil, Mage Shipping, and others. Virtually everything that dwelt with our business ran across her desk.

Natalie had completed the acquisition of the abandoned quarry behind us in record time. (Something about cash payment on back taxes at full price made things attractive to the Richmond County Government, and the promise of EPA certified cleanup made it even nicer.) I had an agreement with Michael Fitzhugh to do a major refill and recontour of the abandoned quarry to turn it into a sanctuary for animals (and Fae.) That was our Post Thanksgiving winter project. As soon as deer season was over and then we would post the property as “No Hunting, Wildlife Sanctuary”.

And in everyone’s eye, I was the CEO of Clan Lambert. I was the A&R. Accountable and Responsible. I signed hundreds of documents that everyone prepared for me daily. At eighteen, I found I was in the leadership of a multi-million-dollar enterprise. And it was a lot of work, and I felt the responsibility to find ways to preserve this political beast I had created.

A trip to remember

November Eleventh. Veterans Day. Washington DC. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial. I didn’t have any names on “The Wall”. But my father did. He came here almost every year since the monument was erected, and placed flowers at different places. He ran out of mementos to the period of his active duty, so he had to do flowers. Names of men he never talked about. He never told me how he knew them. But they were people he knew. And he never forgot.

“Never forget the people you give orders to. Some of them will die. And it’s on your head that they went to do the job you gave them. You will own that responsibility for the rest of your life. You did what you had to do. You told them what was needed doing, and they did it. And they paid the price for what you told them to go and do. Never forget them. Never forget the reason you ordered them to do what you told them to do.”

He had said that to me a dozen times growing up. I guess that’s what leadership was to him.

When I said I was going there this time, Jeffery asked me to please let him come with me. I wasn’t all that good at stepping to unknown places, so it worked for me. After we placed the flowers and looked at the names my father had told me about, Jeffery asked that we sit down for a moment before going home.

“Hank, I did something that was bad, but I did it for good reasons.”

“Jeffery, I have no doubt you had good reason. What was it?”

“You remember a year ago, when me and Jerry and Charlie Baxter came to 1030 and conducted our investigation?”

“Yes. And you were right to conduct it given the orders you had. No harm and no foul.”

“Yes. And we came away from that meeting with total conviction that there was nothing there to dig into. But DC didn’t want to let it lie at the time.” Jeffery said.

“I remember. And you know what happened after that. I still feel bad about that. I wonder what I could have done to avoid it.”

“Nothing you could have done would have stopped the powers that be in DC. You did manage to destroy one bureaucrat who was hell bent on discovery. Do you remember the name George Stephenson?”

My mind searched for a moment, and then had a memory. “You and Jerry talked about him with Natalie and Paula one evening. I remember listening to the conversation. You seemed to have a real worry about him. Jerry did too. It was when you were talking about the ninety-nine percent rule. Yea, I remember that conversation. What’s this about?”

“I figured you would. When we started our document search for our library, we intercepted a letter he sent to the director of the FBI along with a lot of documentation. Things he also had collected from NSA, and the DOD group focused on non-traditional warfare. He was pushing for opening an investigation into the surround of Pat Hamilton and you. He drew out an impressive set of circumstantial evidence to support this investigation. Our spells were able to capture the initial mailings from him to the director and all of the previous communications he had with DOD, NAS and some corporate big wig in England. We got almost all the originals. And his last letter was captured pre-delivery.”

“OK. What do you think we should do about it?” I asked.

Jeffery looked almost ashen in the face. It reminded me of the look on the face of a Gnome named Carl. At least that was the name I could pronounce. One of someone who has done something but had not yet told me what it was.

“Ok. Jeffery. I guess that a better question is “What have you done about it.?”

And I heard my father’s voice was in my ear again. “Listen to him. When he is finished, calmly ask for repeat or clarification of anything that you don’t understand. Calmly repeat back to them what you heard. This is not the time to be emotional. Let that wait. Let them make clarifications. Question the possibility of evidence, both for and against. Think about it. Ask what they think. Then Render Judgement. People who do stupid things for the best reasons need guidance to prevent them from doing stupid again. But if they work for you, you own it. Not them”.

And the story about that Sunday evening rolled out. And I realized that there were going to have to be three, not just two, classifications of information. And I was A&R. And I had the responsibility to settle down this man who was my friend, my ex-slave’s husband, and who was my rock of defense.

“Ok. When I decided to build Clan Lambert, I realized that there would be actions that I didn’t do that I would have A&R for. And now is one of those. You have heard the phrase “A clear and present danger”. You saw it in these intercepts. You saw a danger to Clan Lambert. And you took steps to eliminate that clear and present danger. My complaint to you about this is that you didn’t come to me first. Regardless of the reason you had, you didn’t come to me first. It’s on me that I didn’t establish that rule early enough and clearly enough to help you avoid having made the mistake of not informing me first. Do you agree, based on your signature on that Charter document, that I am responsible and accountable for the actions you undertook?

He sat for a few moments digesting this. Eventually, Jeffery answered “Yes Lord Hank.”

“Ok. Now here is what we are going to do. Step one. You and Paula and Natalie will collect any and all of the pieces of information that you had gathered regarding George Stephenson’s actions, activities, and relationships. Put it all in one single place and identify it as “Threat to Clan Lambert, George Stephenson”. This collection is to include all EXTERNAL information only. I want a record of this person’s public behavior, and his private behavior and his advice to others in the government regarding all magic, including Clan Lambert. And we put this all-in-one place. This file does not include any actions we took against him. And we label it as Clan Lamber information only.”

“Ok. Can I ask why?” Jeffery said.

“Two reasons. First, to show the people that will follow on to you and to me the things that we see that can constitute threats. We are growing. We are expanding beyond the borders of Georgia. We are having impact on whole groups of peoples. When we train someone, we need to provide examples of what we look for. You are too talented to be limited to just the assignments you currently have. And so, we need a training book to leave behind.”

“The second reason is that this is the combination of External sourced communications or actions. None of this set of files will include our response to these threats. External sourced information can be circulated to a wider audience within Clan lambert.”

“And we create a second file on actions?” Jeffery asked.

“Those files of the discussions of actions get captured, identified, provided with copies of the supporting documents that are already identified, and after a review by ME, all copies of these actions’ documents are destroyed. So, what you have given to me today is to be documented and circulated among Natalie, Peter, Paula, with a copy to yourself and me as the executive action committee. We will meet and talk about this tomorrow afternoon and point out a process for how to take these actions in the future.”

“Yes sir. I’m sorry that I acted premature.”

Damn slave mindset was leaking from Paula to Jeffery. Needed to fix this now. “Jeffery, what you did was an executive action. That means I am A&R for the actions taken. I accept that at this time and going forward. In the future I think I should be involved in the decision stages from the beginning. We don’t have “Plausible Denial” in Clan Lambert.”

It was a sobering realization that I had just jumped from my age and mindset to my father’s mindset. This was the BS he had to deal with and why he left the government when he did.

“There is no reason to ever deny the chief executive of any organization the total picture of information, possible actions, and alternatives and consequences of any activity. The administration captures information, makes it clear and easy to understand, and provides it for decisions on actions to the executive group. When actions are decided, it goes down the path to the operators and enablers to perform the actions required.”

I had heard that same spiel a thousand times about the role of government. I had appointed myself Chief Executive of Clan Lambert. And thus, I was accountable.

Our First Executive Session.

“Ok, Hank. We are all gathered here. I guess something happened when you were in DC, and you want to talk about it.” Natalie said.

“We’re a pretty motley crew here, aren’t we?” I asked. “The reason I wanted to get us all together is to talk about something that’s important and which I left uncovered so far.”

“Ok, Hank. What’s got you stirred up?” Paula asked.

“Good thing you asked. Because you are a little closer to this then the rest of us. Natalie, I ask that we conduct an executive session now, and that we shield these conversations from anyone else.”

“Just a second, Hank. I just got this new cell phone, and I don’t want it blowing up.” Peter said.

“Good idea. No electronics here.”

“Hank, do we want a record of this?” Natalie asked, reaching for her notepad.

“I don’t think so. Whatever is said in this session should be known only by the five of us.”

After a few moments of moving stuff to the offices we had a clean conference room.

“Jeffry, please repeat for everyone what you told me when we were in Washington DC.”

Jeffery then related to us the entire story about George Stephenson, his mail, his conversations, his files and his intent to push for formal clandestine investigations. Paula was embarrassed when her actions of doing the intercept scripts which captured almost all the documents that lead up to the rather damming evidence and the outline of the intent that George had with respect to Pat, me and the entire Fae/Wizard community.

Peter was shocked. Not because that it existed, but because he was not in the know from the beginning. Natalie got a very angry look on her face, but she was totally calm in her reaction to the information about George’s actions.

When Jeffery’s actions regarding the invasion, murder, and removal of all intimidating documents were revealed, there was some minor shock. The look on Paula’s face told me that she had no idea that he had gone as far as he had. After a short pause, everyone looked at me.

“I fully approve Jeffery’s actions in this case. My only complaint is that we did not fully discuss the need for this action in advance and jointly decide on this action ahead of time. I am A&R for Clan Lambert, and my concern is that this action, the facts that caused it, and the execution were not circulated among us beforehand. For things such as this, there is no “plausible denial”. I own the decisions to act.”

“Hank, in a trial for conspiracy, that means you are just as involved as the defendant that took the action. Remember Nixon.” Natalie said.

“And your point is?” I asked.

“Just that sometimes there is a need to protect someone using deniability”. Natalie said.

“Not among the five of us. No plausible deniability defense among us. I have usually been very careful to make sure that my actions were those which you would all support. I admit that there have been many times I was tempted, but only in two cases have I gone off the rails. The burglary was my action but only because none of you would have approved in advance. I admit that I went off halfcocked on that, and all of you chewed on me like a bone when I got back. And you were right. I was in a leadership role and didn’t provide good leadership. It worked out but only because I was very lucky. I was guilty of irresponsibility with that action. But I realize that I cannot repeat that sort of stupid. It costs our reputation among the community, and among ourselves.”

“Ok. So, we all agree to talk about felony violations of the law before we do them.” Peter said with a smile.

“Yes. And only in executive session among all executive partners, and in advance where possible. Any premeditated actions get talked about among us here, first.” I said.

Peter’s face fell. After a moment he said in a very shocked voice “You’re serious. You are utterly serious.”

“Yes. These actions reflect on Clan lambert. If we are going to establish a reputation, then it’s Our reputation. Not just mine.” I said. Everyone was quiet for a few moments after I said that.

I started again. “Now, we are engaged in some activities that have gotten the Mage and Wizard world a bit upset. Our library collection of runes, spells, and hexes of course. And our archive of people and histories have gotten more than a few pieces of hate mail as well. Not to mention the creation of the Crystal palace for those beings trapped by a power mad half mage, half fae, who was partnered with one of the evilest arch Mages ever to inhabit Europe. All of this has stirred up resentment and resistance of one sort or another.”

I looked around and saw everyone nodding heads and agreeing. “What we have not really focused on before is a list of threats to us. And by threats, I mean active and passive from any elements with power. Stephenson is a case in point, but I am sure that he is by no means alone. I think we need a formal threat assessment team to do information capture and evaluation and circulation. We need to formalize that and circulate it. And I mean more than just notes on my desk.”

Peter’s smile returned. “Feeling guilty?”

“Yes. I have been very lax and not mature in this position and that behavior is part and parcel of why an action had to be taken by someone who had the courage to do what I should have decided or done myself. And that stops now.” I said.

“No more excuses?” Natalie said with a smirk.

“No more excuses. We are all going to hold each other accountable. And I need to step up.” I said.

“I want to interject something here.” Peter said. “The collection of knowledge and keeping files of it are not by themselves incriminating. If they were, newspapers and lawyers’ offices would become breeding grounds for lawsuits. Decisions are actionable. Actions are prosecutable.”

“Right. And thus, we don’t keep records of decisions where actions taken to defend Clan Lambert could be considered illegal.”

“Hank, we are sounding like the Mob.” Peter said.

“Then we’re in good company. A successful enterprise that’s well defended. And we don’t do normal crime. What we do is agree on actions as a group before we initiate it, having discussed the reason for those actions beforehand.” I said.

“Even if it leads us to contemplate a criminal action?” Peter asked.

“I don’t think that what Jeffery had to do was any normal criminal action. I think he took an action that was appropriate to the threat, and the intent, of the individual. This threat was not any more or less then Nagy’s attempts. Only George’s could have been more successful by using the conventional resources that he was trying to incite against us. We were lucky we got that threat blocked with the little cost to us that it was.” I said.

“Hank, who do you want to head up the Threat Research group?” Natalie said.

“And how do you want the separation of intelligence from operations to work?” Paula said.

“We will settle that out at the next meeting. Jeffery and Paula, you work with our internal membership more then anyone else. Determine who would be best at capture, analysis and presentation of information on threats. Put together a roster of people for this by the end of next week. I propose we have a weekly meeting on this subject until we are satisfied that we have this properly established. Natalie, please do the appropriate nags and also put the Goals Only as a reminder to all of us about what this is about. Mainly for me and my flea hopping mind.”

“Yes boss.” Natalie said.

“Now, I am going to catch up with some people at the Power store so you folks can complain about me.” Hank said. “Talk with you all later.”

Post Meeting with the Adults

“What I want to know is where the hell did the 50-year-old brain come from that they planted in inside of this eighteen-year-old body?” Paula said. “And Jeffery, if our kids start out this mature, we are in for a nightmare.”

“Pat said that Hank was a handful of surprises. When the council mob sent me here to be the spy in his organization, his reactions to this were a surprise. To everyone.” Natalie said.

“YOU were supposed to be a spy?” Jeffery said.

“Yea, what’s that about.?” Peter said.

“Peter, we all know you were supposed to keep tracks on Hank for Reggie. I was the first attempt. That famously failed. Didn’t Hank ever tell you?” Natalie asked.

“What’s that rule number four? “Thou shalt not gossip about each other?”” Peter said. “Hank would not say anything about anyone. What exactly happened?”

“I had a Geas and several channels placed on me in addition to the one that Abigail had on me when I was sent here by Reggie and Pat and Sir David. I was supposed to listen to Hank and send back information on everything I heard him say. And Hank evidently detected it and called in a favor to Itsuki Leyasu to screen me. And then find and destroy all the geas and spells. That was what he did during the first dinner date. You all didn’t know?” Natalie asked.

“I remember that. I was glad I didn’t get the mental enema.” Paula said. “I got the same sort of treatment over time when we moved into here. But it started in the other building. If there is one thing Hank is, it’s relentless about removal of slavery bindings.”

“Natalie, I knew nothing about that.” Peter said. “At least I never heard anything like that from Hank. And Reggie said that they tried once and failed spectacularly. So, you are Reggie’s failure?” Peter said kiddingly.

“And a beautiful one she is.” Jeffery said. And got smacked on the shoulder by his wife for saying that.

“I’m sorry Honey. That was an instinctive reaction. Kind of what happens when what you feel that something that is yours is threatened.” Paula said with a smile.

“Which is what George Stephenson felt about us.” Jeffery said. “You guys all realize that Hank has just coached us into an action plan. Again. So, who heads up the Threat Assessment team?”

“Isn’t that a Justice and prosecution activity?” Natalie said sweetly.

“Yes, part of training and education.” Paula said in agreement.

“Now wait a minute. How is that not under archive research? Isn’t that a library function.” Peter asked.

“Actually, I think we need to add someone to the mix that has a view of history. A broader one then any of us.” Paula said. “Someone who has suffered loss as well and who will be as diligent and sensitive to the threats to us as Hank is. Because she was as threatened as Hank.”

“Helen Albris.” Natalie said. “Lynn’s mother has a MA in European history.” Natalie said. “And she was as happy as a clam to see Nagy getting vacuumed and wants to smash the crystal that Hank keeps in his safe. And none of us blames her a bit.”

“She’s a Norm. No magical power, not even as a battery.” Jeffery said.

“And you don’t go charging her big boy” Paula said, looking at Jeffery.

“I don’t think that’s what Jeffery means. I think he is concerned that she has a shorter lifespan, and probably won’t be able to continue that job for long term. And we are taking unfair advantage of her by asking her to do this.” Natalie said.

“So, we look at how we make her live longer and stay sharp and do the work of research and teaching help that we need for historical research of this type. Threat Analysis is an esoteric job description. And Hank feels it’s important enough to staff correctly. And I think she should be reporting to you, Natalie. All of the analysis she has and all information that she finds for initial evaluation.” Peter said.

“SHIT. Another thing on my Plate.” Natalie said with a frown.

“Think about it. Threats come from Religious, Political, Royal, Military, Legal, Monitory, and Natural sources of power. Hank has said that often enough. I don’t know what his dad’s job was in government, but the kid sure got a great indoctrination in government 101. And he reacted to me dumping this turd on his plate like he was fifty. I do stupid and he says “Ok, let’s look at this and see what the mistake was and avoid it in the future.” This kid scares me.” Jeffery said.

“And we get to build a business process flow to deal with it.” Paula said. “Damn it.”

“I don’t know whether to kiss or kick Pat and company for this. We never expect to see this sort of mature thinking from a eighteen year old kid. I think we all were a bit remiss by having Hank come to us to form this. I know I am.” Peter said with a smile.

I know that this went on for some time, because Lech relayed every word of this to me after I left. “I want you to be aware.” Was his silent hint. And so, I was aware. I was aware of just how good the people around me were. I heard dad’s voice again. “Give good people the right job, get out of their way, let them do it, and give guidance when asked.”

I often asked myself “Dad, Am I doing this right?” No answer. I guess I will find out.

A Proposal to a Norm

It was not until after the weekend that Natalie and Helen had some time to talk. The invite was sent quickly, but Natalie was buried under work until late Sunday. So, it was another midweek morning before Natalie was able to get Helen into the office.

“Good morning, Helen. Thank you for coming so quickly. I hope you and I can talk for a few minutes.” Natalie said.

“Sure. There isn’t much in the way of document analysis that the archivists are working on. I have to tell you, that there is an amazing amount of information here in this new Library you are building. And some of the insights were shocking. Popes with concubines and many of them male. And this is the “Holy Church”? No wonder Martin Luthor nailed his proclamations on the door of the cathedral. The only unifying theme was that “Suffer Not a witch to live”.”

“So, you like what you are doing. And you are reconciled about what we have here in our group?” Natalie asked.

“I’m not totally enamored of Hank like everyone else here is. I mean, he’s still a kid. He’s younger than my daughter. But he doesn’t seem to be a cult leader. More like the kids in California in the Silicon Valley. Full of the youthful mindset and without the ego.”

“Do you like living here, Helen?”

“I admit that it’s a lot more comfortable. And that cook of yours is amazing. Why, are you finally going to present me with a bill?”

“More like an exchange of services for you.”

“Ok. What do you have in mind?”

“A little history. You know some of the story about the attacks against Hank from the Europeans. You have suffered more than anyone except possibly Hank. People seem to want to tear him down because he’s a threat to their status quo. And there has been a lot of interest from others in our abilities who are looking to use us as tools of their own desire.”

“I can see that. I am amazed at the sort of things Hank and the rest of you do without any effort. It’s an experience.”

“We were struck with the recognition of another threat that was brewing in the background that one of us has worked to take some action on. As usual, Hank heard of it and feels we have left ourselves open to this and similar threats. So, I have been tasked to do something about it.” Natalie said.

“Government interference again?” Helen asked.

“Actually, yes. But we are not worried about just the Government. Threats can come from a variety of sources. Government is one. But we worry about Religious, Political, Royal, Legal, Military and Monetary attacks. And rogue Military as well. Hank wants a threat assessment team. I want to know if you would like to head that up. Be the person looking for clues in the documents we have coming in and look for communications that could indicate threats to us.”

“You are talking about snooping on a large scale.” Helen said.

“Yes. We want to do the job of protecting ourselves that no one else wants to do.”

“What are we going to do with this information?”