Chapter 9: Sunday Afternoon

My father told me that one of his favorite quotes was about “Intelligence”. It went something like this. “The quality and accuracy of Intelligence can be the point that wins or loses battles. The quality of logistics is what wins or loses wars”.

I had no intelligence about the confrontation that happened in New Orleans. Later, information about that argument trickled down to me by rumor and finally a late-night discussion with Peter Gill. And it was then that I heard of the dressing down that Sir David Drummond laid on Cecile Henrard about his attempt to kidnap me (and Cindy) and take us to The Hague for an inquisition. Literally violating the rules that were laid down when the Council of American mages was created at the end of the Revolutionary War.

I also didn’t know the financial consequences of draining the two Medallions that the Warlocks wore when they came to “capture” me. It turns out that there are no fast charge locations in Europe. The closest is in the Iceland Reykjanes Peninsula. Evidently the energy of the lava is a source of energy that can be used to charge objects. But the process involves conversion by a Mage, and the time it takes is a full day per Joule. With a rest needed after every five days. And none of the Mages in Europe are able to work in concert to lower the time. The process was extremely slow and costly.

Our price was $1K per Joule up to ten Joules. It went to $1.5K per Joule if the artifact was marginal (due to age or imperfection). For large charges in large objects, that were easily charged, it was 1.5 K per Joule for greater then twenty joules. (That was because the charge heated the object up quite a bit. Unless it was Paula. Paula didn’t have any problem with her loading at all while she was at the wellspring. I didn’t know why, but I did know I wanted to figure it out. Was it her? Was it the Wellspring?)

This was considered (by me) pretty expensive. The two artifacts that Paula and I drained in their attempt to arrest and deport me had about three hundred joules in each. Their maximum charge (from when they were originally commissioned) was given as four hundred joules each. But that was in 1864. When they were created. No one had been able to bring them up to charge since.

The European’s Council was told by the Islandic Mage community that the recharge would take a year, and that it would cost $1M each. For each one. And no warranties on duration of charge. (Since the artifacts were totally drained, it was unknown if they would even accept a full recharge).

But this was something that I didn’t know. Yet.

So we were blissfully unaware of the ill feelings that our French Mages felt toward our resistance to their attempt to imprison us. Not that it would have mattered. I probably shouldn’t have asked Peter to send the shreds of their clothes to them, thought. I guess that was a little insulting.

Le Hague.

“Can you imagine the sheer arrogance of those Americans?” Cecile Henard fumed in his office. “How was it you both were stripped, your amulet’s drained, and you were held in arms by this child?”

“Sir. We had heard of his ability to hold several shields up at the same time. We didn’t realize that he could erect them so quickly. The paralysis curse is almost immediate and prohibits manual movement. This Wizard erected them while he was encompassed by the curse. He had to have done reaction entirely with his own mind.” Maurice Chandler replied.

“That is true. He reacted to us without any visible movement. His companion was frozen, which seemed to enrage him. Evidently, she was a companion of his. And the Americans have those silly noninterference rules in their bylaws which further infuriated him.” Alphonse Lautrec added.

“How did he manage to drain your amulets? Or did he simply exchange them.”

“They never left our hands. We grabbed them when our clothes fell away.” Alphonse added.

“I felt the energy surge out of mine. I have no idea that he could move so much so quickly. It was emptied in a minute” Maurice added.

“Impossible. Three hundred Joules in a minute? The earth shock alone would have been felt all the way to here.” Cecile said. “There is something there we don’t understand, and the Americans are at the bottom of it. I need you to find a way to of gaining access to this place when our Wizard is not present. See what artifacts he has built. See what the root of his power is and seize it.”

“What about our amulets?” Maurice asked.

“What about them. I cannot let you have another. This is a task for guile, not brute strength.” Cecile replied.

“Sir, going there without them is suicide.” Alphonse said.

“Now it’s all that we have to use. Unless the Icelanders agree to put our recharge on a fast track.”

Augusta, Sunday afternoon.

After our guests departed in Peter’s company, Cindy and I wandered over to the Furnishing store to see Paula. Her eyes had turned back to her normal brown, and she still had her smile. “That was fun. Can we do that again?” Paula asked.

“What was fun?” Cindy spoke up.

“Taking and moving the energy out of those objects. I put it into the Wellspring, which gobbled it up. I would really like to study the flows within the wellspring. Can I, Hank?”

“Paula, my dear friend, you can do whatever you want to do. So long as the business operations are in order, you can have any hobby you want that does not damage the building. And if I can help you or advise you in any way, just reach out.” I replied. “Also, when Peter comes back, you might want to start your education on Mage spell casting. And reach out to Pat to ask to borrow his books on Runes. It will give you a careful view of what you can do with magic.”

“I’m going to be doing a lot of studying after the Conclave. This is a whole new world to me. I never thought I would be having these opportunities.”

“The whole world is yours. And thank you for your help with those Amulets. It went much faster with your help. Where’s Jeffery? He missed all the excitement?”

“He had to go to the office today to work on a project. They want him to review some documents from a bank in Florida. Something about money laundering.”

“Good. You and Natalie should have him give you a run through of what is being done and how it’s getting caught. What we don’t want to do is leave any sign of any action that may be considered illegal. You two and Peter drove them away once before. We want to make sure that those walls are unable to be climbed, breeched, or broken.”

“We can do that. In the meantime, can you show me how to build a shield? Peter said you were the one who was best at that.”

“Yea, I want to see you teach her that too”. Cindy said.

“Ok.”

The rest of Sunday afternoon. Was spent doing a class on Shields. Multiple. And the tricks that weren’t in the books I got on them.

Shields are tricky. The usual way to enable them is one at a time. That’s what the book says. I found out that it was possible to link them. Because I didn’t know any better, and I have a tendency to run on with my ideas, it was natural for me to begin starting a second before I finished the first. In other words, I just kept injecting the beginning of one into the finish of the previous one Now, this is taxing, because it causes faster drain on the person, but there is another trick I discovered that goes with this. I took opposing energy and used it to reinforce the base of the first shield. Since it starts energy distribution from the base, that means that the energy propagates out to all of the raised ones. And whatever the offending force is (Fire, Water, Magic, intent) finds only the energy needed to counter it. The others remain intact, and recovery is complete immediately when the attack stops.

Since I always have a spare amulet of power with at least 4 or more joules, I never felt any drain by any shield, or all of them at any time. Pretty handy. Especially when being attacked by Warlocks.

Paula has a math mind. She can look at a spreadsheet and see connections faster then I can imagine. I heard her say that Jeffery is the same way. He can see the most obscure items and connect them in the most amazing ways and see the whole picture of a flow. He was going to get the idea of multiple shields as fast or faster than Paula. He has Peter teaching him Warlock Skills, which were a totally different mindset.

I figured that had taught Paula almost enough for the first day when she had seven full power shields up and running, as well as looking at a spreadsheet to check out expected delivery dates and looking at color schemes for the furniture store. Doing nine tasks at once gave me an idea of how she was getting so much done so quickly.

Cindy had a ball. Literally. Throwing items, using flames, water, noises, and all of the rest of the normal items of danger to get through the shields. And none of them worked. She even plugged in a electrical cord, put two keys in the end of it, and tried electro shock. That didn’t work either.

“Next weekend, we will work on reuse, recharging and reflection.” I said to Paula.

“What’s that?”

“Right now what we do is deflection of the energy used against us. What is ideal is to take the incoming energy, absorb it, which is reuse. Then we can use it to recharge ourselves for the energy we have used to establish the shield to begin with. And finally, reflection. What I did to Mike Newel. The shield reflected the energy back toward it’s point of origin. In Mikes case, it reflected all of the energy of his spell within the walls of the shield that surrounded him. Kind of like a superball in a glass case.”

Paula got a sick look at that image. “You mean he was hit on all sides by the energy bouncing around in the cage? What a ugly way to die.”

“Probably. But it was so highly charged that it vaporized him. And it destroyed the amulet that he was given as a Warlock. That’s why Peter’s was sent back to the Reggie. Nathan Hughes took over that place. And why I gave Peter a larger one. The old one was about twenty-five joules. The one I gave him has fifty.” I said.

“Retirement present?” Paula snickered. “He calls it that. Its’ better than a hiring bonus in his mind. The ones that the Mages from the European Council were stronger. What would happen if we reflected all that back into them?”

“Have you ever seen popcorn explode in a Microwave?” I asked. “Enough Mage talk. Class dismissed. Practice forming at least 5 shields at all times, and if you get tired, go downstairs and borrow a stone. Cindy, it’s time to pack up and get back. I’ll call mom and make sure the coast is clear.”

Since I didn’t know what was going on at home, I wanted to ask mom and dad if there was any company, or if there were any people watching the house. But I got no answer. I called Lynn and got the same thing. When I called Bernie, she answered on the third ring.

“Hank, where are you and Cindy?” she asked.”

“Augusta. Why?”

“I think you better come here, and then we can get you home.”

“Is everything ok there?”

“Sure. But you need to stop here first.”

So, Cindy and I stepped through the temporary arch and appeared at Bernie’s House. And into a shock.

MAGGIE!. My sister was here, back from college. “Maggie, it’s great to see you, why are you here?”

“Cindy, I assume. It’s nice to meet you. Hank, you need to sit down.”

“Mags, what’s going on? Why are you home?”

“Hank, there’s been an accident. I came home when I heard. Lynn and her mother are at the hospital, and I was trying to find out where you would go when you decided to come back. I’m glad you called first.”

I felt sick to my stomach. Something was terribly wrong. “What happened, Mags?”

“There was a propane gas leak at the house. Evidently the pilot light was out and the bottom floor filled up with gas from the stove. The gas filled the entire lower floor of the house until it found a point of ignition and when it did the entire first floor went up. Mom and Dad were killed. The coroner said it was probably smoke inhalation, but they won’t know until tomorrow afternoon.”

“When did this happen?”

“Last night. The fire started this morning, and evidently, they were both sound asleep. The fire department couldn’t stop the fire until early this morning. They called me at college, and I drove home. I called Libby and she called your cell phone and so did I but your calls all went to voice mail. No one answered at the Office at 1030 either.”

I had to sit down. Gone. My parents were gone. How could this happen? What happened? A gas leak? My father was far too picky about maintenance to have a gas leak. Dad was absolutely petrified of fire. He would never let a situation exist that fire could endanger any one of us. He had insisted I have the plumbing for the Gas Fireplaces at 1030 visually inspected and then re-sealed. He did the same for the house when the new stove was put in. He was a stickler for permits and building codes. He was a damn aerospace engineer, for god’s sake. He wrote books about flight system design. No. This was not possible.

“Mags. Where are they?”

“At the morgue. Hank, I had to identify them.” Maggie suddenly fell apart and into my arms. She was crying and shaking and it was all I could do to hold her. And I wanted to shake myself. And we both did.

Cindy finally got in touch with Lynn (Carrie was with her) to get a ride home to Lynns house.

When things settled, I asked Maggie if I could see the house, and then Mom and Dad.

“The house is a total loss. Even the garage burned. All the papers and stuff caught fire and it totally went to ash. The two cars were in the garage and those were lost as well. The upstairs collapsed down into the lower floor when the fire got going and there isn’t anything really there at all.”

A very ugly thought rose up in my mind. I waited. I composed myself. And then I reached out to Reggie. I wanted to get as high up as I could on the first step. I wanted some answers.

That’s when I started crying all over again.

Monday Morning

We went to the Sheriff’s office first. I figured that they would want to accompany us to the Morgue to see my mom and dad. Maggie provided cover for me by saying that she had driven to Augusta to get me first and that we had ridden back together. I told her to call Cindy to make sure that all the boxes were checked. I had witnesses for being in Augusta until the afternoon, as I kept explaining to the detective assigned to the case.

“Now, you were there from Friday evening until yesterday, is that correct? And will these people validate that?”

“Detective, I was here Friday evening, picking up Cindy from here, and we left to go to Augusta that evening. We worked there until late yesterday afternoon, and I was there all-day Saturday and Saturday evening working on our businesses. I have given you the witness names and approximate times and I think that is enough. Can I please see my mother and father now?”

“Just a couple of more questions. What was your relationship with your mother and father like?”

“Detective. I realize that you are supposed to ask leading and open-ended questions. But I prefer to answer only precise and concise questions that don’t need long explanations. If I need to get my lawyer out of bed I will.”

“Young man don’t get snappy with me. Now these questions need answers, and you will provide them. Now.”

“My Lawyers name is Natalie Bensen, JD, and here is her card. Now, can you please tell me and my sister where our parents’ bodies are? I believe that you need formal identification.”

“Young man, we’re not finished”

“Sir, I am finished with you. Please direct me to the mortuary office.”

“Wait right here.”

“NO. I’m leaving. Unless I am being forcibly restrained.”

“I’ll do better than that. Since your parents are both dead, I will get you a guardian Ad Litem.”

“My Older sister is nineteen years old. And she can act in that capacity. Once you tell us where our parents bodies are”

“And where is your sister?”

“Well she was sitting in the hallway waiting to talk with you. But if that’s not convenient, for you, I suggest you call that number on the card and make an appointment.”

“You have not heard the last of me” I heard as I walked out the door.

Walking to the Sergeant’s desk, I asked “Which way to the Morgue?”

Silence.

The county Morgue was a quiet place. The staff on duty were very polite. The rooms were like you saw in TV, with a row of small refrigerator doors. Opening the doors and sliding the tray out and uncovering my mother’s and father’s face for identification was a brief trip into myself. My sister started crying and kept crying the whole time we were there. Their faces were peaceful, almost relaxed. I doubt that they felt anything.

The coroner’s clerk had us sign some recognition forms which allowed them to issue death certificates. And we went outside to sit in the car.

“What do we do now?” Maggie asked.

“Well, first we look at the house. If there’s nothing there that we need, we find me a place to stay. I have to go by the dealership and get my jeep back if it’s ready, so I can drive around. We need to find you a place too and to find clothes for me as well.

“What about your stuff”. Maggie asked.

“What stuff?”

“Your magic books and things. Weren’t they in your room?”

“All of my things are in storage spaces. I can reach into them at any time and get them. What I can’t do is reach into my dresser and get clean underwear. Or shirts. Or pants. Or books for school.” And then I broke down. I totally lost it, sitting in Maggie’s car, in the parking lot, outside of the Morgue.

The Jeep dealership wouldn’t accept my signature on the release of my car. They didn’t have a problem with my credit card, but they couldn’t release the car to anyone under twenty-one. That meant that Maggie couldn’t sign out for it either. Oh, and there was a fifty dollar a day storage fee starting tonight, since the work was complete and they had already received payment.

The Motel 6

One of Maggie’s former fellow students worked at the Motel 6 as a night clerk. He accepted our ID’s and my credit card and booked us the motel room for the week. “Now no funny business, you two, there are two beds in the room for a reason”.

Which broke me down even further. “I guess you have to write me a note so I can get back into class tomorrow, Maggie.”

“Yea, for once I am the responsible party. Which is a real drag.”

“So, I guess I should get Natalie involved. See what has to happen next. And start to figure out what happened.”

“You don’t believe it was an accident either?”

“Dad was too anal about everything. Remember when he rewired the garage because it had aluminum wire? And his watching the gas company when they brought in the tank for the water heater and stove. Everything was black iron in the house, and flex schedule 80 copper going from the house to the tank. And he had the guy soap test it three times at every junction.”

“That’s what I thought too. Ever since the Challenger disaster, he has been a real PITA about quality control and testing. And I don’t think any possible way this could escape his “look and verify” behavior. He was a packrat, but he was a hyper organized packrat.”

“That silly license plate “Inspect what you expect. Not Expect what you inspect.” I said.

“IF it ain’t spec, find out why. If they say it’s better than spec, test it for proof” Maggie said in response.

It was funny. I remember him putting in the new water heater. And telling us that it had “Pilotless ignition. No possibility of a gas leak. And the leak detector is right here.”

How could this happen to someone that anal?

Tuesday Morning

First, I called Natalie. Who chased down Paula. Who dragged in Jeffery. Who dragged in Peter. It’s a good thing I had a conference phone in the meeting room. I relayed all of the events since Sunday night, including my initial contact with the Detective, and the refusal of the Dealership to release my car. After a few moments of stunned shock, Natalie started giving out orders.

“OK. First, do you need anything from us? Of course you do. Jeff, I think you need to get to work, because they will be expecting you. Paula, you need to keep the contractors on track. Peter, I need you to interface with the Detective and find out what his mindset is. I’ll get on the phone and contact the dealer and explain the laws regarding illegal impound of an automobile. If I have to go there in person, I will, and I’ll take a paper work surprise to them. Hank can Maggie get you to school and get a list of books you lost. That will have to be paid to the school district, I am sure.”

A moment of silence followed. Evidently Natalie was looking at everyone with her piercing blue eyes and setting them in motion.

“Hank, do you still have the bracelet that Helmut gave you last year? It will give you decent clothes for a day or two while we get you here and get you clothed over at Yana’s”

“I hadn’t thought of that. Brilliant, Natalie.” I said, with the first cheerful voice I had since Sunday.

“That’s what you pay me for. And Peter, see if you can find out what is driving that detectives’ behavior, unless he’s just a asshole.”

“Yes Boss.” I heard Peter say.

“And stop saluting me. I’m not your superior officer.” Natalie said.

“Well, you sure are mine.” I thought to myself as I hung up the phone. “She acts just like my mom did.”

And I cried some more.

School Daze

“Peter, I cannot express how I feel about your loss. I lost my parents when I was in college.”

“Thank you, Ms. Juillard. I’m still in shock I guess”.

“I’ll see about getting you new class books issued, and when you can get in touch with the insurance company, do let them know that we will be billing for replacements. I know that’s a ugly thing to have to say, but the school district is tight on funds for the business curriculum”

“I know. My lawyer expects that. Ms. Juillard, my other place is in Augusta, as far as living goes. Is there any place you know of that I can stay with while we work toward the end of the school year?”

“Well, I hesitate to mention this, but there is a possibility for you to graduate early. There are only two mandatory classes you have left on your schedule. I was looking at that last Thursday, because of Cindy’s schedule. Both of you have passed all of the requirements for the State for High School, and I have evidence of Cindy’s admission to Duke. You may have a harder time getting entry if you still take a gap year.”

“You mean I could test out of the last semester and still graduate?”

“Yes. I have to work with your teachers, but we can stagger testing you after the first of the year. You have been a honors student for the last two, so I don’t think there will be many objections.”

“It’s hard living in a hotel.” I said. And especially alone.

There wasn’t much resistance to me getting out at the end of this semester. No one had any real desire to keep the orphan kid around. I met with the girls at the lunchroom at our normal table, and everyone was expressing sympathy. Most of the students avoided our area entirely, I guess I made them all feel uncomfortable. I was on the verge of bailing out when I looked up and saw Natalie and Peter at the lunchroom door. Seeing them brought on a mass of emotions. I guess they were my mom and dad right now.

“Hank” Natalie began, “I talked to a Ms. Juillard and I explained to her that we have to follow up on arrangements. She agrees that you should leave school today and attend to arrangements regarding your parents. Our first stop is the bank to check out your parents’ safety deposit box, and then the dealership where we will recover your car. Once that is done, Peter and I are going to pay a short visit with the detective and solicit politely his notes on the investigation. And hand him a subpoena if he balks. Your house is considered a crime scene right now, which is why we want to get the police investigator’s notes.”

“How are we getting around?”

“I called Maddie and she agreed to leave us her car for the afternoon. She has been with the mortuary that your mother selected going over all arrangements. Apparently, she made
all of these arrangements a year ago.”

“How did you know so much about them?” I asked Natalie.

“Your mom had worries and came to Augusta to see me. She told me that she had planned with your father and gave me a copy of the will and final medical power of attorney when I came to work for you.”

“She knew?”

“She was afraid that you would be a bit lost and was happy that I was with you. I guess I made a good impression.”

The car was a little drama. Until the guardianship paperwork for Peter Gill and for Natalie Bensen were presented naming them executors of the estate, and Guardian Ad Litem for me until my eighteenth birthday. The service manager still copied all of Peter’s and Natalie’s drivers license information as well as copying all of the documents. As I was leaving, he handed me a Customer Service card so that I could get the Jeep serviced in the next six thousand miles. “Wouldn’t want to void the warranty” he said with a smile.

The Sheriffs’ office was fun. First the detective had to be called back to the station. He tried to explain that he wasn’t available at the moment, when the dispatcher asked him to PS the station. Whereupon the subpoena was read to him. He arrived thirty minutes later.

Peter and Natalie both went into the interview room with him, and I snuck in the monitoring room and watched through the windows. It was entertaining. And it made me very happy that Natalie and Peter weren’t MY parents. Mine were pushovers compared to these two.

What they finally got out of the Detective was the fact that my whereabouts at the time of the fire were not accounted for. Second, everyone that the detective talked to as a result of the fire marshal’s finding of “Unknown cause” had said that my dad was an anal-retentive engineer, and that he was deathly afraid of fire. And that he would never have a situation of faulty gas plumbing exist in his house.

This was reinforced by the fire investigator who said “I have no idea how this fire started. There was no leak trace anywhere.”

Hence the investigation. And since the two kids were not in the fire, where were we?

In the mind of the investigator, it was a mystery. And he didn’t like mysteries. So, if Maddie and I were accounted for as being fifty miles away overnight, then he knew that he had to look elsewhere.

“So I guess I can release it to you to look for any personal belongings that are left. I warn you, there isn’t much.”

After that, we went back to the Hotel to catch up with Maddie. She had gotten a ride from the Mortuary to the hotel and was sitting in the room waiting for us.

“The mortuary is going to pick up the bodies tomorrow. Hank, we have to make some decisions about what service and internment. Dad and mom both wanted cremation, and I guess that’s what was already decided. Oh, Hank, they never talked about any of this with me. Did they with you?”

The next couple of hours were a blur of crying, and emotional junk. Peter and Natalie both looked like they felt uncomfortable. I guess they were. I know I would be.

They left about nine pm, stepping back to Augusta. Leaving me and Maggie alone for another night.

Wednesday.

Wednesday morning, Maggie and I got up, grabbed some breakfast at the diner and drove to the house. And we were both shocked. It truly was almost nothing standing. It was if it had been leveled. The walls were caved in, not out and there was no recognizable furniture or furnishings. The garage had two burned hulks of cars, and the framework of the lawn mower, and every other item was charred wreckage. The second story had collapsed into the bottom and the only items of personal belongings I could find were some charred frames for pictures and other stuff. Peter was there, with a folder with some papers in it. He had a troubled look on his face as we walked around the perimeter of the house.