Chapter 6

An antagonistic Monday.

It was another Monday. And for the third time in a row, Wiliam Webster was waiting for his ten o’clock appointment. The check had been cashed, and William Webster had done a lot of research to gain background on what had happened with respect to Hank Lambert, LLC and Clan Lambert. Some of it was amusing. Some was shocking. Some was downright depressing. And all of it made him a little angry. But he knew he wanted to get more information before he made any decisions. And with Karen’s and her friend’s sudden appearance, he took charge of the interview with some measure of command.

“Karen, can I talk with your friend for a minute?” William asked.

“It’s OK, Marigold. You can talk with this man. He won’t hurt you. I’ll make sure.”

The small elfin girl walked around and sat in the chair in front of Webster’s desk. He came from behind it and sat in the chair that was next to it. Karen sat back and smiled and watched.

“So, your name is Marigold?” William asked.

“No. My name is ()(&)+(+(&), but your ears can’t hear all of it and your voices can’t say it. So, we use names you can pronounce.”

It was at this time that William noticed several things about the young creature. First, after a closer inspection, she was not human. Human form of a thin eight- to ten-year-old girl. Blonde with black eyes. Eyes that were egg shaped on their sides and three times larger than humans. Eyes that were totally black and with amazing depths. Her ears were far larger then humans. Pointed at the tips, and with ear lobes that extended down her neck as well. Her fingers were very slim, and had fingernails that retracted, like a cat’s. A very cute mouth. His impression was that this was a child, sort of. “How old are you, Marigold?”

“One hundred and three. I was from Austria, but I was captured by Elves. The Elf prince gave me to Hank Lambert four years ago.”

“He gave you? Like a pet or slave?”

“I was a slave. Hank released me from slavery and said I was free. I could do whatever I wanted.”

“So, what do you do?”

“I listen. I look and see. I act as a guide. Sometimes I make deliveries of artifacts to Hedge Witches and Mages. And I make sure that there is no danger for any of the Lambert Clan’s people. I clean up and garden in the park at Georgia and in New Mexico. I do lots of chores.”

“And how are you paid?” William asked.

“I have free food, and shelter and warmth and a quarter ounce of gold for me every month.”

“What about health care? Or other things.?”

“I to go to the clinic in Brazil if I am sick or hurt or injured. Like everyone else in Clan Lambert. The doctors there attend to us immediately. We never wait at the clinic. It’s part of the treaty with the Elves. Clan Lambert people do not wait.”

“Marigold, do you have a family?”

“Yes, there are over twenty of us, and there were thirty just added. It’s kind of crowded right now but Lord Hank says we are going to have more ranch property soon. Also, more woods and streams. He buys property a lot, and we tend it.”

“Thank you, Marigold. If I want to ask you some other questions, can I?”

“Sure. Just say my name and say, “Come here”. I’m always in hearing. But I’m not supposed to show myself in front of others. So, you can’t have anyone else here when I come.”

“I’ll remember that. Thank you, Marigold.”

“Ok. Goodbye.” And the small child form of a Sprite disappeared. One second sitting in the chair, and the next, gone.

“I’ll never get used to that.”

“I didn’t think I would either. But after a while you accept it. So, you want to talk about what you have read?” Karen asked.

“Yes. I dug into all of the Stephenson documents, and I have some questions. How exactly did you deal with the facts surrounding with his “redaction?”

“Now we get to the nitty gritty.” Karen thought.

”William, do you mind if I sit down? This could be a long discussion.”

The discussion had been going on for a while, when the surprise question was finally popped. Karen had been expecting it from the beginning, and she was ready for the “Summary” that William had in mind.

“Ok, Karen. What happened to the other four?” William Webster asked.

“Well, two of them are ranchers, one runs a logging company, and the other does artisan crafts and pottery that we sell through our shops here in the United States. All of them knew what they were doing was illegal in the United States, all of them agreed to take on the new identities that we provided them with. Two are married and have children of their own. Pick a day and study your Portuguese, and some German and we will take you to them and you can ask them yourself. English is almost a foreign language to them by now. All of them fit the profile of abused persons when we interviewed them and none of them want to come back. And none of them have any families left here in the United States. As for the other two that suffered cracked skulls, we have images of the entire engagement here for you to look at if you like. I’m sorry but I can’t leave it with you, as it is a magic based object, and you can’t use it without my help anyway.”

“You know that this is a political bomb, right?” William asked “If they wanted, they could go to the press and MY AGENCY, that I worked my ass off to rebuild would be shown as being inept and in violation of the fourth, fifth and the entire span of the rights of citizens to be secure in their homes. For no Judicial reason whatsoever. This is a political bomb.”

Karen quietly replied to this. “Please, understand two things, William. First, Hank was the person attacked. Which is what you already know. There’s no excuse for Stephenson’s blatant abuse of domestic power. Second, the two fatalities happened after twenty-seven shots were fired and hit the domestic Fae handyman that was working there. And he was unhappy that he killed the two men in his rush to get to Hank to protect him. We still have the fired casings, and the weapons used. Stephenson was a blight on your organization, and you knew it, which is why your successor fired him.”

“But still, you covered it up.”

“We made restitution, took care of the families, moved the men to new and successful jobs and erased their history in the United States. And they love where they are, and their economic status and you can go there and visit.”

“Christ, I thought the CIA was bad. I was running the FBI for ten years. I thought I had cleaned out the trash. What about the murder cases with Hanks parents and girlfriends?” Webster asked.

“Collateral damage inflicted by European Mages trying to kidnap or kill Hank. And they became the reason that Clan Lambert was formed as an independent organization in the American Council. You have read the Rules and Ethics. It’s a living document to us.”

“What happened to the people that attacked Hank in the building?” William asked.

“One of them was apprehended and redacted to Brazil. Where there were outstanding warrants from the fifteenth century waiting for him. The other led a frontal attack on Clan Lambert property and was apprehended, cleansed, and redacted to Moscow, where the European Mages took custody of him.”

“You mean that there is an actual governing body for Magicians?”

“We call them Mages. Except the really talented ones who are called Wizards. Hank is the highest-level power Wizard on earth. And everyone in the community is wondering how that happened.”

“You mean there is a hierarchy of these people?”

“You have Hedge Witches at the lowest level. These are people who are seen as gifted artists, gifted horticulturalists, gifted musicians. The whole gamut of people who would be kept as pets by the various religious and political leaders going back in history over six thousand years. The next step up is Mages. These are the guys that employ power to do things that are out of scope to the artist community. Real users of Magic. The “Merlins” of royal society. Living within their own captured and charged power. It’s hard to explain about POWER. The key thing is that Mages learn existing spells. They learn and act with existing structures. At the top of the graph, you have Wizards. The guys that are totally out of the box and write new Spells. They combine spells to do totally different things. For one reason or another, they have an affinity to spell writing, and the ability to force spells to link up. There is only a dozen or so of these. Hank is one of those.”

“At twenty-three?” William asked.

“No. At seventeen, he combined shields to reflect offensive magic into a container that happened to hold the person launching the attack. This was pretty much a brand-new implementation of magic. Never done before. And very few people can do it now. Peter described it as having an offender point a gun at his own head when intending to point it at yours and empty the magazine. The evil you wish to inflict strikes yourself.”

“Okay. So, Karen, what drugs does your little cartel deal with?”

“Nothing that is regulated. Unless you call Ley Line power a drug. That we capture, contain and ship worldwide. But it’s useless to anyone who is not a Hedge Witch, Mage or Wizard. Now we also manufacture artifacts that can contain that power, jewels specifically, and ship those around the world. But unless the individual person is attuned to this object, it’s a null. An artifact of beauty but no activity.”

“What else? White slavery? Opiates? Cocaine? What kind of goods are you smuggling?”

“Nothing. We import and distribute pottery, clothes, furniture and furnishings. We make and sell very expensive jewelry. All with legal bills of import and sale. And all of the taxes paid. That necklace you wife got on loan from Tiffany’s last year to wear for the Gala at New Years was one of ours.”

“Robert Gates got us that Necklace. We rented it from Tiffany’s”

“We made it and sold it to Tiffany’s. It’s one of our most popular base items.”

“We were assured it was not a conflict diamond product.”

“It’s not. We made the stones in Brazil, had the Diamond Exchange certify it and then assembled the necklace and sold it to Tiffany’s. We do a lot of business with them here and in Europe.”

“This is as bad as the Mafia.”

“No. Not at all. These are people doing honest business within the constraints of government and using their talents to gain economic income. Period. No pressure on others and no criminal intent. Everyone in Clan Lambert follows article four of our charter to the letter. Every side of any bargain must benefit. If anything, we are killing the Africans and the Armenians economically by providing legitimate diamonds and other stones.”

“I find that a little hard to believe.” William said.

“Pull up the records from the IRS, Customs and Immigration, and your own files at Justice. Prove it to yourself.” Karen replied.

“I did. There was a lot of numbers and letters. And three summary documents that said, “Everything here is fully supported.” Which means that you either bribed sixteen accountant members of the examination teams, or you are squeaky clean.”

“You know Natalie Bensen/McAlister’s reputation. She tracks every dollar and event that is associated with Clan Lambert. Can you imagine illegal activity from her?” Karen asked.

“I can’t imagine a company that grew to over a billion dollars in reserved funds in seven countries that isn’t involved in some manner of illegal activity.”

“It’s all clean mineral wealth. Or Lay Line energy. If you want, I ‘ll ask Hank and you can come to Augusta. It’s not Golf Season, but we can manage to entertain you and your wife. We really want you as our advisor in dealing with the Government and in keeping the lid on attempts to attack us.”

“What kind of attack are you afraid of?” William Webster asked.

“Mr. Webster, power comes generally in seven types. Religious, Royal, Political, Legal, Military, Monitory and Natural. It’s the use of some combination of these types of power that are the threat. I believe that we can manage to cope with Natural. The rest? We need help to detect and counter aggression on those others. We need an advocate and someone who knows that we are not bad guys. How can we convince you of that?”

“You’ve made a hell of a start. Don’t worry about the two Microphones. As you lawyer, I won’t be needing anything like that again.” William Webster said. I guess I just got a new client. “How do I get in touch with you if I need anything while I am digging into the rest of this stuff?”

“You can call for me at this number in Augusta, or for simple records stuff, you can ask Marigold. Just don’t surprise her with anyone in your office. She’s kind of shy and does not react well to being trapped with people

With that, Karen smiled. And then stepped into the wall.

“That’s so damn disconcerting.” William thought to himself. “Marigold. Cute name.”

Verification Exercises

“Well, do we need to bring the guys up from Brazil? And should we get a suite reserved here for a guest?” Hank asked.

“I don’t know. At least he said the magic words. “As your Lawyer”. Boss, I got to hand it to you, you Ju Jusu’d the entire administrative legal system. And put a very powerful and friendly spy on the government. What’s our next step?”

“To further your historical and magical education in terms of spells and managing power. And get you better acquainted with filling objects. That’s critical for us. Paula says she’s just a big gas station, but we need her in so many other things plus the kids, it’ not fair to hang all that on just two or three people.”

“Webster was shocked that the necklace he borrowed for the Gala for his wife was one we manufactured.” Karen said.

“He will be even more shocked when he gets the price tag for the rental marked “Complimentary””. Hank said with a smile.

“Boss, with his ethics, that borders on bribery.”

“Nope. Tiffanies wanted to showcase the new line. Her neck was perfect.” Hank said.

“And you had nothing to do with this?” Karen asked.

“I didn’t say that.” Hank said with a smile.

Karen suddenly got a lot more impressed with Hank. Six years, and he had done all this. No wonder people were wondering. A fifty-year-old brain in an adolescent body. I think Cindy is going to be my new best friend. Forever.

’Cindy, I have a question. Paula hinted that our lifespans are affected. How is that?”

“Karen, that’s a whole other chapter in the story. And it’s probably one of the things you don’t want to talk with our attorney about just yet.”

“Shit. The hits just keep on coming.” Karen thought to herself. And everyone else who was listening.

Sunny Monday afternoon

Hank dropped Karen off with Helen, because he had some work to do. “Filling stones in Albuquerque pays the bills. Well, it pays some of them” Hank said as he left.

“Well, I guess that your meeting went pretty well.” Helen said. “So far, we have detected Webster having read all of the Stephenson files and then going back to the source files from FBI, CIA, and NSA. He’s taking notes too. I think you will have your work cut out for you next Monday, Karen. So, what do you want to do this week? I know that there have been a lot of changes in just a couple of weeks for you. But you seem to be adapting to this all very quickly.”

“Helen, between your cram courses of the history, Paula and Jeffery’s cram courses of Magic, Hanks occasional tutoring, and Natalie and her pet’s lectures on the legal things that Clan Lambert is doing, I feel like I am juggling three different majors at the Masters level. Business Law, Project management and animal husbandry. I’m fine.” Karen said. “I’m just wondering if I get to be involved in any of the bigger things.”

“Well, I think that you would be a good assist in our team doing Threat Analysis. Particularly pertaining to Political and Legal threats. I do Religious and Royal and there are a lot more of those around then you believe, particularly in the Middle East. Monetary is part of business competition and Paula is minding most of that. Military is Jeffery and Riska’s ballpark. And they are pretty good at it. We are not worried about our Defense infrastructure, and even less with seven more dragons and fourteen new Dragonets.”

“We have a threat analysis team?” Karen asked.

“Yes. That’s probably the least publicized group in Clan Lambert. We track threats. Identify, Qualify and Quantify as Jeffery says. We track them from birth to death and look at impacts in the surround. Hank explains it better than I do, but realistically, what we do is track threats and report their possible strengths and weaknesses and what their impact could be on Clan Lambert.

“And then?”

“And then I report it to the Clan Executive committee. That’s Hank, Paula, Jeffery, Peter and Natalie. They evaluate the threats and establish what the counter measures will be.”

“We have planned countermeasures?”

“Yes, I know it sounds real hush hush, but realistically we have three layers of engagement here. At the Top is the admin layer. Threat identification and counter measure planning. Below that we have the Enablers, who do the support of the actions in the field. Below that are the guys in the dirty suits. Operators. They perform the actions that counter the threats.” Helen said.

“That sounds like a military organization.” Karen said.

“That is our military organization. Threat analysis identifies and quantifies the issues. And recommends the strengths and weaknesses of the threat. We pass that analysis to the Clan executive committee. That’s Hank, Natalie, Paula, Jeffery and Peter. They determine the validity of our analysis and countermeasures to be employed and pass that down to the Enablers and Operators.”

“Is that how George Stephenson so conveniently died?” Karen asked.

“Don’t know. The only thing in any of the files we have are his actions, what the threats were, when he posed them and the date of his demise and the collection of his publications, internally and externally. There is no mention anywhere of any counter measures considered or employed. In any event, it would have been a joint decision of the Executive committee. Not just a one-person decision.” Helen replied.

“I don’t know if that’s good or bad. And we probably don’t’ want to mention that to Webster.”

“Karen. Those actions are never mentioned internally or externally. I was told that it was like the British Intelligence service. And I know that services’ history.” Helen said with a smile.

“So, when would I start?” Karen asked.

“I’ll nominate you at the next Executive meeting. That’s this Sunday. I’ll have Natalie put it on the agenda. So, what do you want to do this afternoon?”

“I guess this afternoon I just want to wander over to Albuquerque. The sunshine is great, and so long as I don’t trip over a Gargoyle or Dragonet, I’m not hurting anybody. Those guys are kind of cute. In a big green lizard sort of way. Maybe I can get Paula to teach me how to do a Power Feed Hose.”

“That’s probably a good idea. Those little guys could use some imprinting on friendly humans. I worry that the stress and abuse in their past may have caused a bad imprint of humans on them. That would make them antisocial. We got really lucky with the first batch that Arno sent to us. I never really got the full story about why he sent them to us, just the nice wrapping paper. There were some concerns about security here, and Arno just happened to find a set of cages with some starving Gargoyles. He sent them with Pae’le and Par’ma in charge and we got instant protection. Everyone thinks they are statuary. Until one of them blinks their eye. Kids love them.”

“When did the Dragonets come?” Karen asked.

“Second batch. Two additional Gargoyles and the two Dragonets. I heard that they were abused almost as much as the ones we got out of Alaska last week. You wouldn’t know it now.” Helen said with a laugh.

“Hank laughs at Brimstone tagging around with him. But it’s like he’s joined at the hip.”

“Brimstone took a pledge to all of us to be Hank’s personal bodyguard. He holds himself responsible for that. And Hank lets him. Have you seen Brimstone as a dog?”

“Nope. Only as the long necked, long-legged Iguana with horns. And wings.”

“Well, you know what he looks like, then. So go to Albuquerque and play with the rest of them. My suggestion? Take some change of clothes with you. If you are going to be playing with Gargoyles and Dragonets and others, you probably will get dirty. And there is more than enough spare room there to sleep overnight. Or for the rest of the week. Get to know everyone out there too. And besides, Paula grabbed a Great Chef.”

The Littlest Dragonet.

Stepping through the Arch that led to Albuquerque was always a sensory shock. Going from a dark warehouse in Augusta, to a bright sunny courtyard in New Mexico sunlight was always an experience. Like walking from inside to outside, with no warning.

The courtyard was a nest of activity today. There were small lizard like creatures and some larger ones scurrying around the courtyard, and running into the back door of the fence around the workshop. That building was separate from the palatial house and the twenty room student dormitory. The entire complex had a eight foot wall surrounding it and it was extremely quiet. And sunny.

“Karen, welcome back. I hope you are staying for a while. We have a lot of creatures here that want to see you again. You evidently did a amazing job of helping them when you were in Alaska and the whole tribe of Dragonets and Gargoyles want to see you. We have some other creatures that don’t fit into any single category either. You and Hank have done an amazing job there.” Jeffery said.

“Most of it was just following instructions. Hank did a great job of saying what was needed. I learned to do a lot with artifacts while I was working with them. Talk about a first aid crash course.”

“Well, you made a great impression. Confronting the euro mages and stopping them from restoration of the doom and gloom runes made a great impression here. You are the Fae version of Joan of Arc. They all talk about the blond hair lady. Peter doesn’t get much mention.”

“Well, I was just glad that the ones that survived did. That place is a horror story that we will have to tell our grandchildren.” Karen said. “So, how can I help here?”

“If you could spell Paula in the Fumeral and charging area, that would be great. She’s been reading stories there to the kids and the critters all morning, and I think she wants a break.”

“What about Hank?”

“He’s there too. But he’s doing the filling station stuff. And two of the Elves are there doing some rune design for collars. Looks like we will be doing some major production for our Fae Friends.”

“I saw how much power Brimstone is packing. Are we thinking of bringing all of them up to that same level?”

“If Hank has his way, yes. He has a major weakness for the little guys. And the Dragons get much more. Aine started out small. But it seems that each year he gets another or a larger stone cluster. Brimstone is a regular fumeral all his own.”

“I guess there’s no such thing as too much defense.”

“Not with Hank. So far, it’s all been a case of “Have it and not need it,” with the power for everyone here. I think that’s what scares the Europeans the most.” Jeffery said.

“There were a couple of times we needed it, when we were up north. Is the fill in on that place done?”

“Almost. The summoning circle was torn down this morning and almost all of the runes have been erased. Fae creatures react different to death of loved ones from humans. Not nearly as abrupt. Brynstan’s mother was found in one of the walled-up caverns. We have been buying high end coffins from a dealer in L.A. to provide final resting places. We will be filling in the tunnels and then the cave later this week. None of the former residents’ care to see what it looks like now.”

Karen then headed over to the workshop that was between the house and the dormitory and classrooms area. She couldn’t get used to how much was crammed into such a tidy space partially between the Rio Grande and the Sandia Crest. The mountains to the east were beautiful. So beautiful a distraction that she almost stepped on the small Dragonet that was in the path.

“Oops. Sorry little guy. I almost stepped on you.”

The mottled brown reptile (if it was a reptile) looked up and blinked it’s eyes. And Karen heard in her mind “Thank you for not stepping on me My hind legs are still very stiff from being in the tunnels.”

“No problem. Didn’t I see you there last week?”

“Yes. You were the blonde lady with the grey and brown coveralls. You rescued me from the crevasse I was wedged into.”

“You sound much better than you did when I first met you.” Karen said.

Thinking back on that night, Karen grimaced. Dragonets were almost starved and comatose, with one small one wedged in a crack in the wall and rocks placed on him. The gloom and doom of the fumeral caused everything in the caves to be almost comatose and lethargic. Karen had to pick around the rocks that that had wedged the dragonet into the wall. It took almost a half hour, all the time listening to the small cries of the trapped creature. When it was finally freed, it could not move its hindquarters. The sprite took it back to Brazil for treatment. (The All-creature Hospital was delighted to see it).

“Yes. They gave me the language pill and then reset my hips. I’m supposed to exercise them daily. They gave me this stone and it helps. The energy fills me and I don’t Hunger. And the gloom is not here. This place is very pleasant. And Sunny.”

“Well, they certainly gave you a big boost from when I saw you last.” Karen said. “I’m going over to the workshop. Would you like to join me?”

“It would be an honor to be joined with you, Karen Pullman Lambert.”

”Well, then, come along. What is your name, by the way?”

“Our names are difficult for you to say. So, I would like you to pick one for me.” The littlest Dragonet said to Karen.

“What do you think of the name Robert?” Karen asked, thinking that mentally was easier for this conversation.

“My Name is now Robert. Robert of Lambert.”

Karen picked up “Robert of Lambert” and tucked him onto her arm. He was not very big, only about fourteen inches from neck to base of tail. The tail was another eighteen inches. And his head was different. Like an Iguana, but longer snout and two horns in front of his ears. He was a lightweight, less than five pounds, and mottled brown top with a creamy white color below.

“He’s as tame as a housecat I once had.” Karen thought to herself. She did miss Tabby.

Seeing Hank and Paula together, Karen walked over to the bench. Hank was talking with two of the Elves, while Paula was reading from a book to a crowd of Gargoyles and Dragonets. The Dragonets all looked very different from Robert.

“Look what I found out in the yard.” Karen said to Paula.

“Oh, one of the Grass eaters.” Paula replied. “This is the species that is different from other Dragonets in that they eat Grass, and other vegetation, climb, and can glide great distance. They are not as maneuverable in flight as normal Dragonets or dragons, but they run faster then almost any other creature. There were about six of them in the cave. You found them, I think.”

“He’s still a little sore in his hindquarters. Is there anything we can do for him to make it easier?”

“Yes, there is, but you have to keep him as a pet if you do.” Paula said.” You haven’t named him yet? Or have you?”

“Is that something that’s wrong?” Karen asked.

“Not really. But these guys get impressed very easily. Especially since we are the first people who treat them as anything but competition or a nuisance. Elves don’t normally, and the meat eaters are feared as preying on Fae.”