Chapter 7

[Lexi, wake up. LEXI!]

Huh? What’s happening. It’s only 4:17.

[The dogs are making unusual sounds. I can hear them through your ears.]

The dogs?

I could hear them now, if I concentrated. Little yipping noises. I quieted my mind and went to contact them. They completely ignored me! They were communicating with each other via images – somehow. I focused on Doyobi (Mountain), the alpha and team leader. He was crouched down, silent, and staring at the northeast corner of the fence. He was moving forward on his belly.

I nudged Rock and Bear awake. “Shhh!” I clamped a hand over each of their mouths. I whispered: “Something is happening outside. Get dressed. Quietly.” Bear was awake instantly. Rock was somewhat slower. But they slid out of the bed, to the floor, and put their jeans on. Bear crawled over to the closet and was putting on a pair of military style combat boots. He put another set out of the closet on the floor in the direction of Rock, who was likewise crawling over to the closet.

There was an explosion of growling and snarling outside. I reached for the light switch panel, to turn on the outside lights. I heard a pair of boots on the floor, and Rock grabbed my hand an inch from the switch. “The dogs won’t need it, and it will only help whoever the intruder is.”

Oh. That’s good thinking.

Things must be under control if Snow, the great white owl, did not interfere.

I slipped on my kimono and tied it around my waist. I headed for the window to see what was happening. Rock grabbed my arm and nodded a ‘no’ when I looked at him. He made me squat down behind the bed. I looked at Bear, who was making some hand signals to Rock. Bear reached into the closet and came out with a gun in each hand. He tossed one to the bed, where Rock quickly retrieved it.

Bear got to his feet and cocked his head to the side. The only sounds were the continued growling and snarling of the dogs outside. I closed my eyes and sought to contact Doyobi, without calling to him. He was in full attack mode. No, not attack. It was a combination of ‘guard’ and ‘hold.’ He had a mouthful of some guy’s right arm. Maybe he WAS in attack mode. I quickly left him, and sought out Gwina (Eagle). He was strangely looking away from the contact. Then I caught on to his job. He was looking for intruders in other directions. I left him to his job. Ogoe (River) was biting a leg of a second intruder. The man was trying to get away from her and Hoagande (Warrior) who was attacking the same intruder’s right arm. Sewai (Wind) had a hold of the first intruder’s leg, and was trying to work her body to knock his other leg to the ground.

I whispered to Rock: “Two men. That side.” I pointed. “Dogs seem to have it all under control.”

Rock said, “Yeah. Maybe.”

Suddenly the lights went on outside. Bear must have the remote switch with him.

“Call off the fucking dogs!” I heard from outside. It was not Bear’s voice. There was no answer from Bear.

My hand scrabbled on the bedside table for my phone. I hit the speed dial for Big Tex.

‘Ring Ring Ring’. There was a pause. ‘Ring Ring... ‘. Tex answered before it rang again.

“What’s up?” he asked.

“Intruders at my place,” I answered. “I think the dogs are handling it. Bear is outside with a gun. Rock is with me.”

“Two minutes,” was his only reply.

“CALL OFF THE FUCKIN’ DOGS!” I heard. Then an ‘oof’ as one of them obviously hit the ground.

This time I heard Bear reply. “Drop your guns, or I’ll let them rip out your throats.”

“Okay. OKAY!” said a male voice.

I heard Bear telling my wokitas, in Shoshone, “Release. Guard.” Then in Navajo, I heard him shout. “Rock. Back door. Bring rope.”

Rock got up and headed for the kitchen. I scrambled into my clothes and followed. Gwina and Ogoe followed behind Bear, who had two handguns in the belt of his britches. He was pointing his Glock at the two intruders.

Rock opened the door and propped open the door to the basement. I was peeping around his shoulder. He grabbed the first by the shoulder and pushed him down the steps.

“Hey! Take it easy. We didn’t do nothing. We got rights,” said intruder #1. He was a white man. I could tell from his hands and the area around his eyes. That was all I could see – they were both wearing hoods that only had cutouts for the eyes. Bear handed me the two guns from his waistband. There was room for two people abreast on the stairs. It was a strange procession: Rock and bad guy #1, Bear with b.g. #2, Gwina and Ogoe, and then me. To my knowledge, the wokitas had never been inside the house, let alone in the basement.

The dogs took up positions in front of the bad guys while the good guys pulled up some chairs. They tied the men’s hands behind them and then tied a loop around their necks. Now that the face covering masks were off, I could see them plainly: white guys, one with a mustache, both unkempt, about thirty I guessed. They were wearing black pants, and long-sleeved black pullovers. Rock put a strip of duct tape across the bad guys’ mouths. The tape was gray, so it didn’t match their masks or shirts or pants. They’d have to live with the fashion gaucherie. Then we all sat down to wait.

In two minutes, my phone rang. It was Big Tex and the dogs wouldn’t let him get out of his truck, let alone into the house. I went up and provided Tex with a way through the wokita guards. I named him as a friend, but they already knew that. Perhaps there are rules about the ‘guard’ command that I didn’t really understand. Or maybe the wokitas were just hyped up.

“Wait a minute,” Tex said. “Tall Feather will be here soon. I was playing poker with a couple of buds, and he said he would come.”

I’d first met Tall Feather at Wild Mustang’s house when I first arrived in the Naabeehó Bináhásdzo (the Tribal Lands of the Diné). Since then I had learned that he was the first chief of police, although the Navajo were a little careful about calling ANYONE a ‘chief’ except the Chief of the Tribe. Before the establishment of the Navajo Police, he was the Tribal War Leader. A fierce warrior in his early years, the man was now a member of the Tribal Council.

“Why is Tall Feather involved in this?” I asked.

“He announced that he was coming. You know how he is. Once he’s decided to do something, you just say, ‘Good idea!’” Tex said.

“Don’t you think we ought to call Linc?”

“It’ll delay things. Let’s have a look at the intruders.”

Tall Feather pulled up in a rattle trap old Chevy pickup. I sent the wokitas away and invited the old Indian into the house. We tromped down to the basement.

Tex took one look at the three pistols on the table, picked them up and moved them far away from the bad guys. He gave Rock and Bear a withering look.

Bear said, “Sorry about that. We were distracted. I mean, I was distracted.”

Tall Feather walked over to them, getting between the dogs and the prisoners. They growled. The Indian said, without taking his eyes off the men tied to the chairs, “Send the dogs away. Please.”

I said to Gwina and Ogoe, “Unlock.” That command told them to relax, and go back to their normal duties. I headed up the stairs and called them to come. I shooed them back outside. When I got back downstairs, Tex and Tall Feather were ripping the duct tape off the mouths of the captives.

“I have rights. I want to call my lawyer,” said #1. He seemed to be the leader.

Tex laughed. “We’re not the police. You’re rights are to not be castrated by my friend here.” He gestured to the six-and-a-half foot tall Indian, who was calmly cleaning his fingernails with a large knife. Where had THAT come from? “What were you planning on doing this morning?”

Neither of them answered the question. #1 only said, “Lawyer.”

“Son,” said Tall Feather, “You ain’t in the United States no more. You’re in the Navajo Nation. We don’t b’live in no lawyers. I sat down at the other end of the room and closed my eyes. I relaxed and felt for the familiar nothingness. Then I felt for the others in the room. Wow. Tex was really angry. Tall Feather was enjoying the feeling of power over these men. Rock and Bear were being proud of having captured them.