Chapter 24

After Hawk’s agreement to become the ‘renegade leader’ of the Apache Rebellion Jason sighed in relief. “Hawk, I’m delighted you agreed to go along with me on this. I think you can make it work, and it goes hand-in-hand with your need to stay in the shadows.”

“I’m glad you’re confident in my abilities Jason, but I’m not a leader. That’s why Dan and I have always worked so well together. I’d come up with an idea, and we’d go back and forth until it became something useful. At that point he took over the leadership while I provided the support. I had good ideas and great programming skills, but it was his leadership that made it work.”

Jason listened, and then countered with, “I understand what you’re saying, but I’ve listened to your ideas and the fire and emotion in your spirit. I don’t know if anyone else could make this work.”

“Jason, when we first talked I expounded what I thought were some good ideas of what could be done. The problem is I expected to make suggestions, do research, furnish money, and do most of my work sitting at a computer. I never intended to be something like the tribe’s war chief. What makes it worse is I don’t really know the people, their needs, problems, or abilities. Hell, I’ve only been an Apache for less than a month, and now I’m supposed to coordinate a war! I just wish I’d some idea what I’m doing, ‘cause I’m afraid I’m going to let everyone down.”

“I seriously doubt that, and the burden of leadership won’t be totally on your shoulders. I and the others will help. Who knows, maybe even Dan will get involved. I know any way we cut it we’ll be working as a team, and your primary responsibility will be the development of strategy plus the acquisition and dissemination of information. Which reminds me. While I was at the electronic gadget store I committed us to an exclusive deal on specially scrambled cell phones. According to my guy they’re produced in Israel for the Mossad who wanted something no one could intercept, not even our National Security Agency. It even has some kind of feature that makes it hard to localize the signal. I figured it’d be good for private conversations, especially between us and our key people.”

“I like that idea, especially the exclusive part. As for Gade, I guess what you’re trying to do is to give the tribal leaders (and ultimately, the government) a shadow leader they can identify, even if he is only a symbol. If most of the communication is done by phones like you described, or through protected Internet websites and e-mail, then I guess it might work.” After thinking for a minute he added, “Our chances would be greatly improved if our e-mail accounts and Internet sites were located on computers that were physically out of the country.”

Jason grinned like Alice’s ‘Cheshire Cat’ and said, “From what I know of your personal history, I assume you have read some science fiction?”

“When I was a teenager I read a lot of SciFi. With the time I had on my hands in prison, I’d have loved to have read more, but reading anything besides westerns or porn was a sure ticket to an abusive hell. Why do you ask?”

“Have you ever read Heinlein’s The Moon is a Harsh Mistress?

“No.”

“You should, and soon. Look closely at ‘Mike, ‘ the government’s computer who becomes self-aware, and ultimately, the symbolic leader of the rebellion against Earth’s control of the people of the moon.”

While he listened to Jason tell more about how the computer drove the government nuts Hawk took his disguise from the duffel bag. He put on some baggy camouflage pants, a goose down vest over his shirt, and an over-sized coat that matched his pants. He knew it would be extremely hot to wear over long periods, but it made his hundred and sixty-five pounds look closer to two hundred and twenty. Next, he put on the boots he’d purchased. They had very large heels, and when he added two large heel cushions to the inside his apparent height was boosted to six-foot two. Finally, he’d attached a fine-mesh camouflage netting to the front of the novelty hat he’d bought. The hat had shoulder length dark hair attached to the sides and back. It was doubtful if even Maria or Brenda could have recognized him.

Jason and Hawk arrived at the tribal offices about five minutes before the council meeting was scheduled to begin. They parked in the back of the building and quietly entered through a side entrance. When they entered the building a secretary came out of one of the offices. Surprised at Hawk’s appearance she started to say something, but Jason silenced her with a finger to his lips. When she nodded acknowledgment Jason urged her closer, and whispered, “Shirley, I need to talk to Austin before the council meeting begins.”

“Sure, Jason. I’ll get him for you.”

She walked down the hall to the council meeting room and beckoned Austin to the door. “What is it?” he asked.

“Longbow is down the hall and wants to talk to you.”

Austin replied, “Thanks, Shirley.”

The council chairman walked down the hall to where Jason was waiting. When he got closer he realized there was someone with Jason, hiding in the shadows of a darkened office. Jason gently pulled the man into the room and said, “Steady Wind meet Gade. Gade, this is Steady Wind, also known as Austin Manning. He’s the chairman of our tribal council and the political leader of our tribe. Gade emerged from the shadows and shook the hand of the council chairman. Then following what Jason had taught him earlier Hawk grasped Austin’s arm in the traditional manner that one Apache brave greets another. “Austin,” Jason instructed, “I need you to pass a note or something, telling everyone to ignore Gade and me when we join the group. Just have them discuss some safe topics until I finish checking your office and the Council Chamber for bugs.”

“I can do that, no problem. Anything else?”

Gade spoke for the first time, using the speech distorter Jason had purchased earlier, saying, “I think it might be a good idea to have some white boards set up in there. They can have many uses as things are discussed.”

Nodding, the council leader replied, “I’ll take care of that, as well as the message. Jason, you know where my office is. I’ll see you both in a few minutes.”

Austin returned to the council chamber, and Jason led Hawk to an office two doors further down the hall. They entered, locked the door, and Jason began slowly to work his way around the room while looking at the dial of the small device he held in his hand. In less than five minutes Jason found three bugs, including one inside the phone that listened to both sides of a conversation.

When Jason was finished he unlocked the door and led Gade to the Council Chambers. The entire council looked up when they entered the room. Jason looked at Austin and held up three fingers. The shock of the revelation was evident on the chairman’s face when he tried to deal with both the sense of outrage and the fear as to where this might lead the tribe. After a moment he buried his head in his hands. While the other council members tried to find meaning in the reaction of their leader Jason locked the door and directed Gade to the corner behind the doorway. Jason turned back to the podium and the table where the Council members were seated. On the left wall, facing both the empty audience area and the members of the Council, two white boards had been placed on easels. On one of the white boards was written:

Ignore Longbow and masked guest
keep meeting normal — discuss various problem at the Casino.
will explain later

Jason nodded to the group, and used hand signals to encourage them to continue to talk to each other. He then began slowly working his way around the room with the bug detector. Every time he found a listening device he pointed to it and held up fingers to show a count. By the time he finished he’d discovered six additional listening devices.

Three of the council members, besides Austin, quickly figured out what Jason was looking for. When he found the first device their facial expressions went from curious concern to shock and anger. The rest didn’t seem to have a clue. When he had finished checking the room, Jason went to the blank white board and wrote:

Room is bugged!!
Welcome me on to council as Tribal Diiyan
and ignore person in the back of the room.
Just follow my lead

Jason went to the other board. He erased the first message and wrote:

This is not time for fight!
Time for deception.
Ask for report on the proposed new business.

Following the writing on the boards Austin proclaimed, “Fellow council members I want us all to welcome, Jason Longbow Magill, the tribal Diiyan. Now, Longbow is a man of quick decisions. It’s only taken us twenty years to convince him to take his rightful place on the Council.” Everyone chuckled at the remark, including Jason, and the other Council members followed Austin’s direction and welcomed Jason. Both Jason and Gade could tell some members were more enthusiastic in that welcome, than others.

After giving everyone a few moments to welcome Longbow, Austin finally used the gavel to restore order. The Council continued its discussion about some proposed changes in security at the Casino. A few minutes later, Austin again banged the gavel, and said, “I think our discussion this morning concerning this matter has been very productive, but we’ve raised some excellent new questions that need further study. Therefore I suggest the proposal continue to be tabled at this time, to allow for further study. Now, since we’re discussing pending matters I want to ask Longbow for an update regarding the company that wanted to locate on the reservation.”

Jason replied, “Mister Chairman, it appears the initial request was actually only a feasibility study. Unfortunately, the company has decided to locate its operation closer to Phoenix. Also, without the new jobs, we won’t have a need for the new housing.”

Austin responded, “I’m sad to hear that, but we all appreciate your efforts to improve the lives of our people.”

At Austin’s leading there were some other minor discussions, during which Jason cleaned the white boards and replaced what had been there with some gibberish about the proposed changes at the casino. When the meeting was finally adjourned Jason signaled for the members to mix and talk among themselves. He exited the room, leaving the door open with Gade hiding behind it. Jason searched until he found an empty office that wasn’t bugged and returned to the council chambers. He gathered all the Council members, guiding them to the bug-free office. As soon as he closed the door, one of the more self-absorbed members angrily demanded to know what was going on.

Austin replied, “Earlier today, after Jason informed me about the prospective new business I called Brandon Stokes, our illustrious Indian Agent. Gentleman, to say his attitude frightened me, would be putting it mildly.”

“How’s that?” one of the other members asked.

Austin replied to the man, the very levelness of his tone emphasized his emotion, “He acted like our constitution was irrelevant, putting the decision regarding the new plant in the hands of the government, rather than the council’s. Also, I had this distinct feeling the attitude of Washington is heading back to the days when we were given small pox infested blankets and spoiled or diseased beef. Now we find our offices and council chamber has been bugged. I don’t know about you, but I’m angry!” Some of the council members were silent, but the rest were vocally supportive of what the council chairman had said. Austin continued, “Carrying this idea further there’s a good chance we may find ourselves at war with the federal government.”

Shocked, the council members all tried to talk at once, each seeming to drown out the other. The consensus of their comments was there was no way they could win a war with the only superpower left in the world.

Jason gave a shrill whistle, and said, “We don’t expect to get into a ‘shooting war, ‘ but into a legal, social, political, and economic war. The man hidden behind the mask is called Gade. It was his money that would have started the new operation, and it’ll be his money, intelligence, and lawyers that will help us in a new fight with the US Government to restore the dignity and honor of the Apache people.”

One of the members cried, “But, shouldn’t we know who this man is?”

“What you don’t know you can’t betray. Austin and I have agreed Gade will be an unofficial member of the council, as well as our Shadow War Chief.”

The man angrily replied, “What right do you and Austin have to make such a decision? I demand a vote on the matter!”

In response to the man’s ranting, the other council members moved to stand behind Austin and Jason. When they finished aligning themselves, one of the council members responded, “I think we just did.”

The rejected council member stomped out of the room and went to his office. He angrily picked up the phone and dialed. When someone answered, he said, “Brandon Stokes, please.”

Jason stepped out of the doorway, holding an automatic pistol, and ordered, “Hang it up!”

As the man slowly moved the phone back to its cradle Jason could hear someone in the background saying, “Hello, this is Brandon Stokes.”

Jason lifted the man out of the chair and marched him down the hall, the automatic pressed hard against the man’s kidney. He led the belligerent man back into the room where the others were waiting, and announced, “He went straight to his office and called Brandon Stokes. This man is a traitor and a spy. Unless someone has a strong objection I’m afraid Mister Yellow-Feather here is a prime candidate for a heart attack.”

The man screamed, “No! You can’t do that! I have my rights! I have a family to support!

One of the other members responded, “Ron, I know your family. They really won’t miss you very much, though your mistress might. She might have to go back to work serving drinks in the casino.”

Ignoring the other man’s comment Austin interjected, “Longbow, how do you think it should be handled?”

“Shortly I’m leaving for California to discuss plans for a timber conference among the western tribes. I think someone should go to this traitor’s home and get his family to pack for him to go with me. We’ll be gone for several days. While we’re away I’ll see if I can talk some sense into him, or at least learn what he knows and what damage he’s done.”

Motioning for Jason to take the traitor out of the room Gade said, “Gentlemen, we need to keep the government in the dark as long as possible. However, due to its immediate impact upon our people I want to continue the idea of building the assembly plant. Our people need the jobs, as well as the electricity our windmills can produce. Therefore, I need the council to unofficially create a search committee to locate a suitable site for the plant. We’ll need five to ten acres outside the reservation. It needs to be on or just off of a main road and a little closer to Phoenix. That way we haven’t lied to Stokes. At the same time, I want it to be easily accessible by our people. Remember, if we have to, we could even purchase some carpool vans to assist those who’d have trouble commuting.”

One of the men said, “Gade, I’m Miguel Sanchez. I’ve a small construction company that uses only our people. I’d be happy to help you find a site, as well as oversee the construction. What size building are you thinking about, and what kind of people do you see needing in the beginning?”

“Thanks, Miguel, I’ll take you up on the offer. The building will be roughly sixteen thousand square feet. It’ll have an office in the front, a large assembly area, an inventory area, plus a shipping and receiving area. As for personnel, I think we’ll initially need a bookkeeper or accountant, three office clerks, three people in shipping and receiving, three in inventory, and fifty in assembly. If we can get the word out this operation could grow rapidly. I think you should also know the primary purpose of this venture isn’t to make money, but to begin to instill hope and pride among those on the reservation. As a result, the wages and benefits will be well above other companies in the area. Any questions?”

The men looked among themselves, and then turned back to Gade. They shook their heads, and one of the men replied “No questions. We definitely understand, and thank you.”

Gade smiled, and said, “Gentlemen, now I must change the subject. By the first of next week I need some basic information on each of you. This information should include your legal name, your Apache name, the names and ages of your family members, your telephone numbers, and home addresses. If you’ll get them to Austin he’ll get them to me.”

“Gade, I’m Charlie Redwolf, also known as Three Paws. How will you be using this information?”

“Charlie, for security purposes, the war council will seldom meet face to face. Instead, I’ll be getting some special cell phones for us to use among ourselves. The signal goes to a satellite, rather than to a tower, and the signal is encrypted to prevent others from listening in. I don’t want them used for anything except secure tribal business. In addition, I’ll be setting up an email account for each of you in New Zealand. This particular site maintains the emails there, rather than on your computer. Between the two it’ll be very hard for the government to compromise the operation.”

One of the other council members said, “Gade, I’m Carl Little Bear. Most of us don’t have a computer, nor do we know how to use one.”

“Then note on the profile sheet your computer knowledge, and what you need. To begin with I’ll get laptops for each of you. In addition, if you have children who could benefit from a computer, then let me know that, also. I’ll provide them, as well as someone to teach you how to use the system and the Internet. Does the tribal office have a T-one line?”

Austin replied, “I believe we share one with the casino.”

“Then, over the next several weeks, I’ll arrange to provide secure wireless access from that line to many of the homes on the reservation. If there’s a large enough need we can set up a computer assembly area and train some of our people to build the computers. We can also teach others in the tribe to set them up and handle maintenance, as well as developing a group of tutors to help those with no computer background learn how to use them practically. This could quickly create at least a hundred more new jobs for our people, and the long-term benefits would be astounding.”

One of the council members asked, “But, won’t all this lead us away from our old ways?”

“Our old ways of living off the land are basically dead. We must adapt without becoming a ‘red’ white man. In addition, we must learn the white man’s ways so we can take the battle to him through technology, or he’ll bring the battle to us with guns, oppression and intimidation. The key is whatever we do we respect the land, our tribal customs, and our history. This is the true Apache Legacy, not running around the land living as a nomad.” When several council members nodded in agreement Gade continued, “What’s even more important is for our people to have better lives and to have pride in themselves. It’s no longer sufficient for our people to make their living by weaving blankets, making beaded goods and moccasins, and being paid to have our pictures taken. That isn’t the Apache way, either. We were once warriors, feared for a thousand miles. Now, even the prairie dog no longer fears us. We must find ways to have that kind of pride and spirit once again.”

“Gade, I’m Martin Tall Elk. All this sounds good, but how can we accomplish these things?”

“Tall Elk, I have access to a significant amount of money, as well as to technology that even the white man doesn’t have. In addition, we’ll soon gain even more wealth and influence. Think of this as a shift, in the same manner as when our ancestors moved from the bow to the rifle.”

Nodding, Austin stated, “Longbow was right. You’ll make a great war chief. The young and foolish fight every battle, but the wise war chief picks his battles and his battlefields. He wants to inflict the most pain on the enemy with the fewest casualties to his men. Our men are few in number and without training. Today, they don’t even have the aggressive zeal our warriors had in the past. It’ll take time to develop that. Your words and your heart speak of that understanding.”

“Thank you, Steady Wind. This is a war that must first be fought in the courts, in the legislature, and in the minds of the everyday Americans. In addition, it’s also a battle for the hearts and minds of our own people. Any other battles we fight must be hidden so they don’t point to us. At the same time we must see this entire process as a war. Jason says the Spirits have said the future of our people depends on our success.”

Austin asked, “What should we do about the bugs in the conference room and my office?”

“We should do nothing at this point. Just be sure nothing critical or subversive is discussed there, in your offices, or over a non-encrypted phone. We know this room is clean, for the moment, but we’ll get another tester and will show you how to use it. I’d also suggest hiring more security for these offices, as well as the casino. In this, I mean trained security people, not police, as they’ve two distinctly different roles. Now, someone needs to run get the stuff Longbow requested from the man’s house, as we need to leave soon.”

While they were waiting for one of the secretaries to return with the traitor’s luggage Austin called Brandon Stokes. He apologized for having to terminate his call a few minutes earlier, explaining right after he dialed he’d received a call he’d been expecting. Austin, picking up on Gade’s basic instruction, improvised, trying to lead Brandon to think Ron’s uncompleted call was from Austin. After he’d received assurance from the Indian Agent that he understood Austin informed him the call earlier about the proposed new business and the new homes was premature, as the company had decided to locate closer to Phoenix. Acting disappointed Brandon expressed his regret about the tribe’s loss. But, as soon as the call was completed Brandon immediately sent an e-mail to Washington relaying the message to both the Director of Indian Affairs and the Secretary of the Interior. The Interior Secretary read the message and then forwarded it as an FYI to the office of the Vice President. Since the new factory on the reservation was now a moot point the entire discussion was quickly forgotten as another scandal surfaced demanding their attention.

Twenty-five minutes later Jason, Hawk, and the traitorous Ron Gonzales were headed back toward Phoenix. Of the three only two were conscious. Within ten miles Hawk had shed his disguise and returned it to the big duffel bag. He was now back in jeans, a casual button up shirt, and running shoes. The two rode in silence while Hawk changed clothes, but as they got closer to the town of Globe, Jason and Hawk discussed what had happened at the tribal offices and Jason’s upcoming trip. The more they discussed it, the more concerned they both became.

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