Chapter 3

Raven woke with a start. Her marvelous mind had been working, analyzing the problems even while she was sleeping. The thing that was paramount, was the protection of Windwalker: Jack Gunn.

"The executives that Daddy hired hate Jack with a passion! They're going to try to cheat him, and steal my business," said Raven to herself with an awareness that was vivid.

The fact that a Native American was a partner in the firm made the blood of those bigots boil, and their hatred bordered on the obsessive.

Raven rose and went to the Sat-phone. Setting the phone to scramble mode she dialed Jack's number.

When he mumbled an answer (it was three AM, after all), Raven said, "Twenty-three, forty-two."

Hearing the code to go to scramble mode, brought Jack fully awake. Without saying a word he sat up and flipped the switch on the base of his phone. A tone sounded, and both knew that the system was checking for a bug as well as announcing that the scramble was activated. A moment later a second tone sounded, followed by a warbling screech. The phone was bugged, and by extension they had to assume that the house was, too.

"Just listen," said Raven. "It has come to me that the people that Daddy hired to run the day to day stuff at the company, will want to get rid of you. They'll want me gone too, for that matter. Do you remember the way we set things up with the holding company?"

"Yes."

"Well, I think that we should be ready to implement our contingency plan, when they come after us. Be resistive to a point, but let them buy us out for... oh... say fifteen million over gross company value. That would be about sixty-five or seventy million, right?"

"Yes, there abouts."

"The thing is, I want you to transact it, offshore. Since the holding company is registered in the Cayman Islands, we should be able to do everything without the IRS getting too excited. Which Patents are still held by Reilly Ltd.?"

"Just the first," Jack said, he was being purposely vague because of the bugging.

"What? Oh... Yeah... the bugs. You mean the Centurion?"

"Yes."

"Good! That unit is about to be replaced with something far better, as soon as you set up a new company. Use the same formula, with Windshadow as the Holding Company again, and the new concern actually owning next to nothing.

"This time let's set up the physical plant on Native soil and use Native names for the company and products. Let's use the tribes to build our stuff from now on.

"We will accomplish two things, help our people and bankrupt the bigots!"

"Ya think?"

"Look get in touch with Dad's private lawyer. Get started on the new company, as well as prepare for the fight. At least we're not a publicly held company. How much is owned by Reilly, Ltd.?"

"Not much."

"Who holds the leases?"

"Windshadow."

""And I hold the patents, good, the bastards will have to service the old equipment, and won't have any new items to market. Wonderful!"

"Yep," said laughingly.

"Oh, by the way, who else knows about this cabin?"

"A lot of folks!"

"Oh maannnn, that's not good. Shit, I'll move today! I was just beginning to get my head straight, too. Right then! You take care, you old Bear."

"Be safe."

They both hung up at the same time.

Since it was too late to go back to bed and too early to go to work Jack went for a run, showered and then sat in his yard to meditate. Power to fight this upcoming battle was needed.

Raven packed up everything that she could, hid the rest in the root cellar, and scattered dust over the inside of the cabin. Next she moved the bike a long ways from the cabin and returned to erase her tracks. The dusting and erasing would cover the fact that she had been at the cabin, from all but an expert.

Raven moved away from the cabin, but only far enough to be safe and still watch over the place. She needed to know if anyone came looking for her, and just who that someone might be.

Her woods craft came into play as she hid the trail bike, and set up a camp that was virtually invisible to anyone that didn't know exactly where to look. Oh, if some one walked into the few square feet that was her camp, they would be aware of the place, but that was highly unlikely.

Raven built a small shelter from the indigenous plants and only burned fuel that didn't smoke. She was a shadow, a wraith. She became one with the earth.

As she watched the cabin, Raven was able to meditate on all of the things that needed to be done to achieve her goals. One fact kept coming back to her though. That was the fact that the road she had chosen, was fraught with the danger of losing her spirit.

The planning, therefore, must be meticulous and balanced. Not full of the rage that was eating at her now. Somehow she must gain control of the rage.

Taking advantage of the need to keep watch on the cabin, Raven began a fast to seek the help of the Spirit world.

As she meditated she thought of when she was very young. Her father had tried to make a good Catholic out of her. However, even at that young age she saw the hypocrisy of the so-called religious people. They would go to Mass on Sunday, and then act terribly during the rest of the week. Their religion was a sham, just for show, it had no real depth to it. There was no respect for the earth or any thing that lived on it. Everyone that she met was driven by envy, jealousy, lust and greed.

Her mother on the other hand, taught her to respect every living thing, and to use but not abuse the Earth.

"Always leave things better than you found them. We are not plants, little one, so we must take other lives to survive. But we must thank the Spirits for that life," her mother had said.

Her Mom had been half Abenaki and wanted to carry on the old traditions in her daughter. It was very helpful that the child had a high IQ and craved knowledge at a very young age.

Then her father had gone to war, and had ended up trapped behind enemy lines. He was rescued by a sniper, whose code name was 'Sudden Knife'. The two men became fast friends.

Jack had invested his pay, while off doing his sniper thing. After twenty years of service he retired, and used the money that he had accumulated to finance an idea of Raven's father. The rest was history as they say. The company was successful beyond their wildest dreams.

When the Reillys had a child, the precocious little thing smote Jack. Her intelligence and forthright manner simply captivated him. Since he could never have children of his own, he became a second father to the child.

Camilla asked questions, expected real answers. She soaked up everything, like a dry sponge sitting in the liquid of knowledge.

As she grew up, Camilla lived in two worlds; modern Western Civilization, and the Native American culture. Her father taught her his strong Irish heritage, and her mom taught her both the Italian and Native ways.

"If you don't know and understand the past, you are bound to repeat all of the mistakes of those that came before you," her Mom always said.

Camilla loved history and learned well. She had no desire to repeat the mistakes of the past.

As she fasted, she reached deep into herself, and found the way to transform the rage. She would transform it into a plan of action that gave the desired results, without it devastating her soul.

Several days after her move from the cabin, Raven saw a black SUV pull onto the access road. It parked some distance from the cabin. It was obvious that the seven people that dismounted from the vehicle were 'city folk'. She could hear the noise that they made, even at the distance she was from the cabin. The men were obviously thugs.

Decision time! Run or attack.

"Who must they have hurt to get the location of this place," thought Raven.

"Well let's just see how bad these guys are!" said Raven aloud as she rose and armed herself.

Moving quickly and silently she descended to the valley floor and disabled the SUV by slashing a tire. After all she would need the vehicle, after she was finished.

The thugs were trashing her home! It took all of her control to keep the still raw rage, just barely under the surface, from flaring up.

The young girl moved through the forest like a gentile breeze, barely rustling the flora.

The first men that she encountered were standing guard at the head of the drive, silenced handguns at the ready. It was obvious that they were here for no good.

Raven made her choice. Two arrows flew. Both men dropped without a sound.

Moving forward, the young warrior relieved the dead men of their weapons then moved toward the cabin and the five remaining hoods.

The next man she encountered was just outside of the smoke house. Raven jumped on his back and dispatched him with a quick knife across his throat! Three down!

Raven could not believe her eyes as she saw the fourth man, he was huge, with his plants around his ankles, sitting in the outhouse. The fat idiot hadn't even closed the door, must be all the training from shitting in the open in a prison cell.