Chapter 24

Even before the others had started dinner in the cafeteria, the flashing lights and sirens had appeared outside the defensive shell. They had been preceded by, and were followed by, helicopters of various police and news organizations. Those arriving included: the Fairfax County Sheriff's department, the Virginia State Police, the FBI, and others including local radio and television news reporters.

There was a multitude of details to be taken care of before our family would be able to join the others for a meal. One of the Boston Council's responsibilities had been to locate the telephone center and disconnect the lines to the outside. They had done that, but had left the internal phone system in operation. We had checked on the wards for the weapons areas to be sure that no one had gained entrance to them. Annie and I checked the small one in building one, and Sean and Sara checked the larger one in building four.

We also checked the Security Center to be sure that it was still in operation. While the cameras could be fooled with a glamour that took a considerable amount of Talent, and it wasn't something that we were worried about. From the Security Center we were able to watch all of the critical areas in the buildings, especially the Director's Office and the Operations Section that we had warded. We could also watch sensitive areas in the Intelligence Section, but none of the key people from that department had been there when the clearing operation started. It would require a number of personnel to adequately man the center, but we could keep at least a partial eye on things from there.

Dad and our Moms were in the Security Center when the four of us entered after our checks on the buildings. They had been keeping an eye on the people that we had quarantined in the Director's Office and in the Operations Section.

"They are still rather upset," Dad remarked when we joined them. On the screen we could see people shouting at each other in both locations and several people were on the phones talking to someone.

"Have the phones been disabled?" Sean asked.

"Yes, the lines to the outside have been disconnected. However, they can still talk to each other internally," Dad told us.

"We are going to have to talk to them at some point," Mother Margie pointed out.

"Yes, after they calm down some more, Dear," Dad said with a smile.

"We're going to have to speak to the reporters and the authorities outside also," Mother Katie reminded us.

"Yes, but that can wait, also," Dad assured us. "And longer than the people we're holding in here can be expected to wait."

"You people are hard to keep up with," Master O'Hennessy said slightly out of breathe, as he entered the room with Oneida Toups behind him.

"Yes, and this place is huge," Oneida added.

"Are all of your people all right?" Dad asked. "No injuries or problems?"

"Yes, my people are all fine," Master O'Hennessy assured us.

"Ours are also. A number of them found the cafeteria and are preparing food for everyone," Oneida told us. We could see the cafeteria on one of the screens and see people eating.

"Yes, food! We're going to have to feed those people that we have quarantined here," Dad said. "That could be a problem."

"Not really," Oneida told us. "Some of our people found a large quantity of what they determined to be Army field rations in the fourth building."

"Field rations?" Sean asked.

"Yes, the boxes were marked 'MRE'. My people didn't care for them," she told us.

"Well, feeding those people won't be as big a problem as I thought," Dad remarked.

"Speaking of eating, are you going to join the rest of us in the cafeteria?" Master O'Hennessy asked.

"Yes, shortly," Mother Margie answered. "We need to keep watch on these people first."

"I'll send some people to relieve you," Master O'Hennessy told us before he and Oneida departed. With all seven of us there it was easy to watch all of the screens. A short time later, four people from the Boston Council, and one from New Orleans, arrived to relieve us. Dad briefed them on what to watch for before we left for the cafeteria and dinner.

Those New Orleans people certainly did know how to cook even if they tended to use a lot of spices. We joined our four Sisters at a table to eat. The meal was great.

"Everything was quiet in our building," Edana told us as we sat down at the table with them.

"Yes, we've been in the Security Center watching the cameras in the various buildings," Mother Margie told her.

"So what happens now?" Tara asked.

"We eat. Then we go to talk to the people in the offices, and if they are nice, they get to eat," Dad told her.

"You're going to let them out?" Gale asked in shock.

"Out? Heavens, no! The New Orleans people found a large store of Army field rations when searching their building. The prisoners will get some of those, and remain behind the wards. From what I saw on the screens, they have a number of rest rooms and plenty of couches and a few beds to sleep on. It won't be that hard on them," Dad told us.

"How long are we going to hold them?" Mother Katie asked.

"As long as we hold these buildings," Dad replied.

As I said previously, we began returning the people who had helped clear the buildings after finishing dinner. The first ones to be returned were the excess people from the Boston Council. The New Orleans people were next after they had finished cleaning up the kitchen where they had cooked the meal that we had all enjoyed. Some of the remaining Boston Council people helped them with that. We were surprised that all of the Plains Council people remained, but who better to sniff out anyone still hiding inside the defensive shell.

After we finished returning the extra people, Sean and I went to inspect the Army Field Rations, while our Wives and Sisters took a break. The rations were in one of the basement rooms in building four - a room that we hadn't previously checked. We were amazed by the large quantity of rations there.

"Damn, man!" Sean said in shock at seeing the huge number of boxes filling the room. "Are these things still good?" he asked next.

"No idea! I never tried them," I answered while examining one of the cases. It had an expiration date that was a year past.

"These aren't brand new, but will have to do," I told Sean as we started loading cases of the rations on a cart and transferred it, and us, to the first building just outside of the warded Director's Offices. Dad was there waiting for us.

"They're still rather upset," Dad remarked calmly. We could see several men inside the office shaking their fists at us and shouting, but none of the noise came through the silence spell that Dad had used so we didn't have to hear them.

"Now that you two are here with the MREs, it's time to go in there and confront them," Dad told us next. Sean and I called up our Sun Swords, and Dad called Fragarach. He canceled the silence spell in the hall, and we moved through the wards with the cart. The shock of seeing us move so easily through the wards, that they had been trying to move through since 3:00 that afternoon, silenced those inside for a short time. The babble started again after a few seconds.

"SILENCE!" Dad commanded, and spoke the trigger word and made the sign for the silence spell. Those present continued to talk and shout for a short time, but there was no sound coming out of their mouths.

"That's better," Dad said in the silence after they finally realized that they couldn't be heard.

"I am Mark Kent O'Connell. I and the people helping me have taken control of this building and the other ones in this complex. You are my prisoners, and you will remain my prisoners until such time as our dispute with the Federal Government has been resolved.

"We have brought you food for the night. There are rest rooms here to take care of your needs, and I have seen showers in several of the private offices. I have also seen that there are numerous couches and some beds in the various offices and waiting areas.

"The phones to the outside have been disconnected, and all cell phone and radio use has been curtailed with a spell. We have also taken control of the computer system.

"You will basically be left to your own devices while we negotiate with the Government. We may come to take one or more of you to those negotiations from time to time," Dad finished.

"Is this all of you?" I asked, as Sean and I had been counting those present so we could leave the correct number of meals, but I had detected no additional people in any of the other rooms. One of the men in a suit and tie raised his hand and tried to talk. Dad collapsed the silence spell for now.

"WHAT?" the man started rather loudly, and stopped when he heard his own voice.

"What do you want?" he resumed more quietly.

"We represent the Magic Community. We want justice for our people and the cessation of your persecution of them," Dad told him.

"And you think you will get it by taking over these buildings and holding us hostage?" the man demanded angrily.

"No, I believe that we will get the Government's attention, and create an awareness of our problem in the public," Dad told him calmly.

"Magic is illegal!!" he shouted.

"Only because you say it is. You will find that there are many in this country that disagree with you on that. The Government tried the same thing with Prohibition and Drugs. It didn't work with them, and won't work with Magic," Dad pointed out.

"That was different. Magic is evil, and the people that practice it are evil!!" another man shouted in anger.

"No, the misuse of Magic is wrong, but there is nothing inherently wrong or evil with Magic, or those who practice it. You can't blame the crimes of a few on the many who are innocent.

"It's similar to possessing a gun. It's not illegal to own one. It is illegal to use it to commit a crime or to threaten others with it," Dad pointed out before adding, "And Magic is a Talent that you are born with, not something that you can purchase," he finished.

"How come you move in and out of here and we can't?" one of the secretaries asked.

"Because these are our wards, and they are keyed to us. Also because we have the Talent and can create them in the first place," Dad told her. Sean and I counted out enough of the MREs so that each person would have one. Since they were in cases of twelve it was easy.

We then transferred to the Operations Section to do the same thing. Those in the Operations Section were even more aggravated than those in the Director's Office had been - that is until Sean and I drew our Sun Swords. They became very quiet then. Dad hadn't even drawn Fragarach. He then basically gave them the same talk that he had given the others. Those in Operations were definitely more surly than the others had been, and Sean and I decided that if they remained that way, they could get very hungry.

When we returned to the cafeteria after returning the unused rations to their storeroom, Ed and Bill were having dinner along with the Boston computer people who had been helping them.

"One of the first things that we looked for," Ed was telling the others, as we came in, "Was how they had blocked us out of our classes. We found a large file on the Family, and in there was a reference to the program they had used. We went to it and turned off the blocks. We should be able to get back to our schooling as early as tomorrow. We should also be able to catch up on all of our classes, as the Government computer uses a very powerful program, and we can get into nearly anything in the school's computer system."

"That goes for your Home-school's computer system, also," Bill told us.

"Yes!" Edana said excitedly. "We'll probably have plenty of time to catch up. There isn't a lot to do here."

"There are plenty of documents to go through," Bill told her. "And Ed and I will need help on that. The Boston people have jobs to return to shortly, so we will need plenty of help."

"Yes, we can all help with that in addition to everyone doing their school work," Mother Katie told us. "Those at the printing plant will just have to do the best that they can without us for a while."

"What about the authorities and other people sitting outside of the defensive shell?" Mother Margie asked. "There are a lot of them."

"They'll just have to wait until morning," Dad told her and us. "They'll be more ready to listen to us by then."

"For now, we need to relieve the people in the Security Center, and set up a watch schedule," Dad told us changing the subject. He called over Master O'Hennessy and Oneida Toups to talk with them.

"We need to start a watch schedule. How many people do you have that can be put on it?" he asked them.

"I have six security people here plus my assistant in addition to the four working on the computer," Master O'Hennessy informed us.

"Just the one already on watch in addition to myself and Marie Laveau, but Marie doesn't understand much of this modern technology," Oneida told us.

"I could stand watch with Oneida and her associate, if it would help," Master O'Hennessy volunteered.

"Fine that would give us nine teams. An hour and a-half watch time per team should get us by until well after daylight. There will be a minimum of three people to a watch team, and that will be stretching things some, but should be all right," Dad told us.