by G. R. Cody
“So, how long have you known?” Eve asked Felix.
“Well, I have to give Robert, and a little absentmindedness on your part, the credit for that.” Felix chuckled. “A word of advice, one agent to another. Never leave your bag unattended to take a nap in the cockpit of a plane.”
Shurmer was still babbling incoherently to himself, and was having trouble with the ropes at Eve’s feet.
“Nevermind that, Shurner,” Felix directed sternly. “She can manage herself now. Back over here, and lie flat on the floor, face down!”
Shurner followed Felix’s direction, still blubbering into the Persian rug. Felix held the pistol to him while Eve finished untying her feet, and then proceeded to begin to untie Robert.
“Eve!” Robert finally spoke. “What the hell is going on!”
“Robert, I am so sorry that you got dragged into this,” she said, touching his cheek, and moved to his other hand.
Seeing that Eve didn’t need any assistance getting Robert untied, Felix knelt down and handcuffed Fred Shurner and grappled him to his knees. By now, Shurner’s blubbering had subsided, but his breathing was still heavy and Eve could see that the enormity of his situation had set in.
Eve finally freed Robert’s hands, and Robert began feverishly working on the ropes that bound his legs. Eve moved to Felix.
“So,” Felix said to Eve, “is this your first collar?”
It took Eve a moment to understand what Felix meant, but she realized he intended for Eve to arrest Shurner.
“Thanks, Felix,” Eve said, and then turned to Shurner. “Mr. Shurner, my name is Eve Pemberton, and I am a special agent with the FBI’s Native American Major Crimes division. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can, and will, be used against you in a court…”
“Let me stop you there,” said a deep voice from behind them. A tall, leather faced man in a tan suit, a bolo where his necktie should be, was pointing a pistol at Felix, who had already holstered his sidearm. And Billy Cobell stood just behind the man.
“Billy, get Mr. Leiter’s gun.” Billy did as his brother instructed, and returned to his brother’s side, pointing Felix’s pistol at them as well.
“So, this is how things are going to work,” Jake Cobell said in an authoritative tone. “You are all on reservation land, which means that my tribe has primary jurisdiction over this situation. Of course, Miss Pemberton could argue the point on a technicality, given we have several what I would classify as ‘major crimes’ that have occurred on Blackfeet property, but I have the guns. Do we all see the situation clearly?”
All four nodded back to the President of the Indian Bank.
“Good,” Jake continued. “Now, I spent a considerable amount of time working out these arrangements with Mr. Shurner and the Secretary of the Treasury. But, given the FBI and CIAs fortuitous involvement now, this gives me a certain amount of additional leverage.
“And I am certainly not going to take the heat for this deal imploding, which I certainly would if I had not believed what Billy said after he went to pick up Miss Pemberton for dinner.
“It is also to my advantage that all of the colloidal gold is on reservation property. I could shoot all of you right now, and every bit of that gold would be mineral rights, the royalties from which would be the Blackfeet Nations. But, of course, The Secretary of Treasury knows that, and given he is not here, it seems I only have one option.
“First, Mr. Leiter, you will unhandcuff Mr. Shurner, and in return, Mr. Shurner, tomorrow morning, CNC will report the missing gold. Then, you will sell all of our gold, on your account, and deposit the proceeds directly into my bank. We will not be involving the Department of the Interior.
“Second, we will return an amount of cash equal to the market value of missing gold at today’s prices that needs to be returned to the IMF directly to the Treasury Secretary, after we have received our $3.4 billion, and any funds remaining after those payments are made will belong to the Blackfeet Nation. Given you are technically working under the Treasury Secretary, Mr. Leiter, this will absolve you of any future responsibility in this matter.
“And finally, I will fly to London and explain things to John Switzer. Knowing John, he will have some moral reservations, but I think we have the moral scales tipping our way in this. And we do have possession of the gold, and I don’t believe John will want it exposed that the Secretary of the Treasury was involved in something this clandestine.
“Do we all have an understanding?” Jake said as he returned his gun to his breast pocket, and Billy lowered Felix’s gun.
All were in agreement, and Billy returned Felix his gun.
Eve was impressed. It seemed as if John Cobell had everything covered. With the exception, of course, of Arthur’s dead body.
“And what about him?” Eve said, glancing over at Arthur’s lifeless body.
“Major crime on Native American soil, Miss Pemberton,” Jake Cobell responded after a brief pause. “I believe that makes him your problem.”
With that, Jake and Billy turned and walked out of the house.
Chapter 22
Blue is the colour, football is the game
We're all together, and winning is our aim
So cheer us on through the sun and rain
'cause Chelsea, Chelsea is our name!
The chorus rang through Stamford Bridge Stadium during halftime, thankfully muted by the plexi-glass window of the Chelsea executive viewing box separating Eve from the open air, which was cold and drizzly this Saturday. She had no idea who was winning, nor did she care. She was simply glad to be back in London.
“Here, love,” Charlotte said, reaching a glass of chardonnay over Eve’s right shoulder.
It took Eve a moment to register what Charlotte had said. Her mind was lost in the whirlwind that she had thankfully left behind in America.
Within a half hour after John and Billy had left, CIA agents had shown up, called by Felix before he had made his way into the underground room and had found the tunnel that led to the house. Felix was able to convince the CIA agents that Arthur had threatened to expose Shurmer related to some sort of embezzlement scheme, and that he had just happened to be at the right place at the right time. And after interrogating Shurmer before the CIA arrived, they learned that Homeland Security had never been involved whatsoever; it had just been a good cover for Shurmer and Arthur’s activities.
After the episode in Montana, she, Felix and Robert made their way back to Helena and caught the first plane back to Atlanta. When they arrived at Hartsfield Jackson airport the next morning, news of the gold thefts was all over the television. As the newscaster on CNC relayed the news, the ticker tape at the bottom of the screen was registering the increases in troy ounce gold prices by the minute; in two hours of trading, the price of gold had risen by 45%.
Once they had landed, Eve had called Charlotte, who she could see was frantic to get news on her once she got her iPhone back. After relaying just a brief synopsis of the events, Charlotte had insisted on having her boyfriend send his private jet to collect her and Robert and bring them back to London. Eve was too tired to argue, and Robert was grateful for the vacation.
As they waited for the jet in the passenger waiting area of the airport under its large, round skylight, planes streaming overhead, Eve asked Felix what he was going to do.
“Eve,” Felix said, looking older than Eve had seen him, “I think it was a mistake to come out of retirement. This is a young man’s game. Or…er…sorry that was rather sexist of me, wasn’t it?”
“Yes,” Eve said pointedly, but then smiled. “I forgive you. Don’t forget, my father is a retired Army colonel. I won’t say I’m used to it, but I get it.”
“Well, I called your father when we landed,” Felix continued, as Eve blushed, as she had not thought to call him. “I can fill him in on what happened so you and Robert can head straight to London. He offered to let me stay for a couple of days, and I think I’ll take him up on it.
And, if the opportunity presents itself over a couple of drinks, I think we should talk about me and your mother.”
“I think he would like that,” Eve said. “Just watch out for that Barbara. She can be a handful.”
Eve hugged Felix, and she watched him walk through the rotunda, his limp more pronounced, to the cab stand and drive away. Then she went back, sat down and lay her head in Robert’s lap. He began to stroke her hair, and she fell asleep.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Charlotte said, pushing the glass forward a bit more.
This snapped Eve back into the present.
“Oh, thanks,” Eve said, taking the glass and having a sip. “But I’m afraid I’d have to pay you to hear the whole story. Anyway, not just now. I’m enjoying not talking about it. I’m still exhausted.”
“Fair play,” Charlotte said, sinking into the seat beside Eve. “Dreadful game, football. I never will understand why men get sooooo passionate about other sweaty men running around in their skivvies chasing after a ball. Anyway, tell me more about Robert?”
Eve took another sip, and she and Charlotte gabbed for the next two hours. Eve was glad to be back, back to London, back to normal life, and back with friends. She knew, though, that it was going to be shortlived. She would need to brief Johnathan on Monday morning. She wondered if Shurmer would keep his end of the deal, but she was relatively certain that Jake and Bill would see to that. She wondered when, or if, the actual details would ever come out. But much bigger secrets had been kept in the past, and she was comfortable that the right people were being served the best.
And despite being very close to losing her life, she knew that she would be ready very soon to get back in the thick of things. It was why she joined in the first place.
“A young man’s game, indeed!” Eve thought to herself as she finished her wine. “We’ll see.”
EPILOGUE
Mary looked anticipatorily skyward as she climbed down out of the Woody. The skies were clear, and the morning air was crisp as she pulled her coat front together to keep the chill off of her neck.
Mary pulled on the metal chain and the hangar door clattered open. She was eager and smiling. Her heart had leapt when she heard the call come across the wireless in her study just a couple of hours before. She had been hoping against hope for years now that she would hear those tail numbers, and when she heard them, she radioed back that she would meet them.
She waited outside the hangar door, her ear to the skies. Within a few moments, she heard the sound of propellers coming near. Another moment, and she saw the sandpiper on approach, and her smile grew.
After touchdown, the sandpiper glided effortlessly into the hangar. Mary pushed the stairs to the door, which opened. The tall woman glided down the metal steps, her long, strawberry hair now tipped in grey. Her figure was the same as Mary had always known, slender and tall, but with distinct curves.
As the woman lighted, they hugged, kissed cheeks and laughed briefly. Then they both turned back up the stairs to see a lanky, sandy haired man in his early thirties, with a scar from his right eye down to the corner of mouth, toting two small bags climb down. Mary kissed him on the cheek when he hit the ground.
And together, the three of them walked toward the side door of the hangar, the two women chattering as sisters do after a long absence, to the Grand Wagoneer and off for a long visit.