Gabriel called Alice again at work. “It was one hell of a meeting. I’ll be home before you,” he said. “No, nothing more from Fred.” Then Gabriel swept through his suite, letting everyone go home for the day. He entered his private office alone, stopping to listen to the click, click of the antique grandfather clock and the faint sounds of traffic outside the frosted window. He walked over and opened it a crack. The outdoor sounds sharpened and a fresh, wet gust of air blew in. Gabriel had actually bribed the custodians to allow an illegal window—one that opened to fresh air. I could have started a window revolution, he thought. Another missed opportunity. A paper blew off his desk, floated like a leaf for a second and descended to the floor. Let it go. Let it all go.
Gabriel found a packing box in the supply cabinet outside and returned to his office. There were just a few precious things. Very few, he thought, considering all the time I spent here. Into the box went an assortment of items.
First was the minutes of a long ago Tribal Council. Gabriel paused to read the first few lines: “On this day, Tall Bear appeared with Little Bear. By acclamation, Little Bear is named ‘Standing Bear.’” Attached was a faded picture of father and son. Tall Bear, in jeans and fringe shirt, dark skin, long braids, and arresting gray eyes, towered over seven year old Gabriel. And Standing Bear, an earnest, stocky brave, looked proudly at the camera, holding the antlers of a buck deer. A youthful Fred Loud Owl stood at the edge of the picture, smiling.
Next was a dog collar which bore the name ‘L’l wolf’ taped to a picture of eleven year old Gabriel and a stocky gray puppy, the snow-dappled pines out of focus in the background.
They were followed by a collection of old western movies, one well worn clay pipe with a long handle, a small, exquisite hawk sculpture, carved out of obsidian and a color snapshot showing Snowfeather at six with her beautiful mother, standing near a teepee by Redfish Lake, Idaho.
Gabriel closed the box and left the building without calling the apartment.
——
Alice arrived home an hour later. “I left early,” she said, hugging Gabriel. “Tell me exactly what Loud Owl said.”
“Fred used an encrypted phone, the kind where there is a time limit. He wouldn’t tell me where he was, but I got the idea he was on familiar ground. He said, ‘She’s with me and she’s okay. Tell Alice everything will be okay.’”
“That’s all?”
“Yes.”
Alice was crying. “Oh, Gabriel, I was so worried.” She held his shoulders and stared into his face. “Where was Snowfeather!”
Gabriel sighed. “I’m sure Fred didn’t say because he didn’t dare say. She’s probably in New Mexico somewhere. At any rate, Snowfeather is safe under Fred Loud Owl’s protection—we can count on that.” His wife looked unconvinced. “Alice, she is safe.” Gabriel paused. “But I’m just not so sure about us.”
“Shit,” Alice said, wiping her eyes.
Alice never swears, Gabriel thought. “I’m thinking this isn’t our real home, anymore,” he said.
“It never was, Gabriel.”
“I know, I know.” Gabriel took a deep breath. “I’ve got to talk about that meeting. I’ve got the fight of my life on my hands. Can we talk in the kitchen?”
Alice followed him into the kitchen where cheeses and crackers were laid out on a low counter next to a fresh pot of coffee. Then she saw the open packing box on the table, and noticed the handle of Tall Bear’s clay pipe, and the end of a dog collar.
“You were meeting with Fowler?”
Gabriel poured two cups, adding cream to his wife’s. “Yes,” he said. “And I discovered the limits to Gabriel’s Rule.”
“Let me guess. ‘You can’t take every prick’s money.’” Gabriel smiled, and they clinked mugs.
“Alice, the Senate power structure has met and I am toast. Even Steve Fall was there.”
“The Vice President?”
“And the Majority Leader. They intend to expel me from the Senate, next week. And they think they have the votes. So I brought my personal stuff home as a precaution.”
“The votes? But not the grounds.”
“Grounds don’t matter if you’ve got the votes. I’m sick in my gut, Alice. These are my friends.”
“Were your friends, Gabriel. Your real friends are at home, love.”
Gabriel pursed his lips. “I feel like making them stand up and be counted. Every single damn vote. A role call of betrayal.”
“You are going to fight it out to the end aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Did Fowler offer you money?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t even tell me the amount. I’m proud of you, Gabriel, for turning down that terrible man’s money.”
“So I’ll just fight it and we’ll go from there.”
Alice stared into her coffee cup. “We’ll do just fine with you outside the Senate. A paralegal can work anywhere.” She looked up, smiling. “And we still have the ranch.”
“We do that. The vote to expel me is to be this Friday.” There was a long silence. Gabriel studied his wife’s face. “What?” he asked.
“Gabriel Standing Bear, I want you to think about the unthinkable,” Alice stared into his eyes. “What is the price of winning?”
“What do you mean?” He slid his chair closer.
“They want you to be quiet, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Well, that wouldn’t change, right?”
“My silence?” A light seemed to go on. “Of course not.”
“Exactly. So they’ll be gunning for you every day.”
“You’re probably right about that.”
“Assume you win, get to stay in the Senate, fighting every day. You won’t be silenced even for a minute, so you’ll lose all your committee assignments, all your influence unless you reign in your floor comments and your interviews.”
“You are right about the assignments.”
“And the interviews. Winning won’t give you what you want, Gabriel. Will it?”
Gabriel looked thoughtful. “To speak freely, I need to be outside the institution. You’re suggesting I just quit?”
“Yes I am.” She paused. “Call Governor Wright. He can appoint Judge Foster, your old partner, to serve out your term. We have more important fish to fry.” She paused. “And our daughter to find… ”
As always, Alice is right. Gabriel just sat for a moment; then he released a deep breath. He looked across the little table at his wife with admiration. “Voice of reason. I married the Voice of Reason.”
“I need a recording device.” They both laughed.
“Alice, I do see it… I’ve been a bit too distracted, a little out of balance lately.”
“You’re excused. The world looks like it’s coming unglued, doesn’t it?”
“Our world. I understand that John Owen is in some kind of exile. They may have even tried to kill him. Even without a body, everyone has concluded that Lance McKernon was murdered. Thurston Smith is sure of that now. Our daughter was deep into this Gaia cult thing and now she’s running from something scary. I’m sure this ties back to John or Lance. Snowfeather is only safe by the grace of God.”
“My God, Gabriel, suppose our daughter is a witness to a kidnapping or murder, how can she ever be safe?”
Gabriel winced. “Only when the good side wins this. Meantime, she has melted away, as far away from that Gaia crowd as she could.”
“Where is she, really?”
“It has to be in Arizona or New Mexico. That’s where Fred Loud Owl could do the most to hide her. He has more hiding places than a fox.”
“So we go to Arizona or New Mexico or wherever and find her.” Alice’s eyes flashed.
Gabriel nodded. “I want to, but we are too conspicuous. It won’t do Snowfeather any favors for us to be followed. I think I will call Governor Wright and Bill Foster at home tonight. I need to prepare them for my replacement. I owe Idaho that much.”
Alice sighed. “I so want to find Snowfeather. You are conspicuous, Gabriel, not me.”
“We both are. And we still need more information from Loud Owl. We’ll surely draw attention to Snowfeather even if we just make inquiries.”
“I can’t stand this uncertainty, Gabriel.”
“Me either.”
Alice sighed and stood up. “I might as well start packing up. I hated this damned town anyway.”
“I remember. Gabriel stood, wrapping his arms around his wife’s neck, nuzzling her hair. “We may need to get you completely out of the crosshairs for a while.”
“But I want to help find our daughter.”
“I know. But maybe you could work on finding another safe haven for her. Who else could I trust to do that right now?”
Alice hesitated. Then her expression became calm and focused. Yes. Something practical to do. Something that might actually help. “I could go back to work with the Intertribal Foundation for a while—the new offices are near Sandpoint. Snowfeather might even like it there. They can always use her help in the office. And I could even start painting again.”
“Good. At least we’ve got some savings,” Gabriel said. “And Cousin Steve has taken good care of the old ranch.”
Alice pulled away and looked up at Gabriel. “We’ve seen worse times.” Then her face darkened. “Gabriel, what do you think Snowfeather running from? Why didn’t she even call? If she is frightened, shouldn’t we be frightened?”
“I could pretend I’m not scared.” Gabriel’s eyes teared up. “But our girl is obviously running from that Gaia cult. I think she can expose something they desperately want hidden. Nothing would surprise me at this point.”
“So why didn’t she come here?” Now Alice was openly weeping.
“You know this isn’t a safe place anymore,” Gabriel said. And at the moment he had spoken those words, a chill descended over them both.
Part Two: The Human Conspiracy
“Character is destiny.”
Heraclitus