“Does that explain why the Spheres didn’t work?” Reg asked Frank.

“Yes. The ‘thing’ that keeps taking you over is part of your own brain. And you don’t get well from this very quickly,” Frank explained.

“So...that means I’m hosed. And I get to go to the loony bin.”

“Well...Hannibal Lector was crazy, too, and they locked him up. At least your lawyer won’t have to defend against the human consumption unless the prosecution brings it up. Unfortunately, ‘Tommy’ is the dominant personality according to the laws in many jurisdictions, since he knows what Reg is doing but Reg doesn’t know what Tommy does.”

“Well, I’m going to just hit this little red button and get some morphine and go to sleep. Tommy...Fuck you!”

Reg pressed the button to self-administer the morphine, and drifted off to sleep a short time later. Frank pulled a wireless web-cam from his pocket and looked around. He found an unobtrusive place to hide it where it could still ‘see’ Reg, then left quietly and returned to the waiting room. Aiden and Angie had come back from seeing Weeping Sparrow shortly after Frank had gone in to speak with Reg. Now that everyone was in one place, Frank suggested that they decamp to the safe house so he could fully explain what he’d found out about Reg.

Karen went to give Weeping Sparrow one last hug. Since she was being moved up to Mt. Pleasant in the morning, it might be a little while before Karen would have another chance to see her. Evan was going to follow her, as she rejoined the team; but Karen suggested he stay there with Jimmy. Several people were already on their way down from the Rez, to relieve the ‘posse.’ And since Justin was much more awake now than he’d been yesterday, she didn’t feel she really needed any additional protection. Evan, Jimmy and Fran should all be able to get a little rest as soon as the others got there. She hugged both men, and wished them a good night and a safe trip home in the morning.

Karen asked the others if they could make a quick stop at Receiving, to see Running Elk, on the way to the safe house. He would be going up to Mt. P in the morning, too, and, with all the activity in the last day and a half, she hadn’t had a chance to visit him at all yet. Aiden had a little more influence at Receiving, and the nurses were willing to let the whole group go in at once as long as they kept their visit short and quiet. But Aiden preferred that people went in only two at a time, to keep Running Elk from getting too animated. They filtered in and out in pairs, everyone giving the injured man a hug or pat on the shoulder and a few quiet words of encouragement. Finally, Karen hugged Fran goodbye and the team headed to the safe house.

When they arrived, Tony almost immediately stretched out on the couch. He’d already had a long day, and he promptly fell asleep. Soon, the team was being serenaded by the sweet sounds of snoring.

As the others were settling in, Leigh went over and gave Justin a hug. “Huh?” Justin grunted, surprised and confused by it.

“I just wanted you to know that you did the right thing, and I would have done the same under the same circumstances,” Leigh explained. She’d noticed how upset Justin still was about the whole situation. She suspected that Karen had been telling him the same thing repeatedly ever since yesterday. But she thought it might help him to hear it from someone else, too.

“The Reg we know and love would have wanted you to kill him,” Frank said. “And...by the way, this is how you double-tap....” Frank pulled out his gun and mimicked pulling the trigger twice in quick succession.

Justin’s head dropped to his chest for a moment. “I wasn’ drying do....” he said, lifting his head. “I mean, I didn’ wan’....” He sighed.

Karen wrapped an arm around his waist. “He’s not criticizing you, hon. I think, in his own inimitable style, he’s telling you that he wouldn’t have hesitated to do the same thing...and he wouldn’t have stopped at just one shot.”

“So?” Leigh asked Frank, settling at the table. “What did you find out?”

“Exorcism won’t work. But in answer to your question...he has dissociative personality disorder.”

“So I shod a sicg person.” Justin sighed, disturbed that he’d not only shot a friend but a sick friend. “Dis is CRAZY crazy, righd? Noding made him crazy?”

“No Unknown discipline made this happen, no,” Frank confirmed. “As it stands right now, depending on the jurisdiction, Tommy may actually be considered the dominant personality.”

“Dat means he goes do jail?” Justin asked.

“Yes,” Frank replied. “But it also means you shot a sociopath. And, I shot Reg, too. Ya know, maybe we should have buttons made?”

“I shod Reg and all I god was dis sdupid d-shird....” Justin joked. The others started laughing, the tension of the past couple days finally getting released.

“So, Frang...gan you bring oud Raimon?” Justin requested. “He was ogay.”

“But then he’ll be hitting on everyone...from jail,” Karen moaned.

“Bud dat’s bedder dan...” Justin started.

“Better than Tommy,” Leigh finished the thought.

Justin nodded tiredly, walking toward the kitchen. “I need a beer...bud I’m seddling for Fernors. Anyone else wand someding?”

“I’ll take one,” Leigh said.

“Beer or Fernors?”

“Beer,” she answered. Frank, Angie and Aiden all held up their hands, asking for beers, too.

“I’ll take a Vernors,” Karen said. “But I’ll give you a hand.” She followed him out to the kitchen and gave him a hug and kiss before they got the drinks from the fridge and went back to pass them out.

“If Reg is going to get better,” Frank told them, “he’s going to need someone who specializes in this kind of thing.”

“I’ll give Dee a call, and see if she can recommend someone who can help,” Leigh offered. “I’m sure that with Alister’s condition, she might know someone.” Frank nodded.

“It does leave Reg more open to getting drawn over to the ‘dark side,’” Karen mused.

“Is id possible dat Reg could go ober do da darg side?” Justin asked, looking at Frank.

Frank shrugged. “He might. But it’s a risk for anyone, not just someone who ate human flesh.”

That wasn’t exactly what Karen was talking about. She was thinking of his new propensity towards evil. But she didn’t press the issue. The whole situation already bothered her enough.

“Well, it’s gonna be impossible to purge everyone that ate people,” she said. “Even if we could find them all.”

“Wouldn’ we jus’ be able do ged a lisd of all the sdaff ad da hospidal?” Justin asked.

“That doesn’t account for all the people who ate in the cafeteria only because they were visiting a patient there,” Frank told him.

“And how do we explain why they need to do it?” Karen added. “It’s not like it’s a quick process... ‘Here eat this and drink this, and puke your guts out, and do it once a week for the next month, because I said so.’”

“We don’t even know if eating human flesh really does leave people more susceptible to Unknown influence,” Frank said. “The only evidence we have is the experience with the Weendigo, and that was a pretty isolated case. The Weendigo influenced an impressionable young man to feed other people human flesh so IT could have influence over them. It may not work for other sorts of creatures, or on people who don’t have a steady diet of human flesh.”

“So maybe he would habe been bedder off if I had....” Justin groaned.

“Justin! You are not responsible for what Reg did,” Leigh shouted at him. “I know that, with your Catholic guilt, you have no choice but to feel bad about shooting him. But you did the right thing at the time. I’m sorry, but somebody had to say it. None of us is happy about what happened, but....”

“You saved Weeping Sparrow’s life,” Karen agreed. “Because if Reg...Tommy...hadn’t been stopped....”

“And Jimmy’s life,” Leigh added. “It looked like he would have been stabbed next if you hadn’t stopped Reg.”

“And who knows how many other lives,” Frank said. “Obviously Tommy had little regard for human life....”

“Shid! Dad’s righd...” Justin realized suddenly. “We don’ know where he was gedding da people he was.... I mean, I figured if da hospidal had a morgue or someding, but do you ding he could habe...?”

“Who knows just how far Tommy would have gone,” Frank agreed.

“It’s something we should probably check out,” Leigh said. Everyone was quiet for a minute, considering the possibilities.

“I know, I know,” Justin sighed finally, nodding. “I am drying. I’ll ged ober it ebendually. Jus’ led me wallow in da self-pidy ‘dil I’m ready.”

“Well, anyway, now that we know what’s going on, I’m going to call Phil and Audra,” Leigh said.

“And tell them what?” Karen asked. “We should probably have a plan for what to say and what not to, before you drop that bomb.”

“How are we supposed do dell Reg from Dommy, anyway,” Justin asked.

“As long as he’s in the hospital, we can tell from the monitors,” Frank told him. “Tommy’s pulse was a perfect 60 the entire time I was talking to him.”

“How is dat possible?” Justin objected. “No one gan gondrol id dat well.”

“There are plenty of yogis who would disagree,” Leigh said. “No one completely understands the boundaries of what the mind can do.”

“The thing is, as long as the Tommy personality is in control, Reg’s body will respond however Tommy would,” Karen hypothesized. “And sociopaths have been known to pass lie detector tests by controlling their bodies that way.”

“Is dere anyding we gan do for Reg oder dan nod helping da prosegution?” Justin asked.

“Get him a good lawyer and a good shrink,” Frank replied. “I believe Leigh’s already taken care of the former, and she’s going to be working on the latter.”

“Bring him flowers every day in the hospitals...” Karen said, adding, “...both of them,” at a whisper. That was the one thing that really pained her about Reg’s situation. It wasn’t Justin shooting him. That had to be done for the safety of everyone out there that day, and all the people he would have been harming in the future if he’d gotten away. And it wasn’t that, once he was released from this hospital, he’d be facing some serious criminal charges. Leigh had gotten him a lawyer who came highly recommended by Mark, and so must be very good. It was the fact that he would most likely end up in a mental institution of some kind, even though Karen knew it was where he needed to be.

His best defense was going to be an insanity plea, because it was the truth. Once a jury or judge understood that, either he’d go into a prison mental ward or he’d go into an institution. Her gut clenched at the thought of either one. It was a long time ago that she’d been in ‘the hospital.’ But, though her fear of being institutionalized again certainly once had a rational basis, after so many years, during which she’d more than proven her sanity, that fear had become a phobia. The mere mention of mental institutions or of someone being sent to one, in general, was enough to make Karen tense. And it had taken all her willpower to not break down completely when Aiden had been briefly sent to a mental ward, when he’d freaked out over being kept in the hospital while he was still battling his lycanthropy.

As far as Karen was concerned, it was a no-win situation for Reg, and it hurt terribly to see it happening to another good friend, especially when her rational brain forced her to agree with its necessity. On the one hand, if he ended up in a regular institution, he’d probably get more effective treatment than he would in a prison mental ward, treatment that he really did need. On the other hand, he might get released as soon as he was declared sane. Karen knew that someone as astute and charming as Reg/Tommy would quickly learn all the right answers and be able to pass as sane without actually being cured. Even she’d been able to do that eventually, and she was nowhere near as charming as Reg. Of course, she also wasn’t really insane to begin with, either. The problem was...allowing Tommy to get free, ever, wasn’t really an option for any of the Envoys, since they knew what he was capable of. The most she could hope for out of the whole dismal situation was to find a way to let Reg know that there would always be people who cared about him. Unfortunately, as long as Tommy was in charge, Reg might never find that out.

“Any thoughts on how we tell Phil and Audra,” Leigh asked the others, “what sort of...um...”

“Spin?” Karen suggested, suddenly realizing that the subject had changed.

“Yes...‘spin’ we can put on it for them?” Leigh finished.

“He’s in the hospital and he needs his family,” Frank told her.

“But how do we explain that he’s in there because Justin shot him?” Karen asked. No one had a ready answer.

“What about Paz and Ami’s nanny?” Leigh asked. “Do we know how safe they are with her? Because if Phil and Audra are here for Reg, the girls will be alone there with a fairly unstable mother, and.... Has their nanny been fully checked out?”

“Yes. I got asked by several different people to check her out back when she was first hired,” Frank said. “Just call them and tell them someone will pick them up at the airport when they get in.”

“Nod me,” Justin said.

“No, you’re too drugged up right now,” Aiden agreed.

Leigh pulled out her phone and dialed Phil’s cell number. She didn’t want to risk having Claire answer. After a few rings, the call went to voice mail. “Phil? This is Leigh. Reg is in the hospital, but he will be OK. Please call me. And we can get you to the hospital when you get here.”

Leigh sat for a few minutes, holding the phone and willing it to ring. When it didn’t, she got up and went to the kitchen. She was buzzing with nervous energy, and had to do something to burn it off. She started going through the cabinets and fridge, looking at what ingredients she had available and thinking about what she might do with them.

Frank got out his own phone, and called Terri. “Hi! Where are you?” he asked when she answered her phone.

“I’m parked at Metro,” she told him.

“Metro? We don’t need to flee the state,” Frank told her.

“We did dell her do ged oud’a dere,” Justin reminded him.

“The question is, do I want to know?” Terri asked him. “Or rather, I DO want to know, but is it advisable?”

Frank sidestepped the question. He still hadn’t decided whether or not to keep her out of it for right now. “I just wondered if you wanted to come and join in the drinking....”

“Should I bring any food?” she asked. “If I do, got any preferences?”

“Just not Steak Tartar,” Frank told her.

Leigh had been furiously chopping vegetables for a salad, until she ran out of vegetables. Then she turned to making bread, since there happened to be a lone packet of yeast in the refrigerator. She’d taken a break and had a few drinks while the dough rose, and she was up to her forearms beating it down when her phone started ringing. Frank happened to be in the kitchen getting another beer, so he opened the phone and held it to Leigh’s ear while she washed the dough off her hands.

“Reg is alright but he’s in the hospital?!” Phil said, his voice rising slightly. “Oh...sorry.... Hi, Leigh! Thanks for calling. Reg is alright but he’s in the hospital?! Where are you?”

“Detroit,” Leigh answered, since Phil actually gave her a little opening to get a word in.

“I’ll call you when we know our flight,” Phil told her.

The volume on Leigh’s phone was high enough that Frank could hear some of what Phil was saying. He turned the phone to his own ear. “Reg was shot. He’s in ICU. He’ll recover,” he told Phil.

Leigh, her hands clean enough, grabbed her phone back from Frank and giving him a dirty look. “Don’t tell his sister,” Leigh warned him, concerned that Claire would freak out and put the girls at risk.

“No, I wasn’t planning on it,” Phil told her. “I’m going to arrange our flight now.” He hung up without waiting for a response.

In the other room, Justin asked, “Do we know how long undil Weeping Sparrow gan ged gud loose?” There was a pause, and no one said anything for a second. “Oh, geez, bad choice of words,” Justin apologized, suddenly realizing what he’d just said. “Sorry.”

“We know what you meant,” Angie told him, snickering.

“She’s scheduled for a med-evac ride up to Mt. P in the morning,” Aiden told him, realizing that Justin’s pain pills probably kept him from remembering that they’d already talked about it earlier.

“Running Elg, too?”

“Yup.”

Frank came back to the table with his beer, and opened his laptop. He opened a link to the web-cam he’d left in Reg’s room, to check on him. He was still strapped down pretty well; and from the looks of it, he really did dose himself when he said he was going to, because he looked like he was out cold.

“So, fixing da Hell Moud is on hold undil Weeping Sparrow is bedder...” Justin said, thinking out loud, “or poinds us do a subsdidude.... And I sdill habe a few days wid my jaw wired....”

There was a knock at the back door, and everyone froze for a second. Frank opened a window and linked to the backdoor’s security camera. It was Terri, with a couple large grocery bags. Leigh let her in and fastened the door behind her. Terri carried the bags to the table. The bags were labeled Xocomico, which was a really good, authentic Mexican place near the Ambassador Bridge. She started pulling loaded styrofoam clamshells out of the bag, and Justin looked at the containers wistfully. Only a few more day until he could eat real food again....

“I didn’t forget,” she told him, pulling out a quart-sized plastic container of soup. “I brought Menudo for you.”

“Unnh,” Karen groaned. She’d had it before, and if she didn’t think about what it was, it really wasn’t bad. But considering what Reg had been serving in the hospital cafeteria....

Justin looked at her, waiting to hear why she didn’t like it. He didn’t even know what it was....

“It’s tripe,” Angie said, a note of disgust in her voice, too.

It took Justin a second to realize... “Oh! Well...I guess id isn’ dat bad....”

“I brought Tortilla Soup, too,” Terri consoled them, pulling another plastic container out of the bag. “And margharitas!” She pulled a couple large jugs out of the bag and held them up like trophies.

“Id sdill isn’ da same as nachos,” Justin sighed.

“We can fix that!” Frank told him with evil glee. He took the large clamshell with nachos into the kitchen, and they could hear the blender whir into action, ‘choking’ a couple times on chips. He carried back in a plastic Slurpee cup with a straw.

Terri peered inside the cup and wrinkled her nose, then stuck the straw in her mouth and sucked on it. Her cheeks caved in as she pulled hard for a few seconds. She paused and thought for a second. “That’s not actually bad....”

She held the cup out to Justin, and he took it. Since she’d already started it, it didn’t take him as long to get some of the ‘nacho shake’ through the straw. “You’re righd. Bud Bendie sdraws aren’ fery macho.”

“I can fix that, too!” Frank said. He went to the kitchen, and they could hear him opening and shutting cabinets. A minute later, he came back with one of the stupid hats that has beer-can holders mounted above the ears and long flexible tubes to suck the beer out with. “I knew Tony’d have one of these around here!”

“Well, nothing official, but your ‘case’ has already hit the precinct,” Terri told them all.

“Shid. I’m gonna hafda find oud which reladives are reporders, so I gan sday away from ‘em,” Justin complained.

“You mean besides Marlene, who could really use the scoop to get her career back on line?” Frank teased him.

The team quickly filled in Terri, telling her the truth of what had happened. As they did, Terri tapped Frank on the arm and slid a bottle of his favorite whiskey from the pocket of her coat, which was hanging on the back of the chair. He smiled and nodded his thanks. They’d save that for later.

“I didn’ double-dap,” Justin said, almost apologetically.

“I hear you didn’t need to,” Terri told him.

“He dropped with just one,” Leigh confirmed.

“I sdopped afder id was Reg in dere,” Justin clarified.

“We’ve been told that Tommy makes the best soup,” Leigh said, just before taking a bite of a cheese enchilada. “I think I’m going to have to make an appointment for a session with you before you two leave town again, Frank.”

“It sounds like everyone will,” Terri commented.

“I’ll need a session wid Fader Colin,” Justin told them, “begause I can’d exagdly dell Fader Jerzy.”

“Why not?” Karen asked him. “There’s nothing Unknown about it. You were forced to shoot a friend because he went crazy and slit the throat of another friend.”

“By the way, Frank,” Terri said, “I parked the RV in a pay lot a couple blocks away that has someone there. And I locked it down. Don’t let me forget I did that. It’s really embarrassing when I forget.”

“What?” Frank teased her. “I think the one alarm is a pretty good one.” He put on his ‘Fed’ voice, enunciating each syllable: “Step away from the vehicle or I will call the police.” Pause. “OK, I’m dialing 911...right now....” Another pause. “The police should be here any moment.”

Everyone laughed. “I’m more worried about the tear gas. You only wanna make THAT mistake once,” Terri told him. The others laughed even harder.

When the laughter died down, Frank got serious again. “If the story’s out already, then your house is probably being watched,” he told Justin and Karen. Karen sighed.

“There wasn’t anyone there when I went by,” Terri said. “But I didn’t stop or anything. Just drove by, and continued on over here when I saw the lights were all out.

“I jusd wanna go home and sleep wid my wife,” Justin moaned.

“You could stay in the RV, and release the tear gas at anyone who bothered you,” Frank offered.

“I like you,” Leigh giggled. “You’re bad.” She was starting to feel the margharitas, but she didn’t really care. She was hoping they’d dull the pain a bit.

“And I need do ged oud of dese doldrums or da dogdor’s gonna gibe me uppers,” Justin sighed.

“Or worse...lock you in a room with Frank for a session!” Angie laughed.

“Why, I’m glad you mentioned it, Angie,” Frank said, checking his watch. “I DO have an 8am session available, since you volunteered.”

Angie rolled her eyes and threw a pillow at Frank.

Everyone was winding down, finally, and thinking about going home for the night. Aiden looked over at Karen and she nodded. Obviously they were tonight’s designated drivers. Justin hadn’t been drinking, but they were concerned that his focus might still be dulled by the pain meds. So the two figured out who was driving whom where, threw a blanket over Tony, and, for the next hour or so, got everyone and their vehicles where they belonged.

Over the next few days, Karen noticed that Justin was cutting his dosage of the pain meds by about half. She figured he was trying to punish himself, blaming himself for not being more alert, as if that would have made him do something differently that day. Sure, maybe if his brain hadn’t been dulled by the meds, he might have aimed at a less-lethal target. But he still would have had to shot Tommy to stop him. And if he hadn’t been on the pain pills, then maybe the pain itself would’ve dulled his brain the same way and nothing would’ve changed.

On the other hand, she knew that he’d had personal experience with what he called “grunt candy,” and he’d seen enough guys get addicted to it for the very reason that it did slow their brains down, so they wouldn’t have to think about what they’d done while they were active. And she knew that Justin hated the thought that he might get addicted to it himself. So she didn’t say anything to him about it. It hurt to see him in pain, physical or mental; but as long as he was trying to handle it himself, so wasn’t going to intervene.

Every time Leigh saw Justin over the next couple months, she’d give him a hug and remind him that he had nothing to feel guilty about. And eventually, Justin began believing what she and Karen and all the others told him. No charges were ever filed against Justin, once the investigation was completed. Not even the cops could fault what he’d done that day.

Fr. Colin eventually returned Tony’s call. “Ah, I’ve been busier than a one-armed paper hanger!” he complained to Tony, in his Irish brogue. “All of a sudden I’m trainin’ hundreds of new exarcists. The number of reparts of passessions has just exploded recently, and there aren’t enough of us ta keep up!”

“Here in the States?” Tony asked, concerned.

“Not sa much in Narth America. And anly a little mar than usual in Europe. But, heavens, in South America and Asia...?!”

Leigh began doing research into Reg’s past, especially his and Claire’s childhood. Considering how both of them ended up mentally unstable as adults, she wondered if there might have been something in their common background that had predisposed than to it.

Reg had never really talked about his mother’s death, so Leigh looked there first. But she’d died of illness in the 90s, when Reg was well past the age when most MPD cases are triggered. So she kept looking, thinking that maybe he had some strange uncle or neighbor when he was a child, who might have caused the initial break.

She continued to visit Reg, too, though she always kept in mind that it was practically impossible to tell when Tommy was ‘in charge,’ and so behaved as if he was all the time. She wasn’t happy about having to do that, but she knew it was safer.

And when Tommy was in charge, he went with ‘protective coloration,’ careful to BE Reg. He never made a fuss about his treatment or the way his case was being handled, never did anything that might tip people off that it was him and not Reg in control.

He had a really good lawyer, and Frank was an excellent expert witness, and even the prosecution’s expert couldn’t deny that Reg really seemed to have a dissociative disorder. Weeping Sparrow insisted on not pressing charges against Reg; and after consulting with her, Running Elk decided to do the same. So only the State had a case to press against Reg. Reg ended up in the hospital for the duration of his trial. And in the end, he was judged guilty but mentally ill and sent to the prison mental ward.

Frank decided that he should probably stick around in order to continue treating Reg, since Tommy would have little chance of ‘glibbing’ his way out of jail with Frank. He also decided that, even though he’d be around, he was going to cut back on his SAVE work in order to devote more time to his practice. So Terri went back to work at the DPD a little sooner than she’d planned; but she was OK with that because Frank’s decisions meant that he might have a little more time for her, too.

Angie and Leigh had started working out together on a regular basis, and Justin joined them from time to time as well. Since they all practiced different styles of martial arts, it helped all of them become more proficient when they had a chance to work out against styles different from their own.

Justin was also working on ways to think of using non-lethal force first, rather than going straight for his gun. And everyone was working through their lingering issues with having to put one of their own in prison.

They’d gotten all the way through February and into March without anything sidetracking the normality of their lives. It was Wednesday, March 5 when it finally happened.

Leigh had come over to have dinner with Justin and Karen. They talked about Reg, and Justin mentioned that he was toying with a new idea for ‘hiding the team in plain sight.’ But otherwise, they tried to avoid ‘shop talk.’

The three were just finishing cleaning up from their meal when there was a knock at the front door. Justin grabbed a gun from its kitchen drawer cubby, and went and looked through the peephole. There was a Native American man, a little over 6 feet tall, about college-aged, standing on the porch. Justin wasn’t sure who he was, but he probably had something to do with Weeping Sparrow. He shrugged and opened the door, keeping the gun hidden behind it.

Now he could see that the guy was wearing black slacks, a white shirt, a tie, and a Herringbone tweed jacket. He had collar-length hair, and was fairly good-looking, though Justin didn’t really consider himself a great judge of guys’ looks.

“You must be Moose,” the man said to Justin.

“You must know Weeping Sparrow,” Justin replied, not yet ready to let the guy all the way through the door.

“I have a message from Weeping Sparrow.”

Justin stuck his head out the door and looked around, then backed up and let the guy in. He flipped the safety back on, and tucked the gun into the back of his waistband, then shut the door behind the guy. “And you are?” he asked the man, leading him into the kitchen and slipping the gun back into its kitchen drawer.

“David Red Elk,” the man said.

Having had a chance to see him better, Justin figured the guy was actually a little older than college-aged, maybe mid-20s. “Are you...this is a stupid question, but...are you related to Running Elk?” Justin asked him.

Red Elk didn’t quite roll his eyes, but Justin got the message. “No,” he told Justin.

“I know. Stupid question. But, hey, I’m white.”

“Yes. You are.”

Justin went to the bottom of the back staircase and hollered up, “Karen!”

Karen came into the kitchen from the sun room, Leigh right behind her. Justin spun around, a little surprised that they came from a different direction than he’d expected.

“Where is Essiban?” David asked, looking up from the envelope in his hand and at one white face, then another.

“Right here,” Karen said, stepping forward and holding her hand out for the envelope. Red Elk couldn’t quite mask the surprised look on his face. He wasn’t expecting her to be white! He handed over the envelope, which had her name on it, written in Weeping Sparrow’s hand.

Justin motioned to the table, and asked, “Can I get you something? I’ve got beer, tea, wine....”

“Water will be fine,” Red Elk said almost stiffly, sitting down and struggling to cover his surprise.

Karen pulled a chair out with her toe and sat absent-mindedly as she focused on the envelope.

Leigh watched Karen open the letter and was about to sit down when she heard a car pull up in front of the house. When Justin didn’t seem to hear it, because he was watching for reactions from both his wife and this Ojibwa man, she went to the front room and peeked out the window. It was a cab. A little, bald-headed Japanese man got out. He kind of reminded Leigh of pictures she’d seen of Gandhi, but without the glasses. He was wearing ‘business casual’ clothes with a jacket over it that looked like silk.

Leigh could see him check a small piece of paper he held, then look up at the address again. He leaned into the cab and paid and thanked the driver, then walked to the door. Leigh let him knock before opening it. She didn’t want to spook him away just moments after he got here.

“Hello,” she said, answering the door when he knocked.

“You...are Doctor Ka-zot-chek?” the man asked, in a heavy Japanese accent.

“Oh, no,” Leigh told him. “I’m a friend of hers. And she uses her maiden name, Riley, professionally.”

“Ah! Father Colin did not mention that!”

“Oh, Fr. Colin sent you?” Leigh asked, stepping back and inviting him into the house.

“Doctor Nakatomi,” he said, bowing to her. “Sent by Father Colin.”

“Well, you pronounce his name right, so you must have met him. I’m Leigh Sorenson.” She returned his bow.

“Yes! We had many discussions when he was in Japan. He mentioned a particular...household?... you are having trouble with?”

Leigh’s eyebrows went up. She supposed you could say that, if it was the Hell Mouth he was referring to. Well, they hadn’t tried geomancy yet.... She led Dr. Nakatomi toward the kitchen.

Karen opened the envelope and unfolded the sheet of paper inside. The letter was written in Ojibway.

“Essiban,

“This one is in much need. I send him to you knowing you will teach him everything he has not learned. Like many young people, he believes he knows more of the world than he even knows exists.

“It is time you took on an apprentice. And if you don’t need an apprentice, he will make a good bodyguard.

“With affection,
“Weeping Sparrow”

Karen could hear her laughing, even from Detroit. She looked up at David Red Elk, unsure what to say. It didn’t look like he knew what Weeping Sparrow had written in the letter. They were staring at one another when Leigh brought in Dr. Nakatomi.

“This is Dr. Nakatomi,” she introduced him to the others. “Fr. Colin sent him. Dr. Nakatomi, this is Justin Kazotchek, Karen Kazotchek, and....” She looked to Justin to fill in the Native American man’s name.

“Oh, and David Red Elk,” Justin finished. “Mr. Red Elk, this is Leigh Sorenson. Weeping Sparrow sent him....”

“Yes. She thinks I need an apprentice,” Karen added.

“Are you an archaeologist?” Justin asked, turning back to him.

“I’ve taken some classes...but, I’m a lawyer. U of M Law School.”

Karen could almost see him puff up like a robin when he said it. Great. A U of M snob. She grinned. She had no doubt that Weeping Sparrow sent him here because she felt both of them had something to learn.

Justin set the glass of water he was holding in front of Red Elk and held out a chair for Dr. Nakatomi.

“Can I get you something?” Leigh asked him.

“We have tea...” Justin offered.

“It’s very good, an herbal mixture I made myself,” Leigh told him.

“Thank you. That would be nice,” Dr. Nakatomi replied.

“So, if you’re a lawyer,” Justin asked, turning to Red Elk again, “how did you end up taking orders from Weeping Sparrow?”

“I believe it’s a right of passage. My father...he wants me to learn the ways of the shaman, so he sent me to Weeping Sparrow. And...well...I read your papers...but no one mentioned that you were...well, you ARE a member of the tribe...but....”

David was obviously quite uncomfortable. He seemed to really be stumbling over the part where Karen was.... “Yeah, she’s white,” Justin finally said, pointing out the obvious thing that Red Elk was dancing around.

“Yes.” Red Elk agreed, his shoulders dropping ever so slightly. Karen couldn’t tell whether it was from relief at the ‘horrifying fact’ being out in the open or from disappointment that they didn’t seem to see the horror in it and he was going to have to somehow muddle through anyway.

“Dr. Nakatomi is here about your house, Justin,” Leigh told them, trying to direct the attention away from Mr. Red Elk for a moment.

“So, what do you know about the house, Doctor?” Justin asked. “What did Fr. Colin tell you?”

“That it may be infested by demons,” Dr. Nakatomi said. “However...” He lowered his voice and leaned in to Justin. “I don’t wish to talk about it in front of our young friend until we know how much he knows. He is a tribal member, so he must be determined and strong...and yet....”

Justin nodded agreement. But then, he could have said the same about Nakatomi, too. “So what’d the letter say?” Justin asked Karen.

“That he’s supposed to be my apprentice,” Karen told him. She looked at Red Elk, still unsure what to make of those instructions, and shrugged. “Or my bodyguard.”

“So we’re supposed to be shoving him in the deep end?” Justin glanced at her indalo earrings.

Karen sighed. “I’m not ready to do that quite yet.... But he showed up at the same time as Dr. Nakatomi, here...and I gave up coincidences for Lent...a couple years ago.”