Gabriel's Stand (17 page)

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

Early Spring, one year after the Treaty Ratification. Southern Idaho

The auto-camera light went red.

Gabriel's breath smoked in the crisp spring air as he cleared his throat. A servo motor whirred. His new AutoCam, a single camera mounted on a tripod nearby, had gone live. An umbilical connected it to a portable satellite video transmission unit braced against a lava rock.

The wind stirred and Gabriel's horse snuffled in the background. Gabriel listened to the computer voice in his concealed ear piece:

6,5,4,3,2,1…Live.

SatCom On: 0:6:07 Hours M.S.T.

AutoCam: Pan. Frame scene.

The scene AutoCam framed was an early dawn and a rugged Native American man in jeans, flannel shirt, a well used down vest. He is crouching next to a small campfire and a deep red glow seeps into the black sky behind him, igniting low clouds.

Cue. Auto cam:
Zoom tight to campfire, then pan to blackened coffee pot.

A callused hand pushes a stick into the flames
.

Cue. AutoCam: Zoom out to upper body.

His long gray hair hangs loose against a weathered face. In the firelight, the image could be a nineteenth century daguerreotype.

“This is Senator Gabriel Standing Bear Lindstrom and as long as you are getting this on the web, there is still hope.

“Look.”

Cue. AutoCam: Zoom out and pan
.

Sagebrush, lava outcroppings, more sagebrush, all fade into the distance. A horse is silhouetted against brightening horizon.

Gabriel continues, “This how the Idaho desert looks. I am standing a few day's ride from the Bitterroot Mountains where Grandfather Fat Bear hunted with a bow and arrow. The dawn has just announced itself and the spring air still smells like winter. My breath makes a cloud and the sagebrush is still showing the night frost. The Little Lost River is just over the hills from this spot. I imagine ice has formed where it runs shallow and slow.

“In this country, in Boise, Burley, and Bone, in Coeur d'Alene, Caldwell and Carey, in Paris, Portneuf, and Pocatello, in Moscow, Mud Lake, and Malad, my friends still call me Senator Gabriel Standing Bear Lindstrom…even after my resignation. That ‘take this job and shove it' moment was my act of defiance…like this webcast.

“I love this land. My roots here go back beyond written history. I say this because you must know where my loyalties lie. You may know my environmental record, but I want you to know my heart.

“In the last few months we have lived with the first harsh steps to implement the Earth Restoration Treaty, a dangerous surrender that I and a few other Senators opposed.

“Oh, I was tempted to support it at first. After all, I thought: We have been subjected to far too much change, far too fast. We've all suffered tech overload. At some point, my own history, my heritage, and my very soul…all of it became cartoonish and unreal, like those digital landscapes in the old video games. If I spent ten peaceful minutes in my native Idaho in twelve months, it was a miracle…
me
, a proud member of the United Tribes, with the blood of the Sioux, the Nez Perce and three other tribes in my veins.

“I longed for something more peaceful. Something older. That was the hook for most of us when the advocates for the Treaty promised a return to the old days. At some point, I think we all idealize the past. We fantasize being lifted out of our electronic, over-stimulated world, and transported through time and place to a simple meadow, soft in the afternoon sun, a limpid pool, white clouds drifting, far, far from digital, virtual, chattering, ultimately fake realities. Too many of us live in a construct, a made-up version of that world. Ultimately the virtual is always inauthentic, a hollow imitation of this.” Gabriel picked up some dirt and let it spill back to the ground.

“So I do understand the temptation to extremism. We all needed time to regain control of this monster technology. Before the big environmental disasters hit us, we were prepared to give up, to step aside and let others solve our problems.

“And that was a devil's bargain. Why, you ask? Because there are always unbalanced people willing to take over running things for us. Except for a few of us who woke up at the last possible minute, everyone bought into it.

“The misery we have lived through in the last year is nothing compared to the hell that waits for us. Many of you have already lost whole businesses; others have been merely inconvenienced by the sudden inflation and the unexplained shortages. Some of you have noticed the unexplained disappearance of technologies you thought were useful and necessary. Mark my words. No technologies will be exempt from confiscation. Check your medicine cabinet. Start hoarding right now. This is just the beginning.

“In future webcasts, I will explain how terrorists and fanatics have hijacked a good cause, how poisonous language was inserted into this treaty, and how control of this very country is now passing into the hands of a cult.

“This is my message to all of the Commissioners and their puppeteers. I know your game. And you know that I do.

“I think you might even have me killed if you dared. To you, I must be a contradiction and an embarrassment. You think: ‘Surely Gabriel Standing Bear, an indigenous man, still bonded with his people, and with the bruised earth, would come to support these changes.'

“You fail to understand that I belong to a larger tribe than the Shoshone and the Nez Perce, larger than the Sioux Nation. Larger, even, than the American nation I have proudly served.

“My tribe is Homo Sapiens.”

Cue. AutoCam: Closeup on face.

Sad dark eyes.

“You have gone too far and now we are at war.”