Shaman - the Awakening (9 page)

“Yes, Nina,” she answered lightly.

“Can we all talk,” she inquired.

“I don't think Chris…,” then before Dianna could complete her negative, I said, “Let her in, Dianna.”

I had put on my lounge pants and a T-shirt before she entered. Dianna was sexy as hell in just one of my long T shirts, but when Nina entered she put on a hotel robe. Nina surprised us both. She was curious and excited about what had happened, rather than upset. She had a plethora of questions.

“My Grammy told me of people like you, Shamans and Medicine men with abilities to invade dreams, but I never thought I'd experience this. She used to place this talisman over my bed to prevent the invasion of my dreams; a dream catcher to keep bad dreams away,” Nina said. She was like a kid in a candy store, excited, elated and filled with questions.

“So, did both of you experience the same thing I did?” she asked.

“Yes, everything you did and then some,” Dianna answered with a grin as she prepared coffee for us.

It was truly amazing to see how well they were taking this. Then I became aroused and began thinking with my libido that something else was going to happen. Dianna knew me and gave me a look that I understood well.

“So, you're not upset?” I asked Nina, squashing my inappropriate feelings.

“No; I feel a little embarrassed, but I understand how drunk we were.”

“So we can continue to work together in spite of it?” I inquired.

“I don't see why not, just don't do it again. As charmed and flattered as I am with the compliment. It could pose problems if it continues.”

“I agree!” Dianna interjected quickly. We all laughed at it afterwards and met for breakfast in the hotel.

Wow; I just knew this was going to implode. Not only did we subconsciously share our bed with Nina, she was alright with it and flattered by the experience. She knew a little more than most at this point about Dianna and me. I had a feeling that too many people were finding out about our relationship. We needed to be a bit more careful just in case. Nina never inquired about my relationship with Dianna; there was no need, she already had all the information. On the flip side, we knew her intimately also.

The women didn't have a problem with it, so I just rolled with it. Nina, as was the case with many others, was just interested in my abilities and sharing or exchanging heritage information. Since Nina was of Cherokee heritage, I think the dreamscape helped Dianna deal with it all. It brought us all closer, since Dianna wasn't Native American. I guess the dreamscape was an excellent ice breaker and made us all better professional partners. This time it proved to be a gift instead of a curse, but it could have gone catastrophically wrong.

The morning briefing was a little less turbulent than yesterday's. The A.D. didn't have anything to say. He just sat in the back and listened to Steve and all the updates, which were minimal to say the least. What continued to bother and pose questions for Dianna and me was why Jay Horse had led us into an ambush. There must have been something more that spooked him. Perhaps he just gave us that miner skirmish to satisfy us. Or perhaps he was hoping we'd be killed and our bothersome investigation would die with us. Either way, he was left up to the locals, ATF and DEA to sort out.

We weren't assigned additional team members after the shooting, so it was just the three of us, which we didn't mind at all. We now had a closer bond than any. We had our own sub-meeting after the briefing to discuss our strategies for moving forward.

“I don't know about you guys, but that whole Jay Horse thing has really gotten under my skin,” Nina stated as she handed us a cup of coffee from the cup tray she was holding. We smiled and thanked her in return.

“We were discussing the same thing earlier. He set us up big time,” Dianna stated.

“Yeah; not only was he not drunk, but he knew we were following him,” I added.

“And he led us right into an ambush,” Nina followed up.

We were very in sync at this point and appeared to know each other's thoughts. “I guess there's no need to ask what you ladies want to do.”

Then they both smiled and Dianna stated, “Yeah; let's find him.”

“You both do realize that the A.D. will have our asses for this,” I replied.

“Jay Horse is a part of this investigation, whether the A.D. likes it or not. Are you in?” Dianna inquired of both of us.

“Hell yes!” Nina responded. I nodded my head in agreement.

“I guess you didn't see anything last night that would assist?” Nina asked.

I looked at her with trepidation, because she still had hopes that Jessica was alive after I briefed everyone on her death. I responded solemnly, “He killed her,” and left it at that.

We ventured back up to Shiprock and instructed Steve that we were going to remain up there for the next couple of days and would keep him briefed. After checking into the Holiday Inn in Farmington we paid another courtesy call to the Council Chambers. This time it wasn't going to be as pleasant as our first meeting. Our timing was impeccable; when we arrived at the chambers, Mr. Hawthorne was there also.

“Good morning, agents. I've been meaning to reach out to you. I received a call from the Gaming Commission this morning and the local authorities, in reference to some drugs that were at a party held in the casino Friday night. I wasn't present at the party, but I was giving it in honor of the Code Talkers; a celebration that ended Saturday. I was informed that some patrons got carried away and were in violation of the law. Well, you can rest assured that you have my full cooperation in this investigation.”

Then he extended his hand to shake from the three of us. He had the smell of corruption all over him and we weren't buying it at all. We already knew that Jay Horse worked for him. Horse bragged about it himself!

“Well, I have to be going now. I hope you enjoy your day,” he stated before departing.

After Hawthorne departed Dianna read the riot act to the council. She came down on them hard, informed them that we weren't going anywhere and that it was in their best interest for all to cooperate, if they wanted us to get off their lands. She also stated that the previous arrests and shootings were only the beginning. Dianna was taking a big chance with her approach. She could ostracize them and make them even more noncompliant. She was also taking a risk that they would take this over our heads and complain of harassment, which the local news would just love to hear. They summoned the local reservation police chief to assist us in finding Jay Horse.

We spent all day looking for Jay Horse, with no results. Once again we discovered numerous crimes unrelated to the case. We were exhausted, so we called it a day and went to dinner. We discussed the case over dinner and came to the conclusion that once again the Council was misleading us and had sent us on a wild goose chase. If we wanted to find Jay we would have to do it ourselves, without the help of the Council.

Dianna's speech hadn't gone over as well as we thought. The Council was famously stoic when it came to displaying their true feelings to the FBI.

The next day we began at the FBI Farmington Residence Office, a small satellite office which covered San Juan County only. We needed a base of operation while in Farmington, especially if we were going out on our own again. We needed to coordinate with Farmington local law enforcement and see what information they had about Jay Horse.

We came in contact with a real tough Farmington Sheriff by the name of Carroll Hughes, an ex-Ranger, who offered to assist in any way. Sheriff Hughes was a big burly man, but all muscle. He didn't look like the type to spend a lot of time in the gym lifting weights; he was just naturally that way. He was 6 feet 5 inches and weighed about 250 lbs. A man of honor and conviction, he wasn't wore an air of incorruptibility as sincere as the star on his belt buckle. He wore a black t-shirt displaying his large biceps and muscular physique, jeans, black cowboy boots and a black cowboy hat. He had one of those old western holsters with an old Colt revolver strapped to the right side. He looked like a throwback from one of those old Clint Eastwood movies, and definitely wasn't someone you would piss off or invite into a dark alley; unless he was on your side, of course.

We went to several bars, brothels and places of ill-repute inquiring about Jay Horse. Sheriff Hughes had a flair for getting what he requested from the degenerates that we were questioning. There were times when he just asked us to remain in the bar area as he went to the restroom with some hard case he was questioning. He would return with the answers we needed and the hard case would remain in the restroom. It would be a fair assessment to say the reprobate was attempting to recover from the questioning.

We had received valuable information that led us to a particular brothel on a ranch, located about 10 miles outside of New Mexico, in Durango, Colorado. Everything ever written about Durango was true. It was a place that lived up to its reputation. It was an infamous mainstay for bikers, smugglers and outlaws of all types.

The brothel was located on a dude ranch. These were plentiful in and around Durango. It was an old-style ranch house, flat-roofed, with just one story, but sprawling due to all the additions. It was retro in design; right down to the wooden log post fence surrounding it. There were several vehicles parked in a designated parking area for visitors. There were no CCTV cameras that we could see. We didn't see Jay's vehicle parked with the others. He was smarter than that; he parked in the rear of the house, near the back door.

We decided that I would be the one to go inside. Jay was clever and slippery. He had already led us into an ambush and eluded us once. We stationed ourselves around the brothel as best we could. Sheriff Hughes covered the back door where Jay's vehicle was parked. If he attempted to escape, he would most likely run for his vehicle.

When I went inside I was greeted by several women in the parlor, waiting for dates. I must admit, they were seductively dressed in sexy lingerie. They were like sirens, each with a provocative and alluring beauty. One of them approached me and took off my thick, black-rimmed 50s style glasses.

“You're a very handsome man. Why are you hiding those pretty green eyes behind glasses?” she inquired. She was close enough that I could smell the honey milk body cream she was wearing, and the cinnamon on her breath. These ladies were appealing in every aspect. The funny thing I kept thinking was why people assumed because a person is a nerd or a geek that they are unattractive. Some of the most attractive women I've ever met were gorgeous nerds.

I asked to speak to the madam of the house. They were reluctant at first, but they found their way to getting her. I asked the madam if we could discuss business in private, and she agreed. I had one of those trustworthy boyish faces and I seemed harmless to most. I was the exact opposite of Sheriff Hughes, waiting out back to take down Jay. I was just there to gather information and report. Everything about Sheriff Hughes said enforcer and he had a `don't fuck with me' attitude to go with it. Once alone, I showed the madam my credentials and explained to her the reason for my presence.

“We have the place surrounded,” I said, exaggerating. I had always wanted to say that. “We're not here to disrupt your business in any way. We're just here for Jay Horse, that's all.”

Then she inquired, “Do you have a warrant?”

“Well, I can have several official police vehicles here with sirens to surround the place and scare off a full night's work while I wait for a warrant. It might even take a second day to get one. I have the manpower to put you out of business just by being present outside your ranch. Now, all I need is the room Horse is in. We don't want anything else.”

She paused, then replied, “He's in room 13, down the hall to the left, near the back door.”

Jay Horse wasn't a superstitious guy, that's for sure, because who in their right mind would check into room 13 on the left? How much bad luck is that? The Madam escorted me to the room and I let Sheriff Hughes in the back door when I arrived.

“He's in there with two of my girls. Nothing better happen to them,” she said firmly.

“Can you get them to open the door,” I asked her.

“And what is it you want me to say. Room service?” she drawled sarcastically.

Then Sheriff Hughes interjected, “You can either get them to open the door or I'll break it down!” She looked up at the giant sized man and rolled her eyes. She knew he wasn't kidding and had the power to back up his threat.

“Look, I don't want anything to happen to the women in there either, so we need you to get the door open without attracting suspicion.” I stated.

“This isn't a hotel,” she retorted, “I can't just knock on the door and…” before she could complete the statement, Sheriff Hughes kicked down the door with his shotgun in one hand and the other balled into a fist.

Jay was caught naked as a jay bird, excuse the pun, in a compromising position. The women jumped up naked and screaming, and Jay attempted to roll off the bed and make it to the table where his things were lying, but the sheriff was lightning-quick for a big man. He was standing over Jay before the man could make it across the room. He had zeroed in on him since he kicked down the door. He anticipated and checked his every move. You could see his military skills shining through. He didn't wait for Jay's next move, as he didn't want to give him the slightest opportunity to reach for his gun. He didn't want to kill him, since we needed to question him, and therefore hit him with the barrel of his shotgun, knocking him out cold.

During the scuffle the women remained naked and screaming with fear. They were in shock and couldn't move, even when the incident was over and Jay was unconscious. Then the Sheriff turned to them and yelled, “Shut the fuck up,” and they stopped immediately. Dianna and Nina arrived just as the screaming stopped, to witness Jay Horse lying on the floor, naked and unconscious, with the two trembling naked women whimpering softly.

The madam then snapped out of it. She had been hiding outside the door to avoid any gun play that might have occurred. She must have known Jay had a gun and didn't warn us. I wanted to have her arrested, but the Sheriff was outside his jurisdiction. We were already in the hot seat with the A.D. and the arrests of prostitutes wouldn't go over well at this point.