58: Dinner Conversations

“So is Finlay still sleeping?” Alex asked no one in particular as he and the Elves filled their plates of meatloaf, mashed potatoes and acorn squash.

“No, he came out of healing sleep about two hours ago,” Elladan answered. “He kept asking where Finn was. From what we’ve been able to gather, Fionwë came to him in the night and they spoke for a while and then the next thing Finlay knows, he’s waking up and it’s the middle of the next afternoon. He thought Finn was one of us, I mean an Elf. We’ve not disabused him of that belief and merely told him that Finn was busy with something and he might see him later.”

“So Fionwë put him into healing sleep?” Alex asked as he stood beside Valandur and Brethorn and began eating. As a guest, he had been offered a seat at the table, but he had waved the offer away, insisting he was fine eating standing up as were most of the others. Only Finrod and Glorfindel took their usual seats. They were joined by Vorondur and Ercassë, Laurendil and Manwen and Erestor and Lindorillë.

“Apparently,” Elladan replied from where he was standing beside Gilvegil and Aldarion. “Finlay was ready to leave Edhellond right then and there, but Sakari convinced him to stay. Right now they’re having a quiet meal together. I thought it might be overwhelming for him to eat with us.”

“Yeah, been there, done that,” Alex said with a grin. “Maybe afterwards I’ll go up and see how he’s doing. We still need to talk. Our last conversation was rudely interrupted.”

There were chuckles from some of the Elves.

“When you go up, perhaps I will join you,” Vorondur said. “Finlay might need… additional help.”

Alex nodded. Then Vorondur turned to his wife. “And perhaps you will come as well and give Sakari some female companionship.”

“Of course,” Ercassë said. “I would have insisted on it had you not mentioned it first.”

“Will you plan to attend the council meeting in the morning, Alex?” Glorfindel asked.

“Yeah, sure, if you want me there, though I really don’t see the point.”

“The point is, you are a member of the team,” Valandur said before Glorfindel could answer. “And while Amroth is away, I am in charge of intelligence and you are my lieutenant. It would be better if Derek were also here but I understand why he is not. We will fill him in later on any decisions we make.”

“When I spoke with him yesterday he was griping about being out of the action,” Alex said. “I want him here, too, but it’s too dangerous for him or Zach. They’re better off out of the way until Farrell is taken care of.”

“Do you have any ideas as to how to accomplish that?” Mithlas asked.

“Not a clue,” Alex responded with a shrug. “Right now, Farrell holds all the cards. Unless the police or the FBI get real lucky and find him first, we have to wait until he makes his next move and hope no innocents get hurt in the process. The shooting at the café was out of character. Farrell prefers to see his victim’s eyes when he goes in for the kill. I gathered that much from when he kidnapped me and the others. Right now, I don’t know what game he’s playing.”

“Well, until he’s caught, we all need to practice extra vigilance,” Glorfindel said. “I don’t want anyone wandering around by themselves and under no circumstances is anyone to walk into town. If you need to go somewhere, we’ll drive you. Mir, I want you to speak with Kyle and Geoffrey, explain the situation with Farrell and see if you can’t have all the healers scheduled to work the same shift. That way, we can drive you all there together and pick you up when your shift is over.”

Vardamir nodded. “I spoke with Kyle about that already and he says he’ll have a new schedule for us by Monday. In the meantime, we’ll just work the shifts to which we’ve been assigned.”

“Okay. Let me know what everyone’s schedule is for the weekend and we’ll work something out,” Glorfindel said, then turned to Finrod. “And I don’t want you wandering about on your own either. Farrell is as likely to come after you as any of us. The fact that he apparently was on the roof of the bookstore while you were inside leaves my blood cold. He could as easily have entered the store and taken you and everyone else out before you could even blink.”

“I will not hide away,” Finrod replied.

“I’m not asking you to,” Glorfindel countered. “I think I’m going to have patrols set up around the square.”

“Patrols, is it?” Elladan said with a grin. “Haven’t done patrol duty for so long, I’ve forgotten how.”

Glorfindel gave him an amused grin. “Well, since you will be busy at the hospital, you won’t have to worry about it, will you? And it won’t be that kind of patrol. For one thing, we won’t be armed and armored. I want people who are good at hiding in plain sight, like Bela or Mick.” He nodded to Beleg and Mithlas.

“And Liam and Thad and Gavin and Hal,” Erestor said, giving the Mortal names of Prince Legolas, Thandir, who had been a scout in Imladris, Gilvagor, who had been Laurendil’s second in the Warrior’s Guild, and Haldir, once a Marchwarden of Lothlórien. “Not to mention me,” he added with a smile.

“Exactly,” Glorfindel allowed. “Gil, Conan and Barry have also had experience in scouting.”

“And you are going to have all of them patrolling the square for my sake?” Finrod demanded.

“Not just you, but everyone else,” Glorfindel replied with a shake of his head. “Farrell was aiming at Alex, but others, either in the café or in the square, could’ve taken a bullet. I think it was only because Lord Námo and Lady Estë were there that no one got hurt, but we can’t depend on them to always be there. So, I think we should take precautions. Barry, would you mind staying with Quinn tomorrow while he’s at work, at least for a few hours? I’ll have someone spell you sometime in the afternoon.”

“Sure, I have no other plans,” Barahir said, then turned to Finrod. “What time do you report for work?”

“Not until after the council meeting,” Finrod replied.

“I would like to have at least two people patrolling the square while someone is inside the bookstore with Quinn,” Glorfindel said.

“I can work something out,” Erestor told him.

“You mean, we’ll work something out,” Valandur corrected. “I think this is something the Wiseman Intelligence Agency can help with.”

“I would welcome your assistance,” Erestor said formally, giving Valandur a bow of his head.

With that settled, the conversation turned to other topics of interest. Cennanion commented on the announcement that had been made earlier in the week that Robert Locke, who owned the Locke, Stock and Barrel Hunting and Fishing Store, was running for mayor.

“He’s a member of Harry’s party and as far as I know, he’s on our side.”

“I don’t think I know him,” Glorfindel said, “though I’ve been to his store. Richard Martina took me there to help me pick out a pole when I agreed to go fly-fishing with him once.”

“Locke,” Finrod said speculatively. “The name sounds familiar.”

“You might have met his wife, Sarah,” Cennanion said. “She runs the bakery next door to the bookstore.”

“Ah yes. She came in one day bearing a gift of sticky buns.”

“So Robert Locke is running against Tom Peterson,” Glorfindel said. “Are there any other candidates for mayor?”

“Not that I’ve heard, and the deadline for declaring oneself was Monday.”

“There might be write-ins later,” Daeron commented.

“It’s rare that that happens, though, so I wouldn’t count on it,” Vorondur replied. “Robert seems to be a good choice, though. He’s well liked in the community, very active in the Rotary and other civic organizations, including having been a past president of the PTA. We could do a lot worse.”

“We will have to see how we can lend him our support without alerting the opposition,” Glorfindel said. “We’ll need to find out who his campaign manager is.”

“Way ahead of you there,” Cennanion said with a smile. “His wife, Sarah, is his campaign manager.”

“What about the bakery, though?” Daeron asked. “She can’t be running that and the campaign at the same time.”

“I heard she’s turning over the day-to-day business to their daughter, Emily. She’s fresh out of college with a degree in business administration. And it will only be for the next several months until the election.”

“Well, we’ll have to keep our eyes on the campaign, lend our support where possible,” Glorfindel said and the others nodded in agreement.

By now, dessert was being served, a black forest cake. Alex offered to take some up to the Finlays and Vorondur and Ercassë went with him. When they knocked on the door, it was opened by Sakari who gave them a smile in welcome. Alex greeted her in French and, in fact, the entire conversation which followed was in that language.

“How’re you feeling, Ed?” Alex asked solicitously as he put the tray of dessert down on the dresser and began passing dishes out.

“Okay, I guess,” Finlay replied with a shrug as he accepted a plate from Alex. He was dressed and sitting in a chair by the window. “How long do I have to stay here?”

“Here in this room or here in Edhellond?” Vorondur asked. “I’m Ron, by the way, and this is my wife, Holly.”

“So where’s Finn?” Finlay asked, ignoring Vorondur’s question.

“I heard he came and talked with you last night,” Alex said carefully as he stood by the bed with a plate in his hand. Ercassë and Sakari were sitting on the bed facing Finlay, while Vorondur sat on a bench in front of the vanity table. “Did you have a good conversation?”

“Yeah, he was pretty cool. He told me something about what you people are doing here and why. Sakari slept through it all. I was pretty wacked out, though. I don’t remember Finn leaving and I can’t believe I slept for most of the day.”

“You suffered an emotional shock,” Vorondur said. “Your body needed time to recover. You look well. Are you feeling any discomfort or anxiety?”

Finlay stared at the Elf and then gave Alex a look that clearly said, ‘What’s with this guy?’. Alex grinned. “Ron’s a psychiatrist. He’s just making sure you’re really okay. You gave us a few anxious moments last night when you collapsed.”

“Yeah, well, I’m pretty surprised myself,” Finlay said with some chagrin. “I’m a seasoned agent. I’ve seen and done stuff that would turn most people’s hair white, but last night… that was too darn freaky.”

“You were forced to step outside of your worldview,” Vorondur offered. “Some people don’t handle that sort of thing well. Alex certainly didn’t.” He gave Alex a knowing smile and Alex shrugged.

“Still, the idea of Elves… it’s insane. Next you’ll tell me there really is a Santa Claus.”

The two Elves and Alex chuckled. “But Ed, everyone knows that Santa exists.”

“You mean little kids,” Finlay retorted with a snort of disgust. “I stopped believing in Santa, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy before I was ten.”

“But now you have encountered Elves and you are no longer sure of the world you thought you knew,” Vorondur said.

“Yeah, I guess,” Finlay said, then busied himself with the dessert. “Hmm… this is good. I can’t remember the last time I had this kind of cake. I don’t know if I can go back to Sakari’s village and give up everything again. That village is way too primitive.”

“Do you have to go back?” Ercassë asked. “Though I’m sure Sakari misses her family.” She gave the Inuit Woman a bright smile and Sakari returned it with a shy one of her own.

“Edward promised to return,” she said, “and the spirit guide said we must.”

“She means Nate,” Alex supplied. “When we were at the café, and that’s what we need to discuss. Police forensics agree that the angle was all wrong for getting in a clear shot.”

“So what are you saying?” Finlay asked.

“I’m saying that no way could Farrell have shot from the roof. I think that’s a blind.”

“So he shot from somewhere else,” Finlay said with a shrug.

“Yes, but where?” Alex countered.

“Does it matter?” Finlay retorted. “The bullets were real enough. You could have died.”

“I suppose, but I hate the mystery.”

Finlay gave him a feral grin. “Welcome to the club. Do you know how many nights I lay awake trying to figure out who those ninjas were and how we got to the village and why we were unable to leave? There was no visible barrier and the villagers themselves wandered all over the place without any trouble, but none of us could go any further than the last house. It was freaky. And then one day, Sakari’s dad comes to us and says we’re free to leave. Just like that. No explanations, no apologies. The villagers outfitted us with enough supplies to get us to Barrow and that was it. Well, they did hold a farewell feast for us, but otherwise it was ‘adieu’ and ‘bonne chance’.”

Alex stole a glance at Vorondur, not sure how to address Finlay’s implied question. Vorondur shook his head. “I have no explanation for you,” he said, “or none that would make sense to you at this time. And to answer your original question, you and Sakari are free to leave any time. We just thought you needed more time to recover, but if you wish to leave tomorrow, no one will stop you.”

“I promised Atanninuaq, Sakari’s dad, that I would return,” Finlay said, “but now….”

“Perhaps we can help make it easier for you to do so,” Vorondur said. “One of the Mortals who is a friend of ours is related to someone in the village. He was the one to arrange for your incarceration. So, there is communication with the outside world. How far is the village from Barrow?”

“Can’t tell you in miles but it took us almost three days going by dog sled,” Finlay replied.

“Those dogs can run as far as a hundred miles in a single day given the right conditions,” Vorondur said.

“I don’t think we traveled that far, though. There was a storm that blew up out of nowhere that delayed us. We had to hole up early that first day and we weren’t able to move until the day after that. Got into Barrow in the late afternoon.”

“So, possibly you’re less than two days travel from Barrow,” Vorondur pointed out. “I know Barrow isn’t the big city, but it’s civilization of a sort and it has an airport. I think we can set up something that will allow you to at least keep in contact with Alex so he can let you know what is happening. What about your superiors at the Agency?”

“I wrote out a letter of resignation and sent it along with the guys going back,” Finlay replied. “If they really want me, they’ll find me and there’s precious little I can do about it.”

“I can email Deputy Director Washburn and find out what’s going on in Washington,” Alex offered. “She’s our liaison there. We think Director Dolan is working for the other side, but there’s no actual proof of it, but she was the one who cut your orders to come here.”

“Yeah, I know. Okay, I guess we go back to the village.”

“And don’t forget what Nate said about teaching the villagers everything you know,” Alex said. “I think they want you to start preparing these people for war.”

“War, is it?” Finlay gave them a skeptical look. “Well, we’ll talk about it some more before we leave.”

“And when do you wish to do that?” Vorondur asked.

“Well, certainly not before I finish dessert,” Finlay retorted with a wry grin. “Any chance for seconds?”

The others laughed and Alex said, “Why don’t we all go downstairs and see?”

To that no one had any objections and soon they were back in the kitchen which was deserted. Vorondur and Ercassë left to find Finrod and Glorfindel, leaving the Mortals to themselves. The three sat in the breakfast nook enjoying second helpings of dessert while Alex and Finlay reminisced about their days in the Agency and Sakari listened.

****

Atanninuaq: Alaskan Inuit: ‘One who counsels or has lived and knows things’, an appropriate name for a shaman.