CHAPTER SEVEN GATHERING STORM
CHAPTER SEVEN
GATHERING STORM
“It is in the darkness of their eyes that men get lost.”Black Elk
Pine Ridge Reservation
Mika pulled the Bison into the driveway of their campground and parked it. They climbed out and headed for the big fire where the others were gathered. Cassie saw the look on Mika’s face and knew something was wrong.
“Bad news?” asked Cassie.
“Where’s Greyeagle?” asked Mika.
“He’s in the sweat,” Sarah said. “Grandfather and Jason are in the Inipi with him.”
“So, the sing didn’t do anything, I take it,” Mika said.
“No,” Sarah replied. “What’s wrong?”
“Well, I wanted to tell everyone all at once,” Mika said, “but I guess I can let the cat out of the bag early. I take it none of you have been watching the news or listening to the radio today.”
“No, we’ve been helping with the sing and preparing the sweat,” Sarah said. “What happened?”
“Looks like we didn’t have to wait long for Kade to make his next move,” Mika said. “A few hours ago, a group of unknown creatures attacked an oil rig and killed everyone there. Somewhere around thirty people.”
“They don’t know exactly how many?” asked Cassie.
“Well, once they finish finding all the body parts, they might have a better idea,” Mika replied.
“They found parts scattered over about ten acres of ground. According to Red Basin Energy, there should’ve been thirty-two people on the site.
They’ve been trying to reach everyone to verify, but so far no one has responded.
So, it’s safe to assume they were all there. ”
“And you think Kade did this?” asked Sarah.
“Well, who else could it have been?” asked Mika.
“My source, a Cheyenne EMT named Tall Elk, said that the buildings were all torn apart and they even destroyed the oil derrick. That doesn’t exactly sound like Greenpeace.
Plus, there’s no sign of explosives being used, so it took tremendous strength to rip it all apart.
That’s solid steel. I really don’t think some jackass in Birkenstocks did that. ”
“Again, are you sure this was Kade?” Sarah said.
“Well, Tall Elk said the tracks were massive with claws,” Mika said. “He was going to send me pictures, but they caught him and kicked him off the site. He told me everything he saw. He said whatever made those tracks wasn’t human.”
“That still doesn’t mean it was Kade,” Sarah said. “Don’t get me wrong, I agree that’s the logical choice, but for Will’s sake, I’m playing devil’s advocate. Could it have been someone or something else?”
“If it’s not Kade,” Mika said, “then there’s another player on the board we don’t know about. How likely is that?”
“We can’t rule it out entirely,” said Cassie. “We have to go forward just like we did when I was a cop. We investigate and let the evidence take us where it takes us. We can’t just say it’s Kade and ignore all the other possibilities.”
“Alright, fine,” Mika said. “Who or what else could do it? Bigfoot? The Loch Ness Monster? The ghost of George Carlin? Maybe Little Orphan Annie?”
“Smartass,” Cassie said, shaking her head.
“The Go-Go-Gophers?” asked Robert, grinning.
“No, they’d use dynamite,” added Richard, smiling broadly.
“Morons,” muttered Cassie.
The Mohawk Twins began chuckling and fist-bumped each other.
“That includes you,” Cassie said, glaring at Mika.
“Hey, the Bigfoot suggestion wasn’t all a joke,” he replied. “I guess we could have a rogue Squatch in the area. It ain’t like we haven’t seen that happen before.”
“More like a clan,” corrected Sarah. “I don’t think one could cause that much damage. Besides, it would have to be Gugwe with those clawed tracks. Sasquatch doesn’t have claws.”
“I hate Gugwe,” Mika muttered. “Those things give me the heebie-jeebies. I’ll fight a whole pack of Dogmen before I’ll fight Gugwe.”
“I don’t think any of us want to run into a clan of Gugwe,” Sarah replied.
“I’ve heard of them killing people but never tearing down an entire oil rig.
That sounds more personal. Like the rig was the target the whole time.
Why would they do that? Also, they would’ve eaten most, if not all, of the crew. ”
“Well, the tribe is in a nasty lawsuit with Red Basin Energy,” Mika said. “The tribe caught Red Basin slant drilling onto the Rez, so any oil they pumped out really belongs to Pine Ridge.”
“That’s a hell of a motivation,” Cassie said. “Isn’t that exactly the kind of thing that Kade’s angry about? White people taking what belongs to the Rez?”
Mika looked over at Sarah and said nothing.
“Yeah,” Sarah said, reluctantly. “That sounds like what he was telling Will. That he wanted to push back against the Wa?í?u taking our land and resources.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say that word before,” said Mika, surprised.
“Well, I don’t like using it,” Sarah replied, “but it’s easy to understand why Kade’s angry.
Once, our people rode across the plains, limited only by food and resources.
We hunted buffalo, lived where we chose, and raised our children in the old ways of the Lakota.
Now, our people are stuck on this reservation, and what few resources we have, companies like Red Basin try to steal or cheat out of us. ”
Mika nodded grimly.
“I don’t disagree with what they’re trying to do,” Sarah added. “Just how they go about it. Yes, Kade and his pack have to be stopped. But that doesn’t mean they’re wrong.”
“No arguments there,” Mika said, “but we’d never kill an entire oil rig crew.
That’s just crazy. Every newspaper, TV channel, and asshole with a blog will be blaming the Rez and clamoring for our blood.
And if we aren’t careful, we could have another Wounded Knee on our hands.
If the government announces that it was by an unknown monster, that might mitigate it.
But you know damned good and well they won’t.
They’ll cover this up and blame it on some eco-terrorist group or AIM[4] or the Red Nation.
People will scream for arrests, and I guarantee that folks in the surrounding towns will turn violent against Natives.
It always happens. And I’m not planning on being the next Leonard Peltier.
I’ll vanish into the woods so deep, they won’t be able to find me with a satellite and a battalion of Green Berets. ”
“God, I hope it doesn’t come to that,” Sarah said.
“It easily could,” Mika replied. “We’re sitting on a powder keg, whether Kade’s behind this or not. Keep that in mind. And the irony is, the massacre at the oil rig is just a few miles from Wounded Knee. Don’t think that’ll be lost on people. Especially the press.”
Sarah frowned and nodded.
“I don’t understand,” Cassie said.
“It’s alright,” Sarah said. “You weren’t raised on Pine Ridge. It’s hard to understand unless you lived through it.”
“I think I get it, to a degree,” Cassie said. “I read that book you gave me. Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee. I understand, but I didn’t grow up with it. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”
“You’ve got nothing to apologize for,” Sarah said, smiling softly. “You did nothing wrong. Our problem is with the government and how they treated us. You had no part in that and couldn’t have stopped them if you tried.”
“Still, it’s not right,” Cassie said.
“History is full of things like that,” Sarah said. “The only hope for humanity is if we learn from them and don’t let it happen again.”
“The point is, we need to solve this fast,” Mika said. “The sooner we deal with the problem, the less likely we’ll see collateral damage with innocent people.”
“You won’t find many people on the Rez sorry to hear about Red Basin Energy losing that rig,” said Black Fox. “But I do regret the loss of life. My problem is with the company, not the workers.”
“You and I feel that way,” Mika said, “but the families of those workers are going to be screaming for blood. Native blood. You and I both know it.”
“Mika,” Sarah said, putting her hand gently on his shoulder. “Stop worrying so much about what could happen and help us focus on how to prevent it before it even starts. We need to investigate the rig site. Is there any way we can get in?”
“Not anytime soon,” Mika said. “They’ll have crews out there for days just looking for all the body parts.
Then they’ll spend another month or two playing human jigsaw puzzle just to know which pieces go in which casket.
Right now, I guarantee it’s a Federal Crime Scene. We’re not getting in there.”
“But we know who might be able to,” Sarah said softly.
Mika sighed.
“Now that Clark’s gone,” Mika said, “I don’t know who to trust anymore.”
“Then don’t call Team Odin,” Sarah said. “Call Declan Caine. Maybe between him, Doc, and Jed, they might be able to get us access to the scene.”
“I’m sure they can,” Mika said, “if anyone can.”
“Okay then,” Sarah said. “Who wants to call him?”
“Greyeagle usually makes those contacts,” Mika said.
“Then I’ll call him,” said Greyeagle, stepping out of the shadows.
“You’re finished already?” asked Sarah.
“I couldn’t focus,” Greyeagle said. “Something is blocking me. Grandfather and Jason are working on another option.”
“What is it?” asked Mika.
“They didn’t say,” Greyeagle replied. “Now, who do I need to call and why?”
They spent a few minutes catching Greyeagle up on all the recent developments. When they finished, Greyeagle sat down next to Sarah and placed his head in his hands.
“Are you alright?” asked Sarah, slipping her arm around his shoulders.
“I’m fine,” Greyeagle said quietly. “I was afraid something like this would happen.”
“So, you think this was Kade,” Sarah said. “I was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt.”
“I would love to do that,” Greyeagle said, “but what else could it be?”
“Are you going to call Declan?” Sarah asked.
“Yes,” Greyeagle replied. “He’s probably our best shot at getting access to that crime scene.”
“Any chance that you might be able to find Kade?” asked Mika.
“Honestly, I don’t know,” Greyeagle said. “I would guess we’ll only find him if he wants to be found. There’s over two million acres on the Rez where he could hide, and that’s assuming he’s even on the Rez.”
Greyeagle stood up and took his phone from the table, then walked a short distance away as he dialed. He spoke for a few minutes before returning to the firepit.
“He’s on his way,” Greyeagle said. “He’s at his ranch in Montana, so he won’t be here until tomorrow morning sometime, assuming he drives all night. It’s twelve hours or more to his place from here.”
“So, what do we do in the meantime?” asked Sarah.
“We rest and wait,” Greyeagle said. “Unless something else happens, what else can we do?”
“What about the Great Werewolf spirit?” asked Mika. “You said Old Wolf wouldn’t respond. But we all still have the werewolf blood in us, too. You especially after you ate the heart of the Elder Werewolf back in Arkansas[5].”
“I hadn’t thought of that,” Greyeagle said. “Although, I might not be able to control it the way I can the Dire Wolf.”
“And it might corrupt you,” added Sarah. “It’s a dangerous risk to take.”
“Besides,” Greyeagle replied, “the magic of the Hotamétaneo’o and the werewolf merged long ago. I don’t think I could separate them now if I tried.”
“It was just a thought,” Mika said. “So, I’m officially out of ideas.”
“There is one other option,” Greyeagle said.
“What’s that?” asked Mika.
“We find Kade and make him undo whatever it is that he did to me,” Greyeagle said.
“I thought you said we wouldn’t be able to track him,” Mika said.
“I never said track,” Greyeagle replied. “I said find. Big difference.”
“What are you thinking?” asked Mika. “I don’t think he’s gonna show up on a Google search.”
“Not exactly what I have in mind,” Greyeagle replied.
“Then what are you talking about?” Mika asked, frowning.
“We follow the clues at the crime scene,” Greyeagle said. “My skills might be a bit rusty, but I was a detective long before I was able to change forms.”
“Alright,” Mika said. “Now we’re talking. If we can figure out where they are, we can find them and put an end to this before it escalates, and more innocent people get killed.”
“Exactly,” Greyeagle said.
“So, what do we do now?” asked Sarah.
“We wait for Declan to get here in the morning,” Greyeagle said. “Then we’ll go to the crime scene and look for clues. Hopefully, we’ll find something that leads us to Kade or one of his pack.”
“Hope’s a shitty plan, brother,” Mika said. “What do we do if you don’t find anything?”
“Then, we’ll find a way to flush him out,” Greyeagle said. “If we can’t find him, then we’ll make him come to us.”
“I like this plan,” Mika said, grinning.