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From: Lazlo Zalezac <lzalezac@yahoo.com>
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Subject: {ASSM} John Carter III 07 (mf mmf ffm ff mm sci-fi)
Date: Sat, 25 Oct 2003 05:10:04 -0400
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<1st attachment, "Crossroad07.txt" begin>
DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction. If you are offended by
sexually explicit material or are under the age of 18, stop reading
now. This material cannot be reproduced for commercial purposes
without the consent of the author.
John Carter
By
Lazlo Zalezak
Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezak, 2003
Part 3: Robes of Acumen
Chapter 7
The mountains of North Carolina are much older than the Rocky
Mountains. The lines of the mountains are gentler and more
rounded. They are more peaceful than the Rocky Mountains,
which tend to invoke greater awe. It was here that John chose to
build the Druid College. Five thousand acres of land had been
purchased and a road cut a third of the way into it. The building
sites had been cleared of trees. The parking lot had already been
poured.
The architect, Melvin Harrison, took them to the first building site
by the parking lot. He pointed to the area. "This will be the
administration building. It will be four stories high. The first story
will provide public services, such as admissions and testing. The
business areas will be on the top three floors. Initially, only the
second floor will be occupied. The top two floors will be available
for expansion, as per your request."
John asked, "All floors will be completely finished, correct?"
"Yes. All walls and fixtures shall be included."
Ed looked at the site. "It's a rather large building area."
Melvin replied, "Yes it is. I felt that increasing the overall area of
the building would help give a spacious calming feel to the
building. The waiting areas, testing areas, and admissions areas are
large and spacious. With the incorporation of carpet and plants
throughout the building it will also be quiet."
The architect led them to the site just to the left of the
administration building site. He paused, "This building will be the
faculty quarters. Like the other building, it will be four stories. The
building is huge because of the number of faculty members you
wanted to support and the amount of space for each apartment you
requested."
The architect led their party to the other side of the administration
site. He pointed to the site, stating, "This building will be the
maintenance facility. This will be a three-story building. The
bottom level will be a garage for repair of college vehicles and a
loading dock. The second level will be a set of repair rooms and
machine shops. The third level will incorporate office spaces.
There will be freight elevators at both ends."
John nodded, "There is space over there for an extension if
necessary?"
Melvin answered, "Yes."
The architect took them to a building site behind the
administration. He smiled, "This is the first year dorm. Three
stories of rooms set up for four occupants. A large public area in
the center of the first floor for recreation, a similar study area on
the second floor, and a dining room on the third floor."
Melvin pointed to building sites off to the sides, "the other dorms
are off to the other sides. They have individual private rooms. The
dorm sites form a semi-circle around the library."
Melvin walked to the next site. "This is the library and will be built
in the shape of a circle. It stands in the center of the great circle
formed by all the other buildings. There will be second floor
walkways from all of the other buildings to it."
He pointed to the sites on the other side. "Those will be the science
buildings to the right and those to the left with be the liberal arts."
John nodded, "I like the layout. You've allowed for the expansion
outwards from the circle. So when will it be done?"
Melvin looked a little nervous as he answered, "Well, if we start
now, we can finish it all in four years. That will require a very
large work crew."
Ed asked, "Can you finish five of the buildings in the next year?"
"Perhaps, it would be tight."
John stated, "I would like to see the administration building,
faculty apartments, first year dorm, library, and a liberal art
building completed first."
Melvin replied, "That's kind of spread out all over the place, but I
don't see why not. We should be able to get five buildings a year
done."
John looked at Ed for his impressions. Ed stated, "Depends on the
crew. Shouldn't be too difficult to find a couple of good crews."
John nodded, "Okay, let's do it."
John walked off with Ed while the architect talked to the rest of his
party. John stated, "We should be able to open in two years. I
guess it will be time for us to start our faculty search."
Ed stated, "We'll need someone to do the ground work for us."
John nodded, "Maybe we can get another guy in the house."
Ed walked along beside John. He didn't say anything for several
minutes. Finally, he blurted out, "I'd like to start trying to get
another husband."
"Robert?"
"Yes."
John nodded, "Good choice. All the wives like him. Have you
talked to them yet?"
"No, I wanted to talk to you first."
"Why?"
"Well, I don't know how well you like him."
John thought about it for a minute. He wasn't sure how much he
liked Robert. They had very little interaction. He did respect him a
lot. "I don't know. Is he interested?"
Ed nodded, "I don't know. I guess we should start dating him."
John laughed, "So who is going to ask him out first?"
Ed walked along with John until they reached the rental car. Ed
went over to the passenger side, "I guess it should be me."
John got into the car and started the engine as Ed got in the car. Ed
fastened his seat belt as John pulled out of the parking lot. They
had an hour drive to the nearest airport. As John turned right onto
the highway, he stated, "Maybe we ought to invite him over to
dinner with all of us."
"Not a bad idea. His sister is still waiting to have her night with
you and she doesn't have a loved one to bring for the wives. Maybe
we should suggest that he come over that night."
John drove for a bit. He stated, "Not good. I want to keep the two
things separate."
Ed thought about it. "You're right. Let's just invite him over for
dinner."
"Okay."
The rest of the drive was made in silence, as the men were lost in
their own thoughts. Ed was wondering about the chances of getting
Robert into the family. John was thinking about the college. He
considered how to find the person to search for the faculty. Of
course, much of the faculty would come from the Druids who had
advanced degrees.
John returned the rental car at the airport. He and Ed walked over
to the private jet terminal where they were greeted by the flight
crew. Ed got on the jet to return home. He would set up a dinner
for Robert to be held on the night that John returned home. John
watched the jet take off and disappear into the clouds. He went
inside the terminal to wait for a jet to arrive to take him to the
capitol. He was told that he would be in the air in an hour. In the
mean time, he watched the television in the waiting room while
drinking a soft drink. It was a quiet news day.
The plane landed at the Baltimore-Washington International
Airport. It was his first time in the nations capitol and he had no
clue how difficult it was to maneuver through the traffic there.
Deciding not to risk getting lost, John grabbed a cab to take him to
FBI headquarters. The traffic in the downtown area of Washington
was horrible and he was glad that he hadn't rented a car. The cab
driver pulled up to FBI headquarters and let him out.
John wasn't aware of why he had been summoned to Washington,
but he wasn't concerned. He walked through the doors. There was
a line of people at the security gate, but the line moved rather
quickly. John stepped up to the security gate. He handed the guard
his walking stick and then passed through. The guard wasn't going
to give back his walking stick until John showed his FBI badge.
At the elevator, John looked at the directory trying to locate Mike
Holden's office. He didn't see it there. He went to the information
booth and asked for directions to Mike's office. The woman looked
at him, taking in his strange attire, and made a quick call. A
security guard came to take John to Mike Holden's office. John had
a feeling that he was being treated as a suspected villain rather an
as an agent. He smiled as they headed up to Mike's office.
John entered the front office of Mike Holden. A woman was seated
at the desk; her nameplate stated she was C. Berard. She was a nice
looking woman, probably in her early sixties. Her gray hair
suggested that she was a woman comfortable with her age. She
looked up at John, "What can I do for you?"
He smiled as he recognized her voice. "Hello. I'm John Carter."
She smiled, "Oh, Dr. Carter. Mr. Holden has been waiting for you
to arrive."
"Please call me John. I think you are the only person in the world
that calls me Dr. Carter."
"Yes, sir," she laughed at his pained expression and then corrected
herself, "yes, John."
"Before I see him, may I ask what the C stands for?"
"Claudia," she replied. Despite his strange attire, she liked this
man.
"It is so nice to finally meet you, Ms. Berard."
"Well, let me take you into his office." She stood up and walked
over to a door. Knocking on it, she opened the door and
announced, "Dr. Carter is here to see you."
John entered the office as Mike came out from behind the desk.
Mike extended his hand. John accepted the hand returning the
strong handshake. "John, please take a seat."
John sat down asking, "So what am I doing here?"
"Claudia, can you please ask Deputy Director Olim to come here?"
"Yes, sir." Claudia left the room shutting the door behind her.
Mike turned his attention to John. "I have a few minutes to prepare
you for this meeting. I'm retiring in a month and Deputy Director
Olim is taking over my position. I wanted a chance to introduce the
two of you so that you can continue the work relationship that you
have with the FBI."
John replied, "Congratulations. I hope that you come out to
Arizona and visit us. We have a house with many spare rooms, as
you well remember. My husband and wives would be happy to see
you."
"I will, don't worry about that."
There was a knock on the door and Claudia entered, "Deputy
Director Olim is here."
Mike made a waving motion and she ushered in a tall man. John
rose and faced him, examining his features. He could read the
displeasure on his face as the man examined him. John extended a
hand, "Hello. I'm John Carter."
The incredulous look on the man's face suggested that he didn't
quite believe him. He took the hand with a strong grasp and shook
it. He asked, "Is that your normal attire and hairstyle, Special
Agent Carter?"
"Yes."
Mike Holden pointed to a chair, "Samuel, have a seat."
John returned to his chair and sat down. Samuel was a little slower
in complying with Mike's request. John smiled at the other man's
discomfort. Samuel asked, "May I know why you've requested me
here? I must assume that it has something to do with Special Agent
Carter's presence here."
Mike looked at Samuel for a moment. He knew his replacement
was a little more rigorous in enforcing dress codes among the
agents that reported to him. "Samuel, I wanted to give you a little
background on John before I retired. This young man is John
Carter. I take it that his name does not invoke any recollections of
who he might be?"
"None. I do remember that a serial killer was picked up because of
some information that originated from him."
Mike laughed, "Which serial killer? The amputation murderer, the
serious bandit, or the temp agency killer? He caught them all."
Samuel looked at John as he remembered who John was. He asked,
"You caught them all?"
John answered, "Well, I had a lot of help."
Mike continued, "Maybe you heard of the smuggling ring that he
brought down a couple of years ago. Two of his more famous
cases are the white slavery ring and operation Druid's revenge that
brought down the mob."
Samuel stared at John. He sat back in the chair and asked,
"Anything else in your resume?"
"Not really."
Mike burst out laughing, "Let's see, you've saved the lives of
nearly five hundred people in Austin. There was the California
quake where you saved just about that many in a single day. I'm
sure there are more people that you've helped that I don't even
know about."
John nodded, "really. I didn't know I had saved that many people.
However, I thought he meant my resume with the FBI and not in
general."
"Oh, yes. And some of them were very important people."
John corrected him, "Everyone is important, it is just a difference
of what person he or she is important to."
Samuel asked, "Anything else?"
Mike nodded, "He's better know to the public as the man who
invented the Fusion Battery."
"You are that John Carter?"
"Yes. I am. Of course, I was much younger then."
Mike changed the topic a little, "John is not a regular agent. He's a
volunteer and is not on the payroll. When he learns about
something that needs to be handled, he'll step in and do his thing.
When he's done, he turns the case over to a senior agent."
Samuel replied, "That's highly unusual. What authority is that
relationship based upon?"
"Mine and mine alone."
Samuel nodded as he said, "You are suggesting that I maintain that
relationship."
Mike answered, "Yes, I am."
John interrupted the discussion. He stated, "there are some things
that you might want to know before you agree to that."
"What?"
John reached into his robe and pulled out the medallions. He
showed them to Mike and to Samuel. "As you can see, there are
three medallions now. I now serve all the Gods and Goddesses. All
of the Druids that possess one of these medallions now recognize
me as the Grand Druid."
Mike's eyebrows rose when he saw the third medallion. He asked,
"Three?"
Samuel snorted, "What's the medallions got to do with anything?"
John dropped the medallions so that they were flat against his
chest. John answered, "The medallions were given to me by the
Gods and Goddesses that I serve. I know that it sounds a little
incredulous, but I suggest that you examine it for a second."
Samuel leaned forward and lifted the medallion. He turned it over
reading the inscriptions on both sides. He shrugged, "So."
John stated, "Now try to remove it from around my neck."
Samuel gasped as the medallion slid out of his grasp. It was again
flat against John's chest. When he tried to pick it up, he was
unable. It was as though it was glued to the chest. "I can't get it."
"If you try to examine it without removing it, you can grasp it. The
moment you attempt to remove it, it will fall out of your hand."
Samuel picked up the medallion to examine it. He was curious if
some sort of mechanism made it act oddly. He didn't announce his
intention to remove it, but the moment he thought about taking it
off, the medallion slipped out of his fingers. He looked up stating,
"that is wild."
"Even I can't remove it. It is solid gold, but doesn't register on
metal detectors."
Samuel sat back and examined John for a minute trying to decide
what he thought of the man. He asked, "So, you are the Grand
Druid."
"Yes, I am."
Mike was curious why John had brought it up. He asked, "So why
did you bring that up?"
"Ah," smiled John. He turned his chair to face both men a little
more directly. He answered, "That makes me, in the minds of some
people, the leader of a cult. Now, this could be problematic to the
FBI. In particular, I have no doubt that requests shall arise in which
I am to be investigated. This will be particularly true when I start
the Druid College in North Carolina in two years."
Samuel sat back and shut his eyes. That would be a major problem,
but one that could be worked out. Of course, much of that would
depend on John agreeing to certain rules.
John saw the thought process flash across Samuel's mind. He
added, "Oh, it gets even worse. Many of the Druids, particularly
those that serve the God, have very responsible positions in the
government. In fact, my husband is as treasury agent. Other Druids
are CIA agents, Air Marshals, and Postal Inspectors. We have two
Forest Rangers and a number in other law enforcement agencies.
Most are rather informal arrangements between them and the
agency."
"Your husband?"
Mike answered, "Yes, he has a husband and two wives."
John corrected him, "We have three wives and are looking for a
third husband."
"Oh, who is she?"
John stated, "I don't know if you remember Ling. She's left the
staff and joined the family."
Samuel asked, "Mike, you knew about this group marriage thing?"
Mike smiled, "Yes, I was a guest at the wedding. So was the
governor of Utah, the deputy director of the DOE, a Senator,
several secret service agents, and two offices of the FBI."
"Jesus!"
John was quiet for a moment and then stated, "I would understand
if you didn't want to continue the existing relationship. However, I
would like to have some sort of authorization to participate in
specific investigations as a consultant. I will also make an offer
that I hope you can't refuse. I will personally authorize you with
the power to make searches of the Druid properties at any time you
desire while I am an agent of the FBI. You will not need a search
warrant to gain access to any records, location, or individual."
"Are you telling me that you are waving your rights?"
John corrected him, "Not my personal rights, but the rights of the
Druid Organization."
Samuel was suspicious as he asked, "Why would you do that?"
John stated, "If the Druid Organization operates in a glass house,
then there will be no questions of illegality. People may not like
the basic principles on which it operates, but those principles are
legal. I would rather have an FBI agent looking over my shoulder
every minute than having an angry public throwing stones at me."
Samuel stated, "Okay, tell me about this Druid thing? Aren't
Druids a bunch of kooks that worship Stonehenge?"
John looked sad, "There are a lot of people that call themselves
Druids, but few have actually encountered the Gods or Goddesses.
So, yes, there are bunches of kooks out there that call themselves
Druids. The original sites where human and divine being could
meet were destroyed by the church about eight hundred years ago.
The people of the area tried to keep the traditions, but without the
intervention of the Gods and Goddesses, the traditions became
stale. Today, there are about three hundred true Druids around the
world."
John continued, "Druids are not priests or shaman. They are
advisors to people in power. All of our Druids have advanced
degrees. Almost ninety percent have doctorates in the sciences. We
do not take sides in political arguments. However, we work to
protect the weak from the strong and will place ourselves in danger
if necessary."
John looked over at Samuel to see his reaction. Samuel stated, "I
can't see continuing with the your current status of Special Agent.
Perhaps as consultant, but even that will not be acceptable in the
long run."
John pulled his badge from his pocket. He held it out for Samuel to
take. He had turned in Rover's badge to Ann when Rover had left
him. "So be it."
Mike interrupted, "Gentlemen, please."
John turned to Mike. "The first principle is that if it harm none,
then do it. The only time I can harm anyone is if they are strong
and it is to protect the weak from them. If Deputy Director Olim
believes that my continuation in the current relationship will harm
his career or the reputation of FBI, then for me to continue would
be wrong. It is that simple."
Mike stated, "I don't want it to end with any hurt feelings."
John laughed, "My feelings are not hurt. I am pleased that he has
chosen to tell me his concerns. I have chosen my actions fully
aware of those concerns. I can render assistance to the weak and
advice to leaders in other ways. The Fusion Foundation still
provides me with the ability to contribute to society. With my
wealth, I can make a telephone call and reach the president."
Samuel looked at John with a puzzled expression. He stated, "Why
would you even want to work with the FBI?"
"Because there is no other way to bring down a white slavery ring
or the mob without the support of the FBI." John leaned forward
with a very serious expression. The intensity of his look shook
Samuel. John added, "Such evil must be eradicated. No one can
stand by and watch children be sold into sexual slavery. No one
can stand by while criminal organizations prey upon the
weaknesses of common people."
The intensity and motives behind his desire lead Samuel to
reconsider his decision. Samuel stated, "Keep the badge for now. I
will talk with Mike."
John returned his badge to his pocket. He looked at Mike and at
Samuel before deciding that the interview was finished. He stood,
"Gentlemen, I believe that the Washington Office of the
Emergency Relief Agency is holding a small party tonight in my
honor. I'm not sure who is attending, but I would like to extend an
invitation to both of you."
Mike smiled, "We have both been invited already. I wouldn't call it
a small party by any stretch of the imagination. However, there is
one more thing that I have to do before you leave."
John asked, "What?"
Mike opened a small box and removed a medal from it. He held it
up, "John, I am proud to present to you the FBI Medal of Valor in
recognition for your sacrifice in the destruction of the white
slavery ring."
John looked at it in awe. "I don't deserve that kind of recognition."
Mike stated, "You were dead for four minutes. You do deserve this
medal."
Samuel hadn't realized that John had achieved that honor. He
asked, "Isn't this supposed to be done in public?"
Mike answered, "He doesn't like public recognition. He doesn't
even like private recognition."
John took the medal and stared at it. He stated, "I'm proud to
accept this medal. Thank you."
Mike laughed, "Now get out here. You've got a party to get ready
for."
John left the office. After the door shut behind him, Mike turned to
Samuel and stated, "I wonder how he's going to react tonight when
he receives the Congressional Medal of Valor from the President?"
Samuel looked at Mike, "You don't mean he's getting that too?"
"Yes."
<1st attachment end>
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