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 10

The funeral had been a very private affair. It had been held in a 
small chapel in the Arizona town they called home. The body had 
been laid to rest in a small corner of the local graveyard. Beth's 
mother and the Carter Clan were the only ones in attendance. The 
rest of the town respected their wishes and did not attend.

The public memorial service would be held when her father left the 
hospital. The entire town would be invited as well as her 
colleagues from the hospital. In the mean time, Ling, Ed, and Mrs. 
Hayes had returned to California to take care of Dr. Hayes. Beth 
had returned to work, but her heart wasn't in it. John took care of 
the family business and continued to pursue the establishment of 
the Druid College.

He was sitting at the desk in the office upstairs from his bedroom. 
The desk was neat with little stacks of papers in neatly arranged 
bins. He pulled down one stack of papers from one bin and went 
through the papers one at a time. They listed the candidates for 
faculty search. He had reduced the number of candidates down to 
three. It was about time to interview them and measure their 
interest. 

He was about to pick up the telephone when the intercom rang. He 
answered the intercom. Cathy stated, "John, Maria was just on the 
phone and was asking about rescheduling her visit."

John asked, "What visit?"

Cathy replied, "Your stud duties to the women that have deep and 
endearing crushes on you."

John laughed and said, "Oh, that visit. Check with Kelly and see if 
she is up to it."

"Okay, I'll do that," replied Cathy and then she disconnected. 

John made his telephone calls, contacting the candidates. All of 
them were surprised at having been contacted. One refused 
outright. The other two were intrigued by the idea. One was from 
the Virginia Military Institute and the other was from MIT. He was 
going to meet with them in a month.

He replaced the papers in their appropriate slot. He went to the 
next slot and examined the papers within it. These dealt with the 
revenues from his fusion cell. He examined the papers dealing with 
handing the money over to the Fusion Foundation. He was about to 
sign the form that would turn over all of the money and sat back 
wondering if he was doing the right thing. He picked up the 
telephone and contacted Jim. When Jim answered, John stated, 
"Jim, I would like to change the terms on the fusion cell moneys. 
Let's make it 65% to the Fusion Foundation, 10% to the Native 
American College, and 25% to the Druid College."

Jim thought about it. He said, "That will dilute your influence over 
the Druid College."

John replied, "No. I'm the Grand Druid. That is sufficient 
influence."

Jim replied, "Okay, I'll put the paperwork together and get it to you 
tomorrow."

John answered, "Thanks. By the way, is there any chance of you 
and Sherry coming over for a weekend?"

Jim answered, "We're waiting for Ed to get back. Sherry has 
decided that it is time for her and Ed to have a little horizontal 
negotiations."

John laughed and asked "Is that your description or hers?"

Jim laughed while he answered, "She said that it was time for her 
to jump his bones."

John said, "That sounds more like Sherry."

Jim got serious for a second. "I don't think she trusts that the 
changes are permanent yet. She won't believe it until she sees him 
working to make sure that she is totally satisfied."

John replied, "That's okay. I don't think Ed has forgiven himself 
yet. This might be the opportunity for long-term peace to be 
established."

Jim seriously suggested, "I hope so."

After exchanging appropriate good-byes, they hung up. John 
replaced the stack of papers into the appropriate bin. He went to 
the next bin and pulled out the stack of papers within it. These 
dealt with his quarterly tax filing. He looked at the bottom and saw 
how much he had to pay. He checked the form carefully, but 
realized that he didn't know enough to critique the information on 
the form. He picked up the telephone and called the local tax 
office. He made arrangements for an IRS agent to come over and 
double check the return as though it were an audit. The stack of 
papers went back into the bin. 

He sat back knowing that his paperwork morning had ended. He 
hated this, but until he could hand some of this work to an 
appropriate person, he was stuck with it. They were still short of 
staff and had been for a year. Marguerite was still the chef, Cathy 
was running the office, Sarah was providing maid service, Greg 
was providing security, and Bob was still the handyman. They still 
needed an assistant for Cathy as the amount of work was 
overwhelming. 

John was surprised at how much he missed having Ed and Ling 
around the house. Kelly and he had slept together almost every 
night, but he missed Ling's touch and his evening conversations 
with Ed. Kelly was often tired at night and missed Ling more than 
he. Every one missed Beth; she had been such an integral part of 
the household.

Tonight was Wednesday and the tribal elders would be meeting. 
He called the security center looking for Greg, but he wasn't there. 
He tried the garage, but there was no answer from there. He finally 
contacted the office connecting with Cathy. She answered, 
"Hello?"

"Hi Cathy, this is John."

"What can I do for you?"

"I'm trying to locate Greg. I need him to pick up two cartoons of 
cigarettes for my trip to the reservation tonight."

Cathy replied, "He's meeting with the Police Chief about some 
security details. I'll call him on his cell phone and give him the 
message."

John asked, "He has a cell phone?"

Cathy laughed as she answered, "Everyone has a cell phone except 
you."

"Oh."

She asked, "Do you want one?"

"I don't know. Do I need one?"

There was a hesitation for second. "I would like to answer yes to 
that question."

"Then I guess I'll get one."

He disconnected wondering how he had missed noticing that 
everyone had a cell-phone. He felt that he was missing major 
changes in the world around him. He wondered if it was time that 
he went into a major urban area and worked there for a while. He 
was still teaching one class a semester in Phoenix, but he didn't 
spend much time in the town.  He picked up the telephone and 
called the head of the physics department. He told them he 
wouldn't be teaching a course next semester, but would return the 
semester after that. They weren't happy about it, but there wasn't 
too much they could do.

John approached the simple building well after dark. He could hear 
the discussions taking place within the building. He was stopped at 
the main door by a man guarding it. He was not friendly. John 
greeted the man, "Hello. I am here to meet with the tribal elders."

The man replied, "The tribal elders do not deal with white men."

John smiled, "Would you mind asking them if I may talk to them?"

"Look Mr. Indian-wanna-be, we don't want to be bothered by you 
or your kind."

John smiled, "That is an admirable sentiment. I am sure that 
William Redman will agree with you."

The use of William's name surprised the man. William never dealt 
with white men. The man replied, "William doesn't talk to white 
men."

John looked at the man carefully in the light. He realized that he 
knew the man. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of 
cigarettes. He offered the pack to the man. He stated, "It has been a 
long time since I've seen you Awa Tsireh. The last time you were 
watching a flock of sheep."

The man took the pack and removed a cigarette. This man knowing 
his true name shocked him. He lit the cigarette and handed the 
pack back to John. He asked, "Who are you?"

"John Carter."

The day he had met the white man with the cat in the desert came 
rushing back to him. He remembered sending the man to meet 
William Redman. He stated, "wait here, John Carter."

The man went inside for a minute. He returned quickly. He asked, 
"What is your business here?"

John replied, "I have come seeking the benefits of their wisdom."

He nodded. "They will see you last."

"Thank you," replied John. He looked at the man for a moment. 
"You don't like whites coming here."

"That's right."

"Why?" asked John.

The man stared at him. He wondered if an honest answer would 
upset John. He stated, "They come here to steal from us."

"That is a good reason not to trust whites. However, keeping 
whites away won't protect you and may hurt you in the long run."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, you try to keep the whites away like that and the ones that 
want to help will not come here. The ones that want to steal will 
just find another way in." replied John.

"So what do you suggest?" He was actually curious as to what 
John was going to say.

"Your tribe needs lawyers that will protect the tribe."

Awa Tsireh burst out laughing. He shook his head, "You white 
men. Who do you think we need protection from?"

"I didn't say you should hire lawyers. I said your tribe needs 
lawyers."

The man looked at John with a very critical eye. He challenged, 
"Who?"

John smiled, "Oh, I would suggest warriors that enjoy a good 
battle. I would recommend men and women such as you. If you are 
to fight the white man, then you must learn to use their weapons 
against them. You would be good at it."

Awa Tsireh looked thoughtful. The issue always came down to 
money. He stated, "How will I pay for a law school degree?"

John looked at him. "I would talk to William Redman about it. 
You might be surprised at what he has to say. There is money for 
that."

The door opened as a number of people left the meeting hall. The 
last one out stated, "You may go in now."

John went into the cinder-block building. It was a general-purpose 
building. The room the elders were in doubled as a basketball 
court. The elders sat at a table across the front of the room. John 
stepped forward and set two cartoons of cigarettes on the table. He 
went back to the middle of the room and stood facing them. They 
watched him for several minutes, but John just waited. Finally, one 
of the men asked, "Why have you come, John Carter?"

John looked at each person for a second and then answered, "I 
have come for your advice."

There was a moment of silence. Finally, William Redman asked, 
"What kind of advice could our friend John Carter want from us?"

John looked at William Redman, "A young woman has offered 
herself to me on behalf of your tribe."

John paused. William replied, "That is true."

"Many in the tribe disagree with this action on her part."

"That is true, also."

John nodded and thought about it. He stated, "I want to avoid 
problems between your tribe and my clan."

William asked, "Why do you think there will be problems?"

John waited a minute before answering, "Discontent on the part of 
the tribe does not bode well for relations with the Carter clan."

The elders talked amongst themselves for a moment. John watched 
as they discussed the matter. He was patient. Finally, William 
stated, "You have made a good observation."

John nodded. "I have made another observation. The young 
woman desires this more than the tribe."

This time, the talk among the elders was much more animated. 
John could tell that he had hit upon a truth that was already 
recognized among the elders. "So what are you suggesting John 
Carter?"

"The woman offered herself to me on behalf of the tribe. The tribe 
did not offer her to me. The tribe is still free to offer me anything 
that will maintain peaceful relations."

William grinned as he asked, "Such as?"

John thought about it for a long time and then said, "Perhaps a 
handcrafted gift worked upon by those members of the tribe that 
wish to extend a thanks."

An old woman stated, "You can buy anything you want."

John laughed. "I can buy things. I can not buy the goodwill that 
goes into its making. That is priceless."

The woman cackled, "Oh, William. You are so right about this 
John Carter."

William smiled, "So what about the young woman?"

"That is where I need your advice."

The old men around the table laughed. One of them stated, "You 
are not the first brave that needs advice when dealing with a 
woman."

The old woman made a gesture and everyone quieted down. She 
asked, "Do you have an idea?"

John stated, "I would like to ask her for a date in public, where it is 
clear that the request is coming from me and that she has a choice 
to accept or not."

"We need to discuss this among ourselves." The elders talked 
among themselves for quite a while. John waited patiently as the 
discussion progressed. The minutes stretched into half an hour. 
John understood that he had brought them a difficult problem. 
Finally, the elders all nodded and turned to face John. William 
stated, "Four weeks from tonight, you will come here. We shall 
present a gift such as you suggested. There shall be a celebration 
after the gift has been given. During that celebration, you will 
publicly ask me for permission to date the young lady. I shall give 
my permission. Sarah can give you background on how to ask."

 John stated, "It is a wise choice."

William stated, "It is a wise man that goes to others for advice and 
listens to it. You have allowed us to resolve a general tension in the 
tribe while allowing a young lady that is afraid of following her 
heart to do as her heart directs."

John smiled, "Thank you for your time. I appreciate the effort you 
have put into this problem of mine. May I also inform you of one 
other minor matter?"

William sat back, somewhat irritated. He didn't like it when a 
person stated that they needed one thing and then asked for two. 
"What?"

John smiled, "This afternoon, I signed papers giving 10% of the 
royalties for my latest invention to the Native American College."

William asked, "May I know the nature of the invention?"

John nodded, "Yes. It is a AAA battery based on the fusion well. It 
shall make lots of money."

The old woman sat back suspicious of his motivation, "What do 
you want from this?"

"Nothing. The money belongs to the college. I mention it now so 
that you may consider ways to use the money." John turned to 
leave. 

William called out, "John Carter, you do all these things for our 
people and ask nothing in return. Why?"

John answered, "I do it for all those who know the ways of the 
Earth Spirit. I serve the Gods and Goddesses. Our goals are the 
same, but our methods differ. It is time for us to grow stronger so 
that the earth can be healed. If we don't get strong enough, then all 
our people shall die out."

The council of elders was quite for a long time. Finally, one of 
them stated, "The tribal traditions have almost died out. They are 
only now coming back."

John nodded. "This is the first time in eight hundred years that 
there has been a Grand Druid. We have tripled in strength over the 
past fifteen years."

John stared into the distance as though here were looking at 
something far away. "The last time I went to Los Angeles, the sky 
was clear and blue. The air smelled almost as good as it smells 
here. There was a time when I couldn't breath there because the air 
was so bad."

"Cars now run on fusion rather than petroleum. They have stopped 
strip mining worldwide because they no longer need coal. Acid 
rain has stopped falling. The forests are returning. Rivers are 
running cleaner. The seasons are returning to normal."

"Life is better now for people all over the world. Even the most 
remote location now has access to safe and clean power. 
Refrigeration has made food safer. Telephone poles and power 
lines are disappearing. Goods are cheaper as the energy required to 
produce them costs nearly nothing."

John continued to stare off into space. "There is much that is good 
happening now. We must teach them to nurture the earth so that it 
can recover. We need the swamps, the rivers, the forests, the great 
plains, and the deserts."

John stood silent, leaning upon his walking stick. He saw all the 
problems that remained to be fixed. There was still so much to do. 
The minutes passed as he continued to look into the distance. 
Finally, he came back to the room and looked at the council of 
elders. He smiled. "Sorry, I got lost for a minute."

William stated, "It is late and time for you to go home. Your 
family is waiting for you."

John nodded. "Once again, I thank you for your help. May your 
paths be long and pleasant."

John left as the council watched him leave. When he had left the 
room, William turned to his wife and stated, "He's an interesting 
one."

"You are right about him."

One of the others laughed, "Linda will make a good wife for him."

William asked, "Should we tell her what was decided tonight?"

"No. We must decide on a gift and then isolate her from the rest of 
the tribe," stated one of the old women. "She will try to find some 
way to force things to her way."

William's wife stated, "Do not worry about her. It is time she 
learned the old ways. I will take her to the cave in the hills."

Awa Tsireh entered the room. He stated, "grandfathers and 
grandmothers, I have talked to John Carter. He knows I do not trust 
the whites."

William looked up at him with curiosity. He asked, "What did he 
say to that?"

Awa Tsireh replied, "That I need to learn to fight the white man 
more effectively. He suggested I become a lawyer."

"He did?"

"Yes, he did."

The old woman asked, "What about money?"

"When I asked about money, he told me to talk to William 
Redman."

William laughed. He now understood why John had told him about 
the money. He was hoping that William would find a way to use it 
to help people pursuing degrees not offered by the college. He was 
a tricky one, that John Carter. He stated, "The money will be 
arranged."

John drove home happy that things had worked out so well. He had 
cemented a bond that had almost been broken. Tomorrow would 
be another long day. He was to teach tomorrow for three hours. He 
would also stop by the FBI office and see Ann. She had invited 
them for dinner a long time ago. His family had gone to her house 
while he was away for the funeral of Mrs. South. She had extended 
a second invitation, but the death of Beth and the long-term stay in 
LA of Ed and Ling had delayed it past the point of embarrassment. 

He pulled up to the house and parked in the garage. He went to 
enter through the garage entrance, but several bats flew around the 
door. He almost forced the issue, but decided they were warning 
him somehow. He started for the front door, but the bats moved to 
intercept him. He turned and went to the back door that was rarely 
used. The bats did not interfere this time. 

The house was dark and quiet when he entered. He hit the light 
switch, but nothing happened. His senses went into overdrive as 
his medallion seemed to burn on his chest. There was no way the 
entire house should be dark. There were five different fusion 
batteries powering it. He drew his cloak around him tighter and 
held his walking stick in a position that was ready to use. 

He slowly crept into the house listening for any sound that would 
suggest a threat. There was complete silence. The harder he tried to 
listen, the louder the sound of his heartbeat rang in his ears. He 
took three deep breaths attempting to calm down and get control of 
his nerves. He moved further into the room. He could hear 
breathing coming from the dining room. He moved towards the 
door to dining room and could see the people tied to the chair. He 
examined the layout of the room. If he went to the dining room, he 
would be silhouetted for a moment. It was a perfect ambush spot. 

He concentrated on the upstairs. He could hear minor noises 
coming from there. He relaxed knowing where at least one assassin 
stood. He slowly moved to the stairs on the other side of the room. 
He climbed the stairs, standing as close to the wall as possible to 
prevent the stairs for squeaking. When he made it to the top of the 
stairs, he stopped and listened. He almost swore aloud when he 
heard breathing from the guestroom at the top of the stairs. He 
listened carefully trying to figure out how many people were in the 
room. There were at least four men in the room. In his minds eye, 
he could almost see them.

He had to figure out what to do. He decided that it would be best to 
wait. He had tremendous patience and could outwait them. He 
stood there frozen on the stairs for ten minutes. He could hear the 
people shifting around in the room. At last one of the men walked 
away from the door and sat on the bed. He waited some more. 
Finally, one of them whispered, "I don't think he's in here."

The one at the end of the hall whispered back, "Shut up."

John smiled. He didn't recognize the voices, but the one at the end 
of the hall was definitely a Hispanic man. He could hear the ones 
in the guestroom whisper to each other. They were getting tired of 
waiting. Two more of them moved to the bed and sat down.  There 
was only one at the door now. John held up his walking stick and 
with one quick thrust, rammed it into the guys neck, crushing the 
larynx. He went down like a log. One of the men in the room went 
to the door to investigate. He knelt down only to get the walking 
stick across the back of his neck.

John moved down the stairs. The group in the room realized that 
something was wrong and went to investigate. Now there was no 
attempt to be quiet. One of them shouted, "He killed them!"

The one at the other end of the hall came down to where the 
excitement was. John moved quickly to the other stairs and 
climbed up. He positioned himself in the corner and waited for the 
excitement to die down. Two of them were out of commission, he 
had four to go. The Hispanic man directed two of them to go 
downstairs. He sent the other to the top of the stairs and then 
returned to his spot overlooking the door to the dining room. John 
brought his walking stick down across the back of his neck. The 
assassin dropped to the ground, out cold.

John held still waiting to see what the man at the other end of the 
hall did. He didn't hear anything and slowly made his way to the 
far end of the hall. Listening for breathing, he swung his walking 
stick where he figured the back of the guys neck would be. He 
connected with the back of the skull instead. There was a sickening 
sound as the skull crushed from the force of the blow. He pulled 
the men into the guestroom. Only one of them was breathing. He 
searched through the room looking for something he could use to 
tie up the man. He came across a lamp and tore the cord from it. 
He used that to tie the man's hands behind his back. He stuffed part 
of a sheet into the mouth and tied the sheet in place with the other 
end of the cord. It was the best that he could do in the dark.

John went back into the hall and listened carefully. He could hear 
the two men downstairs moving around. John went back to where 
he had knocked the Hispanic man out. He felt around on the floor 
until he found a shotgun. It was a pump shotgun with a pistol grip. 
He realized this guy was taking no chances on missing him.

John sat down trying to decide what to do next. He realized that he 
still had a pack of cigarettes in his pocket. The idea that came to 
mind seemed too ridiculous to work, but he decided to try it 
anyway. He prepared the shotgun so that he could fire it quickly. 
He threw the cigarette pack across the room towards a vase near 
the front door. When they fired, John opened fire where he thought 
the men were standing based on the muzzle flash. He kept firing 
until he was out of rounds in the shotgun. 

John quickly moved out of the way and listened to the sounds 
below. He could hear the two men groaning. He waited a minute to 
see if he heard any other sounds. Holding one hand over his eye, 
he hit the light switch at the top of the stairs. The room lit up. 
There were two men on the floor lying in separate pools of blood. 
John looked around and found a pistol on the floor. He turned off 
the light and uncovered his other eye. 

He moved down the hall and picked up the pistol that was on the 
floor. He gently set the shotgun down on the floor. He moved to 
the staircase and climbed down. Again, he stayed close to the wall 
to prevent any squeaks. He paused at the bottom of the stairs. He 
was just a few feet from the door to the dining room. He quickly 
dived through the door into the dining room. There were no shots 
fired. 

He whispered, "Don't move until I untie everyone. Then we'll run 
into the kitchen as a group."

He moved behind one of the chairs and untied the ropes holding 
the woman there. He couldn't tell who it was, but guessed that it 
was either Cathy or Sarah. He reached up and undid the gag. The 
texture of the hair let him know that it was Sarah. She stated, "It 
was five. I don't know where Greg is."

John relaxed. He moved to the next chair and undid the ropes. This 
had to be Cathy. When he removed the gag, Cathy asked, "Did you 
get them all?"

"I believe so." He moved behind Bob and untied him. John 
removed the gag. Bob didn't say anything or react in any way. John 
was suddenly concerned. He wondered if Bob was okay.

Kelly was next. He went to untie her, but the knots were extremely 
tight. He worked feverishly to remove the knots. Finally, they 
came loose. Kelly groaned as the blood rushed back into hands that 
had been tied too tightly. She bit her lip as pins and needles 
pricked her hands.

He moved over to Marguerite and untied her. He removed her gag. 
She whispered, "Bob hasn't moved since he was tied up."

John went over to Bob. He whispered, "Everyone into the kitchen."

The whole group stumbled into the kitchen. John half-carried and 
half-dragged Bob into the kitchen. When everyone was in the 
room, he shut the door. He turned on the lights and waited for his 
eyes to adjust. Cathy grabbed the cell-phone and called the police. 
Kelly carefully examined Bob, a look of concern on her face. John 
asked, "What happened?"

Marguerite answered, "I don't know. I was waiting for Greg. When 
I answered the knock on the door, these guys jumped me. They 
carried me down to the dining room and tied me up."

Sarah frowned. "I was waiting for Greg. I was jumped when I 
answered the door."

John looked over at Cathy. She frowned and shook her fist. John 
understood that she had been waiting for Greg also. John realized 
that the sixth man had been Greg. John stated, "I got six. The sixth 
one must have been Greg."

Cathy stated, "The police are in the house now. They know we are 
locked in the kitchen."

John stated, "Tell them that there are two wounded in the living 
room and four in the upstairs guest room."

There was a knock on the kitchen door. Robert White Feather 
called out, "It's Robert White Feather."

John relaxed and opened the door, "Come on in."


