JC: Ed Biggers
Part 3: Accretion
Chapter 15
By
Lazlo Zalezac
Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezac, 2004

Ed stopped at the hotel where Kim had reserved a room for him. 
Even as he checked in, he wondered why she had insisted on 
staying at a hotel. Normally, they just slept under the stars. This 
whole trip seemed to be a little different than any of the others. 
After dropping off his clothes, he went on to the mine to meet up 
with her.  

It was a nice fifteen-minute drive to the mine. The wide-open 
landscape helped settle his nerves. Pulling up to the mine, he 
looked at the rough scar cut into the mountain. This was a poorly 
run operation. He grimaced as he thought about how they were 
destroying the area with their mine. 

As he got out of the car, Kim hurried over to him and stopped a 
few paces away. As a young man came over, she extended a hand 
and said, "Welcome, Dr. Biggers."

Surprised by the unexpected formal greeting, Ed looked at the fear 
written on her face. He glanced at the young man and recognized 
the slightly jealous look the man was giving him. Ed took her hand 
and said, "Hello, Kim. How's the survey going?"

Relaxing a little, Kim answered, "I've finished the preliminary 
survey. This place is a mess."

Nodding his head, Ed said, "I could tell just by looking at that 
horrible scar over there. Let me guess, mining by dynamite."

"Yes," replied Kim. She glanced over that young man with her. 

Ed noticed and asked, "And who might you be?"

"Matt Henderson," replied the young man as he forcefully 
extended his hand. 

Shaking the hand, Ed asked, "I take it you are Kim's boyfriend."

Suspicious of the interest Ed was giving him, Matt replied, "That's 
right."

Nodding as he figured out the dynamics of the situation, Ed chose 
what would be a simpler topic. He asked, "Are you a geologist?"

Matt said, "No. I run a restaurant in Phoenix."

"Oh," replied Ed. The discussion fell flat at that point. 

Walking over to the mine, Ed looked at the chaos that was there. 
Large chunks of rock were spread all over the ground. He could 
see where heavy equipment was used to move the boulders to a 
rock crusher. Looking away in disgust, he said, "I don't need to see 
anymore. Let's go to the hotel and examine your preliminary 
survey."

Kim nodded and led her boyfriend off to her car. Ed returned to his 
car and drove back to the hotel. As he drove, he thought about 
what he had just witnessed. It appeared that his relationship with 
Kim was going to experience some major changes. It would have 
been nice to have a little warning, but it explained her insistence on 
staying in a hotel room. 

At the hotel, Ed went into the lobby and sat down to wait for Kim 
and her boyfriend to arrive. His feelings weren't exactly hurt, but 
he had wished that she had given him a little warning. It was 
actually past time for Kim to get a real boyfriend and he was happy 
that she had found someone. A hand on his shoulder interrupted his 
thoughts. Looking up, he saw Kim and Matt standing in front of 
him. Collecting himself, he said, "Let's go over this in the dining 
room."

The waitress led them to a very large table in the corner of the 
restaurant. Ed ordered iced teas for everyone. While the waitress 
was getting the iced tea, Kim spread out the survey map on which 
she had marked various aspects of the mine. Looking over the 
map, Ed saw that the mine was at the highest yield spot. Looking 
up at Kim, he said, "They're working at the best spot already."

Nodding, Kim said, "I know. They claim that their yields are low."

Looking over the data, Ed shook his head at the numbers. The ore 
was relatively low-grade, but they should have been able to make a 
profit off it. Ed said, "The problem requires a mining specialist 
rather than a geologist or mineralogist."

Surprised at his statement, Kim asked, "Are you serious?"

Laughing, Ed said, "You saw that mess they consider to be a mine. 
Half of the rocks they are throwing into the grinders aren't ore."

Amazed, Kim said, "You saw all of that from that one look 
around?"

"Of course. You've seen well-run operations. Believe me, that one 
isn't one," answered Ed.

"So what are you suggesting?" asked Kim.

Ed answered, "We bill them for the time put in so far, recommend 
that they hire a mining specialist, and get out."

Matt looked at Ed and asked, "Are you crazy? You can get a lot 
more money out of them."

Staring Matt in the eye, Ed answered, "I have integrity."

Matt replied, "You'll never get rich that way."

Kim sat back biting her lower lip. Her boyfriend had embarrassed 
her and she worried about how Ed might react. Reaching into his 
pocket, Ed pulled out his IRS identification and laid it on the table. 
He said, "Before you say anything else, I suggest you look at that."

Matt picked up the holder and flipped it open. His face paled as he 
looked at the IRS identification. Looking up at Ed, he said, "Are 
you trying to scare me?"

Shaking his head, Ed said, "No, just warning you that you should 
be careful what you say and do in my presence."

Slipping the identification into his pocket, Ed continued the 
discussion by concentrating on the problem at hand. "We can't help 
them with the real problem. Would you like to perform the final 
presentation or would you like me to do it?"

Kim thought about it for a moment and then said, "You had 
probably do it. They'll believe you."

Nodding, Ed said, "Okay. Call them and let them know that I'll be 
there in the morning around nine."

Kim stepped away from the table to make the call. While she was 
gone, Ed continued to look over the survey, double-checking to 
make sure that he hadn't missed anything. Matt watched him work 
with a frown on his face. Satisfied that he hadn't missed anything, 
Ed folded the map and set it aside. Sitting back he looked at Matt. 
After a few minutes, Ed asked, "What are your plans now that Kim 
has the next few days off?"

Matt snapped, "That's not really any of your business."

"I'm just trying to make conversation," replied Ed. 

They sat quietly until Kim returned to the table. The conversation 
was forced and only touched upon superficial topics. Matt was 
surly the entire time, Kim was tense, and Ed was disgusted by it 
all. When Matt went to the bathroom, Kim apologized, "I'm sorry, 
Ed. He isn't normally like this. I don't know what is the matter."

Ed shrugged it off and replied, "I think he's a little jealous."

Matt overheard his comment on returning to the table and said, 
"I'm not jealous of you. You're nothing. I'm a millionaire and I 
earned it myself."

Kim tried to let Matt know that he should be quiet by waving at 
him. Even as he continued to speak, she interjected, "Matt, Ed is 
rather wealthy."

Making a dismissive gesture with his hand, Matt said, "Bah! He's a 
hick. Look at him. He's dressed in old blue jeans, worn work shirt, 
cowboy boots, and an old hat."

Shaking his head, Ed burst out laughing at the characterization of 
him. The guy really believed what he said. Hitting his thigh with 
an open palm, Ed said, "That's a good one."

Matt sneered, "Look at yourself in the mirror."

Ed leaned forward and looked Matt directly in the eye. When Matt 
immediately looked away, Ed said, "I came out here expecting to 
be digging in the dirt. I'm not going to wear a suit and tie to do 
that. However, that's not really an excuse for the reason why I wear 
what I wear. I like blue jeans, work shirts, boots, and my cowboy 
hat. I dress for me."

"Well, you look and act like a hick. Sitting here drinking iced tea; 
give me a break. Show some class and drink wine." 

Kim interrupted and said, "Matt, you don't really know who he is."

Taking a sip of his iced tea, Ed wondered what to do about the 
evening. The situation was truly uncomfortable and he didn't want 
to spend the rest of evening around Matt. Still, this was a work 
meal. He asked, "Are you guys up for dinner?"

Trying to salvage the situation, Kim smiled and said, "Yes, that 
would be lovely."

Matt grunted and absently opened the menu. After a quick glance 
down the menu, he said, "There's nothing good to eat here."

Looking over the menu, Ed couldn't decide between the steak and 
the chicken. The major problem was that both of them were served 
with broccoli. Maybe he could get the chef to make a substitution. 
Looking over at Matt, Ed asked, "Who's the chef at your place?"

Matt said, "Not that you'd know who he is, but his name is Jim 
Ritter."

Laughing at the memory of the medieval party that they had 
several years ago, Ed said, "I know Jim. He is into that whole 
medieval theme stuff."

Shaking his head, Matt said, "I don't think so."

Ed nodded and said, "Yes. We had a party a couple of years ago 
and he was one of the guests."

"He's the best chef in the state," replied Matt. He added, "That isn't 
the kind of thing that the best chef in the state does."

"Oh," said Ed nodding his head. He decided this guy was just a 
pretentious asshole and let the subject drop.

Kim said, "Actually, Ed's Chef, Marguerite, is the fourth best 
private cook in the world."

Matt looked at Kim as though she had just said that she loved to 
kiss frogs. Dismissing her statement, he said, "Oh, come on."

Ed corrected him. "It's true. She came in fourth in the international 
private chef culinary competition that was held in New York this 
year."

Matt said, "Now you're lying to me."

"Believe as you wish. I'm sure if you talk to Jim, he'll tell you that 
Marguerite is a great chef," replied Ed.

Deciding to prove his point, Matt pulled out a cell phone and 
dialed his restaurant in Phoenix. After a minute, he was talking to 
Jim. As the conversation progressed, Matt paled and looked over at 
Ed. Ed reached out a hand and Matt put the phone in it. Holding 
the phone to his ear, he said, "Hello Jim. This is Ed."

Jim gushed, "Hi Ed. You know, we still talk about that night at 
your house. You guys really know how to throw a party."

Laughing, Ed replied, "Thanks. We might do that again 
sometime."

"Hey, tell Marguerite that I send her my congratulations on her 
amazing performance in New York."

Still laughing, Ed said, "I'll tell her. She and Bob may be getting 
married soon. We're going to send her on an around the world trip 
to the twenty best restaurants in the world."

"Wow, that's a nice present."

Ed said, "She's going to be gone for about three months."

There was a silence at the other end of the phone and then Jim 
said, "I could lend you my assistant chef for that time if Marguerite 
will spend a little time training him."

Ed said, "That would be nice, Jim. I'll mention it to the rest of the 
family."

Jim said, "I've got orders backing up. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye."

As Ed handed the phone back to Matt, he said, "Jim offered to lend 
us his assistant chef while Marguerite is on her honeymoon."

Smiling at Ed, Kim said, "I'm sure he'll enjoy that."

"I hope he knows how to dance. Marguerite always dances in the 
kitchen when she's cooking."

Confused with the sudden turn of events, Matt tried to follow the 
conversation. Jim had said that Ed's chef was the best in the 
country. He looked over at Ed and wondered how this cowboy 
ended up with such a good chef. It was beyond him to understand 
that they had allowed her to become a great chef by following her 
passion for cooking. Matt asked, "How can you afford a chef like 
that?"

Ed said, "Oh, she's part of our household staff. The reason I was so 
late today was that we hired two new staff members this morning."

The waitress came to the table and asked, "So what can I get for 
you this evening?"

Kim said, "I'll have the Caesar Salad."

Matt glanced down at the menu and said, "I'll try your prime rib."

Ed asked, "Have you got any vegetables other than broccoli?"

The waitress looked around for a second and then said, "I think we 
have some mixed vegetables."

Smiling at the chance to avoid the dreaded restaurant broccoli, Ed 
said, "I'll go with the steak cooked medium well, mixed vegetables, 
and baked potato with extra butter and no sour cream."

As Ed was ordering, Matt was still thinking about the fact that Ed 
was actually wealthy. He knew there had to be some way to tap 
into that wealth.  He asked, "So how much are you worth?"

The question made Ed wonder if he should know. It was hard to 
say how much the stock in the family was worth. He brought in 
about two hundred thousand a year consulting and another hundred 
thousand for his associate scientist position. Add the rent for his 
house and the other properties he had purchased with his earnings, 
it corresponded to about half a million a year. Ed answered, "I 
would guess that I bring in about half a million a year. Of course, 
that doesn't include the family accounts that I have. I have no idea 
exactly how much I have."

This shocked Matt more than he could ever put into words. How 
could someone that was rich not know how much money they had? 
He knew down to the dollar exactly how much money he had in 
the bank and how much his business was worth. This guy brought 
in half a million a year. He had to get his hands on some of that 
money. He asked, "Would you like to invest in my restaurant?"

"No," answered Ed.

A young Indian man came to the table and stood there waiting to 
be recognized. Ed noticed and tried to remember the man's name. 
After a minute, it came to him. Ed said, "Well met, Awa Tsireh."

The young man nodded pleased that Ed had remembered his name 
and actually pronounced it correctly. He replied, "Well met, Ed 
Biggers."

"Would you like to join us? There is always room at my table for a 
member of your tribe," said Ed. 

Nodding the young man sat next to Ed and slid a package of 
cigarettes over to him. Ed noticed and accepted the pack. Opening 
it, he offered the young man a cigarette. The young man accepted 
the cigarette. Both men lit their cigarettes, Ed was careful not to 
inhale. Awa Tsireh said, "I heard you were here."

"I am honored that you would choose to visit me," replied Ed. He 
took a puff without inhaling it and exhaled the smoke to the 
ceiling. 

The young man took a puff of his cigarette and exhaled. Looking 
at Ed, he said, "Tell John that I have taken his advice."

"I shall let John know that."

"Many warriors are going to law school at Harvard. Soon, we shall 
be able to fight the modern way."

Sitting quietly for a moment, Ed thought about what the young 
man had said. Nodding, he replied, "That is wise. Your tribe shall 
soon be strong in the way of modern war."

Awa Tsireh nodded and then stood. Without saying a word he 
walked out of the restaurant. Ed watched him go and pocketed the 
pack of cigarettes. Matt had watched the entire exchange and 
asked, "What was that about?"

"That was a formal visit, in which Awa Tsireh informed my family 
that he and other members of his tribe are going to law school," 
answered Ed as he patted the pack of cigarettes. John had given the 
young man very good advice and he was glad that the young men 
in the tribe were following it. 

"Why would he tell your family that?"

Ed looked at Matt knowing that the man would never understand. 
Answering the best that he could, he said, "He was thanking an 
elder for the advice he had been given. He's a polite young man 
and a credit to his tribe."

Ed stubbed out the cigarette and took a sip of tea to get the taste 
out of his mouth. As he drank, another man came to the table. Ed 
could feel the medallion worn by the other man and turned to face 
him. The man nodded and said, "I am Calvin Kerr."

Although he didn't know the man, he did know of him by 
reputation. In the mining industry, he was viewed as one of the 
best mining engineers. Gesturing to the empty chair, Ed replied, "I 
am Ed Biggers."

As Calvin sat down in the chair, he said, "I am on the board of a 
very large mining company. We are interested in a mine that you 
are consulting on."

Holding up a hand, Ed said, "I give my report tomorrow to the 
owners."

"Good, I will be there."

Ed asked, "You have seen the mine?"

The look of disgust that crossed Calvin's face was answer enough. 
He answered, "Yes, I have seen it."

Ed laughed and said, "That was my reaction when I saw it."

Calvin relaxed in his chair, his eyes flicking over to the others at 
the table. He said, "I'm surprised that we haven't run into each 
other before now. You are very well known in many circles."

Ed nodded and replied, "As are you."

"You are too kind. My service has only been a year while you are 
the head of the servants of the Two-Sided One," remarked Calvin.

Ed looked over at his dining companion and said, "Calvin, I would 
like to introduce you to Kim and Matt. Kim is my assistant and 
Matt is her boyfriend."

Calvin looked over at the pair and said, "I am pleased to meet you 
Kim, but I'm afraid that I don't like your boyfriend. He prays on the 
weak."

Matt sputtered and blustered before he was able to say a coherent 
sentence. "How dare you say that!"

"I say that because it is true."

"You don't even know who I am."

Calvin leaned across the table and said, "I don't care who you are. 
You are basically an evil little man."

Matt turned to Ed and said, "Tell this man to go away."

"No."

"What do you mean, no?"

Ed said, "I will not tell him to leave. He is a Druid and he speaks 
the truth."

Kim, hearing that the man was a Druid, remembered some of the 
things she had seen Ed and Lily do. If this man was reacting in 
such a negative manner to her boyfriend, she needed to reconsider 
her relationship with him. Kim said, "Don't argue with him, Matt. 
He's a Druid."

Matt turned on Ed and said, "He doesn't know anything."

Ed sat back and said, "Druids live by two rules. If it harm none, 
then do it. Protect the weak from the strong. You have already 
counseled me to rob my client of money. That violates the first 
rule."

"He said something nasty about me. Doesn't that violate the first 
rule?"

Ed shook his head and replied, "He exposed you for what you are 
in public, which is following the second rule."

Matt, acting like he had caught Ed in a lie, said, "If you felt that 
way and didn't say anything, then you violated the second rule."

Exasperated, Kim said, "Matt, shut up. You're only making it 
worse."

"You shut up, bitch," snarled Matt.

Ed said, "I was biding my time. Kim is a very close friend of mine. 
To come out and expose you openly would hurt her. Calvin does 
not have that problem and called you on it directly."

Kim knew about Ed and how he had to tell the truth. She had 
hoped to have a real relationship and had stuck to Matt despite the 
fact that he was obnoxious at times. Admitting the truth to herself, 
she said, "Matt, I think it would be best if you would leave now."

Matt moved as though he were going to hit her. Both Ed and 
Calvin grabbed him before he had a chance. As Calvin held Matt, 
Ed pulled out his medallion and put it into Matt's hand. The man 
screamed and sagged against Calvin. When Ed removed the 
medallion from his hand, he looked deep into Matt's eyes and said, 
"That is a small portion of the harm you have caused others. If I 
learn that you have harmed others, then I shall return and we will 
do that over and over until you have experienced every piece of 
harm that you have done."

Eyes wide, Matt stumbled away from the table and headed out of 
the restaurant. Ed and Calvin returned to the table and sat down 
noticing that most of the people in the restaurant were staring at 
them. Holding her face in her hands, Kim was crying. Ed went to 
put an arm around her, but she shrugged it off. Looking up at him, 
she exclaimed, "I'm never going to find a man half as good as you 
that believes in monogamy."

Calvin leaned forward and lifted her chin so that he was looking 
into her eyes. In a very gentle voice, he said, "I believe in 
monogamy."

The waitress brought the food over to the table and stood there 
confused. There were still three people at the table, but the 
substitution seemed to throw her. Ed said, "Steak here and the 
salad goes there."

She set down the plates and looked at the prime rib. She asked, 
"What about the prime rib?"

Calvin asked, "Is it rare?"

"Yes."

"Good. I'll take it. I could use some iced tea over here," replied 
Calvin. He rubbed his hands as the waitress set the food in front of 
him. Looking around the table with a smile on his face, he said, 
"Oh this looks good."

Ed looked at his plate and groaned when he saw the side dish. The 
mixed vegetable was a mix of broccoli and cauliflower. Glancing 
over at Kim, he saw that she was picking at her salad as though her 
appetite had been destroyed. He didn't know what to say to her.

Noticing the look that Ed had given Kim, Calvin said, "You know, 
I don't know what I like better, this wonderful prime rib or the 
chance to gaze upon the most lovely Kim. Fortunately, I can graze 
and gaze at the same time. Oh what a lucky man I am." 

Kim chuckled and looked at Calvin. She said, "That's funny."

Throughout the rest of the evening, Calvin continued to say nice 
little things to Kim. Ed watched as Kim relaxed and fell under the 
spell of the Druid. He realized that it was a good match, much 
better than Kim and Matt. Calvin would take care of her and 
satisfy a need that he would never be able to meet. 

At the end of the evening, he stood and patted Kim on the back as 
he said, "Good night, Kim. I'll see you in the morning."

He shook hands with Calvin and went to the waitress. He put the 
dinner and the rest of the charges for the evening on his room 
knowing that the two would be there for an hour or more as Kim 
and Calvin remained behind talking over coffee.

Arriving home the next day, Ed went to his room and sat on his 
chair thinking about the events of the past few days. Kim was 
smitten by Calvin and it appeared to Ed that Calvin felt the same 
way about Kim. It would be a day or two, but she would be calling 
him to let him down. 

He smiled and removed his boots. He was half tempted to undress 
completely, but decided that he would do that when he decided to 
swim. Confident that someone would be home, he left his room to 
see what was going on with everyone else. 

In the living room, Kelly was watching the news. When Ed sat 
down beside her, she looked at his face and asked, "What's the 
matter?"

With a sigh, Ed answered, "Kim has a new boyfriend. I think he's 
the one."

"So you lost your rock hunting buddy?" Kelly put her hand on the 
back of his neck and gently rubbed it. She knew how important 
that relationship was to Ed.

"Maybe, I don't know yet. Her boyfriend is a Druid."

"Druid?" asked Kelly surprised. She ruffled his hair in a very 
uncharacteristic gesture.

"Yes, a Druid by the name of Calvin Kerr. He serves the Goddess," 
replied Ed.

"Lucky lady. I happen to know for a fact that Druids are great 
lovers." She moved off the couch and sat between his legs. 
Undoing his belt and opening his pants, she pulled his pants down 
to his feet. His underwear quickly followed. Lowering her mouth 
to his cock, she sucked it in with a slurping sound. His cock 
swelled to its full size as she worked over the head. He moaned as 
one hand worked over his shaft and the other cradled his balls. She 
sat up and said, "I bet I can make you come in one minute."

"No way," replied Ed.

Without argument, Kelly sucked in his cock. All of a sudden, she 
deep throated him as she hummed. There was only one thing that 
drove Ed to immediate orgasm and that was having someone take 
him all the way down to the root. Kelly only did that about once a 
year, but when she did it was explosive.

Kelly pulled up to where only the head of his cock was in her 
mouth and then dove down on the cock swallowing the entire 
thing. Ed shivered as he felt his balls pull tight against his body. 
After she had repeated the deep throat action two more times, Ed 
moaned as he filled her throat with his come. She eased off the 
cock and captured some of his come in her mouth. Smiling, she 
opened her mouth and showed him her prize. Expecting her to 
share it with him, he was amazed when she swallowed it.

Looking up from Kelly, he was surprised to see Linda standing at 
the door with a hand between her legs. Noticing that he had seen 
her, her hand immediately flew to her mouth. Blushing as she 
realized where that hand had just been, she ran off. Ed was still 
coming down from his orgasm and couldn't move. 

A very proud Kelly rejoined him on the couch and asked, "Do you 
feel a little better now?"

"Yes, but I think we gave Linda a heart attack," replied Ed with a 
wink.

"She saw?"

"I think that she saw, she came, and then she ran away," Ed joked.

Kelly burst out laughing and said, "Well done. We have a bunch of 
horny people running around the house at the moment."

"Who?"

"Linda, Dr. Hayes, and Mrs. Hayes."

Ed smiled at the news. They were trying to get all three of them to 
loosen up and become a little less afraid of their own desires. He 
asked, "So anything new in the house?"

Smiling like she had a great secret, she whispered, "I'm pregnant."

