21: The Last Picnic of the Season

Once they brought the clams in, everyone went to change into dry clothes while Loren began the task of washing the clams and preparing them for the pot. Alex decided to grab a quick shower, as the rain had been cold and he was shivering. Twenty minutes later he was back in the kitchen where everyone else had gathered. Ambrose motioned him over to the breakfast nook where he was sitting.

"You can help me with the potatoes for the potato salad," he said, handing Alex a paring knife. "I’ll peel and you can slice. Here’s the bowl to put them in." Alex had no objections and the two sat in comfortable silence for a time while others bustled about with their own preparations. Alex stole a glance at Ambrose as he cut the first potato.

"Tell me how you did it," he said quietly, "and why."

Ambrose put down the potato that he’d been working on and looked up, his expression unreadable. "A tale too dark to tell even on this dreary day."

"Actually, I’m rather curious myself," Loren said as he threw together a three-bean salad. "You’ve never told us how you even got involved in working for the Agency. You’ve only hinted about the fact that you had no choice."

"Nor did I," Ambrose said, scowling. "I was careless and someone found out, someone who was just ruthless enough to use that information against me. I was given an ultimatum: join the Agency, use what I knew and what I was for their benefit, or suffer the consequences of becoming a lab specimen."

Alex wasn’t sure what Ambrose was talking about but he could not fail to notice the shocked looks on everyone else’s faces. Alfa actually looked as if she would faint and there was a grimness to Loren’s expression that truly frightened him.

"I don’t understand...."

Ambrose gave him a sympathetic look and sighed. "Nor do I expect you to, son. Let us just say that for all intents and purposes, I was not free to live my life as I chose. Samuel Bradford held my chains and made sure I never forgot it."

"Sam Bradford?!" Alex exclaimed. "The head of the Agency? Wait... he... he disappeared around the same time as you supposedly died." He gave Ambrose a shrewd look. "What happened, Ambrose? No one could figure out what happened to Bradford. We had agents from every corner of the world scouring for him. It was as if he’d simply been swallowed up and no one knew why or how. As I recall, he was last seen heading for Geneva for a meeting with his counterparts from other intelligence agencies, only he never got there and then news came of your death in Kuwait."

"I was rarely allowed to go into the field," Ambrose replied after a moment, "but there were times when my... um... special talents made it necessary. Sam Bradford had been a friend until he betrayed my trust and I spent fifty years plotting my escape."

"Fifty years?! But how....?"

"If you keep interrupting, I won’t be able to finish," Ambrose said with an amused look and Alex blushed, muttering an apology.

After a moment, Ambrose continued. "Sam had a failsafe: if I tried to run, if I refused to do as he wished, if anything happened to him, he had set it up so that certain information would automatically be released into the wrong hands and I would have been taken into custody. I had no doubt that he had covered every base and made sure I had no choice but to obey him, so I had to bide my time, allow him to feel he had me where he wanted me and become complacent."

"I remember seeing him with you once," Alex couldn’t help saying. "You seemed to be friends."

"We were, Alex. In some strange way, in spite of everything, we were friends, but I never forgot that he betrayed me, forced me into a position where I would have no choice but to do as he bid and all the while I plotted my revenge and my escape."

"What happened to Bradford?" Alex asked.

"I killed him," Ambrose said quietly. "I lured him to Kuwait on false pretenses, killed him and made sure that his body would never be found and at the same time arranged for my own death, substituting the body of another for mine."

"Whose body?" Loren asked.

Ambrose shrugged. "I never knew his name. He was a foreign agent who had the misfortune to cross my path at the wrong time and place. So many people just disappear in the Middle East, one more disappearance hardly mattered, but I had to make sure that my death was confirmed. If I was believed dead, nothing would come of Bradford’s threats over me, especially with Bradford dead as well."

"But now we know you’re alive," Alex stated, "and perhaps so does the person to whom the information was to go."

"Except for one thing," Ambrose replied. "Before I killed him, I... um... convinced Bradford to tell me where he had hidden the files I knew he kept on me. When I returned to the States, I went to where the files were and destroyed them."

"How do you know he told you everything?" Alex asked. "How do you know he didn’t have back up files and back ups of the back ups?"

"There was only one back up and that was destroyed as well," Ambrose said.

"And if he was lying?" Ron asked.

Ambrose shook his head. "He was in no position to lie about anything, Ron. Sodium pentothal and a few other drugs assured me of that." He paused for a moment and sighed. "It was the one mercy that I granted him."

"What do you mean?" Loren asked.

"Once I had all the information from him that I needed, I introduced another drug that sent him into a coma from which he never awoke. Essentially, he died in his sleep." He grimaced slightly. "It took almost an hour for his heart to stop. Then I took him out into the desert and buried him in the sand."

"And simply faking your death wasn’t enough?" Alex asked.

"Bradford knew me and my death, to him, at least, would have been highly suspicious and he would have looked deeper than anyone, including those who took over from him when he disappeared. I was just another casualty in the espionage game, nothing more. I needed Bradford out of the way if I were to disappear completely."

Silence fell among them. Alex noticed the troubled looks that passed between Loren, Ron, Conan and Alfa, which Ambrose patently ignored, picking up the potato and peeling it. Alex stared at his friend and mentor, trying to imagine what it must have been like for him all those years and shook his head. Ambrose looked up and their eyes met and there was a depth of pain and sorrow too deep in the older man’s eyes for Alex to comprehend or to endure and he had to look away. "The potato salad won’t make itself," Ambrose said. "Best get to it."

Alex nodded, picking up another potato to slice, refusing to look at Ambrose or anyone else. A few seconds later, the others returned to their own tasks, but there was no conversation between them for some time.

****

Others of the household began making an appearance as the afternoon progressed. By two o’clock the rain finally stopped and the clouds broke away to let the sun do its work. Misty and Della went out to the garden and wiped down the patio furniture though Alex didn’t think anyone would actually sit out there to eat; it was too wet and cool and Alex had grabbed a sweater before going out to help Loren set the fire.

"Snow will be coming soon," Loren said as he removed the cover from the fire pit and began laying down the kindling that Alex handed him.

"It always amazes me where people are willing to live," Alex said. "Given a choice, I would think most people would prefer sunny climes where snow is more a myth than a reality."

Loren looked up with a grin. "Yet, you live in Washington, D.C. and that gets plenty cold in the winter."

Alex shrugged. "It’s probably closer to the truth to say that D.C. is where I hang my hat when I’m not elsewhere in the world, but given my drutherrs I would rather be lying on a beach somewhere soaking up the sun with a strawberry daiquiri in one hand and... and a spy novel in the other." He gave Loren a cheeky grin.

Loren laughed. "Wouldn’t we all?" He stood up, wiping his hands. "Keep an eye on this, will you? And don’t fall asleep."

"Mai oui, mon capitan," Alex said, giving him a sloppy salute.

"D’accord," Loren retorted with a grin as he made his way back to the house and Alex laughed as he bent over the fire pit to readjust one of the logs.

By four o’clock, the clams were steaming and the salads were made. The filet mignon and lobster were being wrapped in aluminum foil along with some corn-on-the-cob with generous pats of butter. These would be placed in the fire and cooked. The dining room table was set out for a buffet and now guests were arriving. Zach came with Nicole and her children and a man named Tim Saunders, who turned out to be Nicole’s coworker. Alex could tell that he and Nicole were an item and ruthlessly pushed away the sudden feelings of jealousy at the sight of them. It would never have worked anyway, he reminded himself. Agents made lousy husbands and fathers.

Along with the Lords came the Michaelsons — Dave and Janna with their son Kevin and twin daughters, Kim and Kathy — whom Loren introduced to Alex. By the way the kids greeted Loren, he could tell that there was a special relationship between them, similar to that between Zach and Nicole’s kids. Others began showing up, people from the college whom Alex knew and others from the town. So he finally met Shane, Jud, Matt, Cassidy and Lily. Matt was accompanied by Gloria Richards, the lead singer of the Arctic Fringe and his girlfriend, while Shane had brought her mother, who seemed less than pleased to be there, looking uncomfortable among strangers. She had simply stared at Loren when they were introduced, her mouth hanging open in utter surprise. Alex knew how she felt.

As large as the mansion was, it was definitely very crowded. Most of the guests congregated in the spacious dining room or the library where another fire was going. Alex found himself being recruited to help serve drinks so he had a chance to mingle and speak to most everyone. To those for whom he was a stranger, Loren had simply introduced him as a weekend houseguest, but more than one person from the college asked how he was recovering from his near drowning and Alex assured them that he was doing well.

He was in the kitchen putting some glasses on a tray when Nicole came to enquire about him, softly thanking him for what he had done.

"I didn’t do anything except nearly drown," Alex said with a wry grin. "And if I hadn’t panicked, Caleb wouldn’t have fallen in the tarn in the first place."

"Perhaps not," Nicole said, giving his arm a pat, "but I’m grateful for what you tried to do and I’m glad that you survived, as well."

"How’s Caleb doing?"

"Oh Caleb is just fine," she answered. "It’s Adam who’s having nightmares. Ron’s been coming over and counseling him, all the kids, actually, after school. He’s very good with them. Adam isn’t waking up screaming anymore."

"I’m glad," Alex said as he happened to look out the kitchen window to where Ron and his wife Holly were talking to Phil Gordon as they stood by the fire pit. Then Nicole left him to see what her children were up to, and Alex went back to serving drinks.

The picnic continued with little upset, though Sheila Becker was heard to complain to her daughter about the food not being kosher, and Shane asked when had she started worrying whether food was kosher or not. The two were standing in the dining room where several people were filling their plates. Alex was there as well, helping himself to some potato salad.

"Hiram has insisted on eating kosher," Sheila replied.

"Oh, Hiram," Shane sneered. "Well, Hiram’s not here and I won’t tell a soul, so don’t worry about it. Just enjoy yourself. What you see in that slob is beyond me. I’m just glad I’m not living there anymore."

"He’s been very good to us," Sheila said defensively. "When your father died, he was there."

"You could’ve done better," Shane retorted.

"Now, Hepsibah...."

"Don’t call me that!" Shane yelled. "You know how much I hate that name."

"I thought your name was Shane?" Jud said, looking confused. He and everyone else in the dining room had pretended they weren’t listening to the argument between mother and daughter, and Alex could see that those who knew Shane seemed embarrassed for her.

"It is, but Hepsibah’s my temple name," Shane explained, giving them a grimace. "I hate it."

"It was good enough for your great-aunt," Sheila said with a sniff. "She practically raised me after my parents died."

"Well, that’s my great-aunt, not me," retorted Shane. "Now can we stop airing the family’s dirty laundry for all and sundry to see and just enjoy this lovely picnic that Loren and the others have made for us? I’ve been looking forward to this all summer." She strode away, leaving an embarrassed silence behind her. Sheila Becker refused to look at anyone and finally left the room. Alex let go of a breath he’d not realized he was holding and resumed filling his plate, making his way through the house to the library, where he found Loren and Darren holding court.

Zach was there, as were Matt and Gloria, along with Ambrose, Conan, Alfa and Daisy Ellstrom who helped teach classes offered to the townspeople through the college’s Continuing Education department. She held a workshop on making bows and arrows and another on how to survive in the wilds. Both workshops were apparently popular for she’d been complaining about needing to schedule more classes with no one free to help teach them. When he’d read about her in the Agency files he’d thought it odd that a woman who, until she came to Wiseman, had been working as a legal assistant in a law firm in Chicago, and was now suddenly an expert on constructing bows and arrows and how to find food in the wilds.

Loren looked up as Alex entered and smiled, gesturing for him to join them. "How are you holding up?"

Alex shrugged. "Okay. Shane and her mom got into an argument. Shane stalked off very angry."

"And Sheila?"

Alex shrugged. "She left the room after Shane did but I have no idea where she went."

Loren glanced around. "Daisy, would you....?"

"I’ll go find Misty and let her know," she said with a smile, "or Shane may already have gone to her."

Loren nodded. "In either case, find Sheila and make sure she’s all right."

Daisy left and the others resumed their own conversations. Alex found a place to sit and started digging into his food, only half-listening to the conversations around him, a mixture of Sindarin and English being spoken. Most of the conversations seemed to center around the upcoming second term, which would begin a week from Monday. Loren gave Alex a knowing smile.

"You might find the Wilderness Survival and Nature Studies courses more to your liking," he said. "I believe you’ve had plenty of experience in wilderness survival."

"If you mean dealing with the animals that haunt the concrete jungle, you’re right there," Alex shot back with a grin of his own, enjoying the repartee. "The closest I’ve been to the wilderness before coming here has been Central Park in New York City."

Several people laughed and Ambrose winked at him. Loren raised an eyebrow, but did not otherwise comment.

"Well, you’ll enjoy the courses I’m sure," Matt commented. "I’ve lived here all my life and hadn’t a clue. It was quite an eye-opener."

"I think the camping trips help," Zach added. "From speaking to those who’ve been on them already, many of the students come away with a better appreciation of the environment and how important it is to preserve it. Like Alex, a lot of them have never really seen the great outdoors except in the movies."

Alex was tempted to refute that, but of course, he couldn’t. As far as Zach was concerned ‘Alex Grant’ was indeed ignorant of wilderness survival, but Artemus Gordon Meriwether was all too familiar with it.

"Well, I’m looking forward to it," he said. "Though I hope we don’t go anywhere near Mt. Horace when we’re doing survival stuff."

"All the outdoor classes take place in the Gates of the Arctic National Reserve," Ambrose assured him. "That’s where we take them camping as well. You still need to do that, but I think under the circumstances we’ll waive that particular requirement for you, unless you want to go camping."

"I’d rather not," Alex said with a smile, "but I don’t want any special treatment. What happened at the tarn was... unfortunate, but it’s not going to stop me. I’ll just need a bit of time."

"And we will give you that time," Loren assured him. "I wouldn’t worry about it. Taking the classes should be enough. At some point you’ll be going out for the day to put into practice what you’ve been learning in class anyway. The weekend camping trips are designed to reinforce what is being taught in the classrooms."

The conversation drifted to other topics then and Alex sat back and simply relaxed. He kept stealing glances at Alfa, the image of her dancing still bright in his mind. She had seemed so unearthly dancing in the rain but now, sitting beside Conan and speaking with Gloria about the Arctic Fringe’s next gig, she seemed... well, not ordinary, but certainly more real. She glanced up and smiled at him and he blushed, looking away, suddenly realizing how rude he’d been, staring at her. His eyes settled on Loren, Darren and Ambrose speaking quietly in the corner away from the others. Loren caught his eye and gestured for him to join them.

"We’ll let people finish eating and then in an hour or so we’ll be having Darren and others entertaining us with song. You might find the experience... overwhelming."

Alex blinked, not sure what Loren was getting at. "If you mean like this afternoon...."

All three men nodded their heads. "When you were at the Blue Petrel back when Darren deigned to sing, what happened?"

"Um... well... nothing really. I just had these weird images, like I was seeing a story or something, while Darren was singing. You seemed to be in it a lot and Ambrose was there with Della. At least, people looked like you but they were all kind of weird looking."

Several pairs of eyebrows went up. "Weird in what way?" Darren asked.

"Oh, I don’t know. Loren had his hair in braids with gemstones and stuff entwined and everyone was wearing medieval-looking clothes. You even had pointed ears for some reason. You know, just weird. I think all that elf stuff was getting to me, but somehow it felt real, like I was a part of it in some way. I think it was a day or two afterwards before I stopped thinking I could smell the ocean."

There was silence between them for a moment or two and while Loren, Darren and Ambrose did not look at one another, Alex had the oddest feeling that they were somehow communicating with one another. Finally Loren spoke. "Given what’s happened to you lately, I just wanted to warn you about the singing. Some people react to it more strongly than others. If at any time you feel yourself becoming overwhelmed, don’t hesitate to leave. No one will be offended. I’m going to ask Ron to sit with you. If you begin to feel uneasy or upset just let him know and he’ll go out with you, make sure you’re okay."

"I don’t need a baby-sitter," Alex groused. "I’m a trained..." he stopped himself, looking about to see if others were perhaps aware of their conversation, but no one was paying any attention to them. "I’m sure I can handle it," he amended, giving them a cold look.

Before any of the men could respond, Daisy came into the room and came directly to them. "Shane and Sheila had another go at one another," she told them quietly. "Sheila wanted to return to the hotel and Shane refused to take her. Misty and I finally got Sheila a cab and sent her on her way. We paid the driver."

"Where’s Shane?" Loren asked, frowning.

"Still with Misty, and Lily and Cassie are with her as well. Misty’s taken her to the solarium. I think it’ll be awhile before they can calm her down." Alex knew that the solarium was on the second floor above the kitchen overlooking the back garden. It had originally been an upper porch where the first owner and his guests could sit out and enjoy the view during the summer months, but was later enclosed in glass so it could be used all year round.

Loren nodded. "I’ll check in on them in a little while. Thank you, Daisy." It was clearly a dismissal and Alex was surprised that the woman took no offense, but merely smiled and wandered over to where Alfa and Gloria were still talking and joined in their conversation.

Loren turned to Alex. "I meant what I said. Don’t try to be a hero here. I’m still not satisfied that we’ve dealt with your nightmares sufficiently. Ron will sit with you if you insist on staying for the music."

It was not a suggestion but clearly an order and Alex knew there would be no arguing with the man. "Fine. Whatever." He gave them a sneer and walked away, intent on getting away from them for a time. He was half inclined to just return to his room and stay there and damn everyone else, but then he ran into Zach and Jud and before he realized it, he was helping them and some others with clean up, clearing the dining room table of empty platters and putting away pots and pans. By the time they were finished, everyone was gathering in the library for the music. Alex came along, determined to show these people he wasn’t the wimp they thought he was and grimaced when Ron unobtrusively found a seat next to him. Ron merely gave him a knowing smile.

Darren, Conan, Holly and Sarah were apparently the ones who were giving the concert, sitting together near the fireplace where a space had been cleared for them. Darren held a harp in his lap while Conan was fiddling with a flute. Holly was tuning a lute and Sarah was pulling a recorder from its case. All the guests crowded around, most of them sitting on the floor where pillows had been strewn while others, mostly the older folks, sat in chairs, some of which had been brought in from other rooms. There was a hush of expectation not dissimilar to what Alex had encountered at the Blue Petrel. Even the children in the group were sitting still, which surprised him. The last to enter the room were Shane and Misty. Loren went to them and spoke quietly to Shane, who nodded, giving him a tremulous smile. Loren hugged her and then the three of them found seats in the back.

"Everyone set?" Darren asked with a smile and there was a chorus of ‘yeses’. Silence fell over them for a long moment before the musicians struck the first chord. Alex sat mesmerized as he listened to them playing in a minor key, the chords haunting and dark in their beauty. The musicians played several bars of the music before Darren and Holly raised their voices in song.

Alex gasped as if in shock and then his mind went blank and he knew nothing more.