29: Gambit

Alex spent the rest of the day in something of a haze, trying to get his mind around certain truths. Derek seemed to notice that he wasn’t quite present most of the time and when he asked him about it Sunday morning as they were getting dressed, Alex just said he wasn’t feeling too well.

"Probably coming down with a cold or something when I was out and about yesterday," he lied. "I’m just going to lie low and hope it goes away. I don’t want to miss out on the new classes."

"I can see if they’ll let me bring you something from the cafeteria," Derek offered. "Wouldn’t want you spreading your germs all over the place." He gave him a wide smile.

Alex smiled back. "You’re a good friend, Derek. I want you to know that."

Derek blushed. "Thanks. You’re not too shabby in the friendship department yourself. Sure you don’t want me to bring you something? It’s not a problem."

"I know, and I’m grateful for the offer, but you know what they say, misery loves company, so I think I will go with you to breakfast and share my misery with everyone else. Why should I have all the fun?"

Derek sniggered. "You are evil, you know that, don’t you?"

Alex laughed. "So I’ve been told a time or two." Of course, he reflected, the people calling him that, and worse, were usually the terrorist scum he’d ‘betrayed’ so it didn’t really count. "C’mon. Let’s go see what’s on the menu today."

****

After breakfast, while Derek went off with some of their friends, Alex returned to his room and turned on his laptop. He’d thought long and hard about what he could do to smoke out the other agents during the evening before and was ready to implement the plan. He accessed the email addresses of the other agents, the ones whom he was not supposed to contact, sending a single encrypted message to them all:

"Have positive proof that McKinley is Elwood. Have convinced him to come in from the cold. Will need help with the pick up. Arrange for transport to Anchorage. The Safeway parking lot 10:00 tomorrow night."

He pressed the ‘Send’ key and sat back. That was the easy part. Now to convince Amroth to play along. He suspected the Elf would be less than pleased by his actions, but Alex was convinced that they needed to move on this now rather than later. Thanksgiving was not that far away and he didn’t trust Farrell to hold to that deadline. He needed to know who else was in the Game before he could formulate any plans to neutralize them and keep Amroth and Elf Academy safe.

He paused in thought, frowning to himself. When had he joined the Elves and their mission? He had not committed himself to them when Glorfindel had revealed the truth of why they were there, yet some time in the night, his allegiance had shifted. He was not sure he liked that, but on the other hand, it felt good to be fighting on the side of the angels, literally. He smiled at that thought. Not that he didn’t believe in the rightness of what he did as an intelligence officer for the United States government. It was a necessary job and few civilians would ever appreciate just how necessary it was to help keep them safe and out of harm’s way. But now... now he had something far more important than the safety of the government to fight for; he had a whole world, a world where Elves and angels truly existed. His worldview had suddenly expanded and the possibilities it held were breathtaking.

"I guess Dante was right all along," he muttered to himself as he shut down the laptop and grabbed his coat and headed out to his car. He drove out of the campus and made his way to Edhellond. He rang the front doorbell and after a minute Serindë opened the door.

"Hi, I need to see...."

"Why are you here?" Serindë demanded angrily. "You’re not welcome here. Why don’t you go away and leave us alone you murdering...."

"Daughter."

Serindë stiffened, her expression becoming a mask as Vorondur came up behind her. "Á lelya ar hirë Laurefindil ar Eleroquen. Á tulya tú i-parmassenna."

Alex had no idea what the Elf had said, suspecting it was that other Elvish language of which he’d heard. Serindë scowled at him and strode away, leaving her father to face him. Alex gave him a chagrined look. "Sorry. I know I’m the last person any of you want to see right now...."

Vorondur waved a hand in dismissal, opening the door wider to let Alex in. "My daughter is still quite young and I’m afraid yesterday’s... um.... altercation upset her."

"You say that as if she were only twenty and not thousands of years old," Alex said.

Vorondur gave him a brittle smile. "For all that Serindë has witnessed several thousand years of human history, she is still somewhat naive about certain realities. But come. I suspect you are not here to discuss my daughter’s shortcomings."

"No. Actually I came to see Amroth," Alex said as the two made their way down the hall. "I’ve come up with a plan to flush out the other agents and I need his help to implement it."

"Unfortunately, Amroth isn’t here. He and Della went to Chandalar for the day."

"Damn! When will they be back? It’s really important I speak with him. I would’ve called, but I know I’m being watched and I suspect they can listen in on any phone conversations."

"Edhellond and the Academy are... blocked from any such invasions of privacy," Vorondur said as they entered the library. "Or at least, we are assuming that based on what Farrell told you."

"But I couldn’t be sure if that included me," Alex retorted. "That’s why I came here instead. The thing is, if I am being watched, then my coming here would make sense to my watchers."

"Why is that?"

Alex turned to see Glorfindel and Elrohir entering the room with Serindë trailing hesitantly behind. Before Alex could reply, Vorondur launched into a spate of Elvish that definitely was not Sindarin, though there were words that sounded somewhat similar to ones Alex knew. Whatever was being said caused Serindë to blush and Elrohir to frown. Glorfindel merely raised an eyebrow and when Vorondur finished speaking, he turned to Elrohir and said something softly in the same language. The Elf nodded and took Serindë’s arm, leading her out of the room. Alex couldn’t help noticing the look of hatred she cast his way.

Glorfindel turned back to Alex and Vorondur. "Hopefully Roy will set her straight," he commented to no one in particular. "So, what is this plan of yours, Alex? I’m all ears."

"If we’re to get Farrell and the Agency off our backs, we need to know who else is involved in this. We need faces and maybe even names. I was never happy about Maddy sending other agents out here. It’s never been done before and this isn’t the first time I’ve been ordered to either bring an agent in or eliminate him. I’ve never had back up, as it were, and I certainly never had someone like Farrell breathing down my neck, watching my every move."

"So what do you propose?" Vorondur asked.

"I sent an email to the other agents telling them that I’ve positively identified Ryan McKinley as Ambrose and that he has agreed to come in from the cold. There is to be a pick up at the Safeway tomorrow night at ten. The store will close by then so there won’t be anyone else around. They were to arrange for suitable transportation to Anchorage."

"And what do you hope to gain from this?" Glorfindel asked.

"I need Amroth to act as a decoy. Yes, I know it’s dangerous, but I’m hoping some of you will agree to be there as well, hidden but nearby in case something goes wrong. My plan is for you to photograph whoever approaches us."

"Yet, how do you intend to convince these people not to take you and Amroth when they are expecting you to cooperate?" Vorondur asked. "Assuming that they all show up, you will be outnumbered."

Alex had the grace to blush. "Uh... that’s the part I haven’t figured out yet."

Both Glorfindel and Vorondur smiled. Then, Glorfindel’s expression sobered. "I am not quite sure what you hope to accomplish. How many agents are we dealing with?"

"Eight," Alex answered, "and I didn’t send Farrell an email."

The Elves both raised eyebrows at that. "You’re assuming they will contact Farrell for confirmation?" Vorondur asked.

Alex nodded. "I’m betting on it."

"Won’t he be suspicious, though?" Glorfindel asked. "And beyond that, how do we prevent them from actually taking Amroth?"

"I... uh... was hoping you might come up with something," Alex admitted ruefully.

Glorfindel gave him a wry look. "We’re Elves, Alex, not miracle workers."

"You guys have had a gazillion years of experience," Alex retorted. "I just thought you might have an idea or two, is all."

"Well, none of us have lived that long," Glorfindel replied with a laugh. "We would have to look to the Valar and Maiar, for they existed before the universe was created."

"Could we... er... recruit them, do you think?" Alex asked with a thoughtful look.

Glorfindel shook his head. "Their orders are rather strict. I doubt we could get permission for them to help us and it’s been my experience that such things are best left to us to handle."

"It would’ve been better if you’d come to us first, Alex, before sending off those emails," Vorondur said not unkindly. "You’re putting us in an awkward and dangerous position."

"Sorry. I can contact them again and tell them it’s a no-go."

Glorfindel shook his head. "No, don’t do that. We have until tomorrow night to figure this out. I’ll let Amroth know when he returns. One of us will contact you tomorrow and let you know what we’ve decided."

"Sorry," Alex repeated. "I guess I got carried away."

"A common failing of the young," Glorfindel said with a fond smile. "It’ll be all right, Alex. We’ll work something out."

Alex nodded, turning to Vorondur. "Will you tell Serindë I’m sorry I upset her?"

Vorondur nodded. "I’ll tell her and thank you."

"I’ll just see myself out," Alex said.

****

Monday morning, as they trooped into the Sindarin class, Alex wondered if the Elves had come up with a plan and what Amroth must be thinking. When he saw Gil, he gave him an enquiring look, but the Elf merely shook his head. Alex stifled a sigh as he took his seat. The class seemed to go on forever and Alex didn’t pay as close attention to the lesson as he normally did. When the class was dismissed, he went to Gil, who was erasing the whiteboard.

"Did you come up with a plan?" he whispered.

Gil shook his head. "Not yet. Have patience. I promise that you’ll be contacted in plenty of time. For now, just concentrate on your classes."

"Easier said than done," Alex retorted with a huff of impatience.

"I know, but try. Now you’d best be off. I see Derek is waiting for you."

Alex nodded and headed out of the room, joining Derek in the hallway.

"Everything okay?" Derek asked.

"Yeah, it’s cool. Let’s grab some coffee and head over to the Math and Science building. I wonder why they’re holding the wilderness survival and nature studies classes there instead of here?"

Derek shrugged. "Guess we’ll find out."

****

When they got to the next class they saw that it was being held in one of the larger auditorium-type lecture rooms with tiered seating. Vorondur was already there with two rangers, all three holding clipboards. Alex gave Vorondur an enquiring look as they entered, but the Elf simply shook his head. Forcing himself not to grimace he followed Derek to some seats in the third row. Once the class settled down, Vorondur made introductions.

"Good morning and welcome to Wilderness Survival. I’m Ron Brightman and this is Ranger Francine Doran and Ranger Paul Pettingill. We’ll be team-teaching this course. First, though, we need to have everyone certified for CPR and first aid. We’ll split you up into smaller groups for this part of the course. If Ranger Doran calls your name go to room two-eleven. Take the stairs at the end of the hall and go left. Those called by Ranger Pettingill will go to room two-twelve. Everyone else will stay here. Once this part of the course is done with, we’ll all meet back here for the remainder of the term. Any questions?"

One of the students raised his hand and Ron acknowledged him. "What if you’re already certified?"

"You need to show proof that you’ve been certified within the last six months," Ron replied. "However, I highly recommend that you take this part of the course regardless. We’ll be covering how to deal with extreme arctic conditions with which most of you have had little experience. Francine, you want to start?"

Francine Doran gave a brisk nod, looking at her clipboard. "Dan Abbott, Rose Allingham, Shelley Baines. Lucy Barton...."

Alex and Derek ended up in the same class with Ranger Pettingill and dutifully made their way to room two-twelve. When Derek asked, Alex admitted that he was already certified and Derek admitted the same, so they pretty much sat back and watched the other students giggling over calling the dummy ‘Bob’ and being pretty awkward about it all.

Afterwards they went on to lunch and then to the archery field, which was now moved indoors. Again, Alex gave Elrohir and Elladan an enquiring look when he saw them and both Elves shook their heads. Alex couldn’t help scowling and was ready to walk away but knew he could not legitimately do so. He stalked over to where Derek was waiting for him before one of the targets and went through the motions of shooting arrows without really paying much attention to his aim, so he rarely hit the bull’s eye. Elladan standing nearby, watched him. When he’d emptied his quiver, the Elf called to him.

"How did you manage to survive all these years as a spy with so little patience?" he asked in a low voice. "Pull yourself together."

It was an order and Alex knew it, little though he liked it. Grimacing, he went back to the target and when it was his turn again, he concentrated more, placing most of the arrows inside the bull’s eye. It helped to imagine he was shooting at Farrell.

Finally the class ended and he and Derek went to eat dinner. They were sitting over coffee and dessert when Alex felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking around, he was surprised to see Vorondur there. The Elf smiled at him.

"Don’t forget our meeting," he said. "I’ll be in my office." Without waiting for Alex to respond, he left.

Derek gave him a puzzled look. "Something I should know about?"

Alex shook his head. "Ron’s agreed to... um... counsel me. I’m still having bad dreams about drowning."

"If there’s anything I can do...."

"You’re already doing it," Alex assured him with a smile as they dropped off their trays and made their way out of the cafeteria, "just by being there as a friend. I know you were planning to meet up with Zach. Tell him I’ll catch him the next time. I’d better go see Ron."

Derek nodded and the two parted ways. Alex reached Ron’s office and gave the door a perfunctory knock and opened it to find the room rather crowded with Elves. Besides Vorondur, all the other ellyn were there, wearing dark clothing.

"What did you decide?" Alex asked as he closed the door. The room was not overly large and the air was stuffy with so many bodies.

Glorfindel answered with his own question. "How many agents will show up?"

Alex shrugged, leaning against the door. "I’d like to say all of them, but I doubt it. Maybe four or five. Farrell won’t show, that I’m sure of. He’ll be hiding somewhere, watching."

Glorfindel nodded.

"So what’s the plan?"

"It’s not enough that we identify these agents," Elrohir said. "They need to be made ineffective, forced to leave the Game, as you call it."

"I know and I figured once I knew who they were I could implement another plan to get rid of them."

"We have our own ideas about that," Glorfindel said.

"What do you mean?"

Glorfindel shook his head. "I want your honest reaction when this goes down, so you’re going to have to go into this without knowing what we’ve decided to do. One question, though. Do you carry weapons?"

"I have an entire arsenal in a hidden compartment of my car," Alex said, raising an eyebrow.

"Then arm yourself with a gun, but please, make sure it isn’t loaded. It’s just for show and I don’t want anyone, even these other agents, inadvertently harmed."

"So my role in this?" Alex asked, frowning. He was less than pleased with the way this conversation was going.

"Your role is to be Artemus Gordon Meriwether, nothing more, nothing less and nothing else," Amroth told him, giving him a stern look that he recognized from years ago. It was the look that the senior agent had often given him when he became overly enthusiastic about some aspect of his training, an enthusiasm that often enough landed him in trouble. He had learned the hard way to temper that enthusiasm over the course of his career.

"Fine. I can do that," he finally said.

"One other thing," Glorfindel said. "I’m not risking Amroth in this. I’ll be taking his part. We’re close enough in coloring and size that I can pretend to be him."

"I’m sure the other agents know what you all look like," Alex pointed out. "The deception won’t last."

"It only has to last long enough for us to act," Glorfindel said.

Alex nodded, turning to Vorondur. "I told Derek you were counseling me to explain your summons. We still have almost two hours before this goes down. Perhaps we should make the lie a truth?"

"And do you truly feel the need for counseling?" Vorondur asked.

"Actually, I do. I can’t get Bregdal out of my head. I... I’d like to talk to you about him, if you... I mean...."

"We’ll clear out and let you have your privacy," Glorfindel said. "I’ll meet you at Edhellond at nine-thirty? If you’re being watched, it’s best to keep up appearances."

"Nine-thirty, then, and thanks, all of you."

"Don’t thank us yet, Alex," Elladan said with a grim smile. "Let’s wait until all this is over with."

Glorfindel gave a nod to the others and they all filed out, leaving Alex alone with Vorondur, who gestured to one of the chairs in front of his desk. "So, why don’t you sit and tell me what’s on your mind."

****

The counseling session lasted longer than Alex intended but in the end he felt better and more grounded after speaking about his feelings concerning the revelations he’d had over the last few days. Vorondur was a sympathetic and non-judgmental listener and Alex was grateful for it. By the time they were done, it was nearly nine. They parted company and Alex went to change into dark clothes. He was glad to see that Derek was still out with Zach and their friends. He wrote a quick note saying he was taking a long drive to clear his head and not to wait up in case Derek came back and wondered where he was. Then he headed for his car.

When he arrived at Edhellond, he opened the trunk of the car, accessing a hidden compartment, and removed a .45 automatic, making sure the clip was empty. He removed his jacket and strapped on a shoulder holster, shoving the gun in it before putting his jacket on again, closing the trunk. Just about then, the front door opened and Glorfindel stepped out carrying a haversack, dressed in a black duster and a wide-brimmed hat which hid his features. Without a word, he climbed into the car and Alex did the same. Neither of them spoke the entire time they were in the car as Alex made his way down the street, turning onto Kodiak and heading for the town center. In spite of the lateness of the hour the sun was still in the sky though it was close to the horizon and the polar twilight was deepening.

Reaching the Safeway parking lot, they saw no other vehicles parked there. Glorfindel pointed to one of the street lamps at one edge of the lot which bordered a small park. "Park over there, close to the trees."

Alex complied and even as they were climbing out of the car, a dark van came around the corner and entered the lot, heading for them. Alex stood by his side of the car and Glorfindel joined him, keeping his face lowered so no one would be able to see it under the brim of his hat. "When I give the signal, pull out your gun as if you’re going to shoot someone," Glorfindel whispered.

"What’s the signal?" Alex whispered back.

"Don’t worry. You’ll know it when it happens."

Before Alex could offer a retort, the van came to a halt and almost immediately several people poured out of it. Alex counted five men and as they drew near, he realized he knew some of them and addressed them by name.

"Finlay. Crandall. Moore. Fancy meeting you here."

"Meriwether." the one Alex had identified as Finlay said, glancing at Glorfindel, who stood there with his head bowed as if in defeat. The agent sneered. "So what did you do to convince him to come with us?"

"I promised his wife would be left alone."

"Wife? What wife?" Alex could tell that Finlay was surprised by that revelation, as were the other four.

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Farrell didn’t tell you? I sent out eight messages. Where are the others?"

Finlay shrugged. "Have no idea. None of us knew the others were here, and our only point of contact has been through Farrell. When I got your email, I checked with him for confirmation and he told me to meet the others at a particular location. We’re it. So, if you don’t mind, we’d like to get on the road. A plane’s waiting for us in Bettles to take Elwood to Anchorage."

Alex nodded, taking Glorfindel by the elbow and nudging him forward. "He’s all yours. Once I have confirmation that Elwood’s in a safehouse, I’ll pull out."

"Yeah, sure," Finlay said as he went to take Glorfindel into custody. Then he stopped and stared at the Elf, pushing the hat off him. "What the hell? You’re not Elwood!"

Before anyone could respond, Glorfindel, who’d had one hand in his coat pocket, pulled out a digital camera that was already turned on and grinned as he clicked the shutter. "Smile. You’re on candid camera."

With a shout, the five agents backed up, pulling weapons, and then all hell broke loose as several dark hooded figures burst out of the trees behind them, making impossible leaps over Alex’s car and attacking the agents. Alex pulled out his own gun and started waving it around, not sure what else he was supposed to do. He was saved the trouble of wondering when someone came up behind him, landing him a blow on the back of his head, sending him into darkness.

****

Á lelya ar hirë Laurefindil ar Eleroquen: Á tulya tú i-parmassenna: (Quenya) ‘Go and find Glorfindel and Elrohir. Bring them [dual] to the library.’