Chapter 15: Abducted

Next morning, Ed woke up in his apartment. He showered, dressed, and got himself a pot of coffee. After last night, Ed was functioning slower than usual.

He drove to work and pulled up outside Dysnatech.

“Hey, Ed. You look like crap!” said Blake, his coworker. Blake was standing outside the building.

“I had a rough night.”

They entered the building together, swiping their ID badges at the door.

“Hey, are you up for lunch out? There’s a restaurant I’m wanting to try,” said Blake.

“Sure. If you’re driving there.”

“No worries.”

Ed made it to his cubicle and turned on his computer. Soon, he was deep in software bug fixes.

Later, Ed called his sister. He wanted a safe place for the money in his closet.

“Hey, bro, what’s up?”

“I plan to get a safe deposit box at the bank. I’d like you to have a key, in case something happens to me,” he said.

“Okay.”

“We can visit the bank together to set it up. We’ll have to provide signatures.”

“Next week works best for me. Not too early, though.”

“Understood. I’ll call you when I have a time set up.”

Ed hung up the call and continued his work.

Around noon, Blake called over the cubicle wall.

“Ed, time for lunch.”

“Sure.” Ed locked the screen on his computer and put on his jacket.

They left the building and climbed inside Blake’s car. Blake drove while Ed rested his eyes.

Sooner than Ed expected, Blake pulled up outside a Haitian restaurant.

“That’s the restaurant,” said Blake.

They exited the car and entered the restaurant. The inside was busy, with several people eating food.

“The food smells amazing!” said Blake.

“Agreed.”

The server seated them at a table. They both studied the menus.

“I’ll try the Griot,” said Blake. The server made a note in her notepad.

“What’s Griot?” asked Ed.

“It’s fried pork.”

“Can I get the Haitian beef stew, please?”

The server left to place their order. Ed studied the decor.

Soon, their food arrived. Ed raised a spoonful of stew to his mouth when he heard something.

“Ed, is this a bad time?” Asked Conner. The ghost was floating next to their table.

Ed dropped his spoon and coughed.

“Are you okay?” asked Blake.

“I just dropped my spoon. What’s that outside the window?”

While Blake looked, Ed gestured at Conner to shoo him away. Conner disappeared.

Suddenly, a woman at a nearby table jumped up. She raised her hands above her head and cried out, “Iwa!”

Ed and Blake looked at the woman, whose cry disturbed everyone in the restaurant. Neither knew what she meant.

“Der was an Iwa right inside this restaurant. And he shooed it away.” She pointed directly at Ed.

Ed shrugged and picked up his spoon, intending to return to his Haitian beef stew.

“Are you be an Oungan?” She stood in front of his table, confronting Ed.

“No. I just came for lunch,” said Ed.

“But you saw the Iwa. It came to you!”

“You’re mistaken. I’m here for lunch. Nothing else.”

She looked around the room, perhaps seeking support. Several diners nodded and raised their hands, like a frenzied prayer gathering.

“This is getting weird.” Ed waved the server over.

“I don’t understand what’s going on here. We only came in for lunch.”

“She’s Manbo, a priestess. She thinks you talk with spirits,” said the server.

“Can you pack our meals to-go? I’m sorry for causing a disruption.”

The server looked curiously at Ed as she packed their meals. Soon, Ed paid the bill, and they left.

“That was weird,” said Blake as they drove back to Dysnatech.

“Agreed. We must have offended her somehow.”

Back at work, Ed resumed working on bug fixes. It wasn’t long before Conner arrived.

Ed smiled. He walked to the janitor’s closet and shut the door. Conner arrived a moment later.

“Hello, Conner,” said Ed.

“I’m sorry about disturbing your lunch, Ed. I wasn’t thinking.”

“No worries. Someone in that restaurant reacted badly to your presence, though.”

“I think she was a vodou priestess. They’re into spirits. It’s part of their beliefs.”

“That explains her reaction. She called me an oungan.”

“That’s a male priest. Oh, thank you for sending that poltergeist to me. He loves to cause trouble, and I have a use for his talents. He can cause no end of disruption to enemy agents.”

“You’re welcome. I didn’t need him bothering me, so I sent him your way.”

“If you get any more poltergeists, send them along. I’ll put them to work,” Conner said with a smirk.

“Did you need me to pass on some intel?” asked Ed.

“No. I was just checking in.”

“Oh, okay. I’ll return to work then.”

Conner floated out through the door. Ed left a moment later and returned to his cubicle.

Friday evening, Ed left work. He drove to Ellen’s home.

The security guard waved him through the main gate, and he drove up to the front door.

Ellen was waiting for him. So was another car with her security detail.

Ed opened the passenger door for Ellen.

“How gallant! (chuckle)”

“I was just being polite.”

“And we’re not on a date?”

“Not a date. I told you. Are they your security detail?” asked Ed.

“They’ll follow behind us and keep out of the way unless there’s a threat,” she said.

“Very good.”

Ed got back in the driver’s seat and drove off. He didn’t make any sudden accelerations or turns, making it easy for them to follow.

“I have an update on the diamonds. My detectives believe the diamonds were stolen from a shipment some time ago. The original owners got paid off by the insurance,” said Ellen.

“Okay.”

“And another thing, they don’t have laser engraving on them. It’s hard to prove who owned them.”

“What does that mean?”

“We can sell them and convert them into some other form of investment.”

“Oh. I don’t know about that.”

“Don’t worry. We can discuss it later.”

Soon, Ed pulled into the parking lot at the Duwamish longhouse. He parked next to an empty parking space, and the other car pulled in beside them.

Ed exited his car and opened the passenger door for Ellen.

She stepped out and talked with her security detail.

“Ed, they’ll wait outside. You might tell your friends not to worry and to ignore them.”

People walked toward the entrance, as before. This time, they welcomed Ed with smiles and waves. He no longer felt out of place.

Ed gestured to Ellen to continue. She took his hand and they walked to the entrance.

Just inside, Ed met the tribal police officer, Ouray.

“Hello again, Ed,” he said.

“Hello, Ouray. This is my friend Ellen.”

Ouray shook Ellen’s free hand (she still held Ed).

“Nice to meet you, Ellen. Welcome to the gathering. You know Ed is a hero?”

“I believe that,” she said.

“I just called 911. The paramedics are the heroes. The hospital staff are the heroes,” said Ed.

“Right.”

Ellen squeezed his hand. Ed left the police officer and walked further inside.

Ahote approached the couple. He was the relative of the bear spirit from the last gathering.

“Ed, hello again!” he said. “I see you brought a date.”

Ellen smiled and squeezed his hand again.

“Ahote, this is Ellen. She’s a good friend of mine,” said Ed, trying to set the record straight. “Ellen, this is Ahote.”

Ahote took Ellen’s free hand.

“A pleasure. Did he help you too?”

“He helped save my life.”

“You must tell me all about it.”

“Of course.”

Ellen released Ed and wandered off with Ahote.

Before he could analyze what had just happened, Pana arrived.

“Ed!” she said.

“Hello again, Pana.”

“I was at the hospital earlier today. Washta is recovering well. She’ll be home soon.”

“That’s good news.”

“It’s good to know you’re looking out for us, Ed.”

“I didn’t know. It was Absaroke who fetched me. When I arrived, I called 911,” said Ed.

“You and that crow are quite a team.”

“Come to think about it, your house was closer. He could have called you and you’d have done the same thing. We’d all be praising you instead.”

“It didn’t happen that way. Get used to it,” she said.

Ed sighed. He couldn’t convince anyone it wasn’t his doing.

A young woman arrived from the kitchen, carrying a plate piled up with food, and handed it to Ed.

“One hero special. I have orders from the kitchen to make you eat everything,” she said.