Chapter 37: Recovery

The next morning, Ed awoke in his plush bedroom.

He performed his morning routine and left for the family room.

Ellen was there already. They hugged.

“Good morning, dear,” said Ed.

They sat and sipped their coffees together.

“I’ll be putting in some work this morning. Please let me know when I’m needed for anything.”

“I’ll have Grace inform you. She has your calendar. I must step out this morning,” said Ellen.

“Awesome.” Ed stood and took his coffee into the boardroom.

Ed opened his laptop and connected via the VPN. He was back working on bug fixes, and happy as a clam. He picked the next priority bug and worked on it.

An hour later, Sara appeared.

“Hello, Ed.”

“Hey, Sara! Good to see you.”

“I couldn’t find Officer Ouray. They must have him hidden away somewhere.”

“Yes. I heard he is recovering. Did you hear the news?” asked Ed.

“No. We don’t get cable in the afterlife.”

“Sorry. The mob boss is dead. His henchmen are dead or captured.”

“Oh wow! Were you responsible?”

“The mob boss landed his helicopter in a lion enclosure. Not my doing. The CIA handled the arrests. We don’t know the extent of police corruption.”

“So, no more bad guys?” she asked.

“I think so. Our security team killed another henchman. Again, not my doing. He ran at them waving a firearm.”

“A foolish thing to do.”

“Fatally foolish. Did you need something from me? Anything you need, you got it.”

“I was just checking in. You can continue your computer stuff.”

“Okay.” Ed turned back to his laptop. Sara floated away.

A calendar window appeared on Ed’s computer. It said “Meet with Attorney, in the boardroom at 10am.”

“Cool.” Ed was already in the boardroom.

At exactly 10 am, Ed heard a knock on the boardroom door.

Ellen took her security detail and SUV to the hospital.

She soon found Washta’s room. Washta was awake and staring out the window. Ellen’s two security guards checked the room, then stood outside the entrance.

“Ellen! So kind of you to come and visit me,” said Washta.

“Are they taking good care of you?”

“Yes, they are. It was just a few scratches.”

“And some bruised ribs,” said Ellen.

“He was a nasty person. He followed me home.”

“My security made certain he won’t hurt anyone ever again.”

“Oh, my! He was looking for Ed. Did he find him?”

“Ed came to your place, but you were unconscious. He said Absaroke brought Mohe, who scared the villain off.”

“My Absaroke saved me??” asked Washta.

“Yes, he did. Mohe chased the villain out of your home and into my security detail.”

Washta looked out the window. Absaroke was likely somewhere nearby.

“I have a question for you. How do you get along with Shweabe? I hear he’s your nephew,” asked Ellen.

“He’s a nice boy. Why?”

“I plan on hiring him for your security detail. I’ll arrange training.”

“Security detail??”

“This will never happen again. It also means employment for a tribe member, so it’s a double win. Perhaps later we’ll build up a tribal security group to protect everyone.”

“Oh. That sounds interesting. You’ll need to discuss it with the elders.”

“Okay, I’ll do that. We can’t afford to lose you, Washta. Besides, we’ve not planned my wedding yet.”

Washta chuckled, which broke into coughing. “It hurts when I laugh.”

Ellen handed her a glass of water. “Sip this.”

“Thank you.”

“I’m leaving a guard outside your room. I don’t think there’ll be another attack, but they know we’re connected. Ed has made some nasty enemies.”

“You think they’d try to hurt me again?”

“No. This is just extra insurance. You get well soon, and we’ll bring you home safely.”

Soon, Ellen left, leaving a guard outside the room.

The door opened, and an attorney walked into the boardroom, escorted by a security guard.

“Good morning, Mr. Tanner. My name is Abbott,” said the attorney.

The security guard left, closing the door behind him.

“Please take a seat.”

The attorney took out the thick prenuptial agreement, plus his notes.

“Sir, I’ve reviewed the draft agreement and found it to be most generous. The only way you’d lose is through betrayal such as infidelity. In all other cases, you stand to gain handsomely.”

“Do you have any recommendations?” asked Ed.

“Yes. Sign this agreement as-is, before she changes her mind. You’re about to become a wealthy man.”

“Okay. This is easier than I thought.”

“Your assistant also insisted I walk you through her holdings. We can do that next.”

“Okay, sure. Walk me through the highlights.”

Abbott opened the agreement to a red sticky.

“Let’s begin with holding companies and business assets. Later we’ll review real-estate and other holdings.”

What followed was a long and detailed review, that I won’t bore the reader with. Suffice to say there was lots.

“Wow!” said Ed.

“Yes. This is the largest list of holdings I’ve encountered.”

“So, how do I sign?” asked Ed.

“I’ll contact her attorney and we’ll arrange a document signing, probably tomorrow.”

“Please proceed. We can’t marry until we sign this.”

“Yes, Sir.” Abbott stood and put away the draft agreement. Ed escorted him to the front entrance.

Later in the day, Ellen arrived at the boardroom. Ed stood, and they hugged.

“How’s it going, dear?” she asked.

“I’ve done some work, and I met with my attorney. We hope to schedule signing the prenup tomorrow.”

“Excellent! The tailor is here. Come with me.”

They exited the boardroom and walked together to the room for the fitting.

The tailor was waiting inside like before. “Hello again. Mr. Tanner, if you’d come over here, please.”

Ed approached, and the tailor helped him change into a suit. The trousers fit perfectly. The jacket was snug.

“We need to adjust this.” He made notes before trying on another jacket.

“Yes! This one fits perfectly. We’ll use this for a template,” he said.

Ellen stood watching.

“Could you have a tux ready for him soon? I’m thinking about this Thursday?” asked Ellen.

“Of course, Miss Morgan.”

“Good. I have an event that evening.”

“Next, we have some shoes and ties,” said the tailor.

Ellen had Ed try on shoes for her to see. She picked out several pairs.

For ties, the tailor helped him tie the bow ties, as he had no experience with them.

“Do you have everything you need?” asked Ellen.

“Yes, Miss Morgan. We’ll deliver the tux by Thursday.”

“Good. Ed,” said Ellen, gesturing for him to leave with her.

They left the room.

“That was efficient.”

“Yes. At their prices, they should be.”

Outside Washta’s home, the ghost of the second henchman awoke. He floated above the front yard.

“What happened?” he said. Then a moment later, “Oh crap, I’m dead!”

He floated inside the house, through the front door. The house was empty. What happened to the old woman? Where was that medicine man?

Then, he remembered the bear and the gunshots.

“I need to report in,” he thought. He still wasn’t thinking clearly.

The ghost floated outside, but his vehicle wasn’t there. He floated towards town.

Officer Ouray woke up in a hospital bed. His head was fuzzy, and he couldn’t remember what happened. Around him were the usual trappings, IV feeding into his arm, a machine bleeping.

As his mind cleared, he remembered. Detective Rees had shot him! Well, at least he survived. He wasn’t a ghost.

He flexed his fingers and his jaw. Then he spoke, but it sounded like a growl.

“He’s awake!” said a nearby nurse.

Soon, a doctor arrived, and shone a light into his eyes. “Do you know who you are?”

“I’m Officer Ouray. Someone shot me.” It was barely understandable.

“Nurse, get him some ice chips.”

“Yes, doctor.” The nurse hastened to fetch the ice chips.

“Officer, we removed the bullet and patched you up. You’re going to recover soon,” said the doctor.

The nurse returned and helped Ouray suck on an ice chip.

“Nurse, please make him comfortable. I have to report this.” The doctor left the room.

Ed sat at his laptop, finishing a software bug. He checked in the changes and started regression tests.

While he waited for the results, his phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Ed, it’s doctor Noah. Can you press the yellow button on your phone?”

Ed looked at his phone’s screen and pressed the yellow button. It turned green and said ‘Scrambled’.

“Hello?”

“Our call is secure. I have news. Officer Ouray recently awoke. I thought you’d like to pay him a visit.”

“Sure. That’ll be great.”

“I’ll text you the address. I’ll let them know you’re going.”

The call ended. Ed received a secure text message with the address of a clinic.

Ed left his laptop running regression tests and went in search of Ellen. He found her on the terrace with her assistant, Grace.

“Hello, Ed.”

“Ellen. I just learned Officer Ouray is awake. I have the address of the clinic where he’s staying. Would you like to visit with me?”

“Okay. Meet me outside the main entrance in five minutes.”

Ed left her to finish whatever she was working on with Grace.

A few minutes later, he stepped outside the main entrance. The SUV was waiting. Soon, Ellen arrived behind him, and they got into the SUV.

“We’re going to a clinic at this address,” said Ed. He handed his phone with the text of the address to the driver.

Their SUV left the mansion.

Ed and Ellen arrived at the private clinic. Ellen had a fear of clinics, as she’d previously escaped from one. Some relatives had tried to prevent her from claiming her inheritance.