Artiface of Strength Ch. 04

"Yes sir, we have seen copies of the disputed paperwork, although, as you may know, the original paperwork was destroyed during the San Francisco earthquake and fire in 1906. We are attempting to locate any of the other copies that might still exist. There is some question as to whether the document currently on file is genuine."

"Why Mr. Walker, your firm should have contacted me before you wasted your money surveying the land. I could have cleared this up before you even started. The Billington family has prided itself on keeping and maintaining the original deed and accompanying documents. The state has never had anything more than copies of our original, so whatever burned in the fire was meaningless. Shall I send you a digital copy for your records? If you can just give my secretary your address..."

The solicitor paused for a moment before answering. The wolves could hear multiple muffled voices in the background, but even their hearing was not acute enough to pick up whatever was being discussed.

John let them have a few moments and then prodded, "Mr. Walker, are you still there; have we been cut off?"

"Yes, umm... sorry Mr. Billington, I was just examining some documents pertaining to your case, I guess my mind slipped away for a moment. You say that you have the original document?"

"Yes Mr. Walker, we do. In fact, if anything regarding my land ever comes up in court, it will be quite clear that all of our documentation is genuine. The paper is two hundred years old, as is the ink upon it and all of the signatures are genuine. We're exceedingly proud of it; it even has the signature of King Ferdinand VII."

"Most unusual, Mr. Billington, very few of those original documents still exist."

"Yes, it seems that my ancestors felt that white businessmen and lawyers were mostly thieves, so they were very careful to retain all of the originals. I wonder why they thought that... who did you say had retained your firm again?"

There was another pause, this one quite a bit longer, although this time the solicitor begged Mr. Billington's indulgence while he switched to another line. While they waited, the four wolves spoke mentally to avoid being overheard.

"Alpha, do you really have the original deed," Florence asked surprised.

"Sure do, this distrustful Indian named Tisquantum convinced me that all white-men were snakes."

"Present company excepted, well... most of the time." Tom said with a grin while staring at his Alpha.

"Thanks for that...I think," John responded dryly.

"Who do you think he's talking to now," Florence sent nervously.

"They didn't expect that; we just completely shot down their first plan. I figure that he's talking to his boss now, trying to figure out what to do next."

"You think that their first plan was to deny the validity of our entire claim?"

"Probably, that's why he opened with settlement talk; rich men will usually try to steal from you first, and if that doesn't work, then they try to buy you out."

"So now they'll raise their bid?"

"Nope, now the threats will start. In their eyes, we are just poor peasants; we can be pushed out of the way to get what they want. This will have something to do with...how did he put it... tribal rights and easements?"

"Do you know anything about either one of them, Alpha?"

"Not a clue, but I know who does. I'll have to contact the pack in Virginia. They've burrowed deeply into the white-man's government for just this reason. These wolves are descendents of the People, but they've become corporate wolves. They are sort of like sharks with fur, only these sharks are on our side and they live for things like this. The Virginia Alpha will be overjoyed to hear from me. He's gonna laugh at me, I swore that I'd never need them."

The phone clicked back over and Mr. Walker was back. "Mr. Billington, we would like to request a face to face meeting. Is there a time that we could send one of our representatives to make a copy of that deed? There are a couple of our men in your area now; I believe you've met Mr. Perry and Mr. Yazzie?

"Yes, Walker, I've met them. I was forced to eject them from my land when I found them to be trespassing, and no, there will be no meeting. We won't be revealing the location of our papers until we are forced into court. It was the directive of my ancestors, you see... they taught us that the white lawyers and businessmen were mostly thieves and would endeavor to steal our land and destroy our documents. They were very clear on this; they said that rich men would always hire dishonest whores to do their negotiations. My own grandfather told me that rich men could always summon cowards and coyotes for almost anything."

Indignation clearly in his voice, Mr. Walker said, "Sir, I take offense at your words; many negotiators are very honest men. We seek only to verify the accuracy of your documents."

"No, Walker, you seek to earn a dirty paycheck from those who wish to steal from me; you are not straightforward in the slightest, nor are you honest enough to admit what you are. Tell that whore that you work for that my lawyers will be in contact with him soon. Oh...and Walker, tell your boss not to send a worm like you." Then John cut connection on the call.

Somewhere on Pacific Avenue, in a suite high above ground in the business district of Dallas, Burton's eyes glittered malevolently. He looked at his underling, the chief partner in Kristol, Rice, Lieberman, and Feith, and said, "You said there was no way that he'd have those papers!"

The partner responded, "Calm down Burton, I'm not sure that he does. Originals like that are extremely rare. Hell, if it was signed by the Spanish crown like he said, the papers alone are worth a fortune. My guess is that he's bluffing."

"...and what if he's not?"

"Then we move on to Plan B. Have you lined up Mr. Medina?

"Yes, he's still in Fresno, waiting on our call. He came really cheaply too; for a few bucks, he'll sign almost anything."

"Keep him close, Burton. If that deed proves to be an original, we'll need him for this. Filing a tribal counter-claim is a much riskier strategy. All of this could go public, and that would bring in all of the Native-rights and Environmental activists. That would be ugly, even more so if Billington invites them in. Even if we won, we'd be stuck in court for years."

"I won't be denied, Doug, a bunch of lazy Indians and hippy freaks are not going to wreck this, that land is too valuable. If I need to, I'll bring in some of my specials ops boys..."

"Stop right there, Burton. I'm your lawyer; I just can't know some of the options that you might pursue. Do whatever needs doing, but I can't know about it."

"Noted!" Burton spat, his eyes glittering once again. If we have to get our hands dirty, you are too prissy to see the dirt that enriches you."

Doug didn't bother to reply, he was used to Burton's blustering and threats. He knew that there were more than a few bodies strewn in Waters' wake, but he also knew that Burton would always need corporate counsel that was unencumbered by ethics or morality, and no one provided that with more gusto than Kristol, Rice, Lieberman, and Feith. For the right price, they'd swear to almost anything; the firm and Waters were perfect for one another.

Back in the Pacific Northwest, a different conversation was taking place.

"Alpha, does this mean that I can still have dinner with William?"

"Florence, you know what might have to be done to him; are you sure that you want to take that risk? If you get too close to him, it would hurt."

"Yes Alpha, I know, but it's pretty much the same situation that Beth is in with Phil."

"No, I don't think so. She's not even remotely serious about Mr. Perry. If we have to remove him, she won't dwell upon it. You, on the other hand...can you honestly say the same thing?"

Before Flo could answer, Sam interrupted, "Florence, go for it! You've had enough of living defensively. For once, take this chance and do it for yourself. John and Tom used to take big chances until they met those Apache cousins. Sure, it blew up in their faces, but the explosions were really fun for the pack to watch. Yes, I know that sounds bad, but ask them, I don't think either one of them would change a thing. Making stupid mistakes is part of life. They learned something, and it didn't kill them."

Florence was surprised, Sam never interrupted the Alpha, nor had he ever really treated Flo like an adult either, much less as an equal. Now, here he was giving her better advice than any of them. The looks of shock on everyone's faces must have been obvious, because Sam chuckled and said,"What? Did all of you forget that I'm the oldest and wisest one here?"

Then Tom broke in, "He's right for once Florence, even if he is lying about being the oldest. That'd be John, even if John wasn't the first wolf in America."

Flo's eyes shot open at this, and she swiveled her head to stare at John. "What do you mean that he wasn't the first wolf?"

Tom replied with pride, "That was me actually, but I never thought to spread it around and make a pack. I just thought I'd become one with my spirit guide after I died, I thought that Mother Earth had turned me into a wolf for the afterlife."

"You died," gasped Flo?

"No, but I thought I had for a long time, several years in fact. I probably would have never shifted back or even known that I could. I only shifted back into this human body when I heard my Alpha howling to me. He was calling me to join him."

"That would be you?" Florence said, looking at John.

"Yeah, that was me."

"So why did you let everyone think you were the first wolf?

"Well I was the first to discover that I could shift back, so it was always debatable who the first shifter was I guess. But I think the biggest part of it was that all of the People that I converted were more comfortable with the idea that this spread from a white-man. What Weres are didn't really watch the People's legends, so they wrote new ones."

"So what you are telling me is that the white-men describe you as the first murderer in the New World, and the People call you the first wolf, and that neither one is actually correct?"

"Aint that a bitch," Sam interjected, interrupting again, "But that's how life is, Florence. Things are rarely what they seem to be 'cuz the obvious answer is usually just propaganda of some sort, you have to go find the truth for yourself. Maybe your boy Yazzie is not so bad, even though he works for the devil. Who knows? Maybe we can give him an out; he's been pretty clear that he hates working for Waters. And then again, maybe we'll have to kill him to protect the pack. Either way, it's not like we know yet, so put your money on the table and take a chance; maybe life can make you happy instead of miserable for a change."

Florence looked to her Alpha for direction, but he just silently nodded his agreement. Tom was nodding as well, so she did something out of character, she smiled. Then she grabbed a surprised Sam into a tight hug, and then leaned over and kissed Tom on the forehead before getting up and rushing out of John's office.

After the door had slammed shut behind her, a somewhat disgruntled looking Alpha said, "I do not recall dismissing anyone from the meeting."

"Ha," Tom laughed, "you are just mad because you didn't get a kiss."

"Besides, you're a shitty Alpha," Sam chuckled, "You may be the first shifter, but I'm the first wolven philosopher, I'm the one who has deep thoughts, and right now, I think we need a beer."

"You always think we need a beer," John grumbled.

"Well yeah... if it wasn't for beer, I would never have met you white-eyed devils."

"Fine, fine, you two go ahead, I have to call the Virginia Alpha so he can say 'I told you so'. Make sure you save me a beer."

Sam and Tom walked out of his office, now arguing over whether getting a kiss or a hug was better."

Florence knew that women did these things, but she'd never done them, so she was at a loss as to how to proceed. She knew who did know, and really, she wasn't that mad at Beth any longer. She knew that her friend really was trying to help, and she'd been right so far—it hadn't hurt...much. She reached out, hoping that Beth was actually awake this morning.

"Beth? Are you awake? Where are you?"

"How'd the phone call go," Beth asked, ignoring Flo's questions, "is your date still on?"

"Not bad, I guess. I'm not sure that I understood much of it, but John seemed satisfied with it. He was always a couple of steps ahead of Waters' legal team...and yes, I have been encouraged to go on this date."

"John encouraged you to do this?"

"No, it was Sam actually. He was pretty persuasive. I'm not sure what John was going to say, Sam interrupted him and took over."

"Sam? Our Sam? As in Samoset...one half of the idiot brothers? He actually said something smart?"

"Yeah, he talked about taking chances and told me that making stupid mistakes was part of life. It was almost like talking to you, umm...if you were ugly, and kinda hairy."

"The bastard's been holding out on me," Beth grumbled. Oh...I never answered your question. I'm in my cabin, I came home early last night; I figured that you'd need me. I'm already up and showered, and I have coffee ready. I'll be waiting when you get off work."

"Work? Oh Goddess, I completely forgot that it was Monday," Florence thought to herself. That had never happened before. All her life, she had been completely focused upon her job. How on Earth had she forgotten work? She found that she was even heading directly for Beth's cabin. She abruptly changed direction and headed for the training area instead.

Normally, if she had found herself in a position where she had forgotten her responsibilities, she would have been ashamed. This time however, she just shrugged it off and set herself to finishing her daily tasks as quickly as she could. Maybe it was time to begin listening to her mentors and finally realize that she had become a one dimensional wolf- all work, all the time.

John and his Betas were still absent from the grounds when she arrived, so she stepped up and began assigning the weekly work assignments to the available warriors. This didn't take all that long, normally the pack ran very smoothly and Flo had been a Beta for some time now, none of the men really minded getting their directions from a bitch. Well, not this bitch at any rate; she could rip most of them in half.

By the time that Sam and Tom finally showed up smelling faintly of warm stout and peanuts, Florence had written all of the duty rosters for the week, settled two arguments, and sent a protesting Tristan back to the infirmary to see if his cast needed removal. All things held equal, it was a pretty light duty day.

Seeing her uncles strolling up, she stepped out of the training shack, tossed them the keys, and said, "Everything is already done, so you two should have a pretty easy day." She them hugged Tom and kissed Sam on the forehead, saying, "There, now you two morons are even. I'll see you guys tomorrow; I've got to run. I have to see a conniving bitch about a dress."

In an amused sort of shock, the two just stood there with foolish looks on their faces while Florence sprinted off. After a moment, Tom said, "Told you that she'd take care of everything."

Sam relied, "Yeah, but if we'd stayed for one more round, she would have been late getting to Beth's place. Tom grunted agreement and then the two began arguing over whose hug lasted the longest.

Florence didn't bother eavesdropping this time; she just sprinted directly to Beth's cabin. Arriving there, she let herself inside and found Beth waiting for her in the kitchen, still drinking coffee.

Beth glanced at her watch and said, "It's too late to head down to the city now; you'll have to wear something of mine."

Florence started to object that all of Beth's clothes were more revealing than she liked, but she didn't get far before Beth told her to shut up and go get in the shower. "You are not putting your sweaty body into my girl clothes. You don't have anything suitable to wear in your closet; I know...I checked. Now, Go," she demanded, now pointing to the shower. "Don't say another word!"

Flo knew that she could easily take Beth, Florence was after all, a mighty warrior, but something in Beth's gaze caused any feelings of rebellion to wither and die. She shuddered and then did the wisest thing she could have done, she shut up, and headed for the shower. Beth followed Flo into the bedroom and then began to rifle through the closets that took up about half of the square footage of the entire home.

"No, this one won't work; it's not her color. Hey...she'd look great in this, but she'll never go for it, it shows too much skin. Short skirt maybe, with some fancy stockings? That would be sassy! Naw, better go with the dress, she's going to more comfortable in something elegant. What to choose, what to choose..."

By this time Florence had dropped her clothes and jumped into the shower. Grabbing one of Beth's disposable razors, she began shaving her legs, all the while wondering if William would prove to be 'shave-worthy'. She rather suspected that he would, so she began to shave higher and higher, and found that she was getting heated just by thinking about William. I'm glad that I'm in this shower with the water washing away the aroma; I must reek of arousal by now. Moving to her underarms in an attempt to tamp down her growing heat, she was just beginning to get her control back when the thought struck her, I wonder what it would feel like if he kissed me here. Arousal came flooding back, and this time, it brought friends. Thank the Goddess for showers!

Beth was still digging through her closets when Florence exited the shower, dressed only in the towel that wrapped her hair. Beth poked her head out of the closet for a moment, glanced at Flo, and then said, "Good girl, I just knew that I would have to send you back in there to shave!" Then she scented the air and said, "You are already thinking of what he's going to do to you?"

"Shut up bitch!"

"I'll ignore that. Now come here and let's see what we can do with you!"

The two women then began trying on outfits, quite a few outfits. Beth began with selections that she was sure that Florence would reject. Beth had time, and she needed to soften up Flo's defenses. Sure enough, Flo rejected every single offering, mostly for reasons of 'too much skin'. This took about an hour.

The next hour was devoted to skirts and stockings, with Beth explaining that patterned hose could hold a man's attention for hours. Florence tried on a few and looked as though, she might be considering the idea, but ultimately, Beth had been right about Flo's reactions to these as well. Florence requested something a little bit more professional. Beth ignored the word 'professional' and reached for the evening dresses.

This took another hour. Beth had Florence in dozens of combinations by this time, all of them rejected for one reason or another, but victory was in sight, Beth could see Florence's resolve was beginning to weaken, so Beth chattered merrily away. She made suggestions about what might be done with Florence's hair, and of which accessories might go with whatever 'look' they decided upon. She gave a veritable seminar of all things fashion.

Flo's head was whirling by this time, and as Beth chattered, time melted away. Then Beth turned up the heat, remarking on the fact that they were running out of time, and that they'd better pick something before Florence missed her date entirely. Seeing the look of resignation in her friend's eyes, Beth pounced. "I've got one more that might work. I bought it because it was kind of tight and it displayed my girls really well," she said, her eyes twinkling, "but your butt and boobs are smaller than mine, so it will probably hang just right on you!"