Tommy - The Trials and Tribulations of a Girl? - Chapter 163

Ajie did meet the dean of the medical school at the dinner, and they talked about the seminar that they want her to put on. And, President Lingham of the university learned more about me. Plus we told them that we were planning on working on our doctorates.

We spent the next day finishing putting our things together for the classes we were teaching. Amy found out that the medical school wanted to call her seminar, ‘Interacting with the aboriginal patient.’ and Amy quickly put the kibosh to that when she said that she was going to call it, ‘Native American people as patients.’

Wednesday was the first day of classes for Winter Quarter. Before my first class, I stopped in Dr. Joe’s office, and he showed me the proposed research project write up that was delivered by a courier. We also went over the rules for the project.

After I’d taught my two classes, attended my grad-level class, and had lunch, I went to Dr. Joe’s office and started reading the project write up. When Dr. Joe came back to his office, I was tired of reading. So, we went to the faculty dining room to get something to drink. After what I’d read I wanted a sangria, but they don’t serve alcohol here, and it was too early in the day.

As we had our drink, I told Dr. Joe that there was something funky about this project. That as I read it I remembered something similar to it, but couldn’t remember what it was or where I read it.

Thursday I had my two classes of Electric Circuits to teach, plus another grad level class to take. I had an hour between the last class I taught and the grad-level class, so I went to the university library and started going through some of the technical literature searching for what I didn’t know. I know that in what I’ve read so far on the new project from Los Alamos that I’d seen something like it before.

After grabbing a quick lunch I was back at Dr. Joe’s office, he was there, and as I closed the door, he said, “Kai, I’ve gotten some more of that project read. And, I think you’re right; there is something that isn’t right.”

“I just don’t know, Dr. Joe.”, I said. “And, it’s really bothering me.”

“I guess we’ll just go along with this and see where it goes.”

“I guess, but I hate to waste our time.”

“Me too, Kai. I’ve got a class to teach, then a meeting, so the office is yours for the next two hours.”

So, for the next two hours, I read the project description. And, it continued to feel funky to me. And, I still couldn’t figure out why.

Friday was almost the same as Wednesday. Except that I finished reading the project description. And I still wasn’t sure what was bothering me about this whole thing.

Later, when I saw Dr. Joe, I said, “Well, I finished reading the project writeup.”

“And?”, Dr. Joe asked.

“I’m still not sure what this is all about. And, I still feel that I’ve seen this someplace before. But, I do know that it’s some kind of receiver.”

“Yeah. I got that too.”

“I want to spend some more time at the library. I’ve got to find out where I’ve seen this before.”

“Don’t worry too much about it, Kai. We’ll do what we have to do.”

“What, waste time re-inventing the wheel?”

“Kai, it may not be what you think.”

“Then again, it may be what I think.”, I said.

“Kai, I give up. I know I’m not going to talk you out of this, so what do we need to do until you either prove or disprove it.”

“I guess we plod on and see what happens.”

“Okay. So, Monday we start designing this thing.”

Saturday, Amy had to work eight to four in the ER. So, after I walked her to the hospital, I headed to the library, and I spent the day, yes the day, digging through technical publications. And, nothing. Maybe I am crazy. Maybe I didn’t see this anywhere.

When I picked Amy up at the ER at four, I said, “I need a pizza.”

“Can I change first?”, Amy asked.

“Of course. Did you have a busy day?”

“Sort of. A couple of car wrecks. A gunshot wound. A couple of heart attacks. Two skiing accidents that they brought in by air from Taos. And the usual things. What did you do all day?”

“I spent it at the library digging through technical publications.”

“That sounds like fun. Not.”

“It was okay. But, I’m beginning to think that I’m wrong and that I didn’t see it before.”

“Do you remember when you saw it? Was it before we came out here or after we came out here?”

“I’m almost a hundred percent sure that it was after we came out here.”

“Have you looked at the magazines that you’ve gotten since we came out here?”

“No. It could even be in some of the ones that we brought with us. I’ll look when we get back to the apartment.”

“No, you won’t! You’ve been at it all day. We’re going out for pizza and just relaxing tonight. Understand?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“And, I don’t want to hear any more about the project today.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Amy took a shower and changed, and we walked over to Nunzio's for pizza. It’s Saturday evening in a college town, and it looked like half the student body was in line. And, we joined them. On top of that, it’s January, and it’s cold. Well cold for out here in the high desert, it made it to around forty-five for a high today, but with the sun setting it was starting to get colder.

Being from Ohio we were used to the cold, back home it might make it into the mid-thirties this time of year. But, some of the people in the line ahead of us gave up waiting, so through attrition, we moved up fairly quickly.

We spent half an hour in line before we made it inside but then had to wait another ten minutes before we were seated. But, as usual, it was worth the wait for a great pizza and a good bottle of wine. We emptied the wine bottle and took half the pizza back to the apartment with us.

When we were back at the apartment, I went towards the small room. It’s where all the magazines were. Amy said, “Kai, no! Not tonight. Get your mind off of that damn project for a little while.”

“Okay. Okay.”, I said with a sly smile. “Can you take my mind off of the project.”

With a sexy smile, Amy said, “Oh, I plan to lover. I plan to.”

Sunday, Amy wouldn’t let me anywhere near the little room, and she was right I was becoming obsessed over the project. It was cold, but we even went for a walk along the Rio Grande River, and yes our two friends, the Eagles, showed up. And, it was good to sit there with them, and they made me think more in-depth into the project thing. And, I thought came to me, is this a test? But, if it is a test, what kind of test is it?

After we said so long to the Eagles and were walking back to the car, I said, “I wonder if this is a test of some kind?”

“What kind of test?”, Amy asked.

“I don’t know.”

“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”

“I guess. But, it’s going to drive me crazy.”

“And, you’re going to drive me crazy until we find out.”

“Sorry.”

The next week was as typical as one of our weeks could be, teaching classes, taking classes, and Dr. Joe and I started drawing up a circuit diagram. And, it was looking good. There were a couple of modules that we’d been given complete information on that fit into the circuit where needed. But, I was still on the search for where I’ve seen this before.

Friday turned out to be different, very different. After I had taught my classes and attended my grad-level class, instead of lunch, I went to the university’s library. I was still on a hunt.

As I was sitting at a table in the library going through technical journals, and I sensed someone walk up to the table. I looked up, and it was a tall, middle-aged man who I’d never seen before. We looked at each other for a few seconds, then he said, “Miss Nez?”

I didn’t say anything right away, because what I was feeling about this guy wasn’t good. Then again, he asked, “Miss Kai Nez?”

I finally said, “Who’s asking?”

“I’m Mr. Smith.”

I thought, ‘Sure you are.’ And I said, “And if I’m this Kai Nez?”

“My friends and I have a proposition for you.”

“Your friends?”

“That’s not important right now. May I sit and talk with you?”

“If you must.”

Mr. Smith pulled out a chair and sat closer to me then I wanted him to. I just looked at him.

Then, Mr. Smith quietly said, “Does the name Thomas Young mean anything to you?”

I continued to look at him, and thought, ‘It means nothing to me other than it’s my real name.’ And, I said, “And, if it does.”

“Miss Nez. My friends and I don’t think that you want others to know who Thomas Young is. Do you?”

“Why would I care.”, I replied.

“Miss Nez, we feel that if that information got out, it would ruin Mr. Young and possibly you.”

“Why is that.”

“Miss Nez, we know that you and Thomas Young are one and the same.”

“We are?”

“Yes, you are.”, Mr. Smith said.

“What would this Thomas Young have to do to prevent this information from getting out?”

“It’s what you would have to do, Miss Nez.”

“The only thing that I do is teach electronic engineering.”

“Miss Nez, we know all about you. We know about you being a research fellow, we know that you’re working on your masters, and we know that you’re doing some research for the Los Alamos National Laboratory.”

I thought, ‘I’m working onmy doctorate.’

“Plus.”, Mr. Smith said. “We know about Amy Young.”

That raised my hackles.

Mr. Smith must have picked up on it, as he said, “I see that got your attention, Miss Nez.

“What we want from you, for our silence, is information on the research that you’re doing for Los Alamos. A complete copy of the documentation that you have from them would do just fine.”

I just looked at him. He got up, and as he started to walk away, Mr. Smith said, “Check your faculty mailbox early next week. There will be something of interest in it. Oh, don’t go to the police. And, I wouldn’t tell anyone about this.”

And, Mr. Smith walked away.

I sat there thinking, ‘Whoever this guy and his friends are they want me to spy on my country. And, I’ll bet that even if I do this, it won’t be the end.’

I cleaned up the technical publications that I’d been looking through. Then took a walk around campus. I stopped in the faculty dining room for a snack. I stayed there for about half an hour, then I took out a piece of paper and wrote a note. When I finished writing the note, I walked over to Dr. Joe’s office.

I walked up to the office door, knocked, and heard, “Come.”

I opened the door, walked in, put my finger to my lips, then said, “Hi, Dr. Oshie.”

Dr. Joe gave me a strange look, and said, “Hello, Miss Nez. Are you ready to get to work?”

As I slipped Dr. Joe the paper with the note on it and he read it, I said, “Sure thing. But, I found something of interest in the library, and I couldn’t check it out or copy it. And, I think that you’ll find it of interest.”

The note that Dr. Joe was reading said, ’Don't say a word. There may be a bug in here. I’ve been contacted by someone to give them a copy of the research project. We need to talk. Go along with me.’

As Dr. Joe got up from his desk, he said, “I see. Okay. Let's go over to the library.”

As we left Dr. Joe’s office, he locked the door, and we walked towards the library. Once we were outside, he asked, “Kai, what the hell is going on?”

“I was contacted by this guy calling himself Mr. Smith, … “, and I went on to tell him the whole story.

When I finished, Dr. Joe asked, “What are we going to do?”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. What should we do?”, I said.

“If I know you, and I think I do. You want to stop this guy and his friends.”

“Your right. And, when he mentioned Amy, I saw red. And, I almost went after him right then and there. But, I figured that it might not be a good thing to do.”

“Probably not.”

“So, what do we do?”

“Call the FBI.”

“The FBI!?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s do it. Oh, and I don’t trust your office, the lab, or our apartment. If they’re any good, they’ll have them bugged.”

“You think?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised.”

When we got to the library we did go to the section where the technical publications were, and I got a couple of the publications, we sat at a table, and pretended to look at them.”

Then, I said, “Go make the call.”

Dr. Joe got up and disappeared for a few minutes. When he came back, he said, “I talked to a Special Agent Richard Adams, and he was very interested in what I told him. And, he wants to meet.”

“Where?”, I asked.

“He and another agent are coming here to the library. There are private study rooms, and I reserved one.”

“If they’re watching me, how can I get there without being seen.”

“Maybe wander the stacks. First to see if someone is following you, and then throw them off if they are.”

“When?”

“They’re on their way.”

“Oh. That was quick.”

“I thought so too. Where’s Amy?”

“She’s working three to eleven in the ER.”

“Okay.”

“Where’s this room?”

“It’s on the third floor, and it’s room three-twenty-one. Here’s one key, and I have the other. I’ll meet them and bring them up.”

“I’ll be there.”

I started wandering the stacks, and I couldn’t see anyone following me. I used the stairs instead of the elevators to go to the third floor. I found the room, looked around first, and then went in. And, waited.

It was almost fifteen minutes later when I heard a key in the door, I stood up, and waited. The door opened, and Dr. Joe and two men walked in. Then, Dr. Joe closed the door, and said, “Kai, this is Special Agent Richard Adams and Agent Michael Hernández. Gentlemen this is Miss Kai Nez.”

We exchanged greetings, and they showed me their badges and IDs. We all sat. Then Special Agent Adams asked, “So, what is this all about.”

I looked at Dr. Joe, and he said, “As I told you we’re working on a research project.”

“For who?”

“The Los Alamos Research Laboratory.”

“Oh! What kind of research?”

“We can’t say.”

“I figured as much. So, what’s this about someone wanting you to copy the research papers for them?”

Dr. Joe looked at me and just said, “Kai.”

I said, “I was approached by a Mr. Smith today here in the library. He said that he and his friends had a proposition for me. … ” And, I told them the story of what had happened today. When I finished, Agent Adams, looked at his notes, and said, “Miss Nez, who is this Thomas Young that they seem to be interested in?”

I looked at Dr. Joe, then at Agent Adams, and said, “Me.”

“You, Miss Nez?”, Agent Adams said.

“Yes, me. I don’t think that either of you is a native American, so you may not understand. But, I’m a two spirit person, or as the Navajo call them a Nádleeh.”

“Care to explain, Miss Nez?”

“Of course, Agent Adams.” Then, I spent some time explaining myself.

When I finished, Agent Adams said, “That’s a very strange story.”

“I thought that you’d say that.”

“Are you gay?”

“No, sir. I mentioned Amy Young when I was telling you my story. Amy Young is my wife.”

“So, you always look like you do right now?”

“When I’m out here in New Mexico, my female spirit is very strong, and I feel better looking this way.”

“Who can verify this story?”

“Some people here at the university know, including the president, but I would like to keep them out of this.”

“I agree, Miss Nez. Who else?”

“Well, there’s Dr. Oshie here. And, Chief Bidzii Kinlicheeny, Chief of the Navajo Nation. Also, Naainish Yazzie, he’s a well-respected medicine man. And, you may know my uncle, Gaagii Haskie.”

“Gaagii Haskie? Didn’t he just retired as a lieutenant from the Navajo Nation Police Department?”

“Testing me aren’t you? He was the chief of the department when he retired.”

“Yes, I was. And, Gaagii Haskie is your uncle?”

“Yes, he’s married to my mother’s sister. Then, there’s also my lawyer, Ms. Mary Harman.”

“She’s your lawyer?”

“Yes. Do you know her?”

“Yes, we do.”

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

“It’s that she’s one tough cookie.”

“I know.”

Then Agent Adams looked at his partner, and said, “Mike, find a private phone and see if you can reach Chief Haskie. He’s retired, but they should have his home number at the office. If you can get a hold of him, see if you can verify Miss Nez’s story.”

As the other agent got up, he said, “Sure, Rich.”

“Don’t tell him too much if you can help it.”

“I won’t.”

“Be careful.”, Dr. Joe said. “He is very protective of Kai.”

“He is?”, Agent Adams said.

“Yes, she’s his only niece, and she is special to the Navajo people.”

While Agent Hernández was trying to reach my uncle, I questioned Agent Adams on how we were going to handle this. He suggested that we wait and see what, if anything, I received in my faculty mailbox. And, then make a plan from there.

Agent Adams also told me, that if and when I receive something from Mr. Smith not to open it. But, to call him so they could open it. That way they could get any evidence off of it.

It was twenty minutes before Agent Hernández was back. When he sat down, he said, “It took a little bit to get Chief Haskie to talk to me. At first, he wouldn’t speak to me about anything to do with Miss Nez, but then I had him call the office, then I called the office, they patched us together, and then he’d talk to me. And, I’ll tell you something, Dr. Oshie wasn’t kidding when he told us that Chief Haskie was very protective of Miss Nez. He wanted to know every detail, but I told him that we didn’t have much yet.

“And, he did verify everything that Miss Nez told us.”

I looked at Agent Adams, and I said, “I’ll bet my uncle will know everything within the hour.”

“Miss Nez.”, Agent Adams said. “You didn’t have to tell me that. I’ve worked with your uncle. And, I know how he works.

“And, Miss Nez, it looks like this is on the up and up. I’m sorry that we had to verify your story. But, it’s one of the strangest stories that I’ve heard. Not the part where someone wanted you to steal something. But, the part about you and Tom Young.”

I looked at the two agents, and said, “And, the quieter that we keep that, the better.”

“I understand, Miss Nez.”, Agent Adams said. “Something like this we like to keep as quiet as we can. And, I say that this sounds like espionage.”

“That’s what I thought.”

As our little meeting was breaking up, Agent Adams handed me one of his business cards, and said, “Miss Nez, you can reach me at any time at the number on this card. And call me as soon as you hear from Mr. Smith.”

“I’ll do that, Agent Adams.”, I said.

Later that evening I was sitting in the waiting room of a busy ER waiting for Amy. At about a quarter after eleven, she walked into the waiting room. She looked at me, and said, “Kai, what’s wrong?”

“Let’s find a private place to talk.”, I replied.

“That bad?”

“Maybe.”

We found a quiet corner in the hospital, and I filled her in on everything. When I finished, Amy asked, “Who is this Smith guy?”

“I’ve got no clue.”, I replied.

“So, what do we do?”

“Agent Adams said to act like nothing was going on and wait until we hear from him.”

Amy sarcastically said, “Oh, that’ll be easy.”

“I know. I wonder if they’ve bugged anything.”

“Bugged?”

“Listening devices.”, I replied.

“Oh.So, we have to be careful what we say?”, Amy asked.

“Just don’t say anything about this thing with Mr. Smith or the FBI.”

“Can’t we do something about these bugs.”

“Not till it’s all over.”, I said. “We don’t want to tip our hand.”

“All I can say is, this can’t be over soon enough.”

As we walked home, Amy said, “Diné bizaadísh dinitsʼaʼ?” - (Do you speak Navajo?)

“Of course.”, I replied. Then the light lit! And, I said in Navajo, “Of course I do.”

(The following conversation was all in Navajo.)

“So.”, Amy said. “We just speak in Navajo when we’re in the apartment.”

“Why didn’t I think of that?”

“You would have. You have too many other things on your mind.”

Early Saturday morning and I mean real early Saturday morning, I wasn’t sleeping. Trying not to disturb Amy, I worked my way out of bed and went downstairs. I covered myself with the blanket, curled up on the couch, and sat there staring into space, thinking.

(Remember we’re speaking in Navajo while in the apartment.)

It wasn’t much later that I heard the bedroom door open and Amy come downstairs. Then Amy said, “Honey, are you okay?”

I replied, “I’m fine. I couldn’t sleep.”

“Come back to bed.”

“What time is it?”

“A little after three.”

“Okay.”

Amy took my hand, helped me up off the couch, pulled me up the stairs, and into bed. Cuddling up with her made it easy to go back to sleep.

We weren’t up until almost nine. And, all of our usual morning chatter was in Navajo. And we’ll keep up the Navajo, at least around the apartment, until this mess was over.

Once we were downstairs, Amy said, “Let’s go out to breakfast.”

“Sure.”, I replied. “Where?”

“I’ve heard that there’s a nice little place not too far west on Route 66.”

A short time later as we were pulling out of the garage, we saw Charlie and Jackie walking out of their apartment. We stopped, and they walked over to the car, and Charlie, of course in English, asked, “Where are you two off to so early in the morning?”

I replied in Navajo, “Out for breakfast. Want to join us?”

“What did you just say?”

(Amy and I are back to English.)

“Oh sorry. We’re going out for breakfast. Want to join us?”

“Sure. Anything will be better than the resident hall food.”

As Charlie and Jackie got into the car, Jackie asked, “Why the foreign language?”

“It’s Navajo, and it’s not foreign, it’s been in America longer than English has. We like to speak it once in a while to stay fluent.”, Amy replied. “We’ve been doing it this weekend and just forgot.”

As we ate breakfast, we made a date to go bowling later and then out for hamburgers afterward. The four of us had homework to do, both school and real housework before we went bowling.

Sunday, after breakfast, I decided that I had to get my mind off of this Smith thing. So, I started to dig through my collection of magazines to see if I could find what I couldn’t find in the technical publications that the university library had. Yes, I’m still on the hunt for the article that I remembered that was similar to the research project that Dr. Joe and I are working on.

(Amy and I are still speaking Navajo to each other)

I took a break for lunch. And, as we ate Amy asked, “Any luck in your search?”

“No.”, I replied. “But, it’s got to be in there someplace.”

After lunch, I was back at my search. At about two in the afternoon, I slammed my fist into the top of the little desk, and shouted, “Aoó!” - (Yes!)

Amy walked into the small room, and said, “I think someone found something.”

“I did. Now I have to figure out what Los Alamos had up their sleeve when they gave us this. But, if I remember right, there’s something else about this, and I think it was in the next issue or two of this same publication.”

“Going to tell Dr. Joe?”

“Maybe we’ll go for a ride after supper.”

I looked through the next two issues of the publication that I’d found the original article in, and found what I was looking for.

And, go for a ride after supper was exactly what we did. Our first stop was at a pay phone so that I could call Dr. Joe and find out if they were home or not. And they were home.

(We’re back to English.)

As Dr. Joe answered the door, he invited us in, and I said, “I sure wish that you spoke Navajo.”

“Why?”, Dr. Joe asked.

“We could talk freely at the university. Amy came up with the idea, and we’ve been using it at the apartment.”

“My native language, the Ojibwa language, is hard enough. And, now you want me to learn Navajo. No thanks.

“So, what did you find out.”

I led us to their kitchen table and set the two publications that I’d brought with me on the table. I picked up one of the publications, opened to a page I’d marked, and as I handed it to Dr. Joe, I said, “Sit down and read this.”

Dr. Joe sat at the table and started reading. Mary joined us and offered us something to drink, which Amy and I accepted. It took Dr. Joe a little while to read the article, and when he finished, he looked at me, and said, “Damn. Kai, I can’t believe you. You actually remembered an article from that long ago.”

“That’s the project isn’t it?”, I asked.

“It sure is.”

“Then I picked up the other publication, opened it to the other article, and as I handed that to Dr. Joe, I said, “Now, read this.”

Dr. Joe took the publication, and read the second article. When he finished reading it, he said, “And, that circuit wouldn’t work.”

“All because of a clock that wasn’t accurate enough.”

“So, this was one of the first Navstar receivers?”

“Yes. The very first design. One that was never built because they knew it wouldn’t work.”, I said. Then with a little anger in my voice, I asked, “Why in the hell did Los Alamos give it to us?”

“Kai, I don’t know.”, Dr. Joe said. “But, when this thing with Mr. Smith is over with, we are going to find out.”

“Do we tell Agent Adams about this?”

“We probably should.”

“Mr. Smith. Agent Adams.”, Mary, Dr. Joe’s wife, asked. “Who are they?”

I looked at Dr. Joe and asked, “You haven’t told her?”

“No. Did you tell Amy?”, Dr. Joe asked.

“Of course. Go ahead and tell Mary.”

Dr. Joe told Mary the basics about my interaction with Mr. Smith and then our meeting with the FBI Agents. And, Mary said, “This sounds scary.”

“It could be.”, Dr. Joe said. “But, I think it’s under control.”

Then I said, “Oh, Amy, I forgot to tell you about the agents and Uncle Gaagii.”

“Uncle Gaagii!”, Amy said. “How did he get involved in this?”

“When I was telling the FBI Agents the story of Kai, I gave them some people that they could contact to verify what I told them and he was one. One of the agents knew him and had the other contact him.”

“Oh boy. I wonder what he’s doing?”

“The FBI Agents were wondering that too.”

“Who is this Uncle Gaagii of yours?”, Mary asked.

“He’s my Aunt Ginny’s husband.”, I replied. “Aunt Ginny is Aunt Ruth and my mother’s sister. And, he just retired as the Chief of the Navajo Nation Police Department.”

“And.”, Amy said. “He’s very protective of the family.”

“I just hope he doesn’t do anything.”

“What would he do?”, Mary asked.

“Let’s just say that he has friends. Friends that you probably don’t want to meet.”

“So, he’s not someone not to be messed with?”

“No, he’s not.”, I said. “So, Dr. Joe, what do we do?”

“Good question.”, Dr. Joe said. “And, I think that we shouldn’t say anything about the project and what you’ve found until this thing with Mr. Smith is over.”

“Okay. Hopefully, I’ll hear from Smith soon.”

“If he’s interested in this project, he’ll contact you very soon.”

“And, whoever fed him the information on this project sure fed him a line.”

Mary looked at Dr. Joe, and said, “Joe, you and Kai be careful.”

It was after dark when we were back at the apartment. We both had classes tomorrow, so we were in bed early.