Charlie, Jackie, Amy, and I had gone to the student union for ice cream, and Amy and I got hit on by a couple of students. It went well for the two boys until they found out that I taught in the electrical engineering program. The four of us had a good laugh over the way the boys reacted.

On Wednesday, the FBI returned the box. And, instead of working on the project I went to the apartment and took a nap. When I woke up, I’d dressed and then loaded one of the .45 pistols. Later, with the .45 strapped to my hip and under my coat, I walked down a very familiar trail to a very familiar bench. I sat on the bench waiting for Mr. Smith, and wishing that I was waiting on the Eagles instead.

Mr. Smith showed up, I’d given him the box, and he’d said something that I was afraid that he’d say. He said, “We’ll be in touch when we need anything else.”

After he’d walked away from me, I’d heard the FBI yell at him, and then I’d heard him running back up the trail towards me. I’d moved into the shadows of the trees by the trail. As he got close to me, I’d stepped out in front of him. He went to push me out of his way, and the next thing that I remembered was I was standing over him, kicking him.

The FBI arrived and took over. Agent Adams was given Mr. Smith’s wallet and he started looking through it. At one point, he stopped looking at the wallet, looked at me, and asked me, “Who did you say you were doing research for?”

I replied, “The Los Alamos National Laboratory. Why?”

Agent Adams took something from Mr. Smith’s wallet and showed it to me. I looked at what he was showing me, and I said, “Damn.”

What I was looking at was an identification card for an employee of the Los Alamos National Laboratory. I read what I figured was his real name off of the photo ID card. It had the name of William Richman on it.

And, as you can probably imagine, I was getting mad.

Agent Adams looked at me, and asked, “Miss Nez, are you all right.”

“Yes.”, I replied. “But, I’ve just had it with these people.”

“What’s happened with them.”

“Well, I worked on another research project for them last year, and they attempted to do an unauthorized background check on me. And, you are aware of who I am and that Kai Nez is my female spirit. Right?”

“Yes, that was a strange story that you told us.”

“I agree. But, it is what it is. Well, they'd heard that I’d gone to Ohio State, which my male side did. And, they went to Ohio State looking for information on Kai Nez, and of course, found nothing. And, when they told me this, I blew up.”

“So, you never gave them permission to do a background check?”

“No. And, I told the guy from Los Alamos that he would be hearing from my lawyer.”

“And, your lawyer is Mary Harman?”

“Yes, but it never got that far.”. I replied.

“That guy from Los Alamos has no idea how lucky he is that he never met Miss Harman.”, Agent Adams said. “She can be a bulldog. And, there’s no love loss between her and the bureaucratic types.”

“The people that we worked with at Los Alamos, plus a member of their administration met with my Dean, Dr. Oshie, and me. And, they were sincere in their apologies, at least at that time I felt they were. Maybe I was wrong. And, usually, I’m good at reading people.”

“Do you think that they’re testing you?”

“Now that I know that Mr. Smith works for them, I wouldn’t be surprised if they are. What with this and the joke of a research project that they gave us.”

“So, the research project was a farce?”

“Yes, a complete farce. And, now I think that there is a good possibility that these people may meet Miss Harman.”

Just then one of the other FBI agents called over to us, and said, “Agent Adams, he’s waking up.”

“Miss Nez, stay here.”, Agent Adams said. “Let me see what he has to say.”

“Okay.”, I replied.

I watched as Agent Adams walked over to ‘Mr. Smith’, stooped down next to him and talked to him. They talked until the ambulance showed up, and that had driven down the trail with a park ranger’s truck leading the way. When they arrived, Lieutenant Zimmerman, from the park’s police department, got out of the truck. He saw me, and he walked over. As he walked up, he smiled, and said, “Miss Nez, we meet again.”

“Lieutenant Zimmerman, how are you?”, I replied.

“I’m fine. And, you just can’t stay out of trouble. Can you?”

“It appears that way. But, honestly, I don’t try to find it.”

“Agent Adams told me what was going on.”

“I figured that he might have.”

“So, did you do this to him?”

“Yes. He went to shove me out of his way, and I just reacted.”

“I guess because of your size and sex that some people feel that you can easily be handled.”

“Yeah, he may have assumed that.”

“Have you seen the Eagles recently?”

“Oh yes, they still show up here when we're here.”

“That still amazes me.”, Lieutenant Zimmerman said.

“To be honest, it still amazes me too.”, I said. “And, we’ve found their nesting site.”

“You have!?”

“Yes, you pointed us in the right direction.”

“I mentioned some ponds to you.”

“You also mentioned a reservoir.”

“The Jemez Canyon Reservoir?”

“Yes. We talked to one of the outdoor shops here in Albuquerque, and we figured out that it had to be the one you were talking about.”

“So, you just went up there hoping that they’d be there?”

“Kind of. But, maybe we were drawn there.”, I said.

“So, what did you find?”, Lieutenant Zimmerman asked.

“First we found Izusa Yupanqui or Iz, he’s the Park Department for the Santa Ana Pueblo. We had a nice talk, and then he took us to a part of the reservoir that is off limits to all but members of the Pueblo. And, to a dead tree with a large Eagle’s nest in it.

“And, he was surprised when both Eagles showed up and spent time with us.

“He gave us permission to visit the nest site anytime we want to and bring along anyone we want to. So, if you’d like to go with us sometime, you’re more than welcome.”

“I’d love to. And, I’d love to go in the early spring to see if they have young.”

“We can do that. And, we also ran into someone else there who knows you.”

“Who would that be?”

“A Miss Rankin from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.”, I said.

“Oh, Mary Beth.”, Lieutenant Zimmerman said. “So, she’s seen the Eagles?”

“Yes, and she promised to keep their existence quiet.”

“She will. Do you still have my phone number?”

“Yes, I still have your card.”

“Let me give you another one with my home number on it.”

The lieutenant took out a business card, wrote a phone number on the back, and handed it to me. And, just then Agent Adams walked up, he and the lieutenant said hello to each other. Then Agent Adams looked at me, and said, “This is a real mess.”

“Oh?”, I said.

“Yes, he says that he does work for the security people at Los Alamos, but I’ll verify that. And, he said that they were testing you to see what you’d do if you were approached to spy for someone. And, the project that you were given was fake. I guess that they expected you to go to your people at Los Alamos. But, you came to us instead.”

“Dumb, stupid, people. Why did he run?”

“He says he was frightened.”

“Bull. I didn’t feel much fear in him. I bet that he felt that if you guys caught him that he’d get out of it by having you contact the people at Los Alamos.”

“Miss Nez. You might be right, and we’ll find out.”

“Did he realize that he could have been shot.”, I said.

“We wouldn’t have shot him. And, we were also waiting at his car.”, Agent Adams replied.

“I might have.”

“You?”

As I touched my right side, I said, “Yes.”

“Are you carrying a gun.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I’ve had the rangers in the National Forests here tell me, because of the bears, to carry a gun whenever we hike. So, I carry one when I hike.”

“Kai.”, Lieutenant Zimmerman said, “It’s winter time, there aren’t any bears around. And, even in the summer bears are very rare around this part of the river.”

“Oh. I didn’t know.”

“Kai!”

“Okay, I guess I knew.”

“Let me see this gun.”, Agent Adams said.

I unzipped my coat, pulled back the right side of the coat revealing the holster, unsnapped the flap, and opened it so that they could see the grip of the pistol.

Agent Adams carefully removed the gun from the holster, looked at it, and said, “Holy crap, Miss Nez, a .45. I’m impressed.”

“Yes, sir.”, I said.

“Are you any good with it?”

“My uncle thinks so.”

As he slipped the gun back into my holster, he asked, “What rifles do you carry when you hike?”

“A lever action that uses a .45-70 Government cartridge.”

“That’s also a serious gun. So, do you carry both?”

“When we hike in the mountains. Yes.”

“Come with me a minute.”, Agent Adams said.

Both Lieutenant Zimmerman and I walked with Agent Adams towards the ambulance. 'Mr. Smith' was strapped on the cot and they were about ready to load it into the ambulance. As we walked up, Agent Adams said to the ambulance guys, “Hold on a minute fellas.”

We walked to the cot, and I looked down at 'Mr. Smith' or whatever his real name is. He looked up at me, and said, “Miss Nez, I’m sorry. I … ’

“Mr. Smith, or whatever your real name is, don’t bother to apologize to me.”, I said. “I’ve been apologized to by your people at Los Alamos before, and from what I’ve just been told I see that the apology was meaningless. Your apology is also meaningless and nothing but bureaucratic hot air.”

“Miss Nez.”, Agent Adams said. “Show him what you showed me.”

I knew what he meant, but I asked, “Oh, do you mean the gun?”

“Yes, Miss Nez, the gun.”

As I pulled back the right side of my coat, I heard Mr. Smith say, “A gun!?”

I unsnapped the flap, and just pulled the gun out of the holster a short way.

Then as Mr. Smith saw the gun coming out of the holster, his eyes got big. And, I said, “Believe me when I say that I’m not afraid to use it.

“Now, Mr. Smith or Richman, how did you know about Tom Young?”

“Tom Young?”, Mr. Smith said. “I don’t know anything about a Tom Young.”

“You’re a liar. When we met at the library, you used that name.”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Well, see about that.”

I slipped the gun back into the holster, snapped the flap, turned, and walked away. Lieutenant Zimmerman followed me. And after we were away from the group, Lieutenant Zimmerman said, “Kai, hold on a minute.”

I stopped, looked at the lieutenant, and said, “I know. I’m in trouble for carrying the gun.”

“No, you’re not. And, I understand why you were carrying it. You were worried about bears.”

“Lieutenant.”, I said. “I know that there aren’t any bears around right now, and I’ve never seen one around here or evidence of one.”

“I know. And, I can also understand you wanting to protect yourself. I’d also want to.”

“I figured that it would have taken the FBI a minute or two to get to us once they figured out something was happening. So, I wanted something that made me feel at least a little secure.”

“Kai, there was a sniper across the river and with the Moonlight he had a perfect view of everything.”

“How do you know.”

“I was a sniper in Korea, and the law enforcement around here, including the FBI, know that. And, they use me from time to time.”

“I’m impressed.”

“I’m impressed by your choice of weapons. That rifle is a serious weapon.”

“We just took the advice from the people at the outdoor store.”

We watched as the ambulance turned around and drove back down the trail. Then Agent Adams walked up to us, and said, “Well, Miss Nez, I think we’re all through here. Now, I’ve got to figure this mess out.”

“I’ve got a mess to figure out too, Agent Adams.”, I said. “Why the people at Los Alamos would do this. And, who knew. Did the people that we’re doing this work for know that the security people would do something like this or not.”

“Do me a favor. Can you wait until I have a chance to look into this?

“How long?”

“Can you give me until next Monday, and if I don’t call you by the afternoon, you can call me.”

“I guess I can wait that long. But, I’ll need to tell Dr. Oshie and my Dean what’s going on.”

“That’s fine if they’ll keep it quiet until you and I talk again.”

“They will.”

“And, realize, that there may be no charges filed. They’ll use the excuse of national security, because of the lack of a workable way to check your background. And, the final call on that will be up to the Federal Prosecutor.”

“Can’t you charge them with stupidity?”

“Miss Nez!”

“I know. But, now I may have to tell my people at Los Alamos about me.”

“Will that be a bad thing?”, Agent Adams asked.

“That’s hard to say. It could be bad, or it could be good.”

“I’ll talk to you on Monday.”

As Agent Adams walked away, I said, “Hágoónee', Agent Adams.”

He stopped, turned, looked at me, and asked, “What did you say, Miss Nez?”

“I said, hágoónee', Agent Adams. It’s Navajo and means, see you later.”

“See you later, Miss Nez.”

Then, Lieutenant Zimmerman asked, “Would you like a ride to your car, Miss Nez?”

“Only if you call me Kai.”

“And, only if you call me, Zimm.”

“I’d love a ride, Zimm.”

As we got into Zimm’s truck, he picked up a microphone and told his dispatch that he was clear of the scene. They acknowledged him. Then, he turned to me, and asked, “Kai, could I ask you something?”

“You want to know why there’s no trail of me at Ohio State, and why I talk about the spirits all the time. Don’t you?”

“Yes. If you don’t mind.”

“I feel good about you, or I wouldn’t be telling you this. Do you know what a Nádleeh is?”

“No, I can say that I do.”

“The Navajo people and most native Americans believe that some people have two spirits, and the Navajo call that person a Nádleeh. And, I’m one of those people. We supposedly see things through the eyes of a woman and the eyes of a man at the same time. Some of us can sense things about people, and when I met you, I had good feelings about you. I knew that you were a good person. Okay so far?”

“Yes.”

I then went on to tell him a very abbreviated version of my story, leaving out a lot of things from Ohio. I explained the strength of my feminine spirit, and that here in New Mexico I felt better presenting as a girl.

When I finished, Zimm looked at me, and said, “So, you’re a guy?”

“As my cousin, Amy, says.”, I said. “I have the spirit of a girl and the body of a boy.

“And, out here I feel better presenting as a girl. And, the important people know the truth about me.”

“And, you’ve helped people accept their impending deaths.”

“Yes.”

“And, you can tell if someone is good or bad?”

“Not completely. I can sense different things about people. Like if they're ill, and they usually have to be a relative or close friend. But, if someone means harm to me or someone close to me, like Amy, then I can. And it doesn’t have to be physical harm. Like when I first saw 'Mr. Smith', or whatever his name is, I knew right away that he was trouble. And, I was somewhat prepared for him.”

“Kai, that is a fascinating story. And, I’m glad that you told me. So, how do the Eagles fit into all of this.”

“Zimm.”, I said. “Other than that they are considered the messenger to the Great Spirit. I don’t know.”

“Eagles are important to all of the native American people. Aren’t they?”

“Yes, they are.”

While we were talking, we’d made it back to the parking area. And, there was a tow truck removing a car. I asked, “Zimm, is that his car?”

“Yes.”

“If they let him off, he’ll have to pay a tow charge.”

“And, a storage charge.”

“Kai, one last question.”, Zimm said.

“Am I gay?”, I replied.

“You’ve been asked this before. Haven’t you?”

“Yes, I have. And, no, I’m not gay. You remember my cousin, Amy?”

“Yes.”

“She’s my wife.”

“Wife! And, she completely accepts this?”

“Completely.”

Zimm and I said so long to each other, and I headed back to the apartment. When I was back at the apartment, I noticed that there wasn’t any strange cars or trucks on the street. But, there was a car parked on the street, it was Dr. Joe’s car.

As I pulled the car into the garage, Amy came out into the garage to greet me. And, boy did she greet me. I received a firm hug and a deep kiss. And, she said, “Honey, I’m so happy that you're safe.”

“I wasn’t worried.”, I said.

“Yeah, right. You weren’t worried. Is that why you took a pistol with you. I was worried, and so where you. So, don’t try to kid me.”

“You’re right. I was. I see that Dr. Joe is here.”

“Yes, and so is Mary.”

We walked into the apartment. Dr. Joe looked at me and said, “I see that you're none the worse for wear.”

I replied, “You can’t say the same for Mr. Smith.”

“Oh?”

“Let me get this coat off, and we’ll talk. … Wait. What am I smelling?”

“I figured that you’d be hungry, so we made frybread tacos.”, Amy said.

“I’m starved.”

“I have another surprise. Get your coat off and sit.”

As I took my coat off, Dr. Joe said, “You’re carrying a gun?”

“You betcha.”, I said. “Let me get this off and put away, and I’ll be right back.”

I walked into the small room, took the gun off, unloaded it, and put it away in the safe. Then I walked back into the kitchen, and Dr. Joe asked, “Why the gun?”

“I was hunting bear.”, I said.

“Very funny, Kai.”

“Just a little self-protection.”

“So, what happened.”

“When the FBI confronted him, he ran, and he ran right into my arms. I put him on the ground. Then the FBI got there and took over.

“And, you’ll love this Dr. Joe. Our 'Mr. Smith' is really William Richman, and he works for … wait for it … he works for the Los Alamos National Laboratory.”

“What!?”, Dr. Joe said.

“You heard me, he works for their security people, and they were testing me to see what I’d do if I was forced to spy for someone. And, the project that we were given was part of this farce.”

“How mad are you?”

“You don’t want to know. But, I had to laugh to myself when the FBI told me that the Los Alamos security people thought we’d go to our people at Los Alamos, but we went to the FBI.

“What makes me really furious is that he may not be charged with anything, and that’ll be up to the Federal Prosecutor.

“But, I’m thinking of getting my lawyer involved in this.”

“That could be interesting.”

“But, I know this, I want to confront the people from Los Alamos, Dr. Fontheim, Dr. Höllmann, and Dr. Millman. Plus this clown, 'Mr. Smith', and his boss. And give them all a piece of my mind.”

“We can call them tomorrow and set something up.”

“We’ll have to wait until I talk to Agent Adams on Monday. I promised that I wouldn’t say anything to anyone other than you and Dean Rutherford. So, Amy and Mary, you haven’t heard a word.”

With a smile, Mary asked, “A word about what, Kai?”

“Good girl, Mary.”

“One last thing then we can eat.”, Amy said.

“Let’s eat first.”, I said.

“No.”

“Okay. What’s the one last thing?”, I asked.

“What did you mean when you said after I put him on the ground?”

“Well, after he left me and walked back down the trail, the FBI confronted him, and he ran. He ran back towards me, and I was kind of in his way.”

"You didn’t hurt him. Did you?”

“Well, when the FBI got to us he was unconscious.”

“Kai!”

“What?”

“What am I going to do with you?”

“Love me.”

“Mary.”, Amy said, “Help me with the tacos?”

Amy and Mary served up some great frybread tacos. Then Amy surprised us with a glass of her homemade sangria. It was as good as last time. I was in heaven.

Later, after I’d had two glass of Amy’s sangria, and Dr. Joe and Mary had left. Amy and I were in bed, and I was in heaven again. Boy was I!

On Thursday after my ten o’clock grad-level class, Dr. Joe and I had a meeting with Dean Rutherford. And, if you want to talk about one upset and mad Dean, Dean Rutherford was just that.

I had to go through the whole story twice step by step. Then the Dean asked, “Miss Nez, I can’t have you or anyone else from the university being treated like you have been. We need to put a stop to it. What do you think we should do?”

“After Kai hears from Agent Adams, I think we need to meet with the people at Los Alamos and find out just what the hell is going on.”, Dr. Joe said.

“You’re right. Just let me know, and I’ll set something up.”

“I want our 'Mr. Smith', or William Richman whichever it is, there and his boss, and I don’t want them to know that we’re coming.”, I said.

“I’ll try, Miss Nez.”

“If he’s not there, I won’t be there.”

“Miss Nez, … ”

“Dean Rutherford, I’ve had it with these people, and they are going to get a piece of my mind. I’m probably going to have to reveal who I am, and that won’t make me happy.”

“I assume that you aren’t willing to continue doing work for them?”

“I haven’t completely decided yet. But, Dean Rutherford, would you be willing to work for them after going through all of this crap?”

“No.”

“I’m ready to go into the woods and not come back out. But, I’m still open to ideas. I love doing research.

"And, a lot will depend on what I hear at this meeting."

“Let’s hope going into the woods won’t be necessary.”

“But, I still want to know how they knew about the real me?”

“The real you, Miss Nez?”

“Tom Young.”

“Oh, that’s right. I never think about that. I see you as a woman.”