Canyon Capers

By Dan Kelly

This is a tale about two intrepid Navajo attorneys who take on a small cadre of despicable, amoral, greedy individuals who are well entrenched in the Washington D. C. bureaucracy. These people are willing to do anything, to go to any lengths, to get what they want, including murder.

In this instance, they want the natural resources on all of the Native American reservations which are estimated to have a market value in the hundreds of millions of dollars, perhaps in the billions. They put together a scheme that has a veneer of legality, but on close examination it is bereft of any plausible legality whatsoever.

The folks living on the reservations are for the most part down to earth people, unsophisticated in the normal sense of the word, most don’t possess college degrees, but they have an intelligence, a wisdom, honed by life experience and a sense of values that has been handed down for centuries through their cultures, traditions and customs and when these attributes are added to their highly developed skills and craftsmanship the total package makes them quite unique as a people.

These white collar crooks, and when all is said and done that’s a perfect description of them, think they’re smarter than anyone else, especially any member of any tribe they’ll be dealing with, and think they can flimflam them with ease.

They completely ignore the past history of Native American confrontations with the powers that be in the Nation’s Capital. Anything coming from that direction puts them on high alert and they’ll get in the faces of anyone who tries any funny stuff with them.

They also didn’t count on the likes of Jason Contos and Art Gallagher, a couple of Navajo attorneys and modern day warriors. They are decorated military veterans and know how to fight on the battlefield, in urban environments and in the courtroom.

However, these villains are no wusses and aren’t afraid to trade blows.

The story blends violence, intrigue, suspense, humor and romance into an interesting, spellbinding, literary cocktail. Reading it will be an excellent way to while away some hours with a cocktail of another variety close at hand. Enjoy!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dan Kelly
• Release date: Nov 28, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370801909

Dan Kelly

A Little Bit About Dan Kelly the Author"May you always find a good book to read and the time to enjoy it!"After spending forty years in the real world of domestic and international banking, my writing activities being largely restricted to business plans, internal memos, advertising copy, news releases and speeches, I decided I had had enough of the real world and made up my mind to pursue something I’ve wanted to do for quite a while, immerse myself in the world of make believe just for the sheer joy of letting my imagination and creative juices run wild.Except for the occasional humorous ode for the enjoyment of family, friends and colleagues, I never had the time to indulge the more fanciful side of my nature, but since July 2007 I’ve made great progress in atoning for that neglect. My Irish sense of humor coupled with my experience in dealing with a broad spectrum of people from all walks of life and social status are proving to be a wonderful reservoir of inspiration for me in character and story development.Celestial Capers, Casino Capers, Computer Capers, Caribbean Capers, Carat Capers, Calling Card Capers, Cabernet Capers, Calumny Capers, Canyon Capers, Capital Capers, Counterfeiting Capers, Cryptography Capers and Chopper Capers are the products of my first thirteen mental voyages into the realm of make believe and I hope you will be as delighted as I was to make these trips. I am currently embarked on my fourteenth safari into the relatively unexplored dimensions of my imagination, Campaign Capers, and I am finding the expedition as thoroughly enjoyable as my first thirteen tours. I’m hoping you will too.If you'd like to contact me, feel free to send me an e-mail at [e-mail].

Book preview

Chapter 1

It’s a beautiful, sunny, early spring morning in Red Rock Country, better known as Sedona, Arizona and it’s in the process of becoming even more beautiful as the trees and shrubs are beginning to bloom and birds of a wide range of kind, size and variety of color patterns are flitting about chattering and chirping their heads off. There is no better artist or stage setter than Mother Nature and she’s in the process of proving it once again.

At 4,326 feet above sea level, Sedona straddles the county line between Coconino and Yavapai counties in the northern Verde Valley and boasts a citizenry of about ten thousand plus. Although it’s a small town by land mass and population standards, it could never be called quaint which implies old fashioned because it is deeply involved in the arts and outdoor activities for the young and old and has a robust tourist business. An accurate one sentence description of the town would be ‘It’s a resort and retirement community with a fascinating package of things to see and do.’

It was founded at the expense of the Yavapai and Apache tribes who were forcibly removed from the Verde Valley in 1876 to the San Carlos Indian Reservation,180miles southeast. This is just one example of how the American Indian has been grossly mistreated since the first Europeans landed on USA shores in the late fifteenth century. Nordic peoples arrived in Canada in the tenth and eleventh centuries and that probably was the beginning of Indian mistreatment there.

In today’s culture of so called enlightenment the American Indian still has to deal with an enormous amount of prejudice and unfair treatment. But first, to get this tale off on a sound footing I must first point out the terms Indian and American Indian are serious misnomers and came about because of Columbus’s lousy sense of direction.

When he first arrived in the Americas, more specifically in the Caribbean Islands, he quickly realized that he wasn’t in India where he was headed to find a new trade route to get there because of problems Spain was having with the Ottoman Empire who controlled the only known route to India. When he first went ashore, he discovered that there were none of the Indian products available and this is what gave him the first clue that he had made a wrong turn somewhere. To hide his embarrassment and to keep the people who were financing his voyages in the dark he opted to tell a passel of lies. In communications with people back home he referred to the people living on the Islands as Indo, giving the impression he was in India. Over time the term Indo was morphed into Indio and eventually into Indian. The name was used to refer to the people living in the Americas when Europeans first set foot on our shores and, unfortunately, it stuck.

Today, some of the ancestors of these folks prefer to be called Native Americans, others prefer to be called First Americans, others Indigenous or First Nations people, others prefer to be called by their tribal name and still others have no preference, so I’m going to pick one and stay with it whenever possible and appropriate for the tale, their tribal name.

Jason (Hashkeh Naabah) Contos and Art (Ahiga) Gallagher, two full blooded Navajos, have been around this block many times and are well aware of the injustices that have plagued the Native American for centuries and continue to do so today.

Although Jason and Art were raised by their parents on tribal lands of the Navajo Nation, their paths never crossed until they both became freshmen at the University of Arizona at the age of twenty-eight, became roommates and eventually buddies. Upon graduation, they both enrolled at The James E. Rogers College of Law at The University of Arizona, both deciding to pursue careers in criminal law.

It’s understandable that they never met before college as the Navajo Nation has a land area of 26,000 square miles covering parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, Jason living in Arizona and Art in New Mexico.

These two have other similar attributes besides both of them standing 6’3" tall, weighing in at about 210 lbs. and being built like miniature tanks. Jason was a Night Stalker captain and Art was a Green Beret captain in the U. S. Army, both with a chest full of medals and ribbons.

Night Stalker is a nickname for a member of the United States Army 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) that provides helicopter aviation support for general purpose forces and special service forces. Jason still maintains an active helicopter pilot license and flies his own Sikorsky S-300C every chance he gets. It originally cost $270,000, but Jason has managed to pay down a third of the cost.

The United States Army Special Forces, known as the Green Berets because of their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force tasked with five primary missions: unconventional warfare (the original and most important mission of Special Forces), foreign internal defense, special reconnaissance, direct action, and counter-terrorism.

They both served ten years in the military and their G I Bill, grants and scholarships paid for their education.

There is one other startling similarity, their names. Jason’s Navajo name, Hashkeh Naabah, means angry warrior and Art’s Navajo name, Ahiga, means he fights.

This theme even extends to their English names. Jason is a Greek male name meaning a healing and in Greek mythology Jason was the leader of the group of warrior heroes called the Argonauts. Contos is a Greek surname meaning a well-built, strong man.

In Ireland, Art is a separate name from Arthur. It comes from an ancient word for a bear, used in the sense of an outstanding warrior or "champion. The surname Gallagher is also of Gaelic origin and means valiant, brave, a man to be feared.

Unless one is a believer in predestination, there is no other plausible explanation for this than it’s just an amazing coincidence. Tribal given names as well as clan names are seldom used off the reservation mainly due to the difficulty non-Native Americans have in pronouncing them correctly. To deal with this and the attendant embarrassment that often accompanied the attempts at saying them correctly, names were taken that were more familiar to the off the reservation masses and much easier for them to pronounce.

Upon graduation from law school and passing their bar exams on their first try, which is a significant accomplishment in itself, they formed a general partnership, Contos & Gallagher Attorneys At-Law, and hung out their shingle in a small office building on Arizona State Route 89A in the heart of West Sedona.

They have spent the past ten years working their butts off building their law practice, handling all kinds of criminal cases within a 150 mile radius of their office and have earned a very respectful reputation. They’ve made some enemies along the way, but this hasn’t deterred them from doing what is right in their eyes. They are both workaholics and their social life has paid the price, but for the most part at the tender age of 44 they’re happy campers. This is about to change, however, as this beautiful day unfolds.

Chapter 2

Jason arrives at their office at about a quarter to nine with Art coming in a few minutes later. Their paralegal, Regina López, has been in since eight o’clock and already has a list of phone calls that must be returned ASAP.

She splits the list in two and gives each of them a half. Looking at Jason she says, "All of the calls appeared to be routine inquiries about the types of services you two provide, the cost, etc., except for that of Jose Garcia, the third name down on your list. He said, and I’m quoting him verbatim, ‘I am calling your law firm because you are Navajos and you’d understand my

situation better than any white man. I am a Navajo and my given name is Niyol, meaning wind.’

He seemed extremely nervous, maybe scared and perhaps even desperate for help. I think you should call him first.

Okay, Regina, I’ll do that. Thanks for the input.

After Jason reviews his agenda for the day, he calls Jose Garcia and the man picks up after the first ring. He must have been waiting by the phone for the return phone call.

Mr. Garcia, this is Jason Contos of the law firm Contos and Gallagher returning your call. How may we help you?

"Thank you for returning my call so promptly, Mr. Contos. I’ve gotten myself into a heap of trouble because I’m fed up with how the U. S. and state governments have been treating us Navajos, violating treaties, passing laws that abrogate prior treaties and laws and do so in an extremely disrespectful and uncaring way.

"Yesterday a group of geologists showed up on my property with some drilling equipment and began drilling holes in my property without my permission. They offered no proof that they had the legal right to be there until I demanded that they show me something legal or I’d call the tribal police and have them forcibly removed and their equipment confiscated. They showed me a piece of paper with a Department of the Interior letterhead, but didn’t let me read what was typed beneath it saying I wouldn’t understand the legal mumbo jumbo. I told them I was going to call the tribal police and turned to go back into my house to make the call. One of the men then called out in an intimidating, menacing, way, ‘You’re picking a fight with the wrong people, pal.’ Two other men of the group advanced toward me in a threatening way and I beat a fast retreat to my house and my shotgun. I’m an old man, but I still don’t let people push me around.

"I went back outside and pointing the shotgun at the lot of them ordered them to leave immediately. Some of them started to laugh at me and one said as he advanced towards me, ‘Give me that before you hurt yourself.’ I shot him in the kneecaps. That stopped their laughter and they took off in their trucks, leaving their equipment behind. I called the tribal police and was told that they had just received a phone call from one of the geologists claiming I shot

one of them without any provocation and wanted to press charges. Two tribal detectives showed up at my house shortly thereafter and asked me to tell them what happened which I did. I’ve known one of the detectives since he was a small boy and he trusts me not to take off to avoid having to go to court, but he strongly urged me to get an attorney. I asked around and your name came up quite a few times, so I called you. How much trouble am I in and can and will you help me stay out of jail?"

Mr. Garcia, I believe I can help you if you’re being honest with me. Can you come into our office tomorrow morning, say at ten, so we can discuss the best way to pursue your defense?

I’ll be there. Give me your address.

Jason did and ended the call. He then walked across the reception area and into Art’s office to tell him about the phone call, but Art was on the phone so he had to wait. When Art hangs up he says, That’s a first for me. That was Mrs. Priscilla (Mai) Hunter. She owns the flower shop over on Coffee Pot. You met her when we were getting some f lowers for Regina for her birthday.

Yeah, I asked her if her Navajo name, Mai meaning bright flower, had any influence on her decision to open a flower shop and she told me that she never made the connection, but now that I had she’d have to dwell on it a bit. If I remember correctly, her husband was killed in Afghanistan, making her a widow at the early age of 29.

That’s the one. She had some uninvited guests yesterday and their encounter got out of hand. Four men with surveying gear showed up on her property in the early morning hours and began setting up equipment and walking all over her backyard. When she confronted them, they ignored her. She started to yell at them to get off her property or she would call the tribal police and one of them said, ‘You don’t own this land, Uncle Sam does. She went ballistic and started to scream at him saying he didn’t know what he was talking about and she was going to call the tribal police immediately. This guy came at her as though he was going to strike her and her dog intervened, taking a chunk out of the guy’s thigh. I’ve seen the dog once. It’s a big sucker. It’s a Native American Indian Dog, weighing about 120 pounds and standing about three feet tall on all fours. He’s normally a well-behaved, gentle animal, but these dogs have a reputation for protecting their owners. She calls him Maikoh which suits him because he looks like a wolf. I told her to hold off on hiring us until we see what the guy who got bitten is going to do.

Well, that’s similar to the call I just had. Jason briefs him on the call and then says, Something much bigger is going on here, Art. Two similar incidents like this so close together has tripped the alarm of my hunch system that‘s for damn sure.

Over the next several days, they received three more calls describing similar encounters and Jason and Art are thinking it might be time to do some cage rattling to see what shakes loose. Art says, The Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs would be good places to start.

Jason says, I also think we should approach the Federal and State politicians representing the State of Arizona since their constituencies include all of the tribes located here. I also think we should get the media involved in what is going on.

Art says, How about that journalist from Channel 5 you met the last time we were in Phoenix to attend the conference on ways to improve the standard of living on Indian reservations. You two seemed to hit it off. What was her name?

Valerie Renard. She isn’t just another pretty face. She definitely has a brain in her head. She seemed interested in the topics on the agenda and asked intelligent questions. I’ll try to track her down and make a pitch for her assistance.

Chapter 3

Sometimes getting through to politicians is like swimming in the ocean during a typhoon. They often surround themselves with underlings whose sole purpose is to pass you around the political mulberry bush, forcing you to tell your story umpteen times without making any progress.

Jason and Art decided to try a different tactic. Instead of acting like professionals, treating the people they were passed along to with patience and respect, they opted to be demanding, belligerent and threatening. It was amazing how quickly these representatives of the people became available.

However, without exception everyone denied knowing anything about geologists and surveyors showing up on Navajo Nation land without any apparent legal authority to do so and without notifying the people involved.

At the end of a very frustrating day, with no progress being made towards getting a handle on who is behind these visits to Navajo homes, Jason says, I think it’s time for us to pull out the big guns. We’ve got to get the media involved. I was holding off on contacting Valerie Renard until we saw which way the wind was going to blow with our attempts to recruit some heavy weight politicians into our cause. Well, now we know. I’ll try to connect with her first thing tomorrow morning. If she’ll agree to lead the charge, there’s a good chance a lot of other news people will join in.

Art says, I’ve set up a meeting with the Chief of the tribal police to discuss how best to deal with these people showing up unannounced with spurious legal authority to do so. He’s not too sure what he can legally do to stop them and I want to establish a channel of communication between him and us so we can stay on top of things as they develop.

I think that’s a good idea, just for his peace of mind if for no other reason. The legal morass he has to deal with at times is a nightmare. I think we should also touch base with the President of the Navajo Nation. He should be made aware of what is going on and he might have resources he can tap to help us deal with this surprisingly overt challenge to our legal rights and way of life.

Lapsing into deep thought for a few moments, Art quickly snaps out of it and tells Jason what’s troubling him. "In the United States in general, property and mineral rights law is so full of contradictions and ambiguities it’s close to being incomprehensible and to make matters worse it varies from state-to-state. It’s even more of a conundrum when Indian reservation land is involved.

"Depending on what Federal document you’re reading, tribal nations are referred to as sovereign nations or domestic dependent nations and in both instances lands owned by tribes are held in trust by the United States which maintains plenary, or in layman’s terms absolute powers over the property.

To muddy the waters even more, individually owned lands are of two types, Trust Land and Restricted Fee Land. With Trust Land the Federal Government holds legal title to the land, but the individual owns the beneficial interest of the property. Beneficial interest is certainly open to interpretation isn’t it? With Restricted Fee Land, the individual holds title to the land, but the government has put legal restrictions on what they can do with it. There are also several kinds of tribal ownership, but I won’t expound on them. I didn’t mean to launch into a primer on the subject.

"To make the tribal problem even more untenable, as our new client Mr. Garcia so aptly put it, the U. S. and state governments have been treating us Navajos and all other tribes for that matter in an extremely disrespectful, uncaring manner, violating treaties, passing laws that abrogate prior treaties and laws, etc. and this makes understanding what our legal rights truly are very difficult.

I’m convinced that the people behind this are counting on tribal ignorance of the law and the lack of individual and tribal funds to engage in long legal battles in the courtroom.

I totally agree with you, Art. The biggest obstacles to getting clarification in this abysmally distorted legal picture are the Department of the Interior, specifically, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Bureau of Indian Education and, of course, powerful and greedy politicians and their equally powerful and greedy financial supporters, primarily giant corporations. Put them all together and you have one hell of a quagmire. It’s a typical David and Goliath scenario.

"Our troubles today are rooted in the decision made by Chief Justice John Marshall back in 1831 when he described the relationship between Indians and the government as resembling that of a ward to his guardian and we have suffered greatly under this characterization.

"If a tribe wants to initiate a development project of any sort, it has to engage in a process that is notoriously slow and burdensome. On tribal lands, a company must go through at least four federal agencies and forty-nine steps to obtain a permit for energy development. Off reservation land, it only takes four steps. This makes it very difficult for the tribes to attract investors for the project. Even if they get a permit, federal agencies are involved in every step, including controlling the revenue generated by the project.

I’m wondering if other tribes are experiencing similar situations. I think it would be prudent to check around to make sure we know what we’ll be up against going forward. If we’re it, we may be the test site for the bigger plan. There are 562 federally recognized tribes in the U. S. and about 22% of our country's 5.2 million Native Americans or 1.l plus million live on tribal lands. What’s happening here could be the tip of a huge iceberg.

It’s now Jason’s turn to lapse into deep thought and when he snaps out of it he says, "You know, Art, what we are about to step into could get very ugly, very dangerous, very quickly. I just read an article on CNN that said the President and folks on the Hill are contemplating trying to privatize government owned and reservation lands to gain access to our oil, gas and mineral resources. Currently, we receive some compensation for the resources that are mined on our land, not a fair amount in my opinion, but something.

"When you consider what the potential value of all the resources on reservation lands might be, the oil, gas, semi-precious stones, copper, silver, uranium and molybdenum, the total is mind boggling. It has to be in the billions of dollars. When this kind of money is involved, there are no rules to the game. Anything goes.

There are organizations out there who are working tirelessly to rectify the situation, groups like the National Congress of American Indians and Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, but the progress is tediously slow.

Are you suggesting that perhaps we should opt out of this opportunity to become legends in our own minds and maybe even to the Navajo people?

Laughing Jason says, No, I’m just pointing out the potential danger we might be dealing with and in saying this implying that you should be ready to start carrying that Glock of yours again.

My license is current and my Glock is always ready for action. It just got to be a pain in the butt carrying it around everywhere I went. I still put a lot of holes in targets in my backyard a couple times a month though.

Good. I wish I could say the same. I bought a Glock G30S a while ago, but haven’t fired it in months. I suppose I should get back with the program if I want to level the playing field a little.

We’re both still in good physical shape and probably still possess the same fighting skills we acquired in the military. We’ll just have to get them out of mothballs and revisit them again.

I think it’s best if we prepare for the worst. I don’t think we’ll be playing with amateurs.

Man, I thought all of this shit was behind us.

My dad who was a Cleveland Indians fan, that shouldn’t surprise anyone, used to say to me when I was complaining about something that didn’t go my way, ‘Hashkeh Naabah, never expect life to throw nothing but fast balls at you. Always expect and be prepared to see a curve ball, sinker, slider or even a knuckler. That way your batting average in life will always be above three hundred and that’s all a man has the right to expect.’

Your dad was quite the philosopher wasn’t he?

That he was and a lot more. He was the smartest man I’ve ever known.

Someone supposedly said, ‘It’s amazing that the older I get the smarter my parents become.’

Laughing Jason says, You know that’s true. Every time we talked he would share at least one example of his Navajo pearls of wisdom which I never appreciated when I was younger.

Well, if we’re going to pay our bills this month we’d better get back to work. I’ll have Regina work up a list of contact info on North American tribes and we can start weaving calls to them amongst our other work.

That works for me.

Chapter 4

A few more days go by and a few more calls are received from Navajo families who have experienced uninvited guests showing up with surveying and drilling equipment without even announcing their presence on their property. When confronted, they could not provide any legal authorization for their activity. The tribal police were notified and the interlopers were escorted off of the reservation, some forcibly. Somehow these people have been convinced that they can access reservation property with impunity. When asked who they worked for they provided the name of a Delaware corporation, Earth’s Treasure Searchers Inc. All attempts to contact management of the company by tribal police and Contos & Gallagher by phone were met with stonewalling, rudeness, and/or a no comment followed by an abrupt disconnect.

It’s now mid-afternoon on a beautiful Friday that has the tourists roaming all over the place with smiles on their faces as they eagerly spend their money at the numerous shops, galleries and restaurants to be found in the city. However, the weather and the ambience generated by the tourists isn’t helping the mood of Jason and Art as they sit in Jason’s office wrestling with the shackles of frustration generated by their lack of progress regarding the trespassing on Navajo land.

The only thing they have accomplished is they now have a somewhat clearer understanding of the problem. At least one corporation, Earth’s Treasure Searchers Inc., and perhaps others are planning to tap tribal resources with the probable exclusion of the Navajos from any of the pecuniary benefits generated by the projects. Also, the likelihood of getting any assistance in dealing with this attempted confiscation of tribal resources which implies some legality to the process, or more likely outright robbery hidden beneath a plethora of misinformation and outright lies, from any federal agency is slim to none.

Jason says, I think it's time for me to approach Valerie Renard with my request for her assistance to help me get the word out to her viewing public and perhaps generate the interest of others in the news media. If we’re going to make any headway in blocking these greedy bastards, we’re going to have to find some way, someone, who can exert sufficient pressure on the U. S. Congress to get them or at least a majority of them to step up to the plate and kick some ass. If we can get the general public on our side, congressional constituencies have also been known to kick ass big time.

It’s the only course of action open to us right now. There are hints of illegality here, but nothing we can take into a court of law. However, we can make a strong case in the court of public opinion if we can convince the news media to get on board. So, give the lady a call and give her your best closing argument.

Art goes back to his office and Jason pulls up Valerie Renard’s contact information on his computer and taps in her phone number on his desk phone.

At least one thing is going his way this week. Ms. Renard is in and takes his call in a few

seconds. At least she probably remembers him.

Ms. Renard, thanks for taking my call. In case your memory needs refreshing, we met at a Native American conference awhile back and you seemed genuinely interested in the plight of all the tribes in the U. S.

I remember our meeting and our conversation. I learned a lot about the challenges facing all of the tribes here in the States. I attended the conference on my own dime as the station was occupied with other stories. I’ve always had an interest in the beliefs, arts and crafts of the American Indian and life on the reservations. Someday I hope to do a show with the different tribes the focus of the report. What can I do for you?

Jason gives it to her with both barrels, relating everything that has occurred since he and Art became involved with the situation and concludes with his plea for her help in putting pressure on the powers that be and what he’s hoping for if she agrees to help. My partner and I have been trying to enlist the support of every federal agency we can think of with nothing to show for our efforts. Getting the news media and the general public involved is the only course of action left open to us, our goal being to exert so much pressure on the political arena that it will be forced to take action to address the situation. Will you and can you help us with this?

I am more than willing, but the challenge will be to convince my bosses to get involved. This could be a big story if it’s handled correctly and I’m going to have to come up with a powerful presentation to pull it off. Give me a couple of days to get my act together and make my pitch. I’ll let you know the outcome sometime this coming Monday. That’s all I can promise right now.

Your willingness to take a stab at this means a lot to me and I’m very grateful. Thanks Ms. Renard.

Please call me Valerie. I think we’re moving beyond the appropriateness of formality. If my bosses decide to go along with me, you and I are going to be fighting side by side in the trenches of public opinion and political mayhem.

Okay Valerie and please feel free to call me Jason.

What’s your Navajo name?

Hashkeh Naabah. It means angry warrior.

Hashkeh Naabah, I like the sound of that.

Chuckling Jason says, For your first attempt at saying it, you did pretty good for a paleface.

Valerie says, You’re putting me on, right? American Indians don’t use that term do they?

To be honest with you, the only time I’ve ever heard it and the term injun used was in those old Cowboy and Indian movies that every once in a while show up on late night TV.

Good. Well, I have to get back to reviewing the material for tonight’s broadcast. Thank you for thinking of me to help you with your situation. I’ll do my very best to not disappoint you. Bye for now.

Jason’s thinking, I sure wouldn’t mind getting to know that lady better.

Chapter 5

Usually, most folks think weekends fly by much too quickly, including Jason and Art, but this one seems to be dragging on forever for the two lawyers. They haven’t a clue about what they should do if Valerie strikes out with her bosses and this is playing havoc with their peace of mind.

When Monday morning rolls around, they both beat Regina into the office, hoping to receive a call with good news from Valerie early on in the morning to start their day off on a good note. It doesn’t happen. As four o’clock approaches, they still haven’t heard from Valerie. It’s not a good sign. Art says, One of three things has happened. Valerie hasn’t had a chance to present the idea to her bosses yet, she’s in the process of making her pitch for the idea or her request has been denied and she’s been too busy to get back to us.

Jason says, If her station declines, we can always try other members of the news media. I don’t see where we have any other options. Our best bet is with Valerie. At least she knows who I am and thinks our idea has merit.

A little after five Jason and Art are in Jason’s office reviewing some pending cases when Regina stops by to say good night. Having lost track of time, they also decide to pack it in for the day and head out for PJ’s for a couple of drinks to unwind. As they are heading for the door, Jason’s phone rings and he damn near knocks Art on his butt as he races back into his office to answer it. As he was hoping, it’s Valerie. I’m sorry it’s taken so long for me to get back to you, Jason. I made my pitch at nine this morning and they said they’d discuss the merits of the idea and get back to me before day’s end. They just called me with their decision. It’s good news. They’ve given me the go ahead. Don’t be mistaken about their motives. They are not being altruistic. They see the potential for a substantial increase in viewership to be derived from the likelihood of some surprising revelations of dirty politics and scandal embedded in the dealings of our lawmakers with the Native American tribes. Whatever their motives, you now have a powerful pulpit from which to make your case. How about we get together for lunch tomorrow to discuss how we can work together to shake things up and make things happen? Can you meet me in Phoenix? I know the drive is a pain in the fanny. I hate to drive and avoid it whenever I can.

I could and I wouldn’t have to drive as I’m a helicopter pilot and have my own chopper. How about I take you to dinner at Dahl and Deluca’s here in Sedona? I owe you big time. I’ll fly down to Sky Harbor and pick you up there say about six. Have you ever ridden in a helicopter?

"No, but you don’t have to do that. I understand the fuel for those things is very expensive. We’re both going to have the opportunity to benefit from our joint efforts to give all of the

American tribes a fair deal and stamp out the hypocrisy. We can discuss our game plan on the phone."

"Even so, I’d still like to take you to dinner. It will give me a chance to do something I love,