The first one to find out was not Jonni. It was, of course, a guard. Ignored most of the time except as fixtures, they were still human beings and reacted as any human would, even trained ones: they ran. No secondary explosion followed. No sudden approach of invaders from the shadows, no additional hidden bomb or barrage of ordnance. It was quiet.
When they got the courage to approach they saw a muddy area of shattered earth in the middle of an area of shattered stone. Their boss's headless corpse lie on the ground as if this had been a battlefield. Puddles of water covered the ground, some dyed red from DeMorrell's blood. A terrorist attack? A gas main explosion? But there should be no gas main here.
And what would be happening to them? The line of succession wasn't exactly obvious. And many powerful men's organizations had collapsed upon their death and the struggle for control of the organization. They just hoped they would remain employed--DeMorrell was not the kind of man whose demise would make his employees feel personal sadness, and his employees were not the kind who would--and could only follow procedure. The standard procedure for any unusual event was to tell DeMorrell immediately. But what was the procedure for an unusual event that happened to DeMorrell?
Lunging at the doctor was not the best idea for Nora. She should have shot him instead. The only thing which kept her from getting her throat slit by the doctor's scalpel was his surprise in the idea that she was attacking him at all. The scalpel buried itself in the shoulder, drawing blood, and the taser clattered to the floor. The doctor wrapped his hands around her neck as ordered; he had no idea why DeMorrell told him to use his full military training to kill anyone causing trouble, but then he didn't realize DeMorrell could revive anyone killed using the stone. Then two prongs hit him in the back of the neck and, the electricity rapidly overcoming his stamina, he let go and dropped to the ground twitching. Behind him was Jonni, sitting up in the bed and holding Nora's discarded taser.
"I don't know what you remember, grandpa..." said Jonni.
"Poor girl," said Nora. "You must be delirious."
"That answers that question," said Jonni. "I have no idea if you're going to believe this, but it's urgent that I explain exactly what is going on here. My real name is Jon, and this all started with this magic idol...."
Nora looked at Jonni skeptically as she waited for the whole incredible story. But Jonni never finished. Suddenly the door opened. The lab, hidden as it was behind locks and corridors and secret panels, still had a visitor. Two, in fact. Nora recognized the two guards immediately. They halted and looked around. They saw the unconscious doctor, Jonni with a weapon, and Nora standing there.
"This is it, grandpa," said Jonni. "We lost. The guards are here..."
The two guards surveyed the room.
"Wait," said Jonni, "you're not going to go get Lucius?"
The guards looked at each other. Finally the Creole man on the left said "He's dead. A bolt of lightning struck the fountain and everything exploded. Apologies for the bad news, ma'am. What shall I do with his body? And with the body over there?" He pointed to the unconscious doctor.
Dumbstruck, Jonni could only stammer out, "The doctor's not dead. It was a taser. I would leave Lucius for at least a day."
"All right," said the guard and both of them left.
"You have no idea," said Nora. "You're just a girl. But I think I see. Your husband really is dead. The only person around to be his heir is you. Probably as a figurehead, but they don't want to do something hostile to a woman who may have the power of life and death over them, even as a figurehead."
"Then I have to go," said Jonni.
"I know he doesn't treat you well," said Nora. "It's obvious from your face, and this room, and everything you've said and done. I'm glad you're willing to go, but we need to stick together if we want to get away from here safely."
"I have to go," she said. "Immediately. I need to find something that he has. If I can get it, things may be a lot easier. Can you stay with the babies and Lucia? For just a little while?"
"Maybe if you stay, you can tell me the story you wanted to tell."
"I have to go!" she exclaimed. "You can come with me and you might want to, but this is as urgent as can be. I never expected something like this would happen, but once I find the stone, it'll all be clear." She stood up from the bed, and immediately collapsed.
"Let me help you," said Nora. "You're still under some effect from the anesthetic, as well as the birth itself."
Jonni nodded feebly and said "As long as you can get me to that fountain...."
Nora didn't know how long they would remain untroubled by the guards. Probably until some person tried to take control of the organization, which could happen within minutes. But they stayed untroubled for long enough to make it to the site of the former fountain. Jonni, "Nora", Lucia, and the babies must have been the first people to arrive, or close to the first. The scene was awful, and Nora couldn't understand why a wife who obviously didn't really like her husband would come to see and smell this except to gloat, which she wasn't doing. She was instead reaching into the body's pockets....
... and in triumph, she took out a small reddish colored stone. "I wish for... for some normal clothes."
Nora was shocked to see that the famous businessman's widow was no longer dressed in a hospital gown, but a blouse, skirt, hose, shoes... she had said she wished for clothes... and the clothes appeared. "It did what you said. A wishing stone."
"Yes, it's a wishing stone," said Jonni. "I need to fix Lucia next. She can't speak without his permission. Well, I wish that DeMorrell's will gives Lucia permission to speak and this permission takes place as soon as he's dead."
"Damn him," said Lucia, unladylike.
"And next..." said Jonni. "I..." She lowered her head and said "I'm not sure what to do."
DeMorrell had wished they'd raise their children together. Barring some fantastical idea about vampires or zombies, that meant that if he was ever killed, the death couldn't stick. If she didn't wish him back to life, the wish would ensure that something did, and it could be something a lot more hostile than herself.
There were two possibilities. First, whatever killed him (could it be the real Nora, in her grandfather's body, back from the grave somehow? Her grandfather had given his body powers.) was powerful enough to negate other magic and she didn't need to do a thing.
Second, it wasn't. In which case she'd better wish him back. But there was one trick: he had wished she could never hurt him. If she brought him back in a less than perfect state, that would not be hurting; going from dead to alive-but-crippled was still a net benefit to him, not harm.
"I don't understand," said Nora.
"You will. I wish you believe that you're really my grandfather. I don't think I can change your memory, but I can still do this. Now, grandpa, here's my dilemma...."
