Several miles went by, then Kelly spoke softly. "This is ference room, away from the hustle of the control center,
the road on which Franklin was reported to have been when General Gullick had walked in.
killed." "Where?" Gullick asked.
Turcotte glanced over from the driver's seat. "It's not "Capitol Reef National Park. It's in the south-central
your fault." part of the state."
Kelly returned his glance. "Maybe we should have left "Any sign of the others?"
him there. He wouldn't be dead at least." "No, sir."
"He'd be worse than dead if he was still in that damn "How did he die?"
coffin they had him in," Turcotte said. "We didn't kidnap "It appears he fell off a cliff."
him, we didn't take him to Dulce, and we certainly didn't Gullick thought about it for a few moments. "They're
mess with his mind. Gullick's people did that. Remember heading to Salt Lake City. Send some Nightscape people
it. Don't start what-iffing. We did the right thing." there. Have them watch all media outlets."
"I'm going to miss him," Kelly said. "He was a good "If we send people out, we'll have to cut back on some of
friend." our security here, sir."
"You'll have to save that for later," Turcotte said. "Right Gullick glared at his subordinate.
now we have a job to do." The road was a long black "I'll get right on it, sir."
ribbon in front of them, the headlights punching a cone of "I want the body policed up, also," Gullick said.
brightness down the center. "This might help. Remember "Yes, sir."
that guy Prague? The one who set you up?" "One less loose end to deal with," Gullick muttered. He
"Yes."
"He was my commander in Nebraska." turned back to his computer and the after-action report
Kelly sat up straighten "The one you killed." from Dulce, which he had been reading. "What's this
"The very same." rongorongo thing they took?"
"Good." "From Easter Island, sir," Quinn replied. "It's one of the
rune sources."
"So they can read the damn thing and we were never
able to?" Gullick asked.
"If Nabinger is legitimate, yes, sir, they can." Quinn had
brought up the same file the general was reading. "They
also took the photos of the tablets from Hangar Two."
322 ROBERT DOHERTY
Gullick tapped his large forefinger on the desktop. 3O
"Nothing in the media?"
"No, sir."
"Nothing from any of our sources?"
"No, sir."
"They just disappeared and left Simmons's body there?"
The tone indicated it was a rhetorical question and Ma-
jor Quinn remained silent.
"Where's Jarvis? Is he out of town?"
The question caught Quinn off guard. His fingers flew
over the keyboard. "Uh, he's in Las Vegas, sir."
"I want him nearby. Tell him to monitor the kooks at the MELLIS AIR FORCE BASE RANGE, NEVADA
mailbox. We're too close to have some flake on the perime- ADJUSTED T-26 HOURS, 2 MINUTES
ter like we had during the last Nightscape mission--the "Do you think this will work?" Kelly asked.
one that helped start all this shit." Turcotte was applying burnt cork to his face, turning the
"Yes, sir. I'll relay that." already dark skin black. "It's a good plan. The best one
Gullick stood. "Stay on top of everything. Let me know we've had so far."
the second there's a peep from those people or from any of Kelly stared at him. "Hell, we barely had any plans be-
our media sources."
fore."
"Yes, sir." Quinn waited until General Gullick had left
the room. Then he left his side chair and sat down in the "That's why it's the best," Turcotte said. "I think we've
seat at the end of the table: Gullick's chair. He pulled out got a chance. That's all you can ask for. We've got two
the keyboard that was stashed underneath the tabletop and chances at this. One of them should work. I don't think
turned the general's computer on. they'll be expecting us, which, as I've explained before, is to
He began searching, going through files, looking for our advantage." He looked out at the darkening sky. "It's
some clue as to why things were happening here the way strange--General Gullick should be expecting us, but he
they were. What was the rush for the mothership flight? won't be."
Why had the Nightscape missions changed from being rela- "Why should he be and why isn't he?" Kelly asked, con-
tively benign to now including abductions and mutilations? fused.
Was there a national security objective involved here that "He should be because it's what he would do," Turcotte
Quinn had not been included on? said, checking the magazine in his pistol. "He won't be
Quinn gave himself ten minutes, knowing that Gullick because he's had his ass down in that underground bunker
was a creature of habit, then he shut the computer down. too long. He's forgotten the feel of being out in the field
He hadn't found anything, but the next time the general and in action."
came in and left, he'd go back to looking. He slammed the magazine home, chambered a round,
324 ROBERT DOHERTY 325
AREA 51
and put it back in the shoulder holster on his combat vest. school so many years ago. The only sound he heard was his
"Ready?" own breath.
"Ready," Kelly said. She looked at the others. Von The knee was holding up so far, and he was careful to
Seeckt was in the passenger seat up front. Nabinger was in keep his stride shortened to reduce strain. He was pres-
the rear. The van was parked off the shoulder of a dirt road ently moving along the base of the mountain he had ini-
on the edge of the perimeter of the base range. Large signs tially set out for. He was scanning the slope with the off-
were spaced along the west side of the road, warning that center portion of his retina. He finally spotted what he'd
the land that lay beyond was restricted. A large mountain been looking for. A thin animal trail headed up and
about four miles away was silhouetted against the setting Turcotte turned onto it. After a quarter mile it switched
sun to their direct west. back on itself. Turcotte halted and caught his breath. He
"You all take care of each other," Turcotte said. looked up. There was a long way to go. He started running.
"Shouldn't we be synchronizing watches or something?"
Kelly asked. "It's what they do in the movies, and timing is
rather important to this plan--at least what I've caught of
it." TEMPIUTE, NEVADA
"Good idea." Turcotte peeled back the Velcro cover on There was a phone on the outside of the Alelnn, the local
his watch. "I've got eight on the dot in two minutes." bar in the town of Tempiute. The same town where Johnny
Kelly checked her watch. "Okay or check, or whatever Simmons had met Franklin the previous week. The town's
you're supposed to say." She reached out and put her hand main claim to fame was its proximity to Area 51, and the
on Turcotte's shoulder. "You can count on us. We'll be Inn was a watering hole for the itinerant UFO watchers
there." who passed through continuously.
Turcotte smiled. "I know. Good luck." He turned and Kelly parked the van next to the phone, and she and Von
was gone, loping off into the darkness, lost in the shadow Seeckt got out and ambled over, he leaning on his cane. He
of the mountain. patted his pockets, then looked at Kelly. She shook her
"Let's go," Kelly ordered. head. "Use my phone card." She rattled off instructions
Nabinger turned the van around and they headed north. and the number Turcotte had given her earlier.
AREA 51
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA
The rhythm of the run had settled in to Turcotte's muscles
a half hour ago. The various weapons and other equipment It was just before ten in the evening local time and Lisa
attached to the combat vest had required a bit of cinching Duncan was seated by the small desk in her hotel suite,
down shortly after he'd left the van, and now everything on watching CNN, when the phone rang. She picked it up on
him was silent--just as he had been taught in Ranger the third ring, expecting to hear her son's voice on the
326 ROBERT DOHERTY 327
AREA 51
other end. Instead a heavily accented voice that she imme- chemical warfare branch. Hemstadt was taken in by Paper-
diately recognized began speaking. clip. I saw him in 1946 in Dulce. During the war he was
"Dr. Duncan, this is Werner Von Seeckt. General Gul- responsible for supplying the death camps with gas. He
lick has been lying to you about what is going on at Area 51 also participated in much experimentation with new
and at the facility in Dulce, New Mexico." gases of course, such experimentation had to be done on
"Professor Von Seeckt, I-- living humans to be truly valid.
"Listen. We don't have much time! Have you ever heard "Since 1946 I have not been allowed into Dulce nor have
of Nightscape in conjunction with Area 51?" I heard a word about Hemstadt again. However, I do not
"Yes. They run psychological prep-- believe he just vanished. Such a man was notorious, and
"They do much more than that," Von Seeckt cut in. such people don't disappear without much help from pow-
"They kidnap people and brainwash them, and I am sure erful people--government people.
even much worse than that. They conduct cattle mutila- "There is someone else you must speak to," Von Seeckt
tions. They do much more." said, and there was a brief pause, then a woman's voice
"Like what?" came on the line.
Von Seeckt didn't reply to that. "How about Operation "Dr. Duncan, my name is Kelly Reynolds. I was given
Paperclip?" your name by Captain Mike Turcotte. He has tried twice to
Duncan picked up her pen and pulled the small pad of contact you using the number you gave him. Both times the
hotel stationery close. "What do you know about Paper- number was reported to be out of order. He says that you
clip?" must trust no one."
"Do you know what's going on at the lab in Dulce? The "Where is Captain Turcotte now?" Duncan asked.
experiments with implanted memories?" "He's on his way into Area 51."
Duncan wrote the word DULCE on her notepad. "Back "Why are you telling me all this?" Duncan asked.
up to Paperclip. I'm interested in that. Is there a connec- "Because we want to meet you at the Cube in Area 51
tion between Paperclip and what is going on at Dulce?" tonight. You must not inform General Gullick or any of the
"I do not know exactly what is going on at Dulce," Von other members of Majic-12 that you are coming."
Seeckt said, "but I just rescued a reporter who was being "What is going on?" Duncan demanded.
held prisoner there, and he killed himself in response to "Be at the Cube tonight. No later than midnight local
what they did to him there." time. We'll explain everything then." The phone went
"I don't--" Duncan began, but Von Seeckt cut her off dead.
again. Duncan slowly put the receiver down. She picked up an-
"To reply to your question, does the name General Karl other binder. This one had a cover identifying it as coming
Hemstadt mean anything to you?" from the Justice Department and indicating that it was
Duncan wrote the name down. "I seem to remember copy two of two copies made. She flipped it open and
hearing that name somewhere." lumbed through, rapidly scanning. On page seventy-eight
"Hemstadt was the head of Wa Pruf 9, the Wehrmacht's she found what she was looking for: General Karl Hem-
328 ROBERT DOHERTY 329
AREA 51
stadt was indeed listed as having likely been taken in by the especially the heat rising from his head--but he hoped that
Paperclip operation. the signature would be so much smaller than man shaped,
She gathered together her binders and threw them in a that the monitors might assume it was a rabbit or other
briefcase, then headed for the door. She had a taxi to small creature and ignore it.
catch. What he could not ignore any longer was the pain from
his knee. He reached down and felt the swelling. Not good.
But he also knew he had no choice. He checked his watch.
TEMPIUTE, NEVADA He was ahead of schedule, so he could move more slowly.
It would not do him any good to go over the mountain
Von Seeckt walked back to the van with Kelly. "What do early, thermal blanket or no blanket. He continued on his
you think?" she asked. way up the mountain, at a pace that kept the pain to a
"She finally bit when I mentioned Paperclip," Von minimum.
Seeckt said.
"Do you think she'll alert Gullick?" Kelly asked as she
got in the driver's seat. Von Seeckt sat to her right. Nab-
inger was in the back, looking at the rongorongo tablet. NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, NEVADA
"No," Von Seeckt said. "She's not one of them. The "I want to see the duty officer," Lisa Duncan said to the
presidential adviser was usually on the outside. After all, sergeant seated behind the counter at the flight operations
the slot was a political appointment that could change ev- center at the base of the Nellis Air Force Base tower.
ery four years. I know for certain she was not fully in- "And you are?" the sergeant asked without much inter-
briefed." est.
"Well, we'll find out soon enough," Kelly said, throwing Duncan pulled out her wallet and flipped open the spe-
the van into gear and leaving the parking lot. cial ID she'd been given upon getting her appointment. "I
am the President's chief scientific adviser."
"The president of . . . ?" the sergeant began, then he
AREA 51 halted as he saw the seal on the laminated card. "Excuse
me, ma'am! I'll get the major right away!"
Turcotte cut a hole for his head in the center of the thin The major wasn't quite as impressed with the ID card
silver survival blanket and pulled it down over his shoul- when he heard what she wanted. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but
ders. He wrapped the blanket around his torso and cinched the Groom Lake area is completely off limits to all flights.
it tight with cord. It hung down to his knees and fit him like Even if I could get you a helicopter at this time of the
a poncho. Designed to keep heat in during an emergency, evening, they would not be authorized to fly into that air-
Turcotte was counting on it to keep him from being identi- space."
fied by the thermal sights that were part of the outer secu- "Major," Duncan said, "it is imperative that I get flown
rity perimeter of Area 51. He would still show up-- out to Groom Lake this evening."
330 331
ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51
The duty officer reached for the phone. "I can call out THE MAILBOX, VICINITY AREA 51
there and see if they will authorize a flight and then-- "That's it," Von Seeckt said. "The mailbox."
"No," Duncan cut in. "I don't want them to know I'm There were a half-dozen vehicles parked off the side of
coming." the dirt road and a group of people scattered about. Some
The major shook his head. "I'm sorry, then. There's were well prepared, seated in recliners, while others stood,
nothing I can do." scanning the horizon with a variety of binoculars and night
"Who do you work for?" Duncan asked, her voice cold. vision devices.
"Uh, well, I work in the ops section for Colonel "Dim your lights," Von Seeckt said.
Thomas." Kelly pushed the button in and with their parking lights
Duncan shook her head. "Higher." on they pulled off to the side of the road. She put the
"The base commander is-- parking brake on, then stepped out. Von Seeckt joined her,
"Higher." while Nabinger remained in the back of the van.
The duty officer glanced nervously at the sergeant who Kelly walked up to an old couple who were comfortably
had first talked to Duncan. "This base falls under the com- seated in front of a pair of telescopes, with a cooler be-
mand of--" tween their chairs. "Excuse me," Kelly began.
"Yes, dear?" the old woman replied.
"Who's your commander-in-chief?" Duncan asked. "Do you know a man named the Captain?"
"The President, ma'am." She chuckled. "Everyone here does." She pointed to a
Duncan leaned over the counter and picked up a phone. van parked about twenty feet away. "He's there."
"Do you want to talk to him?" Kelly led Von Seeckt over. The van was parked so that
"Do I want to talk . . ." the major repeated dumbly. the rear end pointed toward the mountains that marked
"No, ma'am." the edge of Area 51. The back doors were wide open and a
"Then I suggest you get me a helicopter right away to very large scope was sticking out. Behind it a man in a
take me where I want to go." wheelchair had his face pressed up against the eyepiece.
The major looked at the ID card lying on the counter He pulled back as Kelly stepped up. He was a black man,
one more time, then turned to the sergeant. "Get me the his lower half covered by a blanket draped over his lap. His
PR on duty." hair was white and he looked to be about sixty years old.
"PR?" Duncan asked. "I'm Kelly Reynolds."
"Pararescue," the major explained. "We always have one The man simply looked at them.
crew of pararescue men on call for emergencies." "I'm a friend of Johnny Simmons," she continued.
"They have a helicopter?" "So he got the tape," the man growled.
"Yes, ma'am, they have a helicopter." The major glanced "Yes," Kelly said.
at the sergeant on the phone. "And they know how to fly "Took you long enough. Where's Simmons?"
it." "He's dead." She pointed to the west. "He tried to infil-
332 ROBERT DOHERTY 333
AREA 51
trate Area 51 and got caught. They took him to Dulce, u want." Haverstaw put her flight helmet on. "My ass is
New Mexico. We broke him out but he killed himself." overed." She opened the door on the pilot's side. "Be-
The old man didn't seem too surprised. "I heard they do sides, I hate seeing those big no-fly areas on the flight
strange things to people down at Dulce." maps. Kind of view them as a challenge. Hell, I'm looking
Kelly stepped closer. "I'll tell you the full story real forward to this." She extended her hand toward the rear.
quick. Then we need your help." "Climb on board."
NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, NEVADA VICINITY AREA 51
The officer in the flight suit stuck out a hand. "Lieutenant Taking a deep breath, Kelly called out. "Excuse me, every-
Haverstaw at your service, ma'am." one! I have something to say that you all might be inter-
"Call me Lisa," Duncan said. ested in."
The officer smiled. "I'm Debbie." She pointed at the The UFO watchers all turned and looked at her, but no
other people in flight suits. "That's my copilot, Lieutenant one moved until the Captain's voice boomed out behind
Pete Jefferson; our PRs are Sergeant Hancock and Ser- her. "Get over here!"
geant Murphy." The two men were stowing gear on the They gathered round, a loose circle of figures in the
back of the UH-60 Blackhawk.
"What are they loading?" Duncan asked. dark.
"These people need our help," the Captain said. "You
"Our standard rescue gear," Haverstraw said. all know I been here a long time watching. Twenty-two
"I just need you to fly me out to Groom Lake," Duncan
said. years, to be exact. Tonight we're going to be doing more
"SOP--standing operating procedures," Haverstraw than just watch."
said. "We always carry our rescue gear when we fly. Our As the Captain spoke, outlining what Kelly had asked, a
primary mission, other than flying presidential scientific ad- figure at the back separated from the group and slipped
visers around, is to rescue downed aircrews. You never away into the darkness. When the car drove away, lights
know if we might get diverted to a mission." She smiled. out, no one noticed, so caught up were they in what the
"Besides, from what the duty officer briefed me, we're fly- Captain was saying.
ing an unfiled mission into Area 51 airspace. Who knows
what we'll run into? I've heard some strange stories about
that place." AREA 51
"Do you have a problem with running this mission?"
Duncan asked, slipping her professional mask back on. The glow from the aboveground Groom Lake complex was
"No problem. I've been ordered by the post duty officer, off to Turcotte's right as he finished descending the moun-
who represents the post commander, to fly you wherever tain he had just crossed. The runway cut across his front,
334 ROBERT DOHERTY 335
AREA 51
and beyond that, the mountainside under which the She pulled onto the dirt road and turned west, the Cap-
mothership rested, according to Von Seeckt's directions. tain's van next, then the rest of the UFO watchers' vehi-
So far, so good, Turcotte thought to himself. But for the cles. They rolled down the road, past the warning signs and
rest of the way he was going to need help. He checked his past the first set of laser detectors.
watch. Fifteen minutes. Gritting his teeth, Turcotte set to
work on his knee, keeping the tendons from tightening up
by jabbing his fingers into the swollen flesh and massaging
it.
NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE
Sergeant Hancock showed Lisa Duncan how to put on the
helmet and talk on the built-in radio.
"We're clear to lift," Lieutenant Haverstraw announced
from the front. "You all set back there?"
"All set," Duncan said.
"We're going to fly at one thousand feet until we get
close to the boundary. Then I'm going down low. It'll get a
little rough then, but I want to stay off their screens as long
as possible. Give us a better chance of getting you to
Groom Lake."
With a shudder the Blackhawk lifted and then banked to
the north.
VICINITY AREA 51
"I've got something here," Nabinger said, holding up the
wooden tablet he'd taken out of the Dulce archives.
Through all the phone calls and driving he'd never stopped
working on the translation.
"We don't have time for that right now," Kelly replied.
She tapped her wristwatch. "Show time."
337
AREA 51
31 ot inside and Quinn reached out and touched the man on
the shoulder. "Sir, we've got multiple penetrations on the
mailbox road. Looks like our UFO watchers are coming in
for a closer look. Jarvis just called and said that Von Seeckt
and that female reporter are with them, so this may be
more than it appears."
Gullick swung his legs onto the floor. He was already
dressed for action in camouflage fatigues. "Alert Night-
scape and get the choppers ready," he ordered. As soon as
Quinn was gone, he reached into his pocket and popped
THE CUBE, AREA 51 another pill. His heart rate immediately accelerated and he
ADJUSTED T-22 HOURS, 9 MINUTES was ready for action. Then he followed Quinn into the
"What do you have?" Major Quinn had been alerted by control room.
the duty officer and he'd quickly shut down Gullick's com- "They're turning off the road!" the operator announced.
puter and gone out to the main control center in the Cube. "Or at least a couple of them are," he amended as he tried
"Multiple vehicles in sector three," the operator an- to keep up with the vehicles. "They're spreading out over
nounced, pointing at his computer screen. "Moving west the desert and still coming this way." He pressed a finger
along the road." over an earpiece in his right ear. "The air police don't have
"Give me IR and thermal from the mountain," Quinn enough vehicles in that area to get them all in time. Some
ordered. of them are going to breach the outer perimeter."
The operator hit the proper command. A line of vehicles Gullick looked over the man's shoulder at the tactical
showed up rolling down the road. display. "I want Nightscape airborne in one mike. Also get
"What does the mailbox look like?" Quinn asked. the standby bouncer crew ready."
Another scene came on screen: a lone mailbox, nothing "Yes, sir."
around it, which confirmed to Quinn where the vehicles
had come from. Twenty miles to the south Lieutenant Haverstraw keyed
"What the hell are they doing?" Quinn muttered to him- the intercom. "We're going down to the carpet now. Hold
self as the camera shifted back to the line of vehicles. on."
"Alert the air police and have them stop these people." The Blackhawk swooped down toward the desert floor
"I've got Jarvis on the phone," another man called out. and Lisa Duncan looked out the right side window and up
Quinn picked up the phone and listened for a minute. at a rocky ridgeline less than forty feet away. Her fingers
He grimaced as he put the phone down. He turned and dug into the webbing strapped across her chest and she did
quickly walked over to a wooden door and knocked. He exactly as Haverstraw had suggested--she hung on.
opened it without waiting for an answer. A figure lay on a
338 ROBERT DOHERTY
AREA 51 339
"We've got a hot IR source coming in sector six," Quinn "We're going to make it," Nabinger said from the seat
announced. "Low and fast." next to her.
"What is it?" Gullick demanded. Flashing lights were separating from the steady lights
"Helicopter. It's below radar but we're picking it up marking the buildings. The lights were going up.
from above." "You spoke too soon. We're going to have company."
"Check FFI," Gullick ordered, referring to the friend or "I'll see what I can do to help," Von Seeckt called out
foe transponder every military aircraft carried. from the back. He was working on the computer keyboard
"It's one of ours," Quinn said. He hit the keys rapidly. attached to the communications console, his fingers flash-
"A Blackhawk assigned to the 325th Pararescue unit at ing over the keys.
Nellis."
"Tell them to get the fuck out of my airspace," Gullick Turcotte's boots touched hardtop and he began sprinting
snapped. He turned back to the ground tactical display, across the runway. He felt naked, and he instinctively
watching as the air police stopped seven of the thirteen tucked his chin into his chest and bent forward, half ex-
vehicles coming in. The remaining six were inside the outer pecting a shot to come out of the dark. On the far side of
perimeter now. Past the air police cordon and spread out the runway, about a half mile away, at the base of the
across two security sectors. mountainside, he could make out a dark mass against the
rocks--camouflage netting covering something. He felt a
"They're calling us," Haverstraw announced. "We're being bit of hope seeing that. At least it appeared Von Seeckt's
ordered to turn back." guess wasn't wrong.
"Ignore them," Duncan ordered.
"Yes, ma'am." "We've got someone on the runway," Quinn announced.
"Put it on the main screen," General Gullick said.
"No response from the Blackhawk, sir," Quinn reported. The IR scope mounted on top of the nearby mountain
General Gullick rubbed his forehead. had a resolution of 300 power and it clearly showed a man
"Should I authorize Landscape to engage when in running.
range?" Quinn asked. "How come we didn't catch his thermal signature ear-
"Tell them to track but hold on firing until I give the lier?" Gullick asked.
order," Gullick said. Quinn hit a few keys and the picture changed. The man's
"Nightscape is airborne," Quinn said. figure disappeared and there was only a small blob of red
moving on the screen. "That's thermal imaging of the tar-
Kelly spun the wheel of the van violently and a plume of He's wearing some sort of thermal protection." Quinn
sand spun out from beneath the rear wheels. She could see hanged the view and a map overlay of Area 51 came up.
the lights of the Groom Lake complex less than two miles He's heading for the engineer site outside Hangar Two,"
ahead. Quinn added.
34O ROBERT DOHERTY 341
AREA 51
"Divert one of the Nightscape aircraft," Gullick ordered. sive maneuvers. Hancock and Murphy, watch our rear and
"Stop that man, number one priority." get ready if it's a heat seeker!"
"Yes, sir." Quinn began speaking into his microphone, The Blackhawk turned on its left side and then jerked
then suddenly turned back to the general. "We've got inter- back right. Duncan watched as the two crewmen in the rear
ference, sir! I can't talk to Nightscape. Someone's cutting slid open the cargo doors and cold air swirled in. They
in and out on the radio." were wearing harnesses around their bodies and leaned out
the aircraft, looking down.
In the back of the van Von Seeckt smiled as he heard the "I see a launch!" Murphy yelled. "Four o'clock. Climb-
excited voices of the Nightscape pilots trying to communi- ing fast!" He was holding a flare and he fired it out and up,
cate back to the Cube and with each other to coordinate hoping the heat of the flare would divert the missile. At the
their actions. He pressed down on the transmit button for same time Haverstraw slammed the cyclic forward and
they rapidly began losing what little altitude they had left.
the van's HF radio again, then let it up after a few seconds.
The missile roared by the right side of the helicopter,
Then again.
missing the outer edge of their rotor blades by less than ten
feet. "That was close," Haverstraw said over the intercom,
Gullick looked at the overlay of Area 51 and tried to make understating the obvious, as she reeled in collective and
sense of the various symbols. He had three threats: the cyclic and stopped their descent barely above the desert
man nearing the engineer site, the inbound helicopter, and floor.
the vehicles coming in over the desert. This had to be a "That was close," Duncan said, looking out at the
highly coordinated infiltration, and he could take no fur- ground less than twenty feet below.
ther chances. Even without radio he could still control "I don't think they want us here," Haverstraw said dryly.
things. He called out his orders. "Put me on the radio to their headquarters," Duncan
"Alert the Landscape antiair sites by land line that they said.
are in weapons-free status." "No can do," Haverstraw replied. "The frequency listed
"Yes, sir." for Groom Lake is filled with interference."
"Warn the engineer site of the man infiltrating their po-
sition. He is to be stopped with extreme sanction." "Halt!" a voice called out in the dark to Turcotte's right.
"We have no land line to the engineer site," Quinn re- He could make out a figure wearing night vision goggles
ported. "Their guard net is the Nightscape frequency. We and carrying a submachine gun moving toward him.
can't get through to them." In reply Turcotte fired twice, both rounds low, hitting the
"Goddammit!" Gullick yelled in frustration. man in the legs and dropping him. There was no need for
another death. He regretted what had happened in the lab.
A tone screeched in Duncan's headset. Up front in the Circumstances and anger had forced his hand there. He
cockpit a red light flashed on the control panel. dashed forward and kicked the Calico submachine gun out
"Missile lock!" Lieutenant Haverstaw called out. "Eva- the man's hands and ripped the goggles off his head.
342 ROBERT DOHERTY
343
AREA 51
"Fuck!" the man cursed, reaching for his sidearm, Lisa Duncan twisted in her seat and looked forward as
Turcotte rapped him upside the head with the barrel of the Jefferson spoke again. "Uh, Deb, he's--oh, Christ!" the
Calico and the man was out. Turcotte checked the copilot screamed out as the AH-6 filled up the entire for-
wounds--no arteries hit. He quickly wrapped a bandage ward view. At the last moment the other chopper suddenly
from the man's own combat vest around each thigh to stop veered, averting the midair collision.
the bleeding, then continued on his way. "Chicken," Haverstraw muttered. She raised her voice.
"We'll be there in thirty seconds."
An AH-6 Little Bird gunship flashed by just overhead.
Kelly pressed down on the accelerator. The lights of the "The hangar doors are opening!" Nabinger called out as a
complex were less than a half mile away. sliver of red light appeared ahead.
"The doors to the hangar are closed," Nabinger said. "I'm heading for it," Kelly said.
"What are you going to do?"
"I just want to get there in one piece. Then I'll figure "Hey!" the sergeant seated inside the humvee called out as
something out," Kelly replied. the muzzle of a submachine gun appeared in the door.
"Watch that thing!"
"The helicopter is still inbound," Quinn reported. "Who- "No, you watch it," Turcotte said, edging into the vehi-
ever is flying it is damn good. They're below tracking by cle. He looked at the computer system and the wires lead-
ground radar. We can't relay from satellite tracking to the
ing out of the black box hooked up to it. "This is to blow
AA sites because of the jamming." the charges to open up Hangar Two?"
"Launch the alert bouncer," Gullick ordered. "Have it
bring down the helicopter." The sergeant was most definitely watching the end of the
muzzle, the black hole seeming to grow larger every second
Haverstraw looked out her windshield. There was a lot go- it was fixed between his eyes. "Yes."
ing on. She could see vehicles down below in a circus of "Turn it on and bring up the firing sequence program."
headlights running about. There were several helicopters
flitting about also. One of those turned toward her. "Geez, look at that," Haverstraw said as she set the
"We've got company," Lieutenant Jefferson said. Blackhawk down two hundred meters away from the large
Haverstraw didn't reply. She watched the AH-6 come door that was sliding open in the side of the mountain. Red
straight toward them from a half mile away. light spilled out onto the concrete and a disk was hovering
"Uh, we're on a collision course," Jefferson said. there. It moved forward when the door was wide enough.
There was a quarter mile between the two aircraft, "What the hell is that thing?"
pilot of the AH-6 was flashing his spotlight at them. "Thanks for the ride," Duncan said. "You'd better shut
"I think he wants us to land," Jefferson said. down and wait here until things get cleared up."
Haverstraw remained silent, her hands tight on the con- 'Roger that," Haverstraw said. "And you're welcome."
trols. Duncan took off her headset and got out of the helicop-
344 ROBERT DOHERTY
345
AREA 51
ter. She turned her head as a van came to a screeching halt why I'm here. We're going to get to the bottom of this."
between her and the disk. She turned back to the guard. "Your prisoners are not go-
ing anywhere. None of us are. Get General Gullick up here
Turcotte looked at the screen. The charges were listed now."
along with order and timing of initiation. He quickly began
typing. "Sir," Quinn said tentatively, putting down the phone.
General Gullick's eyes were transfixed on the main
Armed guards ran out of the hangar as the bouncer screen, which showed the overlay of Area 51. All the vehi-
hovered overhead, shining a light down on the scene being cles had finally been corralled and the UFO watchers
played out. placed under arrest.
"Get out of the vehicle with your hands up!" one of the "Yes?"
men ordered, pointing his weapon at the windshield of the "Dr. Duncan was on board that Blackhawk. She's up at
van. Hangar One right now demanding to see you. Von Seeckt,
"Let's go," Kelly said. "We did all we can do. Let's hope Nabinger, and the reporter are there too."
we gave Turcotte enough time to do his end." A nerve began twitching on the side of Gullick's face.
She opened the driver's door and stepped out along with "Do we have commo yet?" Gullick demanded.
Nabinger, the latter still holding the rongorongo tablet and Quinn checked. "Yes, sir. The interference has stopped."
wearing his backpack. Von Seeckt got out of the rear. "Do you have contact with the engineer site?"
"Face down on the ground!" the man ordered. "No response, sir."
"Wait a second!" a woman's voice called out. All eyes "Order Bouncer Four to check it out, ASAP!"
turned to the figure walking over from the Blackhawk heli- Gullick spun away from the screen and walked to the
the road on which Franklin was reported to have been when General Gullick had walked in.
killed." "Where?" Gullick asked.
Turcotte glanced over from the driver's seat. "It's not "Capitol Reef National Park. It's in the south-central
your fault." part of the state."
Kelly returned his glance. "Maybe we should have left "Any sign of the others?"
him there. He wouldn't be dead at least." "No, sir."
"He'd be worse than dead if he was still in that damn "How did he die?"
coffin they had him in," Turcotte said. "We didn't kidnap "It appears he fell off a cliff."
him, we didn't take him to Dulce, and we certainly didn't Gullick thought about it for a few moments. "They're
mess with his mind. Gullick's people did that. Remember heading to Salt Lake City. Send some Nightscape people
it. Don't start what-iffing. We did the right thing." there. Have them watch all media outlets."
"I'm going to miss him," Kelly said. "He was a good "If we send people out, we'll have to cut back on some of
friend." our security here, sir."
"You'll have to save that for later," Turcotte said. "Right Gullick glared at his subordinate.
now we have a job to do." The road was a long black "I'll get right on it, sir."
ribbon in front of them, the headlights punching a cone of "I want the body policed up, also," Gullick said.
brightness down the center. "This might help. Remember "Yes, sir."
that guy Prague? The one who set you up?" "One less loose end to deal with," Gullick muttered. He
"Yes."
"He was my commander in Nebraska." turned back to his computer and the after-action report
Kelly sat up straighten "The one you killed." from Dulce, which he had been reading. "What's this
"The very same." rongorongo thing they took?"
"Good." "From Easter Island, sir," Quinn replied. "It's one of the
rune sources."
"So they can read the damn thing and we were never
able to?" Gullick asked.
"If Nabinger is legitimate, yes, sir, they can." Quinn had
brought up the same file the general was reading. "They
also took the photos of the tablets from Hangar Two."
322 ROBERT DOHERTY
Gullick tapped his large forefinger on the desktop. 3O
"Nothing in the media?"
"No, sir."
"Nothing from any of our sources?"
"No, sir."
"They just disappeared and left Simmons's body there?"
The tone indicated it was a rhetorical question and Ma-
jor Quinn remained silent.
"Where's Jarvis? Is he out of town?"
The question caught Quinn off guard. His fingers flew
over the keyboard. "Uh, he's in Las Vegas, sir."
"I want him nearby. Tell him to monitor the kooks at the MELLIS AIR FORCE BASE RANGE, NEVADA
mailbox. We're too close to have some flake on the perime- ADJUSTED T-26 HOURS, 2 MINUTES
ter like we had during the last Nightscape mission--the "Do you think this will work?" Kelly asked.
one that helped start all this shit." Turcotte was applying burnt cork to his face, turning the
"Yes, sir. I'll relay that." already dark skin black. "It's a good plan. The best one
Gullick stood. "Stay on top of everything. Let me know we've had so far."
the second there's a peep from those people or from any of Kelly stared at him. "Hell, we barely had any plans be-
our media sources."
fore."
"Yes, sir." Quinn waited until General Gullick had left
the room. Then he left his side chair and sat down in the "That's why it's the best," Turcotte said. "I think we've
seat at the end of the table: Gullick's chair. He pulled out got a chance. That's all you can ask for. We've got two
the keyboard that was stashed underneath the tabletop and chances at this. One of them should work. I don't think
turned the general's computer on. they'll be expecting us, which, as I've explained before, is to
He began searching, going through files, looking for our advantage." He looked out at the darkening sky. "It's
some clue as to why things were happening here the way strange--General Gullick should be expecting us, but he
they were. What was the rush for the mothership flight? won't be."
Why had the Nightscape missions changed from being rela- "Why should he be and why isn't he?" Kelly asked, con-
tively benign to now including abductions and mutilations? fused.
Was there a national security objective involved here that "He should be because it's what he would do," Turcotte
Quinn had not been included on? said, checking the magazine in his pistol. "He won't be
Quinn gave himself ten minutes, knowing that Gullick because he's had his ass down in that underground bunker
was a creature of habit, then he shut the computer down. too long. He's forgotten the feel of being out in the field
He hadn't found anything, but the next time the general and in action."
came in and left, he'd go back to looking. He slammed the magazine home, chambered a round,
324 ROBERT DOHERTY 325
AREA 51
and put it back in the shoulder holster on his combat vest. school so many years ago. The only sound he heard was his
"Ready?" own breath.
"Ready," Kelly said. She looked at the others. Von The knee was holding up so far, and he was careful to
Seeckt was in the passenger seat up front. Nabinger was in keep his stride shortened to reduce strain. He was pres-
the rear. The van was parked off the shoulder of a dirt road ently moving along the base of the mountain he had ini-
on the edge of the perimeter of the base range. Large signs tially set out for. He was scanning the slope with the off-
were spaced along the west side of the road, warning that center portion of his retina. He finally spotted what he'd
the land that lay beyond was restricted. A large mountain been looking for. A thin animal trail headed up and
about four miles away was silhouetted against the setting Turcotte turned onto it. After a quarter mile it switched
sun to their direct west. back on itself. Turcotte halted and caught his breath. He
"You all take care of each other," Turcotte said. looked up. There was a long way to go. He started running.
"Shouldn't we be synchronizing watches or something?"
Kelly asked. "It's what they do in the movies, and timing is
rather important to this plan--at least what I've caught of
it." TEMPIUTE, NEVADA
"Good idea." Turcotte peeled back the Velcro cover on There was a phone on the outside of the Alelnn, the local
his watch. "I've got eight on the dot in two minutes." bar in the town of Tempiute. The same town where Johnny
Kelly checked her watch. "Okay or check, or whatever Simmons had met Franklin the previous week. The town's
you're supposed to say." She reached out and put her hand main claim to fame was its proximity to Area 51, and the
on Turcotte's shoulder. "You can count on us. We'll be Inn was a watering hole for the itinerant UFO watchers
there." who passed through continuously.
Turcotte smiled. "I know. Good luck." He turned and Kelly parked the van next to the phone, and she and Von
was gone, loping off into the darkness, lost in the shadow Seeckt got out and ambled over, he leaning on his cane. He
of the mountain. patted his pockets, then looked at Kelly. She shook her
"Let's go," Kelly ordered. head. "Use my phone card." She rattled off instructions
Nabinger turned the van around and they headed north. and the number Turcotte had given her earlier.
AREA 51
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA
The rhythm of the run had settled in to Turcotte's muscles
a half hour ago. The various weapons and other equipment It was just before ten in the evening local time and Lisa
attached to the combat vest had required a bit of cinching Duncan was seated by the small desk in her hotel suite,
down shortly after he'd left the van, and now everything on watching CNN, when the phone rang. She picked it up on
him was silent--just as he had been taught in Ranger the third ring, expecting to hear her son's voice on the
326 ROBERT DOHERTY 327
AREA 51
other end. Instead a heavily accented voice that she imme- chemical warfare branch. Hemstadt was taken in by Paper-
diately recognized began speaking. clip. I saw him in 1946 in Dulce. During the war he was
"Dr. Duncan, this is Werner Von Seeckt. General Gul- responsible for supplying the death camps with gas. He
lick has been lying to you about what is going on at Area 51 also participated in much experimentation with new
and at the facility in Dulce, New Mexico." gases of course, such experimentation had to be done on
"Professor Von Seeckt, I-- living humans to be truly valid.
"Listen. We don't have much time! Have you ever heard "Since 1946 I have not been allowed into Dulce nor have
of Nightscape in conjunction with Area 51?" I heard a word about Hemstadt again. However, I do not
"Yes. They run psychological prep-- believe he just vanished. Such a man was notorious, and
"They do much more than that," Von Seeckt cut in. such people don't disappear without much help from pow-
"They kidnap people and brainwash them, and I am sure erful people--government people.
even much worse than that. They conduct cattle mutila- "There is someone else you must speak to," Von Seeckt
tions. They do much more." said, and there was a brief pause, then a woman's voice
"Like what?" came on the line.
Von Seeckt didn't reply to that. "How about Operation "Dr. Duncan, my name is Kelly Reynolds. I was given
Paperclip?" your name by Captain Mike Turcotte. He has tried twice to
Duncan picked up her pen and pulled the small pad of contact you using the number you gave him. Both times the
hotel stationery close. "What do you know about Paper- number was reported to be out of order. He says that you
clip?" must trust no one."
"Do you know what's going on at the lab in Dulce? The "Where is Captain Turcotte now?" Duncan asked.
experiments with implanted memories?" "He's on his way into Area 51."
Duncan wrote the word DULCE on her notepad. "Back "Why are you telling me all this?" Duncan asked.
up to Paperclip. I'm interested in that. Is there a connec- "Because we want to meet you at the Cube in Area 51
tion between Paperclip and what is going on at Dulce?" tonight. You must not inform General Gullick or any of the
"I do not know exactly what is going on at Dulce," Von other members of Majic-12 that you are coming."
Seeckt said, "but I just rescued a reporter who was being "What is going on?" Duncan demanded.
held prisoner there, and he killed himself in response to "Be at the Cube tonight. No later than midnight local
what they did to him there." time. We'll explain everything then." The phone went
"I don't--" Duncan began, but Von Seeckt cut her off dead.
again. Duncan slowly put the receiver down. She picked up an-
"To reply to your question, does the name General Karl other binder. This one had a cover identifying it as coming
Hemstadt mean anything to you?" from the Justice Department and indicating that it was
Duncan wrote the name down. "I seem to remember copy two of two copies made. She flipped it open and
hearing that name somewhere." lumbed through, rapidly scanning. On page seventy-eight
"Hemstadt was the head of Wa Pruf 9, the Wehrmacht's she found what she was looking for: General Karl Hem-
328 ROBERT DOHERTY 329
AREA 51
stadt was indeed listed as having likely been taken in by the especially the heat rising from his head--but he hoped that
Paperclip operation. the signature would be so much smaller than man shaped,
She gathered together her binders and threw them in a that the monitors might assume it was a rabbit or other
briefcase, then headed for the door. She had a taxi to small creature and ignore it.
catch. What he could not ignore any longer was the pain from
his knee. He reached down and felt the swelling. Not good.
But he also knew he had no choice. He checked his watch.
TEMPIUTE, NEVADA He was ahead of schedule, so he could move more slowly.
It would not do him any good to go over the mountain
Von Seeckt walked back to the van with Kelly. "What do early, thermal blanket or no blanket. He continued on his
you think?" she asked. way up the mountain, at a pace that kept the pain to a
"She finally bit when I mentioned Paperclip," Von minimum.
Seeckt said.
"Do you think she'll alert Gullick?" Kelly asked as she
got in the driver's seat. Von Seeckt sat to her right. Nab-
inger was in the back, looking at the rongorongo tablet. NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, NEVADA
"No," Von Seeckt said. "She's not one of them. The "I want to see the duty officer," Lisa Duncan said to the
presidential adviser was usually on the outside. After all, sergeant seated behind the counter at the flight operations
the slot was a political appointment that could change ev- center at the base of the Nellis Air Force Base tower.
ery four years. I know for certain she was not fully in- "And you are?" the sergeant asked without much inter-
briefed." est.
"Well, we'll find out soon enough," Kelly said, throwing Duncan pulled out her wallet and flipped open the spe-
the van into gear and leaving the parking lot. cial ID she'd been given upon getting her appointment. "I
am the President's chief scientific adviser."
"The president of . . . ?" the sergeant began, then he
AREA 51 halted as he saw the seal on the laminated card. "Excuse
me, ma'am! I'll get the major right away!"
Turcotte cut a hole for his head in the center of the thin The major wasn't quite as impressed with the ID card
silver survival blanket and pulled it down over his shoul- when he heard what she wanted. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but
ders. He wrapped the blanket around his torso and cinched the Groom Lake area is completely off limits to all flights.
it tight with cord. It hung down to his knees and fit him like Even if I could get you a helicopter at this time of the
a poncho. Designed to keep heat in during an emergency, evening, they would not be authorized to fly into that air-
Turcotte was counting on it to keep him from being identi- space."
fied by the thermal sights that were part of the outer secu- "Major," Duncan said, "it is imperative that I get flown
rity perimeter of Area 51. He would still show up-- out to Groom Lake this evening."
330 331
ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51
The duty officer reached for the phone. "I can call out THE MAILBOX, VICINITY AREA 51
there and see if they will authorize a flight and then-- "That's it," Von Seeckt said. "The mailbox."
"No," Duncan cut in. "I don't want them to know I'm There were a half-dozen vehicles parked off the side of
coming." the dirt road and a group of people scattered about. Some
The major shook his head. "I'm sorry, then. There's were well prepared, seated in recliners, while others stood,
nothing I can do." scanning the horizon with a variety of binoculars and night
"Who do you work for?" Duncan asked, her voice cold. vision devices.
"Uh, well, I work in the ops section for Colonel "Dim your lights," Von Seeckt said.
Thomas." Kelly pushed the button in and with their parking lights
Duncan shook her head. "Higher." on they pulled off to the side of the road. She put the
"The base commander is-- parking brake on, then stepped out. Von Seeckt joined her,
"Higher." while Nabinger remained in the back of the van.
The duty officer glanced nervously at the sergeant who Kelly walked up to an old couple who were comfortably
had first talked to Duncan. "This base falls under the com- seated in front of a pair of telescopes, with a cooler be-
mand of--" tween their chairs. "Excuse me," Kelly began.
"Yes, dear?" the old woman replied.
"Who's your commander-in-chief?" Duncan asked. "Do you know a man named the Captain?"
"The President, ma'am." She chuckled. "Everyone here does." She pointed to a
Duncan leaned over the counter and picked up a phone. van parked about twenty feet away. "He's there."
"Do you want to talk to him?" Kelly led Von Seeckt over. The van was parked so that
"Do I want to talk . . ." the major repeated dumbly. the rear end pointed toward the mountains that marked
"No, ma'am." the edge of Area 51. The back doors were wide open and a
"Then I suggest you get me a helicopter right away to very large scope was sticking out. Behind it a man in a
take me where I want to go." wheelchair had his face pressed up against the eyepiece.
The major looked at the ID card lying on the counter He pulled back as Kelly stepped up. He was a black man,
one more time, then turned to the sergeant. "Get me the his lower half covered by a blanket draped over his lap. His
PR on duty." hair was white and he looked to be about sixty years old.
"PR?" Duncan asked. "I'm Kelly Reynolds."
"Pararescue," the major explained. "We always have one The man simply looked at them.
crew of pararescue men on call for emergencies." "I'm a friend of Johnny Simmons," she continued.
"They have a helicopter?" "So he got the tape," the man growled.
"Yes, ma'am, they have a helicopter." The major glanced "Yes," Kelly said.
at the sergeant on the phone. "And they know how to fly "Took you long enough. Where's Simmons?"
it." "He's dead." She pointed to the west. "He tried to infil-
332 ROBERT DOHERTY 333
AREA 51
trate Area 51 and got caught. They took him to Dulce, u want." Haverstaw put her flight helmet on. "My ass is
New Mexico. We broke him out but he killed himself." overed." She opened the door on the pilot's side. "Be-
The old man didn't seem too surprised. "I heard they do sides, I hate seeing those big no-fly areas on the flight
strange things to people down at Dulce." maps. Kind of view them as a challenge. Hell, I'm looking
Kelly stepped closer. "I'll tell you the full story real forward to this." She extended her hand toward the rear.
quick. Then we need your help." "Climb on board."
NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, NEVADA VICINITY AREA 51
The officer in the flight suit stuck out a hand. "Lieutenant Taking a deep breath, Kelly called out. "Excuse me, every-
Haverstaw at your service, ma'am." one! I have something to say that you all might be inter-
"Call me Lisa," Duncan said. ested in."
The officer smiled. "I'm Debbie." She pointed at the The UFO watchers all turned and looked at her, but no
other people in flight suits. "That's my copilot, Lieutenant one moved until the Captain's voice boomed out behind
Pete Jefferson; our PRs are Sergeant Hancock and Ser- her. "Get over here!"
geant Murphy." The two men were stowing gear on the They gathered round, a loose circle of figures in the
back of the UH-60 Blackhawk.
"What are they loading?" Duncan asked. dark.
"These people need our help," the Captain said. "You
"Our standard rescue gear," Haverstraw said. all know I been here a long time watching. Twenty-two
"I just need you to fly me out to Groom Lake," Duncan
said. years, to be exact. Tonight we're going to be doing more
"SOP--standing operating procedures," Haverstraw than just watch."
said. "We always carry our rescue gear when we fly. Our As the Captain spoke, outlining what Kelly had asked, a
primary mission, other than flying presidential scientific ad- figure at the back separated from the group and slipped
visers around, is to rescue downed aircrews. You never away into the darkness. When the car drove away, lights
know if we might get diverted to a mission." She smiled. out, no one noticed, so caught up were they in what the
"Besides, from what the duty officer briefed me, we're fly- Captain was saying.
ing an unfiled mission into Area 51 airspace. Who knows
what we'll run into? I've heard some strange stories about
that place." AREA 51
"Do you have a problem with running this mission?"
Duncan asked, slipping her professional mask back on. The glow from the aboveground Groom Lake complex was
"No problem. I've been ordered by the post duty officer, off to Turcotte's right as he finished descending the moun-
who represents the post commander, to fly you wherever tain he had just crossed. The runway cut across his front,
334 ROBERT DOHERTY 335
AREA 51
and beyond that, the mountainside under which the She pulled onto the dirt road and turned west, the Cap-
mothership rested, according to Von Seeckt's directions. tain's van next, then the rest of the UFO watchers' vehi-
So far, so good, Turcotte thought to himself. But for the cles. They rolled down the road, past the warning signs and
rest of the way he was going to need help. He checked his past the first set of laser detectors.
watch. Fifteen minutes. Gritting his teeth, Turcotte set to
work on his knee, keeping the tendons from tightening up
by jabbing his fingers into the swollen flesh and massaging
it.
NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE
Sergeant Hancock showed Lisa Duncan how to put on the
helmet and talk on the built-in radio.
"We're clear to lift," Lieutenant Haverstraw announced
from the front. "You all set back there?"
"All set," Duncan said.
"We're going to fly at one thousand feet until we get
close to the boundary. Then I'm going down low. It'll get a
little rough then, but I want to stay off their screens as long
as possible. Give us a better chance of getting you to
Groom Lake."
With a shudder the Blackhawk lifted and then banked to
the north.
VICINITY AREA 51
"I've got something here," Nabinger said, holding up the
wooden tablet he'd taken out of the Dulce archives.
Through all the phone calls and driving he'd never stopped
working on the translation.
"We don't have time for that right now," Kelly replied.
She tapped her wristwatch. "Show time."
337
AREA 51
31 ot inside and Quinn reached out and touched the man on
the shoulder. "Sir, we've got multiple penetrations on the
mailbox road. Looks like our UFO watchers are coming in
for a closer look. Jarvis just called and said that Von Seeckt
and that female reporter are with them, so this may be
more than it appears."
Gullick swung his legs onto the floor. He was already
dressed for action in camouflage fatigues. "Alert Night-
scape and get the choppers ready," he ordered. As soon as
Quinn was gone, he reached into his pocket and popped
THE CUBE, AREA 51 another pill. His heart rate immediately accelerated and he
ADJUSTED T-22 HOURS, 9 MINUTES was ready for action. Then he followed Quinn into the
"What do you have?" Major Quinn had been alerted by control room.
the duty officer and he'd quickly shut down Gullick's com- "They're turning off the road!" the operator announced.
puter and gone out to the main control center in the Cube. "Or at least a couple of them are," he amended as he tried
"Multiple vehicles in sector three," the operator an- to keep up with the vehicles. "They're spreading out over
nounced, pointing at his computer screen. "Moving west the desert and still coming this way." He pressed a finger
along the road." over an earpiece in his right ear. "The air police don't have
"Give me IR and thermal from the mountain," Quinn enough vehicles in that area to get them all in time. Some
ordered. of them are going to breach the outer perimeter."
The operator hit the proper command. A line of vehicles Gullick looked over the man's shoulder at the tactical
showed up rolling down the road. display. "I want Nightscape airborne in one mike. Also get
"What does the mailbox look like?" Quinn asked. the standby bouncer crew ready."
Another scene came on screen: a lone mailbox, nothing "Yes, sir."
around it, which confirmed to Quinn where the vehicles
had come from. Twenty miles to the south Lieutenant Haverstraw keyed
"What the hell are they doing?" Quinn muttered to him- the intercom. "We're going down to the carpet now. Hold
self as the camera shifted back to the line of vehicles. on."
"Alert the air police and have them stop these people." The Blackhawk swooped down toward the desert floor
"I've got Jarvis on the phone," another man called out. and Lisa Duncan looked out the right side window and up
Quinn picked up the phone and listened for a minute. at a rocky ridgeline less than forty feet away. Her fingers
He grimaced as he put the phone down. He turned and dug into the webbing strapped across her chest and she did
quickly walked over to a wooden door and knocked. He exactly as Haverstraw had suggested--she hung on.
opened it without waiting for an answer. A figure lay on a
338 ROBERT DOHERTY
AREA 51 339
"We've got a hot IR source coming in sector six," Quinn "We're going to make it," Nabinger said from the seat
announced. "Low and fast." next to her.
"What is it?" Gullick demanded. Flashing lights were separating from the steady lights
"Helicopter. It's below radar but we're picking it up marking the buildings. The lights were going up.
from above." "You spoke too soon. We're going to have company."
"Check FFI," Gullick ordered, referring to the friend or "I'll see what I can do to help," Von Seeckt called out
foe transponder every military aircraft carried. from the back. He was working on the computer keyboard
"It's one of ours," Quinn said. He hit the keys rapidly. attached to the communications console, his fingers flash-
"A Blackhawk assigned to the 325th Pararescue unit at ing over the keys.
Nellis."
"Tell them to get the fuck out of my airspace," Gullick Turcotte's boots touched hardtop and he began sprinting
snapped. He turned back to the ground tactical display, across the runway. He felt naked, and he instinctively
watching as the air police stopped seven of the thirteen tucked his chin into his chest and bent forward, half ex-
vehicles coming in. The remaining six were inside the outer pecting a shot to come out of the dark. On the far side of
perimeter now. Past the air police cordon and spread out the runway, about a half mile away, at the base of the
across two security sectors. mountainside, he could make out a dark mass against the
rocks--camouflage netting covering something. He felt a
"They're calling us," Haverstraw announced. "We're being bit of hope seeing that. At least it appeared Von Seeckt's
ordered to turn back." guess wasn't wrong.
"Ignore them," Duncan ordered.
"Yes, ma'am." "We've got someone on the runway," Quinn announced.
"Put it on the main screen," General Gullick said.
"No response from the Blackhawk, sir," Quinn reported. The IR scope mounted on top of the nearby mountain
General Gullick rubbed his forehead. had a resolution of 300 power and it clearly showed a man
"Should I authorize Landscape to engage when in running.
range?" Quinn asked. "How come we didn't catch his thermal signature ear-
"Tell them to track but hold on firing until I give the lier?" Gullick asked.
order," Gullick said. Quinn hit a few keys and the picture changed. The man's
"Nightscape is airborne," Quinn said. figure disappeared and there was only a small blob of red
moving on the screen. "That's thermal imaging of the tar-
Kelly spun the wheel of the van violently and a plume of He's wearing some sort of thermal protection." Quinn
sand spun out from beneath the rear wheels. She could see hanged the view and a map overlay of Area 51 came up.
the lights of the Groom Lake complex less than two miles He's heading for the engineer site outside Hangar Two,"
ahead. Quinn added.
34O ROBERT DOHERTY 341
AREA 51
"Divert one of the Nightscape aircraft," Gullick ordered. sive maneuvers. Hancock and Murphy, watch our rear and
"Stop that man, number one priority." get ready if it's a heat seeker!"
"Yes, sir." Quinn began speaking into his microphone, The Blackhawk turned on its left side and then jerked
then suddenly turned back to the general. "We've got inter- back right. Duncan watched as the two crewmen in the rear
ference, sir! I can't talk to Nightscape. Someone's cutting slid open the cargo doors and cold air swirled in. They
in and out on the radio." were wearing harnesses around their bodies and leaned out
the aircraft, looking down.
In the back of the van Von Seeckt smiled as he heard the "I see a launch!" Murphy yelled. "Four o'clock. Climb-
excited voices of the Nightscape pilots trying to communi- ing fast!" He was holding a flare and he fired it out and up,
cate back to the Cube and with each other to coordinate hoping the heat of the flare would divert the missile. At the
their actions. He pressed down on the transmit button for same time Haverstraw slammed the cyclic forward and
they rapidly began losing what little altitude they had left.
the van's HF radio again, then let it up after a few seconds.
The missile roared by the right side of the helicopter,
Then again.
missing the outer edge of their rotor blades by less than ten
feet. "That was close," Haverstraw said over the intercom,
Gullick looked at the overlay of Area 51 and tried to make understating the obvious, as she reeled in collective and
sense of the various symbols. He had three threats: the cyclic and stopped their descent barely above the desert
man nearing the engineer site, the inbound helicopter, and floor.
the vehicles coming in over the desert. This had to be a "That was close," Duncan said, looking out at the
highly coordinated infiltration, and he could take no fur- ground less than twenty feet below.
ther chances. Even without radio he could still control "I don't think they want us here," Haverstraw said dryly.
things. He called out his orders. "Put me on the radio to their headquarters," Duncan
"Alert the Landscape antiair sites by land line that they said.
are in weapons-free status." "No can do," Haverstraw replied. "The frequency listed
"Yes, sir." for Groom Lake is filled with interference."
"Warn the engineer site of the man infiltrating their po-
sition. He is to be stopped with extreme sanction." "Halt!" a voice called out in the dark to Turcotte's right.
"We have no land line to the engineer site," Quinn re- He could make out a figure wearing night vision goggles
ported. "Their guard net is the Nightscape frequency. We and carrying a submachine gun moving toward him.
can't get through to them." In reply Turcotte fired twice, both rounds low, hitting the
"Goddammit!" Gullick yelled in frustration. man in the legs and dropping him. There was no need for
another death. He regretted what had happened in the lab.
A tone screeched in Duncan's headset. Up front in the Circumstances and anger had forced his hand there. He
cockpit a red light flashed on the control panel. dashed forward and kicked the Calico submachine gun out
"Missile lock!" Lieutenant Haverstaw called out. "Eva- the man's hands and ripped the goggles off his head.
342 ROBERT DOHERTY
343
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"Fuck!" the man cursed, reaching for his sidearm, Lisa Duncan twisted in her seat and looked forward as
Turcotte rapped him upside the head with the barrel of the Jefferson spoke again. "Uh, Deb, he's--oh, Christ!" the
Calico and the man was out. Turcotte checked the copilot screamed out as the AH-6 filled up the entire for-
wounds--no arteries hit. He quickly wrapped a bandage ward view. At the last moment the other chopper suddenly
from the man's own combat vest around each thigh to stop veered, averting the midair collision.
the bleeding, then continued on his way. "Chicken," Haverstraw muttered. She raised her voice.
"We'll be there in thirty seconds."
An AH-6 Little Bird gunship flashed by just overhead.
Kelly pressed down on the accelerator. The lights of the "The hangar doors are opening!" Nabinger called out as a
complex were less than a half mile away. sliver of red light appeared ahead.
"The doors to the hangar are closed," Nabinger said. "I'm heading for it," Kelly said.
"What are you going to do?"
"I just want to get there in one piece. Then I'll figure "Hey!" the sergeant seated inside the humvee called out as
something out," Kelly replied. the muzzle of a submachine gun appeared in the door.
"Watch that thing!"
"The helicopter is still inbound," Quinn reported. "Who- "No, you watch it," Turcotte said, edging into the vehi-
ever is flying it is damn good. They're below tracking by cle. He looked at the computer system and the wires lead-
ground radar. We can't relay from satellite tracking to the
ing out of the black box hooked up to it. "This is to blow
AA sites because of the jamming." the charges to open up Hangar Two?"
"Launch the alert bouncer," Gullick ordered. "Have it
bring down the helicopter." The sergeant was most definitely watching the end of the
muzzle, the black hole seeming to grow larger every second
Haverstraw looked out her windshield. There was a lot go- it was fixed between his eyes. "Yes."
ing on. She could see vehicles down below in a circus of "Turn it on and bring up the firing sequence program."
headlights running about. There were several helicopters
flitting about also. One of those turned toward her. "Geez, look at that," Haverstraw said as she set the
"We've got company," Lieutenant Jefferson said. Blackhawk down two hundred meters away from the large
Haverstraw didn't reply. She watched the AH-6 come door that was sliding open in the side of the mountain. Red
straight toward them from a half mile away. light spilled out onto the concrete and a disk was hovering
"Uh, we're on a collision course," Jefferson said. there. It moved forward when the door was wide enough.
There was a quarter mile between the two aircraft, "What the hell is that thing?"
pilot of the AH-6 was flashing his spotlight at them. "Thanks for the ride," Duncan said. "You'd better shut
"I think he wants us to land," Jefferson said. down and wait here until things get cleared up."
Haverstraw remained silent, her hands tight on the con- 'Roger that," Haverstraw said. "And you're welcome."
trols. Duncan took off her headset and got out of the helicop-
344 ROBERT DOHERTY
345
AREA 51
ter. She turned her head as a van came to a screeching halt why I'm here. We're going to get to the bottom of this."
between her and the disk. She turned back to the guard. "Your prisoners are not go-
ing anywhere. None of us are. Get General Gullick up here
Turcotte looked at the screen. The charges were listed now."
along with order and timing of initiation. He quickly began
typing. "Sir," Quinn said tentatively, putting down the phone.
General Gullick's eyes were transfixed on the main
Armed guards ran out of the hangar as the bouncer screen, which showed the overlay of Area 51. All the vehi-
hovered overhead, shining a light down on the scene being cles had finally been corralled and the UFO watchers
played out. placed under arrest.
"Get out of the vehicle with your hands up!" one of the "Yes?"
men ordered, pointing his weapon at the windshield of the "Dr. Duncan was on board that Blackhawk. She's up at
van. Hangar One right now demanding to see you. Von Seeckt,
"Let's go," Kelly said. "We did all we can do. Let's hope Nabinger, and the reporter are there too."
we gave Turcotte enough time to do his end." A nerve began twitching on the side of Gullick's face.
She opened the driver's door and stepped out along with "Do we have commo yet?" Gullick demanded.
Nabinger, the latter still holding the rongorongo tablet and Quinn checked. "Yes, sir. The interference has stopped."
wearing his backpack. Von Seeckt got out of the rear. "Do you have contact with the engineer site?"
"Face down on the ground!" the man ordered. "No response, sir."
"Wait a second!" a woman's voice called out. All eyes "Order Bouncer Four to check it out, ASAP!"
turned to the figure walking over from the Blackhawk heli- Gullick spun away from the screen and walked to the