bugs in a new airframe. And here we are dealing with alien "Thank you, Dr. Von Seeckt, but we have been over all technology. We didn't design these craft. But we do have that ground already. We will never understand the mother- an advantage," Gullick added. "We are dealing with tech- ship if we do not attempt to investigate it. That is the nology that works. The largest danger I faced as a test pilot method we have used on the bouncers and--" was getting the technology up to speed so it would work. 80 ROBERT DOHERTY 81 AREA 51 Here we know these craft fly. It is a matter of figuring out "There's quite a bit that I don't understand," Lisa how they fly." Duncan said as soon as the room was clear. Gullick turned his chair slightly and pointed at the "There's quite a bit we don't understand," General Gul- mothership sitting in its cradle of steel beams. "We are lick amended. "The technology we are working with here is currently slightly over one hundred and thirty hours from overwhelming at times." the first test flight. But before we attempt that, we simply "I'm not talking about the technology," Duncan said. are going to start it up and see what happens. That is the "I'm talking about the administration of this program." reason this meeting is scheduled for today: so you can see "Is there a problem?" Gullick asked, his voice chilling for yourself in a few hours that there is no danger. To use the room. Dr. Von Seeckt's analogy--but in the proper perspective-- Duncan was blunt. "Why the secrecy? Why are we hid- we are simply going to put our man in the pilot's seat and ing all this?" have him turn the engines on and then off. The craft won't Gullick relaxed slightly. "Numerous reasons." go anywhere. And our man is not a child. We have the best "Please enumerate them," Duncan said. minds in the country assembled here working on this proj- Gullick lit a cigar, ignoring the NO SMOKING signs that ect." adorned the walls of the Cube conference room. Govern- Von Seeckt snorted. "We had the best minds back in ment bureaucracy found itself into even the most secret of eighty-nine when--" locations. "This program began during World War II, and "That's enough, Doctor," Gullick snapped. "The deci- that was the reason it was initially classified. Then there sion has been made. This is an information briefing, not a was the Cold War and the requirement to keep this tech- decision briefing. At thirteen hundred hours local time to- nology--what we did understand of it--out of the hands of day the mothership's engines will be turned on for ten sec- the Russians. One study by our staff even found a high onds and then immediately turned off. The decision has possibility that if the Russians ever discovered that we had been made," he repeated. "Now, shall we move on with the this technology it would upset the balance of power and briefing?" It was not a question designed to be answered they might launch a preemptive nuclear strike. I would say with anything but assent. that's a damn good reason to keep this secret." For the next thirty minutes the meeting went as sched- Duncan pulled a cigarette out of her purse. She pointed uled with no further interruptions. Gullick formally at the ashtray for Gullick's cigar. "Do you mind?" She brought it to a close. "Dr. Duncan, if you would like, you didn't wait for an answer as she lit up. "The Cold War has might want to take a tour of the hangar and our other been over for over half a decade, General. Keep counting facilities and be present when we conduct the test on the the reasons." mothership." A muscle twitched on the right side of Gullick's jaw. "I would like that very much," she replied, "but first I'd "The Cold War may be over, but there are still nuclear like a moment alone with you." missiles pointed at this country by foreign countries. We "If you would excuse us, gentlemen," Gullick said. "Des- are dealing with technology here that might totally change ignated personnel, please wait outside," he added. the course of civilization. That is sufficient--' AREA 51 83 82 ROBERT DOHERTY money has been poured into this project and the return has "Could it be," Duncan cut in, "that all this is classified been minimal." simply because it's always been classified?" "If we fly the mothership," Gullick said, "it will all be "I understand what you're saying." Gullick attempted a worth it." disarming smile that didn't work. He ran a finger over the Duncan stubbed out her cigarette and stood. "I hope so. file folder that held Kennedy's report on Duncan and re- Good day, sir." She turned on her high heels and walked strained an impulse to throw it at her. "It would be easy to out the door. see the secrecy surrounding Majic-12 as simply a leftover As soon as she was gone, the Majic-12 men in uniform from the Cold War, but there are deeper implications and the representatives from the CIA and NRO came back here." in. All attempt at being cordial slipped from Gullick's de- "Such as?" Duncan didn't wait for an answer. "Could meanor. "Duncan's fishing. She knows there something part of those deeper implications be that this project had more going on." been founded illegally? That the importation of people "We need to have Slayden give her the data on the im- such as Von Seeckt to work in it--in direct violation of law plications of revealing the project," Kennedy said. and a presidential order in force at the time--and other "I told her about Slayden's briefing and she's got his activities since then would open up personnel involved in written report already," Gullick said. "No, she's looking for this program to criminal prosecution?" something more." The glowing red numbers set into the desktop next to "Do you think she has something on Dulce?" Kennedy the computer screen read T-130H/16M. That was all that con- asked. cerned Gullick. He'd talked to a few of the others about "No. If there was any suspicion about that, we'd know how to handle Duncan and now it was time to start with about it. We're wired into every intelligence apparatus this what they had come up with. country has. It has to be something else." "Whatever happened fifty years ago is not our concern," "Operation Paperclip?" Kennedy asked. he said. "We are worried about the impact publicizing this Gullick nodded. "She made a point of mentioning that program will have on the general population. Von Seeckt and others were recruited illegally. She knows "Dr. Slayden, the program psychologist," Gullick said, too much. If they pull on that thread too hard, this whole "is on our staff for this very reason. As a matter of fact, we thing might unravel." will have a briefing from Dr. Slayden at eight A.M. on the Kennedy pointed at the folder. "We can go hard with her twelfth. He'll be able to explain things better then, but if we need to." suffice it to say that the social and economic implications "She's the President's representative," General Brown of revealing what we have here at Area 51 to the public are warned. staggering. So staggering that every president since World "We just need time," Gullick said. "I think Slayden's War II has agreed that the utmost secrecy should surround psychobabble will keep her occupied. If not"--Gullick this project." shrugged--"then we go hard." He looked down at the "Well, this president," Duncan said, "may think differ- computer screen and changed the subject. "What's the ently. The times are changing. An immense amount of 84 ROBERT DOHERTY 85 AREA 51 status of Nightscape 96-7?" Gullick asked the director of THE DEVIL'S NEST, NEBRASKA Naval intelligence. T-13O HOURS "Everything looks good," Admiral Coakley answered. "What's that?" Turcotte asked. "The MSS is secure and all elements are in place." The man in the gray flight suit looked up. "Laser firing "What about the infiltration by that reporter and the system," he said shortly, snapping shut the metal case on other person last night?" Gullick asked. the sophisticated machinery that had drawn Turcotte 's at- "We've cleaned it all up and there's an added benefit to tention. that situation," Coakley said. "That other fellow's name Turcotte had never seen a laser that was packed suitcase was Franklin. A UFO freak. He's been a pain in the ass for size, but the technician did not seem amenable to discuss- a long time working out of his house in Rachel. We no ing the technology. Another question to add to all the oth- longer have to worry about him. He's dead and we have an ers. adequate cover story in place." "Get some sleep. You'll need the rest," Prague said, ap- "How did they get inside the outer perimeter?" Gullick pearing suddenly at his shoulder. "We'll be ready to move demanded, not appeased at all. after dark and you won't get any sleep for a while." Prague "Franklin unscrewed the antennas from the sensors on smiled. "Sleep good, meat, " he added in German. either side of the road," Coakley replied. "We got that off Turcotte stared at him for a second, then walked over to a cassette recorder we found on the reporter." where the other off-shift security men were dozing in the "I want that system replaced. It's outdated. Go with laser shade offered by several trees. He grabbed a Gore-Tex bivy sensors on all the roads." sack and slid into it, zipping it up around his chin. He "Yes, sir." thought about everything he had seen so far for about five "And the reporter?" minutes, wondering what Prague had been told about him. "He's been transferred to Dulce. He was a freelancer. He finally decided he didn't have a clue what was going on We're working on a back story for his disappearance." or what Prague knew, and switched his brain off. "It won't happen again," Gullick said, his tone of voice As he fell asleep, his mind shifted to other scenes. indicating it was not a question. Prague's final words in German echoed through his brain "Yes, sir." and Turcotte fell into an uneasy slumber with the echo of "What about Von Seeckt?" Kennedy asked. "If he gunfire and German voices screaming in fear and pain. makes any more trouble, Duncan might start asking more questions." Gullick rubbed the side of his temple. "He's become a THE HANGAR, AREA 51 liability. We'll just have to move up his medical timetable. T-129 HOURS, 4O MINUTES We'll take care of the good doctor and insure he won't cause any more problems. He outlived his usefulness to Lisa Duncan had read the figures and studied the classified this program a long time ago. I'll talk to Dr. Cruise." photos, but they had not prepared her for the sheer size of 86 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51 87 this operation. Flying into Area 51 on board one of their in the political winds. Majic-12 was another one, albeit black helicopters, she had been impressed with the long much more secretive. The issue, though, was why were runway and the aboveground base facilities, but that im- Gullick and the others in such a rush to fly the mothership? pression had been dwarfed by what was hidden out of That issue and other disturbing rumors about Majic-12 op- sight. erations that had sifted their way back to Washington was Taking the elevator up from the Cube, she and her scien- the reason Duncan was here. She already had some dirt on tific escorts entered a large room carved out of the rock of the program, as she'd indicated to Gullick; but that was Groom Mountain. This was the hangar, over three quarters past dirt, as he'd indicated in return. Most of the men in- of a mile long and a quarter mile wide. Three of the walls, volved in Paperclip were long dead. She had to find out the floor, and roof--one hundred feet above their heads-- what was presently happening. To do that she had to pay were rock. The last side was a series of camouflaged sliding attention, so when her guide spoke up, she put away her doors that opened up onto the north end of the runway. worries. The true size of the hangar could only be seen on the "This is the hangar we built in 1951," Professor Un- rare occasions, like now, when all the dividers between the derbill, the aeronautics expert, explained. "We've added to various bays were unfolded and a person could look it over the years." He pointed at the nine silvery craft straight through from one end to the other. Duncan won- parked in their cradles. "You have all the information on dered if they had done that to impress her. If they had, it how and where we found the bouncers. Currently, six are was working. operational." She was still bothered by her confrontation with General "What about the other three?" she asked. Gullick. She'd been briefed for the job by the President's "Those are the ones we're working on. Taking apart the national security adviser, but even he had seemed uncer- engines to see if we can reverse-engineer them. Trying to tain about what was going on with Majic-12. It actually understand the control and flight system along with other wasn't that surprising to Duncan. In her work with medical technology." companies she'd often had to deal with government bu- She nodded and followed as they walked along the back reaucracy and found it to be a formidable maze of self- of the hangar. There were workers on each of the craft, propagating, self-serving structures to negotiate. As Gul- doing things whose purpose was unclear. She had indeed lick had made very clear: Majic-12 had been around for studied the history of these craft, which seemed simply to fifty-four years. The unspoken parallel was that the Presi- have been abandoned in various places some time in the dent whom Duncan was working for had been around for past. From the conditions of the locations they were found only three. She knew that meant that the members of in, the best guess had been about ten thousand years ago. Majic-12 implicitly believed they had a greater legitimacy The craft themselves seemed not to have aged at all. than the elected officials who were supposed to oversee the There had been very few answers about the origin or project. purpose or original owners of the craft in the briefing pa- The CIA, NSA, the Pentagon--all were bureaucracies pers. Something that didn't seem to concern the people out that had weathered numerous administrations and changes here very much. That bothered Duncan, because she liked 88 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51 89 thinking in analogies and she wondered how she would feel be the site of the first atomic tests early in World War II, if she had left her car parked somewhere and came back when the surveyors found that the readings on some of later to find that it had been appropriated and someone their instruments were being affected by a large metallic was taking the engine apart. Even though the bouncers had object. They pinpointed the location, dug, and found what been abandoned long ago, centuries might be just a day or we now call the mothership in Hangar Two. Whoever left two in the relative time scale of the original owners. the ship here had the technology to blast out a place big "Why does everyone out here call them 'bouncers'?" she enough to leave it and then cover it over." asked. "In the briefing papers they were called 'magnetic- Duncan let out an involuntary gasp as the train exited drive atmospheric craft' or 'MDAC' or simply 'disks'. the tunnel and entered a large cavern, a mile and a half Underbill laughed. "We use the 'MDAC for scientific long. The ceiling was over a half mile above her head and people who need a fancy title. We all call them 'disks' or made of perfectly smooth stone. It was dotted with bright 'bouncers.' The reason for the latter, well, wait till you see stadium lights. What caught her attention, though, was the one in flight. They can change directions on a dime. Most cylindrical black object that took up most of the space. The people who watch them think we call them 'bouncers' be- mothership was just over a mile long and a quarter mile in cause they do seem to suddenly bounce off an invisible wall beam at the center. What made the scale so strange was when they change direction--that's how quick they can do that the skin of the ship was totally smooth, made up of a it. But if you talk to the original test pilots who flew them, black, shiny metal that had defied analysis for decades. they called them 'bouncers' because of the way they got "It took us forty-five years before we were able to break thrown around on the inside during those abrupt maneu- down the composition of the skin," Ferrel, the physicist vers. It took us quite a while to come up with the technol- said, as they exited the tram. "We still can't replicate it, but ogy and flight parameters so that the pilots wouldn't be we finally knew enough about it to at least be able to cut injured when they had the aircraft at speed." through it." Underbill pointed at a metal door along the back wall. "This way, please." Duncan could now see scaffolding near the front--if it The door slid open as they approached, and inside was was the front and not the rear--of the mothership. The an eight-passenger train on an electric monorail. Duncan ship itself rested on a complex platform of struts made of stepped into the car along with Underbill, Von Seeckt, the same black material as the skin. The rock sides of the Slayden, Ferrel, and Cruise. The car immediately started cavern were also smooth, and the floor totally flat. up and they were whisked into a brightly lit tunnel. They walked alongside the struts, dwarfed by the sheer Underbill continued to play tour guide. "It's a little over mass of the ship above them. Underhill pointed at the cen- four miles to Hangar Two, where we found the mothership. ter as they passed it. "We call it the mothership not just In fact, that's the reason this base is here. Most people because of its size, but also because there's space in the think we picked this site because of the isolation, but that center hold to contain all the bouncers and about a dozen was simply an added benefit. more. There are cradles in there that are the exact dimen- "This part of Nevada was originally being looked over to sions to hold every bouncer. We believe this is the way the 90 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51 91 bouncers got here to Earth, as they are not capable of small doorway in a concrete wall. A metal hatch closed leaving the atmosphere on their own power." behind them and they were inside a blast bunker. "We have "But we still can't even open the external cargo bay two men on board in the control room. They are simply doors." Von Seeckt spoke for the first time. "And you want going to turn on the engine, leave it on for ten seconds, to start the engine," he added accusingly, glaring at Un- and turn it off. They are not going to engage the drive. It's derbill. sort of like starting a car engine but leaving the transmis- "Now, Werner, we've been through all that before," Un- sion in neutral." derhill said. "We hope," Von Seeckt muttered. "It took us forty-five years to simply get in," Von Seeckt "FIVE MINUTES." said. "I was here for all forty-five of those years. Now in the "You are witnessing history," Underbill said to Duncan. space of a few months, you want to try and fly this!" "We have every possible monitoring device set up here," "What are you so worried about?" Duncan asked. She'd Ferrel added. "This should give us what we need to under- read the file on Von Seeckt and personally, given the man's stand the engine." background, she did not much care for him. His constant Duncan glanced over at Von Seeckt, who was sitting in complaining did little to ameliorate that impression. one of the folding chairs along the back wall of the bunker. "If I knew what I was worried about, I'd be even more He seemed uninterested in what was going on. worried," Von Seeckt answered. "We don't understand at "ONE MINUTE." all how this ship works." He stopped to catch his breath The countdown now started by the second, reminding and the other members of the party paused also, over three Duncan of the space shots she had watched as a youngster. quarters of the way to the nose. "TEN. Von Seeckt continued. "I believe part of the propulsion "NINE. system of this craft works using gravity. In this case it "EIGHT. would be the gravity of our planet. Who knows what it "SEVEN. would do if it got turned on? Do you want to be responsi- "SIX. ble for affecting our gravity?" "FIVE. "That's my area of expertise," Ferrel said, "and I can "FOUR. assure you there are no problems." "THREE. "I feel so much better," Von Seeckt snapped back. "TWO. A voice on a sound system echoed through the cavern: "ONE. "TEN MINUTES UNTIL INITIATION. ALL PERSON- "INITIATION." NEL ARE TO BE INSIDE PROTECTION. TEN MIN- Duncan felt a wave of nausea sweep through her. She UTES." staggered, then leaned over, feeling the contents of her "Gentlemen, enough," Underbill ordered. They were at breakfast in Las Vegas come up. She fell to her knees and the base of the scaffolding. "We can see the inside later, vomited on the concrete floor. Then, just as quickly, it was but for now, let's go over here." He led the way toward a over. 92 ROBERT DOHERTY "ALL CLEAR. ALL CLEAR. PERSONNEL MAY 6 LEAVE PROTECTION." Duncan stood, feeling the taste of acid in the back of her mouth. The men all looked pale and shaken also, but none of them had thrown up. "What happened?" Duncan asked. "Nothing happened," Ferrel replied. "Goddammit," Duncan snapped. "I felt it. Something happened." "The engine was turned on and then off," Ferrel said. "As far as what the effect we felt was, we'll have to analyze The data was being read before it was fully cognizant. The our data." He pointed at a television screen. "You can see signal came from the northeast. The power reading was not from the replay that nothing happened." And indeed, on accurate enough to give distance to the disturbance. A the screen, the mothership sat completely still as the digital quick time check showed that it had not been long since readout in the lower right hand corner went through the the last time it had been awakened. countdown. This time, though, it knew what had caused the distur- Duncan wiped a hand across her mouth and looked back bance. The data from the sensors matched information in at Von Seeckt, who was still in his seat. She felt embar- its memory. The nature of the signal was clear and it knew rassed to have thrown up, but Ferrel's response to her brief the source. illness seemed a bit nonchalant. For the first time she won- Action had to be taken. Valuable energy would have to dered if the old man might not be as crazy as he sounded. be expended. As quickly as the decision had been made, execution was begun. The order was given. The next time In the conference room Gullick and the inner circle of this occurred, it would be ready and have forces in place. Majic-12 had watched the test on video, although there had been nothing to really see. The mothership had simply sat there, but the data links indicated that the power had in- deed been turned on and the ship seemed to function properly. Gullick smiled, momentarily erasing all the stress lines on his face and scalp. "Gentlemen, the countdown contin- ues as planned." AREA 51 95 "What do you want to know?" Jarvis asked as he fin- 7 ished off the drink he had in front of him in one gulp. "Area 51," Kelly said. Jarvis laughed again. "And? There's a whole lot going on out there. Anything in specific?" "Why don't you just start and I'll get specific as you go along," Kelly replied. Jarvis nodded. "Okay. The usual, then. First, of course, you want to know how I know anything about Area 51, right?" He didn't wait for an answer. "I worked there from May 1991 to March 1992. I was a contract employee hired LAS VEGAS, NEVADA by the NRO, the National Reconnaissance Office. I T-121 HOURS worked on propulsion systems, trying to reverse-engi- "Steve Jarvis?" neer . . ." He paused. "Well, let me back up slightly. You The bartender grimaced and pointed toward a booth at know what they have out at Groom Lake, right?" the rear. As Kelly walked toward it, she studied the man "Why don't you tell me?" sitting there. She hated to admit it, but he didn't look like "Nine alien spacecraft," Jarvis said. "They're in a hangar cut into the side of the mountain. The government can fly the flake she had expected. Jarvis had straight black hair some of them, but they don't know how the engines work. and wore wire-rim glasses. He was well dressed in a sport Thus they can't replicate them. That's why I was called in." coat and tie. Not at all what she had expected from both "Where'd the government get these craft?" Kelly asked. the subject matter and the discussion on the phone. He was Jarvis shrugged. "Got me. I don't know. Some say we eyeing her as she approached and she could see his disap- traded for them, kind of like an interstellar used-car lot, pointment. He must have had hopes for someone taller but I don't believe that. Maybe we just found them. Maybe and with more curves, she assumed. they crashed, but the ones I saw seemed intact and showed He stood. "You have the money?" no sign of having crashed." So much for second impressions, Kelly thought. She "Why'd they bring you in?" pulled out an envelope and handed it to him. Johnny really "To figure out the engines. I did my dissertation at MIT owed her now, she thought. Jarvis looked in the envelope, on the possibility of magnetic propulsion. We already use thumbed through the bills, and then sat back down, signal- magnets on things such as high-speed trains, and the mili- ing for the waitress. "Would you like a drink?" tary has been working on a magnetic gun for a long time. "My tab or yours?" Kelly responded. But all those systems generate a magnetic field of their Jarvis laughed. "Yours, of course." own, which requires a lot of energy. My theory was that "11 have a Coke," she told the waitress while Jarvis or- since the planet already has a magnetic field, if there was dered his "usual." some way we could manipulate and control that field with 96 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51 97 an engine we would have an unlimited source of energy for "Every workday. It's an unmarked 737 with a red stripe an atmospheric craft." down the side." "So the government just hired you out of the blue and "Get back to Area 51," Kelly said, flipping a page. took you to a top-secret installation?" "What was it like?" "No, they didn't hire me out of the blue. I had worked "Like I said, tight security. Everything out of sight. The for the government before down at White Sands. A joint saucers were inside a big hangar. They had three of them contract with JPL working on the possibility of using a partially disassembled. Those are the ones I got to work long, sloping magnetic track on a mountainside to launch on. satellites into orbit." "They were about thirty feet in diameter. Silver metal "Not many mountainsides at White Sands," Kelly said. for skin. Flat bottom. About ten feet in from the edges on Jarvis smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Are you top the saucer becomes hemispherical to a flat semicircle trying to test my credibility?" top, about five to eight feet around." Jarvis finished his drink and ordered another before con- "I paid you five hundred dollars," Kelly said. "I get to tinuing. "The bitch of working on the engines was that ask the questions." there really weren't any. That really threw the military guys "Okay, you're right," Jarvis agreed. "There aren't any for a loop. You know how a jet fighter is designed: basically mountainsides at White Sands. We were simply working on a large engine with a small place for the pilot to sit. Well, the theory on a small scale. Best we ever got up to was a the disks were mostly empty on the inside. There were one-to-thirty model. You can do that using a sand dune." these sort of man-sized depressions in the center. I guess "So they brought you up to Area 51," Kelly prompted, where the crew sat. making a notation in a small notebook. "Anyway. Getting back to the engines that weren't. I "Yeah. It was weird. I reported to McCarren Field here told you my theory: magnetic propulsion working off a field in Vegas and they put us on this 737 and flew us out there. of energy that is already there. Most conventional engines I had a Q clearance already from my previous work, so that take up a lot of space because they have to produce energy. was okay. But, boy, they had the tightest security I've ever The disk engines simply had to redirect energy. There were seen. You couldn't fart without someone looking over your coils around the edge of the disk, built into the edge and shoulder. Those security people were scary, walking the floor." Jarvis smiled. "That also explains why they are around in these black windbreakers, wearing shades and saucer or disk shaped. The coils are circular and need to be carrying submachine guns." in order to be able to redirect the energy in any direction." "Did you stay out there at Area 51?" Kelly found herself falling under Jarvis's spell. His words "No. They shuttled us back and forth every day on the made sense, which was her second surprise of the day. She 737. The only people who live out there are the military had to remind herself what she had learned on her last people, as far as I could tell. All the scientific people and phone call earlier today before heading to the airport. the worker bees--they were on that plane." "The setup of the coils was relatively simple. The prob- "That plane flies every day?" lem was that we couldn't replicate; hell, we couldn't even AREA 51 99 98 ROBERT DOHERTY more valid. But they have blackballed me. I can't get a describe the metal that made up the coils. It actually wasn't research job anywhere, so I make my living as best I can." a metal. It was more of a . . ." Jarvis paused. "Suffice it to "I thought it might simply be because you never gradu- say it was different and the best minds we had there ated from MIT," Kelly said. couldn't figure it out." Jarvis carefully put his drink down. "Our hour is almost "Why did they terminate your contract?" Kelly asked. up." "Like I just said, we couldn't figure it out so there was no Kelly looked at her watch. "Not even close. You did need to keep us around. I assume they brought other peo- work at White Sands, but the records show it was on the ple in." basic construction of a new research facility, not in the "What do you know about a man named Mike Frank- facility itself. In fact, there is no record of you receiving a lin?" degree any higher than a BS from the State University of "The nut who lives up in Rachel?" New York at Albany in 1978." "He's dead," Kelly said, watching Jarvis carefully. "If you have any more questions you'd better ask them "Took them long enough" was his only reply as he took before your time is up," Jarvis said. another drink. "Did you talk to a man named Johnny Simmons?" "Took who long enough?" Kelly asked. "I don't recognize the name." "The government." Jarvis leaned forward. "From what I Kelly described Johnny, but Jarvis maintained ignorance. heard Fra