"Hard, isn't it?" Nabinger said. "Yes, yes," Nabinger said. "But there is just enough of a Turcotte rubbed the stubble of his beard. "Yeah, I get it. common root for me to decipher some of this text. This All right, go on." is--" Turcotte placed a large hand on Nabinger's shoulder. THE OTHER (A)???? NOT WANT TO STAY "Professor. It's late. We all need to get some sleep. But BE GONE BEFORE ARRIVAL OF (B)???? before we sleep we need to decide what we're going to do (C)???? STANDS FIRM next. To do that we need to know what you have, as good as NO CONTAMINATION/INTERFERENCE(?) you have been able to get it." WITH (WORD EQUALING HUMANS) Nabinger nodded. "All right. There were two main NATURAL COURSE MUST BE ALLOWED stones set up in the cavern. Those are the two I have spent all my time on. There are others I will have to get to to- "No idea what was arriving?" Kelly asked. Her hand was morrow. But here is what I do have. still on Turcotte's shoulder. "Please note where I have question marks after certain "It was a special symbol. One that I had never seen be- parts. That means that I am not quite certain of what-- fore," Nabinger said. "From the basic set of the symbol I "Just show it to us!" Turcotte said. would say it represented a proper noun: a specific name. Nabinger slid the first page under the small dome light. I've designated each unidentified symbol by a different let- 3O6 ROBERT DOHERTY 3O7 AREA 51 ter before the question marks to show that they aren't the same. As you will see on the next page, one of the noun Hell evolution is not what we think. Do you know how that symbols does repeat." will affect people? Think about religion? About-- "No " Von Seeckt disagreed. "It is not bigger than what "So they decided to leave us alone?" Kelly said. . happening at Area 51. That is the first problem. Because "But obviously that didn't happen," Von Seeckt said. in just under three days they are going to try to fly the "That bomb had to get into the pyramid somehow." mothership, and the marker left by the people who aban- "Yes," Nabinger agreed. "And the high runes all over doned the mothership says don't do it. We've got to stop the planet. Somehow humans picked up some of that." "Probably because it didn't work out the way they had it.""I've got another stupid question," Turcotte said. planned. Apparently everyone didn't go along so easily The other three waited. with getting stuck on Earth." Nabinger turned over the last "Why is Gullick in such a goddamn rush to fly the page. mothership? That's bugged me from the very beginning." "I do not know," Von Seeckt said. "It troubled me ever DECISION MADE BY MEETING since he came up with the countdown to fly it. It was ridicu- (C)???? PREPARES TO IMPLEMENT lous. He wanted to to fly it before we even ran a basic DISAGREEMENT series of tests on it." BATTLE Turcotte felt a pounding on the right side of his head. OTHERS (D)???? FLEE FIGHT "Something isn't right about all this." CHANGE HAS ARRIVED "Ever since they went to Dulce early this year," Von IT IS OVER Seeckt said, "it all changed." DUTY IS (E)???? Turcotte thought of the pyramid, the vats, the golden glow. The small orb that had destroyed the helicopter he "So they fought among themselves?" Kelly said. was on in Nebraska. Too many pieces that didn't fit. The "Looks like it," Nabinger said. only thing he knew for sure was that this was bigger than "And in the end they did their duty," Turcotte said. him right now. "But not perfectly," Von Seeckt said. "We are still deal- "Let's get a little sleep first," Turcotte suggested. "We're ing with the repercussions." all tired and we'll be able to think better with a couple of "I've got a stupid question," Turcotte said. "Why would hours of rest. We'll decide what to do in the morning. We the people who built the mothership leave their messages still have forty-eight hours." on stone tablets?" "Because that's what whoever was left there had to work with," Nabinger said. "This is big," Kelly said. "Bigger than what they have at Area 51. This means history is not at all what we think it is. 309 AREA 51 was tight: no unwanted watchers on White Sides Mountain 28 this evening. And the skies were being carefully watched with the invisible fingers of radar to keep out unwanted overflights. Helicopter gunships were ready on the flight line outside Hangar One. Still, Gullick wanted to take no chances. He braked as a figure stepped out of the darkness. The man walked up to the humvee, weapon at the ready. The man snapped to attention when he recognized General Gullick. Despite the night vision goggles there was no mistaking the general's HANGAR Two, AREA 51 presence. ADJUSTED T-42 HOURS "Sir! The engineers are just ahead, under that camou- flage net." Major Quinn blinked hard, trying to keep his eyes open Gullick accelerated. Quinn was grateful when they fi- against the lack of sleep. He pulled the collar of his Gore- nally stopped near several trucks parked under a desert Tex parka tighter around his neck and shivered. It was cold camouflage net. An officer walked up to the humvee and in the desert at night, and the wind whipping in the open smartly saluted. windows of the humvee did not help. They had left Hangar "Sir, Captain Henson, Forty-Fifth Engineers." One ten minutes ago and were racing around the base of Gullick returned the salute and stepped out, Quinn fol- Groom Mountain, General Gullick at the wheel and Quinn lowing. "What's your status?" Gullick asked. in the passenger seat. He wondered why the general had "All charges are in place. We're completing the final wir- had to choose the single vehicle from the motor pool that ing now. We'll be all set by dawn." He held up a remote had no top to it, instead of one of the others, but he knew detonator the size of a cellular phone. "Then all it will take better than to ask. is a simple command on this. It's linked into the computer There was no road. There never had been one. Roads that controls the sequence of firing." Henson led the way showed up in satellite photos. They had stayed on the run- to a humvee parked under the camouflage net and showed way most of the distance, until they turned off and headed the general a laptop. "The sequence is critical to get the directly for the mountainside. Now they rolled across the rock in the outside wall to come down in a controlled man- desert floor, the suspension of the vehicle easily handling ner. Very similar to what happens when they demolish tall the rough terrain. Gullick leaned over and checked their buildings in a built-up area--making the rubble come GPS, ground positioning system, linked in to satellites down on itself but not hit the ship." overhead. It gave their location to within five feet, even on The general took the remote and turned it around in his the move. The headlights on the jeeplike vehicle were off, hands, almost caressing it. and Gullick was using night vision goggles, allowing them "Be careful, sir," Captain Henson said. to travel unseen to the naked eye. The outer security net Gullick reached down and pulled out his pistol. He 310 ROBERT DOHERTY 311 AREA 51 pushed the barrel into the underside of Henson's jaw. "It's Kelly, Johnny! It's Kelly! I'm here." "Don't you ever dare speak to me like that, mister. Do you For the first time since they'd picked him up, Johnny understand?" His thumb cocked the hammer back, the showed some awareness of his surroundings. "Kelly." He sound very loud in the clear night air. blinked, trying to focus on her. "Kelly." "Yes, sir," Henson managed to get out. "It's okay, Johnny. I came and got you like you wanted. I Gullick's voice rose. "I have had to take shit from civil- came and got you." ian pukes for thirty years! I'll be goddamned if I will accept "Kelly--they're real. I saw them. They took me. They even the slightest disrespect from a man in uniform. Is that did things to me." clear?" "It's okay, Johnny. You're safe now. You're safe." "Yes, sir!" Johnny turned away and curled into a ball and Kelly held Quinn froze, stunned at the outburst. on to him. Turcotte looked at Von Seeckt and Nabinger. "You fucking people." Gullick's voice had dropped to a "Get some sleep. We'll be leaving shortly." He turned and mutter, and although the gun was still pressing into Hen- walked back outside, sliding the door shut behind him. son's skin, his eyes had become unfocused. "I've given my Turcotte walked out into the darkness. The stars glis- life for you people," Gullick whispered. "I've done tened above the mountains that surrounded him on all all . . ." The general's eyes refocused. sides. It would be dawn soon. He could sense it in the He quickly bolstered the gun and turned to the moun- slightest change in the sky to the east. Most people would tainside, behind which the mothership rested. "Show me have not been able to tell, but Turcotte had spent many the charges," he said in a normal voice. dark nights waiting for the dawn to come. He thought of the people in the van. Von Seeckt with his demons from the past and fears for the future. Johnny Simmons and the demons that had been forced on him. CAPITOL REEF NATIONAL PARK, UTAH Nabinger with his questions from the past and his quest for A voice yelled out shrilly. "They're here! They're here!" answers. Kelly--Turcotte paused--Kelly had her own Turcotte had his gun out, hammer cocked, as he kicked ghosts, it seemed. open the driver's door of the van and went down into He turned as the van door opened. Kelly slipped out and squat, peering around in the dark for a target. The scream- walked over. "Johnny's asleep. Or passed out. I can't tell ing continued and Turcotte slowly relaxed and stood up which it is." he recognized the voice. He walked around to the right "What do you think they did to him?" side and opened the door. "Screwed with his brain," Kelly said bitterly. "Made him Kelly held Johnny, gripping him tightly around the think he got picked up by aliens and taken aboard a space- shoulders. "It's not real Johnny. It's not real." ship and had all sorts of experiments run on him." Simmons was pressed up in the left rear corner, staring Think he'll get over it?" Turcotte asked. wide-eyed straight ahead. "I can see them! I can see them? "Why should he? He did get picked up by aliens," Kelly said. I'm not going to let them take me again! I won't go back!" 312 ROBERT DOHERTY AREA 51 313 "What?" "Then, of course, he showed me the film. That removed "Whatever they did to his brain is real. So for him it's all all doubt. It was shot in black and white. He told me it had real. So, no, I don't think he'll ever get over it. You never been taken in 1970. They had picked up a bogey on radar get over reality. You just get on with your life." at Nellis. At first they thought it might be a stray civilian "What reality happened to you?" aircraft. They scrambled a pair of F-16's to check it out. Kelly just looked at him. The first half of the film they showed me was from the "You said that you'd tell me, first chance you got," aircraft's gun cameras. It starts out with blank sky, then you Turcotte said. He waited. catch a glimpse of something moving fast across the sky. After a minute Kelly spoke. "I was working for an inde- The camera centers in and there's a saucer-shaped object. pendent film company. Actually, I was part of an indepen- It's hard to tell the size because there's no reference scale. dent film company. I owned a piece. We were doing well. But I could see the desert and mountains in the back- We did documentaries and freelance work. National Geo- ground, moving. The disk cut across a lot of terrain. If it graphic in its early TV days had us work a couple of their had just been against sky I might have questioned it more. pieces. It was before all these cable channels--Discovery The disk looked to be about thirty feet in diameter and and the like. Hell, we were before our time. We were on silvery. It moved in abrupt jerks back and forth. the right path. "If it was a fake, it was a very good fake--not someone "Then I got a letter. I still have the damn thing. Eight hanging a hubcap out the window of their car and taping it years ago. From a captain in the Air Force at Nellis Air with a videocamera as they drove. Believe me, I've actually Force Base. The letter stated that the Air Force was inter- seen a couple of those." She walked a little farther along ested in making a series of documentaries. Some on the the edge of the overlook and Turcotte followed. space program, some on their work in high-altitude medi- "So the camera tracks this saucer and it descends. I can cine and other things. see an airstrip at the base of some mountains come into "It sounded interesting, so I went to Nellis and met this view. At the time I thought it was Nellis Air Force Base, captain. We talked about the various subjects he had men- but now I know it must have been the airstrip at Groom tioned in the letter, then, almost as an aside, he mentioned Lake. The saucer goes down, almost to the ground, and the that they had some interesting footage in the public affairs F-16 goes by and that's it for the gun camera. There's a office there. splice in the film and then I get it in color from the ground. "So I say, 'Of what?' And he says, 'Of a UFO landing at Shot from the control tower, Prague tells me." the air base here.' "Wait a second," Turcotte interrupted. "Give me that "I about choked on my coffee. He said it like you would name again." mention the sun came up this morning. Very calm and al- "Prague. That was the Air Force captain who I met and most uninterested. I should have known from that, that i t who sent me the letter. Why?" was a setup. But like I said, I was hungry. We were still 1 tell you when you're done," Turcotte said. "Go on." struggling and this was the biggest thing ever thrown our So the saucer comes to a hover over the runway and way. stays there for a few minutes. I could see emergency vehi- 314 ROBERT DOHERTY 315 AREA 51 cles being deployed--fire trucks with their lights on. I there in Area 51. It is real, but they set up the people who could see the reflection of the lights off the skin of the could truly expose it as frauds or kooks." saucer--a very difficult effect to fake. Pretty much impossi- Kelly pointed at the van, which was fifty feet away. ble to do, given the technology of the time. Then Air Force They destroyed Johnny the same way. In his mind, after police vehicles being deployed. Then the saucer starts to go hat they did to him in that tank, he thinks he was really straight up and it just outraces the ability of the camera abducted by aliens. And the fact is that he was abducted. operator to track it and it's gone. That he probably did see things they didn't want him to "I asked Prague why he wanted to give me this film, and see But if he goes public with it, he's laughed at. Yet in his he said the Air Force was trying to get people off its back mind it is real. That's about the worst thing you can do to a concerning Project Blue Book. That they wanted to show person next to physically killing him. It can drive you in- that the Air Force wasn't covering things up and that there sane." wasn't this great conspiracy that many UFO enthusiasts She turned back to face Turcotte. "So now you know why claim. I'm not too trusting." "So I left Nellis and went straight to two major distribu- "I can understand that." tion companies and told them what I had just seen. Of "What was on sublevel one?" Kelly asked. course they didn't believe me and of course, Prague hadn't Turcotte succintly told her, leaving out his two phone given me a copy of the film. He had to clear release with calls after escaping. his superiors, he told me, and for that he needed to know Kelly shuddered. "These people have to be stopped." who I was going to distribute it through. "I agree," Turcotte said. "We've made a start on that. "So when these companies call Nellis and try to get hold You might be pleased to know that Prague was--" He of Prague, they're told that such a person doesn't exist. paused as there was a thumping sound inside the van. When they mention the film, they get laughed at, which They both turned as the door to the van shot open and doesn't do their disposition much good. I got trashed. I was Johnny appeared, holding the arm of one of the captain's labeled a nut and nobody wanted to deal with me. I was chairs in his hands and swinging it about wildly. "You won't bankrupt within three months." get me!" he screamed. "Describe the saucer you saw again," Turcotte said. Turcotte and Kelly ran forward, but Johnny turned from Kelly did. them and sprinted along the path. "The film was real," Turcotte said. "That sounds like ones "Johnny, stop!" Kelly yelled. of the bouncers in the hangar. They really set you up "You won't get me!" Johnny screeched. He halted, bran- good." dishing the chair arm. "You won't get me." "I know," Kelly replied. "I wouldn't have gone to the "Johnny, it's Kelly," she said, slowly taking a step for- distributors for financing if I didn't believe the film was ward. The others were piling out of the van, Nabinger rub- real. That's what really pissed me off about the whole bing the side of his head. thing." The sky was getting noticeably brighter in the east. "I won't let you get me!" Johnny turned and climbed up on the railing. "That's what's so cunning about what they've been doing 316 ROBERT DOHERTY 317 AREA 51 "Get down, Johnny," Kelly said. "Please get down." She reluctantly nodded, her eyes red rimmed from cry- "I won't let them get me," Johnny said, and he stepped ing. out into the darkness and disappeared. "All right," Turcotte said. "If that's our primary goal, the "Oh, God!" Kelly cried out as she ran up to the edge way I see it, we got two choices. One is to go public with and looked over. Turcotte was right behind her. In the this. Head to the nearest big town--maybe Salt Lake early-morning light they could just make out Johnny's body city and try to get the attention of someone in the media. lying on the rock, two hundred feet below. That way we use public opinion to stop the test. The other "We have to get him!" Kelly cried out. option is to take matters into our own hands, go back to Turcotte knew there was no way down into the gulley Area 51, and try to stop the test ourselves." without climbing equipment. He also knew Johnny was Turcotte turned to Kelly. "I know it's hard, but we need dead; not only could no one could have survived that fall, your input on this. Will going to the media work?" the twisted and still way the body was lying confirmed it. She closed her eyes for a few moments, then opened He wrapped his arms around Kelly and held her. them. "To be blunt, going public is the way you would think we should go. It's the way I would like to go. The problem Fifteen minutes later a very somber group was seated in- is that going to the media does not guarantee that your side the van. Nabinger had a bump on his head where story will get to the public. We have no proof of-- Johnny had hit him with the arm of the chair before bolting from the van. It had taken ten of the past fifteen minutes "We have the photos of the tablets," Nabinger cut in. for Turcotte to convince Kelly that they couldn't get to "Yes, Professor," Kelly said, "but you're the only one Johnny and that he would have to stay where he had fallen. who can translate them. And since you're with us, I think "All right," Turcotte began. "We have to decide what to people are going to look at that a bit skeptically. There was do. The first thing is to agree on our goal. I think-- a stone found in America--I think in New England--that "We get these bastards," Kelly said. "We get them and the finder claimed showed that ancient Greeks were in the we finish them. I want to see every one of them--every New World a millennium before the Vikings. Unfortu- single one out at Area 51 and in Dulce--be brought to nately, the man's proof rested on his translation of the justice." markings on the stone. Other scholars, once they had a "We have to stop the mothership from flying first," Von chance to study the stone, disagreed. Even if we find schol- Seeckt cut in. "That must be our primary goal. I under- ars who would agree with your translations, it would take stand your desire for vengeance, but the mothership is a too long. Certainly more than two days." danger to the planet. We know that now from the transla- Kelly looked around the circle. "The same is true of all tion of the tablets. We must stop that first." of us. Von Seeckt could tell his story but no one would "It's the one with the shortest fuse," Turcotte said. "We believe it for a while, if ever, without proof. People in the have to stop what they're doing there and in Dulce, but media don't report or print everything that comes to them, that can come after we stop the mothership test flight." He ecause a lot of what comes to them is bogus and our looked at Kelly. "Do you agree?" stories are, to say the least, somewhat outrageous." She 318 ROBERT DOHERTY looked out the window. "Johnny's dead now. We don't 29 even have him." "Another thing we must keep in mind," Turcotte said, remembering the conversation he'd had earlier that morn- ing with Colonel Mickell, "is that we have committed crimes. I've killed people. We all entered the facility at Dulce illegally. We might not get much of a chance to tell our story before we're hauled off to jail, and once that happens we'll be under the control of the government." "Then we must do it ourselves," Von Seeckt announced. "It is what I said must happen all along." ROUTE 375, NEVADA "This isn't going to be as easy as Dulce," Turcotte said. ADJUSTED T-33 HOURS "Not only do they have better security at Area 51, but they are going to be prepared. You can be sure that General "I've got to make a phone call," Turcotte said. Things had Gullick is going to tighten things down the closer the test been quiet for the past hour as they got closer to Area 51. gets." Nabinger and Von Seeckt were in the back, napping. "You know the area and the facility," Nabinger said, "To whom?" Kelly asked. turning to Von Seeckt. "What do you think?" The dark pavement went by under their wheels with a "I think Captain Turcotte is correct. It will be next to soothing, rhythmic thump. Turcotte had been thinking impossible, but I also believe that we must try." things through for the past couple of hours and he'd made "Then let's start planning," Turcotte said. a decision. He quickly told Kelly about Dr. Duncan and the reason he'd been sent into Area 51. He told her about trying to call twice and the line being disconnected and calling Colonel Mickell at Fort Bragg. "So are you going to try her number again or are you trying Mickell?" Kelly asked when he was done. "Mickell. We're going to need Duncan if she's legiti- mate." "If she's legitimate, why is your line to her dead?" Kelly asked. "That might be something out of her control and aware- ness," Turcotte said. He spotted an all-night gas station. He pulled over and left the engine running while he went to the phone booth. When he was done, he hopped back in the driver's seat, handing Kelly a slip of paper. "Duncan's 32O ROBERT DOHERTY 321 AREA 51 phone number in Vegas," he said. "Mickell says that as far THE CUBE, AREA 51 as he can find out, Duncan's legitimate." ADJUSTED T-31 HOURS "Do you trust Mickell?" Kelly asked. "I'm not sure I trust anyone anymore," Turcotte re- "Utah State Police found Simmons's body thirty minutes sponded. ago " Quinn announced. He had been working in the con- 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 heavil