by Larry LaVoie
“You aren’t going there to study,” Renfro said flatly.
“What’s with all the secrecy?” Trick asked. “What’s so special about Yellowstone?”
“That’s where the action is,” Renfro said. “You’ll have to wait for the briefing to learn more.”
“Come on, you know more than you’re telling us,” David prodded.
“I do,” Renfro said, “and you’ll find out what I know at the briefing.”
“How long will that be?”
“You’ll have breakfast with the team in Yellowstone.”
“That sounds good,” Trick said. “I never thought I could eat again after last night, but a Denver omelet, with a side of hash browns, and a few slices of whole wheat toast would hit the spot right about now.”
“I’m not your waitress, just the unfortunate one who has to get you to the party,” Renfro said. “You’ll find some gloves in the seat-pocket in front of you. Put them on, you’ll be glad you did.”
The SUV approached a large hanger. The doors opened to a brightly lit room which housed an olive-colored helicopter with ARMY written in white letters on the side. David recognized it immediately as a Stone UH-1 Iroquois, more commonly called a Huey. He had seen many pictures of his father in a Huey. His father had flown one just like it during the Viet Nam War. “I didn’t know any of these were still around,” David said.
“Don’t worry. It’s been upgraded, but the passenger cabin is still pretty basic.” Agent Renfro said. “Now you see why I provided the gloves.” He climbed three steps into the cabin and helped Trick and David aboard. Inside he handed them a pair of sound deadening earphones. “You’ll be glad to have these, too. Once we’re in the air you won’t be able to communicate.”
David had never flown in a Huey before. Wait until I tell Dad about this, he thought. He felt the craft move and got his last glimpse out the door before it was closed. They were being towed out of the hanger. He heard the whine of the turbine engine and the staccato thump of the four-bladed rotor as it started to spin. As the engine spooled up to full speed he touched the button on the outside of his headphones to turn on the sound deadening feature. The craft began to vibrate as it lifted off. The headphones did a wonderful job of canceling the thumping sound of the rotor, but were not as effective against the whine of the engine. Unfortunately he could still feel the vibration of the blades as they whirled around. His father had once told him the definition of a helicopter was, a self-destructing fatigue machine. Agent Renfro had been correct in determining they would not be able to communicate, once airborne. He looked across the cabin at Trick, who seemed to be enjoying the whole experience.
Chapter 20
August 23rd, Washington, D.C.
Heather grabbed her gun and held it behind her as she answered the door. It was still early and Joshua Stone was wearing an angry look. “Josh, what’s wrong?”
“I need to talk to you.”
Heather glanced at her watch and opened the door to let him in. She backed up to an overstuffed chair and slipped the gun under a pillow. “Have a seat. I still have some coffee on if you want some?”
Joshua wiped his forehead with his hand. “How do you feel about traveling?”
“Traveling? What’s going on?”
“We’ve got a huge rally headed for Yellowstone National Park.”
“You can’t be serious. Yellowstone is one of the most protected spots on the planet. What could be going on that Green Keepers would want to protest?”
“This is big. You need to go out there with me.”
“Josh, I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but I can’t just pack up and follow you to a demonstration in the middle of nowhere.”
“I know, I know...Andy’s got me all fired up. He’s headed out there with 15 busloads of protesters. He’s going to bankrupt us if he keeps pulling these stunts.”
“Why do you have to go out there? Just cut his funding and he’ll have to change his plans.”
“I already threatened him with that. He said money wasn’t a problem.” He held his head with both hands. “I’m afraid he’s going to pull another stunt like he did in Mexico.”
Heather’s mind was racing. How was she going to get this information to Green or Renfro? If she agreed to go with Stone, she would lose any backup Green could give her. “I can’t leave this minute,” Heather said, trying to stall.
“We need to get going pronto. I thought it would give us some time together.”
Here we go, Heather thought. Just because I listen to him, he thinks I’m in love with him. She put her hand on his arm. “Give me an hour to do some shopping. Yellowstone is cold, and I’ll need some clothes for the climate. Why don’t you go and pack and I’ll meet you at the office. Two hours tops.”
“Make it an hour. I have a plane chartered and waiting at Reagan National.”
“OK, then, I have to hurry. See you in an hour.”
As soon as Joshua was down the hall, Heather dialed her burner phone she’d been given for such an emergency.
“What’s the emergency,” Green answered.
Heather filled him in on the Yellowstone trip.
“Not the way I had it planned, but you have to stick with him. There’s already an operation going on in Yellowstone. They may be going to protest it. You know Agent Renfro is already out there.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You’re in D.C. and Yellowstone is halfway across the country. I didn’t think you needed to know.”
“Well, I do need to know, and I only have an hour before I leave. How are you going to bring me up to date?”
“Good question. I’ll figure something out. In the meantime, I suggest you hit Macy’s on your way to meet Stone.”
“Thanks for the shopping advice. I think I can handle it.”
“Heather...be careful. Toss this phone and I’ll get a fresh one to you before you meet with Stone. If you find out where the chemical weapons are, I need that information, you understand?”
“Loud and clear, but I can’t just come out and ask him.”
“You’ll find a way. You’d better get going.” The phone went dead. Heather went into the kitchen, turned on the garbage disposal, and tossed the phone into it. She ran it with cold water until the drain had cleared. You’d better not fail me on this, she thought, as she turned off the disposal.
The shopping trip to Macy’s was a bust. They didn’t open until 10:00 and she arrived shortly after 9:00 A.M. She frantically looked around for Green or someone who would drop her the burner phone. The last thing she wanted to do was leave the capital city without a way to communicate. When she couldn’t wait any longer, she hailed a cab and made a quick stop at Target to do her shopping. All the while she was hoping Green was on her tail and would intercept her.
She had two shopping bags with her as she stepped out of a taxi in front of Green Keepers. Joshua was waiting. Damn you, Green. You said you’d get me another phone and I’m about to fly 2000 miles west without any way of getting in touch. I don’t even know what is going on out there. She smiled broadly as she approached Joshua. “I think I have everything I need,” she said, lifting the Target shopping bags. The taxi driver opened the trunk and set Heather’s suitcase on the sidewalk. Joshua handed him a hundred dollars and said, “Keep the change.” He then motioned to the limo driver to pick up Heather’s stuff. He opened the door of the white limo and ushered Heather inside. When the limo started to move, Joshua put his hand on her thigh. “I know this is kind of sudden, but I’m really glad you can join me. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a female companion.”
Heather slowly moved his hand off her thigh and held it. “I don’t know what kind of a woman you think I am. I expect to have separate bedrooms.”
“Of course. I really need for you to keep tabs on things. I brought your laptop from the office. We may have to transfer some money from an offshore account.”
Maybe I read him wrong, she thought.
They had been in the air for more than an hour when Joshua opened his briefcase and pulled out a thick stack of papers. “What are you reading,” Heather asked, leaning toward him.
“Just a stupid government report I received a few months ago. Can you believe the Army is tunneling into volcanoes to enact environmental war against other countries?”
“Was that what they were doing in Mexico?”
“I had a small demonstration organized so the people would know what was going on, but Andy took it over without my knowledge and... you know how that ended.”
Heather wanted to learn more, but she was afraid he’d think she was prying. “I see they have a well-stocked bar on the plane. Do you mind if I have a glass of wine?”
“No, go ahead. Fix me a Scotch on the rocks while you’re up.”
Heather opened a tiny bottle of Pinot Noir and poured it into a glass. She poured four of the single shot bottles of Johnny Walker Black Label into a glass and added a few ice cubes. As she handed the glass to Joshua, she caught the title page of the report, he was reading, The Yellowstone Brief. She sat next to him again and lifted her glass. “Here’s to a successful trip.”
Joshua lifted his glass and touched hers. “They say this is a plan to protect the environment. If that were true, I would have never gotten my hands on it.”
“It’s classified?” Heather asked.
“You bet it is.” He grinned. “I have friends in high places. I can’t say for certain, but someone on the President’s staff isn’t happy with what’s going on.” He sipped his drink. “Amazing how power goes to the head of our politicians. They want to burn fossil fuel until they destroy the planet, and then switch to nuclear power without any means of disposing of the waste. Can you imagine storing radioactive waste for 10,000 years? They’re trying to come up with universal symbols to warn future humans just in case some future generation wanders across a disposal sight, and they don’t read today’s languages. Who’s to say the signs will last for 10,000 years? They need to cut them in granite. Now, they are trying to control the eruption of volcanoes. I’ll bet you didn’t know volcanoes can impact the planet’s weather patterns more than any other single thing on earth.”
“I didn’t know that,” Heather said. For a guy who doesn’t care about causes, he sure is worked up, she thought.
“Says so right here.” He swirled the ice in his drink and took another sip. “The eruption of a super volcano the size of Yellowstone could throw the world into another ice age that could take 10,000 years to recover from.”
“Why is there so much interest in Yellowstone?” Heather asked. “I knew it was a violent place with all the geysers, but you don’t think it’s going to erupt?”
“I don’t pretend to know much about volcanoes,” Joshua said, setting the report on the table in front of them. “But someone in the government believes Yellowstone is becoming active again. This document is a plan to control an eruption.” His tone turned sarcastic. “Nothing could go wrong with that. Don’t you just love our government! Why do we keep trying to destroy ourselves?” He lowered his voice. “But I like to look at the bright side. If we didn’t have these idiots in government coming up with all these outlandish plans on how to annihilate the human race, I’d be out of a job. Take global warming as an example. Do you know how many demonstrations I held for global warming last year?”
In the back of her mind, she was wondering where this was going. Is he serious, or is the alcohol making his tongue loose? “I have no idea. A lot, I suppose.”
“Thirteen. More than one a month on average. Guess how many I held against Global Warming.”
“You got me,” Heather said. His words were beginning to slur. The alcohol is going to his head.
“None. Zippo. If I could get the conservatives fired up against global warming I could milk both sides.” He gave her a proud grin. “That’s the best of both worlds, for me. Now you take Yellowstone. Nobody gives a rip about Yellowstone. You don’t hear anything on the news about them trying to tunnel into Yellowstone. You know why?” He didn’t wait for Heather to answer. “I’ll tell you why, because nobody is making any money from it. If nobody is making any money, it isn’t newsworthy. Who cares about Yellowstone? Nobody...except Andy. What is it with volcanoes and Andy. There’s no money in protesting these things. I hope he doesn’t plan on killing these guys like he did in Mexico. I’m not going to film it, I’ll tell you that.” He raised a finger up at Heather. “Mark my words, I’m not going to fall into that trap again.”
“It sounds like you and Andy have a disagreement,” Heather said.
“Had,” Josh said. “We are now in agreement.”
Heather acted surprised. “Agreement? About what?”
Josh smiled and took a gulp of his drink. “Andy convinced me there was money in it. I was looking in the wrong place.”
“I’m not following you.”
Josh lifted the heavy report and waved it at her. “We are going to hold the government hostage. How much will they pay to keep this operation a secret?”
“A lot?” Heather wasn’t sure where he was going with this.
Joshua lifted his glass. “I’ll drink to that.”
Chapter 22
August 23rd, Above Wyoming
The constant vibration of the Huey shook David to the point he was numb. He likened it to a massage from hell. His whole body was vibrating and he could do nothing to stop it. He was gaining new respect for the soldiers who had spent a good part of their lives being ferried around in these vibrating tin cans. The air was cold enough he could see his breath, and the unending, high pitched, whine of the turbine was grating on him. He was becoming anxious for the trip to be over. “How much longer,” he shouted to Renfro.
Renfro didn’t hear him, or ignored him, he didn’t know which. He looked across at Trick, on the other side of the cabin. He appeared to be sound asleep. He closed his eyes and tried to forget where he was. I wonder what we signed up for, he mused.
With the large cabin doors closed, there was no sightseeing on the trip. He could tell it was daylight outside, but that was about all through the frost covered windows. As the helicopter started to descend he felt a slight, but familiar, weight shift in his body. Yellowstone, here we come.
The parking area where the helicopter landed was rustic. No more than a 30’ diameter slab of blacktop with a large-white “H” painted in its center. The pad was outside the park infirmary, surrounded by a graveled area which churned up dust that was still swirling about when Agent Renfro opened the cabin door.
“Next time I fly myself,” he said to Renfro, as he jumped to the ground.
Trick got out behind David and looked around the area. “Quaint,” he said, looking at the rustic stone block buildings. A small herd of elk were feeding on the lawn in front of the nearest building, seemingly oblivious to the noise of the helicopter. “Must not allow hunting around here,” Trick said. “They act like they own the place.”
“I’ll bet they do,” David said. “They don’t allow firearms in the park. It looks more modern than I had remembered. I’m sure we’ll have running water.”
“And indoor toilets?” Trick asked.
The pilot unloaded the baggage from a compartment near the tail of the craft.
“Guess a butler is out of the question,” Trick said, picking up his suitcase. “I feel like I’ve been drafted.”
“You were,” David said, picking up his own gym bag. He had packed for an overnight trip to Portland, not a, God knows how long, assignment in Yellowstone. Looking at the suitcase Trick was carrying, he surmised Trick was better prepared for the chilly days they were about to encounter. He had the same bag he’d brought with him from Alaska. David felt the ground vibrate as they were led by Agent Renfro toward a row of the buildings. “Did you feel that?” he asked Trick.
“I hope that’s not why we’re here,” Trick said. “Earthquakes and Yellowstone are not a good combination.”
“
My feelings, precisely,” David said.
As they reached the edge of lawn in front of a three-story sandstone building, a man dressed in a green shirt and tan trousers greeted them. “Welcome to Yellowstone.” His name tag read, Henry Evans, Park Volcanologist.
“You’re the one in charge here,” David said, reaching out his hand. “I’m David Wayne. I’ll bet we have the same boss.”
“That makes three of us,” Trick said, setting down his suitcase. “I’m Richard Magic. Most people call me Trick. So, are we going to meet Clayton here?”
Henry’s voice was shaking. “Dr. Brown was here earlier. He’s back in California. Did you feel that earthquake? We lost track whether they’re earthquakes or aftershocks. I wish Clayton would have taken me with him. He said you two were on your way. I’m glad you’re here.”
“This way gentlemen,” Agent Renfro encouraged. “The briefing is due to start soon.”
“What about breakfast?” Trick asked.
Renfro shook his head and kept walking.
They entered a large sandstone block building. Inside, it was brightly lit with fluorescent tubes hanging down by chain from the high ceiling. The lights were still swinging from the earthquake, casting soft swaying shadows over the room. In the front of the room was a stage and large screen like a makeshift theater. In front of the stage were at least a hundred folding chairs, lined up in rows of about ten across. Along one side were tables and chairs that appeared to be a dining area. A dozen men dressed in white were fussing over a long table which was set up as a buffet. Uniformed men in cammo fatigues and civilians in casual jeans and sweatshirts were moving along in the food line, cafeteria-style.
“You can stow your gear in the coat closet until we’re finished with the briefing,” Henry said, pointing to a row of coatracks behind a counter.
After a hearty breakfast that consisted of fruit, toast, bacon, scrambled eggs and fried potatoes, the people assembled in the area in front of the stage. The loud speaker gave out a squawk and a voice said. “Ladies and gentlemen, please take a seat. Security, please close the doors.” The din in the room lowered to a dull hum.
