“The Israeli’s had no reason to be snooping in the Andes Mountains.”
“I didn’t come here to discuss Pacaipampa. We can talk about that another day,” said Robbie. “Hello Mr. Miller, good to see you. It doesn’t appear that you’re plan is going to work. I think Ballard is still pretty angry.”
Greg stepped forward and the two embraced. Ballard burned.
Robbie eyed the other old man in the group.
“You must be Billy Callahan. The one I’ve heard so much about. It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.”
Ballard joined the sociable chat, “You learned your manners, but you have a lot to learn about ‘respect.’ You know, basic concepts like ‘respecting other people’s accomplishments’ and not taking credit for them yourself.”
Jake jumped into the fray. “Your disagreements should be settled on someone else’s dime. I think I speak on behalf of all of us and ask what are you doing here? I appreciated your help over the phone, but why are you here?”
“I’m an old friend of the Miller family. Let me explain.”
“Please”, said Ballard, “this ought to be good.”
Robbie shifted the envelope in his left hand and handed it to Billy.
“Open it,” he said.
Billy took the envelope and withdrew three pictures.
“This is it. This is the picture that my dad showed me.”
Robbie interjected. “You’re a half mile off target. Study the next picture.”
Billy moistened his fingers so he could separate the second picture. It had “Official Israeli Recon” stamped on the back. It was a picture of the soldier who rescued Billy.
“Is that me being pulled out of the hole? I’m covered in dirt.”
“It’s you. I promise. I didn’t drive all this way to give you a phony image. Take a peek at the last one.”
Billy slid the second photo behind the first one and exposed the photograph.
“I don’t see anything. All I see is dirt and rocks.”
“Keep looking,” said Robbie, “look close, near the top of the page. You should move your gear over there.”
“What is it?” asked Ballard.
Jake fumed at the sight. “I didn’t authorize this. Mr. Miller, you are not responsible for paying for these machines. You don’t have to do this. It will cost thousands of dollars.”
Robbie stopped him short.
“Mr. Miller is not paying for this, Mr. Epstein. The Israeli government and the United States Military are working on a joint effort here today.”
Ballard’s voice in anger, “So you’re ready to fuck me over again? This is charming. And my father gave you a hug two minutes ago. Dad, what do you think of Mr. Wachter now?”
“I have to admit Robbie, I’m a little confused. Could you please explain what’s going on?” said Greg.
“Gladly. It’s no secret that Billy all but died in this spot in 2012. Billy, I’m sorry that your father perished that fateful day. The army returned your personal items to the hospital after they lifted you out of the hole. The hole was completely covered by tons of rocks during the aftershocks that followed a day or two later. The country was devastated by the damage and the last thing on anyone’s mind was the possible failure to retrieve a few personal items from the surviving American tourist, even if that tourist was the son of the great Jack Callahan.”
Ballard grew weary of the story. “Get to the point. Please, I can’t wait for the other shoe to drop.”
Robbie ignored Ballard and continued, “As I was saying, the last picture was taken as evidence that the area where Billy was located was cleared. The captain, a man named ‘Itzal’, forwarded the photograph to his superiors. He failed to achieve notoriety in his life, but the fact that he slid this picture into the report was the single wisest decision he ever made. That report sat idle for years in the back of Prime Minister Uhuda’s private documents. You may recall he was the man who took money from Marrick Kon to help his re-election campaign in 2012. His son sent you a box, years later.”
Greg asked, “How did you know about that box?”
“Mr. Miller, it’s our job to know what enters and leaves the state of Israel. We made sure there was no security risk with the items that found their way back to their rightful owner. The picture that helps identify the correct area to return to was the one exception. We would have made sure you never found the right spot if we didn’t want you to know where it was.”
“What about the picture of the hole?” asked Jake.
“First, I must tell you how these pictures came to light. The State sealed the Prime Ministers memoirs for security reasons when he died in 2030. You have to understand the times that we were living in. Mistrust of government officials was rampant. Political leaders were shamed out of office. War with Iran, social unrest, a failing economy. It was a miracle that Israel survived. Substantial changes followed quickly. Among those changes was something similar to the United States Freedom of Information Act that passed in the 1960s. President Johnson hated it, but it passed, and in turn, our country put in place the Israeli Independent Council for Secret Documents many years ago. It gives an independent council, appointed by the government, the rights to scan old documents and forage for worthwhile material. Despite his intentions, Prime Minister Uhuda didn’t leave much of a legacy. The significant event that happened in his time was the earthquake that brings us here today.”
“It’s not getting any cooler out here,” said Ballard.
“You never did have any patience, did you? I had the responsibility to review Uhuda’s files after he died. When I found the photographs, I kept one in the special folder I had about the Negev Monster, which included the report from Captain Itzal. Two months ago I became involved in the final testing of a new hi-tech military grade radar imaging device. Simply put, it blows the door off what we’ve had. It’s too powerful to disclose to the general public and as you can imagine, with our enemies surrounding us, we don’t want to tip our hand to the device unless it means our survival. Those around the world that seek our destruction and assume that placing their bomb making facilities deep underground will be unpleasantly surprised if we decide to make a preemptive strike on their soil. I mentioned earlier a deal with the United States. The USA and the Israeli government have reached an agreement to share all information related to any artifacts found at ‘Loch Ness.’ That is the code name for this area.”
“What’s Loch Ness?” asked Ballard.
“It’s an old tale about a monster that swims in the Scottish Highlands. It’s a crock of shit of course, but it makes for good copy and periodically, some fellow makes news claiming he’s found the monster swimming in the water,” said Lincoln.
Robbie signaled his approval. “Billy, what if I told you that there are officials at the highest levels of both the United States and Israeli governments that think your story might be true.”
“I’d say that would surprise me. I find it hard to believe you’d trust President Dodge.”
“My boss trusts him. Unfortunately, we can never validate your story, even if it is true…especially if it’s true. If the general public thought aliens were coming to kill us, we’d have to declare Martial Law until doomsday occurred. Nobody would respect authority. However, I felt I owed it to you to be here for the effort to see if anything remained in that hole. I’ve spoken to Mr. Miller often since he became your guardian and I’m glad we finally met. He’s a true friend, I hope you appreciate the lengths he went to make this day happen.”
“I do. But tell me, why did you do this for me if you aren’t going to clear my name? The world thinks I’m a nut,” asked Billy.
“Mr. Miller thought he could show an old chum a bit of gratitude. Maybe show him that there are occasions when people don’t have choices when they work in the daunting world of the Mossad, but at other times they do…and this is one of those times.”
Ballard turned white, despite the burning Israeli sun that beat down on him.
“You don
’t have to say anything…not yet,” said Robbie, pointing to his former friend Ballard.
Robbie’s speech ended with the reverberations of giant earthmovers skipping over the sand and approaching the area where they were to dig. A group of scientists holding small computers stood next to a pop -up tent near the enormous machines. They spoke Hebrew, and talked in hushed tones, keeping their conversation private. The top of the lead Caterpillar machine paused. The hydraulic posts came to rest. One of the technicians placed a small box on top of the machine and attached two wires to the posts. He pressed two more buttons and the machine headed for the target.
“Let’s stand back, please. I don’t like to fill out injury reports on my watch. It’s bad for morale and my yearly bonus,” said Robbie.
The Mossad crew escorted Jake and his team to a secure spot away from the machines and told them to take their equipment and leave the area immediately.
“I’m in charge of this group. Mr. Miller and his guests are my responsibility,” demanded Jake.
“I understand your position, but I’m afraid I have to pull rank on you today. Our department is in charge now. I’ve got the papers in the truck if you need to see them,” said Robbie.
Jake seethed. “I don’t think you’d come all the way out here if you didn’t have the proper documentation, even if it isn’t from the department of antiquities, I know how this is going to end. Take care of my guests. My secretary will be sending your department an invoice for my costs and expenses.”
“Of course,” said Robbie.
Robbie’s team took over the search efforts and continued digging up rocks and dirt. A second machine did the same thing from thirty feet away on the other side. The machines slowly dropped below eye-level. Hours passed. They filled their buckets with earth and piled them high on the side of the ground. The sun baked the crew and Jake instructed them to keep hydrated. They perspired as much as they consumed. The crew’s digging lasted long into the day.
Robbie talked with the scientist, and walked briskly over to Billy.
“Billy, I’d like you to come with me.”
Billy followed Robbie to a bank of computer monitors that showed infrared images of sand, dirt, or rocks underneath the surface. The monitor filled with small red dots.
“What’s that!” shouted Billy.
Robbie cupped his hands around his mouth. The machines ferocious noise made it tough to hear anything less than a shout.
“That’s nothing but small pieces of iron. There’s zilch to get excited about. We’ve spent hours with all this fancy new equipment, and I’m sure we’re near the spot you were rescued in.”
Four hours went by as heavy machinery and hi-tech ground penetrating equipment searched in the spot Robbie showed them on the picture. There was plenty of sweat, lots of sand, but no orb.
Billy’s head drooped in disappointment. He was so confident that the world of public opinion would redeem him. His newfound facts would convince the Dodge’s of this world that aliens had been here, and they had done the terrible things he said he’s seen and heard. If people believed him, the world would unite and force their governments to fight against pollution and the continued onslaught of man’s abuse of the planet. Now, there was nothing to go on, other than faith. Society would not change and the aliens would return to earth and destroy it.
Robbie and Ballard stood nearby and chatted. Greg wasn’t positive, but the meeting offered renewed hope for their friendship. The trip that Billy hoped would give him redemption fizzled into a daylong journey of sweating, digging sand out of their shoes, and staring at old rocks.
Billy walked back toward Greg, his ego bruised from the failed attempts to find the orb.
“I’m going to have to stick to my story, Greg. It’s in my head. I swear it was true. For all the living things in the world, I remember touching that thing.”
Greg wrapped his arm around his friend and gave him a comforting hug.
“I know this is disheartening for you. You can still fight the good fight. You said the teacher wanted you to spread the word, so go spread the word like you did before the election. Nothing has to change. It would have been fantastic to find the orb, but your message goes deeper than what may, or may not have happened here ten million, or a hundred million years ago. What matters is that our world is in a heap of trouble, and you can be a smart, shining voice in a world of darkness to help us. If you imagined the teacher, and the aliens, and the destruction, and the wars, and the digging into the earth, I’d say you have a fertile imagination, but perhaps the time you spent in your condition was necessary for you to speak to the world now. If this never happened to you, perhaps you’d have been an ordinary person, gone to school, got married, two kids, the job, the house in the burbs, the dog, all that, but you wouldn’t be here today ready to shout to the world to fix our ecological mistakes.”
Billy wiped away a tear and offered his opinion, “If you’re right, that’s a hell of a price to pay.”
“Yes it is my friend, yes it is. A hell of a price, indeed.”
While Jake’s crew was back at the hotel bar letting off steam about their day, Robbie Wachter wasn’t giving up on his efforts to find any old artifacts from Billy’s tumble into oblivion in 2012.
His crew was tired and running low on water. Wachter pushed them for more. “I’ve got the real coordinates and GPS location. I know you’re exhausted, but we’ve got to keep trying. You’re all getting a big bonus for this. Follow me in the other trucks. Bring the cameras and the GBR’s another fifty feet closer to the trucks. Maybe we’re off target a little? I see a fault line up ahead, or something that might be the edges of an old circular ridge. I hope I can make this up to Ballard. He doesn’t understand the concept of ‘orders are orders.’ ”
Two hours later, and a quarter of a mile away from where Billy stood hoping for salvation earlier in the day, a shout of voices came from the scientists hovering over their laptop computers. They hugged each other and one of the men cried.
Robbie’s computer monitor was third in a line of connected systems. The delay was brief, just seconds, but something was happening… an image popped up on the monitor that took his breath away.
“Guys!” said Robbie.
“We see it!”
“Do you know what this means?”
Robbie peered closer at the monitor. “Nobody of a sound mind is going to believe this. Things like this don’t exist. We should leave it in the damn ground where it belongs.”
“Our job was to find it, not decide what to do with it,” said Robbie’s chief electrical engineer, Beth Lohr.
The enormous dirt diggers retreated from the hole. Robbie exchanged them for a smaller unit that provided more dexterity and less risk of damaging the treasured find.
Thirty minutes passed while the machines changed places. The smaller unit, called “Little Moose,” removed dirt from near the orb.
“You want to get a closer look?” asked Robbie.
Lohr turned to him. “Like my parents used to say…look, but don’t touch.”
“It’s tempting. It could take decades to get the information out of that thing. Maybe we never will. None of us can talk about what we’ve found here today. That’s part of the arrangement with the United States. We’re sworn to secrecy.”
The entire group nodded their heads in agreement. Scattered mutters of “okay” and “yes” followed. Robbie turned his attention back to Billy.
“Thanks to you, we’re on the precipice of the greatest archaeological find in history.”
“The most excellent one ever,” said Billy.
CHAPTER 37
December 9, 2060 - The Pentagon, Washington DC
The orb was in America. Doc Macintyre flew into high gear and finished prepping the laboratory in record time.
The examination room consumed the entire fourth floor of the addendum building that stood behind the Pentagon. Experiments on new germ warfare contaminants concluded six months ago, and the lab re
ceived a cleansing in preparation for the next military task.
Macintyre stood in the middle of the room, several hospital beds on his left, and a barrage of computer stations on his right stood ready for the work that lay ahead. A small balcony provided onlookers a birds-eye view of the room.
Red lights connected to the front door of the room announced the arrival of the orb. The staff stood still, gawking at the orb as it rested on top of the container, secured with a set of strong ropes. Macintyre could barely contain his glee. His assistant, Rubin Fortunada, nudged him with her elbow.
“So it’s true,” she said.
Macintyre stood over the orb.
“It does exist. I never believed his story.”
Rubin nodded in agreement, “I agree, doc, but just because we found it, doesn’t mean what he says is true.”
“That’s exactly why we’re going to give this shiny little toy a good workout. See what makes it tick.”
“If this was a movie Doc, something would pop out and kill everyone in the room.”
Macintyre moved two steps back. Rubin spoke again.
“Two steps wouldn’t save your life, you’d be the first to get it. The monster would dive right into your gut and bust out your back, leaving a giant pool of blood and you’d have this crazy look, like ‘I can’t believe I got attacked by a hundred million year old monster!’ That would be crazy, right?”
MacIntyre wasn’t amused, “you’ve been watching too many movies. This isn’t a monster. It’s a metal orb of some kind. Our job is to find a way to extract anything of value from it.”
“I don’t recognize that metal, it’s got a funny shine to it, and the color isn’t like anything I’ve studied, that bluish tint is strange,” said Rubin.
“Let’s start the testing. Forget about turning this room into a Hollywood disaster movie and let’s concentrate on our job. I need you to focus. We’ve been prepping for two weeks. The protocols are in order. Please begin Phase One.”
“I’m on it.” Rubin used her computer and entered the command sequence. Within seconds, the other members of the team went to their computer stations and logged into the program that would run the first batch of tests on the orb.
The Two Worlds of Billy Callahan Page 16
