by Tanya Allan
“Base means military. Military means trouble. Civilisation means freedom, so freedom means we can move and do what I’ve been sent to do.”
“Are you asking me to desert?”
She looked at him.
“Wait,” she said, and shut her eyes in concentration. She found who she was after.
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Michelle transferred her concentration to the convoy that was still chasing a fox. The front vehicle’s engine blew up, and it slewed violently to the left. The next vehicle’s engine seized as all the oil mysteriously vanished.
The next three suffered terminal electrical failure, and the others’ tyres blew up. The eleven vehicles just sat on the sand in the dark. No one was hurt, and she allowed sufficient air-time on the sat-phone for them to report in and then she destroyed that.
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Both NSA agents suddenly suffered serious bladder dysfunction, and complete short-term memory loss, neither could remember anything from one moment to the next.
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Jim was silent.
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Jim then fell asleep, and so deeply that nothing could awaken him.
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She smiled.
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“Well, Sergeant, how do you fancy a long jog?” she asked Red.
“How long?”
“Washington D.C..”
“No shit?”
“No shit.”
He pulled out the map.
“D.C. ain’t quite on it.” she joked, and he grunted.
“There’s a town, if we keep up a good pace we could reach there by dawn.”
“What town?” Michelle asked, a cold feeling in her stomach.
“Stillswood. Why?”
She smiled.
“No reason,” she lied.
“Okay, if we eat some concentrates, our packs will weigh less, and we should be okay.”
They ate on the march, and then she broke into a gentle jog. He matched her, so they kept it up for an hour. Red began to feel his muscles, and glanced at Michelle. She was running with clockwork precision, looking very relaxed.
After two hours, Red was breathing hard, but still she kept going. He forced himself to keep her pace, yet it was proving too hard. She glanced at him, slowing to a brisk walk. Gratefully, he matched the walk.
“Do you want a piggy back ride?” she asked.
He grinned.
“Very funny,” he said, drinking some water.
They walked for an hour, but then she broke into a jog again.
Red was one of the fittest men in his company. Yet she was way fitter than he. After five hours, she was still going.
She smiled and encouraged him, yet he knew that total exhaustion was not far away.
He felt light headed and his legs turned to rubber. He passed out, but didn’t even feel himself fall.
He came to lying under a tree beside a road. She passed him a canteen, so he drank.
“Thanks. Where are we?”
“Stillswood is a quarter mile down there,” she said, pointing into the very familiar valley.
“But we were fifteen miles from the road when I passed out,” he said.
“Yeah, look, you need to diet, I almost got a hernia carrying you,” she said, holding out her hand. “Feeling better?”
Nodding, he took her hand and was pulled to his feet.
Her strength was incredible.
“Us super-heroes come in all sizes,” she joked.
He looked back into the desert, seeing one set of footprints stretching back a long way. She had tried to keep to rocks to confuse any aerial search.
“You really carried me?” he asked, feeling ashamed.
“No, sort of kept you going. The last bit was the worst,” she said.
He looked at the map, and calculated that they’d have broken several world endurance records. He looked up at her, but she simply smiled.
“Don’t worry about it. I promise I won’t tell any of the guys. We need to get into town and grab some breakfast, I’m starving!” she said.
They walked into town, Red was only too aware that he was armed, so he was unsure how the locals would take to two dusty service personnel.
Michelle felt weird, walking down the streets that had been home not that long ago. The pain of what had been left behind was very acute. She almost found it unbearable. She wondered if Carol and the kids were still here, or whether she had moved closer to her parents.
There was Marv’s Diner, unchanged, and with a Sheriff’s dept. cruiser parked outside. She looked at her watch, nine a.m., probably Steve having breakfast. She smiled because Steve wasn’t allowed to eat high cholesterol food by his long-suffering wife, so he came here and ate all the wrong things.
Steve McGuire was in his usual seat in the diner sorting through some bills. One of the Deputies ran out of road in a car last week and totalled the damn car. It was insured, but there were tow charges and stuff that needed sorting.
Hannah poured him another mug of strong black coffee, and he smiled as he folded the papers up and put them into his pocket.
“Say, it looks like the military are in town,” observed Hannah, as she glanced out of the window.
Steve watched as the two figures in desert fatigues entered the diner, taking off their hats. She was surprised, for he had judged them both to be male, due to their very tall statures, but one was a blonde woman, and she had Major’s insignia on her shoulders.
The other, a sergeant, was carrying a sidearm in a holster.
The major saw him and approached his booth.
“Sheriff McGuire?”
Steve nodded.
“Hi, I’m Major Carter, US Air Force, and this is
Sergeant Skye. I understand that you were in contact with my colleagues Colonel Robertson and Major Bennett a few months ago?”
Steve felt that sinking feeling, but nodded, waving them into the spare seats at his table.
They sat, and Hannah arrived and gave them a menu and some coffee.
“Sheriff, we have been investigating various reports of incidents in the desert, and were wondered if you had received any reports of similar occurrences recently?”
Steve shook his head.
“Did anything come of the face mask, the one that I found near Mike’s body?”
“The construction is not familiar, and the substance used is not known to man. Tell me, did anyone come asking after Sergeant Dunwoody?”
“No, just some press, but they left after we gave them the story.”
“Is his family still here?”
“Sure, Carol, his widow, has all her friends here, why?
“Just tying up loose ends,” the Major said with a disarming smile.
Hannah returned with a plate piled high of instant heart attack, placing it in front of Steve.
The two newcomers ordered equally large breakfasts, and were given some more coffee.
“I have to make a call. Excuse me,” she said, taking out her cell phone and walking outside.
Holding the phone up to her ear, she pretended to call.
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She smiled.
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She went back into the diner, to see Hannah delivering the food. She and Red sat in silence, savouring every mouthful.
Steve watched as the pair each devoured a huge plate of food in a very short space of time.
“I shouldn’t really, but it is so good,” she said on cleaning her plate.
“So, Major. What exactly is your job?”
“I search out aliens,” she said, calmly taking a drink of orange juice.
He laughed.
“Found many recently?” he asked, joking.
“A few thousand,” said Red, watching Michelle’s expression.
Steve stared at the Sergeant.
“Just living in the desert, I suppose?”
“I wish,” said Michelle with a smile. “My Boss is paranoid, so I get sent all over the place after the most spurious sightings. Well, my ride will be here soon. It has been a pleasure meeting you.”
She stood up and held out her hand, so Steve stood up and shook it.
“Well, if I can help, let me know.”
“You already have. Thanks,” she said, as the sound of a helicopter gathered strength as it approached. They watched as it landed in the parking lot, and then Kyle and the pilot ran in through the back door.
“Good to see you, Kyle,” she said.
“Michelle. Are you two okay?”
“Fine. Do you want a coffee before we head back?”
They did, and so Steve watched as this very strange group drank coffee and chatted about trivialities. The sergeant was very quiet, and rarely took his eyes off the woman. Steve recognised the type. This man would die for the girl, but she may never know what he felt like. Occasionally, she would glance his way, giving him the briefest smile. It was very little, but enough. There was a bond between these two, and it broke through all barriers of rank, class and gender.
The other Major, Kyle, was obviously in love with her as well, while the pilot was completely bemused by the whole event.
Michelle was looking out of the window, when she saw a familiar Ford Pickup. It had been Mikes, and Carol was driving. It stopped outside the store, so she watched Carol get out and go into the store.
The pain in her soul was tangible, yet she knew that she had to let go of the past. She silently cursed the aliens for so altering her life to allow her to suffer so much pain. She thought of Gordon, and that was equally painful.
She stood up again.
“Okay, let’s go,” she said, and Red observed the tears in her eyes. He decided against saying anything.
She was silent all the way back,
On landing, she declared that she was going for a shower. Red hovered, unsure what was required of him.
“Red, you’re coming with me, okay?” she said.
He grinned.
“Yes Ma’am. What terrain?”
“The worst. Urban. We are going to Washington, and I want a fighting machine, not a toy soldier.”
The next morning they met again. She was in her pristine uniform, while he was in black combat fatigues, fully armed and looking the part. He had a small kit bag with a change of clothes, as requested by Michelle.
“Go get Jim,” Michelle told Kyle.
“He’s asleep.”
“He will wake up enough. Oh, and bring the NSA guys too.”
“Are you sure?”
She looked at him.
“Okay.”
12.
Their plane landed at an Air Base in Maryland. Jim had woken up during the flight, and was experiencing a conflict of emotions. He was angry, both at Michelle for being stronger than he, and at the NSA, who were pig headed enough to ignore his advice. He had expressly told them what would happen if they followed this course of action, and it was happening as he had predicted.
The agents were watching cartoons on the video system, and were completely oblivious as to who they were or where they were.
Two blacked out MPVs were waiting for them, and the transfer was swift. They were heading into the Capitol for the appointment with Mr Bush.
George W. Bush was in the Oval office. He frowned as his aide reminded him of the various appointments.
“This Air Force officer, Major Carter. Just what does he want?”
“That’s she want, Mr President. Major Carter is a woman.”
“Oh, how come she’s on my list?”
“You put here there, don’t you remember?”
“I did?”
“Yes sir. You were in here, and you came out and told me to make the appointment. Yesterday at around ten a.m., don’t you recall?”
The President frowned. He had no recollection of the event, and was about to tell his aide to cancel it when he remembered that it was vitally important and related to a classified operation.
“John, get me all you can on Operation Trillium.”
“Operation Trillium? Mr President.”
“Yes, and have the Major and her party shown right in when they arrive.”
John Reynolds stared at his boss, shaking his head, as Mr Bush disappeared back into the Oval Office. He then contacted the National Security Adviser, the Directors of the FBI, the CIA and the NSA. No one had heard of Operation Trillium.
The cars swept through the gates and up to a side entrance. The NSA agents just came along, staring with blank stupidity at everything. Jim was relaxed now, and was happy to let Michelle take this as far as she could. He knew that essentially she was right, this was bigger than the USA, but his national pride still caused him the occasional twinge.
The presence of the armed Marine gave the secret service real concerns, which melted as the party approached. They were escorted into the Oval office, where Red was instructed to remain outside and to remain vigilant.
George W. Bush stared at the very attractive woman standing in front of his desk
. It was rare that a woman’s appearance caused him to feel such a strong attraction, and he thought it was perhaps for the best that it was he and not Bill Clinton who had to deal with her.
“Oh, I don’t know. Very few men are completely incorruptible,” she said, and he was staggered.
“Major?” he asked, confused.
“Mr President, I don’t intend to piss about. Operation Trillium. What do you know about it?”
He was embarrassed now.
She smiled. “I thought so. They’ve not yet seen fit to bring you into the picture. I wonder if they were ever going to?”
“Major?”
“Operation Trillium took over after Operation Gopher located evidence of extra-terrestrials. It’s the name given to an operation to locate and open useful dialogue with these extra-terrestrial beings who have initiated colonies in the more inhospitable parts of this planet. Then, to acquire whatever technology from these aliens, by fair means or foul, for the express purpose of bringing the defence capabilities of the USA to a level far beyond any other nation, state or confederation of states,” she said.
George W. sat down.
“What the heck?” he said and looked at the Colonel.
“Sir, I’m Colonel Robertson. I was heading up the operation until these two NSA representatives interceded. The Major was in communication with a small group of E.T.s in the New Mexico desert, when a military operation was launched by the NSA to attempt to capture the E.T.s concerned.
“The operation failed, and the colony is still safe, but the Major has some important, no, vital issues to discuss with you, and you alone,” Jim said, looking at Michelle.
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The tall girl smiled, turning her attention to the goldfish-like President.
“Issues?”
“Mr President. The aliens are widespread, and on most continents. Although Western Europe is too heavily populated by humans at present. These people, and they are people, even if they do not look like us, are happy to live where we don’t. They have no designs on our planet, and are content with existing facilities, and do not require more.”
