by Todd Fries
If we succeed, this is our new family and if we fail, we might never get the chance to talk with each other again, but I know this much. What we do today will ‘rock’ our private little world at Groom Lake. It will never be the same again and things will change. I don’t know how or why, but I can feel God’s presence here; right now and I ask that we gather together for one last prayer before we enter into the unknown.”
Forming a circle, they recited the Lord’s Prayer and asked for protection from their enemies and that the Lord would go before them in battle. When Nick finished, Jacob completed the prayer by adding that ‘The Lord’s Will be done above all else’ and then everyone replied Amen.
As they assembled their personal gear, they agreed to approach the hangar entrance from different directions to avoid detection. They set their watches to the exact second, planning to reach the door at the same moment as Major Brooks and when he opened that final barrier, they’d push their way through to the other side and freedom. They didn’t plan to take any guns, knives or weapons. This would be a bloodless coup that would be over in seconds. After all, these were highly trained soldiers and the sight of weapons would only trigger a more immediate response.
Once inside, they’d stroll along beside the Major and pretend to be engaged in ‘small-talk’ allowing them to bridge some distance between the door and the ship. It was assumed the guards would immediately challenge them to stop. They’d be wondering if the Major had authorization for a large group of scientists or if they miss-understood the schedule for the day.
In those first moments, their guns would be hanging loosely from their shoulders and they’d most likely approach the group casually, but Major Brooks would meet them halfway and address their questions while the rest of the team marched on toward the vessel. The guards would inquire about his authorization and then demand to see his orders.
At this point, they had two options for a distraction. If everyone was able to board the ship, the Major would suddenly make a dash for the door and dive into the alcove, just as Nickolas shut the hatch behind him. If they ordered the group to stop, Kathi would start screaming and point away from the group with the intent of diverting the guard’s attention from the ship. The soldiers might be confused long enough to allow them to board the ship.
If Kathi’s shriek didn’t work, the second idea was to have the Major tackle one of the guards in order to buy the time needed for everyone to climb through the portal. If he was taken into custody, this was considered an acceptable loss as his only contribution to the expedition was his piloting skills. While it would be optimal to have two pilots, they could survive without him, but they’d miss his manpower on the new world.
Nickolas realized that a thousand things could go wrong with their plan. It was conceived in a hurry and they never had an opportunity to walk through the scheme by physically going through the steps. Everything was discussed verbally, which left the door open for misinterpretation and any number of things could happen once they entered that hangar.
In the past, there had always been two armed guards in close proximity to the craft and nobody was allowed to pass without authorization. These were General Taylor’s men and were well trained and disciplined and none of his group were in a position to challenge them on their own terms. These officers were skilled in hand to hand combat and proficient with their weapons.
Nickolas observed knives, pistols, rifles, hand grenades and pepper spray and that’s just what he could see. Who knew what else they had hidden in their tactical gear. They were covered from head to toe in body armor and sported light weight helmets that made them look like a SWAT team on steroids. The best they could hope for was that singular moment of confusion. If that failed, they were certain to be stopped before reaching SM1.
This seemed like a simple plan, but they’d need a miracle to get inside without being wounded or killed and what a shame if they were all dead before this morning was over. It was a possibility and one they had discussed at length. But now it was time to move forward and with each passing minute, they were one minute closer to their fate and right now everything hung in the balance and there could be no room for error.
Nickolas glanced at his watch and started walking. He was careful not to appear in a hurry and slung his knapsack over his shoulder like he was heading to the library. Instinctively he knew that 7 other people were doing the same thing, all converging on the entrance to the hangar. While he had walked this way many times before, he had to watch his pace so he wouldn’t arrive to early or too late. The perfect scenario would be to literally appear as the Major was opening the door and just keep strolling into the hangar. If they arrived at the same time, he’d be impressed.
As he rounded the corner to the final hallway, he caught sight of Caleb marching toward him from the other direction. There were two other corridors that intersected this section and until he reached the crossing, he wouldn’t know if the others were in close proximity. If they were on schedule, he should observe them exit each hallway at the same time as he crossed between them. As it turned out, that’s exactly what happened and as they bridged the final gap between themselves and the hangar entrance, Major Brooks swiped his card to gain access to the enclosure.
When the door opened, they followed closely behind and found themselves inside with SM1 sitting under a canopy of lights. By this time they were so nervous that they forgot to engage in ‘small talk’ and instead remained silent as they trudged along toward their target and as expected, they received a shout from one of the guards who trotted over to meet them. Major Brooks turned to address him - while the rest kept pace toward the hatch and when he turned his gaze to the left, he observed the second soldier adjusting the grip on his rifle. Almost immediately, he shouted for them to stop. It was at this point that Kathi was supposed to scream, but when nothing happened, the major prepared to tackle his opponent, but before he could react, an audible click echoed through the hangar and when they turned around to locate the source of the noise, they saw Kathi pointing an M1 at the guards.
Hannah tugged at his sleeve to remind him to start running and as they raced into the ship, Kathi started shouting while wildly swinging the gun from left to right. Both troopers raised their weapons and ordered her to drop it. This was all the Major needed, skipping away and then breaking into a run as he mounted the ramp from the floor to the inner hallway of the craft.
Mindlessly fumbling with the controls, Nick engaged the hatch and as Kathi disappeared from sight, they heard a single shot and then silence.
HAP WASHINGTON
Hap straddled his weapon. It had been another long day and all he wished for was a little peace and quiet, but mostly peace. With General Taylor nothing was easy and to top it all off, they had to wear these silly masks. He didn’t understand what the man hoped to accomplish by hiding their identity, but it was part of his plan and anytime they went out in public, they wore their hoods and soaked their masks with sweat.
However, it did make it easier to observe and to blend in with the rest of the population. One would have thought this disguise would constantly bring attention to them, but over time people got used to it and without a face to recognize, they were generally ignored. He was told that eventually their veil would induce a form of Prosopagnosia, also known as face blindness. Usually it was caused by a cognitive disorder in which the ability to recognize familiar faces was impaired, but in this case, since the guards all looked the same, the underlying face perception functions of those around them were diminished.
This made him less approachable and nobody talked to him or tried to interfere with his duties, so as he made his rounds or manned his post, it felt as if he wasn’t there at all; like a shadow on the wall or a whisper on the breeze. Many times he felt the bump of some pedestrian and by the time he turned to see who had brushed against him, that person was already a few steps away and talking as if nothing had happened.
Perhaps this was the plan all along. He already knew t
he General was nothing like the guy he replaced. This man was into everyone’s business and let nothing stand in his way. In fact, speaking of face recognition, they had all been given the task of monitoring a select group of malcontents who seemed intent on conspiring against the General and the United States of America. They were given photos and asked to memorize their faces and report on their movements. As he scanned the group, there was one face that seemed familiar to him and he watched that one more closely than the rest.
Their chief, Nickolas Roshenko was described by the General as some sort of cult leader, bent on twisting the minds of his witless followers, who fed on his every word and believed his stories no matter how bizarre. But in his own mind, the only thing he seemed guilty of was believing in something better for humanity. As for himself, he’d been involved with some of the surveillance ordered by General Taylor and while the conversations were subversive at times, it was generally harmless banter that didn’t reach to the level of high treason.
But the General was adamant that they be monitored, followed and photographed. Alfred was building his case against them while at the same time leveraged his power over their lives and their fortunes. A pang of guilt pierced his soul, but he also understood there were others sympathetic to their cause. This was the problem with spy programs. If enough people had access to the data, no matter how secure, there was always someone who heard every word and studied every photograph.
So when enough of them understood the lengths these people were willing to go for what they believed, it made them stop and think and when this business of General Reynold’s death came up, nobody stepped up to defend General Taylor. Most had served with him too long to dismiss something so vile as hearsay or rumor. The General was perfectly capable of doing the most unthinkable things and had done so many times before in the interest of national security. It was his ticket up the ranks and with each new promotion, there was a cost involved and sometimes that cost was high. But the military needed people like that and if he chose to sell out his integrity as a man, who was he to judge.
Hap re-positioned himself and continued to wait. He was used to waiting and watching. It’s what he did and when his ‘shift’ was over, he visited the gym and maintained his physique through hours of exercise and training, ensuring he was physically and mentally fit for the job. Yes. It was a job. The job of a soldier was to be prepared for any contingency and becoming complacent wasn’t an attribute he admired. He was part of an elite team of professional soldiers with years of combat, military and surveillance experience and one of many reasons why they were lucky enough to serve at Area 51.
Few ever received that privilege and his assignment to the base, as timely as it was, wasn’t by mere chance, but was driven by a string of circumstances that led him to this place and time through no effort of his own. He was merely a peg in a large wheel that kept spinning and if he could jump off safely, he’d do it, but that was never really an option.
He knew too much to be set free. As long as he was part of this group and under the General’s control, he was safe and secure, but if he ever left, he might be a loose-end and loose-ends tended to disappear. So each day he maintained his competitive edge by honing his skills in order to remain viable in a dog-eat-dog-world.
And now that he was in a position of power, he felt more entrenched than ever, open to almost any suggestion from General Taylor, no matter how unpalatable it might seem. So as he mindlessly obeyed orders and performed every task, he also started searching for a compromise of conscience. Could he adhere to his values, yet remain employed to this man? Since he started spying on these malcontents, it was becoming harder and harder to ignore. Eventually he’d have to make a choice and the ramifications of that decision would resonate across many lives.
If he did nothing, that was still a choice, and while he he’d seen examples of sacrifice and dedication before, he never really understood the extreme end of that feeling and why someone would willing to give his life for an idea so profound as to displace all other thoughts. He never felt driven to that level of belief and as he observed these subversives in action, it only served to deepen those feelings of guilt.
Why me? He kept asking himself and why now? He would have been far better off on any other assignment, but he was here and there was nothing he could do about it. Now he had to immerse himself in the lives of these people and it was like opening a door to something forgotten and he didn’t know what to do about it. All he could do was pray it turned out ok in the end.
His concentration was broken when he heard noises from above and he signaled his partner to stay alert and listen by silently raising his hand to his ear. They could hear shouts and then the shuffle of feet across a floor and finally the loud report of a gun. When he heard the shot, he immediately broke cover and rushed up the stairs only to find Nickolas and his minions huddled inside the sealed hatch of SM1. Racing around the corner from the King’s chamber, he shouted for them to show their hands and then pointed his rifle at the group.
“Keep your hands were I can see them!”
Their faces betrayed the absolute shock of being discovered.
“Put both hands against the wall! Now!”
At first nobody moved until he manhandled the Major and pushed him against the bulkhead, jamming him forward until his face was flush with the surface. Then grabbing his pistol, he pointed the gun at Roshenko’s head and told him to turn around and face the wall. Within moments everyone found a small section to lean against while his partner frisked for weapons. Not finding any, they activated the panel and unlocked the hatch only to reveal a scene of absolute horror.
In front of them lay the body of Kathi Fried and standing directly behind was General Taylor, still holding his service revolver. The two hangar guards seemed to hesitate and then slowly approached the body while kicking away the M1. After one of them felt for a pulse, he nodded his head in defeat and then Hannah became hysterical.
It was a long drawn out wail that filled the hangar with a feeling of absolute pain and as she collapsed to her knees, he tried to prop her up, but it was no use. No amount of threats could bring her back under control and as she slumped onto the floor, his partner backed up as if anticipating the brutal backlash of rage. But instead of violence, the rest of the prisoners dropped their heads in prayer, while at the same time, laying hands on Hannah’s back. The scene was surreal and as he tried to process the events of the last few minutes, he couldn’t help but think of General Taylor.
He had promised a non-violent end to this charade, but nobody anticipated an armed assault on the hangar. During all the surveillance, the use of weapons was never discussed and everything they observed or recorded never included anything more than subterfuge and guile. Where had they gone wrong? How could their intelligence be so flawed? This had to be an act of a lone individual who was working outside the knowledge of the larger group, for how could they have approved such an extreme measure.
He had to give them credit. It worked. If they hadn’t been waiting for them on SM1, they’d already be gone and his team would have been severely punished for their incompetence, but the General had his eye on them from the beginning. The first thing he did when he assumed command was to put them under a microscope by ordering all sorts of surveillance to track their every move.
While Nickolas and his team attempted to take precautions, they were clearly unskilled in avoiding scrutiny. These were civilian and military contractors who had no experience in hiding their actions and like a bunch of fumbling buffoons, they were easy targets for his group of trained experts. It was a wonder they got this far at all, but the General wanted to play this out until the end.
It seemed to him that the man was almost taking pleasure in stringing these people along. Under normal circumstances, they would have been arrested before implementing their plan. After all, they had plenty of evidence to convict them on a wide variety of charges, including conspiracy to steal government property, not to mention
the sharing of classified information which in and of itself was enough to justify their arrest and conviction.
Instead, they had a dead woman on the floor and a group of zealots who had come this close to freedom, only to have it snatched away from them in the most dramatic fashion, and who were probably even more committed to their beliefs after witnessing this unnecessary act of sadism. And that’s what it was; sadism. The General still had a big smile on his face, even as the pool of blood expanded on the floor. If he didn’t know better, he’d think the General was doing this on purpose to prove his point.
He shoved Mark in the middle of his back, sending him stumbling down the ramp and then used the butt of his gun to herd the others like cattle onto the hangar floor. Then they each took an arm and dragged Hannah along between them until they came face to face with General Taylor. Giving a snide grin, the expression on his face betrayed his contempt for these people and while he would have liked to smack that smirk off his face, he knew better than to let his feelings drive his actions.
After Alfred was satisfied that everyone had seen the body and understood what he had done, he waved them off and ordered that they be detained for questioning. So once they were cuffed, they were paraded through the halls and he could see the people whispering and pointing as they wound their way to the holding cell.
It was a very public display of power, and he wondered what the base personnel were thinking, as they watched them marching through the facility. It was tough enough living in a secret society, but when something like this occurred, the rumor mill went into high gear with everyone speculating as to what happened and why. If the General wanted to keep this quiet, he could have handled this without all the fanfare. He was clearly trying to assert his power and by using fear as a motivator, he was capitalizing on the incident to send a message to everyone else. He was in charge and he was watching.
