“As sure as I can be, using eyewitness testimony.”
“Did you call back to the ops center with this info?”
“I did, and they passed it onto NORAD, but they still can’t see anything. Captain Jones says the image is still being distorted by something on the ground.”
“This happened to me once before, during a UFO investigation in the Florida Everglades,” said Elena.
“Let’s not jump to any conclusions without any hard evidence. I know of several reasonable explanations for this disturbance,” said Hayes.
“Well, whatever is going on, at least your calculations give us something to go on,” said Maclean. “What happens if we do find something out there?”
“Then we call the colonel and let him decide what happens next,” said Grant. “It’s not like the four of us on our own could recover a downed craft. We’re here to get information and nothing else.”
“That’s precisely what Colonel Andrews said our mission was,” added Elena.
Their waitress returned with their meal. The two soldiers had ordered cheeseburgers and fries, while Elena ate a salad, and Hayes enjoyed a bowl of tomato soup.
“Before we head out there,” said Grant, “I’d like to brainstorm what we may find out, and how to deal with any possible hazards we may face.”
“In my humble opinion, there are two realistic options to explain why NORAD is having a hard time focusing their satellites on this part of Alaska,” said Hayes. “What crashed in the woods is either a highly radioactive meteorite, or a satellite.”
“Whose satellite could it be?” asked Maclean.
“Since it’s most likely not one of ours, that leaves the Russians or the Chinese as the main culprits. Both nations have been known to power some of their surveillance satellites using tiny nuclear reactors.”
“So radiation is a possible danger no matter what we find?” said Grant.
“Yes. That’s why I brought along a couple of handheld Geiger counters with us.”
“What about you, Doc, what do you think?” Maclean asked Elena.
“Well, you know what I think,” she replied. “Radiation may have helped trigger the initial electrical blackout, but there’s no way it could have caused the NORAD satellites in orbit above Alaska to malfunction. There has to be another explanation other than a meteor or a crashed satellite.”
“If Professor Hayes’ calculations are correct,” said Grant, “An hour from now we may have our answer.”
“What do you say?” said Maclean, “How about a little wager?
“What kind of wager?” asked Elena.
“The first team to find whatever it is out there gets dinner bought for them by the losing team.”
Grant chuckled. “Why not? I’m in.”
“As am I,” said Elena.
Maclean nudged Hayes. “Come on. You’ve got me on your team. You can’t lose.”
With an exasperated sigh, Hayes raised a hand. “All right, but I get to choose the restaurant. I’m not going to eat at some greasy fast-food spot.”
Maclean took a sip of his Coke and sat back in his chair. “I’ve got a good feeling about this. Today could turn out to be my lucky day.”
The drive to the lake took them just over half an hour. After turning off the gravel road, they drove on a dirt trail that was barely wide enough for the vehicles. The sound of tree branches scraping down the sides of the cars made Elena cringe. They came out in a mountain clearing overlooking an oval-shaped lake. Grant and Maclean parked their cars side by side and got out. Everyone met at the back of Maclean’s vehicle.
Hayes opened the trunk and retrieved three black plastic cases. He opened them and stood back. Inside one case was a pair of Geiger counters. In the next was a small green and black drone with a control box. In the last one were a couple of handguns. Hayes picked up one of the Geiger counters and switched it on. He walked to the front of the vehicles and stood there, staring at the small screen on the top of the device.
“So, Doc, what’s the story?” said Maclean. “Are you reading any abnormal levels of radiation?”
Hayes shook his head. “No. The level of radiation in the air is what I would expect us to find. We’re safe.”
“I take that as good news,” said Grant.
Hayes turned off his Geiger counter, walked back, and put it back in its box. He pulled the container with the weapons toward him. Hayes looked over at Grant and Maclean. “Gents, I brought along two Heckler and Koch Mark 23 pistols. They fire .45 caliber ammunition, and have a small rail built under the barrel which allows the firer to add a detachable laser aiming device, a suppressor, or a small light, should he wish to. In the case, you will find six full magazines for each weapon.”
Maclean picked one up and felt the weight in his hand. “Nice choice, Doc. This will do most nicely.”
“As Alaska allows people to openly carry firearms, there shouldn’t be an issue with you having them on you from now on. There are permits for both weapons in your names in the case, as well.”
“What about the drone?” asked Grant. “What kind of range does it have?”
“It can travel up to twenty kilometers away from the controller and remain aloft for ninety minutes before needing to be recharged,” explained Hayes. “There is a camera on it, which can send back live feed to my laptop.”
“What are we waiting for?” said Maclean. “Let’s get it airborne.”
“Have you ever flown this type of drone before?” Grant asked Hayes.
The academic shook his head. “No, it’s brand new. I was hoping one of you two had experience with it.”
“My nephew has a toy kind of like this,” said Maclean. “If I don’t crash it on takeoff, we should be okay.”
Hayes removed the drone from its case, and placed it on the ground. It had four arms with a propeller on each. Suspended underneath was a miniature camera. Hayes switched the drone on before activating the handheld control device, which he quickly handed over to Maclean.
“Here goes nothing,” said Maclean, pressing a red button, which applied power to the propellers. The drone slowly lifted off the ground and pitched over to the right for a second, before righting itself. Maclean quickly got a feel for the controls and brought the drone to a stop right front of him, hovering about three meters in the air. “See, I told you I could get it aloft.”
“Wait a second,” said Hayes, as he checked the image on his laptop.
“How do things look?” asked Elena, peering over Hayes’ shoulder.
“Perfect,” replied Hayes. “Sergeant, the anomaly should have come down about a kilometer to the west of us. Please maneuver the craft over in that direction.”
Maclean moved a small stick with his thumb. The drone rose up in the air, and flew off in the direction of the alleged crash site.
Grant and Elena watched the image on the screen. The lakeshore was deserted. There weren’t any animals to be seen, which struck Grant as odd. He lifted his head and looked around. It was the same. They were completely alone. Only the insects seemed to have stuck around. Goose bumps ran up Grant’s arms.
“My God, David, take a look at this,” said Elena.
Grant turned his head, saw what was on the computer screen and let out a low whistle. In a straight line leading to the edge of the lake, all of the tops of the trees looked like they had been neatly sawn off.
“Please hold the drone where it is,” said Hayes.
“Will do, Doc,” replied Maclean.
“How far back does this go?” asked Elena.
“There’s only way to find out,” said Hayes. “Sergeant, please raise the drone up in the air until I tell you to stop.”
Maclean gently applied power to the drone allowing it to ascend higher in the sky.
“That’ll do,” said Hayes. “Please hold it there.”
The swath of destruction went back for almost a kilometer through the woods.
“My God, it must have been coming in at in incredibl
y fast speed to do that much damage,” said Elena.
“If you look at the width of the path, you can see that the object was probably about fifty meters across,” explained Hayes, as he pointed at the screen.
“Well, I think that rules out a satellite,” said Maclean. “You’re recording this, aren’t you?”
“Of course,” said Hayes. “This is an incredible find.”
“That leaves only one other culprit,” said Maclean. “From what I can see on the screen, it must have been one hell of a meteor.”
“No way. A meteor didn’t do that,” said Elena firmly. “The Tunguska event of 1908 in Siberia was caused by a fifty-meter wide meteorite exploding high in the air. The resulting blast was equivalent to ten megatons of TNT going off. All of the trees in a thirty-kilometer radius were flattened. As the lake and most of the countryside doesn’t look like it was touched, I think we can safely rule out a meteor.”
“Whatever it was, it must have carried on and gone down in the lake,” said Grant. “I wonder how deep it is.”
“It’s hard to tell,” said Elena. “I wonder if the sheriff would know.”
“We’ll give her a call when we’re ready to leave. After that, we can ask the ops center to arrange for a navy ROV to be shipped to us.”
“What’s an ROV?” asked Elena.
“It stands for remotely operated underwater vehicle,” explained Grant. “It’s a kind of unmanned mini-sub. The navy use them all the time to look for things lost at sea.”
Hayes lowered his head and leaned in toward the screen. “Excuse me, Sergeant—”
“For the love of God, Doc, we’re supposed to be undercover. Please drop the rank,” cried Maclean.
“Sorry, er…James, could you maneuver the drone back toward the lake, and slightly to the right of the path cut through the trees?”
“Do you see something?” asked Grant.
“I’m not sure. What do you take that to be?” said Hayes, pointing at a shiny tube lying on the ground in a clearing.
“I don’t know. But it doesn’t look like a piece of a meteor, or any other naturally made object to me,” said Grant.
“How far away is it?” asked Elena.
“About eight hundred meters,” said Hayes.
“What are you thinking?” Grant asked Elena.
“We have to take a look at whatever it is lying out there in the woods. It’s not that far, and the sun won’t be going down until around eight o’clock tonight.”
Grant looked over at Hayes. “Doc?”
“While I’d rather not go traipsing blindly through the woods, I’m forced to agree with Elena,” said Hayes. “Our job is to investigate, and this could be an escape pod from some highly advanced Russian plane we have yet to learn about.”
“Okay, I guess that settles it,” said Grant. “Jim, bring the drone back home, and let’s all grab what we need for a walk through the woods.”
Chapter 17
Robin Black placed her black Stetson on her head and checked her uniform over in a mirror on the wall before leaving. She insisted on looking professional at all times, which was something she also expected from her officers. A breeze outside helped cool down the unseasonably warm mid-September temperatures. She walked to her Suburban and was about to open the door when she spotted a truck parked farther down the street. It wasn’t the vehicle so much as the people standing outside of it which caught her eye. There were five men, all dressed as if they were going camping. There was something about the way they acted which made her uneasy. Black decided to check them out, and walked toward the men.
As she got closer, she could see that all but one of them looked to be in their early thirties, and appeared to be in peak physical condition. The odd man out was in his late forties, with blond hair and a neatly trimmed goatee.
“Good afternoon, gentlemen, going camping?” Black asked congenially.
The blond-haired man smiled at Black. “Yes we are, Sheriff.” The man’s accent betrayed a hint of German. “We just stopped in town to grab a few supplies before driving a few klicks out of town to set up our camp for the evening.”
Civvies don’t say klicks, thought Black to herself. More goddamned government agents poking their noses around in my town. “Do you gentlemen plan on doing any fishing?”
“We sure do.”
“Do you have fishing licenses?”
“No. That’s another reason why we stopped here. We’re going to pick some up at the hardware store before leaving town. Say, you must know where the best lakes to fish at are around here.”
“Jonas Lake, about ten minutes’ drive out of town, is a good spot, as is Bear Lake.”
“Thanks for the tip, Sheriff.”
“Whatever you do, be careful out there, as we’ve got a grizzly bear roaming the woods north of the town, and it’s already killed a couple of dogs today.”
The man opened the back of his truck. On the floor were a couple of hunting rifles. “We came prepared to protect ourselves.”
“I can see that,” replied Black, looking over the weapons. “Take care of yourselves, and have a nice day.”
“We will,” replied the man.
Black walked back to her vehicle, got in and dug out her cell phone. She decided to call her old military friend at Elmendorf.
“Hello.” A woman’s voice came across the line.
“Anne, it’s me, Robin. Sorry to bother you, but I need you to do me a favor.”
“It’s never a bother hearing from you,” said Anne. “How can I help?”
“I don’t need to know the particulars, but could you confirm for me if the military has people in my neck of the woods right now?”
“Hold on,” said Anne before setting her phone down. A minute later she picked it back up. “We don’t have anything on the books, Robin. Why? Are there some drunken soldiers in town on leave causing you a spot of trouble?”
“No, nothing like that.”
“If you like, I can ask higher up if they have something on the go.”
“I’d appreciate that.”
“This may take some time.”
“That’s all right. I can wait for your answer. Nothing important is going on here right now.”
“Talk to you later,” said Anne before hanging up.
Black sat in her seat and watched the five men as they got back in their truck and drove off. She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel for a few seconds, before starting her Suburban and placing it in reverse. Black waited for a car to pass her, before pulling out of her parking spot and out onto the road. Ellen Marshall had called her a few minutes ago and had been crying over the loss of her dogs. Black decided she would pay her a visit, before popping in to say hello to some of the other people in the area where the grizzly’s tracks had been spotted. She figured the trip would eat up what was left of the afternoon. With two possible teams of government agents nosing around in her jurisdiction, Black doubted she would get much rest until they were gone, and life returned to normal in Robertson’s Mine.
Chapter 18
Grant took hold of a tree branch blocking the trail, and pushed it aside, while Elena, Hayes, and Maclean walked past him. The path through the forest was tight, but well-worn. Grant suspected if they stayed on it long enough that it would eventually come out at the lone cabin marked on the map.
“The object should be about forty meters that way,” said Maclean, pointing off to the right. In his hand was a GPS, with the coordinates of the pod inputted into it.
“Any sign of radiation?” Grant asked.
“None,” replied Hayes, checking his Geiger counter.
“At least we have that going in our favor,” said Elena, as she swatted a mosquito on her neck. “This place is unbelievable. I’ve never seen so many bloodsucking insects in all my life.”
Maclean tossed her some bug spray. “Put some more on. It’s the only way to keep the little bloodsuckers away. I remember this one time in East Timor, one of my mates got
bitten by something which swelled up his leg so bad he had to be flown home. Poor bugger almost lost his leg. Ever since then, I smother myself with bug spray wherever I go.”
Elena nodded and hurriedly sprayed the exposed parts of her face and hands.
A couple of minutes later, they emerged out of the wood and into the clearing. Grant and Maclean drew their sidearms.
Grant looked at his colleagues. “Okay, you two stay here until James and I have checked out the pod and determined that it is safe for you two to come and inspect it,” he said firmly.
Elena placed a hand on Grant’s arm. “Be careful.”
“We will,” said Maclean.
With their weapons held out at the ready, the two soldiers walked toward the pod. They stopped a few meters short and looked over the device. It was about four meters long and one and a half meters wide. The metal was smooth, and didn’t appear to have any rivets or welds on it. A door lay on the ground next to the pod.
“Do you know what I don’t see lying anywhere around here?” said Maclean.
“What?” replied Grant.
“A parachute. If this were a Russian ejection pod, where’s the parachute?”
“I hadn’t thought of that. Perhaps it never deployed.”
“Then where’s the pilot?”
“Another good question.”
Maclean stepped away from the pod and stopped next to the door. On the ground was a pair of boot prints which dwarfed his own size-twelve feet. “Hey, Dave, come over here and check this out.”
Grant’s eyes widened when he saw the tracks. “The Russians must be breeding them big and heavy these days. Those boots must be at least size twenty, and the pilot had to weigh a couple of hundred kilos to leave an imprint that deep in the ground.”
“The tracks lead off to the east,” said Maclean, pointing to the far woodline.
“Did you find something?” called out Elena.
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