Fallen Star (Project Gauntlet Book 1)

by Richard Turner

  “I read you, loud and clear, over,” responded Sheryl.

  “Sheryl, I’m up at Ronald Deering’s place, and it looks like he’s gone missing. I think he may have been taken by a wild animal. Have Kyle and Tracey report in early for work, and let the wildlife troopers know what’s happened. I’m heading back to you to organize a search party to look for Ronald, over.”

  “Wilco, over.”

  “Roger, Black, out.” She started her vehicle and drove away from Deering’s home. Black felt a shiver go down her spine. She glanced more than once up at her rearview mirror, and couldn’t shake the feeling that things were about to get a lot worse.

  Chapter 20

  “How’s Mister Sparks doing?” asked Elena, the instant Grant walked into his room back at the hotel. The rest of the group sat around a small oval table in the corner of the suite. Like Grant, everyone had showered and changed.

  “He’s doing fine,” he replied, closing the door behind him. “He’s still pretty distraught about his pets, but aside from that, I think he’ll be okay. I told the nurse I’d swing by after supper to see how he’s doing.”

  “Maybe I’ll come with you,” said Elena.

  “Did he say anything to the staff at the clinic about his house, or what happened at the lake?” asked Hayes.

  Grant shook his head. “I’m not sure if he was conscious or not when the lake disappeared. As for his house, Joe still can’t recall a thing.”

  “I think the poor old bugger passed out before the lake went poof,” said Maclean, making an explosion with his hands. “I know for sure that he wasn’t exposed to any of the contaminated lake water, as he was lying down in the back of my vehicle safe and sound.”

  “Speaking of that,” said Grant. “We were damned lucky to find a gas station with a do-it-yourself car wash on the outskirts of town. I’d hate to think what we would have had to do if we hadn’t been able to wash our cars.”

  “I would have suggested that we drive them to the nearest river and wash them by hand,” said Hayes. “We wouldn’t have won any awards from the people at the EPA, but we couldn’t risk bringing any contaminated dirt or water into the town.”

  Maclean leaned forward in his chair. “Doc, please don’t try to tell me that was a naturally occurring phenomenon which we witnessed today.”

  “I’ve been thinking about it, and there is a plausible explanation for what happened,” replied Hayes.

  Grant pulled out a chair at the table and took a seat. “This, I have to hear.”

  “We all witnessed a bright-orange glow before the lake evaporated,” said Hayes. “I believe volcanic activity may have caused the lake to disappear. There are dozens of active and inactive volcanoes spread throughout Alaska. I think we may have just stumbled upon a yet-to-be identified volcano.”

  Grant rolled his eyes. “Come on, Jeremy, do you take me for an idiot? We get that part of your job is to spread disinformation to protect secret government programs, but don’t try that crap with Jim and me. Something’s going on around here, and we deserve to know the truth from both of you.”

  Hayes sat back in his chair, avoiding eye contact for a few seconds.

  “What would you like to know, Captain?” said Elena.

  “Elena! Colonel Andrews hasn’t given us permission to divulge any national security secrets to them,” argued Hayes.

  “For God’s sake, Jeremy, they more than anyone we have ever worked with in the past deserve to know the truth and not just snippets of it.”

  “I don’t agree.”

  Elena glared at Hayes. “And right now, I don’t care what you think. David’s right. This isn’t some simple disinformation operation. Something neither of us has ever encountered before is happening right here, right now, and I don’t mind telling you that I’m more than a little scared.” She looked at the two soldiers. “Gents, what is it you’d like to know?”

  “For starters, I’m beginning to suspect there’s more to this UFO business than either of you have ever let on,” said Grant.

  “And you would be correct,” replied Hayes, reluctantly. “You have to understand. People like you two come and go from Project Gauntlet. They get used for a specific task and then sent on their way, without ever really learning what we do. The fewer people who know, the better, as far as Colonel Andrews is concerned. Also, I suspect you’ve already determined that the constant verbal sparring between Elena and me is just an act to confuse people and make them believe that UFOs are entirely manmade and not from outer space.”

  “So, were you lying about the Nazi flying discs and what happened at Roswell?” asked Maclean.

  “No. Everything I said back at the base is true. The vast majority of sightings are misidentification of natural phenomena, or secret military drones and planes. It’s the one or two percent that can’t easily be explained away on which we focus almost all of our attention.”

  “Okay, without betraying any state secrets, what can you tell us?” said Grant.

  “I’m going to Leavenworth for the rest of my life,” mumbled Hayes. He composed himself and sat up in his chair. “The retrieval of downed UAV and airplanes, both foreign and domestic, is our stated primary role. In reality, it is the Directorate for Science and Technology of the Defense Intelligence Agency who do all the real legwork. Our people work very hard, but we lack the tools required to search for downed craft outside of the United States. However, the DIA has satellites spread all around the globe, as well as deep-cover operatives in almost every country around the world. It was their black-ops retrieval team which was wiped out in the ambush at the airport.”

  “I’ve been meaning to ask who they were, but thought you would have told me by now,” said Grant.

  “It drives the colonel around the bend that we have absolutely no control over the DIA’s people,” said Hayes. “As you saw, the moment they decided to launch their people to take the plane, there was no stopping them.”

  “What is Colonel Andrews’ part in this grand deception?” asked Maclean.

  “He asked to be assigned to Project Gauntlet, thinking he was going to be leading missions around the world to recover crashed craft,” replied Hayes. “I wasn’t there at the time, but I was told he was crushed when he found out that he lacked the manpower and had to rely on others to do his job. However, on a positive note, over the past few years, he has given Elena and me a great deal of autonomy to conduct our studies into extraterrestrial encounters.”

  “I don’t get it,” said Maclean. “Why didn’t the colonel just speak with his superiors and ask for his budget to be increased so he could run Gauntlet the way it should be?”

  “He did and was told that the budget he had was more than sufficient.”

  “I suspect that funds allocated for us have been siphoned off to the DIA since 2000,” said Elena. “It’s no secret that the annual six hundred-billion-dollar defense budget is one massive shell game.”

  Maclean shook his head. “This is unbelievable.”

  Grant looked Hayes in the eyes. “Enough of this budget and command relationship nonsense. Professor, do you believe in UFOs?”

  Hayes nodded. “Yes. Just not in the same fervent way Elena does, but yes, I do. My job, as you have already seen, is to be able to counter any and all UFO sightings with realistic and plausible scientific explanations.”

  “And what’s your job?” said Grant to Elena.

  “No change,” she replied. “I advise Colonel Andrews on all matters pertaining to UFOs.”

  “My head’s beginning to spin,” said Maclean. “I’m a simple soldier. In simple terms, I want to know precisely what Gauntlet does.”

  “On paper, Gauntlet works directly for General McLeod, the C-in-C of NORAD, who to the best of my knowledge is aware of our symbiotic relationship with the DIA,” explained Hayes. “We do three things: Firstly, we cooperate with the DIA to retrieve crashed UAVs and planes anywhere in the world. Secondly, we covertly spread disinformation on any possible UFO sighti
ng. And lastly, we gather what information we can on any unexplainable UFO encounter.”

  “Now why didn’t you say that way back in Colorado?” asked Maclean.

  “Because I didn’t know if I could trust you,” said Hayes. “Please understand, trust is hard to come by in our line of work.”

  “Well, we’re not the enemy, so you had best learn to trust us,” said Grant.

  “I’ll try.” Hayes placed his hands on the table. “Gentleman, all of the U.S. government studies into the UFO phenomenon have always come up with the same conclusion. Namely, the objects being reported by the public were not of extraterrestrial origin, and that none of the sightings represented a threat to the security of the United States. However, not everyone in the military was in agreement with the findings. That’s why Gauntlet was established. For decades, its efforts were mainly focused on debunking UFO sightings. But at the beginning of the twenty-first century, things had changed. There seemed to be an unusual spike in UFO activity, especially around military installations in the U.S. and elsewhere.”

  “You’re worried they’re probing us and looking for our weaknesses, aren’t you?” said Maclean.

  Hayes nodded. “I am. We only need to look at our own history to give us a lesson in the negative consequences of an advanced civilization contacting a less advanced one. Every time this has occurred, the less-advanced people have suffered grievously. There is no hard evidence that the extraterrestrials visiting Earth are hostile, but we know so little about them and their intentions. As they say, to be forewarned is to be forearmed.”

  “Back in the States, you said that you two had investigated thirteen sightings,” said Grant to Elena. “Were any of them similar to this one?”

  “None of them have even been remotely like this case,” she replied. “The closest we’ve ever come to finding evidence of extraterrestrial visitation was two years ago in northern Maine, when we found imprints in the ground from an alleged UFO landing site.”

  “There were also traces of radiation in the soil which couldn’t easily be explained away,” added Hayes.

  “So how did you hide your discovery?” asked Maclean.

  “We didn’t. This was one of the rare occasions where we decided to let people believe that they had been visited.”

  “Why would you do that?” said Grant.

  “Two reasons. First off, it helped distract the other UFO investigators from looking elsewhere, and secondly, the Air Force was testing a new stealth drone along the U.S. - Canadian border, so any sightings of the craft would naturally have been reported as another UFO and not a military UAV.”

  “Ingenious,” said Maclean. “But what about that ship in Iraq, which cost my mates their lives? Was it a Russian drone, or a UFO?”

  Elena cleared her throat. “Professor Hayes and I believe that it was a possible downed UFO. I’m truly sorry all of your friends were murdered. Regrettably, the DIA didn’t see fit to bring us in on their investigation until after the attack on your camp.”

  Grant nearly fell out of his chair. “Someone back home in the States knew something was there? Why the hell didn’t they warn us, or do something about it before it was too late?”

  “The DIA’s satellites detected the crashed disc the day after that massive sandstorm passed through your part of Iraq. Unfortunately, at the time, the DIA was focused on gathering intelligence on the Chinese naval build-up off the coast of Taiwan. No one above us thought time was of the essence.”

  “Bloody hell,” muttered Maclean. “Bureaucratic inertia knows no bounds.”

  “As Jeremy said earlier, we just don’t have the resources to do these kinds of missions by ourselves. By the time the DIA decided to bring Colonel Andrews into the planning process, the disc was already gone, and your friends were dead.”

  “Also, until two weeks ago, we were unaware of a non-state organization which was as interested in UFOs as we are,” said Hayes. “A new and deadly variable has been added to an already volatile situation.”

  Grant let out a deep sigh. “At least you’re both finally being honest with us, and for that, I thank you.”

  “Now that we’ve cleared the air, what do you two doctors think is going on around here?” asked Maclean.

  “Well, let’s begin by looking at what we do know,” said Hayes. “Less than twenty-four hours ago an unknown object flew over Robertson’s Mine, causing an electrical blackout which lasted several hours. Even though the power has returned, NORAD satellites in orbit above the town still cannot see the ground.”

  “Wait a second, Doc,” said Grant. “Before we go any further, could you please call back to the ops center and see if the jamming is still in place? I’m willing to bet the satellites can see the town quite clearly now. Also, have them look in the woods near the lake for the ejection pod.”

  Hayes made the call. When he hung up, he looked at Grant and said, “I’ll be damned. You’re right, NORAD has no problem seeing the town and the surrounding area now.”

  “Whatever was causing the interference was in the lake and when it exploded, if that’s what happened, it ceased to jam the satellites,” explained Grant.

  “What about the escape pod?” asked Elena. “Is it still there?”

  Hayes shook his head. “It’s gone as well.”

  “Damn. So much for our only piece of hard evidence of extraterrestrial visitation.”

  “What about the pictures you took?” asked Grant.

  “They’re not there,” replied Elena, holding up her camera. “I don’t know how, but the memory has been wiped clean.”

  “Damn.”

  “Folks, you’re forgetting the biggest puzzle of them all,” said Maclean.

  “And what would that be?” said Hayes.

  “What I’d like to know is, where’s the big bastard who walked away from the crash site and seemed to vanish into thin air at Joe Sparks’ front door?”

  Chapter 21

  Black parked in front of the police station, and got out of her vehicle. For the first time since being elected sheriff, she could feel the full weight of her responsibilities pushing down on her shoulders. Inside, police officers Scott and McCartney were sitting at a desk chatting with Sheryl. The two other members of the town’s police force, Kyle Harrison, and Tracey Tibeluk, were standing by the coffee machine.

  Sheryl saw Black and stood. “Sheriff, I called Liam Jones, and he said he’d meet you at Deering’s place with his dogs.”

  “Thanks,” said Black. Jones’ bloodhounds were among the best in this part of the state. Twice already this summer, they’d been used to look for campers lost in the backwoods north of the town.

  “Evening, Sheriff,” said Tibeluk. Like Black, she was an Alaskan native.

  “Evening, Tracey,” replied Black. “Sorry to call you and Kyle in a couple of hours before your shift starts.”

  “No one ever said it was going to be only shift work when I signed up.”

  Black poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down on the edge of a table. “I take it the word has already gone out to the state troopers that Mister Deering has gone missing?”

  Sheryl nodded. “I called them right after I got off the phone with you. I also did a quick call around town to see who is available to help with the search.”

  “And?”

  “I’ve got a dozen people on standby should you need them. But we can’t count on much help from the state troopers, on account of that massive forest fire burning out of control to the northwest of Valdez.”

  Black smiled all too briefly. Sheryl was worth her weight in gold. “Well, for now, we’ll have to do the best we can with our own people. Call everyone in, and have them meet us at Deering’s home. We’ll do a quick search around his home tonight. If we strike out, we’ll enlarge the search at first light, and ask the state troopers to send us what they can. Even if all they can spare are a couple more officers, I’ll take them.”

  Sheryl picked up her phone and started dialing.

&n
bsp; “What do you think happened to Mister Deering?” asked Scott.

  “I don’t know,” replied Black. “He fired off a half dozen shots at something, before his tracks seemed to vanish at the edge of his property.”

  “I wonder if the bear that killed Marshall’s dogs is to blame?” said McCartney.

  “I didn’t see any bear tracks,” said Black. “There were some tracks there, but I didn’t recognize them. Perhaps Liam can tell us what they are. He’s spent more time in the backwoods than the lot of us put together.” Black placed her half-finished cup of coffee down. “Okay, people, let’s get to work. I’m just going to call my son, and then I’ll meet you all outside.”

  Black quickly spoke with her son to let him know she wouldn’t be home until late, if not until morning. As she went to leave, Sheryl’s phone rang. Black was almost past her desk and out the door, when Sheryl raised a hand to stop her.

  “What’s up?” asked Black.

  There was troubled look in Sheryl’s eyes. “Mrs. Moore was just on the phone. She said her husband and son haven’t come home.”

  Black glanced up at the clock on the wall. “It’s still early. If I know those two, they probably went fishing and lost track of time. They’ll probably stroll in the front door any time now, with something to cook for supper.”

  “That’s what I told her, but their dogs came home an hour ago without them. There was blood on one of them. She sounds really worried.”

  Black bit her lip. One person missing was easy to rationalize, but three was almost unheard of. “Damn. Tell her that I’ll send two of my officers up there right away to take a look for them.”

  Sheryl nodded and picked up the phone.

  Black stepped outside. Too many things were happening for all of it just to be a series of random occurrences. She looked over at Harrison and Tibeluk and dispatched them to Mrs. Moore’s home.

  “Sheriff, something ain’t right with all of these disappearances,” said Scott, as he opened the truck of his vehicle and pulled out a shotgun.