Chapter Two

…“We are now approaching the Lincoln County Airport. Please fasten your seatbelts and return your seats to their upright positions”

    David started awake at the sound of the flight attendant’s voice over the loudspeaker. Had he actually fallen asleep? This incident could put quite a hole in his staunch belief that miracles are merely the delusions of the weak minded.

“We will be landing in approximately twenty minutes,” the flight attendant continued, “The time is 9 a.m. and the temperature is 98 degrees Farenheit.”

What have I gotten myself into, David wondered for no less than the hundredth time since this entire episode began.


         As David emerged from the airport luggage claim, he saw what he assumed to be his military escort. After all, he saw only one black sedan flanked by an Air Force Lieutenant in his dress blues. Traveling in style now, Dr. Westmore, he thought with some amusement.

         “Dr. Westmore?” said the Lieutenant as he approached.

         “Guilty as charged,” was David’s attempt at levity. Social skills were not his  forte. In fact, he studiously avoided social situations; which was why you could usually find him hard at work in his lab at MIT, alone. He did not like partnerships; he generally didn’t even use research assistants. Unless, of course, on the rare occasion that he found a kindred (translate, “quiet”) spirit.

         The Lieutenant put his luggage in the trunk and directed David to the backseat of the sedan.

         The ride to Area 51 was a quiet one, much to David’s relief. The Lieutenant seemed to share his disdain for small talk. As they rode David contented himself in looking at the passing landscape. That is, if you could call endless desert “landscape”. It was brown for as far as his eyes could see. The monotony was interrupted only by the occasional, scrubby brown bush. He already longed for the greenery of home. One redeeming quality was the almost impossibly blue sky; it looked as if an entire ocean hovered over the land.

         As they pulled up to the base, David had to admit he was surprised. It was much smaller than he’d anticipated. Not that it was small; the base appeared to cover several hundred square miles, it was just that he’d expected something grander for the famed Area 51. The Lieutenant that had accompanied him from the airport handed him off to a Sergeant and wished him well. As David followed the Sergeant to the entrance, he noted the security. Good, he thought sarcastically, won’t have to be worried about the coyotes coming in to steal my research. At that, he smiled, causing the soldier to his left to frown questioningly – which almost turned his smile into a chuckle. He quickly sobered his expression and walked through the entrance.

         The entryway led straight down a hallway to an elevator. David and the Sergeant entered the elevator and proceeded to go down. Down, down, down. How far down were they going? David began to feel that all too familiar feeling; dizziness, shortness of breath. Breathe, Davey boy, just breathe. He hated small enclosed spaces.

         After what seemed to be an eternity the elevator stopped. As David disembarked, he saw several hallways to choose from; an underground maze. This explained the smallish appearance above ground. He’d need his own personal guide just to navigate this place. Which is apparently what I have, he thought as the Sergeant led him down a series of hallways. Eventually they came to a large office preceded by a reception desk.

         “Dr. Westmore is here to see the General,” said the Sergeant to the red haired receptionist. David wasn’t sure, but he thought he also saw a quick wink from the Sergeant.

         “Thank you Sergeant Willis” said the receptionist. Her cheeks appeared to be slightly flushed. “General Parker,” she said into the intercom, “David Westmore is here to see you.”

         “Thank you Monica,” said the disembodied voice, “Send him in.”

         “You may go in to see the General now, Dr. Westmore”

         “Thanks,” said David. Sergeant Willis stayed behind, apparently assured that David could competently navigate the path to the General’s office.

         As David walked into the massive office, he felt as he did the one time he’d been summoned to the principal’s office. There was that same air of authority and power mixed with a somewhat paternal responsibility. The walls were covered with diplomas, certificates, and photos of what David assumed to be General Parker’s family. Behind the glossy maple desk sat an austere looking man of about sixty. His hair was the silver grey of a man whose hair had been black in years past; his eyebrows confirming this assumption. Gold-rimmed reading glasses sat upon a slightly hooked nose as he read the file in front of him. He looked up as David entered.

         “Welcome Dr. Westmore,” He said as he stood, removing his glasses and stretching out his hand, “We are so glad you could make it on such short notice.”

         “Thank you for this wonderful opportunity to research in such an amazing facility” said David, taking the proffered hand.

         “Please, sit” said the General, indicating the plush chair opposite the large desk. “I know you must have questions, and I’ve compiled several documents in this file that should be a good start. In here are all the project specs as well as Dr. Collins’ research and test results.”

         “Thank you sir. I’d like to begin reading right away, if you don’t mind.”

         “Of course,” the general smiled. The action surprised David, as the General’s face did not look as if a smile resided there often. Even so, the smile was genuine. “Sergeant Willis should be waiting for you in the reception area.” (A fact of which David was certain) “He has some non-disclosure forms for you to sign, just standard stuff really” the General said with a dismissive wave of his hand, “and then he’ll escort you to your quarters. When you’ve finished reviewing the materials to your satisfaction, you can feel free to call Dr. Collins and set up a meeting.”

         The general stood; David took that as his cue to leave. He stood as well, and for an awkward moment was unsure as to whether he was expected to salute. The decision was made to leave with a simple, “Thank you.”

         As David entered the reception area, the Sergeant straightened from his position leaning over the desk.

         “Are you ready to be escorted to your quarters, Doctor?” asked Sergeant Willis.

         “Yes,” David replied simply, and was led through another maze of corridors until they came to his quarters.

         The Sergeant unlocked the door and asked, “Will you need anything further?”

         “No,” said David, “I think I’m ok.”

         “All right,” said Sergeant Willis, “If you need anything, there will be a soldier posted by your door. He’ll assist you.” He then closed the door.

         David looked around his quarters. When he heard the word “quarters”, he’d envisioned one grey-green room with a bed and a desk. What he saw instead could be better described as an apartment. There was a living area which contained a small area off to the side furnished with a desk and a computer. To the left was a kitchen and dining area, and to the right was a hallway that he could only assume led to the bedroom.

         Nice, he thought as he brought the file to the sofa. He sat and bounced a few times. Yes, this isn’t too bad. But he would need to do a few things before he could relax and concentrate. First, he needed to find the thermostat. Anywhere he would be working had to be exactly seventy-two degrees Fahrenheit. He swiftly stepped to the thermostat and fussed with the dials until they were set to his satisfaction. Next, he went to his luggage and pulled out his air purifier. David searched until he found the air return vent and positioned the purifier in front of it. You would be surprised at the germs that could be found in the air of even the cleanest of facilities.

         There were a few more things he would need to do before he slept tonight, but this would do for now. David sat on the rather comfortable sofa and began reading.

******************************

         Natalie clicked her pen nervously on the desk; perfectly in time to her jiggling foot. The muscles in her jaw worked vigorously as she stared at the computer screen. Wolfgang had only seen her this worked up once, and it was in the moments awaiting confirmation from the other side of the base that the ham had arrived.

         “Where IS he?” Natalie exploded, “Is he here? Why hasn’t he called me? Didn’t the general tell him he was supposed to meet with me?”

         “Boss,” Wolfgang said soothingly, “He’ll call. Just cool your engines”

         A reluctant grin pulled at the corners of Natalie’s mouth as she explained, “It’s ‘cool your jets’, Wolf”.

         Wolfgang smiled in response, “Yes, that’s what I said.” He knew his malapropisms were an endless source of amusement to her. So, while his English was extremely good, he threw a few mistakes in now and again for Natalie’s benefit. It never failed. And the way her green eyes sparkle when she laughs makes it a win-win every time. For no less than the thousandth time, Wolfgang wondered if she knew how beautiful she was.

         Natalie interrupted his train of thought by asking, “Why don’t you call the front and see when he arrived.”

         Wolfgang bounced into his chair and hit “speaker” and “01”.

         “Front desk” the pleasant voice answered.

         “Cheryl, love, it’s Wolfgang”

         “Hi there!” Cheryl adored Wolfgang. He was the same age as her son, and three times as charming. “What can I do for you today?”

         “Well, I was wondering if you could tell me when Mr. Westmore is due to arrive.”

         “He came in over 5 hours ago honey.”

        This caused Natalie’s eyebrows to rise dangerously high.

        “Do you want me to page him for you?”

        “No, no, that’s all right. We’ll just wait for his call, thanks Cheryl”

         “You’re very welcome dear”. The speaker phone clicked.

         Wolfgang looked cautiously at Natalie. What should I do now?

         Just as Natalie opened her mouth, the phone rang. She clicked speaker.

         “Dr. Westmore for you, Dr. Collins”

         “Thanks Julia, put him through.”

         “Why don’t you let me set up the meeting for you boss, that way you can go ahead and start preparing” said Wolfgang.

         “Good idea, thanks”

        Wolfgang was relieved; He didn’t want her actually reaching through the comm lines to strangle him.

         “Hello Dr. Westmore….”

******************************

         Westmore was almost through reviewing the files when his stomach began to growl. He looked up at the clock; it read 3:30 p.m. Right on time, he thought. The two hour time difference didn’t matter; to his stomach it was dinnertime.

         He looked over to the kitchen, wondering if it was stocked, or if all meals were to be taken in the mess. David got up and walked into the moderately sized kitchen – same size as his at home actually. When he opened up the refrigerator, he gasped. Not only was it full, but it was stocked with the exact foods and brands that he required. The military sure had done its homework. Let’s see, David looked through the ‘fridge, we’ve got organic cheese and veggie lunchmeat – I could throw together a quick sandwich… as long as they have… He quickly walked to the cupboard and looked inside …wheat free bread – yes!

         David quickly assembled his sandwich, threw a few carrots on the plate, and took that and a bottled Deja Blue to the dinette. He let out a contented sigh as he chewed his first bite. Didn’t realize how hungry I was. As he ate, he took time to look around the apartment some more. The furnishings, while tasteful, were a bit drab. A fact that didn’t really bother him; he was all about functionality and usefulness – that’s how he was and that’s how he liked his surroundings.

         The couch and loveseat were comfortable enough, as he had discovered earlier; and the kitchen and dinette were roomy and airy. Being underground, there were no windows, so an attempt had been made to replicate natural light by inserting full spectrum recessed lighting in the ceiling around the perimeter of each room. The effect was pleasant enough, though it didn’t really matter much to David – he’d never been the type to crave sunlight. He would be just as happy in a windowless cave as anywhere else.

         Finished with his early dinner, David decided he’d better get back to the files he was supposed to be going over. He needed to get that done so he could meet with the scientist who’d be working for him. He hoped Dr. Collins wasn’t a talkative guy. He could handle a lot of things, (well, maybe not a lot) but enduring an overly talkative person wasn’t one of them.

         He quickly finished up the files and called Dr. Collins office. A receptionist transferred him

         “Hello Dr. Westmore, this is Wolfgang Lehrer” said a voice with a mild foreign accent – David assumed this was the assistant, “What can I do for you?”

         “Well, I’d like to setup a meeting with Dr. Collins to go over the research notes and test results as soon as is convenient.”

         “Absolutely, why don’t you come on down (like maybe 5 hours ago, he thought with a grin). I’ll call for an escort if you’d like”

         “No, that won’t be necessary,” said David, “I’ve got a soldier outside the door who can show me the way; thank you anyway”

         “All right” said Wolfgang, “We’ll see you soon.”
       
**************************

        "Well is he coming?” Natalie asked impatiently from the other side of the room, where she was sitting at her desk typing away at her computer.

         “Yes, he’s coming right now”

         “Well good – I’m tired of waiting for him to get up to speed so we can go on with the project. We’ve only sent non-living things through, and I’d like to have a few successful tries with plants before we move on to animals, like the big brass wants us to do."

*******************************


         David followed his soldier (that’s what he had come to think of him as, “his” soldier, like “his” guide dog) through the never-ending maze of corridors. Finally they arrived to what he assumed to be their destination, since his soldier stopped.

         “You can call the front desk when you’re finished and Cheryl will let me know”

        “Thank you.” Said David as the soldier walked away. David took a breath in and knocked on the door. After only one rap it flew open and he was greeted quickly by a young man he assumed to be Wolfgang. Suddenly the young man was pushed aside, and standing in front of David was a raven-haired woman who looked inexplicably miffed at him. What have I done? David wondered, how can I make someone angry when we’ve never met?

        “Dr. Westmore?” the woman asked.

         “Yes, I’m here to meet with Dr. Collins, is he here?”

         The impossibly green eyes in front of him took on a steely glint as she said, “You’re looking at her.”

         “Oh… I apologize, it’s just that the General never clarified, and I just assumed…sorry.” he finished lamely. “Well, I guess we should get started.”

         “Yes” said Natalie simply as she walked to her workstation, indicating that David should follow.          “I assume you’ve read the research and test results?”

         “I have; they were incredibly thorough, thank you. If you’ll just answer a few questions I have, and show me the lab, I could be ready to take over in a day or so.”

         Natalie whirled around, surprised. Who does this guy think he is? Coming in here, taking over my project? What the.. “Excuse me? I think you may have misunderstood your reason for coming here. You were invited by the general to verify the results of my research – not to take over my project.”

         “Are, are you sure?” said David. Not one comfortable with confrontation, he wanted to diffuse this situation quickly, “Why don’t we call General Parker to clarify… that way there’s no confusion.”

         “Good idea,” Natalie said gruffly, picking up the phone. “General Parker please, this is Dr. Collins… yes, General? I’m going to put you on speaker with myself, Dr. Westmore and Wolfgang. Is that ok?” Natalie pressed the speaker button and General Parker’ commanding voice filled the room.

         “What can I do for you, Dr. Collins?” asked the general.

         “We actually need a bit of clarification please.”

         “Yes?”

         “Well,” Natalie began, suddenly feeling uncomfortable, “We actually need to know who’s officially in command of this project… Dr. Westmore is under the assumption that he’s to work on this project, and I understood him simply to be here to confirm the results and validate the testing.”

         “Actually,” said the general slowly, “he’s been brought in to collaborate with you and your team on this. You’ll still officially be in charge; and Dr. Westmore is to be considered a partner and expert consultant. He’ll be here for the remainder of the project…Is that all?” asked the general, his tone clearly indicating that it was.

         “Yes sir,” said Natalie, “Thank you for your time.”

         Click.

         “I wasn’t aware I’d be working with someone” said David, brows furrowed. He didn’t object to working under Natalie, at least, not for the reasons she probably thought. David wasn’t a chauvinist, he was a loner. He had specific ideas and preferences that he HAD to insist upon. These “quirks” tended to annoy others; so David learned early on that he worked best alone. He sighed.

         “Well, I’m sorry you’ve just learned I’ll be your boss,” Natalie said gruffly, “ – but ask Wolf, it’s not that bad.” Her voice was tinged with irritation, misinterpreting David’s sigh.

         “Dr. Collins, I’ve nothing against you,” said David carefully, “I simply don't tend to work well with others"

         Natalie frowned, “What do you mean by that?”

         “Well,” David said slowly, “People don't always like my working conditions... for instance, the temperature in the room needs to be exactly 72 degrees Fahrenheit for me to work comfortably, it’s a tad cold in here, by the way; and I have to eat every 2.5 hours exactly, or my blood sugar dips too low,” David was picking up steam now, “all surfaces in the testing environment have to be sanitized every 2 hours to maintain an ideal control; and I cannot, absolutely can’t,” he said, eyeing Wolfgang’s radio, “have music playing while I work.”

         Natalie and Wolfgang looked at one another uneasily. Not my music,{/} Wolfgang’s eyes plead. It’ll be all right, Natalie’s assured. This guy took the cake when it came to the weird factor. But he was the best in the field (besides me, Natalie thought to herself). So, taking a deep breath in she extended her hand and said, “Welcome to the team.”