Howard and Marty strolled alongside the vast gray hangar.
“One month,” Howard said. “One month to find Owen something he can give to Kennedy.”
Marty peered about glumly. “What are we going to do?”
“Do you remember Jacob Clarke?” Howard asked.
Marty stopped and looked at him, puzzled. “Sure. The only person I’ve ever seen that scared the colonel.”
“The day after the… incident, the kid’s brother drove to Montana,” Howard said. “He had no business dealings there, no known friends. I did a little research. Jacob Clarke disappeared right after Owen tried to nab him. The thing is, his mother still lives in Texas.”
“So where’s the kid?” Marty asked.
Howard smiled. “Turns out there’s a school in Wallace, Montana, for ‘special’ kids. Run by a Dr. Ellen Greenspan.”
Marty grinned back. “Let’s find out what it is that scares the colonel so badly,” he said.
Owen listened carefully as Dr. Kreutz concluded his report.
“Seventy-six encounters with our little gray friends,” the doctor said. “The nature of the encounters seems to be changing. We have stories of missing time. In a few cases, hypnotherapy has filled in those hours, and they appear to be abductions.”
“Missing time,” Owen said thoughtfully. “They’re exposed during this time?”
“Probably.”
“But in the past, exposure to more than ten minutes was fatal.”
“So they’ve learned from their mistakes,” Kreutz said. “Something has changed in their agenda. Or, if not in their overall view, certainly in their methodology. They are ‘upping the ante’ as I believe you say.”
“Why now?” Owen asked.
“Why not?” Kreutz replied.
“Can we prove this?”
Kreutz shrugged.
“I need the most credible of these people,” Owen said, almost to himself. “I need evidence that I can drop in Kennedy’s lap before he pulls the plug.”
Dr. Ellen Greenspan stepped into the corridor and faced the two men who’d accompanied her to the classroom. “I don’t know what else I can tell you,” she said. “He’s gone.”
Howard and Marty exchanged glances, then Howard turned back to Dr. Greenspan. “Do you generally just let your students go off like that without checking on them?”
“Of course not,” Dr. Greenspan replied. “Two federal officers came here. Their credentials looked every bit as genuine as yours… shall I notify the police?”
Marty shook his head. “We’ll take care of that.”
“Maybe I’d better,” Dr. Greenspan said. She looked at Marty pointedly. “Do you generally just let two sets of government agents do the same job without checking on them?”
Marty bristled. “Dr. Greenspan, we are from the United States Air Force. This is a matter of the utmost security. We need your cooperation.”
Dr. Greenspan shrugged. “I’m doing my best.”
The two officers stared at her silently for a moment, then turned and headed down the corridor.
Dr. Greenspan waited until they were safely outside the building, then walked quickly to her car, got in, then turned to the backseat.
“Jacob?” she said softly.
The small body rustled under the blanket. “Yes.”
“You’re going to have to stay under there a little while longer. I’m not sure I convinced our friends that you were already gone.”
She turned to the wheel, hit the ignition and pulled away from the curb. In the rearview mirror, she saw an old brown Ford draw in behind her.
“Dr. Greenspan?”Jacob said.
“Yes, dear.”
“Those men are following us.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Go a little bit farther. Don’t worry. I won’t let them hurt you.”
Dr. Greenspan continued until she reached Highway 12, then headed west, the air darkening around her as night fell.
From behind the wheel of the old Ford, Marty watched Dr. Greenspan turn west on Highway 12 while Howard studied the map spread out on his lap.
“If she hits eighty-seven and turns north, she’s heading for Canada,” Howard said.
“I hate driving in the dark like this,” Marty told him. “It makes me nervous.”
Howard continued to study the map. “If she goes south, she could be heading for Billings.”
“What if I hit a deer?” Marty said worriedly.
Howard looked at him sharply, then reached under his jacket and pulled out his pistol. “Pull up alongside,” he said. “I’ll shoot her before she gets going too fast. The kid won’t get hurt.”
Marty glanced at the pistol, then pressed down on the accelerator.
“Here they come,” Dr. Greenspan said, her eyes fixed on the rearview mirror.
Jacob pulled free of the blanket. “On three, stop the car and then lie down flat on your seat. It’ll be all right.” He drew in a long breath. “One… two… three.”
Dr. Greenspan slammed on the brakes and dove down against the front seat.
Jacob waited, listening as the men brought their car to a halt behind Dr. Greenspan’s car, got out and came forward. He could hear the crunch of their feet as they approached. When he knew they were at his window, he turned his gaze upon them. “Look at me,” he said.
Jesse knew the moment he entered Wylie’s office that the man didn’t want to see him, thought he was a nut, a chip off the old blockhead.
“I want you to put me in touch with whoever runs the UFO program,” he said.
“There is no UFO program run by the US Air Force or any other branch of the government.”
“I don’t believe that,” Jesse said. “My father’s in a hospital,” he continued. “He has a tumor in his brain.”
“I’m sorry,” Wylie said.
“The doctors found an identical tumor in my own head,” Jesse said. “I believe the tumors were put there by…”
“Jesse, listen…”
“Put there,” Jesse continued emphatically, “by whoever comes in those UFOs the Air Force knows nothing about.”
Wylie got to his feet. “Jesse, you can’t…”
“Our fathers fought together,” Jesse said. “That ought to count for something. I don’t expect you to believe me. I just expect you to help me.”
Wylie stared at him for a moment, then released a long breath. “Okay, but if you ever say that you got this
