Matchstick held Gus's eyes for a moment, then turned away and stared at the ceiling.
'Tell me now, boy, was that there fella one of your people, or that Destroyer thing?'
'Well, I guess it found out we don't take kindly to Gray Masters' round here, huh?'
Matchstick closed its eyes. Gus thought it had gone to sleep when it slowly sat up and propped itself on one elbow.
Hendrix,' a sleepy voice said on the other end of the phone.
'Johnson here.'
'Yes,' the voice said, annoyed.
'We have a problem.'
'I'm listening.'
'I have a verbal report from our Secret Service asset. The president has informed the Security Council that the saucer has been found. The Event Group has found the crash site of our visitors and is already on the ground. And it seems Director Compton is asking for military assets to help secure and control the area. I called our Black Team to make sure our former French friend was no longer in the equation, and there was no answer, They haven't been on the air all night, so I must assume they took his elimination lightly and paid for it. Therefore we must assume he is moving on the saucer.'
There was silence on the other end of the phone for a moment and then a light chuckle. 'What does that stupid bastard think he could do with whatever he comes across out there, sell it? Add it to his private collection? I'm afraid if what's out there is actually there, he won't want to take it home with him. If we can't get a team in there, I rather doubt he can.'
'I hope you are not underestimating him, he's rather resourceful.'
'No, my friend, let's just hope he has underestimated the corporation. In doing that he has underestimated America herself, and that has been the mistake of many an enemy.' The line went dead.
The senator was at his desk. Compton, who was somewhat rested with a two-hour nap, sat with Dr. Pollock and Alice, who were behind him watching the hastily installed video feed from the crash site.
'The debris field is consistent with what the army ran into in '47, Dr. Compton,' Collins said. His features were dirty in the yellow glow from floodlights. 'So far we have no sign of any survivors.' Jack turned and looked around him, then back at the stationary video camera. 'We have two bodies, badly mangled. The third, if there was a third, is missing.'
The senator looked at Alice and bit his lip in worry. Then he spoke into the small microphone that sat atop his desk. 'Jack, have you found the enclosure?'
The major removed the Kevlar helmet, looked around him, then looked into the camera. 'Yes, sir, it was badly damaged and empty, no biologic material at all, and we found the canisters damaged a few feet away,' Jack answered quietly.
'Your first impressions, Major?' Niles asked.
Collins shook his head. 'Niles, I need the damn sun to get up above these mountains and two hundred more men out here before I'll venture even a guess. Besides the hole Everett fell into, there's nothing but twisted metal,' Collins answered, letting his frustration show.
That was the end of their quick and easy solution.
'Hole? What hole, Jack?' Virginia asked, leaning into the microphone.
'A damn strange one because it's not an old mine shaft of any kind, it's too perfect.'
'And why do you think it's strange?' Lee asked.
'Because I normally don't get a sense of danger when I look into a hole, Senator, but when I look into this one, it seems like I'm looking into the mouth of hell, and I've learned to trust my gut when it comes to things like this.'
'Thanks, Jack. If you think the area is secure enough, we'll get you some more people down there. I believe we must assume our worst-case scenario has occurred.' Niles paused and looked at the others in the room, then said, 'I hope we're not too late. Jack, you know how important finding the crewman is now?'
Collins just nodded into the camera.
'Good. As soon as some more security comes on the line there, your orders are to get forty winks. I need you fresh. Virginia will be there in an hour or two to take charge of field operations on the investigatory end, the cover story the CIA has worked out with the cooperation of the Centers for Disease Control is an outbreak of brucellosis, that's thanks to the cattle in the region. It's highly contagious and can spread to humans in the form of undulant fever, which means the army would have to destroy cattle by the hundreds if not thousands. That'll cover the weapons they're carrying. But for now, wait for Virginia, she'll get things going there,' Niles finished.
'Glad to turn it over to her, sir. We'll see you soon,' Collins said as the picture went to a blue field.
'God help us, it's out,' Lee said.
'Now, we don't know that for sure, Garrison,' Alice said.
Lee ignored her statement and turned to Compton. 'You'll need some engineers out there and possibly a tunnel team. We may need to broaden the security aspects of this and bring in the element of airborne that the president offered to secure the town. Let the air force know we may need them.' Lee thought a moment. 'I'll ask the Chiefs in Washington for their advice and mollify them a little so maybe we can get the use of Rangers, and possibly some of those Delta boys we've been hearing so much about,' he said, referring to the Special Operations men known as Delta Force, the unit that never officially existed, just like the Event Group.
'Yes, sir, we may just need to do that,' Niles said.
A knock sounded at the door and Virginia answered it and took a note from one of the Group's communications people. She walked over to Niles and gave it to him. He read it quickly and lowered his head.
'What is it?' Lee asked.
'According to the Arizona State Police, they have a couple of missing troopers, and there was also a report of a mass killing of cattle not far from the crash sight.'
'What's a mass?' Alice asked.
Virginia looked at Niles. He was now sitting with his head lowered and his eyes closed in thought. Then she looked at Alice and the senator and said, 'Three hundred head were slaughtered from eight different ranches, all within the crash perimeter.'
'Slaughtered?' Lee asked.
'Yes, slaughtered and eaten,' Virginia said.
'My God, this must be more than one animal,' Compton said.
Lee didn't answer as he moved to pick up the red phone he had left out on the desktop, fearing it would have to be used. He put the handset to his ear and waited a moment through the clicks and beeps. The voice on the other end was sleepy, but had a tone only a man who was used to these calls at any time in the morning.
'Sorry to disturb your morning, Mr. President,' Lee said quietly into the phone.
Niles had informed the commander in chief earlier of finding the saucer. He didn't mention the president's possible relationship with the Centauras Corporation, but he had alerted him to all the possibilities that could occur at the site, and the president was aware of what might happen, being fully briefed on the events of 1947. But the man held his breath while waiting for the statement he knew he would not want to hear.
'You don't sound happy, my old friend.'
'Mr. President, we at Group believe we have been attacked. It's official, casualties have already been sustained on civilians of this country,' Lee said somberly. 'We are at war with sources unknown at this time.'
The others in the room looked at him, and those looks were serious. No man had spoken any words like these since that day in September 2001, when madmen hit the World Trade Center, and the only other time before that was in 1941 when Roosevelt had been informed of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
'Yes, the site is secure,' Lee said in answer to the president's question. 'No, sir, there's nothing to be done
