“I hope so. We can hardly sustain those numbers for too much longer, unless we up our efforts here and get more bodies into the field.”
“We can always do that, but we must be careful. We can continue taking folks in small amounts from the less desirable parts of the population and nobody will ever notice, but if we go big and start nabbing larger numbers from other population segments, it might get noticed, and we really don’t want that happening around here.”
“Sooner or later, people are going to notice. We really should stage them somewhere else.”
“I’m working on that. The new facility is almost done, but it will take some doing getting them there without being noticed. We’ll have to bring in transports.”
“Transports? Are you kidding? How do you think we’ll pull that off without being noticed?”
“Park them in orbit and use shuttles. The shuttles can run dark, and from that part of this planet, nobody will take note of them, and if they do, it will be passed off as superstition.”
“Won’t the transports be noticed? These people have telescopes pointing all over space.”
“They’ll be cloaked.”
“How effective is that tech? Isn’t it kind of new?”
“The Varengarians never saw us, and they’re more advanced than these people.”
“I’ll take your word for it. How soon should we move them?”
“It will take the transports a while to get here. They’re on the outer rim. If we send the message, and have the shuttles sent, everything should be ready in about…let’s say…two weeks.”
“Should we continue collecting more people?”
“By all means. The street people, of course, and maybe try a couple prisons. Incite a riot and they’re ripe for the picking.”
“That sounds risky.”
“It can be, but I got a good haul out of a small prison in Texas. Don’t try the big ones, and by no means can you take too many.”
“And the prison didn’t notice the missing inmates?”
“You manage an escape and pick off the ones you want. When the dust settles, a few escaped and they’ll never be caught. Just don’t take too many.”
“You can fill me in on the details, but for now, where are we relocating the soldiers?”
“You really have been out of the loop, haven’t you? The new facility is almost done, and it’s someplace they’ll never suspect, let alone find. Their telescopes can’t see it from Earth.”
“I am out of the loop. I’ve been here a bit longer than you. Where is the place?”
“It’s underground, on the dark side of this planet’s moon, and it’s hardly at capacity.”
“There are already people there?”
“Only a few thousand. There’s room for two million. It will be easier to deploy from there as well. Not as many prying eyes around there. We can be in hyperspace before they know anything’s going on.”
“Sounds like a plan. I’ll work on getting more people to our holding facility in Africa and you can let me know when the transports are here, and I can try your prison trick.”
“Good deal. Now let’s get out of here before the woman gets back. I’m hungry. We can discuss things further over dinner. You know this place better than I do. Can you recommend someplace that wouldn’t be too disagreeable to a foreign palate?”
Wilkins shut off the recording and let out a low whistle, followed by a few curses.
“Well, that is certainly interesting. I wonder what it all means,” Franklin said.
“They’re at war…somewhere,” Walter said, “and they’ve lost a lot of men, so now they’re coming here to kidnap soldiers for their war. Only thing we don’t know is where they’re sending them and how they get them to fight for them.”
“How do you suppose we stop them?” Kendra asked.
“We?” Walter asked.
“Yes, we.”
“What do you figure you could do?”
“I don’t know. I can help somehow.”
“Well, first thing someone can help with is making another copy of that audio.”
“What are you going to do with that?” Wilkins asked.
“Try to recruit help.”
22
Walter set the car down in front of his apartment and Franklin and Kendra got out and followed him toward the front door.
“Man, that never gets old,” Franklin said.
“I didn’t much care for it the last time it happened,” Kendra said.
“That was different. It’s cool when Walter does it.”
Walter unlocked the door and did a double take when he walked in. Sitting on the couch was a young attractive blonde, sipping a Coke and petting Otis.
“Nice place you got here, but it’s not safe to stay,” she said.
“Who are you and what are you doing…wait a minute…you look familiar.”
“Hey, you’re the lady from the night…the one with the purse snatcher,” Franklin said.
“You got me there, one and the same,” she replied.
“How did you get in my apartment, and what are you doing here?”
“It’s a long story, one best told somewhere else. How soon can you get packed?”
“You mind telling me who you are?”
“It’s not safe here. Mike’s been here and I don’t know what he’s left behind, and I don’t have time to search the place. You’ll have to trust me.”
“Why should I trust you?”
“I know how you got your powers. Get some things packed and let’s get out of here, and we can’t pick up and fly the car. That might draw unwanted attention.”
“Where are we going?”
“My place. You can follow me in that car you brought.”
Ninety minutes later they pulled up in front of a run down looking farmhouse on a secluded lot in Seaman, Ohio.
“This house looks like it’s been here a while,” Kendra said.
“145 years to be exact,” the woman replied.
“How long have you had it?” Walter asked.
“145 years. Built it myself…well, I had some help.”
“Wait…145 years ago?” Kendra asked, “You don’t look a day over 20.”
“My people don’t age like you do.”
“No kidding.”
They took their things in the house, let Otis out in the back yard, and sat down in the living room, on furniture that was thankfully newer than the house.
“The dog
