BlackStar, page 16
They drove along for several miles before Willis said, “I don’t want to be paranoid, but I think someone is following us.”
“Knock it off. You’re starting to believe this stuff,” Sarah laughed.
“No. I’m serious. Look in the side mirror. Third car back. Dark blue GMC. It pulled out when we left the house,” Willis said.
“How could they do that? They would have to be following Lake’s every move without him knowing. You saw how he drove.”
“All I’m saying is that it seems like they have been tailing us,” Willis replied.
“Then let’s see. Turn at the next street and don’t signal,” Sarah directed.
When they got to the corner, Willis turned right and watched as the GMC turned. He immediately put some distance between them.
“Right again,” Sarah said.
Once again the GMC fell in behind them. They were definitely being followed.
“What the hell is going on?” Willis said, watching in the side view mirror.
“Someone wants to know who is talking to Lake. How in the hell did they know where he was? He wasn’t followed. At least I don’t see how with all the changes he made,” Sarah said.
“I don’t know but do you think he is in danger?”
“I don’t know,” she said, getting her cell phone out of her purse. She dialed the number that Lake had given her, remembering to dial the number in reverse. It rang and rang but no one answered.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
- GROOM LAKE -
General Devin’s answer to the President was short.
“I’m staying,” was all he said.
The President acted like he was glad to hear the news but Devin suspected otherwise.
In truth, the President didn’t want Devin to leave. No one could just step into his shoes and that was all the more reason he wanted someone else to know just what was going on at Groom Lake.
The general flew back to Nevada immediately. He was in a foul mood and didn’t even check in on the BlackStar project. He went straight to his office and sent for his ‘consultants’ as he referred to them.
“Here is the report General,” a large man in sunglasses said, handing a folder to the general. It contained twelve, neatly typed pages.
“Thank you. I’ll read it and let you know if I need you further.”
“Yes sir. Payment?”
“Of course,” the general said, passing over a fat envelope.
The general waited until they were gone before he put on his reading glasses. He was much too vain to let anyone know that he needed glasses to read. He opened the report and started reading. It took him several minutes to read the twelve page report.
“Damn it,” he said and tossed the report down on his desk.
Lake and Barnett had met with the nosy investigative reporter, George Snapp. He had met them individually and then a second time with both of them. Now he finds out that Lake has met with someone else. A woman and a man, but who and where were they from?
They had broken off the surveillance when they knew they had been spotted. Whoever it was knew they were being tailed almost immediately. Maybe Lake had warned them but they doubted that he even knew they had found his secret meeting place.
The general paced back and forth in his drab military office trying to plan his next move. First the President and now this. Lake was becoming a real liability. He would like to have him eliminated but now that would cause more harm than good. He had talked to too many people and he could not be taken out. The same was true for Dr. Barnett.
George Snapp, on the other hand, was just the middle man. He was the mouthpiece. If he was out of the picture no one would be able to tell the story. It would create a little concern, but he wasn’t a key figure. He had no real firsthand knowledge. All he had was the story of Lake and Barnett. Once Snapp was eliminated, things would die down and then he could arrange an accident for the other two at a later time.
The only thing stopping him from having Snapp eliminated immediately was this new development of the man and woman. Why did they go to talk to Lake? He must have told them his story. Nothing else made sense. He needed to know who they were and what they had learned.
If they were associates of Snapp, that could create a problem. He needed to solve that mystery. Maybe it was someone from the FBI or CIA. The description of the car sure sounded like a government issued vehicle. Maybe Snapp had the answer to that as well. One thing for sure, George Snapp had a lot of information that he needed. It was time to arrange a little chat with the inquisitive George Snapp.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
- THE WHITE HOUSE -
Craig Hollister walked down the hall of the West Wing of the White House. He was early so he had time to stop and chat with a few friends and acquaintances. Hollister was the talk of the fashion conscious. He was always in vogue and dressed nicer than anyone, including the President.
It irritated some, but most found him charming and very approachable. He had been around a great deal since he was appointed Secretary of Defense.
The Vice-President didn’t have the same view as the President but he tolerated Hollister because to do anything less could result in a potential political squabble. He didn’t want that at all. He had designs on being the President after Oscar Zane Sampson, or OZ as he was called in certain circles, left office. He walked to the Oval Office exactly thirty seconds early and presented himself with his usual flair.
“You can go on in, the President is ready.”
“Thank you. That is sure is an attractive outfit you have on today,” he said, flashing large white teeth that were almost too perfect.
“You always say that.”
“And it’s always true,” he said, pushing open the door.
“Craig, come on in. Have a seat,” the President said.
“Mr. President. Mr. Vice President,” he said and sat down on one of the couches.
“Would you like something to drink? Coffee, Tea, Coke?”
“No thank you sir. I’m fine.”
“I know you are wondering why I sent for you. Let me start by saying that I hope I didn’t offend you when General Devin was here.”
“Not at all sir. I understand that there are things that are for the President’s eyes only. I wasn’t the least bit disturbed.”
“It didn’t appear that way but let’s move on. Are you sure you wouldn’t like something?”
“A Diet Coke maybe,” he said, knowing that the President would ask the same question until he took something.
“Excellent,” he said and ordered a Diet Coke to be brought in.
Hollister popped the top and poured it into the tall glass filled with ice. The President waited until he had taken a drink before he started in.
“Craig, I have asked the Vice-President to come to this meeting so that everyone has the same information. I don’t want either of you to feel left out of the loop. This issue concerns just the three of us for now.”
His voice had taken on a somber tone that he usually used when the issue was important to him. Craig took another drink of Diet Coke.
“Obviously, what I am about to tell you can never be repeated outside of this office. I know I don’t have to say that but, well, I did anyway. Both Craig and the Vice President had moved forward on their seats.
“A few weeks ago, while on my trip to Colorado Springs, I was able to arrange a clandestine trip to Nellis Gunnery Range. Some people refer to it as Groom Lake, Area-51, Dreamland, and other exotic names. As you know, many of our BlackOps projects are housed there during testing and preparation for deployment. The U-2, SR-71 Blackbird, Nighthawk, and others. It is one of our most guarded compounds in this country. The man in charge is General Devin. You already know that Craig,” the President said.
“Yes sir,” he confirmed.
The Vice President gave him a quick look. Why didn’t he know this?
“One of the things that concerns me the most is that General Devin has no immediate superior other than me,” he said, letting it sink in.
“No one else?” the VP asked.
“That’s right. The reason is that when the program was originally developed back in 1947, by Harry Truman, he didn’t want anyone else to know about what was really going on. Eisenhower followed suit and it is my understanding, that it has been that way ever since,” he told them.
“I wonder why in the world Truman did that? You seemed to be in agreement to some extent as I recall,” Craig replied.
“That simply cannot be. He has to answer to someone in the regular chain of command without jumping directly to the CNC,” the VP replied.
“That was exactly my reaction. Maybe in the 40s and 50s it would work but I have serious doubts about it in today’s world. Not only that, but if something happened to General Devin, who would be able to step in and take over? It could back up projects for months or even years. I am convinced that General Devin, or whoever is in charge of Nellis at any time in the future, must have a superior who knows all about every project we have going on” he told them.
Craig took a big gulp of Diet Coke as the Vice President stirred his coffee absently.
“Sir. I just don’t see how this has gone on for so long. Didn’t anybody think about this before?” Craig asked.
“If they did, they didn’t do anything about it. Only a few Presidents have even been there to see for themselves what goes on. Carter and Clinton neither one took the time. As far as I know, only Regan and the Bushes knew what was going on out there recently,” the President said.
“Unbelievable,” the VP muttered.
“Yes, and that is putting it mildly,” the President said.
“I take it you intend to make some changes,” Craig said.
“Yes. Above General Devin’s objections, I intend to make some changes. I know how strongly the general feels about this but I simply cannot let one man have that kind of autonomy.”
“I agree. It’s time, regardless of how General Devin feels,” the VP added.
“Craig, do you agree?”
“I understand the need for compartmenting when it comes to our biggest secrets. The fewer who know, the less likely the leaks. Look at the planes you mentioned. No one in the world knew about the Blackbird or Nighthawk or even the B-1 Bomber until they were already in use and deployed. In today’s world that is almost unheard of,” he said.
The VP was leaning toward Craig, ready to pounce on his assessment. He had read all of the President’s signals and knew what he wanted for an answer.
“Having said that, I do think it is both dangerous and foolish to let one person hold all of the cards. Unchecked, the wrong person could do more damage than ever thought possible. I think it is absolutely essential that whoever is in charge, report in detail the status of every project we are working on. That person should also verify that the reports are accurate and all inclusive,” Craig said.
The VP leaned back, disappointed. He was looking forward to Hollister cutting his own throat.
“Good. Excellent. I couldn’t have said it better,” the President said.
The VP rolled his eyes.
“I do think it should be limited to a very few. The last thing we need to do is bog everything down with additional channels and procedures. We certainly don’t need more files that can potentially be leaked,” Craig added.
“Yes. I totally agree, don’t you?” he said, looking at the Vice President.
“I do indeed. Too much red tape would choke everything. The reason we have all of the weapons we do is because no one put up roadblocks. You have to give General Devin credit, he doesn’t hinder creativity with committees or bureaucratic BS” he replied.
“Alright. I appreciate your candor gentlemen. I am not sure who I will have General Devin report to. I have several ideas but I want to think on it a bit more,” he said, standing to indicate that the meeting was over.
“Thank you Mr. President,” both men said as they were ushered out the door.
In the hallway, the VP turned to Craig and said, “What do you suppose he saw out there?”
“I have no idea but it must have been something astonishing,” Craig replied.
“When General Devin was here, did he mention anything?”
“Not a thing. As you heard, I was asked to leave the room while he was talking to the general.”
“Damn. I would give anything to know what they were talking about,” the VP said.
“Guess we won’t know until he is ready to tell us. Excuse me, Mr. Vice President, I need to get to another meeting. It wasn’t quite the truth but it wasn’t a lie either. He was bound to have a meeting at some time during the day. He could only take the VP in small doses.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
- HOMELAND SECURITY HQ -
The three of them sat in the movie theater watching the video. Along the bottom of the picture a voice stress analyzer was dancing across the screen. The picture wasn’t as bright as Willis would have liked but he had learned long ago that placing a subject under light unnerved them. They tended to feel like they were being interrogated. They had been at it since 8:00 a.m. and it was now 3:30 p.m. They hadn’t even stopped for lunch but rather had sandwiches brought in so they could keep going.
Finally the last shot faded out and the lights came up. They sat in silence while their eyes adjusted.
The Director of Homeland Security, Raymond Eller, said, “Sarah, I have to hand it to you. That was the strangest story I have ever heard and I have heard my fair share of strange ones.”
“Strange or not, we have to look into this or turn it over to the proper agency. I guess the FBI,” she said.
“Listen, Sarah. I just need some more time to digest this. I mean, you and Willis were there and this is the second time you have heard this stuff. I’m having a hard time trying to sort out how I feel. Let’s assume that everything they said was true. Then what? Can you imagine how the general public would react if all of this came out? The government would never be trusted again,” he said.
“They don’t have much trust in it now,” Sarah replied.
“Maybe so, but some trust is better than no trust. This could be the final blow.”
“I understand how you feel Director Eller, but we can’t just turn our backs on this. Does our government really know about this? Is it just select members who know? Wait,” she said suddenly, “Are you one of those that know all about this?”
“Sarah. How in the hell would I know about any of this…whatever it is?”
“You talk to the President directly. I don’t know how much he confides in you,” she replied.
“You are assuming even he knows about this. You know what the word assume means?”
“Yeah, yeah. An ass out of you and me. You can’t be serious, he has to know. If the reports are passed along like Snapp and the two doctors said, he would have to know,” Sarah insisted.
“Do we know they are being passed on? From what I saw on the video, they seem to think what General Devin is doing is not authorized. How would the President know about that?”
“I don’t know. He is the President. He’s supposed to know what they are doing. If he doesn’t, who does?”
“And there you have it. That’s the real question isn’t it?”
“You didn’t give me a direct answer Director. Were you aware of this before these tapes?” she asked.
He looked at her for a second and said, “No Sarah. The President has never confided anything remotely like this to me.”
“Okay I’ll accept that,” she said finally.
“If I had known about it, do you think I would have let you follow up on this?”
“You know I would have any way. Like you always say, I’m tenacious.”
“Did I say that? I thought I used the term bullheaded,” he said, trying to lighten the mood.
“I don’t mind either one actually. Though I do prefer tenacious, given a choice.”
“So where do we go from here?” Willis asked.
“Where do we go?” Sarah asked.
“Well, the more people we tell the harder it is to keep secret. The number is growing which increases the chance of this getting out. I guess I should go directly to the President with this. Show him the material and let him decide what to do,” Director Eller said.
“I agree. I wanted to do that myself but I figured you might not take too kindly to that,” Sarah confessed.
“Very astute. I would not have taken very kindly to that at all,” he assured her.
~~
- The White House –
“Hi Stella,” Eller said, “It's Raymond Eller,”
“Yes Mr. Eller, I recognize your voice,” she replied.
“Really?”
“Yes, it’s very distinctive,” she told him.
“Is that good or bad?” he asked.
“Neither, it is just distinctive. Don’t read anything else into it,” she said.
Stella was stoic, grumpy, and past the age of retirement. She had been a fixture at the White House for longer than anyone could remember. Her sense of humor was practically nonexistent.
“I need to meet with the President. Can you find a time to fit me in?”
“How much time do you want?” she asked.
He knew that no matter what he told her, she would schedule it for less.
“I need at least two hours,” he said. It was met with silence on the other end.
“Stella?”
“I was just waiting for you to make a reasonable request. You know that there is no way I can schedule a two hour block of time for you,” she replied.
“I’m afraid that you will have to this time. Tell the President it concerns information about MJ-12,” he said.
“MJ-12?”
“Yes. Just that. He will understand and I am sure he will find the time to see me,” Eller said.
“Very well. I’ll give him your cryptic message and will schedule you accordingly,” she replied.
“Thank you. You know where to reach me,” he said.
