by RM Brewer
"What is Gypsum Aeronautics? Does anyone know?" Mei asked.
"All I know is my parents worked with them for years," Jodie said. "I recognized the logo from paperwork my father had when I was a little girl. So, obviously, they've been around a while now. I called my dad to ask him if they have an office around here. He said they did, but it's been closed for decades."
"I can look into them and see what I can find," Christy offered. "What kind of work did your parents do?"
Jodie was a bit embarrassed that the FBI couldn't provide more answers than an investigative reporter could. "They're aeronautical engineers. They worked on weapons guidance systems, the space shuttle program, and just about anything dealing with navigational components for space exploration. To be honest, I'm not really sure exactly what they did at Gypsum."
Bob stood up from the kitchen chair, stretching. "Christy, what does your research say about that military facility?"
"The little information I have shows it was built there in the 1950s, and was shut down and abandoned sometime in the early 1990s. You know, about the time the cold war era came to an end. From what I found, it was very, very expensive to construct. It likely reaches almost a mile down and is probably about five square miles wide, all underground. There are tunnels all over up there, extending out for miles."
"Good God. What would they have used something like that for?" Mei asked.
"I don't know, but there are theories that many of these installations or facilities, or whatever you want to call them, exist and they're all connected by a rail system that travels at Mach 2 or more. But, I want to make something clear. You might already know that information on the internet can steer you in a completely wrong direction. The military might have used that area for storage or maybe even mined materials out of it. Some underground areas were built to hide technology from satellite view, like the one under the Nevada Test Site. You know, next to Area 51?" Christy added.
The entire group stared at Christy. "I think everybody knows experimental aircraft were hidden in above ground storage buildings at Area 51, but I had no idea there were tunnels," Leah said. "I don't understand. How come this isn't public knowledge? Why is it that only you know about it?"
"That's not entirely true. This information is public and accessible in many forms. You just have to piece it together. Some documents are declassified, but so much text has been redacted that you can't figure out what it was or where it came from. Other documents are released on a staggered schedule, so that you'll never have enough of the full story in your lifetime to figure it out. Much of what people think they know about these underground areas is conjecture, but I can tell you they're very valuable facilities. So much so, that the U.S. government sold some of the smaller installations in the past decade to reduce the military budget. Some of the smaller ones were purchased by survivalists, others by large corporations. For what reason? Who knows."
"Well, Christy, that's very enlightening," Jodie said, sighing, wondering if the information they had would ever explain what was happening to them. "What you're telling us is, if this installation is still being used, it will be for classified reasons and we'll likely be very unwelcome. If it's not in use, we'll probably come to a dead end."
"That's about it, in a nutshell. But, given we've got two missing bodies, each of which had the coordinates of this facility, I think it's likely they're still in business," Christy said.
Noah got up to use the bathroom. After he closed the door behind him, Christy said, "There are some things in this discussion I don't want him to hear. He's so upset about Tim and his family. Please be discreet when he's around, okay, everyone?"
"Sure. Of course," Jodie said. "He seems like such a little adult, I think we all forget what he's been dealing with. Let's keep going while he's out of the room. Then, there's the car with the tinted windows. It followed us earlier on the way to the coroner’s office. When I arrived at Christy's house, the same car was already there. You remember, Christy, the one you thought I ordered for protection?" Christy nodded. "I don’t know if we're safe on our own and I don’t trust Wending. He was the only person who knew exactly where I was going when I went to see Christy and Noah. So, whoever was in that car was there for me or for some other reason we don't understand yet. Either way, we can't prove the person in that car was a danger to us, but there's too much going on here to second guess that hunch."
"By saying some other reason, you mean Noah, don't you? Now you’re really scaring me. I’m glad you called your field office for help. I've also got a really bad feeling about what might have happened if you hadn't brought us here," Christy said. Nick walked over and put his hand on her shoulder.
"Christy, like we discussed, we don't know what, or even, if, anything will be up there on the mountain. While I prefer to take all precautions, it might just be a coincidence that we saw that strange car twice in the same day. We need to be vigilant and wait for news from Isaiah to sort out things."
"So, your theory, if I understand it correctly, is whoever took the bodies was trying to hide evidence that this facility still exists," Bob said. "No one knew Fester took the watch, except his parents, who are now missing, and Noah. Jodie, only you, Isaiah and me knew that Wending took evidence from the coroner's office. Then, there's the coroner. He was likely killed because he found some sort of evidence on the bodies. Maybe something more than the coordinates. And there are three of us who have radiation burns who are now evidence of something. Leah got it the worst, but, presumably, never came into contact with anything other than her cousin's shoe. Noah was exposed to the man in the river and actually touched him, yet his burns aren't as bad as Leah's. Jodie briefly touched the woman she hit and is the least affected. None of that makes any sense to me."
That makes two of us, Jodie thought. "Now that I hear you say it out loud, it seems more likely that Wending could be completely in the dark about what's happening," Jodie said. "He wouldn't have given me access to the evidence bags if he knew what the numbers meant. At the moment, he's got the State Police and God knows who else involved. They might all be up there already, for all we know."
Christy's face was reddening. "I know I don't have to tell you this, but we sure haven't gotten any help out of Wending."
"I just hope Isaiah can give us some answers soon," Jodie said. The amount of information required to get the answers they needed was mounting to an extreme level.
"So, what you're saying is that people who came into contact with the two dead bodies seem to be mysteriously disappearing or dying," Mei said.
"Who's Isaiah?" Noah asked, appearing out of the hallway.
"Noah, you've been eavesdropping this entire time, haven't you?" Christy said. "Honey, you shouldn't be thinking about that, but it seems there's no way to keep you out of this conversation, is there?"
Noah shook his head.
"I don't know if it's a good idea for you to be involved in figuring this out, but maybe you're more grown up than I like to give you credit for. If you're going to join us, you have to talk to me if you're scared about something. Deal?"
Noah nodded. "Should Isaiah be scared too? He knows about the numbers," Noah said.
Everyone remained quiet for a moment. Jodie wondered why she hadn't thought of the same thing. Isaiah could be in danger, too, even though he was back at the Bureau in San Francisco. Obviously, the pace of events over the past few days and the lack of sleep were taking their toll on her.
"Isaiah works with me and Jodie at the FBI," Bob said. "Say, Jodie, just for kicks, I'm gonna go in the other room and give Isaiah a call and see if he's made any progress on finding out anything for us."
Jodie nodded, knowing Bob was going to warn Isaiah of the potential danger. "There's something we all need to discuss," she said, walking over to the table and sitting down. "I'm not sure why we're in this situation or even what it is. Bob and I brought you here because we needed to compare our notes, but I'm not sure what the safest place for any of us would be
right now. You all have a decision to make. If you'd like to get out of here, we'll help you go wherever you want, but you need to realize that the Bureau has divorced itself any involvement and I don't think we can trust local law enforcement. Even if we could, their capabilities might not be adequate to deal with what we're talking about. Military issues are beyond the scope of the FBI. I need to know your thoughts on this."
"But we need to find Fester," Noah said.
Jodie noticed fear on his face for the first time. She knew it wasn't for himself, though. It was for his friend.
"I couldn't keep him away if I tried," Christy said.
"I'm in, Jodie. I want to know what happened to me. And, maybe I'll find out what happened to Kari, too. Who knows what it will take, but I'm in," Leah said.
"We're not going anywhere," Nick said. He looked over at Mei, who nodded in approval.
"I just want you to understand if you want to get out now, we'll try to make whatever case we can with the Bureau to protect you," Jodie said, still wondering what the right decision was. She was starting to think they would be in danger no matter what path they decided to take. There was no clear direction to move in.
"How long would that take? Fester's already been gone for two days," Noah said.
Exactly what I was thinking, Jodie said to herself. It never took the Bureau two days to do anything. Something or someone was impeding their investigation. That something or someone was putting them all in danger.
Christy put her arm around Noah's shoulders. "Well, then. That's settled, I guess. Tell us what you want to do, Jodie."
Jodie walked over to the set of maps on the table. "No time like the present to make some preparations in case we need to go and look for ourselves. We need to develop a plan. If Isaiah doesn't have answers, we'll have to find out for ourselves if any of that military installation is still in use and who’s using it. We have to find something to report back to get the attention of law enforcement. We need them to help find Fester."
Leah brought the laptop displaying the output from Nick's cameras over to the table, watching the screen as she set it down. "Okay, Jodie, what can we do?" Christy, Nick, Noah and Mei sat down at the table with Leah.
"I think Bob and I should take Nick’s truck up the hill tomorrow, if that’s okay, Nick, since it’s four wheel drive. We’ll have about a mile walk from where the forest road ends. I’m assuming if the site is still in use, access to it is from the other side of the mountain, since there doesn’t appear to be traffic coming through Mountain City to get to it."
Jodie's head jerked toward the screen as the laptop flickered on and Nick’s cell phone buzzed. She heard a collective gasp from her guests.
"We just took a video. It should start any minute," Nick said.
Bob lowered his phone and rushed to the window, scanning the front of the cabin.
"Looks like we’ve got a positive ID on Bambi."
The group exhaled as a unit, watching a grazing white-tailed deer filling the laptop screen. This is going to be a long night, Jodie thought.
"Thanks. No, just a deer. Talk to you soon," Bob said, closing his phone. "Isaiah said he's on to something and he'll call us back as soon as he can."
"What did he mean by that? On to something?" Jodie asked.
"I'm not sure. He couldn't really talk. He said he'd call you back as soon as he has something to tell us." Bob looked out at the forest. "I don’t want to wait until dark. I’m going out to about where our deer suspect is standing right now and camouflage myself. If I see anything unusual, I’ll signal you from there. Nick, will join me on the first watch?" Bob said.
"Sure, Bob." Nick pulled his duffel bag from the cabinet where Jodie stowed it earlier. "Jodie, I'm taking a little extra protection, okay by you?"
"You might want to let Bob handle that for the time being. I want you both to come back from your watch in one piece." Nick nodded and handed the bag to Bob.
Bob looked in the bag, grinning. "You shouldn't have. It's lovely."
Jodie overheard the two men laughing on the way out the door. "It goes with your outfit and everything," Nick said.
Boys will definitely be boys, Jodie thought. When they were out the door, she turned to look at the rest of the group. Anxious expressions greeted her.
"Jodie, we're not staying here in some cabin without you," Leah said.
"I don’t care what anyone else is doing, but I don't want Noah up there," Christy said. "Leah, how do you think you can travel over that kind of terrain?"
"I can go, Mom. I feel a lot better now," Noah said as he stood, puffing out his chest ever so slightly.
Jodie looked at him, thinking his attempt at bravery was adorable. She realized he was being driven by concern for his friend. "No offense to you or Leah, but you would just slow us down. Neither of you are up for that kind of hiking."
Noah looked down at the table.
"None taken, Jodie, but I wish we could help more," Leah said.
"It’s going to be safer for you if you take someone with you," Mei said. "I think I should go along. If you’re going in there, you’ll need to have somebody watch to see if anyone follows. We’ve got cameras here. Who knows what kind of equipment they might have up there?"
"Point taken, Mei. I’ll talk to Bob when he comes in from his watch. As for the rest of you, I do understand your apprehension about being on your own. Regardless of who goes, we’ll probably be gone less than a day. You’ve got surveillance equipment and weapons here and we’ll be fairly close, but we'll discuss this as a group later and decide together. For now, if you want to help, you can gather some supplies. We’ll need some food, flashlights, first aid and water for each of us. Christy, I’d like you to help me with something," Jodie said, walking toward the hallway. She motioned for Christy to follow her and they walked to the back of the cabin.
"Okay, what can I do?" Christy said.
"I’d sure feel a lot better if we secured some of these windows. I’d like you to nail them shut."
"Is that such a great idea? I mean, what if we have to get out of here in a hurry?"
"I’ve got just the thing for that." Jodie pointed to a rug on the bedroom floor.
"So, what? You want us to hide under the rug?" Christy asked, laughing.
"Oh, I'm sorry. That's funny, but no, not really. But also, yes, kind of." Jodie pulled the rug back to reveal a trap door with a recessed handle. "This goes to the crawl space. You can get out underneath from any side of the cabin. What we’ll need to do is attach the rug to it so it's covered after we go through, just in case."
"Okay, I see your point," Christy said. "Best to be prepared. If Fester wasn't missing and Noah hadn't been injured by this, I might actually be having fun right now. But, this is exhausting in a way, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it is," Jodie said. "Most police work is. People think it's glamorous. They have no idea." Keeping everyone out of harm's way would be excitement enough. She said a silent thank you they were all safe for the moment. She'd do her best to prepare them for whatever was coming. She didn't know what that would be, but they would be ready.
Chapter 16
Officer Charles, 'Chuck,' Oliver Wending, the Third waited at his desk. He'd felt that tingle in his crotch since earlier in the day when the State Police arrived and he told them how he'd solved the case, or at least where they should look to solve the case. After all, there were already three dead people and a missing family. He couldn't be expected to do everything by himself now, could he? Having State assistance left him freed up to develop his own plan, and the information he had would get him a ticket outta this one horse town. There was no doubt in his mind. Solving the case might add enough to his resume to help him start over somewhere else.
He'd gone to the city, attended community college, and graduated with a Police Science certificate over ten years ago. His first assignment was in Wild River, California, a city that would tax even the most seasoned law enforcement professional. Wild River's 150,000 re
sidents experienced a higher crime rate than any other city of its size in the U.S., with murders, arson, robbery and drug-related crimes topping the list of offenses.
During his first week on patrol, Officer Wending came face to face with a tweaked-out addict, brandishing an automatic weapon the size of a mini-bike. At first, Officer Wending couldn't quite comprehend what he was seeing. By the time it finally did register, he realized he was scared shitless. Literally. His bowels released, his breakfast liquefied, filling his Armani boxers with intensely foul-smelling half-digested food. The Sunny Morning Special -- Two Eggs, Bacon, Waffles and Syrup, and Your Choice of Beverage, Only $2.99! -- from Shep's Home Cookin', all right there, streaming down his legs, overflowing in his comfortable walking shoes.
The man lowered his weapon. "Aw, fuck, that's gross," he said, screwing up his face at the sight of the pool of pulverized eggs forming by Wending's foot.
Yet, Officer Wending had the presence of mind to move quickly while the man was distracted. He disarmed, arrested, and handcuffed his suspect, placing him in the back of his cruiser. Wending's partner, Jason Redman, called for backup. When two other squads arrived, Redman told Wending to take the man to the station himself and he would remain to take witness statements. Wending pulled a large plastic evidence bag out of the trunk, set it down on the driver's seat and sat down, looking at his passenger in the rear view mirror.
The suspect in the back seat sounded none too happy about his situation. "Jeeezus Christ! You can't make me ride in this car with you. I can't even cover my face. Man, you're rotting from the inside out. Take the cuffs off ... I think ... I think I'm gonna be sick." With that, the man bent over and threw up all over his shoes.
Wending glared at him in the mirror. "You keep that up and I'll take the long way back to the station. Maybe even close the window and turn on the heat. How would you like that, you little prick?" Wending tried not to look out the window, but could see his fellow officers out of the corner of his eye, laughing so hard, it looked to him like they were having problems standing.