Now as the club watched Jack drive into Aaron's house, raising a cloud of dust, Nancy wondered how he made out. Jack jumped out with a grin and soon had everyone up to speed. He knew they would want a time frame but it was hard for him to say. Jack had hope that only a few days would transpire before he heard some news.
Nancy said, "Good job Jack. Now I suppose we should go back to the cave and remove our new friend X. After that we could go back to the camp ground and hang out until we hear something?"
It was left hanging until after they removed X down to Aaron's barn whether to stay here or go back to the campsite.
Aaron had two long poles with a tarp that they used to carry X down to Jack's van. It wasn't an easy proposition carrying X down the steep hill to the arroyo. Aaron had foresight to bring a long rope to tie onto the waist of Tony who mostly slid on his butt down the hill. Jack was in the front and he too slid down the hill on his butt with the two poles tied to his shoulders.
The hard part finished the rest of the way to the van went well. Jack said, "You know X is heavier than I thought. I'd guess we're looking at 80 plus kilos."
Tony agreed and they all wondered why X would be so heavy. It wasn't until much later they found out why X was so heavy. Laura said, "Can you imagine telling this story to your grandkids?"
Tony said, "Can you imagine telling this story to anyone."
Back at Aarons, X tucked away in the barn under a ton of hay, they had a big decision to make: stay here or go camping. It was decided to stay at Aarons and organize the pictures and make notes. They didn't doubt that NG would come, but they wanted to appear professional; not a club of wannabe archaeologists.
Two days went by and now it had been almost a week since they first met Aaron. Jack's cell rang. His father talked to him and Jack told him a small town called Rincon would be the place to meet. He listened some more and then closed up his cell with a big smile.
"Father told me that NG will be in Rincon in two days. They have my cell phone number. He also told me that the lawyer had faxed the contract and someone from NG was happy to sign it. Father said that a team is coming, not just one man."
Nancy and Laura jumped up and down then a big hug occurred. Handshakes, high fives, more hugs and all knew their lives would change forever in a few days time. Nothing would be the same for the Flake Club.
^^^^^^^^
The club was at the café sitting at the same table as before when three vans pulled in. No doubt they were airport rentals. Out of the lead van, from the passenger door exited the person in charge. Actually, as it turned out, a husband and wife team was the co-leaders of the team. Sandy had been driving and her husband rode in the passenger seat. Nancy and the club went out to greet them. Nancy was not timid or intimidated by the stature of the team unloading from the vans. Greg saw her striding towards him and guess she was the leader of the club. Greg had very little information to go on as he was only told this was a Clovis site. He was instructed to not show any disrespect to the Flake Club. Greg and his wife both heard what the man said loud and clear. Both knew very well that working for NG was a privilege; not just a job.
Greg took in the club and saw five young people with serious looks on their faces. He grinned and took Nancy offered hand. Sandy came up and with a friendly smile shook hands with Nancy and was introduced to the other four members of the club. By then the other vans had emptied out and ten members stood in a line next to Greg. By sex it was half and half. First names were used as last names would get lost in the shuffle.
Greg said they were a little hungry and the café looked inviting. The waitress was a little taken aback when seventeen customers walked in. She jumped on the phone and five minutes later her sister arrived and the night shift cook as well.
Sitting down Greg said, "We don't know much Nancy as we were told to get out here in a hurry. We have camping equipment and if the site warrants it, we'll order in the necessary equipment and supplies. Now can you tell us what you have discovered? Summarize please."
Nancy looked at her team and then said, "Greg and Sandy. My friend Aaron was the first to discover the cave after an earthquake forced a talus slope down to the arroyo. He said to come see for yourselves. I guess we're saying the same thing. I can tell you that it's a discovery of a life time. There's evidence of flakes, bones, hearth and other items to ponder over. Here let me give you a small look at what you'll see tomorrow." Nancy sat her lap top on the table and once it was booted, she set up a slide show. By then the other members of the team were gathered around looking at the pictures of what would be named: Flake Cave.
Sandy said, "Lord have mercy. We read about Burnet Cave and this would equal or surpass it. Greg, can you believe your eyes?"
"I'm rather speechless. I'm also not sure I can wait until tomorrow. It's going to be one sleepless night."
The club members all thought at the same time, Greg waits till you see the wall.
All the thinking stopped when the first round of lunch came out. Nancy put away her lap top and they dug into lunch. Some small talk occurred between Sandy and Nancy. Greg and Sandy were just over forty and both were archaeologists having met in graduate school. They'd been working for NG for about ten years. She told Nancy that NG was a great place to work, but very strict. Sandy asked about Nancy and her club.
Nancy told her that all had just graduated with their BA degrees. All had plans for graduate school and of course a dream job would be nice. Both laughed at that one. She mentioned the fact that all of them had Indian blood except Jack; but they didn't hold that against him. Jack cracked up hearing that remark.
Soon they were off to the campground which now would be a bit overcrowded. However, after a few hours, Nancy and the club realized these folks were professionals not only with their jobs, but in camping out.
Eddie, a mountain of a man doubled as the camp cook. Nancy never saw him with anything but a good word and smiling all the time. His helper, or prep cook, as he called her, Willow, made sure nobody got sick with dirty food.
Ralph was in charge of the camp fire. He profusely thanked Aaron for the firewood and promptly ordered another cord of wood. Payment would be cash of course. That night all they had was folding small camp chairs, but nobody complained. They talked until midnight and finally gave it up. Once more nobody complained as sleep would be hard to come by given the sight forthcoming.
The next morning breakfast was juice, yogurt and fruit. Packs were loaded with packaged lunches. On Eddie's back he had bread and cheese enough for all and then some. They left camp at just daylight feeling the cold desert morning air. Once again Aaron led the way. A long line was strung out for a hundred yards by the time they were half way there. Aaron stopped at the bottom of the steep hill and waited for all to arrive. This time Aaron had brought a long rope and said he would climb up so the others could use the rope to help them up the steep hill. Previously, he'd spotted an anchor rock that would suffice holding the climbers.
A half hour later they were all jammed just inside the cave's mouth. Greg asked for quiet and said they would take turns but first they needed to delineate the walking area. Nancy led Greg and Sandy in first. She couldn't see the expression on their faces, but heard a gasp from Sandy. Slowly, ever so slowly they inspected the floor of the cave. For an archaeologist, it was a treasure house of evidence. The rest of the members found space to sit down and wait their turn. The view was magnificent so the wait was worth it.
After a long inspection, Nancy thought it time to see the shocking part of the site. She said, "Follow me please and watch you head. We have to crawl a short ways into a cavern back here."
Once inside the cavern Nancy waited until Greg and Sandy stood up. She kept her light down and let Greg and Sandy discover what was on the wall. Sandy's light hit it first and she gave off a muffled yelp. Greg's light saw what she exclaimed about and he remarked, "Jesus Christ, what the hell is this?"
Nancy said, "We purposely didn't mention this for obvious reasons."<
br />
Silence occurred while both looked at the painting on the wall and of course the symbols above and below. Nancy sat down and waited. Finally Greg said, "We're near Roswell aren’t we Nancy?"
"Yes, we are Greg. If you do the math that pictograph or painting would date more than 10,000 BP."
"If so Nancy, this is perplexing and very mysterious. I think we're in over our heads here, said Sandy.
Nancy thought, if you only knew the half of it Sandy. Nancy said, "We have a wonderful site to record of Clovis time. Let's stay with that thought for awhile here."
Greg said, "I commend you and your club Nancy. Most would have called the media and all hell would have broken loose. The government would take over and out you'd go. My first impression is to call our boss and have her come here immediately. This is going to take some political power that Sandy and I don't have a bit of."
"We just want to be part of the dig and apply what we have book learned to real experience," said Nancy.
Sandy had been looking at the wall very carefully. She said, "We've been all over the world Nancy. We've seen cave art in Europe and Australia. The art work here is very professionally done. We need to carbon date the paint to set the age. If it is over 10,000 years old, then we're looking at some alien work here. I'm not one to speculate too much, but it would appear that the Clovis people met up with an alien race. Will this lie to rest the issue of life other than here on earth?"
"I doubt it Sandy," said Greg. "There is no evidence to show who painted the wall. I see and feel a cover up in the making unless our boss can put up a fight."
Nancy said, "We'll follow you for the time being Greg and Sandy.
"I'm going to make a phone call. Sandy, let the others view the cave. We can't keep this a secret for very long."
Nancy and Sandy went out and Sandy made teams of two to view the cave. Greg had went down the rope to the bottom and was seen talking on his cell phone.
It was around 11 am when they sat around the cave entrance having lunch. Greg said, "Our boss is flying out, as we munch on this great cheese and bread from Eddie. I'll go back in and take some pics as well as our camera man Jake."
After lunch they left Greg and Jake to take some pictures. Sandy went with the rest to camp. She was having a hard time coming to the realization that an alien race existed outside of their solar system. Any scientist would have to believe that we, in a universe so huge, were not alone. Be that as it may, a wonderful site was ripe for recording ancient tool makers.
Back at camp, the weather fairly normal for late June, the group sat around talking about the cave. They all agreed that the painting on the wall was tantamount to setting the question of life other than our own. One member, Bodey said, "Why is the object horizontal and not vertical?"
"Good question Bodey. Also, where did they get the paint or the substance to last for thousands of years," asked Eddie.
"Flowers, bugs and red clay would suffice to make a red color," said Aaron.
"I'm not questioning that Aaron. But that painting looks very fresh as if it was painted just recently. I realize it hasn't been recently painted, but maybe someone could argue that after the earth quake it was painted to divert attention or to mislead us."
"I hear what you say Eddie. Dating will tell us the answer we need," said Nancy.
The next morning a helicopter flew in raising dust for hundreds of feet. After it shut down, a rather tall middle aged female stepped out. Greg and Sandy greeted her and then walked to camp. She was introduced to the Flake Team. Nancy thought she was all business and in this case she was all business. It was decided that after a short talk, she and Sandy would visit the cave via the helicopter. Greg and Nancy would hike in without packs; only water.
Gloria viewed the pictures and a grim look made her look a little older than her fifty plus years, Nancy thought. Nancy liked her and before she left, she and Nancy were friends.
Now, at the cave, with Sandy helping Gloria climb the steep hill with the aid of the rope, they made the top without incident. Gloria was a desk jockey not a mountain climber. Sandy felt even worse when she had to crawl into the cavern to see the painting.
She was breathing hard, seemed alert to her surroundings. She said, "My gosh Sandy, you're right, we have a problem. The government is going to want to take over this cave for sure. I'll have to report to the board about this discovery. I'd say this information, if it dates back to what you say it should, needs revealing. The public has a right to know we aren't alone. Well, Sandy, it's time to take the gloves off and have it out with the black suits."
As they were talking Greg and Nancy waited outside the cavern at the cave entrance for Sandy and Gloria. They all sat down and leaned against the rock wall just inside the entrance.
"I can see why you had a lawyer Nancy draw up a contract. It's my job now to fight tooth and nail to keep us all from being swept under the rug. I'll report to the board of directors and then we will proceed from there. Meanwhile we need a 24/7 guard on this site. I'll send a team of security to you soonest I can."
Nancy kept her mouth shut and decided to let this play out for awhile. Of course she had no idea when to share the X object to anyone. If she opened the bag too soon, they could be in trouble. Also, wait too long and bigger trouble probably.
^^^^^^^^
Flying back to Washington DC, Gloria Goldstein contemplated the discovery. In her bag she carried a USB full of evidence to support the claim of life outside our solar system. She also thought there was more than met the eye with that archaeology club leader Nancy. Now she had to present the evidence and convince the board of maintaining control of the Flake Cave site. It would take some political posturing to keep the government snoops away.
As time was critical to expedite NG control, Gloria had called her contact on the board to have a meeting arranged for evening. "Yes, it's an emergency," she said.
It was close to 7 pm when Gloria entered her office. Her secretary, thank god, was still there running interference for her. She told Gloria the board was assembled and waiting for her. Gloria made a quick trip to the bathroom and then hurried to the conference or board room.
Entering the board room all stood up to show her respect and for her position. She thanked them all for coming on such short notice, but she assured them the need was quite urgent. She wasted no time inserting the USB and then began her story summarizing the events.
Twenty minutes later the board sat there stunned. The board was about equally divided between men and women; all from noted positions with major companies; both for non-profit and profit.
"We have a binding contract with the University of New Mexico's Archaeology club, The Flake Club. Simply put the club didn't want to be shoved aside once the site rose to a level that would involve some of the most noted archeologists in the country. The club members are young and intelligent. We must stand behind them. Now we have a problem in that if the evidence proves the painting is very old, then life exists outside our solar system. Now you know the facts as I do ladies and gentlemen. Any suggestions as to how NG proceeds?"
A board member that represented a major non-profit agency said, "I think if you went to our legal department you'd find no help there. I doubt if there is any previous cases to learn from. No doubt we are breaking new ground. The question remains, how to keep the government from taking over and silencing the whole issue?"
"If we publicized it what would happen," another board member asked.
"We'd still have the government throwing its weight around shutting down the sources," said another member.
"I'm friends with the Senator from New Mexico. Let's get him on our side right away. As I understand it Gloria, almost twenty people now know about the site. That many can't hold a secret for very long."
"I've a security team on its way now. If we can keep the team working then we should have some days to put a plan together," said Gloria.
The oldest board member said, "Gloria, get a carbon dating soonest
you can. After that we'll go public and damn the torpedoes. We need a fight and I'm going to lead the charge in my wheelchair." A round of applause was heard. Gloria smiled hopping for the best; but expecting the worst.
Greg and Sandy, along with Nancy chipped two small sections of the paint and sent it off to the University of Arizona for carbon dating. The guy Greg talked to said he would rush order it and personally take care of it.
Twenty four hours later, Greg called the tech. The tech said, "We dated the samples at 12,000 BP. Of course you know the plus and minus side Greg."
"Indeed I do Bill. Thanks and I owe you one."
The entire group was waiting with bated breath for the news. Greg grinned and said, while thumb in the air, 12,000 guys. We have struck gold."
Sandy called Gloria; who in turn called the board; who in turn laid the ground work for going public. Security was on the job. A full blown team was sent to assist the onsite leaders. Work began in earnest.
Nancy and her club worked under the orders of both Sandy and Greg. The X subject was almost forgotten about. Two weeks after the word of a major discovery in New Mexico and the news that allegedly an alien painting was discovered in situ with the Clovis culture, the government came in two vans clearly marked as 'Department of the Interior' on the doors.
The team had taken a break that afternoon so were in camp when the vans arrived. Nancy saw the first van stop and a cloud of dust rolled over the vans. The driver waved his hand over his head as if to ward off the dust. Next he took off his Ray-Ban's and polished with a kerchief out of his back pocket of his Dockers. His partner was a carbon copy of the driver. Nancy thought, we are in big trouble here. I see a battle of wits coming.
Instead of seeing a battle of wits coming, Nancy heard a helicopter arriving from the northwest. She hopped it was the Calvary arriving in the form of a Gloria Goldstein. The camp members went from sullen to ecstatic seeing the arrival of the big boss.
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