When Nick arrived, Marie had gone to the store to get “a few things” for lunch, and he had time to talk with Dom alone. Dom invited Nick to take a short cruise on the “Rock ‘n Reel” up the Port St. Lucie river before lunch. As they were cruising around, drinking beers, Nick asked a lot of boating questions. He intended to purchase his own boat and would need the advice of an experienced boater before making his decisions. One question Nick wondered about was the difficulty of captaining a boat to the Florida Keys or the Bahamas.
“I wouldn’t do it on anything smaller that a 25-footer,” Dom advised. He then went on to describe how he and Marie had made several enjoyable trips to Key West and the islands of the Bahamas.
“It really isn’t too difficult getting to the Bahamas, as long as the weather’s good and the seas are calm. It takes four or five hours depending on the seas and currents. Why? You interested in doing that all by yourself?”
“Not really. I’m not much of a blue water sailor, yet. I wouldn’t try anything until I had plenty of experience. That’s why I’d like to go out first with someone who knows what they’re doing.”
“Yeah, a few trips with me and you’d be a pro.”
“Well, let me ask you seriously. If I wanted to go over there, would you be willing to take me? I’m willing to pay you for it.”
“You sure, Nick? It’s cheaper and easier to just take the cruise ship out of Palm Beach.”
“Well, I’m really anxious to learn more about boating. I’m willing to pay our fuel and food on the trip.”
“I haven’t gone to the Bahamas in two years. But hey, if you’re willing to pay the fuel and food... heck, why not? Marie and I are always looking for something fun to do. In fact, hell yes! I could arrange that. But I have to tell you, a lot depends on the weather. I won’t cross the Gulf Stream if it’s more than 3 to 4-foot swells.”
Dom told Nick the only problem this time of year was hurricane season, and went on to elaborate on some of the more recent hurricanes they had experienced in the area. “If the weather’s good, we could go whenever you want. Hurricane season ends around mid-November. Maybe you’d want to wait until winter to be safe, but then it can get mighty cold out there on the open water.”
“Right, good points, Dom. I didn’t consider any of those things.” Nick had not thought about unquiet seas mainly because he didn’t know much about hurricane seasons, and cold water wasn’t something he associated with Florida and the Caribbean.
“When are you planning to come down next?”
“Well, officially by the end of the year, but my big project is wrapping up at the end of September. When that happens, I plan on buying a car in Las Vegas and driving it across the country, taking my time, sort of a ‘Jack Kerouac’ kind of thing. Do you remember his book ‘On The Road’?”
“Yeah, you know I sort of do. God, I read that a long time ago though. But a road trip sounds like fun.”
“I think it’ll be interesting. I plan to drive here at the end of my trip. So maybe I could take a few extra days, and we could try going out to the Keys or the Bahamas then. Are you up for it?”
“As I said, it depends on the weather. But if it’s good, I’ll be okay with it. But I have to warn you, Marie’s gonna yak your ears off. She especially has one topic when it comes to you.”
“Yeah? What’s that?”
“Well, I’m lettin’ you in on this to warn you ahead of time. When you move down here for good, Marie is going to try and fix you up with some girlfriend of hers. She hates seeing single men living alone when she could find them nice Italian women to cook for them.” Dom was laughing now and Nick gave him a playful nudge.
“Thanks Dom, I need all the help I can get.”
Chapter 11
Today was the last official day for project X-56. Nick was relieved that the great amount of work necessary to neatly wrap up the project’s demise, in such a short time frame, was finally accomplished. Yet he was nervous as hell about executing Amie’s escape plan, and had found, at times, it was very hard to concentrate on his tasks at hand.
Three days ago he had taken the afternoon off and purchased, with cash, a blue, 2004 Honda Civic sedan. The car’s finish had seen its share of parking lot dents and the odometer had over 60,000 miles on it; Nick bought it from a local car dealership on East Sahara Avenue in Las Vegas. He had searched for this car on the Internet before coming out to Vegas and spoke with the dealership over the phone. Nick wanted the Civic because it was inexpensive to buy and operate, and his son, a teacher in the Columbia area, needed a reliable second car for his family. He planned to give it to him after the trip. Also, if someone were looking for him, it would not stand out from thousands of other Honda’s on the road.
The car was in good condition, despite the mileage, and had but one previous owner who was fortunately a non-smoker. Nick took it to a local Honda auto mechanic, right after he drove it off the lot, and had the battery replaced and the systems checked, with a request to repair anything that might break down over a long, five-day drive to Florida. Although he purchased it for well under $6,000, a few days later he found he had spent another $900 for necessary updates to the brakes, alignment, a new set of plugs, a dark tint job on the windows, and a few other things. This was no surprise, and Nick still felt that, for less than $7,000, the Civic was a real bargain. It was now waiting for him at the Janet Airlines Terminal in Las Vegas.
Around 1430 hours Nick gathered his entire team in the conference room at the hangar. A large “Mission Completed” banner with the X-56 project logo on it decorated the far wall. Of course, everyone realized that the mission had not been completed; it had been abandoned. But the government valued positive attitudes over reality; it preferred disassembling words and cover-up language to hard, blunt facts. And so that was what Nick provided and his team accepted, on this day when they were all essentially losing their assignments.
Shelley had done a wonderful job of coordinating the event. There was abundant food, wine, beer, punch, and soft drinks lining the table, and a large white cake with a likeness of the X-56 in contrasting blue and red icing lay in the center.
Nick looked around the room at his assembled crew and a feeling of sadness constricted his throat, as he realized how much he would miss this important mission to which he had devoted almost five years of his life. Shelley stood by his side, sorting the awards that Nick would be presenting to his team in the next few minutes. Nick noticed Amie, standing in the back of the room, with her brunette wig on. Nick observed that she had coated her face in flesh-toned make-up, and her lips were outlined heavily with the same color coral lipstick as Shelley wore. The rest of the team was talking in low voices, attempting to put on their happy faces regarding the upcoming festivities, and waiting for someone to start the proceedings.
Nick stood at the end of the long conference table, laden with food, and raised his voice in a loud “good afternoon” to get their attention. Once the group hushed Nick addressed them, praising their efforts over the past five years when they had worked under his command. He then read a congratulatory letter, written by an Air Force General on behalf of the Department of Defense, bearing the standard phrases of praise for their tireless efforts on the project. Wrapping up his speech, Nick paraphrased Winston Churchill, telling them that never in the history of Area 51 Black Ops had so few accomplished so much. “The X-56 set the bar high for the next generation of spacecraft, exceeding expectations in many areas for controllability, platform stability, and safety. The X-56 has brought us one step closer to the ultimate goal of a spacecraft that will take us beyond Earth and lead us in the exploration of other planets in our solar system. Thank you ladies and gentlemen for all of your hard work and exceptional efforts.” Everyone clapped at the end of his speech and, as he looked around the room, he could see a few moist eyes among the staff.
When the clapping died down, Nick handed out the numerous plaques and monetary awards with Shelley’s help. Everyone got something.
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Nick then announced the beginning of the festivities with a hearty, “Okay, everyone. Let’s eat!” His team busily went about the process of filling plates with sandwiches, chips, salads, and drinks.
Nate Brody, one of the project test pilots, approached Nick with two beers in his hand, offering one to Nick.
“It was a hell of a ride, wasn’t it, Nick?”
“Yeah, it was, and I’m glad you’re still in one piece. That first flight was a little hairy, as I recall.”
“Yep, lost a little control for a while when we hit Mach 8. Thought we lost the ship for a time, but once we dropped the speed, it smoothed out okay. What are you doing after this?”
“Taking a little trip down to Florida, Nate. In fact, I need to leave here a little early today, need to catch the 1600 hours shuttle to Las Vegas.”
“Well, it has sure been great knowing you man. Good luck on your next project, whatever that might be.”
“Thanks, I’ll need it.”
For a while, Nick chitchatted with the other team members, most all of whom wanted to clap him on the back and tell him that they had enjoyed working with him. With his eyes on the wall clock, Nick filled up on the sandwiches, figuring it might be some time before he would eat again.
Shelley cut the beautiful cake with much fanfare and, at that point, after grabbing a piece and making a loud joke about how good it tasted, despite all the calories, Nick knew that it would be considered all right for him to disappear from the party. He had replaced the second beer, which someone had put in his hand, with a diet soda, realizing he was going to need a really clear head in about an hour. It was now time to leave and Nick looked around the conference room to find Amie.
Amie was in a corner, not interacting with anyone, but demurely holding a plate heaped with salad. Her eyes were steadfastly following Nick. He nodded to her. Amie placed her plate on the table and moved toward Shelley, while Nick slowly headed toward the door, chatting up colleagues all the while.
Amie pushed her way through the crowded room to the head of the table where Shelley stood, surrounded by two men who seemed more interested in stuffing their faces with cake than following the polite conversation Shelley was trying to initiate. Amie pushed past the men, noticing that they readily backed away when they noticed her approaching. Then Amie extended her arms and gave a surprised Shelley an enormous hug. “I will miss you so much,” Amie mouthed verbally to Shelley, whom she felt stiffening in her grasp.
Amie knew that this moment was crucial for her escape. She had to be able to distract Shelley enough to lift the badge off of her coverall front pocket. Also, no one else in the room must notice what she was doing. Amie realized that, unlike with Nick, who had opened up to her, Shelley would be wary and resist whatever energy attack she utilized on her. What Nick did not know was that the vest he had pilfered for her, greatly enhanced Amie’s energy transference abilities.
Shelley gave out a small cry of surprise, as she felt the energy jolt, then her eyes went blank and her body slumped slightly in Amie’s grasp. Amie wondered if she had jolted the woman too forcefully and if she might now pass out. A moment or two later, Shelley seemed to suddenly recover her footing, although the look on her face projected some confusion. Amie had used the moment to deftly pull the badge from Shelley’s clothes. She now pocketed the coveted item in her right hand while, with her left hand, she patted Shelley on her arm and told her, in as loud a verbal voice as she could muster, what a wonderful job she had done with the party food. She hoped that Shelley would remain in a state of bewilderment for quite a while, so that she would not notice that she was missing her identification badge.
Releasing Shelley from her grasp, Amie quickly melded into the crowd, leaving Nick’s assistant standing in stunned silence. Shelley’s two male companions had used the break to grab more food from the table, but seeing that the alien was gone, they moved back to Shelley’s side, adding to Amie’s praise about the lavish spread she had managed to produce.
Nick had by now positioned himself near the door and pretended to be interested in a co-worker’s convoluted story about his recent trip to Italy, all the while intently watching Amie’s progress. When he noticed Amie gliding away from Shelley, he hastily assured his co-worker that he would be sure to take time for a trip to Tuscany in his retirement, and then slipped out the door. Nick realized that, once away from the conference room crowd, he would need to stall to give Amie some time to get ready for her upcoming grand performance.
First, Nick headed for the men’s locker room to gather the things that he had left there for his own final departure. In the previous days, he had taken most of the mementos that meant something to him and these were already packed in his recently purchased car. Nick first emptied his nervous bladder, then removed his jumpsuit and donned his civilian clothes. He retrieved his briefcase from his locker and headed towards the exit for the hanger.
On the walk to the exit, Nick paused to look at the empty fuselage of the X-56. He lingered there for about five minutes, pretending to muse over it, while actually giving Amie the time she needed.
Meanwhile, Amie entered the women’s locker room and stripped off her jumpsuit. Underneath, she wore a pants suit similar to the type that Shelley preferred. There were only a couple of women working on the hangar team, so Amie had counted on having the tiny room to herself, which she did.
Amie had previously observed which locker Shelley used and, as it was not actually locked, it was a simple matter to remove Shelley’s purse and jacket, hanging inside. Then Amie stuffed her brunette wig in the bottom of the large purse and pulled on the extra-large size blonde wig, she had secreted in her own locker several days before. A quick comb of the hair around her face and she looked as much like Shelley as she was going to look. She held the all-important pilfered badge in her hand, breathed deeply to focus her energy, and emerged from the locker room in disguise.
One of the team members, an engineer named Ted, was leaving the party early and spotted Nick viewing the X-56 for the last time. He walked over to him, ready to offer a few last words about their project’s demise. It was just at that moment that Nick spotted Amie, now dressed as Shelley, emerging from the locker room. She did not seem to notice him talking with Ted.
“I’ll miss you, man,” Nick said suddenly and loudly, giving Ted a brief hug, intended to quickly brush Ted off.
“Same here, take care,” Ted replied, with some surprise. Nick was not noted for being physically demonstrative, but Ted assumed that Nick, like himself, was currently over-emotional due to his grief.
Then Ted turned around and spotted, what he assumed was Shelley, coming his way. She was still some distance from him and so he shouted to her. “Take care, Shelley. Hope to see you again some time.”
Nick froze for a moment. But Amie waved amicably and then hesitated, as she pretended to look at a nearby bulletin board. Ted turned around and went through the exit.
Nick waited a few more seconds, still looking at the X-56 as if he was in deep thought, while actually giving Ted some time to get ahead of him. He then glanced over at Amie, still studying the bulletin board, and walked towards the exit, badging out for the last time.
“I’ll know in a few minutes if she ever even makes it out of the hanger,” Nick thought.
Nick had previously instructed Amie that two badge swipes would be required to exit the facility. One existed at the hangar door and the other at the entrance to the Janet Terminal. The terminal badging area was overseen by a security guard, sitting at a control booth at the end of a row of turnstile badging stations. Unlike the entrance process into Area 51, which required the individual’s secret code numbers be entered into the system upon presentation of the badge, the outgoing swipe process required no input of badge code numbers.
Amie had, through intense meditation, built up her energy reserves so that she would allay any nervousness and become totally focused on what was required for her escape. She knew there would be no secon
d chance. Failure meant she could die as a high security risk prisoner in this facility. Nick had told her earlier it was key that she act nonchalant, as if she had been “badging out” for years.
Therefore, it was hard for Amie to hide her excitement at being able to finally step outside the hangar and into the fresh air and sunshine that had been denied her for years. She tried not to appear abnormally joyous, but it was difficult for her to contain her sense of freedom, as momentary as it might be.
Up ahead Amie saw Nick striding purposefully toward the bus that would take him to the terminal and she willed her thoughts to remain on what she had yet to accomplish. She caught up to the bus, before it pulled away from the stop, and sat in a front seat. Arriving at the terminal, Amie let everyone on the bus pass her, including Nick, before exiting.
As Amie approached the terminal building pass control, she could see the guard in the control booth. Was it her imagination or was he deliberately eyeing her? Just as she swiped her card, he stood up. She was close to a sense of panic, imagining what she would do if he tried to stop her. But he only nodded at her pleasantly, yawned, and stretched. The badge gate automatically opened before her and allowed her to walk through.
Up ahead, Amie saw Nick waiting in line to be checked in for the 4 o’clock flight to Las Vegas. The airline representative seemed to be requiring an ID as well as a badge from all the passengers, as Nick had warned her might be the case. She fumbled in Shelley’s purse for her wallet, which held the driver’s license. Finding it, she pulled it out before getting into the line, several passengers behind Nick. He turned and looked back towards her for a brief moment, never acknowledging that he saw her.
Nick was very relieved to see that Amie had at least made it into the terminal waiting area. But he reminded himself that there were still opportunities for her to fail in her attempt at escape. He had to admit that, from afar, she mimicked Shelley pretty well. But he knew, despite the large sunglasses hiding her abnormally huge eyes, she would never pass a closer inspection if she happened upon someone who knew her.
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