hills of Maryland.
"Hi Glen. How are things down in the holler?"
"The national press have finally gotten the word and are swarming all over the place. There had been a few pressmen at the site since soon after the landing, but they were mostly local. Now most of the major papers from the East Coast are here, and so are the wire services. They have also managed to get their hands on some of the findings. There must be leak somewhere."
"What do you mean—what did they get?"
"They know about the strange data from the landing and the health thing."
"There may have been a leak from our people, but more than likely it was the DOD types trying to put a spotlight on this so they can step in and take over. Make sure that no one else talks to the press. If they do, they will be reading a want ad for their present position in the same paper as the article."
Glen had more to report. "The field team has begun to interview people that have visited the site. They have already heard of some individuals that have undergone dramatic improvements in health. We are still tracking them down and should have some likely candidates by the tomorrow.
I told him, "Send them here as soon as you can pick them up."
After getting off the video with Glen, I located that day's Washington Post and found an article on page 4 talking about the strange UFO in the panhandle of Maryland. Most of the details were obviously speculation, but the one about some people having perfect health after visiting the site was accurate. This information could have been obtained from some of the locals, since that rumor was out when we got there. The article also reported that we had taken some of the locals to OSI HQ for testing and that some of the data from the site was unusual. That’s just great, I thought, as I called the front security gate to ask the guard if there were reporters out there. He confirmed that there were about a dozen. Now I had to contend with the public’s questions and reactions as well as those of my government.
I met with Barry Clark as soon as I could get the report together. I don't think he knew what to make of it, which didn't surprise me. I have been dealing with this sort of thing for years, and even I was stunned by the info. I told him, "You'll have to put together something that will keep the press off our backs, or every federal, state, and local government official will be beating down our doors to be briefed."
He said, "I'll prepare a press release that will essentially deny or misdirect as much as possible and then prepare a briefing for the president's staff and the Congressional oversight committees."
There were some other developments. Gladis Evans' condition had improved during the night, and, though she was not out of the woods yet, her chances appeared to be better. Also, Jenny Tolson had been release from our facility and planned to move into a hotel room in Washington to stay near her father, and I got her clearance to stay with him. I wanted her to talk to him, to see if she could notice any changes in him. And last, but definitely not least, John Sumpter and George Stammyer from the original group of Tolson’s friends were now beginning to hear voices, though not clearly yet. I asked Dr. Spencer to continue trying to get some samples from the growths that could be tested. I asked Dr. Gibbs to take her team and interview all the other patients. I also ordered that the patients be given EEGs twice a day from now on, and that they not be told what Mr. Tolson and his supposed abdominal buddy had said.
I reviewed the reports from Spencer and Gibbs. Dr. Spencer still could not analyze the growth, and the psychological profiles of the patients from Dr. Gibbs were normal. By this time, it was early evening, and I was getting hungry. I called Jenny Tolson to see if she would join me for dinner, suggesting that both of us needed to get away from here for a while.
I took her to a low-key restaurant in the District that specialized more in atmosphere than food. She still had the clothes on that she had worn when she was transported here, and, even though worried and tired, she seemed to be holding up very well. I was impressed by her composure.
During the meal we talked about her father, and I told here some of the things that we had discussed at the meeting. She said she had talked to him all day, and he had seemed his usual self, though understandably distracted. I told her that I would get her clearance, so she could go back to OSI whenever she wanted to visit her father. The more time I spent with her the more I was drawn to her. The original lust that drew me to her was giving way to a feeling much deeper and softer. I found that disturbing because I had become pretty jaded about women over the years.
I took her to nice hotel to get her a room and told her that the government would pick up the check without really knowing if they would. It appeared to me that she could tell I was interested in her in a way that did not relate to the case, and, though I could’ve been wrong, I believed she might have felt the same. This made saying goodnight a little awkward, but we stumbled through with the usually “I’ll call you later” comments. I went back to my apartment to get cleaned up by taking an unusually cold shower and tried to get some rest.
My cell phone woke me up at some ungodly hour in the morning. Glen was calling from the site. "Hello, Mac, you awake?”
“No, I’m not. Whatdoyawant?” I tried to collected my thoughts and shake off the cobwebs.
“I'm sending 23 people from the site to HQ for examination. Uh, I hope that’s okay with you. We have not been able to find any new data on the material at the site. At this point, it's looks like a dry hole."
"Yeh, you’re probably right. The site’s gone cold. Go ahead and seal it off, but leave some of the security men in place. Continue to locate people in the area that may have come in contact with the site. Let me know if you need anything."
"You should see the people. There must be thousands of people that have been attracted to the area by the news articles, a lot of them looking for the 'cure'."
Thinking better him than me, "I sympathize. Keep me posted. Bye." I got up and began to get dressed.
When I got back to HQ, things were really hopping. Now all the patients were hearing voices, so Drs. Spencer and Gibbs were conducting interviews with them. The latest EEGs of the patients showed the same alterations that Mr. Tolson's had shown, though each was slightly different. Meanwhile, the 23 people sent by Glen had begun to arrive and were being sent straight to the med-center for examination. Each would be checked with fiber optics to see if they had the growth. If they did, they would undergo a complete medical exam, complete with an EEG and a psychological interview. We had been ignoring one aspect of this situation because it had seemed too ridiculous, but now, with the recent turn of events, we had to consider the possibility that extra-terrestrial beings had actually landed on earth. I asked some of our science guys to interview Mr. Tolson's alien about space travel, their purpose here, etc., and to put together a report by COB today.
I had a message to report to Barry Clark ASAP, but I finished making sure everything was running before heading to his office. When I got to his office, he looked like a man in over his head. His hair and clothes were in disarray. "You look like you slept in your clothes."
"Who has time to sleep? I have been inundated with phone calls from everywhere, including the White House, Congress, Pentagon, NSF, NASA, and every minor official within a hundred mile radius. The damned Washington Post article set off a firestorm; the story is becoming front page news all over the country.”
"That's why you get the big bucks."
He ignored my remark. "The President wants a briefing today. What have you got for me?"
"Well, I would prefer to wait until tomorrow, because there are some important questions that we’re hoping will be resolved today."
"Come on, give me a break. What have you got for me now?”
“Hey if I don’t have all the data, I don’t have all the data. I can’t just make it up. I can give an overall status of where we are and what we expect to resolve soon. That’s it.”
“Cripes. Okay, okay, give me wh
at you got, but I’m going be beating on your door first thing tomorrow and you better have something. I’ll try to give them a quick update and tell them that we will have something by tomorrow."
"Don't worry. You're at the center of a historical crux. You'll probably end up famous," I commented over my shoulder as I turned to leave. On the way out the door, I softly added, "or infamous."
I spent the rest of day jumping between the various sections of the building, checking on the interviews and incoming data. I was almost continuously fielding questions and giving orders and was surprised to find that I was loving it. I had been working so hard to avoid work after years of investigating hoaxes that I thought that was my nature. This was potentially big, and I was at the heart of it. The stress might kill me, but it was a badly needed ego boost. I was reverting back to the driving manager that I used to be fifteen years ago.
About mid-afternoon, Barry called me.
"I talked to the President's people. They told me to get your and my asses over to the White House immediately to brief the President."
"I guess that means you did not convince them to wait until tomorrow."
Barry and I drove to the White House and briefed President Miller. She was one tough, sharp lady. She wasn't too happy with the info, but at least she now