Dulce Truths

“More than 20 years, until deep into the 1880s. That’s when a Utah & Northern Railroad company team building a line through the area discovered it. Word got back to investors, then to the feds. It was hushed up, the craft was studied, and it was agreed they’d build an underground base there, under the guise of the railroad, of course. Base lasted until into the 1920s, when post-World War I cuts forced its closure. By that time the company that’d started it was off to bigger and better things.” Mark laughs. “Can anyone guess their name?” Silence, and Mark laughs again. “Why, Bechtel, of course.”

“The same that built Dulce,” Bennewitz says.

“Exactly,” Mark replies.

A silence falls after that, and the men settle down to looking out the windows. After another ten minutes Mark is telling them they’re making their approach. Pine, spruce and fir trees pass by the windows, none rising higher than the rocky mountains all around them. Then with a ‘screech’ the craft touches down, though that’s not quite accurate, as its levitation powers keep it a couple feet off the ground.

“Welcome to Montana,” Mark says, and pops the door on the skimmer.

Part V

24 — Fighting Back

Blue Lake

Friday, May 25, 1979

3:17 PM

Bobbie turns yet another hallway in the large Blue Lake base, and once again he curses under his breath. Charlie isn’t there, just as he hasn’t been in any of the half dozen hallways that Bobbie has run down already. He has to find him, too, he has to tell him what he suspects. Chargin’ Charlie is about the only one he thinks he can trust right now, well, besides Donlon.

And I might as well not go to him as he’d just have to go to Charlie anyways, the super soldier thinks as he continues down the hallway. While their official military rank might not mean a lot on the special alien-busting teams they’ve found themselves on, there’s still an unwritten level of seniority within the teams. Bobbie knows that, Donlon knows that, and Charlie knows that. So Bobbie keeps racing down the hallway, hoping that around the next turn he’ll finally see…

“Charlie!” Bobbie blurts out as he rounds the next corner and finally sees the colonel. He’s walking with a base guard, going over a clipboard by the looks of it. At the sight of Bobbie he looks up, gives a nod and says something to the guard, and then hands the clipboard over before signing off on the bottom of it. By the time Bobbie has raced down the hallway to him, the guard is gone and Charlie is standing there with his arms crossed, an impatient look on his face.

“What’dya need, Bobbie?”

“Something’s going on, sir.”

“Yeah, something’s goin’ on alright — besides the chaos over Mark and Ellis this morning I’ve got two pallets o’ grenades and another of shoulder-fired rockets and can’t find room in storage to put either of ‘em!” He shakes his head, giving out a resigned, “Shit!” as he does so.

Bobbie narrows his eyes, not sure what to say to that, so he just says it. “Listen, man… I don’t know where Jake went.”

“Don’t know…” Charlie starts to repeat, then Bobbie’s tone gets to him and he frowns and narrows his eyes instead. “Listen, man… it’s a big base, and there’s a lot of work to do… ever try any?”

Bobbie rolls his eyes to that. “Sir, I’m telling you — there’s something going on here!”

“Yeah, the only thing that’s going on is that you’re wasting my time, and worse, you’re wasting…”

Charlie trails-off and narrows his eyes as something coming down the hallway gets his attention. Bobbie narrows his eyes too and turns around to look. There coming toward them is a beautiful young woman, blond hair flowing well past her shoulders. Neither man thinks they’ve ever seen a flight suit looking so good.

She continues down the hall toward them, her eyes locked on Charlie. Both men stand back, in awe of her beauty, and a bit taken aback by her confident stride. Finally she gets there.

“You’re Chargin’ Charlie, right?”

“Yes ma’am,er… I mean, miss.”

Bobbie looks over and sees Charlie’s face going a bit red. He might have been one tough hombre back in Vietnam and wherever else he waged war, but get a beautiful woman in front of him and it was clear his knees started turning to jelly.

“I need to talk with you,” she says to him, glancing over at Bobbie then back at him, “alone.”

“Well, I… uh… sure, I mean…”

Bobbie gives a quick glance over at Charlie mumbling to himself, he rolls his eyes and shakes his head a bit, and then takes a step forward.

“What’s this all about, Heather?” he says, then, “That is your name, right — Heather? Your Mark’s old flame.”

“Old flame, eh? He tell you that.”

“No,” Bobbie says, growing a bit flustered, “I just put two and two together after seeing both of you.”