Invasion

Redirecting his attention to the task at hand, Carl said to Eugene: "I don't think this is going to work." At that moment behind a darkly tinted glass screen they were blasting one of the black discs with a high energy laser to knock off some molecules. A gas chromatograph was poised to analyze the resultant gas. Unfortunately the laser wasn't doing the trick.

"All right, turn it off," Eugene said.

The bright beam of coherent light was instantly extinguished when the power was interrupted. The two scientists gazed at the small disc.

"That's one hard surface," Carl said. "What do you think it's composed of?"

"I don't know," Eugene admitted. "But I'm as sure as hell going to find out. Whoever made it better have a patent or I'm going to file one."

"What should we do next?" Carl asked.

"Let's use a diamond drill," Eugene said. "Then we'll vaporize the shavings and let the gas chromatograph do the work."

Slipping an Antacid tablet into her mouth, Cassy emerged from the airline terminal building and waited her turn in the taxi line. She'd been anxious from the moment she'd awakened that morning, and the closer she got to Santa Fe the worse it had become. She'd magnified the problem by having coffee on the plane. Now her stomach was in a knot.

"Where to, Miss?" the cab driver asked.

"Do you know anything about this Institute for a New Beginning?" Cassy asked.

"For sure," the driver said. "It's brand new, yet it's the destination of half my fares. Is that where you want to go?''

"Please," Cassy said. She sat back and blankly watched the scenery roll by. Pitt had been adamantly against the idea of Cassy visiting Beau, but once it had taken hold in Cassy's mind, she couldn't let it go. Although she admitted there might be some danger as Sheila predicted, in her heart she could not imagine Beau would ever harm her in any way.

"I have to drop you off here at the gate," the driver said when they had reached the edge of the institute's property. "They don't like car exhaust up near the house. But it isn't far. Only a couple of hundred yards."

Cassy paid the fare and got out. It was a pristine location. There was a white fence as if it were a horse farm. There was also a gate across the driveway, but it was ajar.

Two nicely dressed men about Cassy's age stood off to the side of the gate. They looked tanned and healthy. They were both smiling pleasantly, but as Cassy approached, their smiles didn't change. It was as if their faces were frozen in an expression of gaiety.

Even if the smiles seemed contrived, the two men were cordial. When Cassy said she was hoping to see Beau Stark, they replied that they understood perfectly. They directed her to walk to the house.

Mildly unnerved by this strange interaction, Cassy followed the twisting driveway through the trees. On either side beneath the shade of the trees she caught sight of an occasional large dog. Although every dog she saw turned to watch her, none of them bothered her.

When the shadows of the pines gave way to the sweeping lawns surrounding the mansion, Cassy was impressed despite her anxieties. The only thing that marred the gorgeous scene was the huge banner draped across the entrance.

The moment Cassy started up the front steps a woman appeared who was approximately Cassy's age. She sported a similar smile to the men at the gate. From inside the house Cassy heard sounds of construction.

"I'm here to see Beau Stark," Cassy said.

"Yes, I know," the woman said. "Please follow me."

The woman took Cassy back down the steps and around the enormous house.

"Beautiful home," Cassy commented to make conversation.

"Isn't it," the woman replied. "And to think this is just the beginning. We're all very excited."

The rear of the house was dominated by a large terrace complete with ivy-draped pergolas. Beyond the terrace was a swimming pool. At the edge of the pool was a large umbrella shading a table seating eight. Beau was at the head of the table. About twenty feet away lay King.

As Cassy approached she studied Beau. She had to admit that he looked wonderful. In fact he'd rarely looked so good. His thick hair had more than its usual shine and the skin of his face glowed as if he'd just emerged from a refreshing plunge into the sea. He was carefully dressed in a white billowy shirt. The rest of the people were dressed in suits and ties, including two women.

Several easels were set up to support large pads of paper. The exposed pages were covered with arcane schematics and incomprehensible equations. The table was strewn with papers with similar content. A half dozen laptops were open and humming.

Cassy had never felt more uncertain in her life. Her anxiety had gone up a notch the closer she got to Beau. She had no idea what she was going to say to him. It made it worse that she was interrupting a meeting with important-appearing people. They were all older than Beau and looked professional, like lawyers or doctors.