He had argued time and time again with the Pentagon about the potential threat of invasion from another planet but they discarded his warnings. He was considered somewhat of a crackpot by most of the senior officers.
That didn’t stop Devin. Once he had access to everything going on at Area 51 and S–4 he became obsessed with creating a means of defending against any invasion.
The longer he was in charge, the more obsessed he became. So much so that he had added the tenth level. Only the scientists that he personally selected were given access to Level-10. Like Oppenheimer, Enrico Fermi and all of the other brilliant scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project, the creation of the first atomic bomb, they became caught up in the potential good that could come out of this new power.
It could produce enough energy that no country would ever have to be dependent on oil again, farm lands could be reclaimed and millions of other potential benefits could be derived from the use of Element-115.
Every President since Truman had been briefed on the projects going on inside S-4 and was aware of the Majestic 12 and its function. All correspondence about this group was classified ULTRA TOP SECRET — MJ–12.
It wasn’t until Clinton came into office that the time was right for General Devin to implement his own plan. Clinton’s attitude toward the military created dissention in the military. Few, if any, respected him as Commander-in-Chief and most thought he was unfit to fulfill the role.
He was a loose cannon and at stake was the security of the country. To Devin this was a clear signal that something had to be done. Clinton never bothered with the projects taking place at S-4 so Devin was able to establish his own project without anyone knowing.
In talking with the scientists he realized that the materials used for travel by frame-dragging could create previously unobtainable energy. He soon started formulating his plan. The first thing he did was set up the network to siphon money from the pulse detonation project or PDP, as those working on the project referred to it.
Level-10 stood empty at the time Devin took over but once he learned of its existence he realized it would be the perfect place to hide the weapon he has going to build. Slowly he was able to find just the right mix of military and scientific minds to begin building a new energy source that would change the world like nothing before.
Dr. Webster, a typical egghead was just the right man for the job he decided. It was easy to convinced Webster that even the splitting of the atom would pale in comparison. With each passing year, Devin was slipping further and further from being a rational thinking military man into a dictator who believed that he was immune from the insanity taking place in the rest of the world. He was sure that it was he alone who could lay the foundation for creating a better world.
Since Level-9 was known by almost everyone it soon became apparent even more stringent security plans were going to have to be implemented. That is when Devin decided an ultra-secret tenth level was needed. While Level-10 was being readied for the ultimate project that Devin had envisioned, the most elaborate security devices were installed.
Everything that could be packed into the tunnel was in place and redundant systems installed. The freight elevator that took scientist down to the various levels, referred to by those that rode it as the UC, for up-chuck, because of the way your stomach reacted to the speed of the descent, showed only nine levels.
A specially embedded chip in the badges was necessary to access the new level. Once the doors opened, every movement was monitored by sound, voice, vibration, motion detectors, and laser beams. A mouse could not slip through the maze of security devices.
RTC, or rapid transit cars, took the scientists from the elevator nonstop to the blast doors that secured the laboratory deep under the earth’s protective surface.
While the project was initially started by Dr. Webster it had made only slight progress in the first year. Devin realized that a change was needed. Discreet inquiries were made to locate a replacement and the name of Dr. Gimbel soon came to his attention. This presented a minor problem. How would he get Dr. Webster out of the picture and still protect the integrity of the BlackStar project? Easing him out would not be an option and simply having him sworn to secrecy did not seem viable.
There were too many temptations to leak information about such a revolutionary new source of energy. Devin decided that there was only one sure way to maintain the security he demanded.
Dr. Webster was going to present a paper on Anti-Matter and Its Implications in Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic later that month. Devin set into motion a plan that ensured that no one would find out about the BlackStar project.
After visiting friends in New York for a few days, Doctor Webster boarded American Airlines flight 800 leaving from JFK International Airport. Webster boarded with 245 other passengers. The flight departed at 9:17 a.m. and headed out over the Jamaican Bay area just southeast of New York City.
A few minutes later the massive Boeing 747 exploded into a giant fireball and came crashing down near Rockaway Freeway and the Atlantic Ocean. All 246 people onboard, along with nine others on the ground were killed. Dr. Webster was no longer a threat to the security of the BlackStar project.
Dr. Gimbel became the new head of the team and almost immediately Devin could see not only better morale, but substantial progress. He still considered him to be another egghead with not enough common sense to come out of the rain but that didn’t matter if it resulted in the expedient delivery of the finished project.
Now they were getting close. Only a year more and they should be totally ready. Maybe sooner, if everything fell into place. He was pleased with the progress but was determined not to show it around Gimbel. He might ease up if he began to feel too secure. One thing the general knew for sure was that people worked better when they were subjected to pressure.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The air was perfectly still as if someone had shut it off at the source. That was making the job much more difficult. Miller, still known only as 24B to his teammates, knew that all the care and time that had gone into making his ghillie suit wouldn’t do him much good unless a slight breeze came up. He had been lying in the same spot for over an hour. Any movement would give his position away in an instant. He slowly raised his head and could see his target but it was still more than a mile away.
He knew he could get lucky from this distance but it wasn’t worth the chance. He peeked at his watch and saw that he still had at least three more hours of daylight. After that the light would be flat and the shot would become more difficult. He could wait and try for a night shot but he would have to get within seven or eight hundred yards for that. It would lessen his chance for escape but it could be done.
For now all he could do was wait in the hot sun and hope the wind picked up. He lowered his head back down and could smell the earth as he lay there and tried not to move a muscle.
Staying in the same spot for hours is not as simple as it sounds, especially under a hot sun and lying on the hard ground. Flies would land on his sweat covered face but he wasn’t going to risk trying to brush them away. This was a critical exercise for him. He had been successful in five others and so had three of his competitors for the number 24 slot on Strike–1 team. This one was considerably more challenging. The shooter had to locate the target, get into position without detection, make the kill, and escape.