Pull your car into the garage and shut the door. Leave through the side door and walk to the north end of end of the alley. I will pick you up in a dark blue Jeep Liberty. I will be looking for you from 8:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. If you can’t make it by that time, I will contact you again.
Robert
He wondered why he signed Robert instead of Lake. Maybe it was so that if someone did get into his car they would not know who the contact was. It seemed a little far-fetched but then so had everything else he had discovered.
When he left the lot, sure enough, he noticed a black SUV following him. He didn’t try to do anything to evade them since he was headed home anyway. In some ways it was reassurance that Lake was not making things up. He was certainly right about being tailed.
When he got home he changed into his darkest clothes. He put on a pair of jeans and a black shirt and a dark blue windbreaker. At 7:00 p.m. he started his car and within minutes he noticed that he was being tailed again. They weren’t being too subtle about it as they stayed the same distance no matter what he did. At 7:30 p.m. he pulled into a 7–11 and got gas and then went out the way he had come in, heading back to his house. He hoped that they would just think he was returning home.
When he went through on a yellow light he decided that he had enough time to throw them off his tail. He turned down the street to his house but instead of going straight, he immediately turned into an apartment complex. He shut off the lights and engine and ducked down in the seat. He watched with his eyes just above the dash board and within a few minutes, the SUV came down the street. He got out and watched down the street and saw that they were parking. He was sure he had lost them without doing anything reckless. He waited until they turned off their lights before he went back to his car and started it. He left his lights off as he drove to the exit and slowly went back in the opposite direction. He coasted to the corner, not wanting to touch his breaks in case the lights might attract their attention. He floored it, turning right and flicked on his lights.
He raced through the first two stop lights, watching to see if anyone was following him. He was clean from what he could tell. He headed to Beacon Street and located the house. He pulled into the garage and closed the door.
The garage door was the old wooden kind that was balanced by spring tension and had no electronic opener. It groaned as he opened it. Once it was closed, he checked his watch. It was 8:15 p.m. well within the window that Lake had specified.
He walked to the end of the alley and stepped into the light, seconds later Lake’s Jeep pulled up and the door flew open.
“Get in,” Lake said and he hopped into the passenger seat. Lake sped away before he even had a chance to put on his seat belt.
“Nice job. No one followed you,” Lake said.
“How do you know?”
“Because I was following them. When they missed you leaving from the apartment complex I came here and waited to see if they had picked you up again. They didn’t, you’re home free,” he said.
“I’m not much on this whole spy thing. I see shadows everywhere,” Snapp told him.
“You might as well get used to it. What you have learned so far is enough to make them not want to let go. I will tell you plenty more tonight that will make you sleep even less at night,” Lake warned him.
“Sleep? What’s that? All I do is worry about those goons getting hold of me,” he said.
They rode in silence for several minutes. Snapp just watched out the window as Lake drove into the country.
“Where are we going?” he finally asked as they started to leave the city behind.
“To meet Dr. Dan Barnett.”
“So you know his last name and you contacted him?” Snapp asked surprised.
“I did. We have a lot in common. We thought it better to expose you to as much as we could with as few meetings as possible. You can’t be playing lose the tail on the donkey all the time. Besides the more you try to shake them, the more resources they will bring in,” Lake told him.
“Were not headed toward Dr. Barnett’s house,” Snapp pointed out.
“No. I have a safe place for us to meet and talk. You are going to have to just trust me on this for now,” Lake said.
He was silent again as they rode through the countryside. He decided they must be in Virginia judging from the scenery. Soon he saw a sign that said ‘Welcome to Fairfax, Va. He had been right in his assumption.
A few minutes later they pulled into a large gated driveway. The house that sat back off the road looked like an old plantation house. Four tall white columns, a circular hand-laid brick driveway and massive doors greeted them as they came in.
“Some hideout,” Snapp said, taking it all in.
“Unpretentious and modest. Nice little joint,” Lake replied chuckling.
“Yeah, I should have such an unpretentious place to call home” he said.
The semicircular foyer was huge with a large crystal chandelier. Dr. Barnett came out to greet them.
“Glad you could make it Mr. Snapp. Dr. Lake said you would lose them,” he said smiling and shaking George’s hand with his big beefy paw.
“Nice little place you have here,” Snapp said, looking around.
“I wish it were mine but it isn’t. We are just using it for the night. The owner believes in our cause,” Barnett told him.
“And which cause is that?”
“Why, letting the people of the United States of America know what their government is really up to. Telling the truth about what goes on in Area-51 and other Ultra Secret Projects that they have a right to know of,” Barnett said.
“A right to know about? What about the Government’s right to confidentiality? Don’t they have the right to protect the citizens of this country?” he asked.
“To some extent, yes. When it involves the development of special security needs, but there is a line between protection and cover-up. It may be thin but nevertheless it exists,” Barnett told him.
“And you are the person determining that line?”
“No Mr. Snapp. Actually, you will be that person” Barnett said smiling, “We intend to give you what we know to be true, what you do with it is strictly up to you. You will ultimately determine what will be divulged to the public in general and what will remain a secret.”
“I’m not sure I am qualified to determine such a course of action. I’m not about to spill my guts about our government's secrets if it would be considered treason or aiding our enemies.”
“Maybe not, but you can listen to what we have to say. Is there any harm in that? If you don’t like the information or feel it is detrimental to the nation, you can just walk away,” Barnett said.
“I just want you both to understand that I am not a sensationalist reporter. I love a good story as much as the next reporter but not at the expense of divulging my country's top military secrets.”
“That is reassuring to us as well. We have no intention of telling you about any projects other than the one we were directly involved in,” Lake interjected.
“Okay, just so we are clear on that. If we all understand each other then we can get down to business,” Snapp replied.
“I think we are all in agreement.” Barnett said, “Why don’t we make ourselves comfortable in the den.”
Barnett led them down a long hall covered with huge paintings. The den was lined with dark oak and had bookshelves reaching up to the twelve foot ceiling. A large fireplace with a marble facade and mantle dominated one wall. A couch, four leather chairs with bolstered arms, a massive desk, and a credenza were the main pieces of furniture. Everything in the room looked old and expensive. The only thing that seemed out of place was the latest computer screen on the desk.