She decided that the best thing she could do for now was to keep digging. She intended to find out how someone could just lose all records of their existence. Who had that kind of power and to what end was it being used? She was going to include herself in the interrogation of Dr. Lake. Back at her office she sent for Willis Gardner, her best investigator.
“Yeah, boss,” he said as he entered.
“When is your meeting with Dr. Lake?”
“In about forty-five minutes. It is going to be a little crazy. He thinks the government is trying to make him disappear for good. He says they have been following him.”
“Any truth to that?”
“I don’t know. He sure seems spooked.”
“What is the procedure for contacting him?” she asked.
“He wants me to go to this address,” he said, handing her a piece of paper with the street and number on it, “I am to go in and then leave by the back door and go down the alley. He will pick me up.”
“Wow. He really is paranoid,” she said.
“Or scared,” Willis added.
“Yes, there is that. Look, I want to go along with you. I want to see the guy for myself,”
“He may just blow it off if he sees more than one person,” Willis told her.
“I understand that it’s a risk, but it's one I’m willing to take. I want to go with you,” she said.
“You’re the boss, but…”
“I know. If it is blown, you told me so,” she replied.
“I would never do that. I would just smirk the next time I saw you,” he said laughing.
“How kind of you,” she kidded back.
Forty minutes later they were standing at the mouth of the alley. Sarah was hanging back to make herself less conspicuous. A car came around the corner and pulled to a stop.
“You’re Gardner?” the man in the car said.
“Yes sir, Agent Gardner and my boss.”
“Damn it. I didn’t say anything about someone else coming along. Shit. Get in, I don’t want to sit here any longer,” Lake said, gunning the engine.
They were barely in the door when he took off down the street and turned sharply, knocking Sarah over, causing her head to hit the window.
“Take it easy,” she said.
Lake didn’t bother to acknowledge her. He took the next corner just as fast but she was ready for it this time. If he was putting on an act, it was a darn good one she decided. After they were a few blocks away he slowed down to a reasonable speed and started driving more carefully.
“Sorry about that. I never can be sure if I've totally lost them. It’s dangerous for me to stay still very long,” he said, looking into the rear view mirror.
“No damage done. Thank you for allowing me to come along,” Sarah replied.
“I didn’t see that I had much choice,” he said.
They rode in silence for some time and then he pulled into the huge driveway of a large colonial mansion. It was the same one that he had brought Snapp to.
“Would you like anything to drink?” he asked when they were inside.
“Nothing for me but I could stand to use the ladies' room,” Sarah said.
“Certainly. Straight down the hall, third door on the left,” Lake said, pointing, “Anything for you?” he asked Agent Gardner.
“I’m fine. Sorry, about my boss. I couldn’t do much about it.”
“Forget it. It’s over. I just get shook when things don’t go as planned. I like everything to be lined up. It just rattled me for a few minutes,” Lake said.
Sarah returned and the three of them sat at a large table. The room was dark and huge paintings adorned the walls. Some looked vaguely familiar. A large grandfather clock ticked in the corner. The table looked to be very old but it was polished to such a shine that everything reflected off of it. The hardwood floors were covered with thick Persian carpets. Willis got out his camcorder and set it up.
“Do you mind?” he asked.
“Not at all. At least someone will know that I was alive. It’s darn discouraging to discover that everything you have ever done is gone,” he said.
“Dr. Lake. I want you to take your time and tell us everything from the very start. From the time you first went to work at Groom Lake,” Sarah said, settling back in her chair.
“That’s a hell of a lot of territory. You sure you want to hear all of it?”
“Please. We have all the time we need,” she assured him.
“I’ll stop you if I need to change tapes,” Agent Gardner added.
“Fine. here it goes,” Lake said and began from the time he was first hired by EG&E to work at Area-51. Sarah didn’t take any notes; she would have the tape to rely on. She did ask for clarification on several occasions but mostly she let him talk.
Almost two hours went by before they took a quick break. Willis changed the tape and everyone took care of their bodily functions.
It was another hour and twenty minutes later when Lake wrapped up his story and related what he thought was going on currently. It was a fascinating story to say the least. It would seem like the ranting of a mental patient if the story he told wasn’t the same as Snapp’s and Dr. Barnett’s.
She could see no glaring omissions or exaggerations in his story. She would have more questions, she was sure, when she could compare all three statements in detail, but for now she was fairly convinced that they were telling the truth, or at least they thought they were.
Lake didn’t fit the mold of someone looking to become a public figure or trying to find a way to get rich quick. It he had wanted to do that he could have peddled his story to the National Blab.
“Dr. Lake. Do you know who General Devin reports to?”
“No, I do not. The only higher ranking officer I am aware of that has ever been to Dreamland has been the Commander-in-Chief.”
“The President?”
“Correct. It has been rumored that Truman, Eisenhower, Regan and Bush have all been to Groom Lake. As Commander-in-Chief they wanted to see for themselves what was going on,” Lake said.
“You saw them?”
“No. I’m not all that old. When Bush came we were just told to be ready to answer any questions if needed but to stay out of sight unless called. I was there when he came but I didn’t actually see him or get to meet him,” Lake said.
“Then how do you know he actually came?” Sarah asked.
“Others saw him and they told us. Did you know that after Regan’s visit he made no less than three references to UFOs and life on other planets? He even talked about it at a UN conference. He knew. Mikhail Gorbachev knew. Many speculate that it was the bond between Regan and Gorbachev over this knowledge that led to the Soviets change in attitude,” Lake told her.
“So the Star Wars Defense system was born,” Sarah added.
“Correct,” Lake said.
“Well, Dr. Lake, I have to say, this was the most unusual interview I have ever conducted. I honestly don’t know how to proceed at this time but I will continue to check out the details you provided,” Sarah said as Gardner was packing up the video gear.
“I would be careful if I were you Ms. Steel. General Devin is a dangerous adversary. He is quite capable of anything,” Lake warned her.
“I think we can handle the general,” she said, “How do we get in touch with you if we need to?” Sarah asked as they were getting into the car.
“Here is a phone number. It cannot be traced. I have made sure of that. You can reach me there,” he said, handing her a paper with the number written on it. “You need to dial the numbers in reverse. Start with the last digit and work that way. Just in case someone gets hold of the paper,” he told her.
“I see you have thought of everything Dr. Lake. Is there anything we can do for you at present?”
“Get my life back,” he said as he got behind the wheel of the car.