“You talk to the President directly. I don’t know how much he confides in you,” she replied.
“You are assuming even he knows about this. You know what the word assume means?”
“Yeah, yeah. An ass out of you and me. You can’t be serious, he has to know. If the reports are passed along like Snapp and the two doctors said, he would have to know,” Sarah insisted.
“Do we know they are being passed on? From what I saw on the video, they seem to think what General Devin is doing is not authorized. How would the President know about that?”
“I don’t know. He is the President. He’s supposed to know what they are doing. If he doesn’t, who does?”
“And there you have it. That’s the real question isn’t it?”
“You didn’t give me a direct answer Director. Were you aware of this before these tapes?” she asked.
He looked at her for a second and said, “No Sarah. The President has never confided anything remotely like this to me.”
“Okay I’ll accept that,” she said finally.
“If I had known about it, do you think I would have let you follow up on this?”
“You know I would have any way. Like you always say, I’m tenacious.”
“Did I say that? I thought I used the term bullheaded,” he said, trying to lighten the mood.
“I don’t mind either one actually. Though I do prefer tenacious, given a choice.”
“So where do we go from here?” Willis asked.
“Where do we go?” Sarah asked.
“Well, the more people we tell the harder it is to keep secret. The number is growing which increases the chance of this getting out. I guess I should go directly to the President with this. Show him the material and let him decide what to do,” Director Eller said.
“I agree. I wanted to do that myself but I figured you might not take too kindly to that,” Sarah confessed.
“Very astute. I would not have taken very kindly to that at all,” he assured her.
“Hi Stella,” Eller said, “It's Raymond Eller,”
“Yes Mr. Eller, I recognize your voice,” she replied.
“Really?”
“Yes, it’s very distinctive,” she told him.
“Is that good or bad?” he asked.
“Neither, it is just distinctive. Don’t read anything else into it,” she said.
Stella was stoic, grumpy, and past the age of retirement. She had been a fixture at the White House for longer than anyone could remember. Her sense of humor was practically nonexistent.
“I need to meet with the President. Can you find a time to fit me in?”
“How much time do you want?” she asked.
He knew that no matter what he told her, she would schedule it for less.
“I need at least two hours,” he said. It was met with silence on the other end.
“Stella?”
“I was just waiting for you to make a reasonable request. You know that there is no way I can schedule a two hour block of time for you,” she replied.
“I’m afraid that you will have to this time. Tell the President it concerns information about MJ-12,” he said.
“MJ-12?”
“Yes. Just that. He will understand and I am sure he will find the time to see me,” Eller said.
“Very well. I’ll give him your cryptic message and will schedule you accordingly,” she replied.
“Thank you. You know where to reach me,” he said.
“I should by now,” she said and hung up.
He was reviewing the station status reports when his phone rang twenty minutes later.
“Raymond Eller.”
“Mr. Eller. This is Stella Watson calling from the White House.”
“Yes, I know. You have a distinctive voice,” he said trying to suppress a chuckle.
“Touché. The President would like for you to come to the Oval Office as soon as you can get here. He has cancelled some meetings to make time for you. Please come as quickly as you can,” she informed him.
“I’m on my way,” he said, gathering up his briefcase.
He told his secretary where he would be and immediately started off. His office, located on the corner of 18th and C Street was just two blocks from the White House so he decided to walk. It would be faster at that time of day. Six minutes later he presented his credentials and was taken to the West Wing.
Stella greeted him and immediately ushered him into the Oval Office.
“Raymond, thank you for coming on such short notice,” the President said, coming around from behind his desk and shaking his hand.
“Mr. President, I should thank you for seeing me so soon,” he replied.
“Please, have a seat. Would you like something to drink?”
“Water will be just fine,” he said, knowing the President's routine well by now.
“Your message, MJ-12. Tell me, how did you happened to come by that and what does it mean to you?” the President asked.
The usual chitchat was dispensed with immediately.
“Sir, we were approached by a contact who wanted someone to listen to his story about government projects taking place at Groom Lake. According to our source, he is in possession of knowledge about the projects that are classified Ultra Top Secret and are taking place in a facility they term S-4. His story was quite amazing. Since then we have been trying to check his accusations and have talked to others who are telling virtually the same story. The two that we have interviewed both claim to have inside knowledge about the projects that they once worked on. Like I said, it’s quite some story,” Eller said.
“I see. And they claim to know all about the MJ-12 Group?”
“Yes sir. According to our source, one of them was once a member of the MJ-12 Group. Not an original member but a replacement,” he said.
“Really?” the President said, his eyes widening slightly, “That is very interesting indeed. And what else do they have to say about Groom Lake?”
“Well sir, it will take some explaining. That’s why I asked for two hours. I have both a written transcript and the video tapes of the interviews. I have also made an edited version that doesn’t take the nearly fourteen hours of testimony,” Raymond told him.
“Let me ask you, who else has seen these tapes?”
“One of our investigators, a Station Head and myself. So far, no one else has been privy to any of this information. That’s why I wanted to get in to see you as quickly as possible.”
“Good. Good thinking,” the President said.
He stood up and started pacing the room. Eller knew it was better to just wait until he initiated the conversation. He had seen him do this same routine on other occasions. He stopped at the window and looked out for several moments.
Finally he said, “Raymond, I honestly don’t know how to respond to all of this. I could tell you to just drop it at this point. I could tell you that this is all hogwash. What I will say instead is that this information is potentially disastrous. To admit any part of it is to open the box for everything to be divulged. While we try to let the American people know what the government is up to, there are times, as you well know, that we need to keep certain things secret. This is one of those times. S-4 is our most sensitive area and to have someone making accusations about a potential cover-up and getting people all stirred up, is simply not an option.”
“Yes sir. I understand. The problem is that we have more people with knowledge than we can suppress. My people are not the problem. Why don’t you take a look at the video before you decide what to do next?” Eller suggested.
“Certainly. I think that makes sense. I’ll have it set up immediately. I would like you to make whatever arrangements you need to so that you can stay and answer any questions that I may have. I only want you and me in the room.”