“That could mean anything or nothing at all,” he said handing the paper back.
They talked for a few more minutes before the President said, “So, when do you think you should go back out for another visit?”
“I think I should be there when the Su-12 is delivered to the base. They will store it in hanger 18 and I want to know more about it. All I saw was a thousand pieces laid out on the floor in hanger 15.”
“Who has the contract?”
“Lockheed.”
“Make sure they notify you immediately when they are ready to release it.”
“Yes sir. I’ve already taken care of that.”
“Excellent. I can rest a lot easier with you on the job, Ray. Thank you. Now I’m sure you have a lot to do so I won’t keep you any longer,” he said. The side door opened and Raymond was shown out.
“Raymond, nice to have you back. Look at your tan. I’m jealous,” Sarah said as he stuck his head in her new office.
She had finally gotten around to decorating it and it wasn’t nearly as bleak as the last time.
“It’s nice to be back. The tan is part of the occupational hazard. Listen, I just left the President after a two hour meeting. Do you have time to bring me up to speed?”
“I’ll make the time. Your office or here.”
“I’m here, let’s just do it if you can.”
“I can indeed. I’ll send for sandwiches,” she offered.
“You have no idea how much I would appreciate that,” he said, smiling
“I figured as much since you have been with the President. All refreshment, no food.”
“Boy, have you got that right.”
Sarah updated him on the current case files and their status. She went over the surveillance reports from Lake and Barnett but there was little new. Obviously Snapp’s death was ruled a homicide but no headway had been made on identifying the perpetrators. The bomb was made in the US and the detonator was from a company called RenTech. They supplied them to half of the outlets in the US that specialized in that kind of equipment.
“So, for now it is a dead end?”
“Sorry to say, yes. We have found out that a shadow team has been watching both Lake and Barnett. Willis was able to spot them and tail them back to their employer.”
“Who is that?”
“A company called EG & E. They are out of Georgetown,” Sarah said.
“EG & E. I’ve seen that someplace.”
“Well, they supply security for nuclear reactor facilities and according to Lake and Barnett to the good folks at A-51,” she replied.
That was it. It was on the back of his badge. ‘Property of EG & E’. Do they supply the security for Groom Lake as well, he wondered? He wanted to ask her more but it was best to leave it like it was. She did not know what he was officially working on. He was sure she could figure it out without much of a problem but she was too smart to ask.
“What do we know about them?”
“Not as much as I would like. I had a friend in another branch of the government who let me see the file on them. They seem on the up and up but that doesn’t explain them watching Lake and Barnett.”
“I’ll see what I can dig up. I have a few contacts too. Anything else?”
“That about covers it. Oh, I don’t know about Laura. She may still want to talk to you.”
“Damn. I hope not. I don’t have time for her silliness.”
Sarah just shrugged.
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
Groom Lake is located in the Emigrant Valley region of the Nellis Bombing and Gunnery Range. It is a dry lake bed that was once used by the U-2 and SR-71 Blackbird spy planes for testing. In wet winters a shallow lake forms. The entire area is closely monitored by base security teams called Det–1 or Det–3. This is the code name for detachment one and detachment three.
Det-2 is assigned duties at the main base where the landing strips are located and the hangers used by the CIA for their special projects. The outer perimeter security force, code named K-Mart or sometimes call the ‘Cammo Dudes’, keep civilians from encroaching on the government installation.
They are armed and are authorized to shoot anyone who ignores their commands. The gunnery range is complex and made up of many different segments. Lake Mead or Base II area is where nuclear weapons are stored. Another segment is the town of Mercury. It is a government owned town that is the supply and administrative center for the Nevada Test Site.
Raymond was fascinated as he read the official documents about the entire Nellis Gunnery Range and surrounding area. He was able to get a topographical map of the area and after a few minutes of searching found a designation for ‘The Hump’. The elevation was listed at 5275 feet. It had to be the place written about on the paper he had found.
It still didn’t tell him what was out there or if it was even important but now he knew it existed for sure. When he went back, he would take the topographical map and find this mysterious place called The Hump.
He wouldn’t have long to wait. Lockheed called and told him that the Su-12 would be released to Groom Lake in three weeks. He knew he didn’t have to be there when it arrived. The scientists who worked on Su-11, told him that it had taken them a week just to get it ready for basic flight ops.
He scheduled his return trip for four weeks later.
Three weeks passed and Eller had settled into the Washington routine again. He had been called twice to testify at congressional hearings. They were almost always a waste of his time and were primarily used to enact personal vendettas against one group or another.
Raymond was used to them and let them roll off his back for the most part. A bunch of puffed up congressmen, believing their own campaign slogans, used them as a place to show their constituents back home that they were on the job.
Because of the Su-12 project, he had asked for clarification about NASA’s Aurora II project. When he studied the report from NASA, it seemed to have the same purpose as the Su program taking place at Groom Lake. Since Lockheed was developing both spacecraft, he wondered why two separate programs were being developed.
No one could give him an answer. It wasn’t until he was able to trace the funding trail that he discovered that the Su project was a CIA program. They used the same basic Aurora II craft but modified it with stealth technology, additional spying capabilities, and many other features that were different from the NASA version.
He had developed a list of questions he wanted to look into when he went to Groom Lake again. It turned out that he didn’t have to wait long for that event to take place.
“A James Whittaker from Lockheed is on line two.”
“Put him through,” Raymond said.
“Mr. Eller. James Whittaker. I’m the program director for the Su project. I have been instructed to notify you when the Su-12 was ready to be released. I am informing you that it will be transported to the designated facility on Thursday of next week. It is scheduled to arrive at 02:15 and will be placed in Hanger 18 for final fitting.”
“Thank you Mr. Whittaker. Just one question if you don’t mind.”
“If I can answer it, go ahead.”
“Does the Su-12 have defense capabilities?”
“In what way do you mean?”
“Does it have missile deployment, or other types of defense capabilities?”
“Our job was to provide the platform. We are not privy to what is done from there.”
“Okay. Then let me be more direct. Does the Su-12 have hard points where missiles can be attached?”
“I think that would be a question that should be answered by the client,” Whittaker replied.