As planned. Nobody was paying much attention now.
Ellis gave a rueful smile. “I went and looked at the perimeter like you said, Frank, just before dawn, making like I was gonna do some extra laps. But turns out that if you turn the sand to water, it sinks right down in the ground. So, I did it at that spot we found — the blind spot the guards can’t see behind the latrines — and rolled out. From there, it was a quick run to the foothills before the sun came up.”
Frank looked as though he was ready to haul up and punch Ellis. “Our one goddamn spot to get out, Ellis! You jeopardized that!” he hissed.
“I filled it back up, I swear!” Ellis protested. “I took an extra pillow and blanket from the supply closet, stuffed it in behind me, then changed it to dirt, just like the dirt around it. Tamped it down good and everything. I ain’t a fool, Frank. I covered my tracks. I even did a quick lap around the outside of the fence so they couldn’t figure out my footprints.”
Frank relaxed slightly, but to Ellis’s eye, he still looked like a man itching to hit something. “So, it worked. It’s a good exit.”
“Appears so.”
“So, why’d you leave, then?” Frank said, narrowing his eyes. “Of all the goddamn things, you could’ve thrown a wrench into everything we’re trying to do here!”
“Everything you’re trying to do, compadre,” Ellis retorted. “Look, as long as I’m here, I’ll help you play spy and figure out what’s going on. But I had a chance and I took it. They’re keeping us prisoner here, Frank. Ain’t no paycheck big enough to hide the fact that I ain’t seen my family in months, I tell you. Months. Those phone calls are wearing thin. I worry that my wife’s gonna miss me just a little too much and go do something rash. I worry my kid ain’t gonna know his daddy. Whatever they got in mind for us, we better start doing it soon.”
Ellis stared into the Yankee’s eyes until Frank relented with a nod. “All right. We’ll move soon. We need to see what’s up at the main base. Are you with us?”
Ellis grinned. “Like I say, Frank, while I’m here, I’m with you.”
13
Harry Truman stalked the Oval Office slowly with predatory movements, staring at his guests with eyes made cat-like by his eyeglasses.
“Now, you gentlemen tell me why the hell one of these Variants got out and ended up in Las Vegas, of all places, and tell me exactly how the hell this won’t happen again!” the President barked.
Hillenkoetter and Forrestal traded a look, a you-go-first-no-you-go glance that Forrestal ultimately lost. “The Air Force is responsible for security at Area 51,” the defense secretary said. “We’re working to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Of course, that means figuring out how it happened in the first place.”
Truman finally pounced. “Jim, goddamn it, the man can turn wood into sand! He can turn metal into water! You can’t make a cage that’s going to keep him in line. So, how’s that not going to happen again? Tell me!”
“We make it worth Mr. Longstreet’s while to stay,” Hillenkoetter said simply. “Because you’re right, Mr. President — a man like that can’t be kept in. Better yet, he can’t be kept out of anywhere, either.”
Truman threw a sheaf of reports he’d been clutching down on his desk. “Worth his while? This car salesman makes more money than I do already! And I’m the President, last I checked. Though I won’t be for long, with a thirty-six percent approval rating. And let me tell you, when word gets out that I approved a stable of supermen out in the desert with magic powers, your next President will probably end up having them shot. Or worse, put them in a position to take over the country. So you see, gentlemen, we need to get this thing well in hand now, before you go sending them anywhere, let alone — where’d you want to send ’em, Hilly?”
“Istanbul, Mr. President,” Hillenkoetter replied. “A sensitive mission that could lead to some of the best intelligence we’ve had since the end of the war.”
“A wild goose chase,” Truman said with a sigh as he plopped down behind his desk. “How sure are we that won’t happen?”
“We’re not sure of any of it, Mr. President,” Hillenkoetter replied, trying to keep his voice calm and level. “That’s all part of the game. Sometimes you get a busted straight. Sometimes you make it.”
Truman smiled slightly at that. “I know my cards, Hilly. What’s your boy Wallace think about these Variants? Which ones do you want to send?”
“First team. Lodge, Hooks, Dubinsky, and, yes, Longstreet.”
“Which leads me back to my first question: How are we going to keep Longstreet in line?”
Forrestal cleared his throat. “Longstreet is now under 24/7 surveillance, Mr. President. He’s being guarded night and day. We’ve put a television camera in his room, and someone is watching at all times. He leaves his cabin for any reason, he’ll have a man with a gun waiting for him.”
“That’s the stick. What’s your carrot? More money?” Truman asked.
“He gets to visit his family. We’ll set him up with a nice vacation someplace warm, maybe Los Angeles. They can go see Hollywood, hit the beach in Santa Monica, catch a show. And we’ll be watching the whole time,” Forrestal reiterated.
“Better not be FBI,” Truman warned. “Hoover needs to keep his nose out of this.”
“Of course not, sir. We’re using Secret Service. They won’t be told why they’re watching, just who and what phone numbers to call and when,” Forrestal said. “Mr. President, I share your concerns, and there may come a point where we have to take more definitive action. But for the moment, I concur with the CIA director here that the MAJESTIC-12 program can deal with the question of this sort of… unbridled independence… on the part of the assets. For now, at least.”
Mollified for the moment, Truman turned back to Hillenkoetter. “How sure are we on this intelligence about, oh, what’s his name — Yushchenko?”
Hillenkoetter shrugged. “About as sure as it gets. Again, it’s cards, sir. We’ll have a presence at the Istanbul conference anyway. Five or six more won’t hurt.”
“Not four?”
“I want Wallace there as team leader. He’s the only one the Variants really trust.”
“And these four,” Truman said, gesturing to the folder on his desk. “Not a mix of this group and any others. Just these four.”
“We’ve compartmentalized MAJESTIC-12 pretty tightly, sir. They don’t know of any others besides themselves.”
“Even Subject-1?” Truman asked.
At this, Forrestal sat up, while Hillenkoetter scowled. Truman closed his eyes a moment to compose himself before continuing. “Jim, would you mind giving Hilly and I a moment, please?”
Forrestal stiffened. “Mr. President, as secretary of defense, I—”
“ — serve at the pleasure of the President and follow orders according to National Command Protocols,” Truman finished. “Look, Jim, this is exactly why we have a civilian spy agency rather than a military one. We don’t need your people getting gung ho. Now, if you don’t mind?”
Rising to his feet, Forrestal gave Truman a nod and made for the door without looking back. Once it was closed, both men sighed deeply.