“I wish I knew how many boxes we were looking for.”
Fitzpatrick ground the stub of his cigar into an ashtray, then slowly lifted himself out of his seat. “I’ll leave you to your investigations. Shall I leave the boxes with you?”
I returned everything but the slide to the cardboard box. “You’d better hold on to them for awhile. I’ve had too many uninvited guests in my office lately. If you don’t mind, I’ll keep this slide.”
Fitzpatrick nodded and picked up the box. “You’ll let me know about any new developments.”
“Sure thing.”
Fitzpatrick had taken a taxi to my office. I gave him a lift back to the Savoy, then flew to Ellis’ shop. It was getting late, and the sun was peeking out behind the skyline of New San Francisco as I landed in front of the Cosmic Connection. The Closed sign was out, but I knocked on the door anyway. After a few moments, Ellis came out from the back and opened the door for me. “Change your mind about the herbal tea? It’s great for insomnia.”
“No, thanks. I’m sorry to come by so late, but I needed to check something really quick.” I handed the slide to Ellis.
He walked to the counter and flicked on a lamp. Turning the light toward his face, he held up the slide. “Where’d you get this?”
“That’s not important. You recognise it?”
“Of course. It’s one of the objects Major Barrett catalogued.”
Ellis turned off the light. “You want to check the file again?”
I nodded. We walked into the back room. Seconds later, Ellis was flipping through the contents of the manilla folder. He quickly found what he was looking for and passed it to me. I looked it over. The drawing was identical to the one on the slide, but with a number written at the bottom of the page. I looked up at Ellis, who was hovering excitedly. “What can you tell about this thing?”
Ellis responded like a game-show contestant. “Item No. 186. Barret described it as “the power cell.” according to the Major, three of them were found in the spacecraft recovered at Roswell. One was attached to a console; the other two were in a storage compartment. The one in the console was irreparably damaged, but the other two were intact. The research scientists decided that they were some kind of alien battery and tried to disassemble one of them. The other was catalogued and stowed away. As far as Major Barrett knew, they could never figure out how it worked or even what it was for sure.”
“So at least one of these is probably still intact and stored at the Roswell Complex.”
Ellis looked at me incredulously. “You’re not thinking about going to the complex?”
I handed the sheet back to Ellis. “Maybe.”
“You’re insane, Murphy! You can’t get in there!”
“Why not?”
“You think you’re the first person who ever thought about getting in there? Hell, every UFOlogist in the world would like to take a look around the complex.”
“So why don’t they?”
Ellis leaned forward earnestly. “Look, first of all, the site is secured. The military doesn’t want anyone getting in. It’s only accessible with top level security clearance.”
“What if I had clearance?”
Ellis shook his head. “Listen, I personally know or four different attempts to get in. Only one person lived to tell about it. He was in the last group to try it. They planned the expedition for a year. They had all the equipment, the security clearance, everything. The guy who survived said they were able to get past the security barriers. He stayed topside while the others went down into the complex. There were only supposed to be inside for four hours. This guy waited for thirty hours. The rest of the group never came back up.”
It sounded like a ghost story to me. The trail Malloy had left for us led straight through Roswell. Ellis was unwilling or unable to help me getting, but he had told me what I needed to know. Now I just needed to find a way in. When I got back to my office, I decided to get in touch with Fitzpatrick. When he hired me, he’d said he and Malloy had worked together years ago in China. The more I thought about it, the more I began to think that Fitzpatrick had known Malloy earlier, probably at Roswell. Maybe I didn’t have anything more than a gut feeling, and I couldn’t think of a reason why Fitzpatrick wouldn’t want me to know about it, but I was almost sure of the fact. And now that Malloy was dead, Fitzpatrick was the only person I knew that might have been there. Maybe he would know what I was in for and even help me get there. It was late, but I called anyway.
After seven or eight beeps, Fitzpatrick’s weary face appeared on my video screen. I must have woken him up. “Sorry to disturb you, Mr Fitzpatrick. I got that lead on the object we saw on the slide.”
“Wonderful! And you should feel free to contact me at any time.” Always the polite one. “What have you found out?”
“Apparently, the object is stored somewhere in the Roswell Complex. Malloy referred to it in his notebooks as item number 186.”
“You intend to go to the Roswell Complex?” Fitzpatrick asked anxiously.
“Looks that way. You did work there one time, didn’t you?”
Fitzpatrick looked down momentarily, then turned his gaze back toward the screen. “Yes, I did. That’s where I met Thomas Malloy.”
“Why didn’t you tell me before?”
“Roswell is a subject I do not care to discuss. I had hoped that our search would not require going into my past. Nevertheless, it appears that we have no choice. Are you certain that a trip to the Roswell Complex is absolutely necessary?”
“That’s why I called. I need to find a way in.”
“I don’t know if I can help you. But security clearance is a thing of the past.”
“Any suggestions?”
“I’m afraid you’ll have to rely on your own judgement and resourceful-ness.”
“Well, I thought I’d run it by you. If I don’t contact you within three days, you’ll have to assume that I’ve shuffled off this proverbial mortal coil.”
Fitzpatrick’s face registered a surprising degree of concern. “Are you sure there are no other options?”
“I can’t see any. Listen, if I’m not back in three days, I need you to get in touch with a Ms Madsen at the Imperial. She’s working on an angle that could turn up some information on the other boxes. She doesn’t know most of what’s going on, so I’d prefer that you not contact her unless something happens to me.”
“I understand. I can tell you one thing you should know before you go to Roswell.”
“What’s that?”
“I left the service before the base was shut down, but I’ve heard talk. Have you learned that the complex was quarantined?”
“I heard something to that effect.”
“The complex has been sealed off and powered down. Since there was never any news of an outbreak, the military may have been able to contain whatever it was that inspired the quarantine. If you gain entrance, be aware that there may be something in there, dormant, waiting to be unleashed. Don’t take any unnecessary risks.”
“I try to make that a policy.”
“Very well. Good luck, Mr Murphy.”
Chapter Twenty
The security alarm blared as I sprinted through the dark corridors, wildly searching for an exit. With a violent lurch, I sat up in my bed. The vid-phone was beeping. I reached over through a groggy fog and hit the receiver. “Yeah,” I growled.
“Listen carefully—” it was the same modulated voice I’d heard on the vid-phone at the Twilight, the first time I’d spoken to Lucas Pernell. I struggled to reach full consciousness. This guy made every word count. “You’re next step will require security clearance. Follow these instructions immediately. Any delay on your part could be disastrous. Do you understand?”