Chapter 4
Harry and Lauren were quiet when a man at the next table spoke up.
“Excuse me,” he said. “I heard you two asking the waitress about a military base?”
“Yeah, Bracken Air Force Base,” said Harry.
“Bracken's about forty miles northwest of here,” said the man.
“That far?” said Lauren.
“Yeah, but Magdan is the closest town,” he said.
“Do you ever see any one from the base in here?” asked Harry.
“About once a week, usually on a Saturday,” said the man. “And I'm in here several times a week.”
“Do you ever see a civilian about my size with several young people around?” asked Harry.
“Yeah, I've seen a bunch like that, but they don't come in as often as the soldiers,” said the man.
The waitress brought the pizza and Harry thanked the man for his information.
“Well, we've come to the right place I guess,” said Lauren. “But it sounds like we may have to wait for some time.”
“Yeah, I guess this may not have been such a good idea. We can't stay here for weeks just to catch Dr. Zee,” said Harry.
“Tomorrow's Saturday, so let's hope we get lucky,” she said.
They finished their pizza and left for the motel. They were both tired and turned in by eleven.
It was after midnight when Harry woke. Something had awakened him, he listened. He heard a sound from the short hall which connected his single room to the motel's hall. He turned in that direction to see two black shapes sprint toward him. Before he could turn and exit the other side of the bed, hands were on him and his mouth and nose were covered, he smelled something before passing out.
Harry woke up on the floor of what he thought was a van, his hands and feet bound. In the dim light he could see a body laying next to him, it had Lauren's light blonde hair from the back. He could move a bit even though his hands were tied from behind.
He rolled closer to the other person and whispered, “Lauren.”
The person didn't answer but Harry was sure it was Lauren, it was her perfume.
Harry didn't know how long they had been traveling but he did know that the road was full of curves and bumps. Then the van stopped, he heard some people talking and the van began moving again only to come to another stop. The side door slid open.
He heard someone ask, “Are you awake yet?”
“I am but I don't think Lauren is,” said Harry.
“Okay I'm going to remove your feet restraints and you can walk. We'll get some help carrying her unless she wakes up,” said the voice.
As Harry was helped from the van he could see the soldiers that had kidnapped him. He couldn't see the lights or hear the sounds of the base. He heard Lauren.
He turned and asked, “You okay Lauren?”
“Yeah Harry, just a little groggy.”
“Okay,” said one of the soldiers, “if you will just follow us we'll take you to your quarters.”
They were taken to a long narrow building. Inside Lauren was shown one room and Harry was placed just across the hall. The soldier told them they should rest until the morning when they would meet the base commander. Then their luggage was brought in and the doors to the rooms closed with a guard stationed outside.
Harry sat on the side of the bed and looked around. A small counter with microwave, sink, and short fridge was in one corner. Through an open door Harry could see a bathroom. There was a desk with nothing on it and a window that had bars. Apparently this room had been used before in such a capacity. Harry laid on top of the uncomfortable bed and after going over what had happened several times fell asleep.
He was awakened when he heard the doorknob being turned. He sat up.
“Breakfast,” said a soldier who entered and put a tray down on the kitchenette counter.
“They'll be calling for you in an hour sir,” he said before turning quickly to leave.
Harry ate the sparse plate of eggs and bacon and toast while looking around his room. In the daylight it looked even worse than it had the night before. Bland green wall paint, concrete, unpainted floor, and a commercial roof of discolored, pale acoustic tiles. He certainly didn't want to stay any longer than necessary.
He finished his breakfast and went to the sink to clean up a bit. The towels were clean but stiff, obviously washed without softener. Finishing, he sat down in the only chair in the room, a roughly hewn wooden spindle model. Harry was beginning to wonder where all the military budget, the largest in the world, had been spent.
After sitting in the chair for a time, he realized he was still sleepy and was almost ready to lay back down on the bed when the door opened again.
A soldier entered and said, “If you will come with me sir.”
Harry rose and walked past the soldier and out the door to find more soldiers and Lauren.
“Lauren, are you okay?”
“I guess so, a bit sleepy,” she said.
One of the soldiers interrupted and said, “If you will follow me, please.”
Lauren followed the soldier, followed by Harry and two more soldiers. Harry noticed they were wearing guns in the holsters on their belts.
After a short walk they entered a brick building that seemed in better shape than the one they had just left. Inside the floors were polished and the white paint on the walls was clean. There were no discolored ceiling tiles. At the end of the hall they entered an office through some doors with multi sash windows and then halted at a desk.
The lead soldier said, “Here to see the Colonel.”
The officer behind the desk called over his Emmie and then looked up and said, “Go through.”
The soldier opened the solid, wood door and held it for Harry and Lauren, just the three of them went through. The soldier saluted and introduced Harry and Lauren. The colonel saluted back and the soldier turned smartly and left. The office was large with a wall of windows behind the colonel's desk looking across the desert to some distant mountains.
The colonel spoke, “I'm Colonel Bricknell, I'm the commander here at Bracken, won't you be seated.”
He motioned to the two chairs in front of his large, dark wood desk.
“I suspect you know why we brought you here, but I'll just state the obvious so that we are all on the same page,” said the colonel.
“You have been asking in Magdan about Professor Zee. He is working on a project which the government wishes to keep secret. We have to take such inquiries as yours as a threat to the project, not withstanding your intent. So, you have been brought here to find out what it is you want. You will be interviewed together and separately and then we will make a decision about your disposition.
“I will see you again after your interviews, probably about this time tomorrow. That is all.”
The colonel then buzzed the outer office and the soldiers entered the room.
“Take them for their interviews,” the colonel said.
Harry felt a hand on his shoulder, he looked up to see the soldier that had led them to the Colonel's office. The soldier motioned his head for them to go. Harry got up and put his hand on Lauren's shoulder, they hugged until the soldiers guided them apart.
The interviewer introduced himself as Lieutenant Levi. He began immediately asking Harry personal questions. He then asked about his school work, he asked about Lauren, then he asked why they had shown up in Magdan.
The questioning went on for an hour with Harry trying to answer the questions as truthfully as he could. Finally the lieutenant stopped and asked Harry to remain seated while he left the room.
Harry took a deep breath and realized that he had been tense during the whole ordeal. He turned his head, trying to loosen his tight neck muscles. One wall of the room had shelves full of notebooks. To Harry they looked like organizers, he wondered what was in them, and why an air force base would have paper records instead of electronic.
Shortly the lieutenant returned and said, “If you will follow me Mr. Stimson.”
Outside the room, Harry was joined by Lauren and her interviewer and they all walked down the hall to another room. Harry realized that the place reminded him of a school, without the students. Inside the room there was only a couple of school-like desks and tall stools. The soldiers motioned for Harry and Lauren to sit in the desks while one of them stood in front and the other took a seat on a stool.
Lieutenant Levi, standing, asked “Where did you two meet?”
Harry hesitated but Lauren spoke up, “It's none of your business but we met at school, we're in the same program, which you probably already knew.”
“There is not need to be sarcastic Ms. Cauley, we simply have a job to do and the sooner we get done the sooner you will be able to leave,” said Levi.
“Well, I'm glad to hear we'll be leaving,” said Lauren.
The lieutenant ignored her. Harry was surprised but a bit proud of her.
The lieutenant continued, “It was at this school that you met Dr. Zee?”
Harry understood why Lauren was getting irritated, surely they knew before they asked.
Regardless, he answered, “I worked with Dr. Zee on his spacetime bubble experiments. I developed the gravity wave detector.”
“And how are you involved Ms. Cauley?”
“I'm not,” was all she said.
“But you are here with Mr. Stimson to try to contact Dr. Zee?” said the lieutenant.
“I suggested to Harry that since Dr. Zee had left to work with the military that his original purpose, which was to develop a space transport system, had been interrupted and that we could restart that effort.”
“How do you know that Dr. Zee's efforts have been interrupted?” asked the lieutenant.
“I don't but I figured if he got involved with the military he would soon be pressured to develop a weapon instead of a transport,” she said.
“So, you came all the way out here on a hunch that Dr. Zee would not be working on his experiment. May I ask what he told you before he left Mr. Stimson?”
“He said he was going to work on a military base because they would have the space he needed to continue his experiment,” said Harry, annoyed that the lieutenant was being so intrusive.
“That sounds as if he planned to continue developing the project in the same manner as at school, not design a weapon,” said Levi.
After a moment Lieutenant Levi turned to the other officer and said, “Anything else?”
The man shook his head no.
“Very well, you will be returned to your rooms, the Colonel will call you when he is ready.”
With that, Levi moved to the door and called the soldiers, they entered and took the pair back to their rooms.
Harry thought that they would be called shortly to the colonel's office to resolve the matter. He didn't think that he or Lauren had said anything that would cause the military to find it necessary to keep them. When the door opened he expected to see the soldier that had escorted him, instead it was another soldier with his dinner.
“Excuse me,” said Harry. “I thought the Colonel would be seeing us by now.”
“I don't know anything about that sir,” said the soldier, turning and leaving.
Harry moved the tray of food to the bed and sat down. A piece of hamburger, mashed potatoes, bread, and green beans, with a small bottle of steak sauce. Harry picked at the hamburger which was hard and tasted old. The mashed potatoes were the only thing he could stomach, he ate what he could and put the tray back on the counter. Within a few minutes the same soldier showed up and took the tray.
It was getting dark in the room. The bars over the frosted window made Harry uncomfortable, he laid down, watching as the light dimmed more and more. It was like the way he felt, like hope was running out. He was soon asleep.
He woke early, it was still black beyond the bars and frosted window. Harry felt his way to the wall switch and turned on the overhead light which was too glaring for the time of morning. He turned on the lamp by the desk and switched off the overhead. At least the lamp light was the color of warmth.
Harry had fallen asleep again when a rapid knock at the door woke him, it opened. A soldier that Harry didn't recognize, entered.
“Mr. Stimson, I'm Sergeant Denver, I'll see to your disposition.”
“What do you mean?” asked Harry.
“We are moving you and your friend to more comfortable quarters,” said Sergeant Denver.
“Why?” asked Harry.
“Sorry sir, I do not have that information. If you will just gather your things.”
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