“If there was a UFO,” Lime said. He tried to sound a little dubious, but Corrie could tell that was just for the sake of formality.
“Very well, sir: if. I know this is speculation. But everything fits. It explains much of the mystery: this group would have been guarding those secrets ever since, most likely, without the knowledge of the rest of the government. And here’s what convinced me, at least: Bitan was the one member of the expedition most on the verge, it seems, of exposing Roswell’s secrets. If there was no UFO, no cover-up beyond the execution of some spies back in the 1940s, then why kidnap him—unless they were afraid of those secrets being uncovered?”
She paused. It was obvious that Lime had followed her line of reasoning—but it was anything but clear what he thought of it. His face had gone strangely blank.
“Corrie, this is remarkable work,” he said after a moment. “And I think you’re onto something big. More than that: I know you are.” He went silent. And then his blank look was suddenly replaced by what seemed to Corrie like grim determination. “We must act fast. And in secrecy: we can’t yet know who precisely might be involved.”
Corrie stared at him.
“Here’s what I want you to do,” Lime told her. “Go back to your cubicle, gather your notes and files on the case. If you’re right, we may be up against some powerful operators—possibly within our own government. So our only option is to personally go to the Roswell camp, evaluate the situation, secure the site, warn that expedition—and, if necessary, take steps to protect them.”
“Yes, sir,” Corrie said, hearing the surprise in her own voice. She’d entered Lime’s office pleased with just how much she’d pieced together…but she hadn’t banked on how serious the next step would be—assuming she was right.
“We’ll also need Sheriff Watts to show us these tracks,” Lime said. He had mastered his surprise, and despite the gravity of the situation, Corrie couldn’t help but be impressed by how quickly he’d put a plan together. “Is he out there with Buford?”
“Buford’s not there—I heard he’s laid up with a case of gout. But when I spoke to Watts by sat phone a few hours ago, he was still out in the desert with Nora Kelly’s brother.”
“You and I need to take a chopper out to the camp.”
It was Corrie’s turn to be surprised. “Right now?”
“Now. Even if we’re proceeding on what you call speculation, surely you can see the situation is critical. Don’t talk to anyone—just gather the information we need and meet me back here in ten minutes. We haven’t a moment to lose.”
49
AT MANZANO BASE,” Lime told Corrie as they left the field office and got into his vehicle, “there’s a helicopter standing by to take us to the Roswell camp.”
Corrie didn’t know where Manzano Base was, but said nothing. New Mexico seemed to be dotted with military bases. Lime gunned the engine and peeled out of the FBI parking lot onto the Pan American Frontage Road, switching on his lights and siren.
“The reason I didn’t requisition an FBI chopper directly,” he said, “is because we don’t know who might be involved.”
He accelerated up the on-ramp to I-25, heading south.
“What makes you think the FBI could be involved?” Corrie said. Her own speculations hadn’t reached beyond the military, or perhaps the CIA and its predecessors.
“Corrie—I didn’t want to say this before, but what you said back in my office jibes with certain anomalies that have been taking place within the DoD.” He paused. “There’s no reason to conceal it any longer: the real reason I was sent here was to investigate possible rogue elements within the FBI. Morwood knew that—and he may have been murdered because of it. I sense…” He gave her a significant look. “I sense you might share certain suspicions about his death.”
Corrie nodded, feeling a flush at some confirmation—finally—of her instinctual doubts.
“Don’t get me wrong,” Lime said. “I don’t have proof, nor does my immediate superior—yet. But what you’ve told me may well crack this thing wide open. Going outside standard FBI protocol is just a precaution, and I happen to have high-level contacts at Manzano. They’re going to give us a chopper, a pilot, and a soldier—just in case.”
Corrie nodded, surprised at Lime’s high-level access and ability to scramble a chopper so quickly.