were no nervous gestures..
“Of course. We do rather well, in fact. It’s certainly more satisfying than fighting with political cretins for senate appropriations. This Sunday there will be a party in honor of your arrival. It will be your introduction to the opulence here, and the people who live with it.”
“And what does that have to do with the problem I’m here to solve?”
“Nothing, or everything, I don’t know. There might be outside influences involved, and it certainly can’t hurt to befriend the shakers and movers in this town.”
“I suppose,” said Price, “if they understand I’m not a sociable person. It’s not an ordinary part of my job. That’s why I asked.”
Leon poured steaming coffee into two mugs and offered one to Price. “A perfectly legitimate question. Rely on me, and I’ll have you charming people in no time at all. They should include that training for all field agents, I think.”
“I’m not a field agent; I’m an analyst,” said Price, a bit quickly. “I don’t even own a weapon. I climb logic trees and crunch numbers, and I’m supposed to evaluate a technology I haven’t been told about yet. Who’s going to do it? You?”
The man’s look was so direct and focused that Leon felt the hairs move on the back of his neck. It was not the look of a data analyst, he thought.
“I can do it, but I’m surprised you weren’t briefed beforehand. What did they tell you?”
Eric blinked once. “A project called Shooting Star is being run at a hidden base near here, another area fifty-one, and apparently it’s so deep it’s considered beyond black ops. They’ve obtained an advanced aircraft of some kind, and can’t get it to fly for them like the Pentagon wants. I’m here to find out why that is. Is the technology Russian?”
“We don’t know. The people who brought it out to us claim to be eastern European, but won’t identify their country. Very slight accents. Could be Slav.”
“You don’t have any original documentation? No plans or manuals?”
“Nothing. It’s all been done by word of mouth from a few people who arrived with the aircraft.”
“Let me guess. They don’t know how to fly it.”
“Apparently not. Our guess is they stole it. We’ve spent a year probing around east Europe to see if anyone, particularly the Russians, is missing anything. The report I’ve seen says the entire craft arrived in one piece on a Swedish-registered ship, and was airlifted here. Look, these are questions you should ask at the base when we get you there. You just got in; relax a bit. At ease, soldier.”
“I’m not a soldier,” said Price, “and neither are you. It seems both of us are on loan to Gil’s office, and he’s the only boss we have in common. So quit fishing. I’m not happy about being here in such a stupid situation, and I like to be well briefed before I begin an assignment. That isn’t happening.”
Leon thought of the file he’d read on Price, and thought, Ph.D. prima donnas can be such absolute pricks. “Then I suggest you complain about it to Gil right away. He’ll explain to you I’m only a liaison to the base, and what you want will come from Colonel Alexander Davis, who heads the project. My function is to integrate you with the civilian community, get you settled and up to speed on our communications with Langley and Washington. And I really do hope we’re going to get along personally, If not, then you can drive back to Phoenix and fly away to wherever you came from. There will be no solo players in this operation. I won’t stand for it, and neither will Gil, and I just realized I’ve told you I’m not some tiny cog in the wheel of this operation.”
Price was smiling at him. “Honesty is best. Gil told me I’d be reporting to you, but you weren’t telling me that.”
“Well done, Mister Price. I’ll remember it. Can we start over? Welcome to Sedona.”
“Could be interesting. I was pulled from a nice assignment in Germany to come here. That aircraft must be important.”
“It’s more than an aircraft, Mister Price. It can fly in space at great speed if we can ever figure out what powers it out there. Colonel Davis will do the briefing. Have you been to your house yet?”
“No, I came straight here from town.”
“You passed it, then, the next house down, about five hundred yards. We can walk there if you wish.”
“It’s getting dark out there,” said Price.
Leon smiled. “I’ll show you another way. Come with me, and leave your briefcase. We’ll come back later for your car.”
Price’s eyebrow rose, but he said nothing and left his briefcase on a table. Leon led him through a kitchen with stainless steel appliances and blue slate counter tops to a door that led downstairs. There was a game room with a pool table, an alcove behind glass with two circular openings in the wall. Two cylindrical conduits ran twenty-five meters to bull’s-eye targets on metal frames, well lit. Leon gestured casually at the conduits. “You’re welcome to practice here anytime; I’d like the company. Just give me some warning.”
“Like I said, I don’t have a weapon,” said Price.
Leon smiled. “No problem. I have plenty for both of us.”
They went to another door, which Leon opened with dramatic flair. “Our own, private walkway, good in any weather.”
A tunnel ran straight ahead a hundred meters before turning to the right and out of sight. Pipes ran along the ceiling, and there was an orange light every few meters, high on the wall. The floor was dirt-covered, with sections of metal grating that clanged hollowly as they walked.
“How far does this go?” asked Price.
“It only connects our houses. Quite a job putting it in.”
The walls were solid red-rock, broken by ventilation grates every fifty meters. There was a faint humming sound coming from them.
“You’ll have a key to the entrance at my house in case of emergencies.”
“What emergencies?” asked Price.
“One never knows in our business. And it’s convenient for contact without outside observation. I can never be sure the office in town is secure.”
Price blinked slowly at him, and Leon knew the man thought he was being overly dramatic. “Nothing is done here without reason, Mister Price.”
“That’s Eric; we’re supposed to be partners, at least in business.”
Leon did not like the innuendo when he saw the twinkle in Price’s eyes. “That’s all it is, I assure you. And don’t let my little affectations fool you; appearances can be very deceiving, even dangerous in the wrong situation.”
“Just getting to know you, Leon. No offense intended.”
“None taken,” said Leon, and smiled sweetly while pinching the thumb pad of his left hand with a fingernail because he’d allowed the man to pull his chain again. Price was more than an analyst, that much was certain, and there was a cruel side to his psyche.
They came to the end of the tunnel. The steel door there was locked. Leon unlocked it, and handed Eric the key. “It fits both ends of the tunnel. Both doors are kept locked, and there’s no other way out of the tunnel.”
The basement was dark, and Leon switched on a light. Empty shelves floor to ceiling, and an oil furnace. They went up wooden stairs to the main floor. Beamed ceilings, Santa Fe style, but smaller than Leon’s house, two bedrooms, front and dining rooms, nicely but not richly furnished. A notebook computer sat on a bar counter in the kitchen. Fish swam lazily on the screen. Shelves were stocked with food, and the refrigerator was full. Two garage door openers were on the dining room table. One was for the gate. “Motion sensors all around the property,” said Leon, “and