"Think we'll see some aliens?" Jack waggled his eyebrows. "You know, little green dudes with big eyes."
Mac rolled his eyes and smirked. "Yeah, Jack, they hang out on planets, waiting for Earthlings to spy on them."
"Seriously, bud, you don't think there's life out there?"
"I didn't say that," Mac protested, readjusting his seat belt as their vehicle began the steep ascent of a mountain pass and the flat arid landscape gave way to hillsides and valleys. "Besides, it would be a change to meet that kind of life form instead of those that always come with guns blazing!"
"We come in peace, shoot to kill," Jack started to sing.
Mac groaned. He turned to his partner. "You got that the wrong way round, bud! Before you go labelling aliens as bad guys, let's see if the locals at Camdeboo are really tracking stars."
Their surveillance mission to the Camdeboo Space Observation Center was a follow up after the mysterious silver sphere from the Nevada Desert had been identified as a radar-invisible tracking device. The hired guns who had tried to retrieve the device had let slip that a US space observatory had ties with the weapons manufacturer from the Eastern Bloc that had developed the device. This seemed to implicate Camdeboo, the closest center to where it was found.
"So, ya ready to nerd out?" Jack grinned, giving his partner a once over for the fiftieth time that morning from the corner of his eye. The older agent was not a fan of back-to-back missions, which this basically was. He had mostly sat out the last one, only swooping in at the last minute to arrest Porter and his team of baddies. His concern was for Mac, who had spent the night before last running from mercenaries, dragging an injured scientist to Area 51 with Riley and rigging an explosion in the mortuary. The kid had not had a rest and still sported bruises from the trip to Puerto Rico. But timing for this mission was critical. Matty wanted to locate the center before the arms manufacturer got spooked and covered its tracks, and Mac was the agent best qualified to determine the nature of Camdeboo's scientific activities.
"Oh yeah, always!" Mac grinned back. He was aware his partner had been trying to read him all morning and wanted to set Jack's mind at ease. Science was an effective distraction from the thoughts that were orbiting his brain. "We can discuss gravitational waves, new stars, dark matter, the discovery of…"
"I get it, bud!" Jack waved him off. "You have a lot to chat about with the professor." Camdeboo's director, Prof Sid Conlan, had been Mac's university lecturer for two semesters. He hoped for Mac's sake that Camdeboo was conducting legitimate research, as Mac had known the man fairly well back then.
What he did not want Mac to talk about right now was some other dark matter: Matty and her classified file on his father, which his partner had yet to read. Jack had decided to skirt the issue entirely and keep the conversation light to make sure the kid's headspace was clear for the mission.
Mac offered Jack another water before draining his bottle and settling to stare out of the window. As they headed deeper into the mountain range, the peaks gentled out at the higher altitude. The drive was pleasant and offered sweeping views across the plains at some points. Shortly after noon they turned off and stopped at the entrance to the facility. A security guard exited a small room at the gate and greeted them.
"We're from the Phoenix Foundation," Jack announced. "We're here to meet with Professor Conlan."
"Is he expecting you?" the guard asked, looking around the inside their car as if he might discover someone hiding in the back.
"No, but he knows me. I'm one of his past students," Mac added.
The guard scanned their social security cards and took digital photos of them. "This is a firearm free facility," he said. "If you have any weapons, you can bring them into my office and store them in our guest safe." There was no way Jack was about to part with his Beretta, especially if Porter's info was right about Camdeboo. "Nothing to declare," he said firmly.
The guard nodded. "Report to reception and they will direct you to Prof Conlan's office." He swung the gates open for them to proceed.
"Tight security for an observation center," Mac noted as they drove up the long driveway. He pointed at the long-range viewing devices positioned on the perimeter fencing. "They knew we were coming before we even reached the gate. I guess their research must be sensitive."
Halfway up the incline were several large satellite dishes, as well as a cluster of round buildings with dome shaped roofs. The largest of these, a double storey, was connected to a white rectangular building that was signposted as reception. Behind that was a small, narrow lake, only noticeable from the parking lot.
After Jack parked, the agents entered through double glass doors. Across the room a brunette with a stud in her nose hurriedly ended a call and looked up. "Mr MacGyver, Mr Dalton, you're here to see Professor Conlan? I'm afraid he's not in today." She looked a little rattled.
"That's a pity," Mac replied, scanning her name badge. "We've driven a long way, Dr Jones, and were hoping to speak to him about his research. We're from a think tank in LA and would like to explore opportunities to collaborate."
"Hmmm," she frowned. "Maybe you could make an appointment before you come again?"
"Yes," Mac nodded thoughtfully. "But as we're here now, perhaps you could show us around your facility? We understand you have some impressive telescopes."
Before she could answer, a tall man in a white lab coat entered and Jack did not miss a quick look between the two employees. The man strode over and extended his hand to the agents. "Dr Tony Wilson, chief technician. Unfortunately, we don't conduct private tours, but please call next time to diarise a meeting with our director. I'm sure he'll be happy to assist." He flashed a toothy smile and ushered the agents toward the door.
"Something's off," Jack frowned on the way back to the car. "Gate security seems to think the prof is here, and those two could not get rid of us any faster. My gut says the prof is here and he does not want company. How about we come back tonight and give ourselves our own private tour?"
"Just what I was thinking, bud!" Mac grinned. He walked up the embankment to get a better look at the facility while Jack called Matty to give her an update. A bright light flashed into the younger man's face. Somebody was reflecting sunlight off an object onto him. He squinted at the upper windows of the large round building. A man peered down briefly at him before being replaced by Wilson.
Mac moved swiftly back to his partner. "Conlan's up there and he wanted our attention. Wilson knows I saw him!"
"Think he's in trouble?"
"Could be. Let's go find out."
Jack drew his gun. "Looks like you might have that science talk after all, bud!"
Mac nudged him. "There's a staircase at the back of the building. We can go in that way and avoid Jones."
They ran across the grounds and up the stairs, pulling open the door onto the first floor. Surprisingly it was not locked. Jack cautiously entered, Mac behind him. They were on a large tiled landing. A wide flight of stairs hugging the wall on the left led upward, while a similar flight on the opposite wall went down. There was no sign of Conlan or Wilson.
"Where do you think they went?" Jack frowned.
Mac shrugged. "I'll go up, you go down."
Jack eyed his partner. "Splitting up is never a good idea, bud."
"I'll do a quick check and be down right after you," Mac assured and was on his way up to the dome before his partner could respond. Jack waited a few seconds, debating whether to follow. Hearing nothing that could indicate trouble, he descended the stairs to the ground floor. The space was divided into offices, with doors opening onto the centre area. Conlan could be in any of these, or the offices off the passage leading to reception. He listened carefully. There were general muted office tones, someone talking on a phone, a printer buzzing, a teaspoon stirring in a mug. He decided to wait for Mac.
Suddenly his partner was there. "Jack!" Mac hissed from the top of the stairs. "There's a Jeep load of armed dudes pulling up outside! They're going to be at the front door now!"
With no suitable place to take cover, and not wanting office staff to accidentally get in the way, Jack raced back up the stairs. They heard the front doors of reception swing back, hitting the wall, and the thud of boots headed down the passage.
"How many men?" Jack wanted the info to inform his approach.
"Not sure! Maybe five or six," Mac panted. "Let's just get out of here, Jack!" He did not want his partner to take undue risk and seeing Jack hesitate, Mac grabbed his arm and ran. As they retraced their steps, the exit door opened and a figure in camo gear levelled a rifle at them. Mac dived to the side as the trigger pulled back. The bullet missed its mark and a window shattered. Jack fired back, and an angry voice yelled in a language neither understood.
Jack was now against the wall where Mac was, unable to see how many men they were up against. While he could keep these ones out, the others in their team were on their way up the inside stairs. He and Mac were trapped, unless he could immediately clear the outside stairs. Mac pulled Jack over to a window and they saw two men outside the door, rifles ready to fire. Their backs were turned to Jack. Mac looked away as Jack took aim and shot. He heard the clatter of rifles dropping and howls of pain as their legs gave way under them.
Jack never missed his targets, and Mac gave his partner a grateful look as they moved towards the door.
"Stop or I shoot!" a voice yelled from behind. Jack's heart sank. If only he had acted a few seconds sooner, he and Mac could have been out the door.
"Put your guns down slowly!" Jack took his time to lean down and placed his gun on the floor, cautiously trying to see if there was an opportunity to take them on. Mac put his hands up, so they could see he was not armed. The men were right behind them now and one kicked Jack's gun across the room. The man glanced outside at his fallen team mates. A look of fury crossed his face and he punched Jack in the gut.
"They were tryin' to shoot us," Jack wheezed. "I thought this place was gun free!"
"Shut up, cowboy, and sit down." He waved his gun at them for emphasis, took zip ties out of his pocket and roughly fastened their wrists. Just then Dr Wilson arrived.
"Why didn't you just leave and return to your think tank?" He shook his head and sighed. "It would have been far simpler for all of us."
"Where is Professor Conlan?" Mac scowled.
"Ah, the good professor! Seeing as you're so keen to meet him, you can. Maybe you will be more successful at getting him to share his little secret."
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