Chapter 3

At five thirty three, Sam was waiting for the automatic shut off valve on the gas nozzle to kick in and signal that the gas tank on her car was full. God how she hated wearing the skirt! On a chilly Colorado morning, the draft was completely unwelcome. Finally, the nozzle shut off, and Sam returned it to its cradle. She hopped back in the car and started to pull away fast. Then she realized she had forgotten to replace the gas cap, as she heard it hit the pavement behind her. As she slammed on the brakes quickly, she reached down to the seat, and pulled the lever to unlock the fuel door. Sam put the car in park, opened the door with another curse for the Colonel, and jumped out to retrieve her gas cap.

Mission accomplished, gas tank full. Sam pulled out into traffic, cutting some poor guy off as she did so. She came to the light, which had just turned from yellow to red. The woman in front of her was on her cell phone, and apparently had failed to realize that yes, she really could go through a yellow light, and she didn't have to stop for one. Sam almost creamed the woman as she stopped just short of the silver Lexus in front of her.

Sam looked at the clock on her dash. 5:40. How was she ever going to get to Cheyenne, and through security in twenty minutes? The logical part of her mind said she wasn't. But the logical part of her mind was tired from staying up all night with her experiments. And it didn't have a chance against the other part of her mind that said she was going to be in it deep with the Colonel if she wasn't there for one of the first real dress uniform inspections on the base. Even NORAD personnel were being inspected today, although Sam guessed that their inspection requirements might be a bit more strict. They had American and Canadian personnel up there, and had to be inspection-ready most of the time due to the amount of political traffic that was always coming through.

The light turned, and Sam hit the gas. Only to be stopped at the next light a hundred yards down. And another one, a hundred yards after that. After four more lights behind ignorant cell phone chic, Sam couldn't take it anymore. She whipped the car around to the right turn lane, and just as the light turned green, She floored it. Sam glanced over in time to see the woman give her the finger and flip her off, dropping her cell phone as she did so. Sam just chuckled as she pulled off onto the freeway. Why would anyone feel the need to be on a cell phone at almost six in the morning anyway? And for six traffic lights worth of conversation at that! She got as far as the next exit before she hit heavy traffic, going about half of the posted speed.

"Goddamn rush hour traffic! Son of a bitch!" Sam said out loud to the cars passing her at such a slow rate. She NEVER left her house later than five am. 'This is why the Colonel is always late'. She thought just maybe she wouldn't be such a spaz the next time the Colonel was late for a briefing. She glanced down at the clock. 5:49. Just perfect. Sam was still thinking about the woman on her cell phone, when the realization hit her that she had left her own cell phone at the base.

"Damn. I hope they don't try and get a hold of me. I hope I don't need to try and get a hold of them."

Oh well. If she needed to, she could pull off and use a pay phone, but she had to go through so many security channels to get through to who she needed to talk to. With her cell phone, which had encryptions on it, she could just dial right in. The line was still considered an open line, and no important information was ever divulged, but still. It was better than a public phone any day.

Just as traffic began to move freely again, Sam saw her exit. She looked again at the clock. 6:12. She had about fifteen minutes of lonely two-lane road to go before she hit the first security check point. She knew her way by heart, not really having to think about where she was going. So she was totally surprised when she rounded a bend, and a utility truck was working in the middle of the road, with a crew of workers. A flagman, raised his little stop sign, and Sam slowed to a halt. The worker walked up to Sam's car window, as she rolled it down to talk to him.

"How're you doin' ma'am? This route is going to be a little slow for a while, you might want to turn around and find another way through." The gross, unshaven, very overweight construction man was checking Sam out from head to toe as he spoke, trying not to stare too long at her beautiful legs. Sam was in no mood to be dealing with a slob like this today.

"Well, HOW SLOW, and for HOW LONG?" Sam demanded.

"For about two, maybe three more hours. If you try coming back this way around lunchtime, we should be all finished by then." The worker was chewing gum, a big wad of it from what Sam could tell, and the stench of Juicy Fruit, almost made her gag.

"Now wait just a minute. You guys weren't here when I drove home, coming from the other direction less than two hours ago. You mean to tell me that there is something wrong with this road now, that wasn't wrong with it two hours ago? Or yesterday? You couldn't have done this yesterday?" Sam was pissed, and this guy was going to get the brunt of it whether he knew it or not. " And second of all, two or three hours to do what, patch a frigging hole?" Just then, Sam saw another car pull up behind her. She looked closely in her rearview mirror. It was Janet. Of course Janet wasn't supposed to be at the base until seven, like the rest of the base personnel, so it made sense to Sam to see her pulling up behind her at this time of the morning.

"Well Ma'am. Yesterday was Sunday, and we just got here about ten minutes ago to start work today. Sorry for the trouble. We'll be done in a bit." The guy started to walk away, but after the previous couple of hours, Sam wasn't putting up with any more crap. She opened the car door, and got out. She looked behind her to acknowledge Janet, who just put up her hands and shrugged, but stayed in her car.

Sam approached the men who were working on a hole that Sam could have filled up with spare soil samples that she had sitting around her lab.

"Now you gentlemen listen to me." Sam said in a low growl just loud enough so that everyone could hear. From behind, Janet too rolled down her window so that she could hear what was going on.

"My name is Major Carter, United States Air force. There is a very big event going on today at the military facility down the road. And since you are not Government employees, you do not need to be here. Now, I have had the morning from hell. I fell asleep on my lab reports this morning, drove home on an empty stomach, and an empty gas tank, fell through my front door when I tripped over my boots, the shower was cold, I ripped a pair of pantyhose, I forgot to shave one leg, I got behind a cell phone Nazi and I was stuck in traffic on the freeway. Not to mention the fact that you guys are here filling in a hole that I could dig with a sand shovel, and I haven't had my coffee yet!!! So if you do not move this equipment out of the way enough to let at least one lane of traffic pass, then I will call the base, and you all will be detained for trespassing on and damage to government property." Sam gasped as she ran out of breath.

Another worker, whom Sam guessed was in charge, strode quickly over to Sam.

"That's not necessary ma'am. We can move the equipment to let you ladies by. And a whole lane of traffic. The job might take us a little longer, but I am sure the boys wouldn't mind a little bit of overtime today. We'll get it out of the way right now for you. We just don't want any trouble with that military base. We know all about the secret experiments those guys do down there, and a lot of people go in, but not a whole lot come back out. We just don't want no reason to have to go IN in the first place. C'MON FELLAS! LET'S GIT THIS STUFF OFF TO THE SIDE, AND START ANOTHER FLAGGER FOR THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROAD SO WE CAN DIRECT THE OTHER CARS!!!!!" Will that be all ma'am?" The worker was just as scraggly as the other had been, only he was the polar opposite physically. Short, skinny, and whiny.

Sam walked back to her car and gave Janet, and now a third car that she recognized going to the base, both a thumbs up, and climbed back inside. She looked at the clock on the dash. 6:43. Had it really been a half an hour since she exited the freeway? She started to sweat just a little under her arms, and behind her knees. The command inspection was scheduled to start in seventeen minutes. And she hadn't even gotten through security yet.

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