Part 11: Great Jobs and Bad Thoughts
Daniel pulled out a folder that was straining at its seams. The front cover proclaimed that it was 'Top Secret'. "Willow, we're been watching you for quite some time, your name has come across my desk on numerous occasions, the only problem being, that we didn't think you had the kind of training that we needed. A few weeks ago, the General got word that someone was researching my files, from before I went to work for the air force. They keep pretty tight tabs on everything that has to do with the employees for this project, the project that you are soon going to be working for, if you still feel like it is something that you want to be doing once we have told you what we do. We started watching who was getting my articles, reading my research. Now, every few years there's an ambitious university student that wants to resurrect my ideas. They usually fail to get anywhere at all, but we like to keep track, incase anyone gets too close. You got too close. And then I recognized your name, a name that the president himself has brought to our attention. I looked again at your file, it has increased exponentially in the past two or three years, and I felt, and Jack felt, that it was time to approach you. So here we are, in Colorado Springs, and as soon as you have glanced over this material, I think we can take you to the general, and we can have a real look at your new job."
There where very few papers in the folder, despite how thick it was, it was mostly full of CD's filled with information. I excused myself from the living room and extracted my computer from the bedroom, and went back to join Daniel. "What exactly am I looking at?" The screen filled with complicated symbols, most of which I hadn't seen the like of outside of demonology texts. Some of the symbols I was familiar with, some of them where completely foreign to me.
"This is the research that I have been doing over the past decade. These are ancient texts that we have come across in our travels. Most of these languages are dead, the civilizations that used that have long since abandoned them, but some are still spoken and read. Which has given me an opportunity to teach others, which is a great help with translations."
"Where are you finding these texts, the globe has been scoured by generations of archaeologists, how are you finding all this, when they are grasping at straws to find a genetic link between modern humans and apes?"
"I'll leave that up to Jack to discuss with you."
"Is there anything else that you can tell me before we go?"
"Not much, only that you are going to fit in just fine. And I'm looking forward to working closely with such a brilliant mind." It may have been my imagination, but something told me that Dr. Jackson was checking me out. I quickly guessed at his age, maybe thirty-five, only about ten years older then I was, not too bad, and he had a great body, very well developed. Maybe we could spar sometime, get a bit sweaty. What on earth was I thinking, I'm gay, and there will be no getting sweaty with a guy. There would be plenty of women in Colorado Springs that I could get sweaty with, but not any guys, I'm gay.
"I look forward to working closely with you as well. What exactly will be my position with in this project?" Yep, he was definitely looking at me, or maybe I was projecting, because I was definitely looking at him. I wonder what he looks like with his cloths off? Bad Willow, focus on what the good Doctor was saying.
"I would like you to work as my research assistant. From what I've heard and read, you have the kind of work ethic that I have been looking for, and a good deal of knowledge that I would like to have rub off on me." Oh, that one was too easy. Either he didn't know that he had just made a very sexual reference, or he was trying to be subtle.
"Sounds great and maybe some of those linguistic skills will rub off on me." Bad Willow.
"I don't think you need any help in the linguistic department. I've read your file, you read and write almost as many languages as I do, and you what, 24?"
"Twenty-five, but thank you for the complement."
"Why don't we head over to Cheyenne Mountain, I don't want to keep Jack waiting, he tends to get cranky when I'm late, and that's about everyday."
"I'll help you work on that, I'm allergic to being late."
"And another good quality in a research assistant."
Daniel led me out to his car, leaving my rental to sit in front of the apartment complex. I turned to get a good look at my new home; it was plain and simple, but good enough for a place to sleep. Something told me that I wouldn't be spending much time there; otherwise they would have found me something a bit bigger, after they had seen my house in Vermont.
"Don't worry, you wont have to spend much time there. You'll have your own quarters at the base. Most of my team does, we tend to work long hours. My apartment only has the things that I don't really need at the base in it."
"You completely just read my mind."
"Yeah, well…great minds do think alike."