Many of the characters within this story, and the universe they inhabit, are the intellectual property of Jason Katims Productions.
Roswell: Re-Imagined
Written by Horatio Jaxx
Chapter 35: Progress Report
Captain Ryan Kawecki had been working nearly autonomously over the three weeks that just passed. Other than General Pittman and his FBI liaison there was no one else he conferred with about the task he was given. General Pittman was the person heading up the operation, but Ryan knew that the result would be the product of his efforts more so than Pittman's.
Ryan was much more comfortable with managing and analyzing data. Orchestrating an investigation was not something that he thought he would ever be doing. In the beginning he thought that General Pittman would be doing the investigating and that he would be assisting. He quickly learned that the General was simply the middleman between him and the resources he needed to complete the task. Because of the secrecy attached to this endeavor, he was not given any subordinates with appropriate skills. Ryan felt completely alone in this effort. Even his FBI liaison was under orders not to question him about the objective of their work.
Ryan's greatest fear was that he was not suited for the task given him. Running an investigation was not something he was trained for. His specialty was analyzing data. He could not help but worry that he was looking in the wrong places and asking the wrong questions. He relied on his FBI liaison as much as he could without giving away exactly who they were looking for or why. He had the FBI gather the information he felt he needed, and then he personally filtered through mounds of paperwork, often late into the night. At the end of this three-week period, he had what he thought was an accurate picture of the teenage population throughout the state of New Mexico. Still, he had a trepidation that the Generals and the Deputy Secretary of Defense would not be impressed with his findings.
The meeting to evaluate the progress of his three-week investigation was set for ten o'clock on a Monday morning. Ryan, along with General William Pittman, waited in a Pentagon conference room for three others to arrive. The room they were in was just large enough to comfortably accommodate a ten-position conference room table. General Pittman sat at the far end of the table, relative to the room's entrance. Ryan sat at the first position to his right. In front of him was a thin manila file folder. On the wall behind General Pittman was a large map of the state of New Mexico. More than two-hundred pins, with red, green and white heads, were stuck in numerous locations on this map.
Within a two-minute time frame, starting at a minute before ten, the remaining three members of this meeting, Lieutenant General Glen Snyder-USAF Retired, Lieutenant General Spencer Garber-USAF Retired and Deputy Secretary of Defense Kevin Bartley, arrived. The Deputy Secretary took the seat at the opposite end of the table from General Pittman.
The men gave their greetings with short, emotionless, expressions. When all were comfortably seated, General Pittman began the briefing with an overall analysis of what he expected Ryan to say in greater detail.
"Gentlemen, we've accumulated some interesting numbers regarding the teenage population within the state of New Mexico."
"Wait a minute," General Snyder spoke up brusquely. "I thought the objective here was to find these fourteen teenagers?"
"We believe this has been an important first step," General Pittman responded without conviction.
General Snyder's displeasure with that answer was clearly seen on his face, but he sat back in his chair and waited on the briefing to elucidate that belief. General Pittman continued his opening statement, and then gave the briefing to Ryan nearly two minutes later. Ryan, in turn, removed several sheets of papers from the manila folder in front of him, got up from his seat, walked around the table and positioned one sheet of paper in front of everyone there as he spoke.
"We have tracked the birth records every teenager attending a school within the state of New Mexico," Ryan reported plainly.
The Generals and the Deputy Secretary briefly examined the paper given to them and then turned their attention to Ryan.
"Two-hundred and eighty-three of these teenagers had either no birth records, fraudulent birth records, or suspicious birth records," Ryan continued after stopping next to the large map of New Mexico. "We were able to dismiss two-hundred and twelve of these for reasons of ethnicity, nationality and length of residency. That left us with seventy-one candidates. However, it's this cluster in and about Roswell that we find interesting," he continued with a point to a cluster of red pins in the vicinity of Roswell.
"What makes them so special?" Deputy Bartley questioned blandly.
"The number is disproportionate to the population and, in particular, the number of sixteen-year-olds is disproportionate to the average across the state." Ryan answered with a hint of hesitance as he glanced back and forth into the eyes of three observers at the far end of the table.
"So, you think they're all located in the vicinity of Roswell?" Deputy Bartley questioned suspiciously.
"I believe it's possible," Ryan answered after a pause to consider what he should say.
"And this is all you've got?" General Snyder nearly roared at Ryan. "After three weeks you've found a group of children who don't fit the average in an isolated area."
Ryan was more than a little put out by the tone of General Snyder's remark. He took a second to take a deep inhale before responding to his query.
"The only details I had to begin a search with were their ages, ethnicity and the state they were adopted in," Ryan retorted with a hint of defiance.
"Then what you're telling us is that you have nothing," General Snyder rifled back.
"I'm telling you, Sirs," Ryan countered with equal speed, "is that I have found a peculiar anomaly."
General Snyder paused to give Ryan an angry study. General Garber and Deputy Secretary Bartley looked on with an almost passive appearance. After half a dozen seconds of silence General Snyder continued his cross-examination.
"Why would this nurse put all of these kids in one small area two hundred miles away from her?" General Snyder questioned with a hint of incredulity.
"Why split them up?" Ryan questioned in response with a challenging inflection. "We know that one of them is there. Why not all of them?"
"To disburse them," General Snyder countered strongly.
"Then we would be working under the assumption that disbursing them was Lieutenant Hytner's intention." Ryan countered quickly. "These numbers suggest that they may have been positioned within a defined area. I just thought it would be prudent to investigate that first."
General Snyder was clearly annoyed by Ryan's last remark. General Pittman was becoming increasingly ill-at-ease with the exchange. Deputy Secretary Bartley took on an intrigued expression.
"And you believe these numbers are a significant lead?" Bartley questioned mildly seconds later.
"I believe, sir, that the numbers are worth investigating," Ryan responded politely.
"And how do you suggest we do that?" Bartley questioned mildly.
"I … we thought a minor health scare could be used to test the blood of everyone in and around Roswell," Ryan answered tentatively.
"And what if you're wrong?" General Snyder asked with an inflection of surprise. "What if they're not all there?"
"Then we'll know that we need to expand our search," Ryan answered with a direct delivery.
"Then I suppose you'd want to check the blood of everyone in the state," General Snyder suggested with astonishment. "And if you still don't find them then I suppose we move on to neighboring states and then the entire country," he continued with a toss of his hands in the air. "If we go this route, we'll attract the attention of the national media," he concluded with obvious exasperation.
"I agree," General Garber supported a second behind with a look towards Bartley. "A public scare could draw unwanted attention."
Deputy Secretary Bartley gave Ryan a quiet study. Ryan took note of that and spoke into it.
"I'm talking about a minor medical scare in and about a small community," Ryan softly pushed. "This cluster is all wrong," Ryan finished with a point to Roswell.
"Okay, Captain Kawecki, let's be prudent," Secretary Bartley softly announced as he stood up. "I'll set it up with the Secretary," he spoke to General Pittman with a look.
General Pittman, along with Generals Snyder and Garber, followed the Deputy Secretary's lead and got up on their feet a second behind that statement.
"I'll be waiting for your call," General Pittman acknowledged with a nod.
Secretary Bartley paused to give Ryan a brief study, and then he added his final remark. "I'm looking forward to your next report …, Captain."
"Yes, sir," Ryan acknowledged with a nod.
With nothing more said, Deputy Secretary Bartley promptly turned and exited the room. Generals Snyder and Garber made their goodbyes with equal brevity and followed Deputy Secretary Bartley out the door. Several seconds after they had left, General Pittman turned to look at Ryan and spoke.
"I hope you're right about this," Pittman advised with a warning look.
"Me too, sir," Ryan spoke back. "Me too…"