“I’m afraid she is right. I am a reporter. I won’t try to smooth talk you and I don’t want to waste your time. I’ll come right to the point if that is okay with you?” George said.
“Then by all means, come to the point,” the doctor said.
“I am thinking about doing a story on Area 51. Specifically the facility called S-4. Are you aware of such a place?”
The doctor took off his glasses and wiped them with a handkerchief from his coat pocket.
“I take it you have had the good sense to do a background check on me. You must know that I indeed do know about S-4. I spent a great deal of time working in the EBL facility.”
“EBL?”
“Extraterrestrial Biological Lab.”
“Extraterrestrial? You mean as in little green men?”
“Whatever you would like to call them Mr. Snapp.”
“Sir, I did do some checking on you and I can find nothing to back that up,” Snapp said, sitting down on the porch banister.
“Then you haven’t been looking in the right places,” the doctor said, smiling and mopping his brow with a second white handkerchief that he took from his other jacket pocket. He folded it very precisely before replacing it.
“And where are the right places?”
“Look at the body of my work. What I was trained for. Whom I have worked for. Do you know who EG & G is?”
“No, I don’t think so,” Snapp admitted.
“You need to find out. I’ll tell you one thing. They do the hiring for the scientists who work at Dreamland. No one gets into that place until they have vetted them first”
“And they will confirm that you worked for them?”
“Good heavens no. They will totally deny it. Not only that, they will tell you that they don’t even know what or where Area 51 is.”
“So how is that supposed to help?”
“That’s what you need to find out. Who the hell is EG & G? Why do their people handle the security for the entire area? Why they will deny supplying security for many of the Nuclear Reactor sites around the US? Start by finding out just what they do and who else they don’t work for,” he said and chuckled.
“Doctor, this really isn’t helping much,” Snapp said.
“Why don’t we take a little walk? Maybe I can show you something that will put you on the right track.”
The doctor got up and slowly straightened, rolling his neck around. George could hear the creaking noise from where he sat.
“Please, come with me,” he said and led George through the house and into the large building out back. It was not a garage; that was for sure. It was a laboratory and it was exceedingly well equipped with stainless steel tables, tubes with different materials in them, an electron microscope, and many other items that he didn't recognize.
“Here,” the doctor said, opening a filing cabinet and taking out a large book. It was filled with pictures, paper clippings and documents. Right in the very front, on the first page was a badge that said:
ULTRA TOP SECURITY
LEVEL 6 CLEARANCE
DR. DAN CANE
EBL MJ-12
“It was my security badge. Turn it over and you will find who issued it.”
Snapp took it out of the plastic cover and turned it over. On the back was the date of issue, a signature that was scrawled out and property of EG & G Inc.
“How do I know this was yours? It says Dr. Dan Cane. Who is that?”
“I am, or was. No one uses their real last name for security reasons. We keep our first name most of the time because that is an easy one to get stumped on. I was Dan Cane.”
Snapp looked at him, waiting for a more satisfactory answer. None came.
“All right, suppose I buy into that; it doesn’t say anything about this alleged Area 51 or Dreamland if you like. There's no mention of this secret S–4 lab,” George said.
The doctor smiled and handed the book to him and said, “Read.”
George spent the next two hours going over the documents, taking notes and asking questions. Each page seemed to bring more questions than it answered. His head was spinning by the time he finished the last page. He saw several pictures of the man before him with the name listed as Dr. Dan Cane. Several awards for scientific breakthroughs were in the name of Dr. Cane as well. He closed the book and sat, lost in thought.
“Hungry?” the doctor asked.
“Actually yes. I didn’t realize how long we have been at it.”
“Loretta, would you bring us a couple of sandwiches and something cold to drink?” he said over an intercom.
“I’m your secretary, not the maid,” she replied back.
“She’ll bring them,” he said and smiled.
He gave Snapp a complete tour, explaining what each piece of equipment was used for and what he had been experimenting with.
A few minutes later, Loretta brought in a tray of sandwiches, a pitcher of ice tea and a freshly baked pan of brownies.
“Thank you dear,” the doctor said.
“Humph,” she said and walked out.
“Told you she would bring them. She baked brownies for us too. She must like you,” the doctor grinned, rubbing his beard.
They ate with little conversation until they had finished.
“This is way over my head. I didn’t understand half the information I read. What the hell is MJ-12 anyway?”
