“I don’t know. He is the President. He’s supposed to know what they are doing. If he doesn’t, who does?”
“And there you have it. That’s the real question isn’t it?”
“You didn’t give me a direct answer Director. Were you aware of this before these tapes?” she asked.
He looked at her for a second and said, “No Sarah. The President has never confided anything remotely like this to me.”
“Okay I’ll accept that,” she said finally.
“If I had known about it, do you think I would have let you follow up on this?”
“You know I would have any way. Like you always say, I’m tenacious.”
“Did I say that? I thought I used the term bullheaded,” he said, trying to lighten the mood.
“I don’t mind either one actually. Though I do prefer tenacious, given a choice.”
“So where do we go from here?” Willis asked.
“Where
“Well, the more people we tell the harder it is to keep secret. The number is growing which increases the chance of this getting out. I guess I should go directly to the President with this. Show him the material and let him decide what to do,” Director Eller said.
“I agree. I wanted to do that myself but I figured you might not take too kindly to that,” Sarah confessed.
“Very astute. I would not have taken very kindly to that at all,” he assured her.
“Hi Stella,” Eller said, “It's Raymond Eller,”
“Yes Mr. Eller, I recognize your voice,” she replied.
“Really?”
“Yes, it’s very distinctive,” she told him.
“Is that good or bad?” he asked.
“Neither, it is just distinctive. Don’t read anything else into it,” she said.
Stella was stoic, grumpy, and past the age of retirement. She had been a fixture at the White House for longer than anyone could remember. Her sense of humor was practically nonexistent.
“I need to meet with the President. Can you find a time to fit me in?”
“How much time do you want?” she asked.
He knew that no matter what he told her, she would schedule it for less.
“I need at least two hours,” he said. It was met with silence on the other end.
“Stella?”
“I was just waiting for you to make a reasonable request. You know that there is no way I can schedule a two hour block of time for you,” she replied.
“I’m afraid that you will have to this time. Tell the President it concerns information about MJ-12,” he said.
“MJ-12?”
“Yes. Just that. He will understand and I am sure he will find the time to see me,” Eller said.
“Very well. I’ll give him your cryptic message and will schedule you accordingly,” she replied.
“Thank you. You know where to reach me,” he said.
“I should by now,” she said and hung up.
He was reviewing the station status reports when his phone rang twenty minutes later.
“Raymond Eller.”
“Mr. Eller. This is Stella Watson calling from the White House.”
“Yes, I know. You have a distinctive voice,” he said trying to suppress a chuckle.
“Touché. The President would like for you to come to the Oval Office as soon as you can get here. He has cancelled some meetings to make time for you. Please come as quickly as you can,” she informed him.
“I’m on my way,” he said, gathering up his briefcase.
He told his secretary where he would be and immediately started off. His office, located on the corner of 18th and C Street was just two blocks from the White House so he decided to walk. It would be faster at that time of day. Six minutes later he presented his credentials and was taken to the West Wing.
Stella greeted him and immediately ushered him into the Oval Office.
“Raymond, thank you for coming on such short notice,” the President said, coming around from behind his desk and shaking his hand.
“Mr. President, I should thank you for seeing me so soon,” he replied.
“Please, have a seat. Would you like something to drink?”
“Water will be just fine,” he said, knowing the President's routine well by now.
“Your message, MJ-12. Tell me, how did you happened to come by that and what does it mean to you?” the President asked.
The usual chitchat was dispensed with immediately.
“Sir, we were approached by a contact who wanted someone to listen to his story about government projects taking place at Groom Lake. According to our source, he is in possession of knowledge about the projects that are classified Ultra Top Secret and are taking place in a facility they term S-4. His story was quite amazing. Since then we have been trying to check his accusations and have talked to others who are telling virtually the same story. The two that we have interviewed both claim to have inside knowledge about the projects that they once worked on. Like I said, it’s quite some story,” Eller said.
“I see. And they claim to know all about the MJ-12 Group?”
“Yes sir. According to our source, one of them was once a member of the MJ-12 Group. Not an original member but a replacement,” he said.
“Really?” the President said, his eyes widening slightly, “That is very interesting indeed. And what else do they have to say about Groom Lake?”
