Raymond had decided to find an empty place where he could stay the night in the event he ever stayed after dark again. He was just exiting the elevator and encountered a group of scientists waiting to get on.
“Hi, would any of you happen to know if there are any empty facilities on this level?” he asked. “I believe so, but you need to check with Major Keller. He handles the assignment of facilities on Level–5,” one of the men told him.
"Major Keller. He is located where?”
“He is over at the main base in the Headquarters Building. His office is just across the street from the big Base Supply and Administration Building."
“Thank you,” Raymond said and read the name tag on one of the men that said:
Dr. C.K. Gimbel
Ultra Top Secret
LEVEL — 9
“Hello Dr. Gimbel. I have been looking forward to meeting you. I’m Raymond Eller,” he said extending his hand.
“Oh, yes. I’ve heard of you Mr. Eller,” he said, shaking his hand.
“Dr. Gimbel, I would like to ask you a few questions about the project you are working on.”
”What project would that be?”
“Well, that’s one of the things I want to know. What project is your team working on? I see you have clearance to Level–9, but I didn’t find anything on that level,” Eller said.
“Dr. Gimbel,” one of the others in the group said. He quickly glanced at his watch.
“Mr. Eller, I would be more than happy to discuss my assignment at another time. We are on our way to attend a very important meeting and I simply must run. We are almost late as it is,” he said stepping on to the elevator.
“When would be a good time for me to look you up?” Eller asked, but the door was already closing.
Damn, he thought, I should have just gotten on the elevator and followed them to their meeting. He went to the phone that was on the wall at every level and looked up the number on the posted list of offices and services at the base. He dialed the 313 number listed for Major Keller.
“Major Keller’s Office, how may I assist you?”
This is Raymond Eller. I’m over at S-4 on Level-5 and I was trying to find out if there are any available facilities that I might use. I got caught out in the dark the other night and don’t want to have to repeat that again. Is anything available over here?”
“Can you hold a minute?”
“Sure.”
A few seconds later a different person came on the line.
“Mr. Eller. This is Major Keller. We have four empty billets available for your use. The following are open; 5–118, 5–122, 5–141 and 5–144. The last unit, 5–144, is the farthest from the elevator so you might want to consider the first two billets,” the major said.
“All right. I guess 5–118 is as good as any. How do I access the room?”
“Go down to the billet, the number is on a plaque on the door. On the left hand side of the door you will find a place to swipe your badge. Do that first. Right under that you will find a square screen, about ten inches by ten inches. Place your right hand flat against the screen. A light will scan your fingers and palm. The door will open. It will only open for you from that point on. Give me a few minutes before you do that so I can clear out any data that may be stored for that billet,” he told Eller.
“Got it. Do I need to swipe my card each time and do the print thing too?”
“That is correct. It is a double safety feature,” the major told him.
“Thank you Major Keller. You have been most helpful,” Eller said and hung up.
He walked down the corridor and passed Lynn’s pod. His was just a little further down the hall. He noticed that none of them had names on the doors, just the numbers. Just another safety feature he suspected. He took his time and finally arrived at B–118. He followed the instructions and the door clicked open. He turned on the lights and took a quick look around. All he would need to do was bring a few of his possessions from the officer’s quarters and stash them here, so a repeat of last night’s misadventure could be avoided.
The quarters weren’t much different from Lynn’s, but it smelled musty from not being used. Other than that, it would do quite nicely. He left and went back up to Level–1. It was going on 3:30p.m. and he decided he would take a drive to see what was around S-4.
The sun was hot as he drove the Hummer south, following the Papoose Mountains. It was not a big range, only a few miles long before they started to give way to hills and eventually desert. He came to a V in the road that led off in two different directions.
Looking at his map, he decided to take the one that went off to the right. It would take him around to the back side of the Papoose Mountains toward Gate 700. He had gone about two miles when he saw a side road leading off to his right. He stopped and looked at his map but found it wasn’t listed. He turned and headed down the dusty road.
