In the Beginning: Mars Origin "I" Series Book I (25 page)

Washington,
D. C.

December,
1999

The day had started out horribly. A
blizzard had brewed up overnight and had hit hard. With it came more than a
foot-and-a-half of snow. Robert Kevron spent two hours cleaning the snow off of
his car, shoveling the driveway and traveling from his home in Maryland to the
his office at the Department of Defense.

He had a huge office overlooking the
Potomac, twenty-five years on the job, four years to retirement and as a
high-level counterintelligence officer he had a head full of top secret
information to which only a handful of people were privy. He often wondered
what his fate would be once he was left the daily grind.

The term ‘Top Secret’ meant very little to
him anymore but he knew that someone must hold that term near and dear to their
hearts because it was always stamped all over the papers he received. He had
become immune to the ‘nasties’ the government participated in covering up. It
was important not to let fear from his knowledge of terrorists and covert acts
overcome him. He knew that if he did, he wouldn’t be able to keep any kind of
worthwhile existence. This was just a job. He didn’t get hung up on the
intricacies. He didn’t tell many other people that, though. He liked for others
to think that all this ‘spy’ stuff was a priority in his life. It wasn’t.

Tall and fit, he had blue eyes, light
brown hair and a square jaw, looking much younger than his fifty-eight years.
He was counting the days until he could move back to Alabama, sit back and
relax with a tall glass of sweet tea in one hand and a hunting rifle in the other. 
This job had really made him a cynic, and he looked forward to not having
anything to worry about except what he would shoot for supper.

All the snow had stranded and stalled most
of the cars that had ventured out. Mr. Kevron and his black Chevy Blazer didn’t
have any problems getting through and he was thoroughly irritated with everyone
else that had gotten in his way by the time he got to Arlington. Taking a back
corridor that led directly to his inner office, he checked for his cup of
piping hot coffee that always was on his desk, front and center, when he
arrived. This morning, there was nothing.

“One would think that one could at least
have a cup of coffee in one’s own office on such a cold and dreary morning,” he
spoke loudly, but to no response. “Did the coffee beans freeze as well?”

He turned on his intercom and in a booming
voice tried to summon his secretary.

“Ms. Adams,” he yelled into the mic.
Hopefully his formality would get him a quicker response and let her know how
serious a situation this was.

No answer.

“Ms. Adams,” he shouted again into the
intercom, moving closer to it to make himself more audible.

Still, no answer.

He walked out to the front office,
“Angela,” he shouted, rotating back and forth with his arms outstretched. 
Everything looked the same as it had the night before.

He walked back into his office just as the
phone rang. He stopped in his tracks and stared at it. He wasn’t in the habit
of answering his own phone. It rang twice more before he walked over to his
desk and picked it up.

“Hello?” He asked more than stated.

“Mr. Kevron, this is Angela.”

“Yes, Angela, I was just looking for you
and my coffee.”

“Well, Sir, I’m running late with the snow
and all,” she said in a rushed voice. “My car wouldn’t start, and I’m waiting
for AAA now.”

“Then you’ll be in?”

“Yes. Well, actually, first I’ll have to
get my daughter to daycare and then I’ll be in.”

He sat down hard in his chair. “Well, I
guess this means I’ll have to make my own coffee, huh?’ he replied, clearly
agitated.

She answered apologetically, “I guess so,
Sir.”

“Fine.” What else could he say? “Just get
here as soon as you can.” He hung up the phone and shook his head. “Whatever
happened to the secretarial pool? Aren’t they supposed to send someone over?”

“No coffee, no secretary, tons of snow,
what’s next, some major act of terrorism?” Just as he spoke the phone rang,
again.

“Hello.” He answered with more confidence
this time.

He could hear the person’s hesitation on
the other end. 

“Hel - lo,” he said again, drawing the word
out.

“Uh, yes, uh – may I speak with Mr. Kevron
please?”

“Major.” He recognized the voice. “What
can I do for you?”

“Mr. Kevron? Sorry, Sir, I didn’t expect
you to answer your phone.” Major Jack Hughes spoke on the other end.

“Get on with it,” Kevron said slightly
annoyed. “Tell me what you want. I’ve got to try and get me some coffee before
I go into caffeine withdrawal.”

“Well, Sir, I wanted to make sure you had
gotten in.”

“Yes, I’m here. Isn’t that obvious?”

“Yes, Sir. I’m sorry but I needed to inform
you that there needs to be a meeting.”

“Yes, all right,” he sounded less
irritated. A meeting meant possibly something ‘top secret.’ He knew not to ask
too many questions over the phone. “I see,” he said, “Come right over.”

He hung up the phone and went back out to
the outer office to look for a coffee pot. He knew once the “meeting” started
he wouldn’t be able to sit through it without being caffeinated.

By the time he rustled up some coffee from
the basement cafeteria and sat back down at his desk, Major Hughes was knocking
at his partially opened door and waiting for permission to come in. Jack Hughes
was handsome. Thick black hair, that curled if he let it grow too long, tan
colored skin, and dark, almond-shaped eyes. Probably right at six feet, he was
muscular and somewhat pigeon-toed. He held under his arm a single manila
folder. Mr. Kevron looked up and nodded.

“Still missing a secretary I see, Sir.”
Major Hughes, standing at the door in a blue, neatly pressed uniform, gave a
half-smile.

“Yes, she’s still missing,” Kevron
answered. “But I did find me some coffee.” He held up the cup. “Come in, have a
seat.”

“We’ll have another participant, Sir.”

Mr. Kevron peered over the rim of his
coffee cup as he took another sip, surprised at the addition of a third person.

“Oh, okay. Show them in.”

Mr. Kevron set the coffee down on his desk
and stood to greet his guest.

 “This is Dr. Mark Phillips. He is in
charge of the Mars Space Mission programs at NASA. Dr. Phillips, our Senior CI
Officer, Mr. Robert Kevron.” Kevron leaned over his desk and shook hands with
the space guy.

“Pleasure,” Mr. Kevron said. Then walked around
his desk to his office door and shut it.

Returning to his desk, Mr. Kevron adjusted
himself back in his seat, “Sorry, I can’t offer you any coffee. My secretary’s
stuck in the snow.”

He gave Dr. Phillips a once over.
Sandy
colored hair, pocket protector, glasses, covering blue eyes that blinked
excessively
– typical
, he thought. At his waist Dr. Phillips wore a
pocket calculator in a case attached to his belt as if it were a gun in a
holster, which Kevron found funny. Initially impressed with his good posture,
Mr. Kevron cringed when Dr. Phillips’ opened his mouth to speak and a
high-pitched, nasal voice eked from his throat.

“Oh, that’s fine. I had a cup earlier this
morning.” Dr. Phillips said and smiled at Mr. Kevron.

 “So, what’s going on, Major?”

He cleared his throat. “Well, Sir, it
seems that NASA has made some, well should we say, ‘peculiar’ findings from the
soil samples brought back by their Mars’ probe.”

“Really?” Showing no sign of interest, he
blew into the cup and took another sip of his coffee.

“Yes, Sir. And it has come to our
attention that the potential knowledge by the public at large of their findings
may be a matter of public safety.”

“So what, you guys find Martians?” He
glanced over at Dr. Phillips.

“In a matter of speaking, Sir, they have,”
Major Hughes answered.

“Isn’t that what they’re looking for,
alien life? What’s the problem now?”

“Well, Sir, they didn’t actually find any
life or life forms, but they are assuming alien life because the soil showed
evidence of some kind of nuclear activity.” Mr. Kevron raised an eyebrow.

“Nuclear activity? Is that right, Dr.
Phillips?” This piqued his interest.

“Yes.” Dr. Phillips nodded and said
nothing more.

“Well, are you going to tell me about it,
or will I have to torture you to get the information?” Mr. Kevron said, raising
a questioning eyebrow.

“As you know,” Dr. Phillips began to speak
slowly, unsure of what to make of his comment, “over the past twenty-three
years we have had several space vehicles that have gone to Mars. Some
successful and some not so much.”

“In recent years we have collaborated with
the Russians on some of these projects and they have been extremely successful.
And, while we have found out some very worthwhile information over the years,
we have yet to find out anything this extraordinary.”

“Russians?” Mr. Kevron asked.

“Yes, Russians.” Dr. Phillips answered. “I
notice the hesitation in your voice Mr. Kevron concerning working with
Russians. However, I assure you we have worked very circumspectly with them and
as I said, it has been a very productive and valuable collaboration.”

He reached in his briefcase and took out
copies of a report. He handed one each to Mr. Kevron and Major Hughes.

 “In particular,” he began, “soil analyses
sent back by the
Mars’
Climate Orbiter before it stopped communicating back in September
showed some very
interesting data. Coupled with soil samples that we’ve collected over the past
decade, our interest in Mars’ history has risen exponentially.”

“Well, how did it get there?”

 “That’s where the problem lies, Sir.”
Major Hughes interjected. “Either it came from the, um, the Martians themselves
or some other life that invaded the planet. They’re not really sure.”

Dr. Phillips gave a look at the Major that
showed his disgust in the less than truthful statement. “Certainly, we have not
come to any such determinations. Presently, there are no such things as
Martians. Or, for that matter, any other known alien life.” Dr. Phillips’
dislike for being a part of this meeting seemed to equal that of Mr. Kevron’s.
“At least none that we have knowledge of.” Still he couldn’t let his feelings
lead him to make such conclusionary statements. “But, I don’t assume either,
that in this vast universe we are the only beings that exist. And this, what
we’ve found, is highly unusual.”

“So I’ll ask again. How did it get there?”

“We’re not sure.”

Mr. Kevron glanced down at his watch. He
really wasn’t too interested in all of this ‘space and beyond’ crap, especially
to this extent. His primary concern was what the left and right wing terrorists
might be doing, and keeping the public with insufficient information so that
there wouldn’t be any panicking until all was resolved. This sci-fi madness was
total nonsense to him. There was no present danger, and so, in his mind, no
real concern.

“What exactly is it that you’ve found?” He
was trying to push the conversation along to get to what he needed to know.

“The soil samples show an inordinate
amount of radioactivity. It is the same kind of activity that would be present
after some kind of nuclear reaction.” He paused, waiting for the impact of what
he had said to sink in. Mr. Kevron didn’t bat an eye.

“As you know,” Dr. Phillips surveyed his
audience, “or perhaps don’t know, radioactive elements have different rates of
disintegration. We can determine how long ago the radioactive emissions
occurred by the amount of the decay of the element that is present. This is measured
in half-lives, that is, the time it takes for one half of any given quantity of
a radioactive element to disintegrate. From our calculations, it appears that
the nuclear reaction occurred anywhere from two-hundred thousand to
five-hundred thousand years ago.  Now, just to give you some kind of time
reference, that is approximately the same time that intelligent human life
first appeared on Earth.”

Mr. Kevron looked from the doctor to the Major.
Maybe Major Hughes could help speed this up some
, he thought, get to the
part that had something to do with his job. “Jack? Where are we here?”

Major Hughes turned to the doctor, “Is
that all the information?”

“Uhm, yes. I believe that’s the bulk of
it.”

“Could you wait in the outer office there?
I just need to speak with Mr. Kevron in private.”

“Oh, sure. I’ll just get my things.” He
gathered up the reports, even the ones he passed out and hurried out the opened
door where Major Hughes had stationed himself.