Pegasus and the New Olympians (13 page)

Joel and Emily laughed.

‘That’s only a model.’ Emily put her arm around him. ‘A real spaceship would be much bigger.’

Paelen didn’t look convinced. ‘If there were aliens, surely they would use the Solar Stream and not have to come here in these things.’

Agent T returned with a key to one of the caravans. He leaned closer and kept his voice low. ‘Only you Olympians use the Solar Stream. The other aliens we have captured use vehicles like these.’

Emily looked at the ex-CRU agent in shock. ‘How many have there been?’

‘Quite a few,’ he said cryptically, but then changed the subject. ‘We got a caravan for the night and can drive the trailer right up to it. Then I want us all to go into the restaurant and behave like one big happy family.’

‘But I am not hungry,’ Paelen said.

‘It doesn’t matter,’ Agent T said. ‘This is the only place to eat within fifty miles. You can bet there will be workers from Area 51 coming here. Some of those will be with the CRU. And if I am completely honest, I would suspect that some of the people who work here are with the military. What family would come to stay and not eat at the only restaurant in the area?’

Emily frowned and looked around nervously. ‘But why would someone from the military work here at a restaurant?’

Agent T sighed and shook his head. ‘After everything you have seen and learned about the CRU, you still don’t understand? Emily, think. This is the only place to eat that’s anywhere near Area 51. Rachel, Nevada, attracts every kind of person; from alien fanatics to reporters and conspiracy theorists. It’s only logical that the military and especially the CRU would have a plant working here to check out the people who might be coming to the base. So let’s just go in there and behave like travellers passing through.’

They headed into the small restaurant. Alexis, wearing Pluto’s helmet, stayed close to Emily, Joel and Paelen as they looked around at all the pictures and UFO memorabilia on the walls. There were display racks selling Area 51 T-shirts. Coffee mugs had aliens and ‘Area 51’ written on them. Computer mouse pads had the Area 51 warning sign on them and several books written about the secret base. Even the menus had little aliens on them and were offered for sale.

There were a number of people sitting at the bar and at the tables eating and talking softly. A group of men were playing pool. Music filled the air and the mood was light.

As they settled at a large table and their orders were taken, the middle-aged waitress smiled and casually asked why they were there. ‘Come to see the aliens?’ she asked Joel playfully. ‘Maybe see the entrance gate to Area 51?’

Agent T smiled and laughed lightly. ‘My kids and brother want to, but we’ve got a schedule to keep. We’re moving a couple of horses further up north. But we thought it’d be fun to come this route. We’ve heard of this place and wanted to see it for ourselves.’

Earl put down his menu and lightly asked. ‘So have you ever seen anythin’ in the sky here?’

The waitress shrugged. ‘I don’t look.’

Emily thought that was an odd answer, but remained silent. She watched the waitress closely. Although she smiled and chatted in a friendly manner to all her customers, there was something troubling about her. The woman’s answers were too rehearsed and there was a hardness around her eyes. She stood like she had a pole up her back and wasn’t allowed to lean or slouch.

Alexis was also suspicious. When the waitress returned to the kitchen to place the orders, the invisible Sphinx followed her in. Alexis returned several minutes later and quietly told Agent T that the waitress had gone into a room and spoken softly with someone. Though she couldn’t hear everything that was said, the waitress did mention the family travelling north with a horse trailer.

‘So far so good,’ Agent T said. He looked at the others at the table. ‘Just act natural.’

As their food was delivered, Emily was impressed with the act Agent T put on. He was nothing like his normal self. He smiled readily, told silly jokes and even had a sparkle in his pale-blue eyes. He acted exactly as a father should. Emily wondered what he would have been like if he had never joined the CRU and instead had had a family. She imagined her own father might have even liked him.

When they left the restaurant, everyone paused to look up at the star-studded sky. It was breathtaking and almost as beautiful as when they were flying up in it. Over to the south, they could see the glow of Las Vegas.

The temperature was noticeably cooler than in the day and the air was filled with the sounds of the desert. Coyotes howled in the distance while insects chirped and small animals scurried through the scrub.

As they made their way to their caravan, they heard other motel guests moving around and heading towards the restaurant. Dogs were barking loudly in their pen, not too far from where the trailer with Pegasus and Tornado was parked.

‘I hope the dogs don’t bark all night,’ Emily said. ‘I was planning to let Pegasus out of the trailer to stretch his wings. But I don’t want him drawing attention to us.’

‘Pegasus will have to remain where he is,’ Agent T said darkly. ‘I don’t want him taken out here.’

Emily noticed the ex-CRU agent seemed agitated. ‘Is something wrong?’

‘I have a bad feeling.’

‘As do I,’ Alexis agreed. ‘Coming here may have been a mistake.’

Emily looked around fearfully. ‘Should we leave and find somewhere else to stop?’

Agent T shook his head. ‘That would definitely draw too much attention to us. We’ve just got to be extra careful. Let’s get to the trailer and we can talk.’

Before climbing into the trailer, Earl and Joel went into the small rented caravan and turned on the lights. They closed the curtains and made it look as if there were people settling down for the night.

Soon everyone was gathered together in the horse trailer. Tornado Warning remained locked in his stall. The lights were off and everyone spoke softly.

‘This place is crazy,’ Joel said. ‘There’s no TV or telephone in the caravan. What are you supposed to do for the night?’

‘Sleep and then get out,’ Agent T said. ‘They don’t want people spending any time here. Especially this close to an active military base.’ He looked over to the Sphinx. ‘Alexis, we need all your skills right now. Let me know if you hear or feel anyone approaching the trailer.’

The Sphinx nodded and sat up higher. She split her attention between the meeting and listening for sounds outside.

Agent T shook his head. ‘This is going to be more difficult that I thought. There were a lot of military people in that restaurant tonight. The tension is high. Something big is going on at the facility.’

Earl looked at his friend. ‘I didn’t see no military folk.’

‘They were there,’ Agent T said. ‘You’ve got to know what you’re looking for. Like I told you, I visited Area 51 some years ago. Security was tight back then. But not like this. We’re going to have to watch ourselves.’

As the group talked, Alexis turned her head sharply. She held up a paw. ‘Someone is approaching.’

Emily felt a flutter of fear. The power within her stirred and started to rumble with the prickling of the Flame reaching her fingertips.

In an instant, Agent T changed his manner. He leaned closer to the group and laughed loudly. ‘And you know what?’ he called. ‘Your granddaddy never found out it was us who’d put the outhouse on the barn roof !’

He laughed louder and signalled the others to join in. He nodded at Earl.

‘That’s right,’ Earl added, joining in the laughter. ‘Momma knew, but she never told Daddy. To this day he still believes it was the boys down the road …’

As everyone laughed, Alexis waved her paw in the air, indicating they should continue. She crept closer to the side of the trailer and pointed at the wall. ‘He is right here,’ she mouthed.

Tiny flames burst from Emily’s fingertips as her fear increased. She tried to call the Flame back, but it wouldn’t obey. Pegasus nudged her, trying to get her to calm down.

Joel looked at the flames as they flickered several centimetres above Emily’s fingers. He laughed louder. ‘So, Uncle Earl, is it true what Dad told us? That you and him went fishing with dynamite?’

‘Sure did,’ Earl agreed brightly. ‘That’s the best darn way to get the big ones …’

Suddenly there was a loud knocking on the trailer door. Agent T motioned for Pegasus and Chrysaor to hide in one of the stalls. He nodded at Emily’s hands. She put them behind her back.

‘Who’s there?’ Agent T called lightly, returning to the role of the friendly father.

A man’s voice came from outside the door. ‘Is everything all right in there?’

Agent T went to the door. ‘Of course, everything is fine,’ he said, opening it. ‘Why do you ask?’

The man was holding up a flashlight. Emily could see his face. It was hard and cold as he tried to peer in past Agent T. ‘Someone reported strange sounds coming from here. We keep a secure motel. I just wanted to make sure everything was fine.’

Agent T swept his hand back to invite the man to enter and Emily’s heart nearly stopped. She balled her hands into tight fists to keep back the Flame.

‘Of course,’ Agent T said. ‘We understand. But my horses get a little spooked if they spend too long in the trailer. So my kids and I are spending some quiet time with them before bed. Would you like to come in and see for yourself ?’

Alexis was pressed back behind the door. Her eyes were bright and her claws drawn. She was poised to strike.

The man took the first step up into the trailer when a voice called him back to the restaurant. He paused for what seemed like an eternity as they waited to see if he was going to enter. Finally he stepped back down on to the ground. ‘Sorry to have bothered you folks tonight. We’re just being careful.’

‘We understand completely,’ Agent T said. ‘Have a good night.’ The ex-CRU agent stood at the door for a few minutes, watching the man go.

Joel looked at Emily. ‘You can turn that off now,’ he said, indicating her burning fists.

Emily calmed down and drew the Flame back into herself. ‘I don’t like it here. Maybe we should fly to the facility right now and see what’s happening and get out.’

Agent T closed the door and returned to the group. He shook his head. ‘They are suspicious enough already. We make one move and we’ll expose ourselves. We have to plan this very carefully. This base has got ground and air sensors that pick up visual, audio and heat traces. I know for a fact that by the time anyone gets within three miles of the gate or any of Area 51’s property, the authorities have seen them and know just about everything there is to know about them. This isn’t Governors or Tuxedo. This place has the highest security of all the facilities in the world. Even the President of the United States can’t get in here.’

‘What do we do?’ Paelen asked.

‘We use our heads and not our emotions,’ Agent T said coldly. His eyes rested on Emily. ‘And you, young lady, must control those powers of yours. We can’t have you setting things alight until we are ready.’

‘I know,’ Emily said, dropping her head. ‘Normally I can control them. But knowing that guy was just outside, it kind of got away from me.’

Agent T’s penetrating blue eyes bored into her. ‘Just like at the hotel in Baton Rouge with the exploding lamp? And what about at the Double R Ranch? It appears your powers get away from you a great deal.’

‘Yeah, what happened at the stable?’ Joel added. ‘Those two guys went flying! And you told us to stop them before your powers killed them.’

Emily realized she’d been exposed. ‘I’m so sorry,’ she started. ‘But I think I’ve got more powers than just the Flame and I can’t control them. Sometimes they get away from me completely.’

‘Why didn’t you tell us?’ Joel demanded, looking hurt. ‘Don’t you trust us?’

Emily shook her head. ‘That’s not it and you know it! I didn’t say anything because we have bigger things to worry about. I thought I could keep them hidden until we got back.’

‘What are these new powers?’ Paelen asked. ‘What can you do?’

Emily hated to tell her friends about her powers. She didn’t want them to discover she was even more of a freak.

‘I can move things,’ she started. ‘And sometimes they kinda explode …’

‘Like the lamp,’ Joel said.

Emily nodded. ‘And sometimes – but not very often – objects will disappear completely and I never see them again.’

‘Do they turn to ash like the gorgons did?’ Paelen asked.

Emily shrugged. ‘Not really, they just sort of disappear.’

Alexis sat down beside her. ‘Emily will soon learn to control these new powers as she can control the Flame. In the meantime, we must all help her remain calm and focused so her powers do not escape her again.’

‘Which is why we must plan our next move very carefully,’ Agent T said. ‘We can’t let Emily lose control. Agreed?’

Everyone nodded and agreed to help her. Looking at their determined faces, she wondered why she had been so worried to tell them.

‘Back to the problem at hand,’ Agent T continued. ‘I know for certain they have taken our vehicle details down and checked us out. The fact that we are still free means that someone at the Double R Ranch followed our orders and told the authorities we are moving horses. We are safe for the moment.’

‘That or they are raising an army against us,’ Joel said.

The ex-CRU agent shook his head. ‘No, with the base this close, they could be here in minutes. We are safe for the time being. I think our best course of action is to take a drive out to the base’s gates in the morning and see what it’s like in daylight.’

Emily asked. ‘Shouldn’t we go tonight while it’s dark?’

‘We must not make rash decisions,’ Agent T said. ‘If we overreact this could backfire on us. We must plan very carefully. Besides, we are all tired from travelling. We must be fresh and prepared before we move. Rest tonight, because tomorrow we move against Area 51 and the CRU.’

Emily and Earl remained in the trailer with Pegasus, Chrysaor and Tornado Warning. With Pegasus close at her side, Emily lay in the straw and curled into him. Exhausted from the long hot day behind her, she quickly drifted off to sleep.