David Golemon - Event

Billy paused with a forkful of scrambled eggs halfway to his mouth and looked at the man in the funny suit. "Really?"

"Really. Going to be some very big planes setting down on Highway Eighty-eight right out there just about a half mile from town." Ryan looked at his filthy face in the mirror behind the bar.

As of one-half hour from now, the small town would be under quarantine. No one would be allowed in, and for the time being, no one would be going out until escorted out by armed security and placed in a safe hotel far, far away in Phoenix.

"All of this is for whatever's out there?" Billy asked, pointing toward the window with his now empty fork.

Ryan and Mendenhall exchanged looks, then Ryan smiled and looked down at the boy seated to his right.

"Out there?"

Billy took a drink of the milk his mother had given him. When he set the glass down, a nice white milk mustache covered the boy's upper lip.

"Yeah, whatever it is that's out there," he said, exasperated at the slow wit of the navy guy.

"You think something's out in the desert?" Jason asked.

Billy glanced at the batwing doors and heard his mother out in the kitchen making cooking noises. Then the boy just shrugged his shoulders and slid off the stool. "I have to go now," he said, grabbing an off-road helmet from the table behind him.

Ryan looked at the sergeant again, then back at the young boy. "Come on, you saw something out there?"

Billy placed the helmet on his head, squishing his ears against his head as he did so. "That's what I mean, mister, I haven't seen anything"

"What do you mean by that?" Mendenhall asked, leaning back on the barstool.

Billy stopped and turned. "Late yesterday I seen a whole bunch of rabbits and coyotes running away from the mountains, and since then I haven't seen anything, not even birds. It's like they were scared of something." The boy shrugged his shoulders, then walked out of the dining area.

"Hey, you stay close by because--"

But the boy wasn't listening. He was already through the door.

The two men were quiet as they watched the boy leave the bar and grill. Then they turned and Mendenhall shrugged.

Julie came through the door with two platters. She set them down in front of the two men and slapped napkins with silverware rolled up inside beside the two heaping plates. Then she wiped her hands and looked out of the large window in time to see Billy leave on his ATV.

"Damn, that looks good," Jason said.

"You didn't say how you wanted your eggs, so I just made them like I made the sergeant's" Julie said to Ryan, reaching for the coffeepot under the bar.

"Well, you guessed right," Jason replied, diving into his eggs and sausage.

As the two men ate their breakfast, Jason noticed a man on the television set above the bar. He was holding a microphone to his silent lips, with a caption below it that read, Capitol Building, Phoenix, Arizona.

"Ma'am, could you turn that up?" Ryan asked Julie.

Julie reached up and turned up the volume on the television set.

"... said the disappearance of the two state troopers has law enforcement agencies statewide on the alert. Now Eyewitness News has learned of a possible military deployment to the mountains just northeast of the small town of Chato's Crawl. What this means is anyone's guess, but there is a rumor starting from the halls of the capitol stating there may be some sort of outbreak among cattle in the nearby area. This is Ken Kashihara, Channel Seven, Eyewitness News , at the capitol building in Phoenix. Back to the newsroom."

"Well, that's got to please everyone from the president on down," Mendenhall said.

"Just what are you guys doing out there? You helping look for those bikers and state troopers?" Julie asked, hands on her hips.

Before Ryan or Mendenhall could think of what answer to give her, a thunderous roar filled the interior of the bar. Mirrors shook and glasses clinked and chimed as Juan and Carmella, who had been dusting around the green-felt-covered pool tables, turned and grabbed for Julie's antique storm lamps. Then the two cleaning people crossed themselves and cowered in the far corner by the dance floor.

Ryan swallowed the last drop of coffee in his cup and threw two twenty-dollar bills on the counter, then stood.

"Thank you, ma'am, it was delicious. Have to go to work now," he shouted over the noise. "I'll stop back by if that's alright with you, I like the way you cook." Ryan turned and followed the sergeant out the front door.

Julie ran to the window and watched the two men climb into a Humvee. The vehicle tore out of the parking area and headed out of town. She shook her head in amazement at the forwardness of Ryan, but pleased for some reason, she had to smile as the noise that surrounded the small town continued to grow louder. Then she looked to the right and left and saw both patrons and owners alike empty out into the street eager to find out what was shaking their quiet world on this Sunday morning.

The ten U.S. Air Force personnel Ryan had left on the highway one mile out of town had been busy. They had placed blue and white strobe lights every ten feet on both sides of the highway, and they were now flashing brightly. They were similar to the ones seen at any airport. This part of the highway had been picked for its flatness as there were no large dips, and it looked as if it would bear up under the excessive weight that was to be placed upon it. As Ryan and Mendenhall pulled up, an army specialist from the Event Group staff ran forward and saluted. Ryan returned the salute as he scanned the sky overhead. The security man was wearing a regular army BDU so he would blend in and wouldn't be asked any questions about his real outfit.

"All ready?" Ryan asked.

"Yes, sir, so far no one has entered the landing zone. But we do have a report from a Kiowa scout ship of a state police car heading this way from a dirt road about three miles to the east," the specialist said. "And three news helicopters out of Phoenix coming in from the west. The Apaches won't be here to intercept, sir. They just left Fort Carson and Fort Hood two hours ago."

Suddenly the first giant C-130 Hercules filled the sky, rising over a small hill two hundred yards in front of them. The huge C-130 banked sharply, its left wing seemingly only feet from the top of the rise, and at that moment it suddenly straightened and brought its nose down. Jason had never witnessed an air force combat landing before. The plane was down to a hundred feet before the nose came up. The landing gear exploded downward out of its belly as the wings of the giant plane caught the air. It flared, bringing the nose up suddenly, and the wheels chirped loudly as the "Herky" bird came into contact with the hot macadam of the roadway. The noise increased as the pitch on the sixteen propeller blades was reversed and the flaps popped high on the wing, further braking the great aircraft and slowing it even more. The rear ramp was coming down just as the plane hit the ground, and the brakes screamed as it came to a stop.

Immediately troops of the 101st Airborne Division ran deliberately down the ramp carrying equipment and weapons. Ryan was approached by a man wearing a tan desert BDU. His helmet was the same Kevlar German-type Ryan himself had been wearing the night before.

"You Lieutenant Ryan?" the man yelled over the noise of the aircraft.

"Yes, sir." Ryan saluted.

"Lieutenant Colonel Sam Fielding, 101st Airborne advance recon unit," the man said, returning the salute. "I'll tell you right now, mister, I was only authorized ten percent of my manpower for this, and they claim security reasons. Now I expect someone to explain."

They both turned as the thirty-five men of the first unit moved away from the Hercules, followed by a Humvee that shot down the ramp, its fifty-caliber machine gun and TOW missile launcher strapped down for safety while in transport. The plane suddenly revved its four engines to a high-pitched whistling whine while the pilot applied the brakes. Then when the engines were at full power, he released the brakes and the Hercules started its turnout roll. It quickly came up to speed with an assist from eight rockets and was in the air in less than 150 feet, climbing steeply into the sky.