Mountains of Dawn

Tanya shivered. What had started as an Indian summer day, warm and sunny, began to give signs of cold weather on its way. The westerly breeze blew, intermittent at first, whirling the softest leaves with levity and grace. By afternoon and nearing time for her appointment, the breeze turned into a steady and pungent wind which broke off branches and forcefully bent trees.

She watched two men nail logs together and raise a snow fence along the open field surrounding the headquarters of Malcolm Clark. At a distance, a ravine and dense wood flanked the building on two sides.

Tanya drove her rental car around the circular driveway which had been cut through the middle of the front lawn. She stared at the building as she approached-purple and gray bricks, interspaced with long, dark windows, and unpainted concrete for the sides. The two-story construction gave the appearance of a normal business center, rather than the headquarters of an intelligence agency.

She saw one C band parabolic satellite receiver and three new RCA digital dishes behind the building in a fenced area. Certainly is high tech, she thought, awed. I have no idea what those things do, but I'm sure they're linked to outer space. She grinned. "Might even be trying to talk to extraterrestrials," she said aloud, the sound of her own voice reassuring.

She pulled her car in front of the building and parked, leaving the keys inside, just in case someone needed to move it. And she entered the headquarters of the Invicta.

In the reception room, she sat on a brightly upholstered chair and fingered the metal cross she wore around her neck. The magazines on the low, square table in front of her held no interest, nor did the collection of recent movies near the VCR and the television set.

What's the worst that can happen? she thought, philosophically. I'll have to leave town. Regrettable, but not a tragedy, like Kathy's death. What will be… She sighed.

Judith leaned into the room from the doorway. "Mr. Clark wants to see you now," she said, with a smile. "He prefers to see you alone, so I'm off to the basement. I can't wait to check out all the equipment they have."

If it weren't for his warm smile, Malcolm Clark would have terrified Tanya. The man stood six feet ten inches tall and weighed more than two hundred and fifty pounds. He wore wrinkles on his forehead and around his mouth and eyes like badges earned 'above and beyond the call.' He showed the wear and tear of his calling, as well as the pain he'd seen over the years.