Chapter 31: Camping in the Mountains

Cindy Wong, Brian Jones, Brian’s mother Dorothy, and his aunt Angie McGee watched as the chartered jet taxied into the general aviation area of Mather Airport.

“Brian, why didn’t they fly into San Francisco like we did?” Angie looked at her nephew.

“It’s easier to get people from a chartered plane to the rented SUVs here. We can load their luggage directly without waiting for baggage handlers.” He didn’t mention that it was also easier to keep a low profile here. The press was starting to pay attention to anyone associated with the Sawyers.

The three women went to greet the fliers while Brian drove the first of the SUVs over to the plane to make loading the baggage easier. He then went over and joined Cindy.

“Brian, you’ve already met my family. This is Anita’s parents, Bernardo and Angelino, and her sister Mariana.” They shook hands. “This is Debbie’s mother, Helen Page. Brian also works for Sawyer Holdings and is a student at Stanford.” They shook hands. Cindy turned to her father and uncle. Dad, Uncle Charlie. If you would drive two of the SUVs, Brian and I will drive the other two. We’ve set the navigation systems to the turnoff to the cabin. Bao, Tom, Mei-Xing, Cheng, and Anita, would you ride with me? Everyone should use the bathroom before we go. It’s in the building over there.” She motioned to her dad and uncle. “Let me show you how the navigation system works while the guys load the luggage.”

Cindy, her father, and uncle walked over to the other SUVs.

“Good that you are both wearing jackets. There are automatics with shoulder holsters in the glove compartments of all the SUVs. Brian and I are also carrying them. We have had other terrorist problems since you left. We think that we are tracking them all, but we are pulling everyone up to the cabin for the campout.” Cindy saw the questioning look on her father and uncle’s faces. “No questions and try to keep the speculation under control. Dream big, and you might come close.” She had a smile on her face. “Let me show you on the navigation system where we are going. I haven’t been there, but Brian has. We will have people watching for people tailing anyone once we get into the mountains, so just ignore any tails and let them handle it unless they try something. It could be the press, so don’t shoot to kill unless they get hostile, but don’t risk anyone.”

“What’s happened?” Her father asked.

“They added a drug to the opposing team’s water at the football game last Saturday, but Sarah and Ashley handled it.”

“Yes, we saw that on the news, but they arrested the men who did it.”

“The FBI is keeping tabs on the men that ordered the attack. They are planning something, but we don’t have information on it yet.”

“They think going up into the mountains will keep us safe?” Charlie Wong asked his niece.

“We have SEAL Team 5, the FBI’s San Francisco SWAT team, Marines from Brian’s old company, and others with us.”

“And the terrorists won’t know about the camping in the mountains in time to set something up.” Eddie Wong smiled at his daughter. “Anything new on the bunker?”

“No, but Fred and Kay confirmed the site that Anita told us about.”

Eddie nodded. “We have a wedding gift for them.”

It was annoying to Laura Stevens that her brothers and father were talking nothing but football with Dr. Rice. She sat looking out the window at miles of trees, but her imagination had her far away. She was daydreaming about what it would be like to be like Sarah Pierce. She pictured herself taking the ball down the field and scoring again and again with the other girls unable to stop her. When she got tired of that, she imagined saving Paul like Sarah had done. Not jumping on him as she had done but saving him from a mugger when they were out on a date. She had a crush on him for the past two years.

Her thoughts returned to the real world. There were two men sitting in a Hummer back off the road. It looked like they had guns. “Dad, I saw two men sitting in a truck in the woods. They had guns.”

“Laura, did they look like they were in the military?” Thad asked her.

“Yes, they had really short hair and the truck was one of the Hummers that the military uses.”

“They’re probably the guards set out to ensure no one is followed.” He looked in the rearview mirror. “They didn’t pull out to follow us, so they might be the guards.” He held up his phone. “Troy, take my phone. Look for Marsha Poe’s number. She’s the lead FBI agent that talked with you last Saturday. Tell her that Laura spotted two men in a Hummer a couple of miles after Mi-Wuk Village on 108. She will know if they are the guards.”

Troy makes the phone call.

“Dad, why do you have Sarah Pierce’s and Ashley Sawyer’s phone numbers and email addresses in your contacts?” Troy asked.

“Ashley loaded them Monday when I was testing them.”

“Thad, why were you testing the girls? I thought you were just testing Mark Sawyer.” Teresa Rice looked over at him.

“I wasn’t supposed to mention this. They were going to tell everyone when we have the meeting. The two girls were changed by what we believe is the same agent that affected Mark when they were six. Their abilities exceed his. We believe it’s because they had longer for the effects to improve them.” Thad appeared relieved to be able to tell them.

“This happened at the cabin?” Teresa asked.

“Yes.”

“Dad, does that mean that the same thing may happen to me when we are up there?” Laura was excited.

“Yes, that’s why they are inviting so many people up there. Your mom and I felt that the chance of exposing all of us to whatever causes the change was worth the risk. We know that four people have benefitted from the change. This may be the last chance for ordinary people to just go there and catch whatever is causing the change. The government will probably put restrictions on it.”

Teresa laughed. “The FDA will want to test it for decades before believing it’s not harmful. In the meantime, anyone with enough money or political pull will be able to undergo the change.” She paused then nodded. “It’s a brilliant idea to get a large enough sample to show whether or not the change has any harmful effects.”

“Dad, who is the fourth person?” Troy was wondering if it was Sarah’s brother, Jimmy. He had been almost impossible for any opponent to stop him this year.

“Ali Hajjar. He may have benefitted the most. He had had mental and physical disabilities before he was exposed. Now he is a healthy young man that’s a very gifted artist. He was the first to have undergone the change. Finding Ali is the reason that Ashley and Sarah spoke to Mark about the possibility that they had also been changed. He had suspected it. They told your mother and me, two other doctors, the other leaders that they are working with, and I expect a few other people.” He glanced over to Dr. Rice. “They didn’t tell the President or anyone else in Washington. The story is that they needed a lot of people to search for the plant that is causing this. We will be doing that also, but it is definitely secondary.”

Bruce Canham had picked up Ali’s parents and sister early Saturday morning. They hadn’t questioned all the security as they drove up to the mountains since they had seen it at the Sawyer Holding facility where they both now worked. Bruce expected them to start pumping him for answers, but they got to the cabin without any questions. Seeing Ali waiting on the porch drove the questions from their minds.

Mark opened the back door of the SUV for Siobhan Hajjar and her daughter. “Mrs. Hajjar, I’m Mark Sawyer.” He offered her his hand to help her out of the SUV, then did the same for her daughter.

“Just call me Joan. This is my daughter, Abby.”

Saqeel Hajjar came around the vehicle to join his wife and daughter, but he was intercepted by his son.

“Dad, I’ve been drawing all kinds of things for them. Mostly plants, but there is also this mountain where they believe men built a fort against an attack by aliens.” Ali stopped when Ashley put her hand on his shoulder.

“Saqeel Hajjar, I’m Ashley Sawyer. We’re happy to have three of your family working for us. Sally Pierce says that you have been very helpful in contacting other former RUSTI employees for us.”

Saqeel was amazed that this girl had correctly pronounced his name. Even his wife didn’t do as well. “Thank you for giving me my old job back and finding a position for my wife.” He shook the offered hand. The grip was as strong as any man’s grip, though the hand was that of a woman.

“Well, when Abiageal is ready for work, we should have a part-time job for her. We also have very good education benefits, so all four of you should look into them. We encourage all of our employees to get as much education as they want. There’s no such thing as an overeducated person.”