Mystery in the Wind

Jack Thompson was cleaning up his future father-in-law’s backyard and looked out over the wide-open space beyond. It was mid-morning in mid-June and the air above the distant airport runway was beginning to shimmer in the Nevada sun. There was no breeze and yet dust devils often appeared unannounced except for the swirling dust and debris they carried along.

One of them appeared across the road and seemed to whimsically waver back and forth until it spun across the road and headed straight toward Jack. It stopped only when it encountered the chain link fence in front of Jack.

While it spent its last remaining energy swirling into the fence, it impaled a piece of paper.

Jack had enough yard work. He grabbed the paper from the fence. He wondered what the miniature tornado had brought. Jack's future father-in-law, Don Harris, was in the kitchen clearing the way to prepare for a weekend Harris family gathering. He could hear the sound of a second beer can opening to start the weekend. He looked at his watch; 10:30 might be early for a beer but it was Friday plus a family gathering! The trip from where is stationed is a 3-plus hour-long drive. It would be a long day beginning a welcome break The warm dry air made him thirsty. Don called him in and handed him a cold beer. 

Don Harris was a retired Air Force Captain and a good companion for future son-in-law Jack who was based at Nellis Air Force Base near Las Vegas. Don and his wife took retirement and moved to rural Nevada near Tonopah. A peculiar place, with lots of mining and military history. Nearby was what used to be an Army Air Force Base in the WWII era. It was converted to Air Force just before the war ended. Little remained now. It made a place for Civil Air Patrol and private aviation. Many other men and women like Don Harris retired there to slow down and enjoy less complicated lives among a lively community of friendly fellow Air Force and other retired military service personnel. 

Jack was engaged to Don’s daughter Sarah, an Air Force psychiatric nurse who often traveled to other locales but was based mostly near Nellis. 

“What is that bit of stuff the wind brought you, Jack?”

“Don, we’re a long way from a commercial airport but it looks like a boarding pass.”

“Look at this! It’s a boarding pass dated today. It’s for a flight from Fort Lauderdale to San Francisco and the departure time is 8:30 A.M. and the arrival time in San Francisco is 12:01 P.M.” 

Don said “So?”

“The date is today, June 15.”

“Impossible!”

“Don, wouldn’t you guess that plane should still be up in the air about now?”

“You have got to be kidding. How do you figure the boarding pass landed here by itself?“

“This sounds like something my favorite nephew would dream up.”

Skip, Don’s nephew was a total sci-fi fan. He could re-enact episodes of X-Files, Twilight Zone, or many others from memory. He collected ghost stories from the local Mizpah hotel to frighten travelers and guests. He was also a tech wizard and was always researching strange things. If you want to know about strange phenomena, just call Skip. If it wasn’t strange, Skip could improve its telling.

“No Don, Jack replied. This doesn’t make sense. Is this plane missing? Are there parts strewn around out there? Were there any loud noises sounding like a crash? Were there pieces falling from the sky?“

“Jack, even if the passenger failed to board the plane, how could the pass get here? This must be some sort of mistake.”

Don was a realist, pragmatic, very mature, and an observer of all things flight-related. He took things as they were and accepted some facts and some questions may be above his pay grade. 

Jack was less experienced and would grab a mystery like a dog on a bone. He was persistent and thorough. Sometimes, annoyingly so.

Outside, a car door slammed, and Sarah and her mom were walking up the walkway carrying large bags of groceries. “Don’t you fellas want to eat? How ‘bout giving us ladies hand?”

Don and Jack took a break from the puzzle and headed out to help unload Sarah’s Jeep. Jack greeted Sarah and her mom Martha.

While Don and Martha were busy in the kitchen, Sarah and Jack settled on the couch and Sarah asked “What were you two up to? Usually, you’re outside talking cars with a bear chaser when I arrive.”

“Sarah, it’s a very peculiar thing. The wind picked up what looked to be a boarding pass for an airliner that was flying from Fort Lauderdale to San Francisco. We guess the flight could have passed almost directly over us, but it seems impossible a piece of paper could make its way to us from a flight that maybe is still up there?”

Just then, Don walked in and grumbled “You still trying to solve the mystery?” and then said “We know weird things happen out here. Maybe we give in. Give it a few days, something will come to light that will explain it all. Meanwhile, it's “What happens here, stays here! If we go snooping around too much, we may find ourselves in trouble. It just seems impossible in any practical way.”

Don looked at Jack seriously and added “Son, you are diligent and thorough, but they just sidelined you as an electronics tech in a lab and have you doing something else. I’d cool it if I were you. And Sarah is doing well. Keep in mind that my daughter is used to a certain standard of living, and you need to pull your share!”

This hit a nerve with Jack. He’d been on his own since his parents died a decade ago in a plane crash. His aunt raised him, and it was hard pulling himself up by his bootstraps. He was doing ok was getting advanced training and a promotion.  It was a work in progress. But he couldn’t talk about it. Too soon to know where his career might be headed.

Sarah turned down a lucrative executive opportunity in D.C. with the Veterans Administration. She didn’t want to leave home or to leave Jack; she knew what it felt like to be left. Previously she’d been left, even at the altar.

After a sumptuous barbecue and a relaxed view of the desert sunset, Jack and Sarah had a private moment. Jack looked troubled. Sarah asked, “ Still working on that puzzle?” 

Jack said yes and then confessed that he called the nephew Skip. 

“You did?” Sarah asked looking wide-eyed even at this late hour. It was a long day.

“Yes, he confirmed everything on the boarding pass but the name of the passenger. The flight left half an hour late and arrived another 45 minutes late. The flight path took the aircraft almost directly over us and pretty close to certain places East.”

“Skip must have had a field day. East of here includes the Extra-terrestrial Highway and Area 51 of course. He must have gone through his Twilight Zone act. “

“Yes, but he said the flight info is verified and is even available online to the general public. I gave him the name of the passenger on the boarding pass. He said he’d dig deeper if he could. He will look for social media and news connecting to the name on the boarding pass. He also knows some people who can un-officially check other sources.“

“Jack, you need to let this go. No tilting at windmills. Will Skip’s inquiry go unnoticed? My dad probably gave you the “need to know talk” and the “stick to your lane or pay-grade talk?”

“Yes.”

“Yes, and I hear a but in there.”

That night neither Sarah nor Jack rested much.

Jack was dreaming a series of strange dreams. He dreamed of tourists visiting the local hotel, which claimed to be haunted of course. Then he dreamed of jogging on the road out beyond the Harris home and watching the stars and the moon. Suddenly in his dream, the moon was covered by the silhouette of a strange aircraft. Strangely the craft was noiseless and seemed to hover very slowly without making a sound even when it banked to the right and disappeared quickly to the East. Dreams stirred by wild stories and legends.

At the breakfast table, the next morning Sarah greeted Jack at breakfast. “Did you ever get to sleep dear?”

“Not exactly. My dreams were very entertaining if not downright scary.”

“Talking to Skip will do that!”

With the table and dishes done, the parents had gone into town for the local event. There was more serious talk.

“Sarah, I promise to stick to my own business. I don’t want to jeopardize either of our careers.”

“Jack, I want this to work too! I grew up here. I’ve been offered a position in D.C., but I want to put it off, maybe indefinitely – for us.”

Jack and Sarah headed out separately Sunday evening to be ready for Monday and life as usual. Each to their career.

Monday around 10: 00 am Jack got a call from his C.O. “What have you been doing? I had a call from the base command that you’re digging into some personnel information that is outside your job.”

“I got a strange note on a piece of paper and was following up. I don’t think it’s anything anyway. Probably, it’s all a mistake.”

“Stop it, unless you want to be re-assigned to somewhere not so nice. Please! I’ll say you made a mistake while following up on a lead we were checking into here. But it’s over now.”

“Thanks”, Jack said.

At noon Jack received a call from Sarah. She sounded disturbed.

“What is going on Jack? My girlfriend Shirley, who works at the café in Tonopah called to say some guy was poking around town. He was asking some of the town locals who you are. He was driving one of those large black SUVs that you see sometimes. You know, like you see upper echelon 3 letter alphabet agencies use. Not the usual local Air Force issue. “

“Did he give a name?”

“Yes Jack, he left a card and instructions to be contacted if Shirley runs into anyone with more information.”

“His name! What was his name?”

“Joseph Weaver.”

“Ok. I don’t know him.”

Jack didn’t exactly know him, but his name was the name on the boarding pass.

The passenger whose ticket came to floating down to earth minus its owner was looking for him.

“Please let this all just go away?” Jack thought.

At 2:00 p.m. Jack was asked to do a sweep of the perimeter of the base. He loaded up a van with gear and drove around with enough gear to capture any unusual radio chatter on any radio frequency in its range.   

This is what Jack was in training to do. He’d been promoted 6 months ago.

This was part of his new job.

The one he couldn’t talk about.

Next day by 12;00 the next day, he turned in the data for more exhaustive analysis.  Jack perused it and found a few unusual radio signatures from outside the base.  Someone was curious and that was upsetting certain people.

Jack called his C.O. later to say “Thanks for trusting me. I know it’s my job to gather the data, not speculate or try to interpret it. I didn’t mean to attract any personal attention Lesson learned!”

C.O. Commander Wilson agreed, “I hope now this will all take a rest. We will probably have you do another scan next week. By the way, your tenacity can be a weakness or sometimes a strength. I’ll give you that! I’ve been told to stand down on this. It’s gone up the chain of command and out of our hands.”

“Yes Sir!”

Sarah called later the evening of the next day. She was upset again.

“Jack, I thought you said you were backing off on your magic G-man routine and letting this mystery thing go! This still looks out of control.”

Her words were very measured and slow. Jack felt like the whole relationship was hanging in the balance.

 “I’ve done nothing further. I’ve told Skip that an analysis suggested it may be a fake. He probably won’t buy it. I hope Skip will let it go and not be disappointed.”

“I think you are into risky business here. Dad called and said that that creepy guy in the black SUV is still poking around. What on earth are you doing?”

“Sarah, my involvement in this matter has already ended. It can remain a mystery but not to me. I’m forgetting about it and hope this whole affair will forget about me and leave me – I mean US -- alone. ”

Sarrah still sounded downtrodden. 

“ Jack, I just want us to have a normal life together. “

Jack's work routine was returning to normal. He stopped at the main gate and was acknowledged by the guards as usual. He drove past the security building without question. For a time, he felt like he was under special watchfulness. Not anymore.

Another week had passed. Jack thought he’d heard the last of it.

This Monday was different. The guards asked him to stop and park his car outside the gate. They escorted him into the security office. The guards accompanied him toward the back of the building. They watched Jack as he emptied his pockets and passed through a scanner. Once inside the newly constructed room, the guards left him inside but were stationed just outside the door. Jack figured this was it: goodbye to normal life and marriage and hello to federal prison!

He sat down at the conference table. There were forms set in front of him to sign.

His C.O. was there and a man he didn’t recognize.

His C.O. explained:

“Jack, your work has required that we get you a higher clearance. You’re doing a great job. This has been a trying time. You’ve been poking around in a way that shows intelligence. 

But for one problem.”

“What did I do ?“

“ You stumbled onto one of our own people.”

“Never mind that now! You are now at a new level. Let me introduce you to this gentleman. You know his name but not who he is or what he does. This is Dr. Jo Weaver, special intelligence project manager. You will be working for both of us for a while. If you wish, you can relocate to D.C. where he is based, but that’s not necessary”

Jack looked stunned.

“Sir this whole series of events is like something from a sci-fi series.”

 “Dr. Jo will explain what he can when he can.”

His C.O. added, “Jack, I guess you’ve been under a lot of pressure from your loved ones. We’ve all had to have that conversation with our wives and family. The one where we say that we had a fantastic day at the office but cannot tell you a single thing about what we did, who we talked to, where we went, or even what skills we used or what we worked on.

Maybe it’s time to have that talk”

Jack nodded and said “ My future father-in-law is a retired Air Force. I think he will get it.”

It was Friday again, and Jack was on his way from the base back to Tonopah and his future father-in-law and future wife. He arrived early. Father-in-law, Don, was sitting on the deck in the backyard watching the occasional dust devils having skirmishes with the fencing.

“Don, we need to talk.   I’m sure you’ve had security clearances yourself along the way so I think you will understand. I think you know that some of my work in the Middle East was in electronic warfare and counterintelligence. When I came back to the States, I started here in Nevada as a lab technician calibrating equipment. I needed some healing time, as I ‘m sure your daughter can understand. My current position is a good deal. But I can’t say anything more than that.”

One thing I can say, with this promotion, there is a possible relocation to D.C. If it looks like a good move for us all, maybe it will happen.”

His future father-in-law laughed. “Jack, I’ll put in t good word with Sarah first thing.” 

Later that night, Jack and Sarah took a stroll under the stars. 

So far from town, the sky is a truly dark sky, with a view of the milky unlike anything seen in big cities with all their bright lights.

Sarah said, “ Now I understand a little better that I will never really know what you’re up to. That’s regrettable but I admit it seems necessary. To think this all began with a scrap of paper caught in the wind!”

A gentle breeze blew as the landscape cooled off from the day’s heat. Jack saw a piece of paper flutter onto him. He grabbed it and crumpled it. He didn’t even look at it.

She smiled and said, “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.”

“What happens in Tonopah stays in Tonopah!” he added.

“Any other bits of new wisdom?” Sarah asked.

They gazed at the view of the Milky Way and clusters of stars.

“Yep, what happens here halfway to the outer rim, stays here!”

“New job, new perspective?”

It was very quiet.