“I'm willing to give it a try, but this kid is so arrogant I don't think he believes we'd even consider getting rid of him,” Brad agreed.

“Let's see what happens, and I'll make sure to talk to him too. Do you have any questions for me to get answers for while I'm at the mountain?”

“I'm just curious about a timetable for moving in.”

“I'm supposed to work on that with General Fitch while I'm there,” RJ responded.

“Good. One other thing, one of the sleep experts needs to be going with us, in case there are any issues during the long sleep. Has that been worked out and when will they start additional training? We'll need to get them started soon.”

“That will be covered this trip too. I'll let you know what we decide.”

RJ disconnected the call, got up from her chair and took a small bottle of cold water from the refrigerator. She hesitated in the cool air conditioning for as long as possible, then pushed the door open and stepped into the desert sand. Climbing into the Humvee, she could already feel the sweat starting to trickle down her neck and back. She shifted into gear and started out for the firing range wanting to complete the last of her shooting drills for the week before leaving for the mountain.

Three hours later, she'd completed her training, packed her gear and gotten her files and laptop together. She'd showered and was waiting for the helicopter which would take her on the two-hour trip to the mountain.

She heard an approaching aircraft and three minutes later a UH-60 Black Hawk was sitting on the pad. RJ waited until the rotors stopped turning then headed out to the pad. Ten minutes later, they were airborne again and heading north.

When the Black Hawk landed, the first thing RJ noticed was that they'd landed on the opposite end of the mountain. The permanent helipads were now in place, and they were able to land on the concrete surface instead of in the sand.

She stepped from the helicopter and began the one-hundred-yard walk to the tunnel entrance. Behind her were the three completed buildings which the workers now considered home. Nearing the gate, she was met by an armed sentry. She placed her hand on the scanner at his station and was immediately granted access. She boarded a waiting Humvee and rode the half-mile long journey into the mountain.

She swiftly became aware of two things. First, the noises of the heavy machinery used for digging and tunneling were gone. On her last visit, six months ago, they'd still been digging and cutting rock out, and no matter where in the facility you went, there was the constant sound of heavy earth-moving equipment.