Wheeler was on the phone when Brad returned to the
office, but motioned for him to enter. Brad stepped into
the office, closed the door, and took a seat in front of
Wheeler's desk. As his boss held the phone to his ear, he
rolled his eyes in disgust and used his free hand to mime a
jabbering mouth. A moment later, a few polite words brought
the conversation to an end. "Well, Brad," he started, "We
haven't seen much of you these last few days. Should I take
that as a good sign?"
"I'm not sure, sir. I spent the time trying to talk to
the people, but didn't have much luck until yesterday."
"Yeah, what happened yesterday?"
"I found someone who was interested in talking, but
there is a problem..."
"What's that?" asked Wheeler.
"The guy's crazy."
Wheeler sat silently for a moment as he tried to
decipher the hidden meaning in Brad's statement. "How do
you mean?"
Brad scooted forward in the seat, and the excitement in
his voice quickly returned. "I met a man, who claims to
have been in the Air Force. He wears an Air Force fatigue
jacket with insignia and answers to the title of Sergeant.
He says that when he was at Nellis Air Force Base, he saw
invisible flying goblins and aliens from outer space."
"I see," Wheeler said hesitantly. He looked at Brad,
but was unable to share his enthusiasm. "That definitely
sounds crazy, but I don't understand how his illness is
significant."
For a moment Brad's high hopes slipped at his boss's
lack of interest, but he caught himself and decided to prove
to the man that he was on to something. "It's like this,
Mr. Wheeler. If Gatewood, that's his name, was in the Air
Force, it would be fairly easy to prove. He couldn't have
been crazy when he went in, so something happened that drove
him crazy. Now, the trick will be to find out what Gatewood
was doing that pushed him over the edge, and to show how
little help the Air Force is giving their own man."
A faint smile crossed Wheeler's face. "You're
wondering if he was involved in something too big for him to
handle?"
"Now you got it!" yelled Brad, as he threw himself back
into the chair.
"Yes... You may have something there. Do you believe
any of what he told you.?"
The question almost threw Brad for a loop. Believe it?
How could any sane man possibly believe Gatewood's story?
He wondered what had come over his editor; if there was some
type of joke in the statement. He studied Wheeler's face,
but read only a cold seriousness. "No," stated Brad flatly.
"I don't believe the stuff about aliens or goblins. How
could I? He said that the goblins used radios to
communicate with each other. If they were, you know, like,
real ghosts... they wouldn't use radios."
"Of course not. I just wanted to make sure you were
thinking clearly. The man is obviously sick, so you really
can't believe anything he says."
"I understand that, Mr. Wheeler," explained Brad in his
own defense, "But I think that we can believe that he was at
Nellis."
Wheeler thought for a moment and realized that it was a
harmless assumption. Perhaps Brad had a good angle; as long
as he kept the right focus on the story, he could turn it
into something worthwhile. If he could find a detail or two
that might connect the man to a secret project, he might be
able to show the reader why he went insane. Brad had a way
of leading his reader down the proverbial primrose path...
If anyone could generate a reaction from the man's
situation, it was definitely Brad.
"Okay, Brad. Take the story and run with it. Think in
terms of a lead-in story with a brief overview of the
homeless, but don't beleaguer the details. Get them hooked
early... mention Gatewood in the first paragraph. Talk up
his illness, give a hint that he became ill while in the
service, then cut it off. We'll run a second piece on
you're man's story, but here again, don't lay out the
details. You've got to hook them, and keep them hooked
through the second piece. The longer we draw it out, the
more papers we sell. In the third installment, hit them
with the fact that he was involved in a secret project that
drove him crazy."
"Our objective will be to force a public outcry, and as
such, force the Air Force to show their hand. Get as much
information as you can, but remember one thing... Gatewood
is crazy. Don't state anything he says as fact. Find out
yourself. You got it?"
"Yes," answered Brad proudly.
"One other thing to keep in mind: the military is not
usually very friendly. If they cooperate with you; if they
tell you everything you need to know, don't believe them."
"Hold on, Mr. Wheeler," interrupted Brad. "How do you
figure that their cooperation is a lie?"
"Well, you're still new at this, so you don't
understand the red tape that the military operates under.
The first person you'll talk to will be a clerk who won't
know anything. He'll refer you to a junior officer, who
will try to answer your questions."
"If he gives you the run-around, he either doesn't know
anything and doesn't want to admit it, or he doesn't have
the authority to give out information. See, in the
military, they can't even tell you a man's birthdate without
written approval. If you get him, you just ask to talk to
his boss, and move up the chain of command. He'll be happy
to pass the buck."
"But, if the clerk passes you on to someone who is
cooperative, it's because he was ordered to... for security
reasons. That person will probably be trained in public
relations, and will give you just enough wrong information
to push you off track. The first type will gladly tell you
that something is top secret to get you off the phone, but
if it really is, they'll pass you on to the second type."
It was sick logic, but it made sense to Brad, in a
crazy kind of way. Brad acknowledged his understanding and
rose from his seat. He thanked Wheeler for his advice and
started to leave. Before he stepped out the door, his
editor called to him, "Remember our other talk... about
truth."
Brad smiled and nodded, then headed for his desk and
the waiting phone. He hadn't gone more than ten feet, when
he remembered something important he'd forgotten to tell
Wheeler. He turned and saw his boss on the phone again and
decided not to bother him any more.
Maybe Gatewood's claim about aliens taking his wife
wasn't that important.
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