The Lion's Game

Gene said, "I know this ranch like the back of my hand. There are probably a hundred miles of horse trails, and the President used to ride all of them. We still have stone markers at strategic locations, with numbers actually drilled into them so that no one could mess around and change them. The Secret Service detail would ride with the President and radio in to the control center at each marker, and we'd plot the location." He added, "Rawhide wouldn't wear a vest, and it was a nightmare. I held my breath every afternoon until he got back."

Gene sounded like he had some real affection for Rawhide, so to be a good guest, I said, "I was once on an NYPD presidential protection detail back in April eighty-two, when he spoke at the Sixty-ninth Regiment Armory in Manhattan."

"I remember that. I was there."

"How about that. Small world."

We drove off into the boondocks, along horse trails obscured by fog and choked with brush. With the yellow fog lights on, the visibility wasn't too bad. I could hear night birds singing in the trees.

Gene said to me, "There's an M-14 rifle in that gun case. Why don't you pull it out?"

"Great idea."

I saw the gun case now, leaning against the driver's seat. I opened the case and pulled out a heavy M-14 rifle with a scope.

Gene asked me, "You know how to use a starlight scope?"

"Hey, starlight scope is my middle name." I couldn't find the On switch, however, and Gene talked me through it.

In a minute or so, I was sighting down this really nifty night scope that made everything look green. There were a few breaks in the ground fog, and I was amazed at how this high-tech toy illuminated and magnified everything. I adjusted the focus and sca

We rode around awhile, and I mentioned to Mr. Barlet, "I don't see any of your people out here, Gene."

He didn't reply.

Kate said, "This must be beautiful in the sun."

Gene replied, "It's God's country. We're about twenty-five hundred feet above sea level, and from parts of the ranch, you can look down and see the Pacific Ocean on one side and the Santa Inez Valley on the other."

Anyway, we rolled along, and to be honest, I didn't know what the hell I was doing there. If Asad Khalil was out there, and he had the same night scope I did, he could put a bullet between my eyes at two hundred yards. And if he also had a silencer on his rifle-and I was sure he did-I'd fall silently out of the Jeep while Gene and Kate went on chattering. It occurred to me that there was no upside to this ride, and it was a long trip back to the ranch house.

The bush suddenly ended, and the trail opened up onto a stretch of open, rocky ground. I could see we were approaching a precipice, and I was going to mention this, but Gene, who knew the terrain like the back of his hand, stopped. He said, "We're facing west and if it was a clear day, you could see the ocean."

I looked, but all I could see was fog, fog, fog. I couldn't believe I had actually come up that way from the coast.

Gene turned toward the left and drove too close to the edge of eternity for my comfort. Horses at least know not to walk off cliffs, but Jeep Wranglers don't.

After a few long minutes, the Jeep stopped, and a man appeared out of the fog. The guy was wearing black, had black stuff on his face, and was carrying a rifle with a scope. Gene said, "That's Hercules One-that means a counter-sniper response person."

Hercules One and Gene exchanged greetings, and the guy, whose real name was Burt, was introduced to us. Gene said to Burt, "Mr. Corey is trying to draw sniper fire."

Hercules said, "Good. That's what I'm waiting for."

I thought I should clarify this and said, "Actually, I'm not. I'm just getting the lay of the land."

Burt, who looked like Darth Vader all in black, checked me out, but said nothing.

I felt a little out of place in my suit and tie out here in God's country among real men. Guys with code names.

Gene and Burt chatted a minute, then off we went.

I commented, "The posts seem spaced a little far apart, Gene."

Again, Gene didn't reply. His radio crackled, and he put it to his ear. He listened, but I couldn't hear what the caller was saying. Finally, Gene said, "Okay. I'll take them there."

Take who where?

Gene said to us, "Someone wants to meet you."

"Who?"

"Don't know."

"Don't you even have a code name for him?"

"Nope. Got one for you though-Nuts."

Kate laughed.

I said, "I don't want to meet anyone without a code name."

"I don't think you have a lot of choice in the matter, John. It was a high-level call."

"From whom?"

"I don't know."

Kate glanced back at me, and we sort of shrugged.

So, off we went into the fog to meet someone in the middle of nowhere.

We drove another ten minutes or so across this sort of windswept high plateau, covered with rocks and wildflowers. There was no trail, but we didn't need one because the terrain was flat and open. We seemed to be on the highest point in the area.

Through the swirling fog, I could see something white ahead, and I picked up the rifle and focused in on it. The white thing was green-tinted now through this weird lens, and I saw that it was a concrete building about the size of a big house. The building sat at the base of a huge, man-made embankment of earth and stone. Beyond the building, at the top of the embankment, was a tall, strange-looking structure, like an upside-down fu

As we came within a hundred yards of these fog-shrouded, intergalactic-looking structures at the top of the world, Kate turned to me and said, "Okay-this is an X-Files moment."

Gene laughed. He said, "That's a VORTAC installation."

"Well," I said, "that clears that up."

Gene explained, "It's an aircraft navigation beacon. You understand?"

"What kind of aircraft? From what planet?"

"Any planet. It sends out omni signals-you know, three-hundred-and-sixty-degree radio signals for civilian and military aircraft to navigate. This will be replaced by the satellite Global Positioning System someday, but for now, it's still in operation." He added, "Russian nuclear submarines off the coast also use it. No charge."

The Jeep continued toward this VORTAC station, so I assumed that's where we were going. I said, "That looks like crap duty."

Gene replied, "These things are unma

"Right. That would be a long extension cord back to the ranch house."

Gene sort of chuckled. He said, "We're on Federal land now."

"I feel better already. Is this where we're meeting someone?"

"Yup."

"Who?"

"Don't know." He went on with his tour and said, "Right here, where we're driving, used to be Playground Three-the presidential helipad. Concrete and lighted. It was stupid to take it out."

He stopped the Jeep about twenty yards from the VORTAC site and said, "Well, see you later."

"Excuse me? You want us to get out?"

"If you don't mind."

I said, "There's no one here, Gene."

"You're here. Somebody else is here waiting for you."

I was getting nowhere with this guy, so I said to Kate, "Okay, let's play the game." I jumped out of the open Jeep, and Kate got out, too.

She said to Gene, "Are you leaving?"

"Yup."

Gene didn't seem to be in a talkative mood any longer, but I asked him, "Can I borrow that rifle?"