Area 51: The Reply-2 by Robert Doherty Page A
Authors: Robert Doherty
Tags: Fiction, Literary, General, Science-Fiction, Historical, Fantasy, Espionage, High Tech, Unidentified flying objects, Space ships, Nellis Air Force Base (Nev.), Area 51 Region (Nev.)
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sight as they went around the western shoulder.
"Anyone the government does not like is a bandit," Che Lu said. "I was a bandit once myself." She smiled. "And there is one now," she added, pointing at a wizened old man who had just materialized on the road in front of them, standing as still as one of the statues.
He wore a faded blue shirt and black pants. He carried an AK-47 in his gnarled hands and battered army-issue pack on his back.
"My dead friend, Lo Fa!" Che Lu cried out as Ki stopped the Jeep.
'Ah, you old hag," Lo Fa spat into the dirt.
"You old goat," Che Lu returned as she hugged him. She looked past him, where the road disappeared between two large boulders. "Are we ready?"
"I have removed the earth," Lo Fa said. "I did it at night. Those fool soldiers wouldn't know it if you dropped a rock on their heads. I had friends help. But their friendship only goes so far," he added. He had one eye that was dead, completely white, so he spoke with his head twisted, good eye forward.
"You have no friends," Che Lu said. "Only scoundrels you keep company with."
She held out a small packet filled with bills and it disappeared into Lo Fa's tunic. "For your friends."
"They will remain my friends now." Lo Fa smiled, revealing broken and yellowed teeth. "Let us go, quickly, and get off this road. You have permission to break the seal?" he asked as he jumped into the back of the Jeep.
"Yes."
103
With Ki driving slowly, the truck following, they went between the massive boulders. There were statues of tigers perched on top of each one. The boulders enclosed a small courtyard, about thirty meters wide by fifteen long. The side of the mountain was cut into, revealing two massive bronze doors covered with writing. A large pile of dirt was pushed to the side, Lo Fa's work for the past two weeks since Che Lu had contacted him. She knew they wouldn't have much time and she hadn't wanted to waste it digging to the doors.
"This way." Lo Fa was out of the Jeep, surprisingly agile. He walked up to the doors, Che Lu and the others following. He pointed at the barely visible seam between the two panels. "The Old Ones sealed it with molten bronze."
One of Che Lu's students was filming the doors with a videocamera, recording them for posterity. They had not seen the light of day for over two thousand years.
"How do we open them?" Che Lu asked.
"It is not my problem," Lo Fa said. "You told me only to uncover the doors."
"I told you to get me in," Che Lu said.
Lo Fa spit again, then gave a crooked grin. "Yes, that you did." He slipped off his backpack. He reached in and pulled out a long line of blue cord. "Have your students tape it to the seam, from top to bottom."
"What is it?" Che Lu asked as she waved a couple of her male students to do as he bid.
"Detonating cord. Explosive," Lo Fa said.
The students paused, looking at the cord in their hands in fear.
104
"Ah, it won't explode until I put a blasting cap in the end," Lo Fa snarled.
"And where did you get that?" Che Lu asked.
"The army is very careless," Lo Fa said. "It always surprises me when they manage to put their boots on the correct feet."
"Why is the army here?" Che Lu asked him as he prepared the detonator.
Lo Fa spit. "This time the trouble is not just students in Tiananmen Square.
There is real trouble. People are tired and they want change." He pointed at the mountain tomb that dwarfed them. "This once was China, the center of civilization. Now with this talk of aliens, people no longer know what to believe and the agitators are seizing the opportunity to push for change, to regain China's place in the world. It is easier said than done."
"But you have not said specifically why the army is here," Che Lu chided him.
Lo Fa straightened and stared at her with his good eye. "They are here specifically, old woman, to fight rebels."
"Rebels?" Che Lu wondered if she had spent too much time in the library at the university. "There is open
"Anyone the government does not like is a bandit," Che Lu said. "I was a bandit once myself." She smiled. "And there is one now," she added, pointing at a wizened old man who had just materialized on the road in front of them, standing as still as one of the statues.
He wore a faded blue shirt and black pants. He carried an AK-47 in his gnarled hands and battered army-issue pack on his back.
"My dead friend, Lo Fa!" Che Lu cried out as Ki stopped the Jeep.
'Ah, you old hag," Lo Fa spat into the dirt.
"You old goat," Che Lu returned as she hugged him. She looked past him, where the road disappeared between two large boulders. "Are we ready?"
"I have removed the earth," Lo Fa said. "I did it at night. Those fool soldiers wouldn't know it if you dropped a rock on their heads. I had friends help. But their friendship only goes so far," he added. He had one eye that was dead, completely white, so he spoke with his head twisted, good eye forward.
"You have no friends," Che Lu said. "Only scoundrels you keep company with."
She held out a small packet filled with bills and it disappeared into Lo Fa's tunic. "For your friends."
"They will remain my friends now." Lo Fa smiled, revealing broken and yellowed teeth. "Let us go, quickly, and get off this road. You have permission to break the seal?" he asked as he jumped into the back of the Jeep.
"Yes."
103
With Ki driving slowly, the truck following, they went between the massive boulders. There were statues of tigers perched on top of each one. The boulders enclosed a small courtyard, about thirty meters wide by fifteen long. The side of the mountain was cut into, revealing two massive bronze doors covered with writing. A large pile of dirt was pushed to the side, Lo Fa's work for the past two weeks since Che Lu had contacted him. She knew they wouldn't have much time and she hadn't wanted to waste it digging to the doors.
"This way." Lo Fa was out of the Jeep, surprisingly agile. He walked up to the doors, Che Lu and the others following. He pointed at the barely visible seam between the two panels. "The Old Ones sealed it with molten bronze."
One of Che Lu's students was filming the doors with a videocamera, recording them for posterity. They had not seen the light of day for over two thousand years.
"How do we open them?" Che Lu asked.
"It is not my problem," Lo Fa said. "You told me only to uncover the doors."
"I told you to get me in," Che Lu said.
Lo Fa spit again, then gave a crooked grin. "Yes, that you did." He slipped off his backpack. He reached in and pulled out a long line of blue cord. "Have your students tape it to the seam, from top to bottom."
"What is it?" Che Lu asked as she waved a couple of her male students to do as he bid.
"Detonating cord. Explosive," Lo Fa said.
The students paused, looking at the cord in their hands in fear.
104
"Ah, it won't explode until I put a blasting cap in the end," Lo Fa snarled.
"And where did you get that?" Che Lu asked.
"The army is very careless," Lo Fa said. "It always surprises me when they manage to put their boots on the correct feet."
"Why is the army here?" Che Lu asked him as he prepared the detonator.
Lo Fa spit. "This time the trouble is not just students in Tiananmen Square.
There is real trouble. People are tired and they want change." He pointed at the mountain tomb that dwarfed them. "This once was China, the center of civilization. Now with this talk of aliens, people no longer know what to believe and the agitators are seizing the opportunity to push for change, to regain China's place in the world. It is easier said than done."
"But you have not said specifically why the army is here," Che Lu chided him.
Lo Fa straightened and stared at her with his good eye. "They are here specifically, old woman, to fight rebels."
"Rebels?" Che Lu wondered if she had spent too much time in the library at the university. "There is open
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