The Visitors (v1.0)

22. MINNEAPOLIS

Gold was on the phone when Garrison came into the newsroom. The only other people in the room were three copyreaders and two sleepy dog-trick copy aides.

Gold hung up the phone and said to Garrison, "That was some screwball, calling to tell me that a group that calls themselves the Lovers are going to go out to the airport, sit down in front of the visitor there and love it all to hell. Isn't that the silly bunch that Kathy wrote about?"

"That's right. Did Kathy's story ever make the paper?"

"I never saw it. Just knew you sent her out on it."

"It's probably still in her typewriter. She was working on it when I interrupted her to ship her off to Lone Pine. Now that I am here, why don't you take off?"

"Not on your life," said Gold. "I wouldn't miss this for a million dollars."

"All right, then, if that's the way you feel, why don't we settle down and figure what we should be doing. Probably, in the next few hours, we should start calling in some of our people early. You have any ideas?"

"Jay's out at the airport now," said Gold. "I caught Sloane before he left and sent him out to Highway 12. Jones just got back from South Dakota and he'll have to write his Black Hills-Indian story for the Sunday paper.

"Let's forget the Black Hills piece," said Garrison. "We'll have plenty else and it can wait. Jones is a good man and we'll need him. He's had a good night's sleep. Call him in another hour or two."

"Freeman is another man we could use early," said Gold. "He knows his way around the statehouse. The governor, most likely, will be calling out the guard. We need someone who can sit here at a desk and keep tabs on what the state is doing. I phoned the highway patrol and it is on the job. They'll probably have troopers three deep around the visitor on Highway 12. Some at the airport, too, but the airport has its own security force and may not need much help."

"They'll have real problems out there when the traffic picks up later in the morning."

"They have problems now. It puts a crimp in handling air traffic when you have a runway out."

"Why the hell do on think that thing landed at the airport?"

Gold shook his head. "For that matter, why should one land on a highway? Why do they land in any one particular place?" Lie reached out his hand and picked up a sheaf of paper ripped off the teletypes. "All over the country," he said. "Mostly reports of sightings, but some of them now are being verified. One reported here, another there. Reports from truck drivers, late people driving home from work, night watchmen, from all kinds of night owls."

"Like us," said Garrison.

"That's right. Like us."

"We'll need coverage of state and federal agencies," said Garrison. "Anyone or any agency that can be possibly involved. Williams is our man to contact the local FBI. No one is going to get much out of the FBI, but Williams will come closer than any other man. He seems to get along with them."

"Campbell, maybe, could tackle some of the people at the university," said Gold. "Physicists, psychologists, engineers, aeronautic people. They might be able to give some insight on what is going on. Maybe some of the sociologists and psychologists may be able to make some sort of an assessment on what the public impact will be. And we can't forget the churches. Will this business have any impact on religious thinking?"

"We'll have to pick our sources carefully," said Garrison. "Some of these churchmen are inclined to shoot off their mouths in all directions and endlessly and without thought on any given subject."

"Roberts might be the man for that," said Gold.

The phone rang and Garrison picked it up.

Kathy's voice asked, "Is that you, Johnny? What are you doing there this time of night?"

"We have some of your visitors down here. How about yourself? We talked about phoning you, but figured you were asleep."

"I was, but Stuffy came pounding at the door and woke me up." "Stuffy?"

"That old man who took the call and held the phone for me." "Now I remember. Why should he be pounding at your door?" "He was sleeping off a drunk and woke up and saw them." "Them?"

"More of the visitors. A dozen or so of them, all coming in a bunch. They landed across the river, in the wilderness area. They're lined up abreast, mowing down the trees and turning out cellulose."

"But Stuffy.

"I gave him five dollars for holding the phone. Chet gave him a quart of booze. We've bought the man for life."

"We need you and Chet down here, Kathy. I think there's an early morning plane out of Bemidji. Can you manage it?"

"It doesn't leave until six or so. Plenty of time. Even time to go out and have a closer look at these new visitors. Stuffy's pounding Chet awake right now.

"Okay. Whatever you can manage. But don't miss that plane. All hell is set to let loose down here."

"I should give Stuffy another five."

"Give him ten," said Garrison. "Norton can keep an eye on things up there for us and Stuffy maybe can do some legwork for him."