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As we walked, I tried to focus on the moment. I had no idea what we were going to find, but Harry thought it was important. It was comforting that my guyumvirate respected Harry so much that they believed it was important even though they had no idea why. I used to trust people a lot more before Jamison betrayed me. I thought I'd gotten over it, but I guess I've still got some issues to deal with.
Tom was obviously a better person than I gave him credit for. He didn't treat me any differently today than he had yesterday. I noticed that the closer we got to our destination, the more Tom seemed to be in surveillance mode with his eyes darting around. He stopped frequently to check the GPS and make sure we were still headed to our target. "Do you know how GPS works?" he asked, during one of these stops.
"Satellites?"
"Yeah, it uses Satellites to triangulate positions. It will get us close, but not exact. That's one of the things we're concerned about with this. If it isn't obvious, then we may have to spend some time searching the area more closely."
"OK. We'll just have to see what we face when we get to the spot. How much farther is it?"
"Not long," he said, starting off again.
We shouldn't have worried about finding what Harry wanted us to see. Tom and I both stopped when we saw the fence in front of us. "Does this mean we can't get to where we need to go?" I asked.
"I think this is what Harry wanted us to see. No one knows anything about a government installation out here."
We were facing a fence with a sign telling us that it was a restricted government facility. Photography was not allowed, and deadly force was authorized. "What is this place?" I asked.
"No idea, but we need to be careful. If anyone shows up, follow my lead. I don't see any cameras. That may be why Harry chose this spot."
"What do we do now?"
He looked around then walked over to a small hill. We sat down, and Tom pulled out two pair of binoculars. He handed one to me. "I'm just guessing, but I'm thinking Harry may want us to see what's inside the fence. I could be wrong, it could just be about the fact that there's a secret facility here. I think we should sit and watch for a while. Are you down with that?"
I nodded as I panned the glasses around. After not seeing anything of interest, I decided to be more systematic. I turned my head to the left and started at the farthest point of the fence I could see. I moved my head slowly to the right. All I saw was more forest. Inside the fence, at least in this spot, looked just like outside the fence.
"How much trouble are we in, if there are guards?" I asked.
"As long as we're outside the fence and not taking pictures, they can hassle us, but that's it, if they choose to play by the rules. That doesn't always happen with the government."
"Sounds like you have some firsthand knowledge."
"I told you I was in the Coast Guard."
"Yeah. Is that where you got interested in search and rescue?"
"Actually, it's the other way around. I've worked on SAR teams since I was in high school. That's what got me interested in the Coast Guard."
I tapped his arm and pointed. I thought I saw movement in the trees inside the compound. I tried to follow the movement with the binoculars hoping to see the cause, but I never got a glimpse. "Did you see anything?"
"Just the trees moving."
I could see why Harry might want to let someone know that there was a secret government facility in the woods. I couldn't see why he wouldn't have just gone public with the news or at least shared it with someone.
It was a sunny day, though what light reached us was filtered through the thick forest canopy. A large shadow passed overhead. I tapped Tom's leg and pointed up.
"What the heck?" he said.
"Something fell from whatever that was. I'm going to see if I can find it," I said.
"Don't go far. I'll keep an eye on the fence."
I tried to keep my eye on the spot where I saw whatever it was land. If I looked back to keep an eye on Tom, I knew I'd never find it. When I saw what it was, I took a step back. Caught up in one of the lower branches of a pine tree was a huge bird feather. I'm certainly no expert but I was sure it was too large to have come from any bird I'd ever heard of. I picked it up and started back to where I left Tom, when I heard voices.
I stuck the feather down the back of my shirt and shimmied around until it was down the back of one of my pant legs. The thing was that big. I hoped it was mostly hidden. I was trying to figure out if I should stay hidden or go back to help Tom.
I got close enough to hear that they were just talking. I couldn't see them, but they didn't sound too aggressive. I had no idea what the right thing to do was. It felt wrong to leave Tom to fend for himself, but I wasn't a good liar. If I went back, I might make the situation worse. I moved further away into the woods and tried to circle around so I could see what was going on without being seen. By the time I got around to where I had a view of Tom, the two guards were walking off, and Tom was heading back down the trail in the direction we came from. I wanted him to know I was OK, but I didn't want to call attention to myself.
I picked up some pine cones and rolled them down the hill, so they would land on the trail in front of him. I was hoping he'd look up to see where they came from. He tripped over one of the pinecones and ended up on his hands and knees in the trail. Fudge! I'm a hazard out here. I watched as he stood up, brushed off his knees and hands, then looked up the hill. When he saw me, I saw him grin. He motioned on down the trail with a nod of his head. I stayed off the trail, but in sight of it. Eventually, Tom stopped and motioned for me to join him.
When I approached, he put a finger to his lips to tell me not to make noise. When I got close, he pulled me closer and whispered in my ear. "We'll talk about it later. You did good. Let's put some space between us and them."