Extinction Machine

Chapter Sixty-six

The Warehouse

Baltimore, Maryland

Sunday, October 20, 11:04 a.m.

Rudy Sanchez sat in his office at the Warehouse. The door was locked and the anti-intrusion devices activated, however he felt as if covert eyes were peering at him. He scolded himself for allowing the pervasive air of paranoia to set its hooks in him. Rudy prided himself on his detachment, but today he found that increasingly difficult to manage.

The list of names and contact numbers Mr. Church had given him was placed neatly in the center of his desk blotter. Rudy fitted a Bluetooth onto his ear and punched in the first of the numbers. The call was picked up after a few rings.

“Hello?”

“Is this George Noory?” asked Rudy.

“Sure. Who’s calling?”

Church had given Rudy a certain phrase to use when reaching out to the names he’d indicated were “friends in the industry.”

“A mutual friend told me to tell you that ‘Eden still burns.’”

There was a profound silence at the other end. George Noory was the popular host of the overnight radio show Coast to Coast AM, which was broadcast to well over five hundred radio stations as well as streamed over the Internet to more than ten million people a night. Rudy was a long-time listener and enjoyed the often lively discussions of everything from Bigfoot to flying saucers. More than once he caught elements related to DMS cases and he found it fascinating how public perception often spun stories into wild new forms. Looking back on those shows—and now knowing that Noory was a friend of Church’s—Rudy appreciated the subtle way in which the host dialed down needless panic and kept the discussions in the realm of intelligent speculation.

Noory said, “You’re a friend of the Deacon?”

“I am,” said Rudy. “Dr. Rudy Sanchez, I am—”

“The house psychiatrist at the DMS,” cut in Noory.

“You’ve heard of me?”

Instead of answering, Noory said, “What can I do for you?”

“The DMS is currently involved in a case that includes elements that are somewhat outside of our usual comfort zone.”

“With the things you fellows deal with I’m surprised anything’s outside of your comfort zone.”

“Unfortunately the Fates seem to take each new day as a challenge when it comes to the DMS.”

Noory laughed. “What are they throwing at you today?”

“We … have been tasked with obtaining the Majestic Black Book.”

“Wow,” said Noory.

“You’ve heard of it, I gather.”

“Of course. How can I help?”

“We need to put together a list of persons most likely to possess a copy.”

“Well, first understand that there aren’t ‘copies’ of the Black Book. There’s the original and that’s it.”

“Okay.”

“Are you familiar with MJ-12 and M3, or do we need to start at square one?”

“No, I’ve actually read a couple of Junie Flynn’s books.”

“Good. Are you talking to her, too?”

“We’re working on that but there have been some complications. Mr. Church said that you were also an expert on the book.”

“Kind of him, but I wouldn’t go that far. I’ve had Junie on the show a dozen times, but she’s the one who knows everything.”

“Miss Flynn was able to provide us with a list of possible current or former members of M3. If I share those names with you, might you be able to help us cull the list to the most likely? As Mr. Church is so fond of saying, time is not our friend.”

“I can’t make any promises, Doctor, but I can take a pretty solid swing at it. Is that the only thing Deacon wants from me?”

“Actually, I have a second request. This case involves groups of men Miss Flynn refers to as ‘Closers.’”

“Men in Black, sure.”

“I need everything you can tell me about them as well.”

Noory whistled. “Tall order. I hope you have a comfortable seat, Doctor, this might take a while.”