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The Stepping Stone
Chapter Two: The NSA Gets Involved
Scott A. Gese
Chapter 2
The NSA Gets Involved
It was early Tuesday morning. Matt Dane sat in his office, nervously waiting for two NSA officers to arrive. He had carefully considered his decision to call them. He told them he had discovered a working portal deep in the woods and believed it was his patriotic duty to report it as a matter of national security.
He mistakenly thought they would somehow reward him for “his” discovery, even if it was just a simple pat on the back. It was an ego thing. He had made the call, and now he needed to follow through with the in-person interview. The suits showed up right on time.
Matt was wrong about the interview. They hadn't come to ask questions or to give him any sort of commendation for being a good citizen. They wanted Matt to guide them to the portal. They were ready to go immediately. There was no request for a later date. Matt was loaded into a dark SUV and forced to guide them.
Matt struggled to point out the correct logging road entrance. The first stop he had them make was too soon. They hiked a quarter mile before he had to admit it was the wrong trail. The officers were not pleased. The second stop was a little further up the road, and while it was the correct one, Matt still lacked confidence. Once they started hiking, they kept asking him if they were on the right path. He was uncertain but assured them they were.
Once they reached the old clear-cut, Matt became confused. He thought the turnoff was further up the road, so he led the agents deeper into the woods. They passed the turnoff by half a mile. Matt didn't realize it, and once he did turn off the trail, he became disoriented. After a full hour of hiking through dense underbrush and climbing over fallen trees, he had to admit he was lost. Literally lost.
He tried to explain it away. “I don't know what happened. I think I turned off the trail in the wrong spot.”
“No shit,” replied one of the agents. “I'm beginning to think you've made this whole thing up. Seen any Bigfoot lately? Get us the hell out of here.”
Matt didn't understand the Bigfoot remark.
“Not sure what kind of game you're playing here,” added the other. “We'll make sure you get the bill for this wild goose chase. I'm not prepared to spend the night out here. I'm taking charge. I believe I can find the way out. I snapped a few branches along the way just in case you did get us lost. We'll follow them back.”
“Thank God for someone with a brain,” commented the other agent.
“Yeah, my Boy Scout training finally came in handy.”
It was late afternoon when they found the logging road. Hot, tired, and thirsty, the three men dragged themselves back to the car.
On the way, they passed the turnoff, and Matt recognized it. “Hey, this is the right turnoff here.”
“The hell with you and your turnoff. We're getting out of here. You can stay, or we'll give you a lift into town. Your choice. Other than that, we're done.”
Matt accepted the ride into town. All the while, he tried to redeem himself, but it was no use. The officers were done listening to him. John's Bigfoot story was fresh in their minds. They dropped Matt off at his office without so much as a thank you or goodbye.
Darcy didn't run into Matt the following day, which was probably for the best. He was still in a foul mood and wasn't interested in hearing about last weekend.
On Wednesday night, Darcy checked her laptop to see if there were any updates from the Stepping Stone. She was shocked to see Matt and two officers walk past the road camera—twice. Matt led them in, and about two hours later, he trailed behind as they left. None of them looked happy.
She called John to share her findings. “It looks like they walked right past the turnoff, and I don't see them at the Stepping Stone. I think they got lost.”
“I hope you're right. Talk to Matt tomorrow, but don't bring it up. It will be interesting to see if he says anything. My guess is he won't. But at least now we know where he stands. It looks like it's just you and me from here on out. We need to come up with our next move. Would you be interested in meeting for dinner tomorrow? A business dinner—nothing more.”
“That works for me. How about Brasco's Diner? Do you know where that is?”
“Yes, I do,” replied John. “How does six o'clock sound?”
“Perfect. See you tomorrow.”
“Bring your laptop. I want to see the video.”
John walked into Brasco's at six o'clock sharp. Darcy was already there, waiting in a small booth for two.
“I ordered wine. I hope you don't mind. They have a great wine cellar here—something you don't normally find at a diner.”
It was a Cabernet. John wasn't much of a wine drinker, but he had a glass anyway.
Soon after he sat down, a waitress approached the table. “Well, well, Darcy. This is a first. Who's the new man?”
“This is John, and he's just a friend. Don't go spreading rumors about me now.”
“Why, Darcy. You know me. I'd never do that.”
“That's just it. I do know you. Like I said, John is a friend. Nothing more.”
“If that's what you say, Darcy. Now, what can I get for you and your 'friend'?”
After they ordered, Darcy explained, “I used to work here. Doris is a big tease. She's good at trying to embarrass me, but it rarely works out for her.” Curious about her new friend, she asked, “So tell me, John. What do you do for a living?”
John wasn't big on talking about himself and shared only what he thought was necessary. “I'm a freelance writer. I write copy for several websites, corporate white papers, magazine articles, and long-form advertisements. Stuff like that.”
“Being a freelancer means you can work from anywhere in the world, right?”
“Yeah, as long as there's an internet connection.”
“So how did you end up in Oregon instead of some place exotic?”
“I'm an outdoors person. Always have been. I'd much rather hike in the cool Northwest woods. Hot, sweaty jungles don't appeal to me.”
John changed the subject. “So let me see this video you have. Did you recognize the men who were with Matt?”
“Yes, they're the same two men who came to my door.”
Both John and Darcy examined the video closely. “Yup, those are the same men I spoke with as well,” John acknowledged. “It looks like they walked past the turnoff. The timestamp shows a couple of hours passed before they walked by again. It appears Matt is being shunned, trailing behind the other two.”
Darcy leaned back from the video. “I think he led them on a wild goose chase. The camera at the Stepping Stone would have recorded them if they had found it. There's nothing there.”
“We can only hope Matt has lost all credibility with them, and that will be the end of it.”
Throughout dinner, John and Darcy discussed their next steps. They decided to continue using the camera and observe the other side of the opening as much as possible.
“It would be nice to know just what our camera is poking through. There must be something there. I can't imagine our camera is just floating in midair in the middle of that park,” Darcy commented.
They agreed to return on Saturday to gather more video.
As the weekend approached, the riots in Portland grew more violent. People were dying, and several major buildings had been torched, burning out of control as it was too dangerous for firefighters to reach them. The violence wasn't limited to Portland; several other major cities across the country, including Seattle, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Detroit, were becoming unruly. The President threatened martial law, while the Oregon Governor set curfews for Portland. Riot police had done little more than surround the city.
John was getting nervous. He hadn't found his safe place yet, but perhaps it had found him. It increasingly seemed that the woods around the Stepping Stone were the refuge he had been looking for. For some strange reason, he felt drawn to it, as if he had been given a reason to keep returning. He decided to take some extra gear with him on Saturday and stow it.
Early Saturday morning, as John loaded his car with the extra gear, Darcy drove up.
“Looks like you're packing for a campout. What's up?”
“No, not really. I thought I would take some extra gear and stow it. If things get much worse, I plan to get out of town and hole up at the Stepping Stone.”
“I've been getting a little nervous myself,” Darcy replied. “But I'll stick it out here. I still have classes to attend.”
“Do you have a way to defend yourself?”
“Defend myself? Are you that paranoid?”
“No, not paranoid—just realistic and a bit cautious.”
“Well, to be perfectly honest, John, I'm more concerned about the jackboots showing up at my door with dogs and batons than I am about rioters in the city. The order to turn in all weapons went out last week. Not many have complied. I hear they're going through the gun registration paperwork and will soon be following up door to door.”
“Do you have a gun stashed somewhere?” John asked.
“I have one. Another gift from my father. I haven't turned it in.”
“Don't comply. We still have the Constitution on our side, for whatever it's worth these days.”
“They've pretty much shredded that, haven't they?”
John paused his loading. “What the hell has happened to this country?”
“It's not just this country,” Darcy replied. “It's the whole damn world.”
“You're right about that. Grab your equipment, and let's hit the road.”
As they drove off, a car turned the corner. John and Darcy didn't realize they were being followed.
The car kept its distance and went unnoticed. John parked in the usual spot, and the car that had been following them drove on by. He grabbed the extra gear he was taking while Darcy took the equipment. Once they were out of sight, the car returned and parked next to John's. Two men got out: Matt and one of the feds who had been with him earlier. He had some initial misgivings but agreed to try one more time, this time prepared with equipment that allowed him to track John's phone.
John and Darcy reached the cutoff and turned into the trees. The extra gear made this part of the trek a bit more challenging. Before they reached the Stepping Stone, John needed to stop for a break.
As they talked, John asked Darcy if she had checked the trail cams since seeing Matt and the two feds.
“No,” she replied. “Maybe I should do that now while we're sitting here.” She pulled out her laptop and turned it on. “Nope. Doesn't look like anyone has been by except us about twenty minutes ago.”
“Good. Maybe they gave up.”
Darcy closed the computer. “I hope so, but I'm not crossing my fingers. I'm ready to move on. How about you?”
“I'm good. Let's go.”
They continued along the trail. Once they reached the Stepping Stone, Darcy began to set up the equipment. This time, she had a handheld device with a small lens attached to a flexible ten-foot wire. She handed it to John. “This should be less noticeable.”
When Darcy was ready, John poked the wire through the opening. They planned to observe as long as no one noticed it. There were only a couple of people in the area this time. They saw a few birds and a couple of squirrels. An older man sat on a bench facing them, feeding the squirrels. He remained there until John pulled the camera back.
“I swear, if I didn't know better, I'd say we were looking at Anywhere, U.S.A.”
“There are a few differences. The leaves on the trees and the blue of the sky are very vibrant,” replied Darcy.
“I have to admit, that blue sky does look nice. I also like the skyline in the background. The city looks very modern.”
“The place looks nice, but did you notice the old man on the bench? He was wearing one of those things around his neck with the blue light on it.”
“Maybe it’s just a fashion thing,” John replied.
“I don’t know. Something about it doesn’t seem right, but I suppose it’s possible.”
As they sat at the top of the stairs discussing what they had seen, something unusual happened. A small rock hit Darcy on the shoulder and fell to the ground between them. It had a note tied to it.
“What the hell?” John picked up the rock, removed the note, and read it. “It’s in English. It says, Expect a friendly visitor. Be at the top of the stairs in one hour.” He looked up at Darcy. “Oh shit, I think someone saw us.”
“Well, they at least saw the camera. I’m not sure if I should be excited or nervous. Another hour is going to put us too late in the day to get out of here before dark,” Darcy replied.
“I’m not about to leave. I’ll spend the night here if I have to.”
“Well, I’m not going to try to get out of here by myself. I guess I don’t have a choice but to stay.”
“Do you really want to leave?” John asked.
“Are you kidding me? I was joking. I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”
Darcy packed up the equipment while they waited. To pass the time, they tried to envision what might be about to take place—both good and bad. They decided it was worth the risk.
A couple of minutes before the hour mark, Matt and the Fed stepped out from the brush, surprising John and Darcy as they stood at the top of the stairs.
“So, you aren’t crazy. There really is a set of stairs here,” the agent remarked.
“I told you,” Matt replied, relieved to know he had been justified.
“You two need to come down here,” the Fed ordered. “I’m Officer Loveless, a Federal Agent with Homeland Security. This is now government property, and you two have a lot of questions to answer. I’ll be escorting you back into town.”
Just then, the background behind John and Darcy began to waver. Someone stepped onto the platform. It was the old man who had been sitting on the bench. “Hello, I don’t have much time,” he stated.
At that moment, the agent pulled his gun. “All three of you, move down to the bottom of those stairs,” he commanded.
The old man quickly assessed the situation. He whispered to John and Darcy, “Follow me; you’ll be safe. Keep your eyes closed as you step through. The passage is bright enough to blind you.” The old man stepped back through the opening.
The agent started moving up the stairs toward them as Darcy picked up her backpack. “You two, get down here now.”
“Which way do you want to go?” Darcy asked.
There was no time for a verbal reply. John grabbed Darcy by the arm and pulled her into the portal. They disappeared before the agent had a chance to reach them.
As soon as the agent saw John and Darcy vanish, he bolted up the remaining steps and jumped after them. The portal was no longer working. Agent Loveless flung himself off the top of the stairs, landing hard in a tangle of vines and boulders below.
Matt, who was hot on his trail, stopped short when he saw Loveless sailing through the air and down to the ground. Loveless wasn’t moving. Matt raced back down the stairs, reaching Loveless just as he was regaining his senses.
“Are you okay?” he asked the groggy agent.
“Hell no, I’m not okay. I think I broke my leg and maybe a rib. Get me out of these damn vines.”
Matt pulled at the vines and cleared enough of a path to help Loveless reach a clearing where he lay down. Matt covered him with a sleeping bag from the gear John had left behind.
“Reach for my phone. It’s in my back pocket,” Loveless ordered.
Matt found the phone but discovered that Loveless had landed on it when he hit the rocks. It was smashed and no longer working.
“Dammit! Let me see your phone. I’ll call for help.”
Matt hesitated.
“Well, let me have it.”
“I can’t do that,” Matt replied.
“The hell you can’t. Let me see your phone, now!”
Matt hesitated again. “I can’t. I don’t have one.”
“What! You don’t have one? Everyone has a phone. What do you mean you don’t have one?”
“I have one, but I don’t have it with me. I didn’t think I’d need it, so I left it back at my office.”
“Well, that’s just dandy. That means you’re going to need to get back to the car and get some help out here.”
“I’ll have to go at first light. I don’t think I’ll make it back to the car before dark.”
“Like hell. I need a doctor now. You’ll make it if you run. Get moving.”
Matt didn’t like the idea of trying to outrun the sun. His sense of direction wasn’t great, and he hated to think about what might happen if it got dark before he made it to the car.
Loveless was in pain, and his mood had turned caustic. Matt realized he wasn’t being offered a choice. “Okay, I’ll do it. Are you sure you’ll be alright here alone?”
“It’s not my first choice. I better not be here all night, so get moving.”
Matt took off, running as fast as he could along the narrow game trail. Ten minutes later, he was out of breath. He slowed to a fast walk but kept moving forward. Thirty minutes later, he realized he had somehow gotten off the trail. He tried to find it again with no luck. He kept moving in the direction he thought he should go. By the time the sun went down, Matt still hadn’t found the logging road.
It was dark. He was lost. Panic began to set in. Not that he was normally afraid of being alone in the wilderness after dark; he was an avid hiker and camper. What he didn’t like was being alone in the wilderness without knowing where he was.
He wisely decided to sit down and wait for the morning sun. Officer Loveless would just have to deal with being in the woods all night. At least he wasn’t lost. The temperature was dropping, and Matt was in for a long, cold, and uncomfortable night.
Agent Loveless waited and waited. He was in pain, but he was man enough to handle it. After the sun went down, he listened intently for the sound of rescuers. Eventually, pain and exhaustion overcame him. When he awoke again, the sun was just breaking over the horizon. He had survived the night, but he was still in the woods—exactly where he didn’t want to be. Surely someone would show up soon. He was starting to get hungry, but there was no food among the supplies John had left behind. There were a couple of bottles of water; it would have to do.
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