Overhead Robert heard the sound of a helicopter. He glanced up. The side of the helicopter was marked with the insignia of the French National Police. General Hilliard was doing everything possible to see that he arrived in Switzerland safely. And after I show him the last witness, Robert thought grimly, he thinks he’s going to kill me. But the General is in for a surprise.

Robert reached the Swiss border at four o’clock in the afternoon. At the border, the French police car turned back, and a Swiss police car became his escort. For the first time since the affair had started, Robert began to relax. Thank God Admiral Whittaker had friends in high places. With the President expecting a meeting with Robert, General Hilliard would not dare to harm him. His mind turned to the woman in white, and at that instant, he heard her voice. The sound of it reverberated through the car.

Hurry, Robert. We are all waiting for you.

All? Was there more than one? I’ll find out soon enough, Robert thought.

In Zurich, Robert stopped at the Dolder Grand Hotel and wrote a note at the desk for the General.

“General Milliard will ask for me,” Robert told the clerk. “Please give this to him.”

“Yes, sir.”

Outside, Robert walked over to the police car that had been escorting him. He leaned down to talk to the driver. “From here on in, I want to be on my own.”

The driver hesitated. “Very well, Commander.”

Robert got back in his car and started driving toward Uetendorf and the scene of the UFO crash. As he drove, he thought of all the tragedies that had occurred because of it and all the lives that had been taken. Hans Beckerman and Father Patrinl; Leslie Mothershed and William Mann; Daniel Wayne and Otto Schmidt; Lash Bushfekete and Fritz Mandel; Olga Romanchanko and Kevin Parker. Dead. All of them dead.

I want to see the face of Janus, Robert thought, and look into his eyes.

The villages seemed to race by, and the pristine beauty of the Alps belied all the bloodshed and terror that had started here. The car approached Thun, and Robert’s adrenalin began to flow. Ahead was the field where he and Beckerman had found the weather balloon, where the nightmare had begun. Robert pulled the car over to the side of the road and switched off the engine. He said a silent prayer. Then he got out of the car, crossed the highway and went into the field.

A thousand memories flashed through Robert’s mind. The phone call at four in the morning. You are ordered to report to General Milliard at National Security Agency Headquarters at Fort Meade at 0600 this morning. Is the message understood, Commander?

How little he had understood it then. He recalled General Hilliard’s words: You must find those witnesses. All of them. And the search had led from Zurich to Bern, London, Munich, Rome and Orvieto; from Waco to Fort Smith; from Kiev to Washington, and Budapest. Well, the bloody trail had finally come to an end, here, where it had all begun.

She was waiting for him, as Robert had known she would be, and she looked exactly as she had appeared in his dream. They moved toward each other, and she seemed to be floating toward him, a radiant smile on her face.

Thank you for coming, Robert.

Had he actually heard her speak, or was he hearing her thoughts? How did one talk to an alien being?

“I had to come,” he said simply. There was a totally unreal quality to the scene. I’m standing here speaking with someone from another world! I should be terrified, but in my whole life, I’ve never felt more at peace. “I have to warn you,” Robert said. “Some men are coming here who want to harm you. It would be better if you left before they arrive.”

I cannot leave.

And Robert understood. He reached in his pocket with his left hand and pulled out the small piece of metal containing the crystal.

Her face lit up. Thank you, Robert.

He handed it to her and watched her fit it into the piece she held in her hand.

“What happens now?” Robert asked.

Now I can communicate with my friends. They will be coming for me.

Was there something ominous in that sentence? Robert recalled General Hilliard’s words: They intend to take over this planet and make slaves of us. What if General Hilliard was right? What if the aliens did intend to take over the earth? Who was going to stop them? Robert looked at his watch. It was almost time for General Hilliard and Janus to arrive, and even as Robert thought it, he heard the sound of a giant Huey helicopter approaching from the north.

Your friends are here.

Friends. They were his mortal enemies, and he was determined to expose them as murderers, to destroy them.

The grass and flowers in the field began to flutter wildly as the helicopter came to a landing.

He was about to come face to face with Janus. The thought of it filled him with a murderous rage. The door of the helicopter opened.

Susan stepped out.

Chapter Fifty-One

In the mothership, floating high above earth, there was great joy. All the lights on the panels were flashing green.

We have found her!

We must hurry.

The huge ship started to hurl itself toward the planet far below.

Chapter Fifty-Two

For a single instant, time was frozen, and then it shattered into a thousand pieces. Robert watched, stunned, as Susan stepped out of the helicopter. She stood there for a second, and then started toward Robert, but Monte Banks who was right behind her, grabbed her and held her back.

“Run, Robert! Run! They’re going to kill you!”

Robert took a step toward her, and at that moment, General Milliard and Colonel Frank Johnson stepped out of the helicopter.

General Milliard said, “I’m here, Commander. I’ve kept my part of the bargain.” He walked over to Robert and the woman in white. “I assume this is the eleventh witness. The missing alien. I’m sure we’ll find her very interesting. So it’s finally finished.”

“Not yet. You said you would bring Janus.”

“Oh, yes. Janus insisted on coming to see you.”

Robert turned toward the helicopter. Admiral Whittaker was standing in the doorway.

“You asked to see me, Robert?”

Robert stared at him, unbelievingly, and there was a red film before his eyes. It was as though his world had collapsed. “No! Why …? Why in God’s name?”

The Admiral was moving toward him. “You don’t understand, do you? You never did. You’re worried about a few meaningless lives. We’re worried about saving our world. This earth belongs to us, to do with as we please.”

He turned to stare at the woman in white. “If you creatures want war, you’re going to get war. And we’ll beat you!” He turned back to Robert. “You betrayed me. You were my son. I let you take Edward’s place. I gave you a chance to serve your country. And how did you repay me? You came whining to me to let you stay home so you could be with your wife.” His voice was filled with contempt. “No son of mine would ever do that. I should have seen then how distorted your values were.”

Robert stood there, immobile, too shocked to speak.

“I broke up your marriage because I still had faith in you, but …”

“You broke up my …?”

“Remember when the CIA sent you after the Fox? I arranged that. I hoped it would bring you to your senses. You failed because there was no Fox. I thought I had straightened you out, that you were one of us. And then you told me you were going to quit the Agency. That’s when I knew you were no patriot, that you had to be eliminated, destroyed. But first you had to help us with our mission.”

“Your mission? To kill all those innocent people? You’re insane!”

“They had to be killed to stop them from spreading panic. We’re ready now for the aliens. All we needed was a little more time, and you’ve given it to us.”