Warzone: Nemesis: A Novel of Mars Read Online Free PDF

stated.
    “Where did you find it?”
    “On Navajo land,” he flatly stated. “Salvage laws favor us, but then the whole thing would be hard to keep quiet if it went to court.”
    The tribe had a lawyer to handle lawsuits, but the Navajo came alone, without his lawyer. Wallace knew the government would not want this to be made public. Jones wouldn’t be here unless he wanted to deal. The question was not if he wanted to deal, but how much would he settle for?
    “What do you want for the ship?”
    Jones made an offer, and Wallace knew he was going to need deeper pockets than he had to close the deal. It was time to play his ace card. Wallace had spent a lot of money to get his only son into an Ivy League school, where he majored in government studies. Jesse lent his youthful energy and enthusiasm to the Eisenhower presidential campaign and was rewarded with a white house job as an aide to the president himself.
    “Chairman Jones, would you excuse me while I make a call? I don’t have the authority to agree to your asking price.”
    The older man smiled, took his hat in hand and walked to the front office. Betty offered the chairman a cup of coffee, which he accepted. The White House switchboard put the chief through to his son.
    “Hi, Dad, how’s God’s country?”
    “Jesse, an alien spaceship crashed on the Navajo reservation. The Navajo Council Chairman is in my office, and wants to sell it to us. I need authorization to negotiate a price.”
    “Okay, Dad, hang on.” His father waited for a few minutes.
    “Chief Wallace, this is the President. Is this real, or a hoax?” He recognized the president’s voice from television.
    “It’s real, sir. I’ve seen the pictures, and the chairman has never lied to me. In any case, we’ll not pay them unless our experts verify the disc is genuine.”
    “Okay, but keep a lid on this and report only to me. Try to get a good deal on the disc. I need men to work for me who are loyal and discreet. When this business is concluded, I’ll have a job lined up for you here in Washington.”
    “I appreciate it sir, but bestow any favor upon my son.”
    “Very well, I’ll find a good job for Jesse that will last beyond my administration.”
    “Thank you, sir.”
    “Goodbye and God bless.”
    Wallace thought of walking to the front of his office and personally inviting the chairman to accompany him back, but reconsidered. Negotiating was sometimes as much posturing as anything else. His desk was his symbol of authority; he would have Jones approach the seat of his power.
    “Betty, send Chairman Jones in.”
    “Yes, sir.” To the chairman she said, “Chief Wallace will see you now.”
    Two pots of coffee later, at noon, they stuck a deal. The white man had never negotiated with anyone who drove so hard a bargain. He tried once in the negotiation to stall some road improvement projects on the reservation, but it didn’t faze the Navajo a bit. The elder man held all of the cards, and he knew it. It was a sweet deal for them. It cost them only forty dollars so far to bury the sky travelers, and it held great value to the bilagaana government. The government would authenticate the find, transport it out, and then pay the council. The price was four backhoes, twelve GMC pickups, well-drilling equipment for each district, road improvements for the reservation, and twenty college scholarships to a United States college of their choice. A mutual agreement of secrecy was agreed to by both sides. Neither the Navajos nor the government would profit from public disclosure. Ben continued to have recurring dreams of space and aliens, but told no one.

CODE NAME DESERT JEWEL
    GEN Carter F. Colson, the commanding officer of Presidential Nuclear Command Center 4 in southwestern Utah, had been summoned to see President Eisenhower. The general thought he might be given new orders concerning his facility. One of the fighter aircraft covering his facility flew him into the nation’s capital.