Rice and Kearns relaxed a bit as their commercial flight from Chicago, via Seattle, Portland, and Bend, Oregon, set down at Omaha, Nebraska. They had followed the department's standard airport evasion procedure, keeping an eye out for trouble, by leapfrogging. During transfers along the route, while one of the team purchased the airline tickets for the next leg of the journey —at the last possible moment —and checked their baggage, the other held himself in the background to watch for anyone in the airport crowd that had anything more than a casual interest in two very frightened, slightly balding, middle aged, executive types.

It had been years since the pair had been on an operation. Years since a young Captain Hendrickson of USAF Intelligence had singled out Airman Basic Rice and Kearns, on the basis of psychological testing, for special duty. Both had shown a complete lack of human compassion that was advantageous for Hendrickson's purposes .

As time tempers, neither had wanted to go on this mission to Oregon. Hendrickson should have realized that they weren't in shape physically, or mentally. Just look at what had happened. Hard Ass would have another piece of "hanging offense" evidence to put in his secret files. Rice and Kearns wished they had never let themselves be talked into being any part of the Canadian LSD experiment. The price they paid for that mistake over the years was too, too much. Now they would have a "wet, friendly," on the record that could be used against them.

That dumb, fat assed Lieutenant! He deserved what happened. But, with the mission in a shambles, Rice was worried. He leaned across the seat and whispered to Kearns, "We shouldn't have panicked."

"Awh, don't worry about it. Other than Hendrickson, no one will ever know."

"Then why did we tell him?"

"Yeah, maybe that was a mistake."

This mistake was bigger than Kearns realized, for a different reason. In their need for reassurance after making it off the mountain, the team had stopped at the first public telephone. This happened to be at a combination grocery store, gas station, bar, and motel curiously named UNCLE ONLY'S PLACE.