"Sector Seven? I've never heard of." John Keller admitted, the confusion evident in his wrinkled expression.
"That's the idea, we're not amateurs like the group in charge of Area 51." Simmons walked around the room, looking at the paintings and books on the shelves. "Cozy place, but I'd never work here."
"What do you want anyway?" John Keller asked, not wanting to waste time with someone as strange as Simmons. "Our country is in crisis and you act like it's just another day for you."
"Because it's just another day for me. I've lived in the shadows a long time, and I've seen a lot of things that would make an ordinary man question his place in the universe." Simmons feigned a voice of wisdom, only showing obvious mockery. "Let's stop joking, the crisis you're trying to combat is nothing more than an alien plague that has settled on our planet."
"Alien? Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah.... What a bad joke, are you an idiot?" John Keller was so fed up with Simmons that he wanted to end the conversation and have him arrested for being so disrespectful.
"Our country spends hundreds of billions every year on military investment, but of that amount, 10% goes exclusively to the organization of which I am a member. Since World War II, Sector Seven remains the most expensive military organization in the world, with technology improving exponentially for the protection of not only our homeland, but the human race." Simmons said, dropping his sarcastic facade for more seriousness.
"Protecting the human race, what are you talking about? I don't understand." John Keller asked, confused by the direction of the conversation. He was still completely unaware of the truths coming out of Simmons' mouth.
"Secretary of Defense, do you really think that we are the only beings in the universe? In an infinite and immeasurable cosmos, do you think that among billions of planets and stars, we are the only intelligent species?" Simmons looked at a miniature world globe on the table. He grabbed the object with one hand and pushed it to the floor, shattering it. "We humans are nothing in the face of the universe, and those who have mastered the means to travel through the cosmos have been on this planet much longer than you realize."
"Are you seriously talking about aliens? What nonsense, are you some kind of crazy enthusiast or conspiracy theorist?" John Keller lost his patience and wanted to call security.
"I'm not crazy, I'm an idealist with a dream that humanity can survive and thrive." Simmons looked out the window and walked away, glancing suspiciously at the sky. "There are many secrets on our world, Secretary of Defense, many secrets you know nothing about. And we in Sector Seven know some that not even our alien visitors know. We may be at a technological disadvantage, but we still have a trick or two up our sleeves to counterattack."
"Are you saying you know how to solve the crisis we're in?" John Keller looked suspiciously at Simmons.
"I can't solve the crisis, but I can answer your questions about how this metallic forest magically appeared." Simmons picked up a file he had left on the Secretary of Defense's desk and handed it to him. "This document contains everything you need to know about the truth, it is only a summary of what we have stored at our headquarters, but it is enough for you to understand the real proportion of the situation on our shoulders."
John Keller looked at the file and his eyes focused on the name of the file itself, where the cover was quite worn, with the name: PROJECT BLACK KNIFE.
"Project Black Knife?" John Keller said, watching Simmons for a moment before he began to imagine what was inside.
"Our friends from another world have been here on our planet for much longer than we know. Before, their activity was quite subtle, but in the last 5 years, their activity has increased exponentially and we have had to make an effort to hide it from curious eyes." Simmons commented, pulling a cigar out of his pocket to smoke, amused at the Secretary of Defense's incredulous reaction to the truth he had never imagined could be hidden.
"That can't be...this has signatures from several of our past presidents." John Keller whispered, low enough to be heard, as he looked at other pages showing the present day and pictures from World War II. "What happened in 1940?" He asked as he saw an image of an icosahedron-shaped object that appeared to be made of gold, a little over one meter high, with an obvious crack in its shape covered in indecipherable symbols.
"File 40 records our first contact and battle with an alien, when we had full confirmation that we were not alone in the universe." Simmons commented casually, smoking his expensive cigar, knowing what image John Keller was seeing. "This little guy you're looking at is what we call the Scorponok, before it was just an ordinary Nazi tank, until the transport of this object fell to the ground, releasing the stored radiation and creating this damn 20-foot robot scorpion. This monster killed everything within a 10km radius and took 4 days to trap and kill at the cost of an entire squad. Its parts are stored in our facility, where we learned some tricks that helped us win the war against the Nazis years later, without considering the dominance of nuclear energy thanks to it".
"I don't understand, these are our men, they are Americans. We officially entered the war when Pearl Harbor was attacked, not a year before." John Keller looked at Simmons for an answer, ignoring his lack of respect for smoking in his office.
"Officially, the United States couldn't directly attack or support the war, so Sector Seven had to operate outside the rules. You know, business first." Simmons quipped.
"Why was your organization in... Africa?" John Keller asked, still keeping his eyes on Simmons.
"Because Hitler found out about the golden star that fell from the sky onto our planet thousands of years ago. If he had been able to use its power, he would have won the war or caused the extinction of the human race. Either way, the options weren't as good as you can imagine." Simmons became serious again, and the look in his eyes made it clear that this was a matter of the utmost secrecy that made even the Secretary of Defense cringe.
"What is this thing?" John Keller asked about the golden object or the golden star that fell to the earth.
"I think it would be easier for you to see what we have in store in person, so I can explain it in more detail and you don't make any rash decisions." Simmons walked to the door, but before he touched the handle, he turned and looked at John. "You like tourism and history? I want to give you the VIP invitation to learn a little history at the Hoover Dam, a highly confidential visit to avoid the eyes of curious people. And before I forget, I recommend bringing an extra pair of underwear."