Curtain Fall: Second Edition, Disaster, Preparedness, Survival, Awakening (The Gatekeeper Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

head at the thought of some people’s gun fear when he locked his safe. He didn’t like using the safe, but he could open it quickly with the biometric reader. With the swipe of an index finger, he could arm himself in seconds. His other option was his briefcase, but he would need it this morning for the meeting, so the gun had to go in the safe.
    With his weapon locked safely away, John hung his suit jacket over the back of his chair and reopened his office door. He was pleased to see that the tech department installed a new, 61 inch, flat panel TV on the far wall. John realized they must have installed it over the weekend, which meant that he owed Terry, the firm’s IT guy, lunch.
    Terry wasn’t some plain, old, ordinary IT guy; he was the tech guy. He was a genius with all things digital, and the firm paid him very well to stick around and babysit all the technically illiterate people who worked for the firm.
    John saw a remote lying on his desk, and smiled. A yellow sticky-note was attached to it, and it read, “To turn on the TV, press the little green button.”
    John was very aware of how busy he kept Terry with his insatiable demand for digitally supplied information. Their near daily contact turned into a loose friendship that solidified when the two literally bumped into each other at a Fort Worth firing range. They were participating in an individual pistol shooting competition when they decided to collaborate and become team shooting partners. It was the formation of a pretty reliable friendship. Not quite as solid as the military friendship he shared with Pete and Mark, but close enough for work. Terry was the only person John actually enjoyed having lunch with.
    John pulled the yellow sticky note off the controller and picked up his office phone. He hit the speed dial for Terry’s office and waited. Terry answered, after the customary three rings, and his smoothly fake Texas drawl slipped over the line, “Tech support, Terry speak’n.”
    “Thanks for the TV, and for the note. I don’t think I would have been able to turn the TV on without your help.”
    “Yeah, well, I know you high-collar types aren’t up to speed on the latest tech trends and all. I figured the note would get you started.” He added with mirth. “So tell me, you like the six-way splitter I added?”
    “I haven’t turned it on yet.”
    “What? Well turn it on . . . you’ll love it.”
    John reached over and grabbed the remote. He studied it for a moment and pushed the small green button, just as Terry had suggested. After a brief warmup, the TV came to life. John noticed that the TV did, indeed, divide into six individual screens within the bigger sixty-one inch screen surface.
    “Only one screen is active,” John added with mock indignation. He hit the mute button on the remote and waited for Terry to respond.
    “Well, that’s because I didn’t program any other channels yet. The channel on the screen is the one you had displayed before. If I was left to program the other five channels, you’d be watching sports . . . and NASCAR. Oh, and there’d be beer cans and pizza boxes all over your office.” Terry paused to let John absorb his defense.
    “Uh huh, right,” replied John, as he fiddled with the programmer.
    “Look, you want me to come up and program the other channels for you?” He offered in a more serious tone.
    “Yeah, would you? I’ve got a meeting in a few,” replied John.
    “Sure. You bet. I’m on my way.”
    “If I’m not here when you arrive, just let yourself in. It’s a staff meeting this morning, and I’ll probably be out of office for a couple hours. Can you program it for all the key news networks?”
    “Would that be liberal or conservative?” Terry asked, with obvious humor. He knew full well where John’s political affiliations leaned.
    John chuckled, “I’d say all conservative, but I think there’s only one. Anyway, I need to know what the other half is doing, so give me the