The Days of Noah: Book One: Conspiracy Read Online Free PDF Page A

eight.”
    Ken winked. With a broad smile and a nod, he walked away.
    Everett stopped by Jones’s office on the way back to his cube. As usual, he wasn’t there. “This guy has it good. He’s never in the office.” Everett tried to locate the surveillance camera that Jones used to monitor his office. It was nowhere to be seen.
    Everett went back to his desk, where he would have a full task box of new transactions to sift through to protect America from the new breed of domestic terrorist. According to the watch list, their numbers would soon include nearly half of the country.
    Just past three o’clock, Everett’s office phone buzzed. He grabbed the receiver. “Hello?”
    “Everett, it’s Mr. Jones. I’m back in the office. You can come on in here.”
    “Right away, sir.” Everett hung up and walked through the maze of cubicles.
    “You can close the door if you like,” Jones said when Everett arrived.
    Everett smelled the stench of cigarettes as he closed the door and sat down. Judging from the smell, he must spend the whole day smoking in the parking lot , Everett thought.
    “I guess you’ve got more news for me,” John Jones stated.
    Everett couldn’t tell if he really wanted to know or if Jones was annoyed at having to listen to him. “Yes, sir. It would appear that cryptocurrencies are being used to purchase large amounts of gold and silver, which is one thing I am tasked with observing. Without access to the Utah data center, I can’t tell if any of the transactions from my task files are involved. To completely do my job, I would need to get into the NSA system.”
    Jones drummed his fingers on the desk. He looked up at the ceiling then back down at Everett, clearly contemplating his response.
    Finally, Agent Jones said, “Everett, that’s good work, but you know how tight the Company is about access to secure files since the Snowden leaks. We’re all under the microscope. I’ll pass the information along, and I’ll let you know if anything comes of it.”
    “Thank you.” Everett was disappointed. He let himself out of the office and headed back to his cube.
    It’s one thing to lock you in a cubicle all day doing monotonous work, but it’s quite another to deny people the tools they need to do their work. Ken’s right. Clock in, clock out, and go home. It’s a good paycheck, nothing more, nothing less.
    Everett finished the day and went home. The next day, like a hamster on a wheel, he repeated the cycle. The difference was he didn’t bother to stop by the storage shed. What was the point? On the way to lunch, Everett contemplated telling Ken that he would be available this weekend. Better not. I probably wouldn’t be very good company.
    Heading for his car at the end of the day, he stopped short. “Oh great, some clown has a to-go menu on the windshield of my sixty-thousand-dollar BMW.”
    Everett hated restaurants that canvassed parking lots, littering his car with unwanted ads. It was a common occurrence in his apartment complex. Menus would be placed on his windshield, and then it would rain and make a terrible mess for him to clean.
    Then the thought struck him. If a restaurant is delivering out here, that means I don’t have to eat cafeteria food. Hmm. Maybe this one time a to-go menu on the windshield is not so bad.
    Everett snatched the menu with more enthusiasm than he’d had all day. “La Casita? This is in Sterling. There’s no way they deliver out here.”
    Everett looked at the other cars in the lot. No one else had a menu on their windshields. He looked back down at the menu. He flipped it over. “Happy Hour, Monday thru Friday, 5:00 to 7:00.”
    The 7:00 was highlighted with a yellow highlighter. It was hard to notice, as if the highlighter pen used had seen better days.
    “This has to be Ken’s work. Okay, I’ll play along.” Everett headed home to freshen up. His apartment was in Ashburn, so he had to pass by there to get to Sterling