by S. R. Booth
He started writing down the letters that jumped out at him. “What are you doing?” Sarah squinted over at the paper he was writing on before slipping on a pair of reading glasses.
“I’m not sure.” He wrote and then scribbled through a few letters from the code, changing their positions on his paper. “There is something about this that I can almost see. But I can’t quite grasp it.”
Sarah picked up another pen and started arranging the groups of letters Billy had made into different configurations. Suddenly, she went back to her computer and started searching through pages she had bookmarked.
“Did you find something?” Billy asked looking up from his paper.
“Maybe.” She glanced over at his page of letters. “The way you grouped those letters reminded me of a code I saw somewhere online. See how each group has one or two numbers, and they each start with the same two letters? It seems like I saw something where the code changes after a certain repetition, in this case maybe the r and w that keep showing up together. Then the numbers had to do with which letter was the first letter of the word, and which letter stood for the correct letter of the alphabet.”
She pulled up page after page on her computer, scanning through them trying to find what she was searching for. “This is it.” She and Billy both read the decoding information, then Billy picked up his pen again and started to work with the letters in the way the page explained. It was a fairly simple code that had sometimes been used in periods of war.
“Too bad there isn’t a code breaker on this page that would do the work for us.” Billy paused in his writing. “There are just so many variables. It’s going to take a long time to find one that works. If we have to do that for each section, this could take forever!”
“Keep doing what you’re doing and let me see if I can find something else online. It would be much faster to have a computer run through all the possible variations of the letters. I wish I knew how to write computer programs,” Sarah said in frustration. “I could just tell the computer what I want and make it do the work for us.”
“What about Ritchie?” Billy asked suddenly. “He’s a computer whiz. Don’t you think he could make a program like that?”
Sarah stopped typing and considered the talents of her brother who shared her fascination with computers. Ritchie had followed his interest by pursuing a degree in computer technology. “I think he could. Would it be safe to have him know whatever the note says? We’ve stumbled into something very weird. I don’t know if we should pull anyone else in with us. You know?”
“Yes, I do know. We’ll hold off on asking him about it for now. That reminds me though, I didn’t tell you about Ben.”
“What about Ben?” Sarah swiveled her chair to face him.
“He wasn’t at work today. There was a new guy named Michael driving. He was very tight-lipped, said he didn’t know anything about Ben. I meant to ask someone about him after work, but once I found this note it was all I thought about. I’m guessing it’s going to be just like when Jerald didn’t show up for work, though. No one was saying anything.”
“Do you think he’s okay?” Sarah gasped, and her eyes widened in a combination of concern and fear. Mysterious coded messages were exciting, but people disappearing was just scary.
“I want to think so.” Billy ran a hand through his hair leaving a spiky trail. “A company can’t just go around making all of its employees disappear without someone getting suspicious, right?”
“Enough money lets people do pretty much what they want” Sarah turned back to stare at her computer screen. An icy feeling was growing in the pit of her stomach.
Reaching over, Billy gently pulled Sarah’s hands from the keyboard and turned her to face him again.
“Sarah, we can drop all of this right now. We can burn the notes, clear the history on your computer, and I can go to work tomorrow as the most oblivious guy in the world. I don’t know how I became involved in whatever this is, but I don’t want you to be scared. I certainly don’t want you to be in any danger.” He knew what he told her was the truth—he would do anything to keep her safe.
“Don’t you think it’s too late for that? Someone on the ‘inside’ is leaving personal notes for you. I don’t think this will just go away if we ignore it.” She squeezed his hands and took a deep breath.
“We have a responsibility to do something about this...this...whatever this is. From one random piece of paper we’ve learned that someone—whether Scinegue or someone else—wants to eliminate people who don’t fit their ideals and is making plans to do it. Depending on the scope of their plan, I could be included!”
The intensity of her expression transformed her appearance from the sweet, gentle woman he knew and loved into that of a fearless warrior. “If someone wants me dead, doesn’t it make more sense to try to find out exactly what is going on and try to stop it? Or at least warn people?” She looked deep into his eyes, and he could feel the courage radiating from her.
“If we have enough proof,” she continued, “people will have to listen to us. And with enough people on our side, we will be able to do something. Even if I’m not a target, someone else is, and I think we need to do what we can to help them.”
In awe of her transformation, Billy leaned close and kissed her, never taking his eyes from hers. A smile hovered around his lips. “I love you. You must be the most amazing woman in the world. I’m so lucky you’re mine. Whoever it is that thinks height or hair color or whatever has anything to do with making a great person is just crazy. It’s what’s inside you that makes you great, and the world would be a lesser place without you.”
He pulled her close for another kiss, and she smiled and shook her head, but the intensity of the moment was still in her voice. “I’m no hero, you know. I’m just doing what almost anyone else would do in this situation. Which I guess is what makes doing it so important. Every single person in this world contributes to making it the place it is—for better and worse. And yeah, I can think of a few people right off the bat who I think the world would be better off without,” she gave him a lopsided grin, “but it’s not my decision to make. God has a plan. It’s more than arrogant for any group of people to think they know better than He does!”
Billy nodded. He believed in God, he supposed, but Sarah lived as if He was a part of her life. “If we’re going to do this, let’s get to work. We don’t know what kind of timetable these people are operating under.”
They lost track of time as they worked on deciphering the code, forgot about dinner and barely noticed when the sun went down, just clicked on the desk lamp and kept working.
Chapter 6
“Sir?” A clean-shaven face above a starched white button down with a tie and dark jacket peered around the partially opened office door, clearly nervous but trying not to show it.
“Yes?” Eugene Bryant looked up from the file on his desk that he had been studying, a touch of annoyance showing on his face at the interruption.
“We were able to access the Roth’s computer earlier today and have been following their activity. They have been pursuing many different code breaking sites.” When Mr. Bryant remained silent he continued with a slight stutter, “We, we just thought you would like to know, sir.”
“Yes, yes.” Mr. Bryant replied, snapping out of his reverie. “Mr. Douglas, is it?” At the man’s nod he continued. “You’ve done what I asked. That is very good. Continue monitoring the computer.” He considered the rumors he had heard of an insider sending out coded messages. “Let me know immediately if they use any of those ‘code breaker’ sites.
“Also, be sure the house is under constant surveillance, we want it wired just as soon as possible. That woman has to go out sometime,” he declared with a trace of annoyance. Privately he wished he could just have her removed from the situation, but he knew that would cause more problems than he was ready to deal with just yet.
“Yes, sir. I will keep you updated on everything, sir.” Mr. Doug
las slipped back out of the doorway. Closing the office door securely behind him he wiped a hand over his sweating brow.
Whew! I don’t know why that is always so stressful, he thought with his eyes focused on the floor as he hurried down the hall back to the monitoring room where he was stationed. Mr. Bryant has never been anything but nice to me but just knowing what he is capable of ... his thoughts trailed off, and he shivered visibly.
“Oomph!”
He jerked his head up as his shoulder collided with a coworker walking towards him. “Oh, hi. Sorry. I wasn’t watching where I was going.”
“Not a problem. I must not have been paying much attention either. You don’t look so great.” The other man inspected him, taking in his sweaty brow and pasty complexion. “You have another run in with Bryant?” he asked with narrowed eyes and a knowing nod.
Douglas looked around guiltily, straightening his hunched shoulders and wiping his brow again. “No, of course not.” He swallowed hard. “I was just updating him on a situation that we have under surveillance.” He paused and met the other man’s eyes, dropping his charade. “Man, is it really that obvious?” he asked with a discouraged shake of his head.
“Probably not to anyone else, we’ve just known each other a long time. So,” he continued in a nonchalant voice, “anything interesting going on in surveillance?”
“No. Just keeping eyes on a potential candidate. No big deal.”
The other man nodded and started back down the hall before turning with a grin. “I guess somebody won’t be getting much sleep tonight.”
“Why?” Douglas asked, startled.
Grin firmly in place as if only teasing and not fishing, the man replied, “Someone will probably be going through phone records all night, right?” He continued backing down the hall as if he wasn’t keenly interested in what Douglas’s reply would be.
“Oh,” Douglas let out a sigh of relief, “no, we just have eyes on the house and computer so far. You know we’ve had a few odd coded messages show up at other locations recently. We’re just keeping an eye out for anything strange.”
“That shouldn’t be too bad then. See you around.” The man turned and hurried down the hall, his grin replaced by a look of purpose. He hadn’t learned as much as he hoped, but he would have to be more careful with his messages. At least it didn’t sound like they had any suspicions toward him so far.
Mr. Douglas entered the darkened security room, much calmer than he had been, and spoke briskly to the two other men sitting before the multiple monitors, each with headphones on and notepads at hand. “Mr. Bryant was pleased that we were able to access the Roth’s computer so promptly and wants it monitored at all times. If there’s any sign of a code being entered, he wants to know about it immediately.” Both men nodded, never taking their eyes off the screens they were watching, not out of disrespect but out of knowing important things could happen in a split second.
Douglas then phoned the surveillance team on the Roth’s case from his cell phone. “Mr. Bryant would like the wires in place as soon as possible. Do you think it could be done tonight while they are sleeping? Yes, I understand. It is worth the risk, I believe.” He hung up knowing they would soon be able to hear—and hopefully see—everything going on in the Roth’s household.
“Look at this!” Billy continued writing as Sarah spun to see what he was so excited about. “I’ve got it! I’m getting words!” He held out his notepad for her to see.
Their heads bent close together over the paper, bated breath released at each new word he uncovered. The mystery they were unraveling both excited and terrified them. For as many strange things they had discovered, it was still more than unbelievable to them that something real was happening; that this wasn’t a misunderstanding or an overactive imagination. Something sinister was apparently going on, and for some reason Billy—and by connection Sarah—had been drawn into it.
Sarah looked up suddenly, excitement and fear showing in her rosy cheeks and bright eyes. “That’s tonight!”
Billy nodded without looking up, the tip of his pen touching each letter and number as he counted to the next letter, soon revealing the remainder of the message.
I will be at the Corner Store on October 4 at nine p.m. I have imperative information that I can only share in person. I am certain you have questions and I will provide the answers that I can, but again, only face-to-face. I know what I ask is a lot with the little information you have been given. For now, for your safety as well as my own, it is the best that I can do. I pray that you will meet me on the fourth. I will look for you on the bread aisle.
The message deciphered, he sat back in his comfortable office chair and steepled his fingers under his chin. Sarah watched him intently. Minutes ticked past, and the silence remained unbroken as the young couple contemplated what they’d uncovered, and where it was leading them.
“Well,” Billy was the first to break the silence, “I think I have to go. But you,” he ordered, “are staying here.”
“No!” Sarah exclaimed. “I’ll go crazy if you leave me here just wondering and imagining what might be happening to you!”
“You’re not going.” He took her hands in his and looked in her eyes. “I don’t know what’s going on yet, but it’s not anything good. I have to know that you’re safe. What if I’m walking into some sort of trap? What good would it be for us to both get caught? You read what it said about being watched. If we are being watched, you need to stay here to make sure whoever is doing the watching believes we are both here.”
Sarah started to speak, then took the notepad Billy had been using. Flipping to a fresh sheet of paper she scribbled, If we’re being watched, someone could be listening too.
He blinked at her in surprise before raising his eyebrows and nodding. Are you all right with doing this? He wrote briskly in his tiny but neat handwriting. We can still just walk away from this and go on with our lives as usual.
No! Sarah’s swirling sprawl flowed across the page of the yellow notepad. We can’t ignore this. It won’t go away, and we will just be caught unprepared for whatever is coming. Go. I’ll take care of things here. She gave him a determined look. “I love you,” she mouthed.
“I love you, too,” he replied silently.
“So, popcorn and a movie tonight?” Sarah asked in a clear, loud voice, with a plan already formulated. She stood up and walked towards the kitchen to start the popcorn, throwing a look over her shoulder to see if Billy was going to play along.
Billy was quick to follow her lead. “Sounds great! I’ll get a movie started. Anything in particular you want to watch?”
Billy hurried to the DVD cabinet and grabbed one of Sarah’s favorite movies and started it without waiting for a reply. Then he arranged some pillows and a blanket on the couch, adding his favorite cap to the pillow ‘sitting’ in his spot. Crouching down below the windows he crept to the kitchen, and Sarah joined him behind the cabinets out of sight from any windows for a kiss.
She started to speak, but Billy put his finger to her lips with a shake of his head and gave her a tender smile. He trailed the back of his finger across her cheek, and after one more quick kiss he was gone. She heard the door to the garage click shut behind him.
Sarah sat where she was for just a moment, filled with a mixture of love and fear before her features hardened in resolve. She stood up, taking on her role. Whatever those people were involved in wasn’t right, and if there was something she could do to help prevent it, well, she was tougher than she looked.
Measuring out popcorn, she added it to the hot oil in her popcorn popper on the stove. The opening music from her favorite movie came from the living room, drawing a smile from her at Billy’s thoughtfulness. “And so the show begins,” she murmured.
“Oh, Billy!” she exclaimed extra loud making sure if anyone was listening they would have something to hear. “You are so sweet to put in my favorite movie. I know it puts you to sleep half the time, but I just love it.” S
he laughed, quite convincingly she believed, and then proceeded to enjoy a romantic evening with her ‘pillow’ husband after making sure that the blinds behind the couch were closed, but not too tightly. If anyone was watching, she wanted them to have a clear view of her and ‘Billy’ innocently watching a movie.
Instead of attracting attention to the house by opening the overhead door to the garage, Billy left through the small door that opened into the backyard. He peered around cautiously before stepping out, then ran to the side fence that would take him through his neighbor’s backyard.
Clouds covered the moon, but with street lights and lights coming from inside the houses, he had no trouble seeing as he passed from one yard to the next until he came to the side street. He looked around, and not seeing anything suspicious, jumped over the last fence onto the sidewalk below and headed downtown at a brisk pace.
The corner grocery store, conveniently called The Corner Store, where he was to meet the mystery note writer, was just a few blocks away. One of the benefits of living in a small town was a small grocery store within walking distance from his house.
An easy ten mile drive either north or south would take them to their choice of larger stores with more varied selections, and Sarah made that drive at least once a month. For their everyday needs, The Corner Store was more than sufficient. The man must know where he lived to come up with such a close meeting place, he realized with a start.
Everything was happening so fast that it just hit him that whomever he was meeting probably knew a lot about him. Where he lived was one thing, but he must know more about him than that to have entrusted him with the bits of information he had. He must have some reason to believe Billy wouldn’t just turn that information over to someone at Scinegue, like Mr. Bryant.
The thought of an unknown person studying him left Billy with an uncomfortable feeling, although he couldn’t explain why. He didn’t have any secrets he was afraid of having uncovered; it just seemed intrusive to have a stranger know so much about him.
