The Days of Noah: Book One: Conspiracy (19 page)

Everett was learning more than he wanted to know. Two weeks ago, he felt like a true patriot who was serving his country. Now, he was feeling more like a member of the old East German Stasi. “Any other signs that the elites are about to pull the trigger?”

Jones nodded. “Whether it’s a false flag terrorist attack or an engineered outbreak of Ebola, I think we’ll see heavy troop and supply movements across the country. Tons of stuff is already prepositioned, but they’ll start moving boots and equipment just before the event. That’s one of the things I’m watching for in the daily briefings.”

Everett stood up. “You’ve given me a lot to think about. I’ve got to get home now, though; I still have a long drive. Would there be a good place for me to hide some of my coins around here?”

Jones got up to see Everett to the door. “Bury them out back in the woods. Pick a tree that you won’t forget, and dig a hole. Just make sure your silver is sealed tight. It’ll tarnish if it gets any moisture around it. Not gold though. It won’t tarnish or corrode.”

Everett took the nickel that contained the SD card and stuck it back in his pocket. “Thanks. I’ll see you soon.”

Jones said, “Bring that little NSA girl up here if you like. There are some nice trails around here for the two of you to enjoy. I’d love to meet her.”

Everett took a deep breath. He liked thinking about Courtney. “Yeah. I’m hanging out with her tomorrow night. I’ll see what she’s doing Sunday afternoon. It’s a long trip for her, though. She’s way out in South Laurel.”

Jones smiled. “Whenever is fine. If you do come, introduce me as Uncle John. She doesn’t need to know my work history just yet.”

“Okay, but don’t address her as the little NSA girl. We’re still playing the game and denying that either of us works for the intelligence community.”

CHAPTER 19

“We should move toward an international currency because the speculation and conflicts of currency has caused some of the irritations not only among the trading nations but among individuals.”

Evelyn Rothschild,2012 Bloomberg Intervie
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Everett pulled into Courtney’s driveway Saturday night. He turned off the engine, walked to the door, and knocked.

Courtney answered the door. “Hey. I wasn’t expecting you so soon. Come on in; I’ll be ready in five minutes.”

Everett came in and closed the door. “Oh, am I early?”

Courtney went into her room. “No, but last time you were really late. I thought maybe that was just how you rolled.”

Everett was glad she wasn’t in the room to see him blush. “Are you ever going to let me live that down?”

“Maybe.” Courtney walked back through the living room and into her kitchen.

Everett looked around at her furnishings and made a mental note. She keeps her stuff neat. Everett was no clean freak, but he could never be happy with a slob.

He looked at a picture of Courtney with her family. “Nice looking family. Do they live nearby?”

She came back in the room, dropped her shoes on the floor, and slipped her feet into them. “California. They couldn’t really be any farther away and still be in the same country. What about your folks?”

Everett didn’t like talking about his family. He certainly didn’t want to tell her about his stepfamilies this soon; he thought it might make him sound dysfunctional. “I was raised by wolves.”

They walked outside, and Everett opened the car door for Courtney.

She smiled at the gesture. “At least the wolves taught you good manners.”

Everett laughed. He walked around the car, got in, and started the engine.

Courtney looked over at Everett. “I’m not the type of chick who’s impressed by cars, but if I was, a BMW 550i would definitely do it.”

Everett chuckled. “Thanks . . . I guess.”

“So where are you taking me?”

“Kent Island, if that’s okay. I like out-of-the-way kind of places.”

“Why? Are you married? Is someone going to see us?”

Everett fought back a grin. “No. I just don’t like crowded environments like downtown DC. I’ve never been to this place, but it has great reviews. It’s called the Crab House. It’s right on the water; it looks really peaceful in the pictures.”

“Sounds nice. It should be fun.”

The two of them were quiet for a while, but it wasn’t an awkward silence. It was okay. Everett was content to be in the car with her, and she didn’t seem to be uncomfortable about the silence either.

They made small talk during the hour drive out to Kent Island. Everett thought of it as a test; if he couldn’t stand to be in the car with someone for an hour, there wasn’t much use in pursuing the matter.

They arrived at the restaurant and were seated right on the water. The cool fall air would soon bring an end to dining al fresco, but today, the weather was pleasant. They both ordered crab legs, which were excellent.

After dinner, the conversation moved to more substantive topics.

Courtney sipped her latte. “So, what did you think of the action in the markets two weeks ago?”

Everett tried to figure out her angle. At the very least, she knew about the attempted attacks from sovereign actors. After all, H and M was taking over the threats that Everett’s team had identified. “I don’t know. It seemed like bad luck for the BRICS bank. Imagine them having their server meltdown hours before they were to announce a new reserve currency.”

Courtney winked at Everett. “Yeah, imagine that.”

Everett decided to see what she’d admit to. “So, did H and M see any activity that would suggest that the meltdown was more than a coincidence?”

Courtney craftily dodged the question. “Like what?”

Everett shrugged. “Like cyber-attacks from hackers who could have been acting on behalf of the BRICS nations in retaliation for the meltdown.”

Courtney started to say something, but then didn’t. Finally, she said, “IT has a cybersecurity division. You would have surely seen something if that type of activity was occurring.”

“Actually, when we identify a threat, we outsource it to another company.”

“Who do you outsource it to?”

Everett locked his gaze on Courtney’s eyes. “H and M.”

Courtney looked down at her latte and rolled her tongue to one side of her mouth. Seconds later, she flipped her hair and looked back up at Everett. “So you’ve been toying with me for a week now. You know where I work, and now I know where you work. I’m sure you have the same confidentiality policies that we have. I trust Lisa, and I’m sure she would never set me up with an undercover agent who’s trying to get me in trouble, so I’m fairly confident that you’re all right. I have a curious streak too, and I’d be willing to talk about work, but you’re going to have to start.”

Everett took his phone out of his pocket and removed the battery. He gave Courtney a nod to do the same.

She complied. “If you don’t trust me, that’s okay. We can talk about movies or whatever you like.”

Everett sipped his espresso. “I trust you, but it’s a regular practice to run audits on intelligence personnel by remotely activating their phones, tablets, and laptops. That can’t be done to a device with no power source.”

Courtney pursed her lips as if she’d just had an epiphany. “That’s why all of the devices we’re issued at work are Apple products. Have you ever tried to take the battery out of an iPad?”

“I was a computer science major. I’m pretty good with computer hardware, but it would be a hassle, even for me.”

“Tell me what you know about the BRICS server.”

Everett contemplated what he would say. He was the one who’d pushed the issue. He could have avoided the subject for weeks, but he didn’t. Now, he’d crossed the Rubicon, and there was no going back. “I know that the US caused the meltdown.”

Courtney looked away from him. “Too shallow. That’s obvious. Who did it, and how did they do it?”

“The Company infected the system with a sleeper virus, which activated upon specific market criteria.”

Courtney looked back at him. “Now we’re being honest. I like that. As a show of good faith, and to answer your question from earlier, yes; several US banking institutions were hit with attempted hacks, which tried to launch an assault on US markets. They were designed to crash all of the major indices by mimicking market orders. If the attacks had been successful, they would have made counterfeit trades until panic selling took over and obliterated the equities markets.

“But we’re not out of the woods yet. The BRICS nations hold over two trillion in US debt. Since the cyber-attack didn’t work, they can launch outright financial warfare against the US and the dollar by dumping all US debt held among them. We have actionable intel that suggests China is already unloading some of their debt to reduce their cost in such an attack.

“Your turn.”

Everett smiled. “Good stuff. But China and Russia won’t be the ones to bring down the US economy.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“There is a cabal of major power brokers who are planning to take down the existing financial infrastructure, so they can replace it with their own system.”

Courtney looked at Everett out of the side of her eye. “Then why aren’t the CIA and NSA working to take them down?”

“The CIA and NSA are taking orders from this group.”

Courtney sat back and tinkered with her napkin for several seconds. “You know that sounds crazy, right?”

Everett sighed. “Yep.”

“And where are you getting your information?”

Everett nodded cryptically. “From a reliable source.”

Courtney’s response dripped with sarcasm. “Well that makes me feel better.”

“Do you think I’d make something like that up?”

Courtney smiled. “No. You seem like an honest person, and I’m pretty good at . . . I’m a good judge of character. I believe you’re telling me the truth.”

“You’re a profiler?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“How does that fit in with cybersecurity?”

Courtney spun her water glass between her fingers. “If a person – not me, of course – but a person, was a profiler in cybersecurity, she’d be able to advise what type of hacker could be flipped for information or turned into an asset. A profiler might also know which individuals in a foreign intelligence service or corporation would be most vulnerable to entrapment or bribes.”

Everett found this devious side of Courtney intriguing. “So you believe that it’s at least possible that our employers might use subversive means to achieve their goals?”

Courtney smirked. “I think you’ve just defined clandestine services.”

“Then what is so farfetched about a group that acts on a completely clandestine level with its own agenda? The secret infrastructure is there for the taking. Given the shortcomings of our species proven over and over by history, it seems closer to inevitable than improbable.”

Courtney looked at her empty latte and took a drink of her water instead. “You’re shattering my paradigm.”

“I’m sorry. Do you prefer the bliss of ignorance?”

Courtney pointed at him. “I’m going to let you get away with that one. And no, but it would be nice to have a little warning.

“Would you mind elaborating on your source’s theory?”

Everett laid out a much-abbreviated version of what Jones had told him. The two talked late into the night and were eventually asked to leave by the manager so the restaurant could close for the evening.

On the way home, Everett said, “My Uncle John has a nice cabin up in the mountains. I know you like the outdoors, and the leaves are beautiful at this time of year. Would you like to go up there and explore a trail tomorrow?”

“Sounds charming, but it would be a long day. Maybe some other time.”

“Sure.” Everett was positive that he’d scared her off with this conspiracy talk.

But then she rekindled his hope. “Are you spending Thanksgiving with the wolves?”

Everett laughed. “No, both sets of the wolves have new families that I never really integrated with.”

“Then maybe we can have Thanksgiving together. We could ask Ken and Lisa over, and Uncle John, of course.”

Everett quickly did the math on Jones and Ken being together for Thanksgiving. He could at least offer. If Jones didn’t want to do it, he could make up an excuse. “That’d be great.” Then Everett considered the likelihood of Jones still being around by Thanksgiving. It was a sobering thought.

CHAPTER 20

The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the LORD.

Proverbs 21:31

Noah straightened his tie as he was getting ready for court Tuesday morning. “Cassie, we should get a move on. I do not want to be late.”

Cassie called out from the bathroom. “Relax. Court doesn’t start for another hour and a half. Besides, if I rush to put my makeup on, I’ll look like a zombie. Then the judge will never let us get custody of Lacy.”

Noah tried to lighten up, but he was very stressed about the custody hearing. He sat down in the living room for a few minutes to pray and ask God for peace.

Cassie was ready to go soon after. “Let’s go!”

Noah led the way out the door.

Once they were in the car, Cassie turned the radio on. She scanned the channels until she found an NPR station airing a news brief. The reporter said,

“After an emergency meeting of the FOMC this morning, the Federal Reserve announced an unprecedented bond buying program. The Chairman indicated that the Fed would make a one-time purchase of 2.5 trillion dollars of US debt. Not only will this be the largest one-day balance sheet increase for the US central bank in history, it will also be the largest annual increase.

“The move is said to be a countermeasure to offset severe spikes in interest rates caused by a massive sell-off in US Treasuries. China and Russia alone have sold nearly 2 trillion in US debt since the market opened yesterday morning. A spokesperson for the Treasury said the two countries were forced to sell because of the breakdown in trade among member nations of the BRICS trading block. He went on to say that the decisive action by the Fed will be the best thing for the US, as well as for Russia and China.

“Critics of the Fed’s move claim that while interest rates may be curtailed, inflation is likely to jump out of control. The rapid rise in food and energy prices over recent years are accredited to the Fed’s bond buying programs back in 2012 and 2013, which were adding just over 1 trillion dollars annually during the peak.

“This argument was debunked by proponents of the Fed’s decision. They point out that this massive infusion of US dollars will go directly to the countries selling their US debt. Since nearly none of the 2.5 trillion dollars will end up in America, the effect on domestic prices will be next to nonexistent.”

Cassie shook her head.

Noah said, “I take it you disagree.”

“NPR is a government shill. Of course, most of the other media outlets are also. Their mandate was to tell the story in a way that keeps people calm. If folks knew the truth, there would be bank runs and rioting in the streets. China isn’t dumping US debt because they need the money; this is a deliberate attack. If they were dumping it because they needed the money, they would have done it slowly, over time. By dumping it, they crushed the prices of US treasuries.”

Noah said, “Maybe Russia started selling and spooked China.”

Cassie replied, “Russia holds less than 200 billion. It isn’t enough to crash the US debt market. China, on the other hand, holds close to 2 trillion. Together, they caused a panic in the market and triggered selling by other large holders.”

Noah thought for a moment. “If they did it to try to crush America, they wasted all the money lost by pushing down the prices. It sounds like this move by the Fed has stemmed the tide.”

Cassie laughed. “Yeah, until hyperinflation sets in. The Fed bought some time; that’s all. When we look back on this, we’ll see it was a life-changing event for America.”

Noah was still buying what he’d been told by NPR. “How will it create inflation here, if all the money goes overseas?”

Cassie said, “Because they’ll take those dollars and buy US assets. China and Russia can buy US factories, real estate, gold . . . 2.5 trillion will buy a lot of stuff! No one wants to hold US dollars anyway. Especially after this move. I think we should buy more gold and silver now.”

Noah processed what Cassie was saying. “Do you have a connection with your phone right now?”

“Let me check.” Cassie took out her phone. “Not yet, but I should in a minute or two.”

“Can you place an order on your phone?”

Cassie nodded. “Yes, we have a little time to drop off the check. Our account is already active, and they have our credit card info.”

“Okay, do what you think is best.”

Cassie studied the signal indicator on her phone. “I also think we should buy some of the things we know are going up in price. We can lock them in at today’s prices. Stuff like peanut butter, coffee, and other dry goods that have skyrocketed over the past few years. It’s the equivalent of buying a stock that you know is going straight up. We have plenty of storage space.”

Noah chuckled. “It’s almost insider trading.”

“It would be, but any consumer who goes to the grocery and follows monetary policy should know what’s about to happen to prices, regardless of what the media tells them.”

Cassie started typing in the metals order. “I have a signal. I’m entering the order now.”

“Great,” Noah replied.

Minutes later, they arrived at the courthouse. They were still over half an hour early. They walked across the street to get two coffees, then came back to sit on the bench in front of the courthouse and wait for Leo.

Noah nervously looked around.

Cassie patted him on the leg. “Leo will be here on time; don’t worry.”

“I probably should have gotten decaf.”

Leo arrived shortly thereafter. “You guys ready?”

Noah stood to shake Leo’s hand. “We’re ready!”

***

Inside the courtroom, the Parkers’ case was the fifth to be called. Noah, Cassie, and Leo approached the defendant’s podium, while Ms. Carrick, from the Department of Child Services, stood at the other podium.

Judge Malone looked over the papers and shook his head. “This is absolute nonsense. Mr. Parker, like many people all around this country, I’ve been following your case. On behalf of the justice system, I want to apologize. The rule of law has failed you, sir. I can’t do anything about your case with the Department of Education, but I can restore custody of your daughter. I’ll do that today, and furthermore, I’m issuing a no-contact order against the Sevier County DCS.”

Noah tried to contain his emotion. “Thank you, your honor.”

The judge peered at Ms. Carrick. “I trust you’ll relay my no-contact order to your office.”

Carrick placed her hands on her hips. “Unlike this court, I followed protocol. You shouldn’t try to demonize me or DCS for following the law. I don’t appreciate being made out to be the bad guy for doing my job.”

Judge Malone replied, “Then maybe you’d appreciate a three-day vacation from your job. Your next display of contempt for this court will land you in the county jail for the next seventy-two hours.”

Carrick grabbed her folder from the podium and turned her back. “Oh, please!”

Judge Malone looked at the bailiff. “Harry, take Ms. Carrick into custody. She just earned three days.”

Noah squeezed Cassie’s hand. The broad grin on her face showed that she was enjoying this too much.

Cassie put her hand over her mouth to conceal her elation. “Sorry.”

Judge Malone redirected his attention back to Leo. “Mr. Cobb, your clients are free to go. I wish them the best in their ongoing judicial proceedings.”

Leo escorted the Parkers to the area outside. “Go ahead and pick Lacy up from Sharon’s. I’ll drop off the paperwork from court later this evening.”

Cassie blotted the tears from her eyes as she hugged Leo. “Thank you so much.”

Noah patted Leo on the back. “We really appreciate your hard work. You don’t know how much getting Lacy back means to us.”

“I’m glad I could help. I’ll see you later.” Leo headed back to his office.

Cassie called Sharon right away to tell her the news. Noah tugged her toward the car while she chatted with Sharon.

Once in the car, Cassie said, “I’m so happy right now.”

“Me, too.” Noah held Cassie’s hands for a second before he started the car.

Cassie said, “Sharon wanted to have a party at the Kettle tonight and invite everyone from Bible study and a few other people from church. I told her we wanted to be alone with Lacy tonight, and tomorrow would be better.”

Noah agreed. “Good call.”

Cassie took out her makeup mirror to fix the running mascara from her tears. “She really is a sweet person. I’m so glad Lacy has been with her through all of this. I know it’s been rough on Lacy, but it could have been so much worse.”

Noah added, “It’s been a tough time, but God has blessed us with good friends to help us through.”

When they pulled into Sharon’s driveway, Noah saw Isaiah’s truck. “Look who’s here.”

Cassie playfully slapped Noah’s leg. “I told you so! I can’t wait to tell Becky.”

Noah cut the engine. “Gossip is a sin.”

Cassie flung the door open. “It’s not gossip. I’m happy for them, and I want to spread the good news.”

Noah teased her, “Justify it any way you want. You don’t have to answer to me on Judgment Day.”

Cassie gave Noah a look that said watch out.

Sharon’s door opened before they reached the porch. Lacy shot out the door. “Mommy, Daddy, am I really going home?”

Noah bent down to hold her. “Yes, princess. You’re coming home with us today.”

“Forever?” she quizzed.

“Forever!” Cassie affirmed as she bent down to join in the hug.

Isaiah was the first to congratulate them. “We’re all so happy for your family, Noah. Everyone has been praying nonstop this morning.”

Sharon said, “I called the Taylors and the Rays to tell them the good news. I hope you don’t mind.”

Cassie hugged her. “Not at all.”

Then she pinched Noah and whispered, “See, girls like to share good news.”

Noah curled his mouth to one side to show that he was unconvinced by her convoluted reasoning.

Sharon brought Lacy’s things to the door. “Is eight o’clock too late for the get-together tomorrow night? I want to close the Kettle early after tomorrow evening’s rush.”

Noah said, “Eight is fine, but we can’t stay too late. We’re taking Lacy and Lynette to the Fall Homecoming at the Appalachia Museum over in Clinton Thursday morning. It’s an all-weekend event. Thursday is Fall Heritage Day, which is especially for school groups. A lot of people from our homeschool network will be there. The exhibitors show the kids lost arts like butter churning, wool spinning, sorghum making . . . they even have a blacksmith set up.”

Isaiah smiled. “What fun!”

Cassie added, “Yeah, and they’ll have great bluegrass music, as well as gospel. The Rays will be there; you and Sharon should come.”

Isaiah looked at Sharon. “Would you like to go?”

Sharon blushed. “I’d be delighted.”

The Parkers said their farewells and headed home to begin rebuilding their family.

Sox met Lacy at the door. Lacy lay down on the floor and hugged her surviving pet. “Sox! I missed you so much! I’m so happy that you’re okay.”

For their first meal together after being reunited, Cassie made Lacy’s two favorite dishes: macaroni and cheese and chilled shrimp with cocktail sauce.

After lunch, Noah asked Lacy, “Would you like to go put some flowers on Buster’s grave?”

Lacy looked up at him and bit her lower lip as her eyes began to well up with tears. She nodded her head and stretched out her arms for her daddy to hold her.

Noah picked her up and held her in his lap while the floodgates opened. Soon, they were all crying. Cassie knelt beside Noah and put her arms around them both. Sox even rubbed Cassie’s leg, as they were finally able to mourn Buster’s death as a family.