The Days of Noah: Book One: Conspiracy (5 page)

“When you say it can steer markets, what are you talking about? Do you mean indices like the S&P and Dow, interest rate markets, or currency markets?” Everett asked.

“Everything.”

“And is this absolute control?”

Jones sipped his water. “Almost. Think of the markets as a car. Dragon has the potential to override common market forces, sort of like controlling a car: the steering wheel, brakes, accelerator, and such things. As the driver, Dragon has no absolute control over road conditions or what might equate as liquidity and credit crisis. What it can do is predict those problems well before the ‘car’ approaches the road hazard. It can make corrections to avoid those hazards to the extent that they can be avoided.”

“Sounds like that much power has a high potential for misuse,” Everett commented.

Jones laughed. “That’s an understatement.”

“Working on Dragon must have been more exciting than being an analyst supervisor for some low-level Company outpost.”

“And that, Mr. Carroll, is why we’re here.” Jones took a bite of the bread, chewed, and swallowed, clearly collecting his thoughts. “I was diagnosed with lung cancer last year. Dragon is a delicate program, and the Company can’t have people working on it who might not be around six months from now. I was offered a generous retirement package, which I considered.”

Everett gasped. “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’ve lived a full life. I’ve lived through adventures most people never dream about. Besides, I knew I should have quit smoking years ago but didn’t.”

“Why didn’t you take the retirement package?” Everett asked.

“I don’t have any family. My only interests and hobbies are tradecraft.” Jones spoke solemnly. “It might sound sick, but I want to live out my days working for the Company.”

The food arrived, but neither of the two men seemed interested in it at the moment.

“Working in my capacity, Mr. Carroll, one is asked to do things that seem counterintuitive to the morality of the psyche. One does those things both because he believes that it truly is for the greater good and because of the consequences of rejecting the order.

“Working as an operative in foreign states, I was constantly aware of my mortality, though I was very busy and had little time to contemplate it. I had to focus on the task at hand or risk facing my mortality sooner rather than later. There was also the distraction of the mission and the feeling of being right because of the greater good. As I grew older and saw operation after operation focused on convincing people of things that weren’t true, I began to question whether I also may have been deceived by the Company.

“Now, that my hour is fast approaching, I find myself thinking of things I have never considered. With no grand mission to distract me, I commit a large portion of my day pondering these things.” Agent Jones studied Everett. “Are you a religious man, Mr. Carroll?”

“No.”

Jones smiled and looked down. “I guess I wasn’t at your age either. I have, however, started to contemplate these things lately. I do believe there is a God, as well as absolute right and wrong. I wonder how I’ll be judged for the things I’ve done.”

The subjects of right and wrong, God, and judgment always made Everett uncomfortable.

Jones must have sensed Everett’s uneasiness. “But I’m not here to convert you, Mr. Carroll. I’m here to offer you a mission. Should you choose to accept it, you’ll be provided with something to satisfy your curiosity, something with meaning, something I suspect you greatly desire.”

“And what will you get out of the deal?” Everett asked.

Jones took a deep breath. “A chance to right a few wrongs. An opportunity to leave a legacy and pass on my tradecraft skills to the next generation. I can’t explain how important that is to me.

“I’m not ready to put up my cloak and dagger, Everett. I don’t want to be put on the shelf and forgotten. You’ll understand these things more when you’re older.”

“That makes sense,” Everett said.

The heaviness of the conversation had passed, and the men began eating.

“We almost let it get cold,” Agent Jones remarked. “Still, it tastes great. How is yours?”

“Fantastic,” Everett replied.

Jones dipped his bread into the sauce on his plate. “Let’s enjoy dinner and resume our discussion at a later date. Of course, we’ll avoid the subject at work.”

“I assume you’ll contact me when it’s time to meet again,” Everett said.

Jones nodded and winked.

CHAPTER 7

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.

Edmund Burke

Sunday afternoon Noah mingled at the back of the church. Faith Church offered bagels, doughnuts, and coffee to encourage congregants to fellowship with one another after the service.

Noah spotted David Ray at the table getting coffee. He walked over. “Looks like all the chocolate glazed doughnuts are gone.”

“That’ll save you a couple of laps tomorrow morning,” David said and chuckled.

Noah laughed. “Thanks again for keeping Lacy last night.”

“No problem at all. She keeps Lynette occupied. It’s actually almost like a date night for me and Becky. How was Hickory Creek Lodge?”

“A little too swanky for my taste,” Noah replied. “I didn’t know if I was using the right silverware or putting my glass in the right place. Cassie enjoyed it, though. The food was really good. Not necessarily better than what you’d get at the Country Kettle, but different.”

David helped himself to a spinach bagel. “Prices about the same as the Country Kettle?”

Noah was drinking his coffee and had to fight to keep from laughing and spitting coffee all over himself. “Yeah,
about
the same.”

David cocked an eyebrow and grinned, indicating he knew better. “Is Cassie getting Lacy from the children’s ministry?”

“Yeah,” Noah said. “Probably won’t see her for another half hour. I’m sure she has to tell everyone about the lodge.”

“I’m looking forward to Thursday night’s study. I guess we’ll bring Lynette so Becky and I can both go. Are you coming?” David asked.

Noah nodded. “I think so. Especially if Lynette is going to be there. With the girls both being homeschooled, it’s good for them to be around each other and have some social interaction. Isaiah doesn’t seem to mind having them in the house. Maybe we should try to make it a weekly commitment.”

“All right,” David said. “Speak of the devil, there’s Isaiah.”

“Great, I’ll let him know you just called him the devil.” Noah winked.

“You wouldn’t!” David said.

Isaiah joined the two men. “You fellas coming Thursday night?”

“As long as you don’t mind having the children around,” Noah said.

“They’re an absolute joy. The girls are always welcome in my home,” Isaiah said.

“You didn’t exactly answer Jim’s question last Thursday,” Noah said.

“About what?” Isaiah asked.

“About the pretribulation rapture. The way you answered left a little room to wonder what you believe,” Noah explained.

“Oh, that.” Isaiah stroked his beard as he often did when in thought. “As an official facilitator of a small group for Faith Church, I believe in the possibility of a pretribulation rapture. Pretrib is Pastor Mike’s position, and as someone teaching under his authority, that is what I teach.”

“But . . . ?” David asked.

Isaiah smiled. “There are plenty of verses in the Bible that I genuinely believe support a pretribulation rapture. For one thing, the apostle Paul seemed to be in the pretribulation school. I happen to be a great admirer of Paul and tend to agree with his doctrine. When describing the rapture to the church of Thessalonica, he said, ‘For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.’

“Paul puts himself in the category of those who will be caught up, which, by the way, is where we get the term
rapture
. This tells me that he saw the return of Christ as an imminent event.

“The following chapter, first Thessalonians five, verse nine, says that we are not appointed for wrath. It is not in God’s nature to allow His people to go through judgment. He rescued Lot before destroying Sodom, and He rescued Noah before the flood. The flood is the example that Christ used when describing the end times.

“We also have Jesus telling us in Matthew  to be ready and always watching. That also makes the rapture sound imminent. If that’s the case, it would have to be pretrib.”

Noah saw that he was going to have to coax it out of Isaiah. “And folks, not you of course, but other folks who believe in a midtribulation rapture, what verses or passages might they find to support their view?”

Isaiah smiled. “They might look at the book of Revelation and say that they don’t see anything that resembles a rapture until chapter fourteen, where the angel is told to harvest the earth. This occurs after the cataclysmic events in chapter six, known as the seal judgments and after the trumpet judgments, which also precede chapter fourteen.

“They might also look to Matthew twenty-four where the Messiah says that He will come on the clouds and send His angels to gather His elect. This occurs in verse thirty-one, after He gave an abbreviated description of the tribulation period.”

“How does the pretrib school of thought reconcile those passages?” Noah asked.

“For the Olivet Discourse, they say that God’s elect refers to those who will be saved after the first rapture,” Isaiah said.

“The Olivet discourse refers to Matthew twenty-four?” David asked.

“Yes. That conversation occurs on the Mount of Olives, so the Olivet Discourse is the tag for the passage in Matthew, as well as Luke twenty-one and Mark thirteen.”

“What about Revelation fourteen? How do they explain that?” David asked.

Isaiah shrugged. “They will tell you that Revelation is not written chronologically. There are events described in the heavenly realm in Revelation that are obviously not chronologically flowing with the tribulation, but the events occurring on the earth seem to follow a continuous timeline.”

Lacy and Lynette appeared through the door and ran to their respective fathers.

“I guess this means it’s time to go,” Noah said. “It’s certainly going to be a good study.”

“I’m really looking forward to it,” David said.

The girls gave Isaiah a big hug and chatted for a short time before leaving for their homes.

***

The next morning, Noah started his routine just after five o’clock. He brewed his coffee, made a quick breakfast, and got his things ready for work. He set his gym bag by the door and flipped on
Fox and Friends
at six o’clock.

The celebrity talk-show reporters had slightly somber tones this morning. One of them was covering the global markets.

“Asian shares are significantly down this morning. European markets are just opening, and it is a blood bath. This will certainly cast a shadow of dread across the trading floors in America today. We don’t know of any events that are triggering the global sell-off, but some analysts are suggesting that the run started in Western sovereign debt markets. They say this could be because the BRICS bank will be announcing a new gold-backed currency. For those of you who don’t know, the BRICS bank was established several years ago in Shanghai as a way for member countries to settle international trade. The member nations include Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. We’ll keep you updated throughout the day.

“After the break, nutritional author Lucy Gilbert will be showing us some delicious ways to cut calories, and we’ll have footage of our own Brooke Tanner competing in last weekend’s Lululemon Rollerblade competition. Stay tuned; you won’t want to miss that.”

Noah switched the TV to CNBC and whispered, “I’ll take my chances. We’ve had four market meltdowns this decade, but it’s still more exciting than counting calories and Rollerblading.”

The financial-network reporter was standing outside of the NYSE.

“The iconic charging bull statue is the only bull on the street this morning. Rumors of a collapse in US treasuries have Wall Street buzzing with anxiety. Traders are coming in early, and I’ve never felt such a sense of doom. Indices are down across the board in early morning trading. We’ll see what happens when the markets open, but it doesn’t look pretty.

“An announcement from the BRICS bank to introduce a new global reserve currency could be the final blow for the dollar, which has lost over fifty percent of its value in recent years. Speculators and those who follow the monetary policy of the member nations of the BRICS bank, especially China and Russia, believe the new currency could be fully, or at the very least fractionally, backed by gold. This would introduce a stable currency not seen since the golden days of the dollar.

“The only green showing on any of the early morning trading boards has come from the precious metals and a handful of commodities. Gold is up a stunning fifteen percent to $3,200 per ounce, while silver is up nearly twenty percent, taking it well past its previous resistance level of $100 per ounce.”

Noah glanced at his watch. He was late. He would have to cut his run short today. He switched off the television and headed out the door.

Once at the school, Noah pushed himself on the track to get in more laps in less time. He rushed to the shower and arrived to class just before the bell rang.

Halfway through first period, Assistant Principal Katie Votler interrupted the class. “Noah, James needs to see you in his office right away. I’ll watch your class while you’re gone.”

“Did he say what it is about? What’s so urgent?” Noah asked.

“He didn’t say, but you should probably take your things,” she said.

Noah felt his heart rate pick up. He grabbed his jacket and attaché case and headed toward the office. On the way, his mind raced.
Something has happened to Lacy. Dear God, please let my little girl be all right. Or maybe something happened to Cassie. Please God, let them be safe
.

When he arrived, he saw two Sevier County Sherriff’s deputies through the glass window of Principal Mitchel’s office. He spoke softly. “Jesus, let it be anything but Cassie and Lacy; please just let them be alive.”

He walked in the office.

James Mitchel greeted him. “Thanks for coming down, Noah.”

“What’s going on?” Noah asked.

“These deputies have a warrant for your arrest,” Principal Mitchel replied.

“For what?” Noah was confused.

“One of the parents claims that you are teaching creationism in biology. It’s a violation of Community Core,” James explained.

Noah was shocked. “I’m not teaching creationism. And even if I was, how can I be arrested for it?”

“Don’t say anything else. Wait until you get a lawyer. The union will get you a lawyer. I’ll let Cassie know that you were taken in, and I’ll help her arrange bail. Just go on in, and we’ll get all of this sorted out,” James said.

Noah’s fear bubbled into anger. “I’m not going anywhere until someone tells me why I’m being arrested!”

Deputy Rodgers said, “The parent is claiming that by teaching creationism, you’re abusing her child. By giving the child false information, you are hindering the child’s ability to learn, which will have detrimental effects on the child’s future.

“In addition to the felony charge of child abuse, you are also being charged under the new bullying law. Part of the Community Core legislation made bullying a criminal offense.”

“I never bullied anyone!” Noah shouted.

Rodgers continued. “Since the Bible was used to bully transgender and homosexual children, any reference to the Bible is considered bullying under Community Core.”

Noah clinched his fists. “At most, I told the students that there were people who disagreed with evolution and believed the Bible’s account of creation. I never told the kids what to think.”

Mitchel grabbed Noah’s arm. “Noah, shut up. You are digging your hole deeper!”

“All teachers were given a copy of the new criminal codes included in the Community Core legislation. It was part of your new contract. It was the only way Tennessee could get federal education funding. You signed an agreement form as part of your new contract,” Deputy Rodgers said.

“That thing was two hundred pages long. No one read that. It was written so that no one could understand it anyway,” Noah said.

“I don’t make the rules, Mr. Parker. I just enforce them. Turn around and put your hands on your head. The sooner you get booked, the sooner you can bond out and get this all straightened out,” Rodgers said.

Noah didn’t turn around. “You don’t make the rules, but by enforcing them, you’re personally responsible for violating my freedom of speech. Do you think this is right? Do you think you should be arresting someone who did nothing but speak his opinion? That is a complete violation of the First Amendment. If you lock me up, you are the criminal. You are the one violating the Constitution. An unconstitutional law has no merit, and it is your duty to disregard it.”

“That’s not up to me to decide,” Rodgers said.

“Yes, it is!” Noah yelled. “You took an oath to defend the Constitution. You are the first line of defense.”