alacrity?” said Parker, half teasing.
“Of course not,” retorted Sage. “You’re one of the few people I still have in my circle of trust. Let me send you something,” he said.
“Okay. Did you really just say circle of trust?” teased Parker.
Sage snapped a picture of the leather and texted the photo to Parker. Parker’s phone beeped, and he opened the image.
“This is interesting…Was there more?” asked Parker.
“Indeed,” said Sage. “A flash drive was with it.”
Parker was silent but tapped his fingers uncontrollably. Sage inserted the flash drive into his computer. After a few seconds, it appeared on his screen as an icon, but it would not open when he clicked on it.
Excitedly, Parker asked, “What’s on it?”
“Not sure, but I think it is encrypted,” said Sage. Sage pulled out the flash drive and put it on his desk. “Parker, can you—”
Parker interrupted Sage as if he knew what was going to be asked, “C’mon, man, do you know who you are talking to? Just get it to me.”
“I will…Hey, let me get back to this detective for a second…I think he is a good guy and genuinely wants to help,” said Sage.
“Why didn’t he?” queried Parker.
“Dunno,” Sage replied. “I think there is something more to him.”
“Like what?” Parker asked.
“Secrets. He’s hiding something,” said Sage.
“Aren’t we all?” Parker laughed.
“This is different. I think his hands are tied,” said Sage.
“So now you’re prescient? That’s what I love about you, bro; you keep me balanced. If it wasn’t for you…I might actually believe all of the things people say when they refer to me as being crazy. Every time I have a conversation with you, I know I’m going to be just fine. I wish you could’ve sat in on my dissertation defense.”
“Which one?” joked Sage.
“Oh, you got jokes,” teased Parker.
In the background, amid all the teasing, Sage heard a woman’s voice in a sexy tone sing out. “Parker…”
Parker does not try to hide or quiet his companion. Sage wondered how long she had been listening.
“All right, bro…gotta run. Let’s chat later. Send me the drive,” said Parker.
Sage slowly shook his head side to side and replied, “Will do.”
Sage hit the end call button on his phone and smiled to himself about the antics of Parker.
Chapter 12
Sage spread out and inspected the materials that he received. He gently tapped the flash drive rhythmically on his desk. His mind was racing, but rest was required. He must start fresh tomorrow. He gathered the articles and put them back in the envelope. He turned off his screen and turned to his nightly ablutions. As Sage continued to prepare for bed, an itch developed deep in his ear canal. He put his finger to his ear and began to scratch and dig vigorously.
Outside of Sage’s residence, a male jogger traveling at a moderate speed passed by Sage’s house. As he neared Sage’s driveway, he put his finger to his ear and vigorously attempted to scratch his inner ear. The itching was intense enough to nearly throw the jogger off his path. Down the road in a parked car, someone watched Sage’s house, and they observed this occurrence. It was Detective Johnson. Silently, he sat, paying little mind to the jogger. He started his car, put it in gear, and slowly drove off.
Chapter 13
Four years ago, Parker had presented before his third dissertation committee. He sat facing three older gentlemen, and they were grilling him. But Parker was rarely fazed. Of the three, one of them, Dr. Bahia, was the committee chair and was leading the verbal onslaught. Two other doctors who were reticent flanked Dr. Bahia. Parker thought to himself, I thought he was my representative. Dr. Bahia was a gently graying gentleman in his midfifties and presented himself as an authoritative man.
“Parker, your ideas are radical, and not everyone here agrees with them. But we’re going to go ahead and approve this. Just a small recommendation—don’t be so militant and so quick to battle authority,” said Dr. Bahia.
“Dr. Bahia, that’s Dr. Parker and—”
Dr. Bahia interrupted, “See, Parker, this is exactly what I mean. You have earned your third doctorate, but you don’t respect the people awarding it…and I’m not even sure if you respect the process.”
“As I said, Dr. Bahia, it’s Dr. Parker—and it’s not that I don’t respect people. It’s that I respect science and facts more. Science and the facts never let you down. They’re always true, reliable, accurate and never judge you…even if you don’t like or agree with them.”
When he finished his statement, Parker deliberately stared at each of the committee members and ensured that they made eye contact. He wanted them to know that he knew they had made the process more stringent.
The other committee members frowned at Parker but nodded in agreement with Dr. Bahia.
Dr. Bahia changed his tone from what Parker had considered somewhat civil to what he thought was cynical, sprinkled with sarcasm. “Parker, please come get this signature sheet before we change our minds.”
Dr. Bahia signed the document, spun it around, and pushed it toward Parker.
“Good day, gentlemen.”
Parker picked the sheet off the table, ensured that he flicked the paper so that it gave a crisp pop. With no further word, Parker exited hastily.
The gentlemen mumbled to one another softly after Parker’s exit.
“This guy is a genius, but he is out there,” said Dr. Bahia.
“I heard he was nearly committed to an institution,” added one of the flanking members.
“I heard that as well. He has lots of potential, and in the right arena, Parker could make a pretty decent living,” stated Dr. Bahia.
“Parker has a PhD in computer science and a doctorate in business. Why would he spend so much time to go after a PhD in history?” the third member asked.
Chapter 14
Parker rarely thought about the past. There were not many good memories for him in the past. Today, he sat in his home office that he often referred to as a lab. Shelves filled with texts, some new and some obscure, surrounded Parker. In his lab were several computers, racks with components for a multitude of devices and gadgets, and the floor had several parcels received from and addressed to various places around the globe.
He
