They’re Listening
by Gabriel White
Part 1 appears in this issue.
conclusion
The following weeks were about as dull as any other in recent memory. About as dull as the last couple years, for that matter. Bill continued preparing his team for the program and began slowly but surely implementing it just as that old country song goes: “One piece at a time.”
With time, his concerns and fears began to evaporate. He looked back on them and laughed a little: Hell, they seem completely stupid now. That was until the meeting with Nolan, almost a month to the day after his first encounter with his paranoid boss.
Bill walked into Nolan’s office and was taken aback by its disheveled appearance. The once clean and orderly office was a complete mess. The desk was covered with trash and papers. The trash can was overflowing, spilling old takeout boxes and waste onto the floor. The whole room had lost the sense of grandeur it had once displayed.
The worst of it was Nolan himself. His suit was a crumpled mess, the tie sat lopsided against his chest. His face had gone at least a week since a razor had touched it. His usually well-groomed hair looked like it had gone through a wind tunnel, and his eyes were downcast and dull. He looked like he hadn’t slept properly in days.
“Mr. Nolan? My God, are you alright?”
“Ellis, get in here. Close the door!” Nolan spoke hurriedly like a man who was terrified of being overheard.
Bill closed the door and hurried over to the desk. As he got closer, he noticed the smashed and decimated Smart Box; pieces of it lay all over the room.
“Ellis, I’ve made a terrible discovery.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The new upgrade program as well as the next generation models. They have a dark purpose.”
Bill gave a sudden shiver, like someone had just walked over his grave. “What is it?” he asked with bated breath.
“They are spying on everybody!” His eyes were huge as they darted about the room, as if they were searching for something.
“Spying on people?” Bill said. This seemed farfetched in his mind. Sure, the whole program was odd, and he was getting a bad feeling about it. But spying, that seemed a little far off. And yet Nolan looked entirely convinced; the side of his mouth gave a nervous twitch.
“Yes! It’s a massive conspiracy between the people in charge and the federal government! No, no, no, don’t say anything! Let me explain.”
Bill closed his mouth, about to ask Nolan if he knew how out of his mind he sounded.
Nolan took a shuddered breath and began a long story, speaking just above a whisper. Nolan explained that, at a business meeting over the weekend, he had overheard a couple of the higher-up executives talking about “Project Bat.” As Nolan listened, he realized that this was a code name for the new program. They were talking very greedily about how much money the Feds were paying for the information.
As Nolan spoke, he began to shake with the intensity of a seizing man. His words became faster as he described running through the hallway with the executives on his tail after a mistimed sneeze alerted them to his presence. He said they just missed seeing him.
“I decided to try to come back and try to live my life as normal as I can, but I just can’t.” he sobbed. “I can’t live knowing that they are listening to everyone! And I’m allowing it!”
Bill sat stunned, still in disbelief. There was no way this was real. However...
“Ellis, you must get out of here! We all do. Get rid of any of our products and run. They may try to come for us!”
“Mr. Nolan, are you sure you didn’t just misunderstand what they were saying?”
“You don’t believe me?” he replied, his face downcast.
“No, of course I believe you! I just think maybe you misunderstood what they were saying.”
“I didn’t misunderstand anything!” he cried, anger dripping from his voice. His face contorted in a sadistic snarl. “Get out! If you won’t listen to me, then I won’t try to help you anymore. Get out!”
“Sir,” he started. “Sir, I want to help you—”
“Out!” Nolan screeched, rising from his chair and lunging over the desk.
“Son of a—!” Bill leapt from his chair and rushed from the room. He skipped the elevator and ran down the stairwell, taking two steps at a time. He ran out to his car, his lungs on fire. He hadn’t run that hard in years. He flung the door open and jumped inside, slamming the keys into the ignition and flooring the car out of the lot.
After some time, his breathing subsided and the pain started to ease up. That piece of crap is crazy! He tried to kill me! He’s insane, he’s lost his mind. I ought to call the police on him. And yet a nagging feeling kept plaguing his mind. “It does make a little bit of sense; I mean, I wouldn’t put it past those money-loving bastards to sell information just to get money. Besides what better way to install spyware than by saying it’s an upgrade and have people willingly accept it! But they can’t do it. I mean it just can’t happen. But what if they can?”
He went home, his mind flooded with confusing thoughts. He lay in bed even though it was only 4:00 pm. He tossed and turned; the encounter played through his head like a broken record. At some point sleep finally took him.
* * *
Beep Beep Beep
Bill slapped at his nightstand, finally connecting with the clock. He sat up in bed, drenched in sweat. He kept having weird dreams of household appliances with massive cartoon ears and eyes watching him all over his house while Nolan, who had comically large bat wings, chased him, screaming about half-cocked conspiracies.
Rubbing his puffy eyes Bill thought, Maybe I shouldn’t go in today. I could just call in sick. But the image of Nolan screaming at him came back. “I’ve got to try to help him,” he told himself. “If I don’t, who knows what he could do. Or who he could hurt?” He got out of bed and prepared for the day, his boss’s madness playing in his mind. When he left his home, he had no idea that this was the last time he would ever see it again.
* * *
As Bill walked into work, it took him no time to realize that something was wrong. The lobby had a stillness in the air. Everyone spoke in hushed voices, their hands covering their mouths. As Bill walked towards the elevator, he caught snatches of their conversations.
“Dead, just like that.”
“In his own home!”
“Probably a robbery gone wrong.”
“Who could do such a thing?”
A knot formed in Bill’s stomach. Who died and why was everyone talking about it? A thought flashed in his mind. No, it couldn’t be Nolan. That would have to be a crazy coincidence. There’s no way he died, and right after his meltdown yesterday. No, it couldn’t be him.
Bill reached the elevator and clicked the button, doing his best to ignore the soft murmur of voices behind him. There was a ding, and the doors opened, revealing a man already inside. Bill stepped in and punched his floor number. The doors closed, and the two stood in silence, until: “You heard about Nolan?”
Bill’s stomach gave a sudden lurch. “Nolan, the boss? No, I haven’t heard anything.”
“He died last night. Was murdered in his own home.”
“You don’t say.” His mouth felt dry, his mind raced.
“And that’s not it. Apparently, he had a meltdown in his office and nearly killed some poor guy. Then later he ran out of the building screaming incoherently about being watched. Then all of a sudden, he turns up dead. Weird stuff, eh?”
“Yeah, yeah. Crazy.” His head spun. There’s no way that they killed him. It’s just a coincidence, that’s all. Just a bad coincidence. The elevator came to a stop, and the doors opened. He exited silently, not saying a word to the other man even when the other man called out to him.
Bill almost ran to his office; he needed to sit down. He needed to think. He reached his office and slumped down in his chair, not even bothering to turn the lights on. His face buried in his hands, he began to think.
“It’s not a coincidence, it can’t be. They killed him. He found out too much, and they killed him.” Bill’s heart skipped a beat. “What if he told them we spoke? We discussed this program together, what if they tortured him and he squealed on me? They could be coming after me right now! Now just wait a minute,” he thought to himself: “If that bastard had squealed, wouldn’t they already be up my ass right now? I mean, if they knew someone knew the truth, surely they wouldn’t waste any time catching them, would they?
“I’ve still got to leave,” he decided. “Eventually someone will find out that I am the employee he almost killed. Then they will know who he was talking to . The faster I can get on the move and find someone to help me, the better.” These thoughts were racing through his head when a slight cough came from a corner of the room.
“Holy!” he screamed. His head jerked up and, from the darkness, walked Sterling, the Corporate woman. Her face was contorted in a grin, but not a humorous one. No, this was the type of smile a cat has once it has cornered a mouse. “Mr. Ellis, I’ve been waiting for you.”
“You can’t scare me like that! I could have had a heart attack!”
The smile widened “That would have been a shame, now wouldn’t it?”
Bill recovered from the initial shock, but now a much deeper fear began to set it. They knew. The bastard had ratted.
“So erhm, Director. What can I help you with?” he asked, hoping to sound casual. Judging by her face he was failing miserably.
“As you may or may not be aware, your boss Harold Nolan passed last night.”
“Yes, I heard that, damn shame. Great guy.” Ice ran down his back. This can’t be happening.
“Not quite. He had stolen company secrets and, from our information, he was planning to release them to the public.”
“Oh my, that’s... that’s terrible.” His voice broke. This is it.
“We also heard that he confided this information to another co-worker. Someone else in this very building.”
Bill’s eyes began scanning the room, observing every possible escape. “Do you have any idea who it is?” His mouth was very dry.
The smile widened to a level he didn’t know was possible. For someone who he believed had little humor, she sure was enjoying this. “Oh, yes, we know. We know exactly who it is, I’m afraid.”
“Who is it?” he said just above a whisper.
“Someone who needs to be punished. Someone who can’t be trusted to work or even live here again.” Her voice gave a slight pause after “live.”
The woman made a sudden motion into her pocket and pulled out a long syringe. Bill sprang into action. Leaping over the table and landing a solid shoulder right into her sternum.
Sterling fell back against the wall, the needle flew through the air and landed just behind the desk. Bill ran to the door and flung it open, his feet pounded against the floor as he ran. Twice in two days I’ve run from this building, afraid for my life.
He reached the elevator and pressed the button repeatedly. A screech behind him made him turn and look toward his office. The sound of his desk being toppled over reached his ear as he could hear the director searching for her needle. He looked back at the elevator, the display over the door said it was only two floors away. A laugh made him turn around again. She had found it.
The elevator door dinged open; he backed into it and pressed the lobby button. His finger found the door-close button, and he held it down. He wasn’t religious, but he was praying harder than most devout. Sterling stepped out of the office, the light glinting off the long needle.
“Get back in here, Ellis. You can’t run from us!” she roared and charged toward him. The world moved in slow motion. From beyond the door, Sterling charged, her face a mixture of rage and morbid glee. The doors began to shut. The gap closed and yet it looked like she would reach him; he wasn’t going to make it.
She just missed.
The door closed and the elevator shot away to the lobby. Bill leaned back and began to think. I can’t go home; they’ll be watching it. I’ve got to get in my car and drive. I’ve got to leave the state and switch my car like in that old Hitchcock movie. I’ll need to go to the press or the media! I have to warn people that they’re being watched!
He reached the lobby and ran out. Ignoring the looks and gasps directed towards him. He ran and ran until he was in his car, speeding away. As he drove, he only had one thought behind his wild eyes, I have to warn people! They are listening!
* * *
Important Corporate Announcement
It has been brought to our attention that the head executive at the Silicon Valley location, Harold Nolan, was murdered in his home. We are deeply wounded and saddened by this news and send his family our condolences. We at Digital Nexus pride ourselves in being a family, and we take the loss of one of our own very seriously. We have decided to work closely with the authorities in order to make sure the culprit is brought to proper justice.
The police have identified the man behind this murder as William (Bill) Ellis through help from our local branch. William was a former employee at Digital Nexus. William has been charged with the murder and has been diagnosed with acute schizophrenia. He is a dangerous man and should not be trusted. If any employee is found to be working in collaboration with William, they will be terminated immediately.
If anyone has any information about the whereabouts of William Ellis, contact the Corporate office or your local police station.
Signed this day 08/24/23.
Director Sterling
Copyright © 2024 by Gabriel White
