Somebody hammered at the door. Earnest answered the door. Diaz looked angry. “What the Hell is going on in there? I heard screaming.”
Earnest stammered and then said, “Not a thang, suh. Ah just burned myself with some hot coffee, suh.”
Diaz, “You don’t drink coffee!”
Earnest feigned lack of concern. “Ah was feeling tarred and had a friend bring me some.”
Diaz, “I’ve never seen you drink coffee! What are those towels doing all over the place?”
Earnest, “I was just wapin’ up the mess, suh.”
Diaz, “Who brought you the coffee? Wasn’t some guy with a beard, a robe, and sandals; riding on a donkey was it?”
Earnest, “No, suh! Y’all don’t know this gentleman. He’s a private freyend.”
“If I had your clearance, I would come inside and search the system for signs of unconventional behavior!”
“But, suh! Y’all don’t have my clearance. Thank you!” Earnest shut the door in the face of the shift supervisor and picked up the paper towels. He poured some water from his drinking bottle on some towels. When he placed the towels in the trash can, where he found Ricardo Perez’s coffee cup with some leftover coffee. He poured it out on the towels and let them soak.
The black phone rang. Diaz said that the Air Force was going to claim Earnest’s system for some top priority, mission sensitive work for the next twelve hours. Diaz said that, since Earnest had already worked seventy-five hours that week and was showing signs of fatigue, it would be best if he cleaned up his system and went home for some R and R.
Earnest shut down his three-hour job. He made an “OBE” (overcome by events) note on the job sheet and noted the elapsed time. He placed all classified printed material in brown bags sealed with tape. Then he double-bagged each package so that the second bag opened at the opposite end. He labeled each package a brief note as to its contents. He labeled the waste bag “BURN.” He changed the ribbons on the printer and the typewriter. He looked on top of, and underneath, every piece of equipment in the room. When he had sanitized everything and had loaded all classified material, wrapped, on the cart, he left the room.
In his haste, his personal bookmark fell out of his Bible. It bore a picture of Jesus Christ standing on a gold-fringed, white cloud, holding erect the Excalibur sword. The obverse side held some kind of slogan--“‘The wrath of the Lord will be unmerciful to the infidel. The Last Days are upon us. Be ready!’ Vengeance of the Lord Ministries.”
Earnest deposited all of his tapes, jobs, burn bags, and ribbons in the vault and securely locked it. He filled out is timecard, nodded to Diaz and headed to the elevator.
☼
Diaz had five minutes to checkout the system before the Air Force team arrived. He found the coffee stained paper towels in the trash can by the door. He also found a bookmark but little else. He walked out smiling as a contingent of four Air Force personnel walked in and secured the system for the rest of his shift.
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