Generation of Liars Read Free Page A

he
told me something that got my attention. He bragged about being able to
download the Social Security number of every single American citizen onto a
disk without being detected. He had special access since he worked for a
veteran’s hospital. He had been planning some sort of financial scheme before
his incarceration. He was very bitter about something, though.”
    “What was he bitter about?”
    “Enoch lost the disk.”
    “Does that mean the disk is out
there somewhere in the world?”
    “You’re a quick study, Alice. So
you can probably see how important that makes finding this disk. It is the last
remaining record of the Social Security numbers. It’s actually funny when you
think about it. Some amateur, a second-tier criminal, sick of his spot on the
workplace hamster wheel, manages to accomplish what even the most powerful
government in the world cannot. The government kept records backed up on fancy
servers, which were corrupted by the hackers. Even the data stored up in the
clouds was ripped to holy shreds. But the simple disk was safe. Somebody is
walking around with possibly the only true remaining record of our Social
Security numbers in the world inside their pocket.”
    “But you don’t know who has it?”
    “No. Enoch is still searching for
the disk.”
    “But how can Enoch get the disk if
he’s in jail?”
    “Enoch isn’t in jail. He escaped
with me.”
    “You just escaped?” I asked, my
eyelashes beating like moth wings.
    Motley cuffed his hand over my
mouth. “Quieter.”
    “Sorry.” I hushed the apology and
steadied my nervous eyes down onto my sneaker where my note was hidden. I was
just going to do whatever this guy wanted. I didn’t know what else to
do.  
    “Immediately after the attack
occurred, I was able to use the distraction to escape. I am, shall we say,
happy to leave my old life behind. But as you can imagine, my knowledge of a
disk that contains the only remaining source of my true identity, well, it’s
hampering the enjoyment of my new freedom.”
    “Where is Enoch now? Can’t he help
you find it?”
    “As soon as we got into the city,
Enoch disappeared. I should have known better than to trust him.”
    “You want me to find Enoch?” I
asked. A woman shoved through the aisle carrying heavy luggage and a wailing
toddler at her hip, and I waited until she passed to say more. “Is this the job
you said you had for me?”
    “No, Alice. Enoch isn’t what I’m
looking for. You and Rabbit are going to find the disk with the Social Security
numbers.”
    I snuck another glance at Rabbit.
He had pale skin and bronze freckles. His neck was bent in concentration and
his fingers, which seemed too big and gawky for his underdeveloped body,
lurched like spiders over MacBook keys. I looked back into Motley’s eyes,
burning blue luminescence at me. “Why me?”
    “Because you’re keeping a secret. I
could tell just by the look in your eyes, the unsure posture of your shoulders,
even before you told me. That’s why I stopped you at the station. I don’t let
just anyone come play in my dark web, it’s very exclusive, like the old
speakeasies, your knock has to hit the right chord to get you inside.”
    “What chord is that?’
    “Desperation. You’re running from
something, which means you aren’t planning on ever re-registering with the
Social Security Administration. Am I right?”
    “Yes.”
    “There’s your explanation. I need
someone anonymous.”
    Anonymous and desperate. Both of
which I was at the moment.
    “How will we find this disk?” I
asked.
    “We will search tirelessly, to the
corners of the Earth if we need to. And don’t worry, I have ways of funding our
little, shall we call them, adventures.”
    A smile pinned onto my lips.
“That’s good. The corners of the Earth are good. Far away from here is very
good.”
    “There is one matter that might
make things complicated.”
    “What is it?”
    “It turns out the United States
Government already