“Not if it comes from Kak,” Corbin responded sarcastically.

“Stuart, do we have any mail?” Beckett asked, trying to redirect the conversation.

“You can borrow my book if you want to?” Stuart said to Beckett.

Beckett shook his head. “No thanks Stuart, I have too much to read already. Do we have any mail?”

“What about you Alex, do you want to borrow my book?”

“I would, but I can’t read.”

Stuart let out a loud, sharp laugh, which caused him to hiccup. “‘Can’t read’? That’s funny! How did you get this job if you can’t read?”

“I slept with someone.”

Stuart laughed again, and again hiccupped. “You’re funny. ‘Can’t read.’ Ha! ‘Menu’! I need to think about that one.” Stuart reached into his mail cart and pulled out the letter he came to deliver. “You got a letter, Evan. It’s marked personal, so I didn’t let anyone touch it.” He handed Beckett the envelope and waited for him to open it.

Beckett tossed the envelope onto his inbox to indicate he wouldn’t be opening it anytime soon, but Stuart didn’t leave. Getting him to leave an office was often a delicate matter. Thus, Beckett folded his newspaper and rose from his chair. “It’s been fun, Stuart, but we need to get back to work.”

“Ok, I’ll let you go,” Stuart responded, as he slowly retreated from the office. “But think about my book though.”

“We will.”

With Stuart whistling his way down the hallway, Beckett entered his password to turn off the screensaver on his computer. This would signal Kak that Beckett had returned to his desk. Kak maintained a log of how often, and for how long, each employee’s screensaver ran, which he equated with absence from the office.

“You shouldn’t have told Stuart that thing about NASA,” Beckett said over his shoulder.

Corbin shrugged his shoulders. “It’s harmless. So he has to run home and dig his bunker a little deeper, the exercise’ll do him good.”