Pale Horse (A Project Eden Thriller) Read Online Free Page B

container, if he wasn’t mistaken.
    He’d all but dismissed it when the most curious thing happened. The top of the box seemed to split lengthwise, then each section started to rise, creating an opening. Casually, he glanced at the building, thinking the construction people must be working late—an unusual thing, to say the least—but he could see no one around.
    Odd, but then again, if a construction worker walked through his office and saw how advertising operated, that person might find things strange, too.
    Nearing the station entrance, he thought he could hear a hum coming out of the shipping container.
    Ah, he thought. A portable workshop. What a great idea.
    He passed through the doorway and joined the crowd inside. As he headed for the platform, his thoughts turned to the items he would be discussing with Lunt, and how he would change a few things once he was in charge.
    Unfortunately for Christophe, that day would never come.
     
    BALTIMORE, MARYLAND
    12:15 PM EASTERN STANDARD TIME
     
    I T HAD BEEN two weeks since Mary Jackson had first called City Hall to file a complaint. The person who had answered listened for a moment, then transferred her to the Department of Public Works. The man she talked to there had seemed pleasant and helpful, and had told her he’d make sure someone came out to check.
    But after four days, no one had shown up. Mary knew this because she could see from her living room window the big metal box in the empty lot next to the convenience store. Sure, her neighborhood wasn’t the most beautiful in the world, but she’d lived there for over forty years. No way was she going to let it get any worse. And to her, someone dumping a corrugated eyesore right in her view was definitely pushing things in the wrong direction.
    So she called again, this time talking to a bored woman who couldn’t even get her name right, and again the following day, getting someone completely new who acted like it wasn’t the responsibility of his department.
    For the next week, she did nothing but stew and watch the box. If she’d been younger, maybe she would have walked over to see if there was a phone number on it anywhere. But at her age, she rarely even set foot on her porch anymore.
    She had made up her mind that she would give it one more day then call again, only this time she’d bypass Public Works and go directly to the mayor’s office. But her plan changed when the top of the box opened, and it started to hum.
    She reached for the phone.
    “Office of Public Works. May I help you?”
    She recognized the voice as belonging to the man she’d talked to the first time she called, the one who’d seemed so helpful.
    “Yes, this is Mrs. Jackson. You’ve got to do something.”
    “I’m sorry, ma’am?”
    “About the box. I talked to you two weeks ago about it.”
    “The box?” He paused. “Oh. Oh! The metal box across the street from you.”
    “You said you’d send somebody out, but they never came. And now the thing has opened up and is making a weird noise.”
    “Opened up?”
    “Yes. Opened up. Did you not just hear me?”
    “Are you sure?”
    Her lips squeezed together. She was not in the mood to be doubted. “Never mind. I’ll call the mayor. I’m sure he’ll do something about it.”
    “Ma’am, I’m sorry no one has come out yet. There was obviously a mix-up somewhere.”
    Yeah. With you , she almost said but held her tongue.
    “As soon as I hang up, I’ll make a call and have someone come out right away.”
    “Well, okay. But if I don’t see them in the next hour, I’m going to call the mayor.”
    “I completely understand. Now, could you give me the address again?”
    Once she had given him the information and hung up, she sat in her chair and kept an eye on the box. Even through her closed windows she could easily hear the noise. Apparently, she wasn’t the only one who noticed the strange sound. Not long after she’d sat back down, a couple of teenagers wandered