Page 83 of Always Been Mine

“What?” Gabe exclaimed. “Are you fucking insane? What do you think is gonna happen if you don’t honor your bid when it goes through?”

“My point exactly,” Travis muttered, still glaring at his wife.

“Okay, guys, let’s calm down.” Beatrice thought what Caitlin did wasn’t a bad idea at all. Besides, the whole point of the Black Plane was anonymity. “How much did you bid, Cat?”

“Five hundred.”

“Grand?”

“No. Five hundred bitcoins,” Caitlin said. “That’s almost two hundred thousand dollars depending on current exchange rates.”

Bitcoin was an internet currency that was fast gaining popularity, especially on the Black Plane where anonymous transactions were preferred.

“When will you know you’re in?”

“A week. Well, there’s about fifteen buyers interested, five samples being sold. So my chances are pretty high. There are three vials in each sample. Redrook will be sending a private message to those selected. I was hoping if my bid gets selected, the admiral can take it from there and send someone to the meet.”

“I don’t like the sound of this,” Gabe said. “That was way too easy. What if it’s a set up?”

“The opportunity was there; the bids were about to close,” Caitlin said. “But I did consider that possibility.”

“Did you also consider that you’re FUCKING PREGNANT!” Travis roared, obviously unable to hold in his angerany longer. “That you don’t need this stress, not to mention you could have put yourself in danger again. Jesus Christ, Cat! Is it too much to ask for some fucking peace and quiet for a year, if not for the rest of our lives?”

Beatrice could completely see where Travis was coming from. Losing his wife and thinking she was dead for three years had changed him, and he was only now piecing himself back together. Travis was terrified of losing Caitlin again.

“I know, but Redrook must be stopped. He’s taken away so much from so many people already, Travis. You think he won’t come after me eventually? I’m a loose end with Project Infinity.”

“She has a point,” Gabe said.

Resignation was evident in the slump of Travis’s shoulders. Caitlin stepped into his space and he clutched her tightly to him, burying his face in the curve of her neck.

“I don’t want to lose you, Cat,” Travis whispered hoarsely. “I can’t lose you again.”

Caitlin murmured back words of comfort.

Beatrice tugged Gabe away to give the couple a moment.

Everyone was crammedinto the control room of the safe house. The admiral arrived within the hour of Gabe calling him about Caitlin’s breakthrough. Travis and Porter greeted each other cordially. Gabe thought that was an improvement. There was no use harboring grudges at the moment because with what Caitlin had done, there was no room for second guessing, only action.

“What are Redrook’s precautions for himself?” Porter asked. “Is it going to be a drop-off or a face-to-face meet? I don’t think he’d risk exposure.”

Caitlin suddenly looked unsure of herself. “Technically,I’m already vetted by the person who invited me into the network.”

“Except you don’t really know the person who invited you. You know him online,” Travis said.

“He’s been my chat buddy since I got my skills back, Travis,” Caitlin said. “We’ve worked on hacks together actually.”

Travis scowled at her. “What kind of hacks?”

“Um, we instigated a denial-of-service attack against an Al Qaeda website,” Caitlin mumbled.

Porter chuckled. Gabe didn’t think it was funny, because he could feel Travis’s frustration.

“What else?” Travis’s voice was soft.

“You know, other similar stuff.” Caitlin threw up her hands nervously. “So you see, I trust him and his causes.”

“Let me play devil’s advocate here, sunshine. Why would he be on IP-MESH networks that auction off mass-destruction weapons if he was fighting terrorism?”

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