Never Alone

Chapter 16

          They sat together in a booth at Panera Bread with his laptop on the table between them. At first, they planned on using the internet provided by the hotel, but they needed to run out for burner phones anyway. Not to mention Annie's constant pacing up and down the cramped room told him she was suffering from cabin fever. Since there was no sign they had been followed, he was relatively sure they would be safe making a quick trip to get phones and a late lunch.

As he worked to gain access to the deep web, she intermittently took bites of her French onion soup and peered over his shoulder to check his progress. Finally, he was able to access the site Douglas Blake wrote down. As soon as he entered the password, a rather tame-looking black screen with conversation threads appeared.

As he and Annie scanned the various text boxes, it was apparent this site was anything but tame. Up until now, Trevor operated under the assumption that this cancer cure was the biggest thing going on in this clandestine group. As the white letters on the midnight backdrop came to life, they proved this was only the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

His jaw slacked as he read of possible 'terrorist attacks' the American government was planning to implement in the near future. According to someone with the screen name 'MeowMeow' there were plans to plant a bomb at the subway in New York City. Whoever this cat-loving person might be, he claimed to work for the CIA and have concrete proof this bombing was designed by the government to inspire fear in the American citizens, so they would be willing to give up their right to bear arms. Essentially trading a prized freedom for extended government control.

"This can't be for real, can it?" Annie leaned close as she read what no person ever wished to see. "I mean, look at this," she pointed to the glowing screen. "They're saying 9/11 and Sandy Hook were inside jobs...is that even possible? Can our own government care so little about us?"

He shook his head and shrugged. "Annie, a week ago I would have told you this was all just a bunch of baloney. Now...now I don't know what to think. I never would have believed they would let so many die from cancer when they knew about a cure. I don't want to think our own leaders were behind September 11th, but honestly, I don't doubt it as strongly as I might have before."

Her eyes glistened, and he regretted his inability to offer her the reassuring words she wanted to hear. Typing in a fresh text box, he hoped for a quick response from some stranger that might be able to help them.

"If anyone is out there, we were working with Blake. We have evidence from the CDC that they are keeping the cure for cancer out of the hands of people who need it. My sister died trying to make this information public. We don't know what to do. Any ideas would be helpful."

Almost instantly, there was a response from someone with the screen name 'NotJamesBond'.

NotJamesBond- I heard about Blake...and your sister. My deepest condolences. I was working with both of them. I've been tracking the offshore business and accounts and found a huge payout going to an entity known as 'The Organization'. Yeah...I know...real original.

Trevor quickly responded.

Do you have any idea who is behind The Organization?

NotJamesBond- Not yet. We're working on it, but the amount transferred to them was much bigger than anything we've seen before. $1.2 billion.

Trevor- Wow! That's insane. What do you need us to do? Blake said we needed to make this a top story on the news, but how do we go about that without drawing attention from the wrong people.

NotJamesBond- That's the million dollar question. For now, just stay safe...lay low. Me and a few others are working on a solution. We work for the government, so we have ways of staying ahead of the game. Check back with us in five days, and hopefully, we will have a plan to end this once and for all.

Trevor- Will do. Do you know anything about Dr. Winthrop?

Trevor glanced over at Annie and found her occupied with her lunch. Thankfully he could ask this question without her learning about the doctor Tracy deemed wise to keep secret.

NotJamesBond- The doctor is safe. And we're doing our best to keep it that way.

NotJamesBond- You and your girlfriend need to stay safe...I can't emphasize enough just how much danger you're in. You may want to get off the grid for the next few days.

Trevor- I'll try and convince Annie.

NotJamesBond- Look...she's still alive, because they need her. The sniper didn't miss her because he's a rotten shot. If they wanted her dead, she would be long gone. You need to get far away from surveillance cameras, interstates, and pretty much any other way they trace people. If they get their hands on her...just don't let that happen.

His heart sank as the full import of the words wormed their way into his brain. Annie was in danger. Whoever this man was, he was right. If the people behind this conspiracy wanted her dead, nothing would have stopped them from bringing that about. Turning to look at the woman beside him on the booth, he found her glistening eyes trained on him as her lip quivered.

"Is he right? Are they coming after me? Do they want to hurt me?"

"I'm not willing to take any chances," he took her trembling hand in his. "I know how you feel about camping, but if we called it 'staying alive' would it help."

Slowly, she nodded her head as a tear traced a damp path down her cheek. "I guess we've got to sleep on the floor outside." She tried to force a grin, but instead, her face crumpled as tears coursed freely down her cheeks.

His heart leaped as she buried her face against his chest. Wrapping his arms around her, he whispered in her ear. "It won't be as bad as all that."

"I'm not worried about the camping part anymore," she sniffed. "It's the staying alive part that scares me."

"Let's get the burner phones and some supplies. We'll do what we can, and leave the staying alive part in God's hands."

Looking up at him, she gave him a half-smile. "Ok, let's go."