“Nope.” I’m lying but it don’t seem right to burden her with my inability to amuse myself.
“Did you research the emails I sent you?” Her brows lift because she knows damn well I didn’t.
“Started to.” I hiss, the walls closing in on me. “You ever notice how small our apartment is.”
“No, never.” Typing, the corner of her smart mouth raises.
How can she be so calm?“I read we could be caged in for months.”
“We could always drive out west to Utah.” Her gaze hones in on mine as I consider the possibility, then shake my head, no.
“Shit, I would, except I’m contagious and you probably are, too.” I walk to the living room and pace in front of the window with Catrina at my heels.
Suddenly, I have this great idea. “I’m going to visit your Uncle Vinny.”
I laugh at her horrified face. “And give him COVID?”
“Sugar pie, he’s been trying to marry you off to one of his cronies since we met. Wait…” I trot back to where she sits, squat, and stare into her face. “Don’t tell me. He’s called in his favor.”
“Nothing serious. Just some research and… Hold on.” Sam’s mouth drops open. “Remember the blank email? I just got another.”
She slides the message to her monitor, clicks on a link, and opens a Zoom meeting with about a dozen participants.
Holding our breath, we scan the squares for gloved hands.
“There.” She points to a bald man with thick glasses. Large fingers squeeze, he screams, then his window goes black.
“Shit.” While Samantha calls her father, I do the next best thing.
“Jason, I need your help.”
“Hello Sebastian. It’s nice to see you. I am very glad you did not die.”
“Can you turn off the politeness? It freaks me out.”
“Done. What do you want?”
“Can you tell me where this email originated?” I paste it into his chat window.
“I will need access to Sam’s computer. When you see my pop-up, please hit agree.”
A few minutes later, Sam listens in while Jason gives us the lowdown. “The message originated from this small town in China.”
Google map zooms in on some city I can’t pronounce. Then, the image is replaced by the AI’s avatar. “I am researching further but I am blocked by an undocumented firewall.”
My mouth drops open. “How can that be?”
“A brand new way of transmitting data is emerging. It uses unknown hardware and software. Dr. Jones and I are working to infiltrate it but it requires funding from the government who, at this time, refuse to admit it exists.”
“Holy shit.” I scratch at my itchy beard. “Another internet? No way.”
Jason nods, pushes up on his glasses, and blinks. “Yes, way. One simply needs a set of instructions, new interfaces, and it runs on the same highway. It’s an internet inside the internet.”
“Wow. And our murderer has access to it? We should call the FBI.”
“I have already informed them of the incident as well as the CIA. Usage of this protocol triggers an immediate alert.”
Sam, turns her head, talks into her phone, then spins back around. “The man in the meeting lived in Amityville, Long Island. The police are headed there now.”
