Chapter 7

Raiden woke up on Thursday morning and went to his workroom. He looked through the men’s wallets and IDs and knew everything was fake. The laptop was new, and there was nothing else besides emails. The last email was from Alan Hardwick, and Raiden wondered if it was Alan Hardwick, CIA Assistant Director. The email asked for project status, so Raiden replied that the mission was complete and attached his worm. Then he turned off the laptop, returned to his room, showered, dressed, and went to the kitchen.

Carmen asked Raiden how he had slept, and he said not well. If someone had cuddled with me, I would have slept better. Carmen and Sofia laughed, and then Ria and Tia entered and asked what was so funny. Sofia told them, and they laughed, too. Raiden ate breakfast, and Carmen took Ria and Tia to the bus stop. Sofia told Raiden that she and Carmen would go to town after lunch on Friday. They would pick up Ria and Tia and get dinner, then pick up Martha. So, she would leave something in the refrigerator for him to heat up for dinner.

Raiden drove the mule to the cave after breakfast. He loaded a case of gold and silver coins, then went to the cavern. Raiden checked the molds and chose one that was the size of a small burrito. Then he lit the smelter and put a dozen gold coins in the pot. The process was slow, but he made twelve bars before lunch. He could have done over twice as much if he had more molds, but he only had one. Raiden turned off the gas to the smelter and drove the mule to the garage.

After lunch, Raiden returned to the cavern and made twelve more gold bars. Then, he turned off the smelter and let the furnace and molds cool down. While that was happening, he put the remaining coins in the Silverado. When the gold bars were cool, Raiden put them in the mule and drove to the garage. He took the gold bars to his workshop and put them into his safe.

Then Raiden checked his cloud account and was surprised to see he had Alan Hardwick’s computer files. They were from his personal laptop and not from his office computer. Raiden looked at the photos and videos first. Alan was married and had three daughters. He also had a girlfriend, and there were pictures of them in sexual situations. Then Raiden checked Alan’s banking apps, and he hit the jackpot.

Alan had a Cayman Islands Bank account with too much money. So, he was doing something illegal or skimming funds from projects under his control. Raiden changed the login and password and then emailed Alan’s wife photos of his girlfriend. The subject of the email said Alan and his latest squeeze. He’d done enough damage today, so he shut off the computer and went to his room. Raiden showered, put on his robe, and went to the kitchen for dinner.

When they finished dinner, Raiden said goodnight and went to his room. Then, he teleported to the hot springs and into the pool. When he sat down, Raiden climaxed hard, and then he passed out. While unconscious, Raiden felt like something was being done to his body. Then he woke up floating, exited the pool, and teleported home. He felt great and wondered what the hot springs were doing to him. Then Raiden went to bed and fell asleep.

Raiden went to his basement dojo early Friday morning. He did his martial arts workout and then practiced his Stealth Walk and Strikes. When he finished, Raiden returned to his room, showered, dressed, and went to the kitchen for breakfast. Sofia was leaving to take Ria and Tia to the bus stop. Carmen gave Raiden his breakfast, and he asked when they were going to the city. Carmen said they planned to leave after lunch and shop until Ria and Tia got out of school.

After breakfast, Raiden drove the mule to the cavern and started the smelter. He did twelve more gold bars and turned off the gas. When he returned to the house, Carmen and Sofia said they had left early, but his lunch and dinner were in the refrigerator. Raiden ate lunch and returned to the cavern. He started the smelter again and cast twelve more gold bars. That finished the case of gold coins, and he would do the silver coins next.

Raiden wasn’t in a hurry because no one was at home. So he waited until the bars cooled enough, put them in the mule, and returned home. He carried the bars to his workshop and put them into the safe. Then he cleaned up, went to the kitchen, and heated his dinner in the microwave. While he ate dinner, Raiden had a bad feeling that something would happen, but he didn’t know what it was. He finished dinner and went to bed.

Alan Hardwick wasn’t having a good day. First, the crew he financed off the books to find Owen Gilpin’s secret research lab and steal his computer and files hadn’t returned his calls or emails. They emailed him saying the mission was complete yesterday, but there wasn’t any contact after that. Alan had buyers for the formulas that would make him rich, and he could retire. Now, he was worried something had happened to the crew, or they had double-crossed him and sold the formulas themselves.

Then his wife called and said don’t bother coming home. Alan asked what the problem was, and his wife said nothing except your girlfriend. His wife said you can stay with your girlfriend, and my lawyer will contact you shortly. Alan pleaded with his wife to talk it out, but she told him to kiss her ass. Alan knew when she hung up he was royally screwed. Alimony and child support would take a huge bite out of his paycheck.

Raiden woke up Saturday morning and sensed the house. He breathed a sigh of relief that everyone was home and wondered what he felt during dinner. Then he teleported to his ranch garage and moved all the equipment to the basement secret storage room. It was in the same area, and he wondered if the same person had built both houses. He would need to get some storage racks, and he left the equipment in orderly piles. When he was done, Raiden teleported home, showered, dressed, and went to the kitchen.

Martha greeted Raiden and said she heard he had a problem when she was gone. Raiden said that only Carmen and Sofia refused to cuddle with me. Everyone laughed, then sat down and ate breakfast. When they finished, Martha asked if he wanted to go to town and do their shopping, and Raiden agreed. On the way, Martha told Raiden she had visited with their attorney, James Berch, in New York.

Then Martha gave him Jacob’s business card and told Raiden to call him if anything happened to her. She said James knows about William and is prepared should something happen. James also told her there had been numerous inquiries about our whereabouts. Some are as recent as last week, so we must continue to be careful. When they arrived in town, the first stop was to pick up the lab supplies. Then they went to the market and drove home.

When they arrived, Carmen and Sofia put the groceries away while Martha and Raiden unloaded the lab supplies. Martha asked Raiden not to tell anyone about what they discussed, including Carmen and Sofia. Raiden asked what was happening, and Martha said someone was providing inside information. We can only trust ourselves, and they headed to the kitchen for lunch. Nothing was said about the hot spring because Ria and Tia were at the table. But Raiden could tell Martha, Carmen, and Sofia wanted to go.