AWACS - An American With A Chinese System
Copyright© 2025 by PT Brainum
Chapter 39
My Google voice had worked really well with starlink. I think it was actually routing the data from satellite to satellite finally down to a ground station in California, because my ping time to LA was great, but my ping time to New Zealand, which was ostensibly closer, sucked.
I checked my emails, and had nothing, so I tried the number I had for Aida.
“Koby, thank god. Don’t interrupt, I don’t have much time. Pete is at the FBI office in San Diego. Don’t try to get him out, he’s got a great lawyer, he’s fine, and will be out by Monday at the latest.
“I’m supposed to ask you to turn yourself in. Your choice, but I’m not recommending it. You are on the wanted for questioning list right now, and on the news in Oregon. You’ll have to look it up yourself to see what they are doing, but they are being very clever in what they are saying about you.
“I’m fine, they questioned me for a while, but I’m a lawyer, and they can’t do much to me, as I’m just your lawyer. Mama is upset, and I’ve calmed her down.
“So far all you are wanted for is questioning. If you break anyone out of jail, then they will come down on you like a ton of bricks. They announced that TransNat is under federal investigation, and their stock has dropped twenty five percent on rumors of racketeering, bribery, and hiring killers to silence whistleblower employees. They say you’re wanted for questioning as a TransNat executive, so they are painting you in the media as part of the TransNat corruption they are investigating.
“Now, I’m at the rental house on the coast. I’m staying here till Sunday. They don’t know about this place. Do you think you’ll be coming back?”
“What about the Casino raid?”
“That’s part of why you are all over the news. The Casino confirmed to the media that the same guy that won the largest roulette jackpot in state history was you, and that the FBI showed up to arrest you after you won, but couldn’t seem to find you. News here called you the world’s luckiest fugitive.”
“Where is my truck?”
“Since your RV disappeared, they put it in the basement of the Portland Field Office, with a boot on it.”
“I was wondering why I couldn’t get it.”
“They were pretty upset that your RV disappeared on them, that’s part of why they came back and got Pete.”
“Anything else I need to know?”
“Your friend Mo is very mad at you, but hopes you are ok.”
“How do you know that?”
“I got a list of everyone they’ve questioned about your disappearance. I contacted them to ask what was said, as the FBI wouldn’t tell me more than who they had questioned.”
“Well, I’m about as far away as you can get, so I don’t know how they would ever find me.”
“Well stay there for now. I can always set up another zoom interview for you if they are willing to back off. The big thing they want to know is where the paperwork on Red Moro went. They only made copies of about twenty five percent of the file before it disappeared, and they really want the rest of it.”
“That’s your choice. You are free to give it back, or destroy it, depending on what you think is best.”
“I haven’t decided. As far as you’re concerned, you don’t know where it came from and have no idea where it went.”
“Ok, see if you can get my truck free, I really liked it. Let me know if I need to come back, I can get there quick if I have to.”
“Will do, and Koby, don’t worry, they know they don’t have much, but they’re like a pitbull, once they bite they don’t let go.”
“Thanks, let me know if my retainer runs out.”
“Don’t worry, I know that you’ve got at least two million to spend on legal fees.”
We hung up, and I sat back, less panicked than I had been, but still stressed.
I summoned my Amazon purchases, and put them away. After finishing the ice cream, I hooked up the battery backup I had just received from Amazon for the starlink router. Since it plugged into the RV DC power system, I could shut down the generator to have the quiet I needed to sleep. I’d configure everything else tomorrow.
At six am my chicken alarm clock woke me, and I came instantly awake, feeling full of energy. I summoned my San Diego phone, and checked for text messages. There wasn’t anything, so I plugged it into the car charging port on the wall by the door with the car charger that had come from Amazon. I moved the backup battery to a regular charging plug, as it would have enough power to keep the starlink running until after breakfast when I’d get it configured right.
I scrambled eggs for breakfast on the little gas stove, and added some shredded cheese and bell pepper. It was great. Once I was full, and happy, I checked the battery back up on the starlink. It was low, but ok, so I spent some time hooking up the solar panel that would keep it topped off even if the generator was off. The generator was a necessity for now, but it was noisier than I liked.
I spent some time getting my other solar equipment set up. The three solar panels for the RV went under my big picture window where they would face north, and the sun. It was very odd to have that be north, when all my life, south facing was where the sun was. At least east and west still worked the same, once I orientated myself north. Never Eat Soggy Waffles.
I got the rest of my stuff organized and installed, including my little light ropes. It wasn’t very bright, but I was able to wrap it around along the edge of my stone porch with the help of some clear silicone.
I also went up on the roof, and made sure that my starlink dish was still secure sitting up there. Normally you anchor it in the ground, or on a wall or something, but I really didn’t want to put a hole in the exterior of the RV. I noticed the extendable TV antenna while I was up there, so I moved it closer, and zip tied it to the folded over TV antenna. There certainly wasn’t a TV station on the island, so I left in the down position.
I took a break and watched the news online from Portland. It was odd seeing a picture of me on the news. Aida had described it exactly right. I was wanted by the FBI for questioning concerning the TransNat corruption scandal, but she had neglected to mention that I was also wanted in questioning about the death of John Marcham, a deceased whistleblower lawyer who was affiliated with TransNat. They were all the same, until I saw an interview with Aida herself. She looked good, smart and professional. She also had nice things to say about me.
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