Chapter 34

“Joan, we need to pack up to leave the motel. We are through with this base of operations. We are going to have to find another temporary one. So why don’t you look on google and find somewhere within twenty five mile, more or less, of here. We might only be there a day or two, or maybe a week or two. Just depends on how it plays out with the FBI.

“I can’t work for the FBI. I work for Durham County Film Coop,” Joan said.

“Just do it hon, you aren’t working for the FBI, I am but our job is finished here. Tonight we can decide if your job is finished here, or if you want to stay. You can take your laptop and write the screen play anywhere. Especially the draft.”

She sat at her computer and googled the local maps, while I tried to work out my next move in tiny little pieces. Joan was through before me. She chose the college town of Athens Ga to do her writing.

“Athens Ga,” She demanded. “It’s only twenty eight miles and nobody will notice, unless they know exactly what to look for,” she demanded.

“That company car of yours has to go before we make the move. Nothing from this life goes with us. I just happen to have another Identity ready. That is thanks to the Geek. It’s going to be just a simple cash exchange. While she did the research on Athens, I moved money from my bank card to a shell company account, then I used their bank account, to buy a prepaid visa card for a thousand dollars in the shell company’s name. That’s where the new cash money would come from. I also used the Rogers Research account to withdraw five hundred bucks before we left Jefferson. I might be able to just leave all that money somewhere in those dormant accounts, if the FBI didn’t want to play by Rogers Rules.

When we were packed up and ready, I called Gray’s open phone from my open phone. Then I sent the following text. ‘time to go dark’. That message directed him to go to the prepaid untraceable phone.

I dug through my back pack until I found the flip phone with the red duct tape stripe on the back. Then Joan and I checked out. I had done a few of those accounting things before. I talked to the manager and walked out with a hundred bucks in cash. After the manager charged my card for two rooms at an extra night each. He also upped the rate on them. He charged my bill an extra two hundred and fifty bucks and handed me one franklin. I passed the motel bill on to Durham County Film Coop.

We needed some walking around cash money, and I had become a master at coming up with it. Joan and I were in a coffee shop at four when the ‘Dark’ phone rang.

Joan answered it just as we had arranged. “Joan,” she said.

“Yeah, he is here. The Jefferson county coffee shop.” Then she asked me, “Why all this cloak and dagger shit?”

“We are setting up the rules for any future communications between us. It they keep me in the loop, there will be a lot more.” I explained.

I looked up fifteen minutes, or so, later to see Gray walking into the coffee shop. The waitress took his order and we waited for her to return before we spoke the first words.

“So what’s up?” Gray asked.

“You first? are we a go, or a no go.” I said.

“More details to handle you can’t be an employee, or we get into all kinds of legal shit,” he said.

“I knew that. So you don’t want our help?” I asked.

“Oh I didn’t say that. You know what is coming next.” Gray said.

“I become your CI,” I said with a smile.

“Yes another cut out for the Commissar, and one for you as well. You know I will tell you as much of the truth as I can, but I will have to lie to you now and then, so let’s keep the drama to a minimum.” he demanded.

“We can feel our way along. There will be no paper work with my real name on it. That is not optional,” I demanded.

“Chose a code name,” he suggested.

“Ed E Dark,” I said smiling at Joan.

“It doesn’t matter what you call yourself,” Gray said. “How do you want to communicate.”

“Secure encrypted email, and book code that changes. Gray only you and I have the book code information. If it leaks, I’ll know who to kill, if I get the chance that is. I mean that, tell no one the books on the code list. I will be pissed if it leaks.”

“Okay, what do you want,” Gray asked.

“Ed E Dark false ID that can not be traced back to you, a cold vehicle from the FBI impound, one that has never, every been a recorded FBI vehicle. The sheriff already knows about the Durham county car we are driving, I am therefore dumping it. Just in case it hasn’t been turned in, we can take it back to the company over the weekend. I have things to do at home anyway.

When you need questions answered, you personally write them down, then we do a dead drop. After that I meet with The commissar and get the answers. I take them somewhere and run the book code on them. Then I’ll send the answers to your encrypted email.”

“That seems like a lot of wasted steps to me,” Gray said.

“You need to protect your cover story, and I need to protect The commissar and my own ass,” I said.

“So you don’t want an agent on you,” he said.

“No, it will just draw attention to us. Have an agent drive the cold car to a restaurant. then get the hell out of the way. Leave our new identities in car and we will take care of the rest. Gray no GPS tracker on the car, or I will take it to a salvage yard and have it scraped. Our deal will be off at that point. You will have a hard time explaining that.

I also need a thousand in cash as walking around money. No receipt unless you want me to scribble something on a napkin and sign it with the cover name. You also need to start laying the ground work for his outside the walls visit. Medical might be the easiest to arrange. But that is up to you.”

“Gee thanks, for trusting that we can handle something,” Gray said.

“I’m going to tell you this again. A bureaucracy survives by delegating tasks. What that leads to is a weak link. That weak link leads them to me, or the Commissar and we are dead, so no I don’t fucking trust you. The stakes are too high.”