"I can do that," Melina replied. "But only if I get to drive. Your eyes are shot right now."
I nodded, holding hands with her as we walked out of the house and got into her car. It felt strange, riding in the lower slung car as opposed to my truck, but Melina was more confident in it. As she drove, I did everything I could to think of something other than the work I'd been doing for the past few days. "So what are you going to tell Jay tomorrow?"
Melina bit her lower lip, an expression I'd seen whenever she was conflicted about something. "I still don't know," she finally admitted. "What if all this doesn’t work out as planned?” It was a concept that she and I had discussed multiple times over the past few days, during the short periods I'd taken to rest. Melina had a point, concerned about being tied down when our lives consisted of potentially being constantly mobile. It was a concern I'd shared. After all, being a teacher and coach meant that I had commitments greater than just Albertine. "I understand," I finally said. We pulled into the parking lot, and I forced a smile on my face. "So what flavor ice cream do you want for your sundae?"
* * *
I was getting out of the shower the next morning, Melina snoring softly in bed still, looking adorable in the morning light. She could still sleep for another few hours, but I’d gotten up before five in the morning in order to be at school earlier than usual. I just felt the need to be there before anyone else, in order to be prepared for what would undoubtedly be an emotional day.
I was slightly startled when my phone rang, and I hit the button quickly before it could wake Melina up. "Hello?"
"Hello, Cam. It's been a long time since we talked face to face."
It was true. It had been a long time, over three years since I'd heard the voice, but it wasn't one that I'd forgotten. "Senpai. You know it's five thirty in the morning here.”
"That's what you get for living in the Mountain Time Zone," Senpai chuckled in my ear. "It's seven thirty by my body's clock."
"What do you want?" I asked. I noted that he said his body's clock, not his own clock. He may not have been on the East Coast. "Working for your masters to deliver another message for me? Or are you trying to distract me while the people you work with send another gunman to try and kill me?"
"Pinzetti was a rabid dog, and you've sent quite a message in attacking his handlers," Senpai said. "You've sent quite a few people into a panic too. By the way, my higher ups had a laugh at some of the ways you did it."
"I wanted to make sure that the message was received properly by all involved. But you didn't call me just to make small talk. What do you want?" I asked, keeping my voice low. Unfortunately, that meant that I had to keep my phone pressed against my ear, which made getting dressed difficult. Instead of the pullover shirt that I'd laid out the night before, I grabbed a button up shirt from the closet, working one arm at a time into the sleeves before grabbing my pants.
"Cam, a lot of the remaining players in the game are scared, and your message, your actions have put them on guard. They didn't really believe what all you can do until the past few days."
"I warned them, didn't I?" I replied. "But you're still not answering my question.”
"I need to speak to you, face to face," He said. "I understand you've got work, but what about this weekend? Saturday night?"
I thought about it for a second. "We can do that."
He noted my use of we. "She's that deeply involved with you? That's a dangerous tactic, Cam."
"I thought about the pros and cons of it before I even made my decision. But yes, she’s involved. She deserves to know everything.”
"All right. Saturday night. I'll message you the details."
He hung up his end of the call without even a goodbye, and I set it down on my dresser. I looked at myself in the mirror, then glanced at the alarm clock. I had a few minutes and had enough time to change my shirt back to what I had originally planned. I went over to the still sleeping form of Melina in bed and gave her a kiss on the forehead. Then I went out to the kitchen, where I wrote out a quick note to her on a little whiteboard that we used mostly for grocery lists, and finished getting ready for work.
Today was an important day.
Chapter 35
Melina
You'd think that with it still being early fall or late summer, depending on how you wanted to look at the calendar, that it would be warm at night. The truth was about as far from that as you could think. The night wind had an edge to it coming off the mountains only a few miles away, and I shivered in my light sweatshirt.
"You're sure everything will go okay?" I asked for what had to be the fifth or sixth time. We were out in the country, a little east of the airport in the area that was in between Truth or Consequences and Elephant Butte Reservoir. It wasn't even a road in my opinion, but more of a dirt track that wound its way through the desert. It felt like we were in the middle of nowhere.
"We have a good plan," Cam reassured me. "I'm encouraged by the fact that he didn't try and cut the timeline, catch us by surprise."
"Would you have really been caught off guard by that?" I asked, thinking of how the week had been. While there hadn't been any overt change in the way Cam and I did things, there was a sense of underlying tension as we prepared for this meeting. Cam had spent time each evening going over little things with me, trying to help me learn what I needed to know. "I have the feeling you rarely, if ever, get caught off guard."
"Oh, I don't know. You catch me off guard all the time," Cam said with a laugh. "But it's always in a good way."
I blushed, turning away. Unfortunately, that made me look at the items sitting on the tailgate of Cam's truck, and my good feelings evaporated in the chilly wind. It's kind of hard to have good feelings when you see a shotgun, an M-16, and a laptop computer sitting out. We were purposely a few minutes early for our midnight meeting. "What time is it?"
"Eleven fifty-seven," Cam said, glancing at his watch, one of the military type models that has a glow in the dark analog face. I'd never seen him wear it before that night, and I understood why. Even with the nearly full moon overhead in a clear sky, it is dark out in the country at night. You don't realize what darkness means until the closest artificial light you can see is a mile away.
I saw another set of lights approaching and knew it was who we'd been waiting for. Cam picked up the M-16 while I picked up the shotgun. I was inexperienced with both, but I had a better chance with the shotgun. I picked it up and double checked that the safety was off. There was already a shell in the chamber, and I was in point-and-shoot mode now. I made sure to remember the safety rules Cam had drilled into me, with the most important being never pointing the barrel in any direction except one that I wanted to shoot.
The man Cam called Senpai was driving an SUV, but I couldn't really tell much about it in the darkness. As the lights swept over us, Cam waved curtly, staying behind the bed of the truck. I was on the other side of the truck, where the angle of our parking job gave me a little bit more cover and protection. Neither of us were pointing our weapons at the vehicle, but we kept them visible. We didn't really have a reason to trust this man.
"Cam," the man said, getting out of the SUV. "This is a little cloak-and-dagger even for you, isn't it?"
"You know where I live, you have my phone number, but that doesn't mean I'm going to invite you into my house," Cam said. "Cut the lights, I can't see shit. Leave the running lights on, though."
Senpai did as asked, and the area between our vehicles as cast into a ghastly mix of red from our tail lights. He left the dome light on in his SUV so we could see that the vehicle was empty. Of course, someone could have been coming cross country after us as well, but paranoia only takes you so far before it becomes paralyzing. That was another one of Cam's lessons.
"Is that what I think it is?" Senpai asked, pointing at the silvery lid of the laptop. "I've never seen it up close."
"It is," Cam said. "You want to take a look?"
The man did, and as h
e approached I saw that he was a bit older, maybe in his late forties or early fifties, with a nondescript look that meant he could blend in just about anywhere. Still, he had a certain hardness to his body language that said that he wasn't a man to be trifled with. "How can I know this is the real thing?"
"I brought along my satellite network hookup," Cam said. "If you want, you can get on the system and check out some information."
"You know this could just be a very elaborate fake," the man said after some investigation. "How can I trust that this is the real thing?"
"The same way I can trust that you don't have a squad of Delta Force coming through the desert to try and shoot me," Cam said. “I can’t, not completely.”
Senpai nodded and stepped back while Cam shut down the computer. "Cam, you having that thing . . . it scares a lot of people, as I’m sure you know."
"You've been telling me that for years now," Cam replied. "But I still have it. What's changed that brings you out here to the middle of New Mexico? Last I had checked up on you, you were enjoying life in the Virginia hills."
"You tore a swath through the community that seems to be growing every day," he replied. "Three of the biggest players in the game are ruined, you know."
"And an innocent teacher is dead, you arrogant asshole," I spat at him. “Was her life somehow worth less?"
Senpai looked at me as if he was aware for the first time of my presence. "Well, I can at least see how you two get along so well," he finally said, then turned his attention back to Cam, dismissing me completely. My fingers tightened on the grip of my shotgun, but Cam shook his head subtly, and I fought back my frustration. It’s not like I’d have shot him, but I sure would’ve loved to bop him upside the head.
“Cam, you know what the others are thinking. They've given you a lot of slack, but it seems like you're ready to hang yourself and a lot of them with it. That's not going to fly any longer."
"I see," Cam nodded. He shrugged, then picked up the laptop. "All right then, but I'm not going to let any of them get their hands on this."
"They’re not going to let you keep it any longer," Senpai said. "I came out here as a final warning, and to deliver an ultimatum. We’ll take that off your hands and assume the responsibility for it. We know the risks, we can keep the system safe."
Cam shook his head and tossed the laptop onto the dirt, leveling his M-16 at it. "No, you won't," he said. "You and the people you work with won't be able to resist the temptation. You'll bankrupt corporations that piss you off, and make those who support you rich and powerful."
"We do that already," Senpai replied. "What does Albertine change in that regard? Now give me the laptop so that I can get the fucking thing fixed. My God Cam, you know what breaking that laptop does to the world!"
Cam shrugged, and flicked off the safety on his rifle, the two metallic clicks somehow impossibly loud in the night. Senpai reached for his waistband, and I brought my shotgun up. "Don't."
The man looked over at me, blanching. Sure, I may be a total amateur holding a gun far too big for my body and leaning against the frame of a Dodge pickup truck. I probably couldn't hit anything more than ten yards away without an act of God. That being said, I was ten feet away with a shotgun. It'd be very hard to miss. "You wouldn't have the guts."
"You’re threatening to shoot the man I want to spend the rest of my life with," I said evenly. “Are you willing to bet on that?”
He looked me in the eyes, and for the first time, I think he really saw me as a person rather than just some sort of set decoration in this whole little charade. He nodded once and let his hand fall from his waist. "You know at that range, you'd probably hit him too.”
“Maybe,” I conceded, "but one thing’s for sure, you’d be blown away.”
Senpai turned his attention back to Cam. "Cam, come on. You took Albertine because you're idealistic. I knew that from the moment I first met you. It's your greatest weakness. Are you really going to throw it all away, and let the whole damn world come crashing down around us because of it?”
“The world will survive," Cam said simply. Before Senpai could say anything else, Cam pulled the trigger on his rifle, and three bullets shattered through the laptop and buried themselves in the desert sand below. "Now go. Our business is done."
"You just took away your only protection. You do realize that, right?”
"I think everyone should be more concerned with trying to save their asses before the six-month deadline comes," Cam said softly. "Think your friends can get enough programmers on the system to find out how to stop Albertine in that amount of time? Minutes count in this game, so tick tock, tick tock."
The man looked like he was going to say something, then shook his head to himself and walked backward to his SUV. Starting it up, he reversed to a point in the desert where he could turn around, then took off down the road. We waited until his tail lights were barely blips in the distance before Cam picked up the ruined remains of the laptop and tossed it carelessly into the back of the truck. "Come on, let's go home."
I made sure to put the shotgun on safety and then unloaded all the shells from it before getting in the truck. I waited for Cam to start up the engine and drive off before speaking again. "You think he bought it?"
"No chance in hell, but he can't be sure one way or another," Cam said with a laugh. "Thank you again for your idea. Using the backup to clone Albertine and then shoot it? Genius."
It was the root of our plan and one that I'd come up with just two days before. The real Albertine and its backup systems were still at our house. It would keep the data systems of the world safe, and as long as we were left alone, we wouldn't have to worry about using the power of Albertine for anything again.
"Thank you. I do have my moments."
Epilogue
Melina - Two Years Later
The frigid late winter wind howled outside the windows, but I was covered in a fine sheen of sweat. Lying on the bed, I shivered as Cam trailed kisses down my neck, clutching me to him. "God I missed this."
"Me too," he mumbled into my skin as we rolled across the bed. He found my left breast and sucked on it hungrily, ripples of pleasure rolling through me. We’d been kissing and touching each other for nearly a half hour, the soft glow of candlelight sending flickering shadows of our foreplay against the far wall. We were finally moving toward what we both wanted, but took our time savoring it. It’d been a bit of a dry spell for us, at least for two people who'd only been married for such a short time. "I don't think I ever want to go a week without this again."
I groaned in agreement, Cam's tongue snaking out to trace around my aching nipple, causing me to gasp. His strong hands plunged underneath me to my back, not letting me pull away as he deliciously tormented me with his mouth and lips. I was nearly senseless when he stopped, pulling back and making me sob in frustration. "What the hell are you doing?"
"Just because we haven't done this in a while doesn't mean we don't get to enjoy every second of it," Cam replied. "And I plan to enjoy this for as long as I can."
Cam kissed down my body to the juncture of my thighs, looking up at me ironically when I kept my legs pressed together, teasing him for as long as I could stand it.
But that didn’t last. I smiled as I let my knees relax, giving him access, and I fluttered when Cam's warm breath caressed my skin. “So beautiful."
“Wait. Lie on your back," I said, pushing him back playfully. Cam did, and I took a deep breath before swinging my leg up over his head, lowering myself to his waiting tongue while leaning forward, his cock so tempting in front of me. Grasping it, I shuddered as Cam responded by tracing his nimble tongue over my folds, not worrying about reciprocation but instead opening me up for his hungry desire.
I lost all sense of time as Cam licked me all the way from my clit to my taint and back, his tongue fluttering over the areas that he knew set my nerves on fire the most. I rolled my hips, trying to move away a little bit so I could catch my breath, but h
e was having none of it, his hands grabbing my hips and pulling his face up into his goal.
Cam's tongue plunged deep into me, setting afire nerves that I wasn't even aware existed as he caressed each one. His tongue stiffened, stabbing inside before retreating for another quick swipe of my clit, never giving me a chance to adapt. Each time the sensation of newfound electricity and new touches overwhelmed me. I couldn't believe it, even after all the times we'd made love, he still found new ways to set me on fire. I was desperate for more, my orgasm growing within me as he continued. "Cam . . . Cam I'm . . . ”
It encouraged him more, and he brought his tongue to my clit and licked faster than ever, each stroke driving me higher and higher. I gave myself to him, my husband, conceding to his wonderful tongue. Biting down on my forearm to stifle the moans, I came, my body clenching and my thighs squeezing together. Still, even though he was denied air, he kept up his assault, adding a white hot spark to each tremor of my body until I thought I might go crazy. Finally, the wave passed, and Cam let go, letting me roll to the side.
“Ahh . . . ” I said, unable to form any other words. I was that I was floating on a cloud of pleasure, and I never wanted it to end. My eyes couldn't even focus, but it didn't matter as my skin told me everything I needed to know.
I felt him slide up behind me, his hands coming around to cup my breasts and his cock nestling between my legs. With fresh sparks of desire igniting inside me, I lifted my leg to give him full access, the thrill of his penetration making me turn my head. We kissed as he slid inside me, my insides stretching around him and singing joyfully at the sensation. When he was all the way inside, our lips parted. "Cam."
"Yes?" he asked, his right hand playfully circling my nipple. "What is it?”
I tried to think of a more poetic way to say it, but my mind was filled with lust. I could only think in the basest of words, and the rawest of speech. “Give it to me hard."
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