chuckled.
“It’s going to be all right. Everything is going perfectly.” Cin saw no need to give Lanie details when she was already so nervous and worried.
Turning off the TV and the information and camera views he had up, Cin went into the kitchen and refreshed his coffee.
Lanie was still standing near the sink, cradling the cup in her hands, and staring at the now blank screen. “What was all that?”
“I hijacked some security systems and the sheriff’s radio,” Cin admitted. “I was spying on what was going on.”
“Why did you stop?” Lanie had seen flight information and other detailed things that would be hard for ordinary people to get. Cin’s knowledge and skill fascinated and impressed her.
For a decade, Lanie had learned everything she could about the internet, how to do minor hacking, and how to hide from this new world of technology. Lanie had developed basic skills out of sheer necessity, but the things Cin could do were only myths among most of the hacker and privacy forums where she’d learned her abilities.
A thought suddenly shook Lanie. “How many other forums do you run?”
“Ah, about a hundred,” Cin admitted.
It was twice that, but some were regularly taken down by DDOS attacks by the elite run deep state and their paid lackeys. Cin didn’t think Lanie needed to know that when she was already stressed out by everything happening.
Lanie suddenly named half a dozen forums, leaving Cin surprised that she knew so many.
“Yeah, all those are mine.” Cin was calculating the odds of her being a part of so many of his online communities.
“Oh, my God!” Lanie ran a trembling hand down her face. “You really are the reason I’m alive. If it weren’t for those forums, I would have never been able to stay on the run for so long. Jason would have killed me a long time ago.”
“How did you find so many of my sites?” Cin was surprised that the odds of Lanie finding seven of them were incredibly slim.
Lanie shrugged and thought about it. “I don’t know. There’s so much garbage out there on the web, and it took years to find those websites. I always seemed to know which ones to keep going back to for information and advice. Mostly because it always worked.”
Cin pondered that while he moved to the french doors and watched the sun come up. He smiled when Lanie walked over and joined him. It was strange to Cin that he felt so comfortable being here with Lanie after living his entire life friendless and alone.
Even having Loquan here had kept Cin on edge, but Lanie made the cabin feel more like what he always thought a home would be. The realization shook him, and Cin immediately had his nanites look into what would be causing these strange new feelings in him.
“Will you tell me how you learned your skills and all the information you post? Can you teach me how to do it too?” Lanie asked, then snorted. “I’m kind of at a loss what I’ll do with my life if I don’t have to run anymore. The idea of trying college and going back to that old life is ridiculous, considering what I know.”
“I see that happen a lot with the members of the forums. It’s painful and disheartening when you find out the truth of what’s really going on in the world.” Cin nodded in compassion. He’d felt the same when he discovered the truth of the elites and Earth’s history. “The forum members talk about pill colors for those awake and those still buying the propaganda and indoctrination. It helps them deal with the loneliness they feel knowing those closest to them don’t see the truth around us.”
“I’ve read those posts. Some more than once,” Lanie admitted. “Even with everything I know about the widespread corruption from the local governments and courts to the highest office in the country, I still think there’s more I don’t know. I think it’s just the surface, and it goes much deeper.”
When Cin remained silent, Lanie turned and faced him. “Am I right?”
“The breadth and scope of what they have done to society for centuries are almost beyond comprehension.” Cin wouldn’t lie to Lanie, but he also knew she wasn’t ready to process the full truth either.
As if knowing she wasn’t emotionally prepared to hear anything else right now, Lanie turned back to face the sun rising over the mountain.
They stood in companionable silence for several long minutes until Cin realized