Chapter 10
10
T heresa finished setting up the dining room with Margo's assistance. The hired cleaning company would come in the morning to mop the floors and clean the bathrooms and other areas that were not food-related. Margo had insisted on staying out front with her, so she wasn't alone. She hated feeling like she needed a babysitter, but she was grateful for good friends and the concern. Despite the doors being locked, she still felt vulnerable. And exhausted. She felt totally exhausted. If anything happened tonight, she wouldn't be able to run anywhere. There was nothing left in her. She'd spent every bit of energy she had today.
A loud knock sounded against the front door, and she jumped and yipped. Two more knocks hit the door hard, and Margo's hand flew to her heart first, then both Jace and Marco rushed out to the dining room from opposite directions.
Marco nodded toward her, "It's Mitch. He just texted. Remember, knock space knock knock."
She swallowed the fear that clogged her throat and nodded. She closed her eyes for a moment as Marco rushed to the door to open it. She focused on her breathing, reminding herself they were all okay. It was all okay.
Marco first peered out the door, using his foot as a stopper, then opened the door and let Mitch inside. As soon as Mitch stepped inside, Marco closed and locked the door once more.
Mitch glanced at her and nodded. "Hi, Theresa."
"Hi, Mitch."
He nodded to Jace and Margo who stood nearby. Mitch addressed her. "You received a call on your phone. I need you to listen to what it says and tell me if you recognize the caller's voice."
She swallowed nervously but stepped forward. "Okay."
He pulled her phone from his pocket and tapped the face of it. The caller's voice came on. "Theresa, you can run but you can't hide. Not forever. I know you have the transaction records proving what you think is the Celtics meddling with the presidential election, but you don't really know what you have there. And before you go making an embarrassment of yourself, you and I need to meet."
Theresa stared at the phone that Mitch held out. It was her phone, but right now, she didn't want to touch it. It felt like something poisonous, something dangerous and dark.
How brave was she? Was she brave enough to pretend like she didn't know what they were talking about? She wasn't sure if she was that brave.
Her eyes left the phone and slowly scanned up Mitch's arm and over his shoulder to where Marco stood. He stepped forward, then stood before her and softly asked, "Do you have something that will incriminate them?"
She swallowed. She wasn't sure how honest she should be with anyone. Everyone seemed to want the information she had.
Marco said, "Theresa, you need to trust us, hon. We're trying to save you, but we need to know what we're up against."
Her heart beat so fast she thought she was gonna pass out. She swallowed quickly and took in a deep breath. Well, what did she have to lose, really?
"Yes, I have them," she slowly answered.
"Where are they? We need to put them somewhere for safekeeping."
She licked her lips. "I have them in safekeeping."
"But what if they find them?"
"They won't."
"Theresa..."
She hurriedly said, "Marco, I appreciate everything you're all doing for me. I really, really do. But this is something that I protected long ago when I first started to find out what was going on with the Celtics. I have the files protected in such a way that no one will find them. I have it blockchain-protected, and the only way it can be opened is with a private key. And that private key is hidden over several different sources."
Mitch grinned. He looked at Marco. "Well, damn. That's pretty fucking good."
Marco nodded. She saw him swallow, though. He was worried.
He said, "Yeah, she's good. She's good."
Jace stepped forward then. He let out a deep breath. "Okay, so you're the only one who knows where the blockchain-protected documents are, and you're the only one who knows how to retrieve the password?"
"Yes."
Mitch nodded. "And no one else?"
"Correct. No one else. Only me. And I have it further protected with a dead man's switch. So if something happens to me, it will automatically go out to law enforcement, media, television stations, newspapers, and all over the internet via a private account that no one knows I own."
Marco nodded slowly. She watched him. He almost seemed as though he admired her. That made her smile a little. Actually, speaking all this out loud made her feel better about everything. She had done the right thing. She protected the data. And if they didn't want it to get out, they had to leave her alone—or at least not kill her.
They didn't have to leave her alone, but they needed her to stay alive.
She felt stronger now. She should tell them that much. It would give them pause. Maybe.
She said, "I have everything protected to the best of my ability. It doesn't mean they can't kidnap me and try to beat it out of me. I would prefer they didn't do that. But they're not going to get it out of me, and no one else knows anything about this."
Mitch nodded. "Okay, well, that's good. I'll say this—don't tell anyone right now either, including Marco or Jace. Sorry, guys."
Marco shook his head. "Nope. Nope. That's all right. We need to protect her the best that we can, and by her being the only person who knows how to uncover this information, I think that protects her even more."
Mitch nodded. "Yep, I think it does too. So here's what we're gonna do right now. I'm gonna reply to this phone number, and I want you to say only you know where the information is, only you can uncover it, and you have no intention of doing so until you're guaranteed safety. And that guarantee will come by tomorrow night at midnight. Let's push the envelope a little bit and force these bastards out."
Theresa swallowed and nodded. "Yes. I've been living under the radar for far too long and looking over my shoulder all the time. It's time we settle this. Thank you."
Mitch nodded. He tapped on her phone a few times and held it up for her to speak, exactly as he had told her to do. She did so and felt immediately better. But she added, "I have the information dead-man encrypted. If I die, the whole world will get the information I have. All of it."
Mitch hesitated a moment and glanced at Marco. He stared into her eyes. "Are you sure?"
"Yes."
Mitch nodded and sent it.
She breathed out a sigh of relief. It was the first time she was actually taking steps to make this stop. She wasn't running. She was fighting back, and she had an amazing group of people with her.
Hopefully, no one would get hurt.