Shannon and I were whistleblowers. Just saying the term makes my stomach turn because it sounds so defiant and rebellious.
But surely a free society would want citizens with integrity to speak out against injustice, not to undermine the government, but protect it, by exposing illegal and unethical acts.
The only hesitancy on our part in going to the press is the chance we might expose national secrets—that’s what gives pause to our efforts and causes us to wait until we have gathered enough facts to make a just assessment.
That night in our den we gathered again with the detectives as they studied the text message searching for clues that might lead back to the sender.
"We're going to have to pass this on to our technical division," Autumn finally concluded, "and we'll see where the breadcrumbs lead them."
Shannon nodded, "I figured as much—whoever did this used a sophisticated method of rerouting it through a myriad of servers."
Paul Treleving, Poppie's uncle, was not surprised. "Don't worry—the techies work miracles sometimes with tracing threats like this back to their source—problem is, it takes time."
Autumn agreed, "The fact that the government is involved and your work comes under the auspices of The National Secrets Act is a real complication, but it's not insurmountable. As Paul says, it just takes time."
"As long as we have your protection, we're willing to be patient," I assured them.
After they left, however, I didn't feel quite as brave.
We were sitting in a smart house, sheltered behind its walls, with layer upon layer of security technology and a police protective detail parked outside—but I still felt vulnerable.
I wanted to be open and honest with Shannon, but felt I had to appear strong. I knew she had to force herself to drive into work each day and feel someone was always watching her every move.
That was no way to live.
To add more stress to our already tense lives, a severe storm warning was in place and I had got out the emergency lanterns and radio and made a big pot of coffee in case the power shut down…
And just at that moment, the lights went out.
We were huddled on the couch before the fire and had plenty of warm blankets and hot drinks to sustain us, but Shannon snuggled close, her hands cold and clinging.
I took them and breathed on them and gave her a mug of hot coffee to cradle and tried to soothe her fears.
“Will the security system work—the motion lights and cameras?” she asked.
I nodded. “We have a large capacity inverter that could power the whole house if needed, so no worries on that score.”
“I’m so glad I have you, Blake—I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“If you reached out to me I’d have helped you. I’ve been in love with you for longer than I remember. We were together in dreams every night—So, I’ll always be here.”
She was exhausted and my words seemed to calm her. Within minutes she was fast asleep and I continued to hold her in my arms.
Paul and Autumn did their part—assigning a patol to serve and protect us, but I also did mine…
I kept her close to me through the night, watching over her while she slept and shielding her from harm.
