Page Ch. 05

"Oh, God, you win! Ooooh fuck, that feels so good."

I know instantly she's smiling as she presses back down on me and I flick my tongue over her clit repeatedly until she raises back up and lets my softening cock slip out of her mouth.

"You thought you'd win by cheating," she says victoriously.

"I think you need to come up here and tell me where you learned that."

"There are places to read about this stuff," she says cuddling in beside me.

"It was incredible."

"Every single time with you has been incredible, Ry. I wanted to give you something like you give me. I love you so much."

"I love you too and don't want to lose you."

"Don't worry about that, I told you I'm keeping you."

"Okay."

We stay in bed together and doze since there is no rush. Eventually, Page gets me up so we can go, but stays in bed while she has me shower first. When I finish, she hops in the shower and I get dressed. While I'm waiting on her, I go to the kitchen and move the laundry to the dryer and then go back on the porch to check the hot tub. It's nearly full and the water is warm. I add a container of oxidizing shock and head back inside with the filter. It's looking worn out and Gary has a stash of them in the laundry closet on the storage shelves above. I toss the old one and go back out to replace it with a fresh one.

When I finish, I notice that the temperature outside is now well above freezing and the snow is in full melt. Even the snow on the back roof is shedding water down the drain spout. Back inside, I look for Page. I find her primping a little in front of the mirror, dressed in her tight jeans and a warm shirt. She's putting on just a hint of eye liner and some lipstick

"It feels like it's fifty degrees outside," I say.

"Guess we don't really need our winter jackets," she says and then presses her lips together, to spread the red color evenly.

"Not unless you plan on walking around outside a bunch."

"Nah, we'll just get the phones and eat lunch," she says and then smiles at me in the mirror.

"Lunch there isn't as spectacular as their dinner," I tell her, worrying that she'll be disappointed.

"I'm just being silly, I like the atmosphere there regardless."

"You ready?"

"Yep, let's go."

On the way into town, Page keeps glancing back in her mirror to observe a car that is following us closely. The two lane road is a little twisty and I might be going under the speed limit, but they don't try to pass me when there is an opening and I seem to pick up her apprehension about vehicles or people following us. When we pull into the turn lane, the old Ford passes us and heads on down the main drag.

I park in the grocery store parking lot and Page gets out, leaving me to watch. Her hips wiggle in her tight jeans as she walks to the automated doors and disappears inside. I watch people come and go doing their normal shopping while I wait for her to return. The phones were right near the front of the store on an end cap, so it isn't surprising to see her emerge in less than five minutes. She's carrying a small plastic bag, walks briskly to the car, opens the door and hops back in beside me.

"I only bought one here. We should buy them at different stores and I think we should also get a spare, so we aren't caught in the lurch like this again," she says turning her attention to the phone she's already removed from its plastic.

"Okay, they might have phones at that drug store we passed and I'm certain I saw some in the hardware store the other night."

"I need to get this activated and setup a little before we leave. I don't want to do it at the cabin with the GPS active."

Remaining in the parking lot, I wait for her to finish getting it turned on and set up. I watch her and occasionally look around to observe anyone that is near us. There is a small indefinite amount of paranoia creeping in upon my mind and I watch people suspiciously when they approach: an oddly dressed woman, an older gentleman pushing a shopping cart, a couple of teenagers on winter break and someone bundled up that hurriedly passes between cars and bumps lightly against my trunk as they maneuver between a person with a cart and our car.

"Ry, you need to calm down. You're going to raise suspicions with your nervous stares," she says glancing over at me.

"I don't like that someone touched the car."

She glances at the individual who's brushed against the car and says, "Okay, let's go on to the hardware store and I'll double check when I get out."

I start the car and maneuver guardedly through the lot and out onto the road. My eyes are glancing at my mirrors and looking all around to see if we've been followed as we head toward the hardware store. It's a short distance down the street, we don't appear to be followed, but my mind is racing as I pull into the parking lot. I recall the elderly woman behind the old-timey cash register paying so much attention to Page and worry that she'll remember her even more clearly if she's there buying only a phone.

"Don't you think we should mix it up and have me purchase one along with some other items?"

"Okay. Make sure and get one that includes data and I'll check the car," she says.

She retrieves several bills from her purse, hands them to me, gets out and walks toward the trunk. Following suit, I join her briefly as I walk behind the car towards the front door. She's on her knees looking around when I go inside. Somewhat relieved, I find there's a gentleman working the register today. I get a cart and head over to the phones but find there is someone else looking at them. I try not to hover or crowd them and cruise the aisles looking at other stuff hoping they'll move along soon. I grab a container of oxidizing cleaner for the hot tub and then stroll around the store looking at various things that attract my attention while occasionally checking to see if the person has left.

I'm surprised that the store carries a bunch of survivalist type stuff in the section I've wandered into and my mind strays as I imagine using some of the gear there. On the spur of the moment, I decide I should actually get some items that stand out as must haves. I pile pairs of several items that would easily be worn or carried in a pocket into the cart. The two best items are a small knife key chain and an adventure bracelet that includes: a fire starter bar, fishing line, fish hooks, weights, a whistle, a long paracord, and a wire saw. I also get a couple of filtration water bottles that come wrapped in paracord. Then I notice a solar phone charger and a weatherproof carry bag which I think might be a handy item to have, too.

After several minutes of impulse shopping I head to the end of the row and notice the dark haired man has departed from the phone section. I casually stroll back, look over the selection and pick one that has data included. Reading the package, I find it's actually from a different provider from the one Page had gotten. Feeling pretty happy with all my selections, I head to the counter. As I'm putting the items on the counter, I notice that the man that'd been in the area of the phones is getting into a black car outside. The middle aged gentleman behind the counter rings my things up and puts them into a paper bag.

After paying him, I take the bag, wish him a happy holiday and leave the store. Back out at the car, I open the door, hand Page the bag and look about to see if the black car is around. Not seeing it, I get in and close the door. She puts the bag in the back seat and I watch her work on the new phone she's already taken out of the plastic. I go ahead and start the car and head to the drugstore, keeping my eyes peeled for the black car. We reach the next store in just a few moments and Page seems to have finished with the phone as I park.

"You want to get this one too?" she asks.

"I just thought we should mix it up. I presume you didn't find anything on the car?"

"No, there wasn't and I'm sorry Ryan. I seem to have made you paranoid," she says, caressing my knee.

"I don't know, Page, it felt like you were worried that we might be followed even when we set out from DC. You didn't do that the other night when we came into town, but coming down the mountain today, you kept checking your mirrors and stuff when I was driving. And just a few moments ago, there was a man in the hardware store that I thought might be watching me."

"Well, on the trip from DC I was just taking some simple precautions. Then today, that brown Ford was following kind of close and it felt weird, so I kept an eye on it. What did the man in the store look like?"

"He had dark hair and might have been a little shorter than me. I don't think it was anything, because he was there before me and he left before I finished."

"Yeah, it's kind of hard to follow someone and then end up where they're going first. Okay, you go inside, I'll keep watch," she says with a smile.

"I guess my surveillance techniques make me look too suspicious..."

"Then we can go eat, get back home - um - back to the cabin and get to the bottom of this."

"You mean, if Leda includes me."

"Yes, but she told me some things that you don't know, before we left DC. We'll see if she's willing to share once we get back to the cabin with these."

Inside the store I find the phones right next to the gift cards and wrapping paper. There's some small folded Christmas paper packs that I pick up along with some tape and hang on to them while I look for the phone. They have a couple of different ones and I wonder about purchasing a third one that is different. That should eliminate any issues with them coming from the same lot, so I make a decision and head up to the front. I pay for these and have to use some of my own cash. As I pull it from my wallet, I think it's like the first time I've contributed to this. I did buy Page dinner at the diner, her second night with me, but other than that, she hasn't let me help at all.

At the car, I hand her the phone from the bag and put the bag in the back seat. I know she might see the paper inside, but hope that she'll just think I was padding the purchase. She sets to work opening the more complicated packaging and I wait for her to finish. It seems like this phone is taking longer to get activated.

"Is it being difficult?"

"Just trying to figure out if everything is turned off. This is a fancier phone than the other two."

"Yeah, it cost more, but it was different, and I thought having three different ones would help keep them separated."

"Oh, yeah, you did good on that. You spent some of your own money on this one didn't you?"

"I can't get away with anything around you."

"What else is in the bag?" she asks reaching for it.

"Are you spying on me?"

"I think you've got me confused with our adversary, bpodq! Besides, you had some interesting items in the last one. I like to keep track of - oh - what's this?" she smiles, as she pulls the bag into her lap. "Hmm, someone has a secret gift."

I suddenly wonder if she's already discovered it. "Did you already find it?"

"You mean them?"

"Awe, I was hoping they'd be a surprise."

"Hey, I'm sorry. The night of our midnight bunker trip, I got back up after we - um - made love," she paused and shook her head.

"The words sound odd to me when I say them as well, but I know they're true," I encourage her.

"Anyway, I was too worked up to sleep. So, I was doing an inventory of everything we had, and was counting rounds -"

"You were what?"

"I was counting how many rounds of ammo you had in those boxes. I was just doing a situational analysis and I came across the lump in the foam. I didn't mean to find them. The earrings are beautiful and I didn't know they were for me. I just didn't want any surprises."

"Ha, you've given me one after another, I thought it'd only be fair to return the favor."

"Oh, I do love you. You really are the sweetest thing," she says leaning over to hug me. "I don't know if I could have trusted you, as much as you have me, if our roles were reversed," she whispers sadly.

"I told you I'd never do what Dad or your ex-boyfriend did to you."

"I know and I trust you more and more," she says softly and sits back in her seat. "It's been over a year since we were living together."

"Yeah, I missed our late night talks. The condo has felt a little empty ever since you left."

"I missed that too, but what I was trying to say is; a lot of stuff happened in that year we were apart."

I hear the words and the depth of meaning that they seem to carry. It is all I can do to restrain hearing what she is offering to tell me, but decide to delay that conversation until we are truly alone saying, "This probably isn't the place to talk about any of that. Let's go eat so we can head back."

"To our new 'place' it is then," she smiles, sits back in her seat and buckles in.

I start the car and begin the drive back through town towards the cabin. We stop at our restaurant a little after 1:00 PM and there are only a couple cars in the parking lot. The place looks a little different on the outside during the daytime. Its old weather-worn unsophisticated exterior gives little indication of the more aristocratic feel the interior affords. Parking right across from the front door, I hop out and hurry around to open Page's door. She's still fumbling with the newest phone and stuffs all three of them in the glove compartment. When she's out and the door is closed, I click the lock and we go inside. I notice that the wait staff is different than the other night and we opt to sit at the bar in seats that have a view of the car.

We both get a nice grilled steak sandwich, chips and tea. We eat in silence while watching the news channel which is muted but has the closed captioning turned on so we can read. The weather graphic seems to be the main story since there is apparently another low pressure storm coming in from the north and some moisture heading up from the gulf that's going to hit the east coast. We're probably only going to get a small amount of snow or mixed precipitation over the next few days according to the prediction map color key. Looking over, I notice that Page is eating her food rapidly again today.

"I thought you liked the ambiance; why are you rushing?"

"I don't know, I feel - exposed or something," she whispers.

"You think there was something to the cars we saw?"

"No, maybe it's the weather."

"Oh, well, we have supplies. We should be okay."

She agrees, slows down and leans into me on my stool. I wonder what has her on edge and don't know what to think. Maybe she's just anxious about what Reba may have to tell us, but it feels deeper and more mysterious. I run my fingers through her long auburn hair and feel her sigh as her tension seems to diminish. This last week has been rough on us both, but she's left everything she knows behind to come to me. It makes me feel all the more responsible for her safety and well-being.

We each finish our lunches, I pay with cash and we head back out to the car. In the car, she pulls out the phones and begins working on the last one again. I wait a little longer until she gives me the go ahead and then start back up into the hills. It is only around 2:30 PM but the sky is full of clouds and feels like the overcast setting will turn to precipitation. Luckily there are no cars behind us as we head up the mountain, and Page seems much more relaxed as my A6 climbs the drive to the cabin.

Page is out of the car quickly carrying all three phones. I join her with the other bags at the door, where she punches in the code so we can go inside. While she sets about connecting the cheapest new phone to her laptop, I go back to the bedroom with all the items I've gotten. I take the ear ring box from the gun case and wrap it with the wrapping paper and tape it closed. I put one of the survival bracelets on my right hand. It feels weird because I've never worn much in the way of jewelry or watches. I goof around with some of the other items and then place the lot of it into the canvas carry bag I bought to hold everything. The solar charger is the last item and I place it on top, zip up the bag and head to check the laundry. On my way back from the dryer, my arms full of clothes, I notice that she's on the internet and has a member window open in the game to see if Leda is on.

"Hmm, she's not on right now. Why don't you get your laptop and we'll play some until she is."

"Okay," I say and head back into the bedroom to get it.

I feel slightly guilty as I dump the clean clothes on the bed, because with the exception of these, we seem to be ready to go at a moment's notice. Pulling my laptop from the backpack, I join her at the long table and get mine hooked up and going too. I'm actually getting the hang of this, I guess she's a good teacher. We play for about a couple hours, do some dungeons for beginners like me. Playing a warrior seems to be mostly about charging and hacking everything in my path. As we finish selling off the loot we've gotten, Leda comes online.

"She's messaged me," Page says and joins me on my computer. "Let me drive a minute, 'cause I didn't show you this part yet."

I move over and she opens a different window with an icon in the game that I hadn't noticed before now. The window appears similar to the chat window, but it has different icons inside. She clicks one that pops up what looks like a password entry. She types in a very lengthy series of characters that included a myriad of symbols, numbers and text. Then she waits.

"What's happening?"

"We're getting our encryption keys synchronized with this add-on. Your key is in your password file."

"So, you remembered that long jumble of letters, numbers and - oh - never mind, you remember everything," I say, letting my voice trail off.

As if that were the signal for things to start working, there is a sound and some text in a window with a heading of Quirnious - Leda:

Quirnious: This is Shiva, I'm on his account. What have you been able to determine?

Quirnious is my warrior, but Page aka Shiva is typing for me. The reply comes back and initially it's random numbers and letters, but the characters are slowly replaced by readable text.

Leda: Okay, there was a concerted effort from the Russians to keep him from being elected. It appears to be a part of a larger scheme. It's not directly referenced in the documents you sent, but is referred to tangentially and we have corroborating information from other sources.

As I read this over Page's shoulder watching the text become readable again, I start to feel angry. "Ask her if it says why?" I say as Page is typing away before I finish.

Quirnious: Do they provide the motive?

Leda: No, there are references to funding the other candidate's PAC which ran all the negative ads, and there's mention of some efforts to collect data directly.

Page types quickly back to her.

Quirnious: Why would they still be pursuing him if they've already succeeded in defeating him in the election?

Leda: These documents are a real treasure trove of information, but they don't give us that detail either. They bugged his phone and put one of the malware components on his computer, as you already deduced.

Quirnious: What about the Asian woman in his condo? she types my question nearly verbatim.

Leda: There are at least two different groups tracking Quirinus' activities.

Leda: We've just discovered another group is looking for Shiva and they know she's in Virginia.

Quirnious: Do you know how they determined that? Page types rapidly.

Leda: Surveillance camera at the bank.

"That means, whoever is after me is looking through old data and most likely hasn't figured out we're here," Page says. Then she types another question.