The Enigma Source

Mathias was annoyed to have an incoming call while trying to get ready for his next presentation with Alejandro and the Venezuelan contingent. It irritated him even more when he saw that it was Dr. Halvorson. Mathias looked to Dutch, silently hoping for a good excuse not to answer.

Dutch sourly stated, “He’ll just keep calling if you don’t.”

Mathias ground his teeth and answered the call. “What is it now?”

Unfazed by the surly greeting, Halvorson responded, “Remember that trusted associate that tried to rip us off for all the hard stolen monies we had collected? We have some people nosing around looking for him and the money trail. You said to alert you when the dogs started sniffing or picking up on his trail. It’s like what Yogi Berra used to say, ‘it’s Déjà vuall over again’.”

Dutch smirked, which only added to Mathias’s poor mood. Mathias commented, “I’m glad that your astounding command of baseball quotes is still intact. Let’s turn the conversation around. Can you get rid of these people like you did the last detectives? There are certain things I enjoy, and NOT hearing from police detectives is something that I really enjoy.”

Halvorson clucked his tongue. “I don’t think these are police detectives or the lost relatives to Steven Christopher’s last will and testament. These new people aren’t like the Global Bank or the Interpol money hunters I’ve hosed off either. When the bank account leads dry up, as in there ain’t no money here, so do their efforts. This new bunch is now hunting in the right direction, like they are laser-focused.”

Mathias, growing short on patience, asked, “Doesn’t sound like you can get rid of them, is that what I’m hearing? As I recall, it was you that said hide everything in a crypto-currency and let the trackers blow past with the wrong hunting techniques. Dribble some of the currency here and there to fund our operations and keep the rest as an insurance policy until our current project really launches.

“Now, as irritating as you are, one thing does stand out clear. I’ve known you to be resourceful, and I want to see it again. Get rid of these snoopers and keep our insurance policy safe, while I try to sell our new offering!”

Halvorson liked the kudos but further pressed, “Mathias, I know you are trying to sell our new offering which should make us well. But it is time to liquidate some more of our insurance policy for current operations. It will result in some visibility, but not a lot in the exchanges. My suspicious nature suggests that we take smaller amounts to several exchanges to better blend in to the background C-C noise. At the same time, we have more areas to be spotted in. What I’m going to suggest is that we don’t liquidate any of our current generation of crypto-currency funds out of our insurance policy, which should protect us from any unnecessary risk.”

Dutch blanched at the statement and blurted, “What? You don’t want to liquidate our nearly perfect, untraceable digital currency, extracted at great peril I might add, so you can feel safe? What are we supposed to do, clip coupons from a daily newspaper and live on berries and nuts, or worse, freeze-dried military rations?”

Mathias waved Dutch off of his rant and calmly stated, “Dr. Halvorson, I believe you may have hit a raw nerve with my associate, but I’m inclined to agree with him. Now I’ve been watching the crypto-currency exchanges, and there appears to be one popping up every other day. Even the Chicago Board of Futures jumped on the bandwagon to begin trading in futures. While halting all our trading will cripple our operations, I like the idea of smaller amounts sold through more exchanges, as it gives us some anonymity and lowers our risk factor. Are we in agreement, sir?”

Halvorson studied the situation for a long moment as Dutch began to pace.

Halvorson could hear Dutch’s grumbling and, with some unnecessary hesitation, finally relented, “Oh, alright! You need to work on making the funds go a little farther, guys. Try cutting back on ridiculous events, so we don’t have to keep dipping into the insurance fund.”

After Halvorson disconnected from the call, Dutch was practically dancing and spiritedly stated, “This calls for a celebration!