Page 68 of Ignite

Hugo grinned and yelled back, “We’re not Vulcans and Romulans. You’re so weird!”

As the boys scrambled their way over the rocky beach, Jazz’s phone dinged. She saw a text from Copperpot. He’d kept his handle even though he’d also stopped baiting scammers online. Both he and Jazz decided it was pointless to keep doing what was essentially trying to behead a hydra. Instead, they spent a lot of hours developing an app that prevented scammers from getting to their targets. Yeah, there were a lot of scam-call blocking apps, but this one was all-inclusive with emails, texts, calls, and any other form of communication. Not only could a subscriber protect his or her devices, but they could add an extension to cover family members who may or may not be able to protect themselves. It was a great way to ensure no one bothered a grandparent with Alzheimer’s or a person like Hugo, who might not be able to distinguish scams from legitimate communications. Once the app was launched, the subscriptions poured in like crazy.

Copperpot: App stats are up if you want to take a look later. Everything is running smooth. No hackers can get through our firewalls.

Jazz smiled as her thumbs raced over the screen.

Jazzyhands: Very cool. How’s the diet coming?

Copperpot sent back a vomiting GIF.

Copperpot: My prez hates kale with a passion. Now I know why.

“Jazz! We’re about to eat!”

Jazzyhands: I gotta go stuff my face with my man’s meat. TTFN!

Jazz giggled as she clicked off before Copperpot could respond. She mounted the wood steps that led from the beach to the deck and sidled up to Wolf as he pulled the steaks from the grill.

He tucked her under his arm and kissed the top of her head. “Everything good, baby?”

“Everything is perfect.”

The End