My brother actually laughed at dinner and said, ‘I sold that useless laptop of yours for five hundred bucks. Finally got rid of your junk.’ My cousins cheered him on. Then he added, almost proudly, ‘Already handed it off to the buyer.’ I got up, stepped outside, and called my supervisor. By the time I made the report, the FBI cyber team was already tracking the device…

on the kitchen counter, forwarded from the detention facility.

Handwritten. Derek’s name in the corner.

I didn’t open it immediately.

I made dinner first. Pasta. Jarred sauce. Too much red pepper. I showered. Answered one secure work email. Watered the plant in the window. Then finally, sitting at the table where the laptop had once been, I slit the envelope continue reading …