" It's not the move of the line that did it, Jason," Cassie said. "It's the Darkness corrupting it. Or it's using it as a sort of conduit." An' I keep...comin' back ta the same freaking thing," Ned said. "Why the hell ain't it confined to the node like it's supposed to be?" It must be confined or it wouldn't be executing this elaborate plan," said Jason. "Just as Cassie can Project her consciousness down the lines while her body remains in bed, the Darkness is doing something similar, probably. Crew leaders would get twice that. Officers would get more, depending upon their seniority. Since Filo had served as a prize captain for so long, he was getting a LOT more.There were some minor differences, since some crew had joined us after we had captured some ships. Further, there were some sailors who left the ship at Bridgetown and they weren’t getting paid their share at all. If they ever showed up, I’d give them half of what they earned.I wouldn’t refuse to pay them, but I wouldn’t pay. They were both open mouthedand staring and glumly, I knew I must look stupid. 'Atleast,' I said, blinking, 'I tried.' Whatnow , I wondered, whatdo I do now that this was a failure? Ithen realised just how much I had hoped this would work. 'Didyou see that?' Belinda asked Mark softly and he just nodded. Belindawalked slowly around me, hand to her chin as she studied me. 'It was a rushjob, there's so much more to do but…shit!' It was said softly andI turned to her, puzzled. 'Iknow,' Mark. “Remember,” she reminded me, “you’re going to have lunch with Lou and me tomorrow at 1PM sharp.”Monday I drove home to find the our house empty. I walked over to Lou and Ted’s place to find Lou and Gail waiting for me. They both seemed as excited as little rug rats on holiday. It seemed once the little ones were asleep for their naps, the two moms were very happy.Lou had fixed a small lunch of chips, salsa and tuna salad sandwiches. We ate quickly. As we finished, Lou looked at me with a rather.