Something, something.
HOOHA!!!
— She Who's Been Told
After my last visit to The B's house, I had a picture of the sticky note he kept locked in a safe. The note had twelve words, and one of 'em was weird.
Satoshi.
The next day, I waited for Quinn to show up at The Shady Lady. Quinn's smart, and they'd already seen me projectile vomit off a rooftop, so it was too late to worry about looking stupid in front of them. They knew me, at least to the extent that I let anyone know me, y'know? Who better to ask?
"So, Quinn... I was walking home last night and I saw some guy wearing a T-shirt that said Satoshi," I lied. "What the Hell is that?"
"It's Bitcoin. Satoshi Nakamoto created it ten years ago. It's becoming a thing."
"Oh, sheesh. Why the Hell do people fall for that shit?"
"Bitcoin is legit, Dandy."
"Get out of here. Really?"
"Think of it like a different kind of money. Money is a social construct, y'know. Cash has value 'cause we all agree it has value. It's what we all use. But when a country fucks up its economy, like if the government defaults on the national debt or does something else stupid, people stop trusting that currency, so the currency collapses. It becomes worthless. Trust is a social construct too. We have to trust the government and banks, right? But what if they aren't trustworthy?"
"They're not."
"That's my point. Do you trust the bank? I don't, and I work there. Did you know your bank can block you from withdrawing your own money?"
"That's fucked up."
"That's very fucked up, and it happens. Bitcoin solves that shit because it isn't controlled by a bank or a company, or even a country, and none of them can stop you from using it. With Bitcoin, you are your own bank. It isn't mainstream yet, but it's catching on. And it's really valuable."
All I heard was blah blah blah, followed by the second greatest V-word in the English language. The first being HOOHA!!! Or so I'm told.
Mine's divine. I've been told. Not by you. I digress.
Bitcoin is valuable?
"But what IS it, Quinn?"
"It's virtual currency. Y'know, online. Think of it like digital gold. People buy it, and they hold on to it until they want to sell it."
"Sell it? Like, how?"
"On an app. It's easy."
They might as well have said, "Using quantum mechanics."
Up to that point, I was a low-tech gal. I owned the basics. A clock, a microwave, and a TV. I didn't have a computer, and my phone was an old flip-phone. The online world wasn't for me. I liked things I could see and touch.
I was also a thief. But most of the things I'd spent my life stealing were about convenience and curiosity rather than value.
I stole food because I needed to eat.
I stole Trina's boink-bucks because they were sitting right there, on the counter.
I stole Linda's plates because I needed to know what she'd do if they went missing.
And, yeah, okay, I know. There was that one time... I stole ninety grand from Steve, because fuck that guy. I traded in his car, too. I found the title in his house. I still had his keys and wallet, so... with his ID and a little Georgie Porgie signature forgie, it was easy peasy. I swapped his Jag for a Honda Civic. A Civic is boring as Hell, but when you're doing shady shit, a flashy car is bad.
That was then. This was different.
The B was a guy who flaunted his wealth every chance he got, and proudly mocked the poor, but the only thing in his house worth a goddamn was a sticky note with twelve words. It had to be valuable, because it mattered enough to keep locked in big-ass safe that took two keys to open.
That's hardcore.
But why?
What were the words for?
At least, I knew what the B was for.
Bitcoin.