6. The Wabbit and the Emergency Bus

They ran and ran. A bus was at the station as the Wabbit hoped and he dived on. Lapinette dived on after him. She was unsteady. So was the Wabbit, but he regained his composure. He glanced to his right. A ghostly smoke poured through an open window. He leaned across and snapped the window shut. "We gotta get out of here!" Lapinette shook her head to clear the cobwebs. "What do you propose?" she slurred. "I suggest you sit down for a minute Lapinette," said the Wabbit, "Let me handle it." "Can I be of assistance," said a calm voice. Wabsworth emerged through what was left of the smoke. "You certainly can, grinned the Wabbit. "We're being chased by spectres." Wabsworth closed the doors automatically with a special tool he kept for interrupting bus drivers. "I saw them. They were specterating around the river." The Wabbit grimaced. "They've been following me, no idea why." Lapinette butted in. "No, you seemed to be following them." Wabsworth nodded. "Reverse spectrology. Let's get on our way." He moved to the front of the bus, took over the driver's seat and pressed the ignition. With a shudder, the bus swung into the traffic. A cacophony of horns ensued. "Don't worry," he yelled, "This is Rome. Perfectly normal." The Wabbit sat Lapinette down and joined Wabsworth. "Where to, Wabsworth?" Wabsworth grinned. "Let's go find your specterating spectres."

5. The Wabbit and the Deluge of Coins

It happened in a flash. The spectres noticed the Wabbit and Lapinette hiding in the men's outfitters. So with a wave of their spectral cloaks, they transported them to a building on the river. Then the Wabbit and Lapinette were thrown from a height. It was where the spectres hid their stash and it clinked and clanked as money does. But it wasn't any old money. The Wabbit was falling. "What's that coin with NFT?" he gasped. "Non-Fungible Token," replied Lapinette. Her frock was flying up and she brushed it back down. NFTs had made a brief appearance as exchange items in the Dinosaur fund, but the Wabbit wasn't keen. He never got the hang of them. Lapinette grunted an explanation. "If someone made a film of us falling and we signed it, someone could buy it and it would be the only one in existence. Then some computers keep it safe." The Wabbit was none the wiser. He'd seen a machine at the Supermarket Car Park, but no-one ever used it, far less put movies in it. "Sounds like a scam," moaned the Wabbit. "It very often is," said Lapinette. She shook her head. "I think our spectres are bitcoin fraudsters." The Wabbit cast his mind back to Hardhack Rat. "I think we've been here before." Lapinette agreed. "It didn't go well." "Ground's coming up," muttered the Wabbit, "Do you think we'll bounce?" Lapinette laughed. "We usually do." The Wabbit laughed. "I'll buy you a prosecco then." "Franciacorta if you please," smirked Lapinette. 

4, The Wabbit and the Spectral Purchases

They followed each other well into the city. The spectres made straight for a men's outfitters store and roamed up and down a corridor of shirts. "They're going to spend their money," murmured the Wabbit. Lapinette said "Shhh." She watched as they examined all the colours. "I think want disguises," said the Wabbit. He was keen on his theory, but Lapinette didn't see why spectres would need them. "The best-dressed guest spectres in town?" Spectres glided past ties, trousers, shoes and bags. Hardly a word issued from their mouths. Just a low humming now and then. "Maybe they're going out on the town?" whispered the Wabbit. "Or shopping for family?" replied Lapinette. The Wabbit was astonished at the thought. "They have families?" "Everyone has family," said Lapinette. One spectre gazed intently at a label. "Looking for bargains," she mused. The spectre at the back loaded shirts on his shrouded arm. He seemed to be shopping for the three. Another spectre approached the micro-ATM. He poked it. "I don't know why he's doing that. They have money, don't forget. From the pile in the church." The Wabbit nodded sagely. "I wonder if it's their money or if they stole it." Lapinette thought. "Easy if you're a ghost." The Wabbit considered the matter. That felt wrong. "I'd say it had symbolic value." Lapinette agreed. "Spectres with ghost money. They're standing in for something else. Money transferred covertly by a secret agency."  The Wabbit agreed. "They're laundering it."

3. The Wabbit and the Ghostly Coins

The Wabbit and Lapinette were drawn to a nearby church. They entered with trepidation since there was a gloomy feel to it. The pile of coins surprised them. They looked genuine enough, but they were outsize - as if in a sale for the larger person. "What do you make of this, Lapinette?" Lapinette shook her head. "I just don't know. It's like they were intended for a ghostly children's party." There was a chill in the air and it made the Wabbit's fur stand on end. "We're not alone. But don't look behind you." Lapinette knew the Wabbit's special glasses enabled him to see to the rear. The Wabbit could see three spectres and he grumbled, "Why are they always in threes?" They hopped to the other side of the coins and risked looking back. The spectres advanced slowly until they reached the Wabbit and Lapinette. Then they passed through them as if they weren't there. The Wabbit felt an internal shudder and so did Lapinette. They turned to watch them float to the back of the church. The spectres made a clinking clanking sound as they exited. The Wabbit and Lapinette turned back. The coins had vanished. "I think these are your observers." Lapinette half smiled. Now it was the Wabbit's turn to smile. With a shake of his head he muttered. "No good following them I suppose, they're following me. Where have I seen them before?" Lapinette thought for a minute. "From what you told me, they're similar to the ones from that Ghost Ferry." The Wabbit looked pensive. "Yep, I could see right through them."

2. The Wabbit under Surveillance

The following day the Wabbit took Lapinette for a hop in the EUR district. He explained to Lapinette about the architectural style of the Fascist period. "It's rationalist," he said. Oh I know all that," said Lapinette. She explained about the original plan. "I think these were office buildings," said the Wabbit. "Still are," smiled Lapinette. There was a pregnant pause. "I see a shadow up there!" shouted the Wabbit. "They're after me." The Wabbit still insisted he was under surveillance. "Probably just a trick of the light," replied Lapinette, "Just because a shadow appears on a balcony doesn't mean you're being followed." They strolled paw in paw along the street. "Didn't we visit an air raid shelter around here." The Wabbit wouldn't let it go. "Yes," agreed Lapinette, "Well, you insisted there was a monster in there." The Wabbit was appalled. "There was a monster!" Lapinette stood her ground. "It was hardly a monster. It was one of your doppelgangers." "It had my blood," groaned the Wabbit, "Wasn't a Wabphage creature monster enough." Lapinette sighed. "A single shadow isn't surveillance; it's not doing anything." The Wabbit turned around. Just then, the shadow waved and vanished. "But I saw that. It's overt surveillance. It wanted you to see it." Now Lapinette looked worried. "It might be using AI." The Wabbit turned back. The shadow appeared again. "Facial recognition," said Lapinette. The Wabbit made a silly face and stuck his tongue out. The shadow vanished again. The Wabbit shrugged. "Now I know how to get rid of it." 

1. The Wabbit and the Surveillance Factor

The Wabbit was hopping on a stroll near Via Aurelia. He felt as if he was being watched. He glanced around. "Hello Wabbit," said Wabsworth. Commander Wabsworth was the Wabbit's android copy. That copy had been made quite some time ago, so Wabsworth was now rather different from the original. "I felt I was being watched," said the Wabbit. "That was me," replied Wabsworth. The Wabbit shook his head. "No, I knew you were sneaking up. Someone else." Wabsworth laughed. "You're a secret agent, it's in your job description." The Wabbit scanned the buildings. "I didn't know I had one." Wabsworth stuck his paw in his fur, a bit like the Wabbit. "It's a secret." The Wabbit smirked. "You think you're funny." "We both are, but I'm funnier than you!" said Wabsworth. They laughed and hopped together for a while. "Have you got any enemies, maybe?" asked Wabsworth. "Does the Pope keep bears in the woods?" replied the Wabbit. "Hmmm," mused Wabsworth. The Wabbit smiled to himself. "Do you still have an off-switch?" Wabsworth grimaced and snarled. "If you had one, would you tell anyone?" Wabsworth had no sense of humour about that particular question and the Wabbit knew it. "Still got that feeling? asked Wabsworth. "I have," groaned the Wabbit. "If he gets any closer," sighed Wabsworth," we'll have to buy him a coffee." "And a cornuto!" quipped the Wabbit.