The Wabbit's Adventure Caffè

It was a new venue for the Adventure Caffè. The Via di Boccea was a vibrant, if busy street, which offered a number of Caffè establishments. It wasn't a typical place to stay long, so Wabsworth got the drinks in with super speed. Skratch was late and looked at the vacant seat and drink. "What was that for a sort of adventure you just had?" he muttered. "Sit down Skratch," said Lapinette, "and I'll tell you. It was a fast paced action thriller that didn't make any sense." Wabsworth was speeding towards the table. "That's true. Bitcoin must be transferred into real currency. Criminals don't covertly trade in cryptocurrency." Lapinette smiled. "We portrayed Bitcoin in a simplistic matter, but that's not to deny the real nitty gritty of all the implications." Skratch gave a long meaow. "Just decoration in my opinion. It reinforced stereotypes." The Wabbit nodded. "Will a cryptocurrency get me a prosecco at this establishment?" A voice came from inside the Caffè. "Not on your life! Bring us hard cash or use a card." Wabsworth shook his head. "The entanglement of NFTs with the social and economic aspects of capitalism threaten the art world. It's the ultimate commodification of art." Lapinette slapped a palm on the table. "That's why we played with the ramifications of EFTs," she commented. "What was the bill, Wabsworth?" asked the Wabbit. Wabsworth shrugged. "Four pictures of Lapinette in a revealing costume." Then everyone laughed and laughed.

10. The Wabbit and the End of the Trail

"Where are my sweet treats?" moaned the figure. It was a strange night, and the moon picked out the highlights and lit them Hampden Park. Lapinette and the Wabbit knew it was there and they advanced on it. "You gotta problem, Spectre?" The Spectre looked up. "I followed the Digital Trail and all I have now is these worthless tokens. I'm ruined, ruined I tell you." Lapinette turned up her nose. "You should have been more cunning. Less greedy." The Wabbit chimed in. "You thought you'd take a gamble and now you got a shambles." Lapinette snorted. "You're not funny, Wabbit. What are we going to do with this poor ruined spectre?" The Wabbit fumbled in his fur for a crumpled fiver. "Get yourself a sandwich and a coffee." The Spectre wept long and hard. He made to put the crumpled EFTs in the trash. "I could have been a contender instead of a spectre." Lapinette felt sorry for the spectre. "Uncrumple these EFTs and put them together for an exhibition. You could be an honest artist." The Spectre fished the EFTs from the bin. "At MAXXI?" The Wabbit laughed "Your art belongs to Dada!" The Spectre didn't get the joke and neither did anyone else. But he uncrumpled the EFTs and stuck them together at random. A passer-by threw a few coins down and passed on his way. "You've started," smiled Lapinette. "I've enough for a Prosecco!" grinned the spectre. "We'll join you," said the Wabbit.

9. The Wabbit and the Bitcoin Machine

The Wabbit changed the plan and with a smile on his face, he and Lapinette made their way to the Bitcoin machine in the supermarket car park. The Wabbit noticed the machine some time ago but he'd never seen anyone use it. He wanted to change all that. Leaving Wabsworth and Hardhack in charge of the rest he pursued a plan of his own. Lapinette ran her fingers across the touchpad. A spectral message flashed on the screen. "They've taken the bait!" she was delighted. "OK Wabbit, these are the Dinosaur Fund's electronic assets." The Wabbit grinned. "They're bait. Just wait." Lapinette frowned. She scanned the touchpad again. Bitcoins came tumbling from the machine. "How did that happen?" The Wabbit smirked. "Magic. Grab them." He produced a magic wand and waved it for effect. Lapinette grabbed the coins and tucked them under her skirt. "Now we have the laundered funds. Or the originals. Or our extremely fungible tokens. Or do we?" He smirked again. "Wabsworth devised a little plan of our own to bolster the Dinosaur Fund." Lapinette looked doubtful. "But where are the Spectres?" "All in good time," replied the Wabbit, "Well, they're attached to the Bitcoins under your frock." Lapinette looked appalled "Eeeek," she yelled. "Along with the breadcrumbs," added the Wabbit. "Yuk," shouted Lapinette. "Do you want to detach them here or somewhere else?" The Wabbit smirked with the annoying smirk that Lapinette hated. She yelled! "Here, now now now!" The Wabbit waved his wand. "It'll all come out in the wash ..."

8. The Wabbit at the HIDDA Office

The team hadn't expected Hardhack's Office to be light and bright, especially given the dingy surroundings. "Welcome to HIDDA. Just moving in," said Hardhack, "Is this the kind of thing you're looking for?"  He extended a claw bearing a token. He seemed aware of Wabsworth's plans. "Word on the scene - you're planning a double-trouble deal. How about this?" The Wabbit shrugged and smiled. "Perhaps something sombre?" Hardhack grinned ear to ear. "Boring. These are all the rage. I think Honey tokening is the answer. They'll appear legal to your fraudster but have no real value." The Wabbit's head was spinning. So was Lapinette's. Only Wabsworth had a clear idea of what was going on. "Bait them with a leaked seed phrase and sweet treats?" Hardhack nodded. "That's just the start. They'll follow the digital breadcrumbs. Right into our trap." The Wabbit grinned. "Set up a trace when they hit the brick wall. We'll pingedy-pong 'em then vaporise the lot." Lapinette took notes. "I'll get the Department to set up a Virtual Private Server and an isolated VLAN.  But they'll try to bite us." Wabsworth chipped in. "When they're negotiating with our confused bot, we'll hit em." The Wabbit put on his serious face. "The trap is set. Let's see if our spectres are hungry for breadcrumbs." Lapinette laughed. "All this technical talk made me hungry. And thirsty." Hardhack was on top of things. "I know a low-tech caffè." The Wabbit grinned. "Then let's get four glasses of high-tech Franciacorta." "And drink 'em!" said Lapinette.

7. The Rabbit and the Unexpected Block

Wabsworth swept the area. But he hadn't been driving long when he came to an impasse. It looked like the police had put up a roadblock but it was a trap. Spectres emerged from all sides and the wabbits took to their heels. The spectres menaced them down the road. They'd been passive but now they were scary and angry. "You messed with our NFTs," they cried, "Now we're in trouble and it's all your fault." The Wabbit scowled as he ran. "It's always someone else's fault," he moaned. "How do we get rid of these pesky spectres, Commander?" He glanced sideways and scowled again. "I'll come up with something! Don't worry," said Wabsworth. Lapinette looked back with an old fashioned look. "He usually does." They rounded a corner and threw off the spectres for a while. "EFTs," announced Wabsworth, "Extremely Fungible Tokens! We'll out-fraud the fraudsters by flooding the market." The Wabbit slumped against a wall. "We'll need a printer." Lapinette thought quickly. "We'll find Hardhack Rat. He has all that stuff. Where is he now?" The Wabbit started running. "I know where he usually is. The Hardhack Institute of Double Dealing through Art (HIDDA)." Lapinette and Wabsworth followed the Wabbit down a dark and dingy street ...