Radical (Sample Chapter)

RADICAL

CHAPTER 1

“Whole thing reminds me of Ted Kaczynski.”

“Who?”

“Ted Kaczynski. The Unabomber.”

“White guy? From a long time ago?”

“Yeah.”

“Wrote that manifesto thing?”

“Yeah. Only this guy’s worse. Nobody knows his name. Not his real name, anyway. At the end of the document, he just signs it ‘the Author.’”

“Afraid to sign his real name, I guess.”

“Or, could be, he wants to control your concentration. Keep the emphasis on the document, not on who wrote it. Right, Shade?”

Two a.m. February 6. Washington, DC. 16th Street. Downtown, off Scott Circle. Gleason and Singh. Two FBI agents, in the back of a white Volkswagen camper. Closer than pickles in a jar. The Bureau’d replaced the camper’s seat, mattress, closet, and dinette table with wires, computers, and surveillance equipment. And Shade? He had plenty of legroom up front in the driver’s seat. Even when they addressed him by his real name, Shade didn’t automatically acknowledge them. The Shade. Unresponsive up there in the dark. But his reputation told them he wasn’t asleep.

“Shade doesn’t care. And how come your little white buddies over at Enterprise Architecture...”

“You’re a racist,” Gleason said. “Did I ever tell you that?”

“My apologies. Let me rephrase. Your little Internet geek buddies over at E.A. How come they can’t track this guy down?”

“Because he’s good. When the Bureau can’t find you for seven years, it’s because you’re good.”

“That’s not it.”

“You got a better theory?”

“I’ll tell you why they can’t find this guy. Because he’s dead.”

“Or, could be, he’s patient. He said there’d be more chapters. The public’s been waiting. Maybe he’s getting ready to spring the sequel.”

“Tempest in a white tea pot. Who cares?”

“Are you kidding? This is bigger than politics. It’ll topple everything. Our whole system of government could go down the tubes.”

“Not the United States. Only little governments go down the tubes.”

“Little governments like ancient Egypt, the Roman Empire, the Soviet Union…”

“Knock it off and get ready,” Shade announced from the front seat. “Here he comes.”