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The Raid

“Nice TV!” said Tim, admiring the sixty-one-inch Sony plasma hanging on the wall. Charity, a compulsive reader, hated the new flat-screen, the way it dominated the living room in their new apartment, but Max loved his gadgets, and this one was more than a high-def toy. It was a symbol of the couple’s newfound financial security.

Max’s friends knew that he was into something, and not just because he was no longer struggling to make ends meet. Max had begun slipping Tim CD-ROMs burned with the latest exploits from the underground, giving the system administrator an edge in protecting his work machines. Then there were the odd comments at the monthly Hungry Programmers’ dinner at Jing Jing in Palo Alto. When everyone was done describing their latest projects, Max would only offer a cryptic note of envy. “Wow, I wish I was doing something positive.”

But nobody was pressing Max for the details of his new gig; they could only hope it was something quasilegitimate. The hacker scrupulously avoided burdening his friends with the knowledge of his double life, even as he slipped farther to the edge of their circle. Until the day one of his hacks followed him home.