(STBSS) My Secret Life

My Secret Life

He spent so much time online. His eyes were dead tired. SecretLife was his chat name; he had a job that was as boring as it sounded. Mike’s job was to monitor the websites that were potential threats to his country. He kept to himself often because he spent so much time chatting on threads that he missed out on fun stuff. This summer was supposed to be about fun, finding a girl and having a good time. He kept notes on people who were extreme in their views. Most were crackpots who thought the sky was falling. Some posters were curious about rumors they find online. His most favorite site was this conspiracy site where the news was posted and dissected for evidence. Mike managed to make some acquaintances there and used them to meet some of the more colorful individuals that pertain to his job. There was a guy there who was pissed about some government policy and he was making some statements that were borderline dangerous. The Mods were quick to remind him of ‘spooks’ that may monitor the site. It is kind of ironic that he is the spook that they warn about.

He got a u2u this morning, it was cryptic, but it invited a dialog. Mike was concerned that this might be a red flag. He scanned the notes he kept for any info on this name. Banned American was his log on name. He asked me if I were aware of the atrocities happening in Denver. I searched my sources about Denver and did not find anything bad going on. I wondered if BA was just another nut out there, but I responded to his message. I wrote that I was not aware yet, but any potential interested me. I printed out the message as well as my reply. This went into my ‘wait and see’ folder. In the mean time I watched the threads for any Denver connection.

I remember the case that got me hooked. This boy was reaching for help, but he was angry. He wanted to make a statement against the police in his town. He was upset that he was wrongly arrested for threats made to some official. His life was turned upside down. He claimed that he was picked out because of his membership of an online forum. The threat originated from that web site and the investigation lead to him. This guy was detained and questioned, but it leaked out to the media. He lost his job and his relationship over this. He was warned that his surfing would be monitored from time to time to make sure he wasn’t getting into trouble. The guy comes on and looks for some input on a suitable revenge, the Mods squashed the thread before I could see if he was for real. 6 hours later he pipe bombs the station and kills 3 cops. They killed him in the chase. I really felt that I could have stopped this guy if I had the chance. Local militia terrorism is a real fear these days and web based hate groups are a grown trend.

I was a Federal Agent for 6 years. After 9-11 I applied to homeland security. I was in charge of internet safety. I became involved in any web group that caught my eye. I logged all user names and IP addresses for my weekly report. We were surprised how many sympathized with these groups. We wouldn’t bother anyone, just watched and collected. That is until the message. This one could be real. Now I sit and wait to hear from Banned American.