in the room. The three of us used the opportunity to sip our cappuccinos somewhat reflectively.
"Jesus Christ," said Clyde. "The shit I do for you."
"For we?" said Fox. "It's not for me! It's for Teddy! I might also add it's for human dignity, justice for all, freedom of spirit, and, lest we forget, good old clean American fun!"
"You're right," said Clyde. "I just lost my place for a moment."
"Happens to the best of us," said Fox. "And you are the best, baby. This is a high-stakes operation, Walter. If you want to bail, now might be the time."
"Walter stays," said Clyde. "If one of us goes down, we all go down. Right, Sunshine?"
"Deal me in," I said, with a cockiness that came from some unexplored territory of the soul.
"Okay," said Clyde. "First we upload the Web page with a photo of Teddy's shrink and a few choice details. What's his name again?"
"Let's see," said Fox, referring to a few crumpled notes of his own. "Here it is. Dr. Stanley Fingerhut."
"Great name," said Clyde. "Now we import a new index. You see, this is the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Web page and I'm simply pretending to have used this account before. I'm going to telnet over to the location where the sex offender Web site is."
"The sex offender Web site?" I asked. "What's that got to do with it?" I glanced over at Fox and he appeared to be equally mystified.
"If Fox is going to take the place of Teddy's shrink, we have to see that Teddy's shrink goes on a little sabbatical. Now since I've telnetted over to the sex offender Web site, it'll think I'm a legitimate state of New York employee and it'll let me make the changes we need to make. Now we put in the floppy disc. Okay, that's one down, one to go. Do you follow me?"
"Of course we follow you," said Fox. "I mean, we may not follow you technologically, but we follow you spiritually. After all, you are our leader."
"I'm not our leader," said Clyde. "In a strange way, I think Walter might be our leader."
"Me?" I exclaimed incredulously. "I'm the new kid on the block. I've never been around people like you and Fox before and I've certainly never before looked at life the way you do or done the crazy and exciting things you two do every day of your lives. I've never even dreamed of doing the stuff you do. I'm the guy who's been busy not writing a book. Remember?"
"We'll see," said Clyde. "There's something you should remember, too. We're not just doing this for Teddy."
The room was silent again. The city seemed to be observing a moment of silence as well. Possibly it was a gesture of respect for the passing of the staid, colorless existence full of quiet desperation that had once been the life of the old Walter Snow.
"Where were we?" asked Clyde.
"One down and one to go," said Fox.
"Right," said Clyde. "Now there's no security on the NAMBLA site. You know what that is?"
"Sure," said Fox. "It's the North American Man/Boy Love Association. They're a sick group of fucks, but I always knew they'd come in handy someday. By the way, here's a good one. Two pedophiles were at a playground one day and they were both looking at a little six-year-old girl on a swing. So one pedophile says to the other: 'She was a stunner in her day.'"
Clyde looked at me and we both laughed. Then she leaned back in her chair, took a deep breath, and ran her fingers through her hair. It was an attractive, natural gesture and it did not fail to go unnoticed by Fox or myself.
"Sony to be so serious about this stuff," said Clyde. "The Internet always does this to me. It's so easy to superficially change and rearrange things. It's not like life at all."
"I tell you," said Fox demonstrably, "it's the work of Satan!"
"Well, it's good to have someone on our side," said Clyde. "Now we FTP a new index page to their Web site host. And now let's check. Okay. Both locations now list Stanley Fingerhut. That's Megan's Law. Registered sex offenders have to be available to the public. So Dr. Stanley Fingerhut,
"Jesus Christ," said Clyde. "The shit I do for you."
"For we?" said Fox. "It's not for me! It's for Teddy! I might also add it's for human dignity, justice for all, freedom of spirit, and, lest we forget, good old clean American fun!"
"You're right," said Clyde. "I just lost my place for a moment."
"Happens to the best of us," said Fox. "And you are the best, baby. This is a high-stakes operation, Walter. If you want to bail, now might be the time."
"Walter stays," said Clyde. "If one of us goes down, we all go down. Right, Sunshine?"
"Deal me in," I said, with a cockiness that came from some unexplored territory of the soul.
"Okay," said Clyde. "First we upload the Web page with a photo of Teddy's shrink and a few choice details. What's his name again?"
"Let's see," said Fox, referring to a few crumpled notes of his own. "Here it is. Dr. Stanley Fingerhut."
"Great name," said Clyde. "Now we import a new index. You see, this is the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Web page and I'm simply pretending to have used this account before. I'm going to telnet over to the location where the sex offender Web site is."
"The sex offender Web site?" I asked. "What's that got to do with it?" I glanced over at Fox and he appeared to be equally mystified.
"If Fox is going to take the place of Teddy's shrink, we have to see that Teddy's shrink goes on a little sabbatical. Now since I've telnetted over to the sex offender Web site, it'll think I'm a legitimate state of New York employee and it'll let me make the changes we need to make. Now we put in the floppy disc. Okay, that's one down, one to go. Do you follow me?"
"Of course we follow you," said Fox. "I mean, we may not follow you technologically, but we follow you spiritually. After all, you are our leader."
"I'm not our leader," said Clyde. "In a strange way, I think Walter might be our leader."
"Me?" I exclaimed incredulously. "I'm the new kid on the block. I've never been around people like you and Fox before and I've certainly never before looked at life the way you do or done the crazy and exciting things you two do every day of your lives. I've never even dreamed of doing the stuff you do. I'm the guy who's been busy not writing a book. Remember?"
"We'll see," said Clyde. "There's something you should remember, too. We're not just doing this for Teddy."
The room was silent again. The city seemed to be observing a moment of silence as well. Possibly it was a gesture of respect for the passing of the staid, colorless existence full of quiet desperation that had once been the life of the old Walter Snow.
"Where were we?" asked Clyde.
"One down and one to go," said Fox.
"Right," said Clyde. "Now there's no security on the NAMBLA site. You know what that is?"
"Sure," said Fox. "It's the North American Man/Boy Love Association. They're a sick group of fucks, but I always knew they'd come in handy someday. By the way, here's a good one. Two pedophiles were at a playground one day and they were both looking at a little six-year-old girl on a swing. So one pedophile says to the other: 'She was a stunner in her day.'"
Clyde looked at me and we both laughed. Then she leaned back in her chair, took a deep breath, and ran her fingers through her hair. It was an attractive, natural gesture and it did not fail to go unnoticed by Fox or myself.
"Sony to be so serious about this stuff," said Clyde. "The Internet always does this to me. It's so easy to superficially change and rearrange things. It's not like life at all."
"I tell you," said Fox demonstrably, "it's the work of Satan!"
"Well, it's good to have someone on our side," said Clyde. "Now we FTP a new index page to their Web site host. And now let's check. Okay. Both locations now list Stanley Fingerhut. That's Megan's Law. Registered sex offenders have to be available to the public. So Dr. Stanley Fingerhut,
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