I found the coffee and the tea, but when I returned, she was still typing.
“Got it?”
“Not yet,” she said, irritated. “It’s sophisticated, multilevel, and…”
Lines of code began to fill the page. Batra seemed to speed-read the code as it rolled by, because, after twenty seconds of this, she said, “Oh, of course.”
She gave the computer another command, and a homepage appeared, featuring a cement wall in some abandoned building. Across the wall in dripping black graffiti letters, it read Long Live The Soneji!
Chapter 16
I won’t bore you with a page-by-page description of the www.thesoneji.net website. There may be archives of it still up on the internet for those interested.
For those of you less inclined to explore the dark side of the web, it’s enough to know that Gary Soneji had developed a cult of personality in the decade since I’d seen him burn, hundreds of digital devotees who worshipped him with the kind of fervor I’d previously assigned to Appalachian snake handlers and the Hare Krishnas.
They called themselves The Soneji, and they seemed to know almost every nuance of the life of the kidnapper and mass murderer. In addition to an extensive biography, there were hundreds of lurid photos, links to articles, and an online chat forum where members hotly debated all things Soneji.
The hottest topics?
Number one that day was the John Sampson shooting.
The Soneji were generally ecstatic that my partner had been shot and barely clung to life, but a few posts stood out.
Napper2 wrote, Gary fuckin’ got Sampson!
Gary’s so back, The Waste Man agreed.
Only thing better would be Cross on a Cross, wrote Black Hole.
That day’s coming sooner than later, said Gary’s Girl. Gary’s missed Cross twice. He won’t miss a third time.
Aside from being the subject of homicidal speculation, something bothered me about that last post, the one from Gary’s Girl. I studied it and the others, trying to figure out what was different.
“They think he’s alive,” Agent Batra offered.
“Yeah, that’s hot thread number two,” I said. “Let’s take a look there, and come back.”
She clicked on the “Resurrection Man” thread.
Cross saw him, came face to face with Gary, wrote Sapper9. Shit his pants, is what I heard.
Cross was hit in first attack, wrote Chosen One. Soneji’s aim is true. Cross is just lucky.
Beemer answered, My respect for Gary is profound, but he is not alive. That is impossible.
The believers among The Soneji went berserk on Beemer for having the gall to challenge the consensus. Beemer was attacked from all sides. To his credit, Beemer fought back.
Call me Doubting Thomas, but show me the evidence. Can I put my finger through Soneji’s hand? Can I see where the lance pierced his side?
You could if he trusted you the way he trusts me, wrote Gary’s Girl.
Beemer wrote, So you’ve seen him, GG?
After a long pause, Gary’s Girl wrote, I have. With my own two eyes.
Pic? Beemer said.
A minute passed, and then two. Five minutes after his demand, Beemer wrote, Funny how illusions can seem so real.