“Can you prove that?”

“Well, I could pinch you.”

She looked at him. “My apartment is two blocks from here. Why don't you pinch me there?”

They walked fast. She knew this was a bad idea, but she didn't care. And maybe she would never see him again, but she didn't care about that, either. She could figure the rest out later. And she would. She would figure it out. She was sure of it.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Once again I've written a book that has been made much better through the generous contributions of family and friends. My thanks to:

My agents, Dan Conaway and Simon Lipskar of Writers House, and editor, Mark Tavani of Ballantine, for seeing the promise in this story when it was not much more than an idea, and for helping me get it to where it is today.

Detective James Randol and Lieutenant J. R. Gamez of the San Jose Police Department, for answering all my questions, for providing some terrific ideas, for giving me a tour of the SJPD-and most of all for doing the incredibly important work they do.

Ernie Tibaldi, for continuing to generously apply thirty-one years of fieldwork with the FBI to the law enforcement issues in these books, and for helpful comments on the manuscript.

Warren Wolfeld of Haynes Beffel & Wolfeld LLP, for terrific tutorials on the inner workings of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the whole process of applying for a patent, and for helpful comments on the manuscript.

Ashraf Hosseini, for sharing her family's story and answering all my questions about the Iranian immigrant experience in America-and for outfitting me in some stylish eyeglasses, too, at her wonderful Palo Alto store, A Site for Sore Eyes.

Hank Shiffman, for answering all my technology questions and coming up with quite a few excellent ideas of his own along the way; for expertly moderating my Web site discussion board; and for helpful comments on the manuscript. Come over to the dark side, Hank…

Dennis Volpano and Dave McAllister, for helpful background on network security and computer viruses, and Adam Young and Moti Yung for their excellent book Malicious Cryptography: Exposing Cryptovirology.

The extraordinarily eclectic group of “foodies with a violence problem” who hang out at Marc “Animal” MacYoung's and Dianna Gordon's www.nononsenseselfdefense.com, for good humor, good fellowship, and a ton of insights. A special thanks to Marc himself, for his continued insights into violence, operator mind-sets and behavior, and what makes people tick, and for helpful comments on the manuscript.

Vivian Brown, Alan Eisler, Judith Eisler, Montie Guthrie, Tom Hayes, Mike Killman, Lori Kupfer, novelist J. A. Konrath, Naomi Andrews and Dan Levin, Doug Patteson, Matt Powers, Owen Rennert, Ted Schlein, and the Man Called Slugg, for helpful comments on the manuscript and many valuable suggestions and insights along the way.

Most of all my wife, Laura, for the usual input into the story and terrific comments on the manuscript, but even more than that for putting up with my occasional obsessiveness (“Occasional?” she might say here) with nothing but love and goodwill.

AUTHOR's NOTE

Much of the backstory and many of the incidents recounted in this book are real. Here's a partial bibliography.

Defection of Iranian general Ali Reza Asgari: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1601814,00.html.

National Intelligence Estimate on Iranian nuclear efforts: http://www.dni.gov/press_releases/20071203_release.pdf.

Victor Litvinenko assassination by polonium radiation poisoning: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/european_football/article756950.ece.

Rendition of Abu Omar from Milan: http://www.lrb.co.uk/v29/n15/foot02_.html.

Aviation hobbyists expose CIA rendition flights: http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=65446.

Special operations “military liaison elements”: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/08/international/americas/08forces.html?pagewanted=print;http://www.specwarnet.net/americas/isa.htm.

Russia governed by siloviki, ex-KGB, and ex-military: http://www.monitor.upeace.org/archive.cfm?id_article=107.

Chinese antisatellite efforts: http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/world/china/asat.htm.

Russian cyberwarfare efforts: http://it.slashdot.org/it/07/05/17/1248215.shtml.

Eighth Air Force Cyber Command: http://www.af.mil/news/storyasp?id=123030505.

CIA: Hackers to blame for power outages: http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/09/26/power.at.risk/index.html.

Wrongful prosecution of Iranian-American businessman Alex Latin: http://harpers.org/archive/2008/02/hbc-90002484.

CIA/mafia connection: http://www.upi.com/Security_Terrorism/Briefing/ 2007/06/26/family_jewels_detail_castro_mafia_plot/6711/; http://www.edwardjayepstein.com/archived/castro.htm.

Executive order prohibiting assassination: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A63203-20010ct27?language=printer.

Dark Avenger and the polymorphic engine: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Avenger.

Adam Young, Moti Yung, and cryptovirology: http://www.cryptovirology.com/

Chinese cyberwarfare initiatives: http://www.economist.com/world/international/displaystorycfm?story_id=9769319 &CFID=11752607 &CFTOKEN=ccdd4740076c5dcl-43Bl0757-B27C-BB00-012901C5EA08C4BB.

Abuse of national security letters (NSLs): http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/03/06/nsls/index.html.

National Security Agency domestic spy program: http://wsj.com/public/article_print/SB120511973377523845.html?mod=djm_HAWSJSB_Welcome.

FISA and warrantless eavesdropping: http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/02/14/fisa_101/.

The Quantico circuit and warrentless eavesdropping: http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/03/whistleblower-f.html.

The Bay Area and Istanbul locations that appear in this book are described, as always, as I have found them.

About the AuthorAfter graduating from CornellLawSchool in 1989, BARRY EISLER spent three years in a covert position with the CIA's Directorate of Operations, and then three years in Japan, where he earned his black belt at the KodokanInternationalJudoCenter. Eisler's thrillers have won the Barry Award and the Gumshoe Award for Best Thriller of the Year, have been included in numerous “Best of” lists, and have been translated into nearly twenty languages. The first book in Eisler's assassin John Rain series, Rain Fall, has been made into a motion picture starring Gary Oldman and will be released by Sony Pictures in April 2009. To learn more, please visit www.barryeisler.com.