You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
Chapter 73<br />
THE OTHERS<br />
A<br />
few days after the arrest of Ross, the FBI agents left San Francisco and flew back to New York<br />
City to begin corralling evidence and sifting through the Samsung laptop. Chris Tarbell believed that<br />
the drama was over, that they had caught the Dread Pirate Roberts.<br />
He had returned to the office and into the Pit, when his phone rang. “Your shit is online,” Jared<br />
had roared into the receiver.<br />
“What?” Tarbell responded, clueless. “What are you talking about?”<br />
Jared explained that the online drug bazaar was in shambles. Their leader was gone, and the<br />
employees wanted revenge. Their target had become the name on the bottom of Ross Ulbricht’s arrest<br />
report: “Christopher Tarbell. Special Agent. The Federal Bureau of Investigation.”<br />
When Tarbell looked at the link Jared sent, detailing what the lieutenants of DPR had posted<br />
online, he saw his home address, his kids’ school address, the home address of his in-laws, Sabrina’s<br />
parents, and a slew of messages about the need to get Tarbell and to destroy his family.<br />
Tarbell immediately stumbled into a panic. He yelled to his coworkers, “They’re coming after<br />
my family!” and then frantically called his wife, Sabrina, saying their code word, “Quicksand!<br />
Quicksand!”<br />
The FBI mobilized immediately. A central command in Washington, which specialized in<br />
protecting agents who were under threat, was deployed. The NYPD was notified, with squad cars en<br />
route to Tarbell’s house, the kids’ school, and the home of his in-laws. With sirens blaring, Tarbell<br />
and his family were whisked off to a hotel in New Jersey, where they would spend the long weekend<br />
hiding out.<br />
Days later, when the FBI and NYPD said it was safe for the family to return home, they drove<br />
back the way they had come and into a house that was now being monitored via live video feeds and<br />
round-the-clock federal surveillance teams. That evening, after the kids had been tucked into bed and<br />
kissed good night, Tarbell and Sabrina sat across from each other at the kitchen table. They both had<br />
handguns next to them in case someone tried to enter the home. As they ate dinner, they looked like<br />
two people at war.<br />
Something had changed over that weekend. Sabrina’s mothering instincts had been awakened by<br />
the risks that had brushed up against her children, and as she looked at her husband, she spoke about
Change language