While Zane Letterman had been watching the ball lightning and experiencing the meeting of his messenger, he wasn’t the only observer. Several members of the FBI were outside in an Federal Bureau of Investigations computer crimes van and the FBI had witnessed the ball lightning’s odd movements too. The FBI didn’t see the ball lightning as a natural phenomena – it had to be a new weapon and most probably one of mass destruction or terrorism. The FBI’s Zane ‘Meet Your Messenger Hacker’ Letterman case instantly escalated from one of investigative surveillance, to one of immediate enemy action. The local S.W.A.T. was scrambled. Twelve-minutes later, the doors of Letterman’s home were burst off the hinges and 57-seconds after that, the unconscious Meet Your Messenger hacker was handcuffed with gun muzzles pointed at his comatose body.
“I don’t think he’s breathing.” An astute voice behind one of the ten weapons noted.
Eleven minutes and 15 seconds after the medical observation, an ambulance was on-the-scene and resuscitation was begun. ‘One would think the S.W.A.T. members could’ve done some emergency intervention here.’ One of the paramedics thought as he worked at getting the victim’s heart beating again. ‘If their prisoner survives, he’ll likely be a vegetable from being out for so long.’
Since the police were already in the house, the FBI used the opportunity to ransack the place. The FBI bagged all Zane’s computers, data disks, written sticky notes, and everything they could find. “Meet Your Messenger to those apples!” The lead FBI agent said in a mocking tone to the rummaged room, as he switched off the light.
“Unless a forensic search of the data turns up something,” the FBI agent later said to the federal prosecutor, “the case is weak. But from looking at his house, I doubt he has sufficient funds to successfully fight the legal battle—so it won’t matter.”
“Put a public defender on the case and have him arraigned as soon as he comes to.”