Gregor wasn't satisfied with the progress the FBI had made in apprehending Nigel, so he decided to make things a little more interesting. After the usual precautions were taken, Gregor navigated the Dark Web for a forum called the Black Iris. The site was popular, not because it was a gambling site, but because it was an online bounty board. Gregor clicked on the link and was directed to a blank page.
“Damn, why isn't it working?” Gregor yelled.
This outburst woke Dunya, who had fallen asleep on the couch in Gregor's apartment. She stumbled in the general direction of the bedroom. Gregor found his mind drifting to the pleasant memory of a night of dancing, booze, and...other things.
Gregor scolded himself for his brief distraction. He really needed to find the Black Iris.
After a lot of searching on various Dark Web sites, Gregor had an epiphany. The location of the site was seasonal. Black Iris site administration was paranoid of a site takedown. The solution involved granting premium members with a way to easily learn the site location.
Gregor had been given a small rectangular piece of equipment with a fingerprint reader; he quickly located it and launched the program. He was greeted with a black screen with a single sentence that read, “Place finger in correct position.” A series of numbers that counted down from twenty appeared. After two attempts, Gregor was able to unlock the updated URL and access information. The procedure was nerve wracking because after three attempts the device would deactivate.
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A few minutes later, he carefully typed in the random string of letters and numbers that allowed site access. Although it had been a long time since Gregor accessed the site, he remembered the gray-on-black image of an iris. Underneath the iris was a vine made of barbed wire. “There it is,” Gregor said as he clicked on the “Submit Bounty” link.
The page was a standard form that asked several questions about the bounty that was to be placed: name or online persona and last known physical statistics, such as appearance, address, known haunts, associates, and other information that could help with a positive match.
The Required Proof section of the page was particularly interesting to Gregor because a number of non-standard options were available. For instance, the standard option was a photo or video upload. However, for an additional fee, other more interesting options were made available—such as dismemberment or “souvenirs.” Gregor dismissed it all. He was on a strict timetable. A standard approach was better suited for his needs.
Gregor knew almost everything about Nigel: his full name, address, school, online activity. He also had detailed information on all of his known associates. Once he was satisfied, he clicked on the submit button. A Digibit wallet address appeared with the amount of 5.516DB. Additional payments would be required upon the acceptance of a suitable bounty hunter. Gregor immediately sent the payment and shut down the connection.