My brother actually laughed at dinner and said, ‘I sold that useless laptop of yours for five hundred bucks. Finally got rid of your junk.’ My cousins cheered him on. Then he added, almost proudly, ‘Already handed it off to the buyer.’ I got up, stepped outside, and called my supervisor. By the time I made the report, the FBI cyber team was already tracking the device…

“No way,” as if disbelief might still be legally useful.

Derek looked at me then, and I watched the first flicker of suspicion hit him that this had something to do with the laptop.

“What is this?” he said, louder now. “Marcus?”

The lead agent stepped farther into the dining room. “Mr. Derek Chin, this afternoon you sold a government-issued secure device continue reading …