Geek Mafia: Mile Zero

GEEK MAFIA: Mile Zero
by Rick Dakan

Praise for Geek Mafia!
"The story is gripping as anything, and the characters are likable and funny and charming. I adore caper stories, and this stands with the best of them, a geeky version of The Sting... this is one hell of a book."
- Cory Doctrow, BoingBoing.net
***
"Unputdownable...highly recommended"
-Seth Godin, Bestselling Author
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"Twists and turns will leave you guessing many of the time who is really scamming who. Dakan is able to write a 320 page book that is over all too soon."
-410Media.com
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"Geek Mafia ain't just any book...the kid's got chops, the book's getting props, and the price is right. We bought one."
-Vladimir Cole, Joystiq.com
***
"A fast, fun novel from author Rick Dakan. One is reminded that living a sheltered, regimented life can be oh so boring and dull. It's time to get ��Off-the-Grid' and experience freedom in a whole new way! A highlyrecommended read!"
��USABookNews.com
GEEK MAFIA:
Mile Zero
by
Rick Dakan
www.rickdakan.com
GEEK MAFIA: MILE ZERO by Rick Dakan June, 2007
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.
This is a work of fiction. All characters in this book are fictional and events portrayed in this book are either products of the author's imagination or used fictitiously.
Layout, design and illustrations: Austin McKinley
Copy Editor: Anthony Salveggi
ISBN: 0-9772649-0-4

Acknowledgments & Dedication
I dedicate this book to the memory of my uncle, Rick Nugent. Not only am I named after him, but he's also one of my biggest inspirations in life. He led the way, living life as a full-time artist on his own terms, giving me the confidence to do the same thing myself.
I want to thank all the people who helped out in the early stages of this book by spending the time to read it over and give me some feedback. Karen Dakan, Stephen Dakan, Mark Friedman, Neil Hendrick, Austin McKinley, Sherrie McKinley, Brian Ries, Laura Roberts, Laurie Roberts Porter, Rebbecca Stults. And especially Judge Wayne Miller in Key West for giving me a guided tour of the city's seedier side.

Prologue
SHE moved through the crowded streets like she owned the place. Hell, if things went as planned in the coming months, she might in fact own the place. Or some other place if that's what she wanted. If things went as planned, there was no limit to what she could have. She smiled to herself as a crowd of sunburned, middle-aged men broke ranks to let her pass on her way toward Mallory Square. They had no idea who she was, but she liked to think that they could sense her strength and that it intimidated them. Not enough to stop them from staring openly at her chest of course, but what did she expect? They were still men.
Duval Street, Key West's main tourist drag, buzzed with early evening activity. The sun had set less than an hour ago, and the throngs moving up from the nightly sunset ritual in Mallory Square now wandered about, trying to choose between the dozens of bars and restaurants vying for their attention. She moved against the general flow and seemed to know exactly where she was going. She knew these streets well and had planned out her route ahead of time.
But something bothered her. That nagging feeling in the back of her brain that she'd long ago learned to heed even though it was wrong as often as it was right. You couldn't survive in her world without learning to pay attention to such feelings, and she'd more than survived - she'd prospered beyond the dreams of any young hacker or con artist. Heeding the subliminal warning, she changed plans and stepped out into the crawling Duval Street traffic. A purple taxi honked angrily but she just smiled as she strode across the street and stared intently at a display of cheap, tasteless T-shirts in a storefront window.
She had no interest in wearing anything with the phrase "Fart Inspector" on it, whatever that meant, but she did want a chance to get a quick 360-degree look at her surroundings and the people in them. A young couple, their baby strapped into a stroller and grabbing in vain at passersby. Four good-looking men in their 30s, probably gay, chatting amiably with one another. A pair of slightly chubby, badly sunburned young women headed into the bar next door. Dozens of other tourists and a few locals. Nothing out of the ordinary for... no, wait. There.
An older man with a well-groomed beard, indistinguishable from the others except that he was alone. She'd seen him earlier, somewhere. She couldn't quite remember where, but he'd been alone then too. He was too professional to jaywalk after her, but he'd gone up to the next