What I figured was this: whatever the Feds already had on me would seem like small beans next to the prospect of catching me red-handed in the middle of a big hack, stealing a load of dollars or Swiss francs or deutsche marks from some financial institution or corporation. They would want to keep close tabs on me but would be willing to wait patiently until I had pulled off this big one, anticipating how they’d swoop in, recover the money, and parade me in handcuffs before the hungry media people and the hungry-for-scandal public: the FBI saving America from another villain.