Dotcom

New Zealand police seized a treasure trove of luxury goods from the founder of file-sharing site Megaupload.com Friday as four suspected Internet pirates wanted in the United States appeared in court. – AFP

He sat on a small sheet-less bed in the corner of a white room. His breath came in forceful heavy spurts and beads of sweat rested on his forehead. There was a shotgun across his lap and nine TV monitors on the wall across from him.

He watched a group of men in dark blue suits position themselves around his home. They moved in strategic paterns with the barrels of their guns always facing forward. His eyes darted from one screen to the next as he watched the men break down his doors and enter his home.

He knew that they would come. He had known for years. It’s why he built the bunker. It’s why he installed the security cameras. It’s why he had nine screens on the wall and a 12 gauge shotgun on his lap.

The sweat dripped from his forehead and he placed the shells one by one into the barrel of the gun. He lifted the weapon and pointed it at the screen. He followed a group of men through the sight. There was a group in the kitchen and another moving around the outside of the pool. He counted 15 men in total but there could be more. They were smashing the cameras and at the moment he could only track them on 6 of the 9 screens.

He pointed the barrel of the gun at the head of a tall man who stood with his back against the wall next to his office. He motioned with his head and another man broke down the door.

“Bang,” he said. “Bang.”

He put the gun back at his side and watched another group on another screen move silently down his hall. One of the soldiers noticed the camera and smashed the lens with the back of his gun.

On one of the remaining screens he watched a man standing among four cop cars at the top of the hill watching the home through binoculars. The time to run had come and gone and now he waited for, and wondered if, they would find him.

“And if they did,” he thought. “How many could I kill?”

They were down the hall now. He could hear them moving. One of the men looked straight up at the security camera and used the butt of his gun to put static on the screen.

There was a loud pounding against the door and he could hear their muffled yells.

“We know you’re in there,” one said. “Open the door and come out with your hands up.”

But they weren’t waiting. His hands wrapped tightly around the gun and he pressed his back against the wall. The pounding continued and he closed his eyes.

“How many could I kill?” he thought. He placed the shotgun at his feet and pulled his knees up to his chest.

There was an explosion then and when he opened his eyes there were four men standing with their guns pointed at his head.

All of the screens had gone dark but one. The man with the binoculars stood at the top of the hill and watched as they put the cuffs on Kim Dotcom.