In 1996, theAryan Nations was considered to be the most dangerous white supremacist group in the United States. This brutally violent neo-Nazi organization dreamed of carving an isolated homeland out of the American northwest--a dream they would finance by robbery, intimidation, and murder. For years, the FBI had sought to infiltrate theAryan Nations, only to be thwarted by the group's extreme paranoia of new members.
Enter Dave Hall, a tattooed, 350-pound, six-foot-four former biker. A black belt in martial arts, he could fight, drink, and ride with the best--which is to say, the worst--of them. But Hall was no stereotypical biker. A thoughtful, articulate man blessed with a photographic memory and an unshakeable core of decency, Hall was looking for a new direction in life. After Hall was arrested for his minorinvolvement in a drug deal, FBIspecial agent Tym Burkey gave him a choice: go to jail or become an informant. Hall didn't go to jail.
So began a most unlikely partnership, between a hell-raising former bikerand a by-the-book FBI man. The oddest of odd couples, they would slowly forge a unique friendship based on trust and support--a friendship that Hall especially would come to value in the months and years ahead.
For what was supposed to be a short-term assignment grew to something much longer, and bigger in scope, as Hall became the Ohio Aryan Nations leader's right hand man. And more and more, Hall suspected that a significant terrorist action was being planned, something on the order of the Oklahoma City bombing.
Yet with the clock ticking, Hall found his hold on reality crumbling as he was forced into behaviors and beliefs that repelled him. With the ever-present threat of discovery and death hanging over his head, he felt his psyche start to fragment, leading to estrangement from his family and friends, and vicious bouts of insomnia, night terrors, and panic attacks. But it was too late to back out. Together, Hall and Burkey would have to finish their dance with the Devil.
Harrowing and intense, this true-life thriller is a testament to bravery, dedication, and friendship--and a timely reminder that America's homegrown terrorists can be just as deadly as those from overseas.
From the Hardcover edition.
Excerpts
Chapter One...
Close Call
When Pastor Ray sat down across the table from me, I assumed he'd start ranting as usual about how much he hated the Jews and the mud races. By now, I pretty much knew that stuff by heart. But this time I was wrong. This time, he removed a .45-caliber automatic pistol from where he'd stuck it in his belt. He looked it over, popped out the clip, and took a bullet from the chamber then placed the gun on the table. I waited for more, but he wasn't talking. His dark eyes were on the bullet.
Attempting to lighten the mood, I asked, "Got yourself a new weapon, Pastor?"
He looked at me. "No," he said calmly. "I've had this for a while now."
He picked up an ammo box and dumped some cartridges onto the table. I wondered what the hell he was up to, but I dared not show he made me nervous. Ever since I'd met the man, one of the most ambitious figures in the Aryan Nations, I'd been on high alert. He was both the smartest man I'd ever encountered and the craziest.
Ray selected a cartridge and looked it over, as if to assess its weight or shine. Then with deliberation, he slipped it into the clip and said, "You know, Brother Dave, we've got to be very careful about informants."
I nodded. "I agree."
He looked down at the gun that lay on the table between us, even as he continued to make comments that I could hardly hear. Blood was pumping in my ears, and though the heat was off, the room was warming up. I tried to shift as if trying to keep warm in the chilly air, but the Ohio winter didn't get to Ray. He seemed not to even notice how cold it was.
Picking up the bullets one by one, he continued to place them back into the clip until they were all nestled together. Clearly, he had something in mind. This was a man who had already tried to kill a cop, shooting him several times over a traffic stop, and I'd heard him repeatedly threaten to kill others.
"Brother Dave," he said, "what do you think we ought to do about informants?"
Okay, I knew something was up, and I knew I might not get out of here alive. I had a sudden instinct to grab my side of the table, lift it, and turn it over on him, to crush him beneath it. But somehow I kept my wits about me. If I were just another member of the Aryan Nations, as I'd been pretending to be for the past two years, I'd be assertive on this topic, ready to act. I had to keep that in mind.
"I don't know," I said with a shrug. "I think you ought to take 'em out and shoot 'em."
Pastor Ray seemed to like that response, because he smiled a little, but I couldn't really tell if he believed my act. I'd been wondering that each day since I'd started this assignment. Sometimes he seemed to trust me; other times I wasn't so sure. I watched as he put the clip into the pistol, making it lethal, and cocked it. Then he laid the pistol back down on the table, putting his finger on the trigger and pointing the eye of the barrel directly at my chest. I tried not to swallow.
He nodded a little, as if affirming something for himself. "What do you think we really should do about informants?"
I didn't know if he wanted an answer or was just trying to scare me, so I acted like I was now ready to get serious. "Well, for one thing," I said, "I think we ought to really make sure that they're informants. If we find out they are, we ought to tell them that they're dismissed from the Aryan Nations, they're never allowed back at the church again, and then point them toward the door and make them leave. And when they turn to walk out, shoot 'em in the back of the head."
I waited.
Ray smiled. Then he slowly lowered the hammer on the pistol. In his typical way, he...
About the Author
Dave Hall was born in the hills of southeastern Kentucky, the second of eleven children. Raised primarilyby his grandparents, Hall, in his youth, secured a reputation as a hell-raising biker, then went to work for the FBI. Hall now lives in seclusion in an undisclosed location.
Tym Burkey has beena special agent with the FBI since 1991. He earned the first of his three FBI quality service incentive awards in 1999 for his work on the Aryan Nations investigation.
Katherine Ramsland is the author of thirty-one books, including Inside the Mind of Serial Killers: Why They Kill. She teaches forensic psychology at DeSales University in Pennsylvania and for the past six years has been a regular contributor to truTV’s Crime Library.
