JASON GOES OUT ON A BLUE NOTE
WebHunter Mark Tafoya Snags Fugitive Outside Village Jazz Landmark; Zoe Capture Bounty Now at $10,000

[At 9:30 AM on Thursday, Fugitive Jason was on his way to drop off evidence of Day 9 Task completion. Walking west on W. 3rd Street, a trumpet’s cry from the Blue Note jazz club, Jason was pondering where to seek shelter for the rest of the day.

At the same time, webHunter Mark Tafoya was walking east on W. 3rd. Tafoya, who lives in upper, upper Manhattan but says he knows the Village like the back of his hand, immediately recognized Jason by his eyeglasses. He stared through them, and saw the fear of a Fugitive who knew his time was up. "Excuse me!" Tafoya yelled from a distance.

Jason knew he was in trouble. But he wasn’t going to go down without a fight. He darted towards the busy traffic along 6th Ave., desperate to keep Tafoya outside of the 5-foot radius necessary for capture. A high-speed foot chase followed for half a block. But Tafoya moved too fast. He closed ground quickly, and bagged Fugitive #2 near the corner of W. 3rd and 6th Ave. Jason handed over his Fugitve ID, Tafoya called Command, and Command hit the scene to confirm. Indeed, the end had come for Jason.

After the catch, Jason returned to Command Center, where he was gracious enough to sit for the interview that follows.]

How did it feel when he caught up to you?
Like I had just lost $10,000. But a certain sense of relief has set in -- I have a huge blister on my foot, I’m getting a cold, and it’s cold out there. Still, I feel like a putz for getting caught an hour after getting out of the [Getaway] car.

You must have been surprised.
Yeah, I had the attitude that I already had the $10,000. There were just three simple things I had to avoid -- getting caught, breaking the rules, and letting Zoe get more points than me. Obviously, I didn’t avoid them all. But I’m trying to find the silver lining in the cloud. I had my laundry with me today [gestures to bag wistfully]. I was going to do my laundry.

Now that you and Chris have fallen, can Zoe make it through?
I don’t know. I wish her luck. I’m definitely rooting for Zoe. All props to her.

What stands in her way?
The game wears on you psychologically. And it’s going to be really hard to be the only one being hunted.

How did the three of you get along in the Hide/Out?
There was a certain us-against-them mentality -- them being the hunters, the Upoc crowd, and maybe even Command. Chris and I both thought someone was going to get caught by Sunday, and, when he was caught, I thought somebody else was going to get caught by this Sunday. But we were all getting along -- sharing moisturizer and bottled water in the Hide/Out.

Moisturizer?
Yeah, that moisturizer was by far the most sought after commodity in the safe house. My body was chafing every day from all of the walking.

Are you glad you played?
Absolutely. Are you kidding me? It’s cooler than anything anyone else I know is doing.

It seemed like you wore the same flannel shirt for a few days, but you also shaved your beard. Were you trying to play with your appearance?
I definitely was making an attempt to change my appearance. I brought two jackets in -- a leather jacket and a red one. I was photographed early in the red jacket, so I switched. I bought a lot of clothes during the game and I was looking into buying another jacket when I saved enough money. And I shaved my beard. I’ve also been wearing a ladies hat to throw people off. [Puts on the hat.]

Saving money did not seem to be a priority for you.
No. The important thing was not to save the money -- it was to win the game. If I needed to spend $10 to watch a movie and get out of sight and out of the cold, I did it, even if it wasn’t something I would have seen under normal circumstances.

Was there a safe place you liked to go?
I found a great karaoke place [Village Karaoke] on 5th and Bowery where you can rent a room for $5 an hour. I’d go there pretty much every afternoon with a couple of beers and sing karaoke by myself.

What did you sing?
I must have sung "When I Think of You" by Janet Jackson every day.

Did you discover any new ground in the City?
I went to the Cloisters, which is where my mom went in to labor with me. And I spent a lot of time in the upper part of [Central] Park, above 110th St. But a lot of the time, I’d just get on random buses and triangulate to where I wanted to be. I can’t tell you how many arguments I got into with bus drivers.

"Where are you going?"
"Where do you want to go, sir?"
"Where are you going?"
"Where do you want to go, sir?!"
"I don’t know. Just tell me where this bus is going!"

It was like a Japanese Noh drama.

Chris said on Tuesday that he had a story ready for the people he met during the game. What did you say when you met someone on the streets?
I didn’t meet anyone during the entire game. I didn’t socialize with a single person. If I had to talk to somebody during a Task, I told them I was on a scavenger hunt. And I told the cops that helped me during the City Hall day that if I won I’d give $50 to the PBA. But I didn’t make anything up about myself. And no accents.

What are you going to do now?
I don’t know. I need a job. You need anything done here?

Maybe we’ll call you when we make Hide/Seek, the movie. How about right now? What are you going to do when you get home?
I’m going to listen to music, veg out. I have a lot of friends who knew I was playing. I’m sure they were following it. They’re all going to see that I got caught. So I’m probably not going to answer my phone.

Chris complained about your snoring. What’s the story?
When you’re sick and you’re in a cold and drafty apartment, it happens. Chris snores. And I’m sure [Zoe] snores, too.

How about the nickname they gave you, Grandma?
As long as I got to decide when the TV went off and when we went to sleep, they could call me whatever they wanted.

Wasn’t there anything that bothered you about the other Fugitives?
No. Umm…No.

Did you feel hunted out there?
Yeah. Mostly when I checked out the website. I found this great Internet café in Times Square. I’d spend about 10 minutes on Hide/Seek. Then I’d check out what you guys were recommending at SiteSherpa -- I spent 30 minutes looking at prison women a few days ago. And then I’d go to the Drudge Report and NBA Talk.

So, those are your favorite websites, the Drudge Report, NBA Talk, and SiteSherpa?
I didn’t say that. Those are just the sites I was checking out during the game.

You must have been following the election at Drudge.
Yeah. As I go down, Gore goes down. There’s something funny going on.

Thanks, Jason.
Thank you.