That's the point that got me thinking about the likelihood of a very different real story that might be going on. What if some individual or subgroup just ran a

That's the point that got me thinking about the likelihood of a very different real story that might be going on. What if some individual or subgroup just ran away with the hoard? Some subcontractors/mid-level data henchmen could have tried to press compensation by threatening to release victim keys, and then a combination of disbelief, unwillingness to accept having gotten fooled by a peer and dreams of spy story grandeur conjuring up a fantasy about state involvement that they eventually believe themselves. Or at least like better than the alternative. I don't consider that the most likely scenario, but something in the willingness to declare defeat got me into "what if" mode.