“Let’s start with ninety days between the hours of 2200 and 0400.You should be able to run a badge report of people who were in the building during those hours.If there was no suspicious activity back that far, then we go to four months, then five, and so on,” said AJ.“Is there anything here, other than the drone, missile, and gaming systems that are being tested?”
The two men stared at one another, then back at AJ giving a slight shake of their heads.
“I see.So there is,” said Wyatt frowning at the two men.“We can’t help if we don’t know what you’re doing here.”
“Come on, General.Admiral.You know we have clearance and we’re only here to help,” said Kiel.
“Come to my office,” said Peters.
The men followed him down a long hallway and turned left twice.It was important to remember, otherwise you might not find your way out of the place.A maze of hallways, entrances, offices, closets, and other spaces and without a map you were fucked.
He opened his office door and pointed to a small conference table.It was just enough space for all the men to take a seat around it.
“Everything changed after 9-11,” said Peters.
“We’re aware,” said Ben crossing his arms over his chest.The two officers nodded.
“We’ve been testing forms of listening devices for decades.Most of which were easily detectable, traced, and disabled.Then we asked G.R.I.P. for some help to make them undetectable, untraceable.Unfortunately, you guys have a moral code and listening in on average Americans and American workers, without anyone’s knowledge seems on the edge of your code.”
“We understand the need, sirs, but we don’t like knowing we’re doing it with our allies,” said Ben.“Now, that’s not to say we haven’t done it when needed for good reason but just to randomly record the population doesn’t seem right.”
“It’s not our allies we’re trying to listen to, although we might use it sometimes for that reason,” said Peters.“It’s our own people.”
The six men stared at one another, then back at Billings and Peters, frowning with concern.
“I know what you’re thinking but trust me, there’s a reason.We’ve known for some time that hackers are getting in because our own people are letting them in.But this wasn’t just about hacking.This is about members of our own armed forces, CIA, FBI, NSA, all of them, talking out of turn.
“As new people are brought into the organizations, dare I say a younger generation, their codes are different than those we were brought up on.They believe in openness, talking freely, sitting across the table from enemies to discuss options.We believe in those things too, with a healthy dose of reality.”
“So, you’re concerned that this new generation of operatives, agents, officers, all of them, are more inclined to speak freely when they shouldn’t?” asked AJ.
“We know they’re doing it,” said Billings.He slid a folder across the table.“December 2011, FBI Agent Malaya met with a South American government official to talk about ways of stopping the drug trades.She openly discussed what the U.S. was planning to do over the next few months.Within thirty days, she was dead and so were six other known associates who were doing the planning.”He slid another folder across and Peters spoke.
“September 2015.While in Geneva guarding the vice-president, a secret service agent had dinner with two British officers.Our allies, or so we thought.He divulged some of the useless electronic equipment used in the White House.Six weeks later, five confidential conversations were released to the press with verbatim transcripts.They occurred in the oval office, during closed door meetings with White House staff and congressional members.”
“Fuck me,” said Hiro.
“Need we go on?” asked Billings pointing to four stacks of folders on the conference table.“Someone has been getting in for years and we don’t know how or why, other than to create chaos.”
“Sometimes that’s the only reason the enemy has.Create chaos, create a distraction and everyone is looking the other way while the real action happens,” said Ben.“Maybe that’s what’s happening here.Maybe someone is creating a distraction to do something else, something bigger, more powerful.”
“What?What do they want?What are they after?” asked Billings.
“That’s what we need to find out.We’re heading back up to Baltimore tomorrow to speak with the men we arrested in the townhouse.Someone has to know something.All they could tell us is it was a woman giving them orders,” said Tanner.
“A woman,” frowned Billings.“This is why I never married.”
“No, you never married because you were married to your job,” said AJ standing to leave.“No love interest.No significant other.No dating.No engagements.You’re in the office by 0600 on average and you don’t leave until well after 1900.No one wants to be married to that.”
“Stop checking my history!You’re creeping me out,” frowned the man.
“It’s my job to creep you out.Imagine if I was the enemy.”
The men said nothing until they were well clear of the Pentagon.They scanned their own bodies and the vehicle for listening devices and were pleased to find that they were all clear.
“Peters has never dated anyone?” grinned Kiel.
“No one that I could find.He’s never even brought a date to a banquet or dinner.It’s highly unusual but I think I can understand given what he does.It wouldn’t be fair to a woman to share him with three-hundred-thousand men and women in uniform.”
