senate hearing

The X Bureau of Intelligence, the XBI, was stood up today during a visit to our new digs (we move on Saturday). Since H. was in town for an interview at his new school we thought it’d be nice for him to see the place before he leaves again this evening. The XBI made overt contact with the landlord via telecommunications, to which our visit was agreed, and we were still awaiting a return call as we headed back to Arlington around 2pm. The white paper memo made it obvious that stopping en route would be the best option. Unfortunately, our target hadn’t made contact so we coordinated a slightly covert operation with the previous occupant and gathered intel that allowed us to visit via use of a secret key – secured in locales unknown to some, maybe to all. Our quick quick in-and-out assault enabled all to see and inspect the empty house before we headed back out into the pouring rain to make our escape. Just blocks from the house we get telephonic contact from our agent saying the meet is on, if needed, and only coordinates and time are required. The Director tries to play off the planned visit with a “no neeed….blah blah blah” excuse and testifies that we can visit “some other time.” After stumbling through this exchange and terminating the call, the Director deems it necessary to reestablish contact in order to set-up an actual drop later in the week so we have a key for weekend ops. This conversation gets shady as we’re unable to play off the meeting from anywhere but the scene of the ‘crime’. We turn around Galactica and set sail for destiny. There are two issues we’re concerned with in dark ops: first, the wood floors are probably still wet from the three agents traipsing around the house; second, we need our junior agent (call him “H”) to suddenly become fully qualified in real-world ops. Here’s the plan – at the meet up we’ll have Agent H spring into the house before any one, rudely if need be, and sprint around screaming how lovely this house is – and he’s never seen it before – and thereby marking the floor with untold numbers of wet tennis shoe marks. We also attempt to build some cover for the junior agent so he won’t say anything along the lines of “we were just here”, “why are we here again?”, or “I already told you that during our visit five minutes ago.” This cover building doesn’t go so well and the Director begins to wonder if there isn’t another way. As we stand on target, awaiting the drop, she decides to open up again, head inside, and then simply relay to the target that we ‘suddenly’ remembered something about a spare key that was given in a previous operation/collection – the previous tenant be damned. You see, what we don’t know is if this secret key is authentic and known to the landlord or if it’s a bogus, deep ops key create by the last occupant. We open up and realize the floors are dry, there’s no evidence, and the operation is change again to “lock the door and stand fast”. Ah ha, I say; what if they know of the extra key and she wants to show it to us but it’s missing and now someone might break-in and the locks will need to be changed? What about that? The Director gives me the key and tells me to put it back in the secret stash; if I’m caught I’m to die with the operation via my cyanide pill or stuffing my mouth with Good n’ Plentys. I recce the area, move in under air cover, replace the key, and return to bivouac in plenty of time to feign any scent of suspicion. That Director, she’s a genius.

The Secretary of State will be testifying at some point.