Breaking News

163.

Davis and Saunders get their audience with two of Adleman's lieutenants . Drysdale meets with the Vegas bureau chief of the NAACP and paints some broad strokes about mercenary intelligence assistance. TOM has his conversation with the Senator dangling the political carrot of a party flip AND the allure of inflicting more pain and hardship on the upstart, ungrateful and uncouth escapees from his grandaddy’s plantation. TOM actually has him on record as saying that as a Southern conservative republican his mission statement consists of two primary goals, one, to enrich his constituency, and two, to make life as difficult as possible for the black community. 

Julie is keeping a detailed tabulation on the three phases of Operation Firecracker, providing daily updates. Should we spot a trend or feel that we need to leverage one of the marks for quicker action or, as is the case with the warden, to keep him from letting any kittens out of the sack, this accounting affords the blueprint and historical record. With this many balls in the air, it is sometimes easy to get tunnel vision. 

My impersonation of a retired Marine colonel, currently heading a top-secret drone testing program has the warden a bit flustered. Not so much because he was kept out of the loop, but more because his advice, input and experience in running a maximum security detention facility with a spotless record, zero escapes, should have been enough, he feels, to secure him a seat at the planning table. 

The Queen of Hearts is busy working on the Wall St. hacking device and negotiating with one of the prison guards for his ‘services’. They currently are at stale-mate as he insists on one million cash and Her Majesty is holding firm at seven large. 

With all these gears, cogs and pistons pumping at top end, it is a minor miracle that something, somewhere hasn’t acted as the screwdriver in the works. Both Julie and Harlan, working from the safe and secure Capitol Hill office, act as quality control evaluators, watching every move and documenting the layered nuance in real time. At the end of the day, as they swap shifts to cover the twenty-four hour clock, often the updates feel like newscasts, they anchoring the events, always as ‘Breaking News.’

The momentum we have created is carrying us further and further downstream. The wheels in motion, the flow of the current, the nuts and bolts of the plan itself have come to life, a continually evolving entity. 

And for right now, the evening news on Operation Firecracker is all good. 

Good Teachers

162. 

I am unconvinced. The warden, while professionally accommodating and begrudgingly cooperative, would most likely ask around for additional verification. This, we needed to avoid. 

TOM once mentored me on the subject by saying. “Its never too early to go to your backup plan.”

I call him immediately to ask if he, after three decades, she feels that way.

“Why do you ask, there are constants, but the last few years of accelerated technological advancement have altered the status quo in dramatic style,” he answers with another question. 

“The conversation with the warden went about as well as we expected it would, but I have a hunch that he is flipping the deck of his rolodex right this minute looking for someone, perhaps outside the system, that might have the connections to know about something on this scale.”

“What do you have in mind?”

“I setup Drysdale up with the Vegas bureau chief of the NCAAP. Just some general conversation about the state of the state, BUT, I wanted to have an official record of the meeting so that……”

“…..So that you could leverage the meeting with the Senator so he might look favorably on any favors coming his way as a quid pro quo.” 

“Yes.”

“What can I tell the Senator the infiltration might accomplish?”

“Well, at worst a list of names, but at best, flipping the district from its current purple to a more robust shade of scarlet.” 

There is a silence as TOM runs the data. 

"You want the Senator to call the warden?"

"Yes, you can softball the details about the test, but we need to make sure that mule in Florence follows the chain of command."

“Its uncanny you know.”

“What is sir?”

“That we think along such similar tactical lines.”

“Yeah, well, I had a good teacher.”

“Good teachers are nothing without good students, and a teachers job is to create more teachers.” 

“Can I quote you on that?”

“You already have. I’ll call the Senator in the morning.”

This We Shall Defend

161.

The automated voice message, the technology of which we have been fine-tuning for months, greets the caller in a sober professional tone. 

“You have reached the office of Col. G.H. Mason, please enter the five digit temporary user ID found on the upper right corner of your correspondence. Once your identification has been verified and accepted, this call will continue on our secure lines. Thank you.” 

The Warden, a seasoned and experienced bully, scans the e-mail for his PIN and enters the corresponding numerals in an agitated state of arrogance. Once the minor task has been completed, the automated voice announces that the process has been successful and to please stand-by for the Colonel. 

I give hime an extra minute on hold for general purposes.

“Warden Daniels, a pleasure to speak with you at last, I trust your call is regarding the drone test,” The software has manipulated my voice to sound like a cross between Jack Nicholson as Colonel Jessup and Sean Connery as 007. 

“It certainly is, what the heck is this about and why the hell am I hearing about this just a week before the event?” He sneers with an entitled, irritated whine. 

“Sir, we apologize for the scheduling but the Senator, the Director and the Deputy Director were all adamant about keeping this as far as possible from any possible leaks, I am sure you understand what this technology, in the wrong hands, could mean to national security. We need only thirty minutes live time to access the current capabilities of the drone and document the results.  We feel that your facility, the best of any, I might add, is the perfect venue to run the final test.” In my earpiece I hear these words as if there were ‘Stirred but not shaken and you can’t handle the truth.’ I am pleased with the voice-over. 

“This was green-lit by the Director AND the Senator?”

“It was sir. And remains so. If you require further verification I could get them onboard right now for a conference call.”

There is a pause as the Warden considers the politics involved with his decision. 

“Well, I suppose that won’t be necessary, they are busy guys. We have a brief scheduled for Thursday where I can ask a few related questions and get some protocol specifics?” 

“Yes sir, we promise as much time as necessary to ensure a flawless demonstration. We also anticipate your presence and supervision for the test itself next week, can we count on that sir? Also tomorrow I will have the official documents sent over authorizing the test on the request of the BOP and DOJ.” 

“Of course, I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Thank you warden. I know we can count on your professional direction and unique knowledge of the site. Will there be anything else today sir? 

“No, that should get us goin’.” He says in resignation. 

“We will talk again soon sir. Semper Fi.”

“This We Shall Defend. Good Day.” 

I Pick Up the Phone

160.

The third bird flies. 

TOM has successfully, in an impressive performance, created a political diversion and dropped the live ammo on the floor. Hartaugh, as expected, could not control neither his deep-rooted desire for racial vengeance, his lust for the control over the less-fortunate nor his appetite for cash. 

Davis, Saunders and Drysdale made a sensational splash in Vegas announcing to Adleson that they were in town to do more, a lot more, than eat, drink and play the slots. 

Leaving the third, and most important bird, about to take flight. 

The memorandum, outlined by The Queen, edited by myself, critiqued by Julie and Harlan and finally green-lit by TOM, is an impressive bit of military forgery. It contains all the terse language and dry sentence structure any official internal communication should. The kicker however is the delivery medium. The SuperMax facility in Colorado uses an encrypted and secure multi-layered program to allow sensitive information to be shared between the sites chief operating officer, the warden, and the Department of Defense contractor operating overall security for the maximum security facility. In the decade since its inception there has not been the slightest hint of a hack, nor has there been and escape from the inhumane detention center in the middle of relative nowhere. 

The memo states, as compared to requests, a live demonstration of new unmanned drone surveillance technology. The drone is capable of motion capture, laser strikes, ground and air space illumination, and heat sensing to a degree that it can detect a moving field mouse from five hundred yards. 

The date of the demo is one week from reception of the announcement. It is to be conducted at 0230 and will be monitored and supervised by a three-person team of technicians who will be arriving by helicopter the afternoon of the demonstration. The trial will take approximately one hour with the only requirement of the warden and his staff to provide access to the grounds. It is important to the test that despite the brief chaos all other operating protocols remain normal. An additional procedural instruction will follow outlining the details, time frames and responsibilities of the on-site security staff, the demonstration monitors and a precise schedule of events. 

The Warden is a retired MP, appointed to the position by the former administration. His job description is primarily administrative as the facility runs within a percentage point of full automation. He is a sadistic curmudgeon with a violent sense of ill-humor. He works twelve hour shifts six days a week with his only apparent joy walking the decks with a long black police baton. The grounds however are spotless, manicured daily by a tiger-team of contracted landscape professionals. 

The Queen, employing the same methodology used to obtain slot machine codes, large sums of cash, has managed to gain access to the sophisticated server used by the Department of Corrections and in turn, the site in question. Not only can she hack communications, but has been testing the security systems as well, including alarms, automated lock-down devices, video monitoring, and individual cell gate controls. 

The Warden receives the memo. He looks at it twice. He notes those copied and pickes up his phone to call one for verification of authenticity. 

At the top of the list is the demonstration lead, one Col George H. Mason, USMC (R). 

I pick up the phone. 

Toss Those Laughing Bones

159.

As the Senator and TOM are having coffee, two thousand miles west Alpha team, Davis, Saunders and Drysdale have already begun operations. Following a script magnificently authored by Her Majesty, they are making themselves known as players in the Las Vegas casino owned by Sheldon Adleson. 

The Queen, as a hobby, has long been perfecting a computer program that will override the fail-safe security systems of certain models of slot machines. Her ex-boyfriend and one-time MBI soldier Cyrus Williamson had a contact at one of the two major manufacturers of the machines that proudly claim the moniker ‘One Armed Bandit’ as an honor. Fifty-thousand US dollars was enough for him to share some trade secrets and a few schematics. Her Majesty took it from there and nine months later had a working model of a device that could electronically ‘jam’ the random sequencing selector and deliver a jackpot on demand. Having tested the device thoroughly under the watchful eyes of the MBI management with impressive success, she finally took it to a small casino for a live trial. Under the microscope of video surveillance, with in-house security always on the watch and playing against the bandits whose pre-set random payouts dramatically favored the house, her ‘volunteer’ gambler took home over twenty large the first night. 

Impressed and looking for an angle, Big directed her R&D efforts into something he considered to be a bigger fish. His thinking, that if she could hack into Vegas casino’s bread and butter money machines, what could the possible payoff be if she used her considerable skills to hack Wall Street instead of Flamingo Way?

Of course, that was before the shit hit the proverbial fan, blood smeared the campus of Georgetown, a pair of agents were killed in a night of extreme prejudice and Big was bagged red-handed with a pistol at the head of the former vice-president of the US. Still, The Queen persisted in her free-time code writing of the program that could steal a boat-load of money from the biggest casino in the world, Vegas and Monaco included. 

She now had it ready for serious testing. 

Seeing the Liberty Bells as child’s play, she has scripted the act to demonstrate to Adleson that, A) The device works, and B) That this is chump change compared to the potential sting on Wall St. And of course the C) of needing a connected partner to bankroll the operation and assist in the subsequent money laundering after the score.  

Davis and Drysdale, outfitted in handsome black tuxes and Saunders in a stunning floor-length gown, are enjoying the opening act. Having formally dined in the casino’s elegant restaurant, leaving a ridiculous gratuity and feigning boredom, they walk towards the crap tables with nonchalance elan. 

“Shall we try the slots?” Saunders asks on cue.

Both her escorts pshaw the suggestion preferring the dice games and their instant drama. 

But Saunders insists and takes up residence in front of a five-reel slot called the Desert Fruit Machine. She reaches into her purse and swipes her players card activating the hack sequence. She selects a one-hundred dollar bet and uses both hands to pull the lever. 

Cherry-cherry-cherry-cherry-and pineapple. Good for a payout of four hundred Franklins of credit. She whoops and wails. Davis and Drysdale play unconvinced, but move a step closer to watch the action. 

This charade continues until Davis and Drysdale are joined by a fascinated mini-mob of mid-western retirees all celebrating her every win with hoots and hollers. 

By the time she hits another four cherries, security is among the spectators, talking into their wrists and asking for video closeups and authentication. The hacking device also senses counter-cheating activity and terminates the control of the machine sending its operation to normal just as the casino operations are about to manufacture a malfunction, close the station and study the situation, and its participants, closer. 

Point taken by management that the newcomers are young, talented, affluent and lucky. 

The threesome moves into the felt jungle and Davis is about to toss the laughing bones just as Adleson gets a text message about the incident. 

Two thousand miles east TOM thanks the Senator for his time and consideration in the new protocol. 

On the Hush-Hush QT

158.

The business lunch, from TOM’s perspective, was purely and simply a sales pitch. It is to be an introduction to a complicated and flowingly dynamic operational protocol specifically crafted to capture the corrupt politician in his own cage. It is TOM’s assignment to bait the trap by dangling a ripe carrot in front of the racist jack-ass. Aa a career intelligence officer rising in the ranks to his current position of Director of Operations, TOM is no stranger to the drama of the ‘one-chance’ communication. It has to be flawless, convincing and, if the mission is to have even a fighting chance at success, cathartic. TOM’s aria must be the operatic equivalent of satisfying the Senator’s current distaste for what he sees as an internal mutiny by the staff of the covert operation of which he politically oversees. To him, it is nothing other than the disrespectful biting of the hand that feeds. Part two of the pitch is using his lust for power, marrow-deep racism, and unsatiated greed to force him into action. 

Amid the overly posh decor of the downtown restaurant known for its Southern flair, TOM’s stoic demeanor belies his utter disgust for the man who sits directly opposite him. TOM is aware of the Secret Service agents lingering at a safe distance near the crowded bar. 

“I will get right to the point,” TOM opens as the waitress places a tray of oysters, crawfish and hush-puppies, along with two mint juleps, on the center of the table, “or points, rather as there are two.” 

The Senator gives a weak mumble and raises his shoulders in a contemptuous shrug. TOM resists any indication of how pleasurable it will be to see this human garbage hauled off by city sanitation, and continues, “First of all, I am sure you will be happy to know that we have suspended the officer creating the internal investigations,” he lies, “I trust that this will put to an end any further considerations for disciplinary action.”

Again the Senator shrugs, wiping his mouth with a napkin in a metaphor so sickening that TOM considers it like Pontius Pilate washing his hands prior to sentencing the King of the Jews. 

Without any sign of agreement or commitment, he says, “Go on.” 

“Secondly,” TOM looks around the room, acting the part of a spy about to share a top-secret, “It has come to our attention that a group of highly skilled computer hackers have developed a system for overriding the programming protocols controlling gaming apparatuses.” TOM’s precise pronunciation of the five syllable word for more than one apparatus, as expected, catches the Senator by surprise, creating a small window of vulnerability.

The Senator ceases his mastication of a crawfish and leans closer. TOM moves in for the kill shot, “Furthermore, our intel suggests that they have also perfected similar technology to hack the big board.” 

It takes the Senator the remaining time to swallow the crustacean for him to realize the implications of this inside information. 

“How many people know about this?”

“Very few, at this time. There is buzz about some proof of concept demonstration in Vegas tomorrow. That is all we know. That and a partial decode of what appears to be a search for partners in a colossal score. But let’s be clear, there is big difference between hacking slot machines and the manipulation of Wall Street.”

“I am assuming that you are monitoring the situation in your usual professional manner and will report any updates and developments,” The Senator drawls, “as they happen.” 

“We are and we will Senator,  I wanted your personal authorization to continue with this new threat.”

“You have it. Is there anything I can do from my end?”

“You could use your rolodex and call around Vegas to see if the money guys have heard anything, for starters.” 

“I will do that guaranteed.” He get’s his lingustic touché by dragging out the word doubly long. 

“Now if business is done, let’s eat. Oh, and needless to say, let’s keep this on the hush-hush QT. Bon appétit.”

Should Be

157.

The operational blueprint for Phase One calls for three independent, yet very connected, birds to be launched simultaneously. Each one aggressive, risky and sublime. I felt it important to capsulize the trio of opening salvos into a format that could be read like an instruction manual; follow these steps with accuracy, precision and efficiency and the end result should produce the desired result. As much as I appreciate this approach, having used it many times in the past with success, there is one word in it that always gives me the chills: SHOULD - the end result should produce the desired result. 

The deciding factor in turning a disaster into a chance to fight another day when one of these nefarious shoulds doesn’t play as expected is the experience of the agent, soldier, negotiator, intelligence officer or asset. There is nothing in training, practice or live drills that prepares one for the moment of truth when the game plan heads suddenly south. It happens, and happens a lot. And when it does, you improvise based on a thousand variables, using your internal data base of best chance and available choice. 

1) TOM puts in a call to Senator Hartaugh requesting a meeting to discuss both the current situation and an intreguing new development that is as interesting as it is urgent. TOM suggests that they meet at the Senators favorite restaurant the next day at noon. 

2) Davis, Saunders and Drysdale head to Vegas and check into a hotel suite owned by longtime Hartaugh supporter and financial (silent) partner Sheldon Adelson. They will be establishing a shell operation to provide the appearance of an existing organized consortium looking to make a big score using new computer hacking technologies specifically in the gaming arena.

3) The Queen and I have authored a memo that will be sent to the ADX warden announcing a demonstration by the DoD contractor currently supplying overall facility security about revolutionary new unmanned security drone techniques and technologies. 

The 'shoulds' are simple: Hartaugh SHOULD accept TOM’s offer and agree to meet and hear him out. 

The Alpha Team of Davis, Saunders and Drysdale SHOULD generate enough buzz to interest Adleson.

The memo, an outstanding piece of forgery, SHOULD seduce the warden into calling up-chain for verification. 

Hartaugh will call Adleson after he hears the news from TOM. Adleson will already be receiving teases and a faux demonstration from Alpha Team and with our memo hitting the computer of the warden through the encryption used exclusively between himself and the contractor, in less than a day we should be ready to launch Phase Two.

Should be.