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Although keenly aware of his almost unlimited authority, the group seated around the large conference room table only knew the man at the head by his cover alias, Secret Agent in Charge Harold Barrett.
"I'll ask you again." Agent Barrett stated before repeating his question, his irritation evident in his tone. "What is the presumed threat we're dealing with here in…" The mysterious government official glanced at the paperwork in front of him before continuing his question, "…central Utah?"
"We still don't know, sir." The intelligence analyst answered.
"Excuse me?" Agent Barrett replied. "We don't know? Did you say we don't know?"
Another government spook, Mister Jones, saved the overworked analyst from their mutual boss's pending verbal admonishment. "Sir, we don't know the presumed threat because we don't exactly know what happened."
"Then exactly what do we know, Mister Jones?" Agent Barrett asked angrily.
"Sir," the man replied, "as the executive summary we provided you explains…"
"I don't have time to read every report which you toss in front of me. Just brief it." Agent Barrett interrupted.
Mister Jones continued. "Sir, what we know is a longtime National Security Agency employee, one of their engineers, one Mister Tom Allred, sent an email to the Department of Justice claiming someone or something had infiltrated the National Security Agency's newest data collection facility. It's called the Utah Digital Center. Immediately. I say again, immediately, after sending the email, Mister Allred disappeared. The police found his front door kicked in and his front window broken out. Broken from the inside out, but no sign of the man. No one heard or saw anything. In a highly-populated area, no one saw anything. No one knows anything. It's been three months now."
"Something?" Agent Barrett inquired. "Someone or something?"
"That's what Mister Allred's email said, sir. His words, not mine. Someone or something."
"This appears to be a matter for local law enforcement." Mister Blue, another government spook interjected. "Let the DOJ or the NSA handle it."
"Their investigations came up dry." The intelligence analyst replied. "No sign of Tom Allred and no signs of infiltration or any other security issue at the Utah Digital Center."
"So, why are we even discussing this?" Agent Barrett asked the group.
After several moments, Mister Jones answered his boss. "Sir, because of the seriousness of the email, the mystery surrounding the disappearance of the NSA employee and the sensitive nature of the Utah Digital Center. It's my opinion, and I am sure the opinion of most of my colleagues…"
"Get to the point, Mister Jones." Agent Barrett interrupted.
"Yes, sir. It's my opinion that we would be negligent if we didn't investigate this ourselves."
"I concur, sir." Mister Blue added, changing his attitude on the matter after reading the room and the discussion direction. "We should send in someone into Dayspring…"
"Dayspring?" Agent Barrett asked.
"The town where Tom Allred lived." Mister Blue replied. "It's near the Utah Digital Center." When the man sitting at the head of the table didn't respond, the government spook continued. "I agree with Mister Jones. We should send someone to Dayspring to investigate this NSA employee's disappearance and to determine if there is any credibility to his email claiming someone or something had infiltrated the Utah Digital Center."
Special Agent in Charge Harold Barrett contemplated what he'd been told for over a minute before replying to the group. "What do you have in mind, Mister Jones?"
Mister Jones answered the senior spook. "Sir, I propose we send in a single asset, an off-the-books contractor to investigate. One of our regulars. We have the perfect cover for him. No one will even know who he is or why he's there. A deep cover operation under the guise of a house-sitting gig. Send him into Dayspring to house sit for a certain doctor I know who's currently conducting charity work overseas for six months. If this asset finds something, we can expand our response. If not, we drop it and no one is the wiser."
"I'm not convinced." Agent Barrett replied. "Which asset do you have in mind? One of the Shadow Men?"
Mister Blue glanced at Mister Jones before replying to their boss. "No, sir. Mister Jones wants to send in The Corsair."
"Who?" Agent Barrett asked.
"The Corsair. The asset who recently resolved that 'kidnapping' issue concerning our 'flat friend' last year. You remember." Mister Jones reminded his boss.
"Of course." Agent Barrett replied. "The Corsair. Don't we use him for more paranormal type situations? He seems like overkill for a missing person's case."
Mister Jones swallowed deeply before replying. "Sir, although we don't have any actionable intelligence, all the signs point to something supernatural here. I'm sure of it. He's the man for the job."
"I'll make that determination, Mister Jones. Not you. Thank you very much!" Agent Barrett reminded the younger man.
"Sir, on a personal note. The Corsair needs a little rest and relaxation after his last mission. He barely survived if you recall." Mister Jones added.
"Fine." Agent Barrett conceded. "I'm sure he does need an easy mission after what we just put him through. Fine. I concur. Send in this Corsair guy to see if there is anything to this missing man and this NSA silliness. Deep Cover. Complete deniability by us."
"Yes, sir." Mister Jones replied.
"Good. What else is on the agenda?" Agent Barrett asked the group.
"Sir." Mister Blue replied. "There's a situation developing on the South Pole I wanted to brief you on. There is no need for us to react yet, but it may develop into…"
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