EXFIL by Anthony Patton (best books to read non fiction TXT) 📗

mind to make sure it could withstand the scrutiny of three brilliant minds trained to be skeptical. I’d requested a meeting at this time because Lewis had called to say they had a new batch of security patches ready for delivery to the Pentagon, the ones I had promised to give to Jade Envy.

When I knocked on the door, Lewis was busily typing away on his computer. He removed his reading glasses and gestured for me to sit on the couch.

I took a load off and leaned back with a glance at the Laocoön statue as I considered my options one last time. I wasn’t sure what was worse—the wrath of the capricious gods or the bureaucratic machine, neither of which had a reputation for forgiveness.

He finished typing and stood.

“In case you didn’t know, CID has been investigating Captain Howard’s death in Bangkok. Please don’t respond without a lawyer present to what I’m about to say, but you should know that a witness claimed that you pressured Captain Howard to have sex with a dancer.”

He raised a finger to remind me of my right to remain silent. “I hope for your sake that it’s not true, but I thought you should know.”

“I understand, General,” I said. Brett and Nguyen were running a few minutes late so I had some time to factor this new information into my calculation. The bad news was the accusation was true, as Jade Envy had proved with the audio recording, but I was hopeful that the testimony of a dancer in Bangkok wouldn’t be admitted as evidence. It was a bad joke, not a lawful order, so Tom was under no obligation to obey.

Brett and Nguyen apologized for arriving late and grabbed the open seats on the couch after Lewis closed the door. There was no turning back.

“Thanks for coming,” I said and took a deep breath for dramatic effect. “I believe I might have identified a Chinese spy.” Needless to say, this was followed by a flurry of nonverbal confusion.

“Let me go back to the beginning,” I said. “As you recall, I had my first encounter with Jade Envy during the Chinese diplomatic event.” I waited for nods.

“That same evening, I met a young woman named Anna Stuart who works as a contractor in the Pentagon—in the J6, no less. She’s getting her Ph.D. in computer science at Georgetown and expressed an interest in working for Cyber Command. We met to discuss her career objectives, and I agreed to ask a friend about her security clearance, which is on hold.”

They nodded, gesturing for more.

“During the meeting with Jade Envy last night, which resulted in killer information, by the way,” I said with a thumbs-up, “I rifled through his phone while he was in the bathroom. I looked at the files and found a document with a phone number. The last four digits grabbed my attention from when I’d saved Anna’s number to my cell phone.”

An amateur would claim that Anna was one of his phone contacts, but a professional would know that Jade Envy would never do that. A subsequent investigation of their phone activity would reveal no electronic contact between them. By having Anna’s number on a document, the assumption was that he used a different phone to communicate with her. I let them ask questions to see which way to steer the discussion.

“I’ll admit,” Brett said with a gesture to the others, “this Anna working in the J6 and Jade Envy having her phone number is intriguing, but doesn’t prove she’s a spy. In fact, it could mean he’s assessing her for recruitment.”

Lewis and Nguyen nodded in agreement.

I nodded with them to keep everyone on the same page.

“Anna studied in China for one semester and her top secret clearance is on hold,” I said and shrugged. “And—”

“Don’t tell me,” Lewis said and groaned.

“Among professionals,” I said, knowing that a confession of this kind would add credibility to my story, “Anna and I were intimate.”

Lewis shook his head in disappointment. Brett and Nguyen kept straight faces, without eye contact or looking around.

“When I stepped out of the bathroom the other day,” I continued, “I saw her rifling through my things. She asked direct questions about my work. At first, I didn’t think much of it—she might just have been curious, as some women are—but taken together, it suggests something more sinister…nefarious. I think we should consider the possibility that she’s behind the cyberattacks.”

“Worth a look,” Nguyen said. “We could start by monitoring her computer activity at the J6. My guys can begin immediately.”

“You said her top secret clearance was on hold?” Brett asked. “How could she facilitate the cyberattacks with only a secret clearance?”

“She still has access to classified information,” I said. “Besides, my understanding is the system is a mess and needs to be replaced.”

Lewis nodded. “She has a secret clearance with a pending top secret clearance, but she could still be in a position to do real damage from within the J6.”

“But,” I said to break the flow and add a twist, “when I called her at work, they said her contract had ended and she was no longer working there.”

“Fired or moved on?” Brett asked.

I shrugged to promote a team effort.

“I can look into it,” Nguyen said.

Lewis nodded.

“Sounds like we can take some discreet steps to investigate,” he said. “I propose we meet back here soon, just the four of us, to discuss the results. No written or phone records until we have more details.”

Brett glanced back at me as he and Nguyen left.

Lewis grabbed the laptop from the safe and handed it to me. “Guard this with your life,” he said. “And for God’s sake, keep your dick in your pants. For the life of me, I can’t understand why you treat Beth this way.”

I nodded. “Anna’s not working there now, but she might have planted tools on the system to defeat the security patches, or she might have someone on the inside. I’ll advise the J6 guys to