Chapter 5: The CIA

A few minutes later, Ed arrived at the office of US Public Affairs. Conner floated along beside him.

Ed glanced at the ghost before opening the door.

Inside was a modest waiting area with a reception desk. It was early, and no one else was about, so he approached the reception desk.

“Good morning. May I help you?” asked the cheerful-sounding receptionist.

“Yes, I need to talk with a senior case officer on an urgent matter of national security. Code in is Diamond 9 4 0,” said Ed.

Her demeanour changed instantly.

“May I see your ID?”

Ed handed her his driver’s license. It was all he had.

“Please wait here, sir. I’ll get someone to talk to you.”

She carded a door and walked through, taking his ID with her.

“Remain calm. Make no hostile moves. They may try to test you,” said Conner.

Ed noticed several wall-mounted cameras pointed in his general direction.

The receptionist returned about two minutes later. She gave back his ID.

“Please come with me,” she said.

Ed followed her through the door. Inside were several armed guards and a metal detector.

He smiled and nodded at the guards.

“Please empty your pockets into this tray,” said a guard. It sparked their curiosity when he placed a walkie-talkie in the tray.

After passing through the metal detector, he collected his things and followed the receptionist to a meeting room. He sat down at a large conference table and placed the radio in front of him.

She left the room. Ed noticed multiple wall-mounted cameras looking at him.

A minute later, in came a tall, dark-haired man. He sat opposite Ed and stared at him for a minute.

“You know the code you gave the receptionist is inactive?” he asked.

“Yes,” said Ed. “I needed to get your attention, so you’d take me seriously.”

“Well, you have my full attention. Now tell me why I shouldn’t have you arrested, or worse?”

“That code belonged to a recently deceased case officer. He died before he could complete his mission.”

“I’m not saying you’re correct, but if you are, so what?”

“He gave me something, with instructions, if he didn’t make it. Two days ago, I dialled Langley to arrange handover of the item. It wasn’t the CIA that met me, but the opposition. They abducted me and stole the item.”

“If that’s true, how come you’re here?”

“I knew they’d likely kill me, so I escaped. On my way out, I stole one of their radios. Now, they’re trying to recapture me. I heard them talking on the radio. They spoke in some foreign language.”

He picked up the radio and looked it over. Ed pressed his luck.

“There are two important points I want to stress. One, that Langley is compromised. You have a double agent. Two, there are foreign agents working in Seattle.”

He stared at Ed in surprise.

“Tell me, what was the name of this deceased case officer?”

“Conner Price,” said Ed.

“And what was the number in Langley you called?”

“703-555-6023. But don’t call it, because it’s compromised,” said Ed.

The man jotted down his answers in a notepad.

“Please wait here. I’ll have someone check out this radio. I’ll also check that number with Langley myself.”

“Ok,” said Ed. He didn’t really have a choice.

The man took the radio and left. Ed gestured at Conner, who nodded and floated through the door, following the man.

Ed sat quietly in the meeting room. Conscious of the camera, he refrained from doing anything to sabotage his objective. He needed them to believe him, and take action.

Conner was gone for a while. Fortunately, they didn’t tie him to a chair. Perhaps they’d offer him a coffee?

Finally, the tall, dark-haired man returned, carrying a folder. This time, he held out his hand.

“I didn’t introduce myself earlier. I’m Noah Johnson. We had to verify your claims before continuing.”

“What did you discover?”

Noah passed a document with a pen to Ed.

“I need you to sign this. It’s the Espionage Act. It says you can’t tell anyone about this or we kill you,” he said this with a grin.

Ed shrugged and signed the document. He didn’t think not signing a document would protect him. Noah took back the document and checked the signature.

“The number you gave was a direct line to a case officer in Langley. Conner Price reported to him. I had some of our folks take that radio outside and listen in. They heard chatter in Russian.”

“So, they’re still nearby?” asked Ed.

“It seems so. We’re going to track their signals.”

“I can give you the address where they held me. It’s a warehouse near the waterfront. The vehicle they used to capture me was a dark van. I didn’t get the license plate, though.”

Noah noted the address.

“Please wait here,” he said.

He was gone about two minutes. When he returned, he brought in two mugs of coffee.

“You looked like you needed something,” said Noah. He passed a mug to Ed.

Ed sipped the brew. He’d missed his morning coffee!

Conner returned and stood near the wall, behind Noah.

“We’ve sent squads to hunt down the foreign agents. You should wait here for your safety,” said Noah.

“Yes, as those foreign agents are hunting for me. Hey, wait, I have an idea.”

He handed his phone to Noah.

“They were tracking me by my phone, so I turned it off. Have your team turn it on, and it may lure the foreign agents.”

Noah nodded.

“I’ll do that. I’m just surprised that Conner trusted you with what he did. He broke the Espionage Act, which is punishable by death.”

“Perhaps he knew he was as good as dead anyway,” said Ed.

“Perhaps. I’ll return once we have the agents in custody,” said Noah.

He stood and left the room.

A few hours passed. Finally, Noah returned.

“Ed, the foreign agents are in custody. Here’s your phone back,” said Noah. He handed Ed back his phone.

“That’s good news.”

“We’re working on a case against the case officer in Langley. It may take a little while. Meanwhile, you’re free to return home. You should call in to your workplace.”

“Ah, yes. I’m absent without leave,” said Ed.

“I had a doctor’s note prepared for you. It says you had complications with your recent head injury. If they call the number on it, we’ll back up the story.”

Ed took the note and tucked it in his pocket. It looked genuine.

“That’s kind of you.”

“We take care of those who help us apprehend foreign agents. And remember you signed that Espionage Act. Don’t discuss this with anyone,” said Noah.

Noah handed Ed his business card.

“Thank you for your service to the CIA. If you need to reach me, the contact info is on the card.”

Ed stood and followed Noah past the armed security guards. Noah left him at the reception area. Ed left the office and returned to his car.

Without warning, Conner appeared in the front passenger seat of his car.

“You did well back there,” said Conner.

“Thank you. I followed your plan.”

“And they don’t see you as a person of interest. If you’re careful, they’ll lose interest in you pretty quick.”

“I hope so. I wish everyone would leave me alone.”

Ed left the parkade and merged back into traffic.

“While you were waiting in that meeting room, I wandered around and observed them. I’m confident they’ll clean up their mess.”

“Good. I’m going home to see if they trashed my apartment,” said Ed.

Ed pulled into the underground parking and took the elevator to his floor.

When he entered his apartment, it seemed the foreign agents had failed to visit. He checked the closet and found the bag. He’d better hide that money somewhere soon.

Ed turned to Conner.

“Conner, I’ve done my best to help you. I didn’t know your boss was a double agent. As it is, I helped to apprehend the foreign agents and I expect your boss will be in custody soon.”

“Yes, I think you did better than I’d hoped for,” said Conner.

“So, with your mission complete, will you pass on now?”

“I don’t know. I’m in no hurry to leave.”

“Good.”

“You might’ve made a successful agent, Ed.”

“No thanks, I don’t like all the danger. I want to go back to my quiet job writing software.”

“Alright. Take care.”

Conner vanished. Actually, Ed was relieved to be back home. He thought about his job and realized he had to contact his boss.

Ed scanned in the “doctor’s note” and attached it to an email explaining his absence. He said he hoped to be in tomorrow.