March 15, 2023
TEAM
Arriving at the Bureau, Liam checked his phone to see if there were any messages from Aika. “Good Luck!”. Yes, there it was. He tilted the rearview mirror, adjusted his tie, and thought, “First impressions.”
The first-floor directory listed the offices in tiny white lettering. Starting at the top and working his way down, Liam read FBI 306. He reached the 3rd floor, entered the hallway, and followed the signs 301-306. Through the windows at 306, he saw three desks in the middle of the room and two offices at the back. Liam stepped into the room and took the opportunity to observe the three agents. Liam surveyed a dark-haired man with his feet up on the desk, cradling his phone, a black, slightly balding man writing on his desk calendar, and a woman searching through a file cabinet.
“Hi, Liam Doyle.”
The black man rose from the chair. Towering over Liam, he extended his right hand, “Aaron Franks, nice to meet you.”
A dark-haired man also rose to shake hands over the desk. Talking on the phone, “Mike Parker.” He pointed to the woman at the file cabinet and added, “That is Liz Baldwin.”
Liam smiled, “Oh, yes! I remember your name. We never met, but we worked together in Afghanistan.” Liam looked at the other agents and complimented, “Liz provided detailed information on a Taliban Ammunition Depot in the mountain near Kandahar. My ranger team and I were dropped in, and we were able to destroy 5,000 pounds of ammunition.”
Liz, a small woman with short blond hair, pushed her glasses up with her index finger and replied, “Thanks for the compliment. It was all part of the job.”
“Well, if your performance here is anywhere close to that, we will have success.” Looking at them, “Glad to be part of the team.”
Mike opened the door to the corner office. “Welcome to your new home.”
Liam entered and looked out over the city of Charleston. It was still early, and people were still busy walking to their offices or restaurants. Across the street, businesses lined the lower levels of the high-rises: Morning Bagel, Starbucks, Dave’s Diner, and Old-Time Deli. On the next block, cars were lined up at the parking garage entrance.
In the blink of an eye, the lights went out. Everywhere. The city stared back at him in the gray of the morning. Outlines of the buildings stood in the morning’s dimness. Car horns were honking, and people were exiting the buildings. A police car’s lights flashed.
The power was restored, as the bureau had a generator in the basement. A few blocks away, Liam noticed a red neon sign and a blue one: Charleston General Hospital and Charleston Police.
Liam emerged from his office. “What just happened?”
Mike was the first to answer. “Don’t know. Whatever this is, it’s an ominous sign to our start.”
Liam directed. “Aaron, call D.C. and find out what you can.”
“Mike, call the power company and find out how large an area has been affected.”
Liz rebooted the system. The computer screens were blinking. Liam walked into the Control Room. A sizeable 10x12-foot monitor hung on the wall opposite the door. Staring back at him was an illuminated map of North America, with the geographic outline of states and provinces. Liz was sitting at a semicircular desk in front of three large monitors.
Typing at the keyboard, Liz said, “The bureau has provided us with the state-of-the-art computer system.” Speaking rapidly, pushing her glasses up, she continued, “What you are looking at is what the Homeland Security and State Department have determined to be high-risk domestic targets.”
Liz took the mouse and dragged the cursor until it hovered above a Blue Locomotive. “These are major railway hubs.” She moved the cursor again and drew attention to the red and black radiation symbol. “These are Nuclear Plants throughout North America.”
“How many?”
“Ninety-Eight.”
“What are the green squares?”
Moving the cursor, Liz said, “Military bases.” Liz moved the cursor to the purple triangles: “Major ports” and the small red circles. “Missile Silos.”
“How Many?”
“Four Hundred”
Liam exclaimed, “No wonder the Senate is trying to update the Bush-era USA Patriot Act.”
The United States Senate introduced H.R. 350, the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2023. H.R. 350 directs offices (FBI) to monitor, analyze, investigate, and prosecute domestic terrorism.
Mike and Aaron entered the room and stood behind Liam. Mike spoke. “Power is out for Virginia, West Virginia, and Tennessee.”
Liam was stunned. “What?”
Aaron gave his update. “D.C. is still gathering intel.” Supportively, “I’ll let you know when I find out more.”
“We needed that information yesterday.”
Liam stared at the map to decipher the color key. Multi-colored areas were grouped in the central and eastern United States, including the east and central Canadian Provinces: Green, Red, Light Blue, Grey, Orange, and Purple. The Grey was blinking on and off. The Western United States and two Western Provinces of Canada were Yellow. The Yellow area of the map was separated from the multicolored areas by a thick black line. Texas is Dark Blue, and a thick black line outlines the entire state.
Liz anticipated Liam’s next question, pushed back on her glasses, and said, “The North America Electric Grid is divided into three major regions: The Western Interconnection, yellow; The Eastern Interconnection, multi-colored; Texas Interconnection, dark blue.”
Liam smiled and thought, “Figures, lone star and all.”
“The three states blinking grey are Virginia, West Virginia, and Tennessee, which the Appalachian Power Company services. APC is a member of Reliability First Electric Grid, labeled RF.” Liz explained,” The Reliability First Electric Grid includes thirteen states and the District of Columbia.”
Liam looked at Liz and thought, “She is a walking dictionary.”
Aaron hurried to the room. “Just got off the phone with D.C.”
Liam turned and looked at Aaron, “And?”
“And it’s a cyber-attack.”
Mike walked back into the room. Liz turned her chair. “Were they able to trace the I.P. address?”
“Yes, Naoma, West Virginia.”
After an hour, the power was restored. News outlets reported widespread disruption to hospitals, airports, schools, and city roads. Traffic was at a standstill in all major cities. At a press briefing, the president of the United States informed the public of an FBI investigation. The preliminary investigation revealed a cyber-attack on the Eastern Interconnection Electric Grid. The president assured the American people that he had agents on the ground.
Liz, Aaron, and Mike turned from the television report and looked at Liam. Liam reassured them, saying, “Let’s look at the situation logically and sort out what we know from what we don’t.” Gesturing with his hand, “We don’t know if this is a foreign or domestic actor, an individual or a group, or their intentions.”
Gesturing with his other hand, Liam proposed, “We know that they have found a vulnerability in the system, and we have the IP address.” Looking directly at Liz, Aaron, and Mike, Liam requested, “See what specific information you can find about the exact location. The agents sent from D.C. won’t find a trace.” Liam informed the team, “I’m going to Naoma tomorrow.”
Liam returned to his office. Looking out the window, he saw that traffic was still backed up, but people were walking into businesses and crowding street corners like any other day. On his desk, he saw a large FedEx envelope. The sender was the Assistant Director of the FBI D.C. office, Robert Morgan. Just looking at the name caused Liam to grit his teeth. They had words in the past—the less interaction with Morgan, the better. Liam opened the envelope and took out personnel folders and a handwritten note from the director.
“Welcome to Charleston, Liam. These agents assigned to your office are all exceptional agents with years of experience. Don’t let any dust-ups in the past interfere with our relationship now. You’re the best man for the job.” The note was signed, “Best of luck, Robert.” Liam closed one eye, pursed his lips together, and sat down, thinking about the last argument with Robert Morgan.
Opening the first file, he saw a picture of Aaron Franks. He looked younger in the picture, with a full head of hair. A review of past assignments showed they were all on the east coast. His eyes widened, and, making a humming sound with his mouth, he read about his accomplishments, three years starting at the Center for the University of Michigan. Liam recalled that Aaron played for Bill Frieder. He also remembered watching him on television being carted off on a stretcher after tearing an Achilles tendon. Severely injured, he never played again for the Wolverines.
Opening the next file, he looked at a picture of Mike Parker. Liam smiled and immediately thought of Spider-Man, Peter Parker. When Liam’s son, Michael, was eight years old, he had to have everything Spider-Man; pajamas, a lunch box, and comic books. Looking at his assignments, he saw that Parker spent almost his entire career in D.C. He also noticed that Parker’s boss was Robert Morgan. He smiled, shook his head, and reached for the last file.
Opening the last file, he saw the Liz he remembered from Afghanistan, with very short-cropped blond hair and green eyes that reflected the light in the room. Her gaze was intelligent, a look of pleasure, and a bookish aversion to social interaction.
Looking at the picture, he recalled Kandahar and a mission at an ammunition depot. Liz's outstanding intel computer skills were instrumental in that mission's success. He had wanted to show his appreciation to her for their success. After returning to base, he took two days off to unwind. He wanted to thank Liz for all her help. It was Saturday, and there was a bazaar, which the Afghans call a Manday. There was a cacophony of voices. Spice scents filled the air: cumin, turmeric, coriander, and cardamom. One vendor sold roht, a sweet round flatbread, and sweet Chi.
Liam stopped at a stall displaying intricately carved soap-stone boxes. The boxes were of varying sizes, and the colors ranged from grey and brown to pale green. He picked up a pale green box, which was smooth. It was a four-inch square and about two inches tall. Two walking elephants, with lapis lazuli deep violet-blue eyes, were carved into each side. The top displayed a mountain with two elephants below. Liam remembered the elephant cliche from childhood: “An elephant never forgets.” Holding the box, he thought that must explain why they are so intelligent.
He returned the box to the vendor behind the table and said, “Salaam Alaikum.”
“Waalaikum Salaam”, the man replied
In the Pashto dialect, Liam asked, “How much?”
“One thousand Aphgani.” That was the equivalent of thirteen US dollars.
Handing a one thousand AFN, he thanked him, “Deyra manana.”
He stopped by Headquarters to personally give Liz the thank-you gift. He was directed to a control room with many desks and computers. He told the nearest soldier, “I’m looking for Elizabeth Baldwin.”
A young corporal looked up from his desk, “Oh, Liz, she’s off today.”
“Does she have an assigned desk?”
Pointing, he replied, “Yes, it’s over in the back corner. There is a nameplate on the front.”
“Thanks.” Liam walked to the back corner and found the desk with a nameplate reading “Corporal Elizabeth Baldwin.”
Liam found some blank notepaper on the desk and penned a note. “Sorry, I missed you today. I was hoping to see you in person to thank you for your excellent work on the ammunition depot mission. Great job, Corporal Baldwin, Liam Doyle.” He folded the note, placed it in the box, and left the box in the center of the desk.
***
Liam took the personnel folders and filed them in his desk file. Then he called Aika, who answered on the second ring.
“Hi, honey. I’m so glad you called. I was worried about you during the blackout.”
“I’m fine.” Standing and looking out the window, he inquired, “I was worried about you, too. Is everything okay?”
“Yes, the power was only out for a couple of hours. The kids liked it because we took everyone outside. Some parents came to pick up their kids, but not many. Soon, everything was back to normal.”
“Happy to hear that.”
“School administration has not canceled the parent-teacher conference, but we might get out early. It depends on the turnout.”
“Ok, I’ll see you tonight.”
Liam spent the next few hours reading e-mails and reviewing FBI incident reports related to the blackout. Before he left for the day, Liz stopped by with an update.
Liz confirmed, “The blackout was confirmed to be a hack. The location of the IP address in Naoma was destroyed by fire, which was believed to be caused by a gas leak. The fire wasn’t a coincidence. As you predicted, the FBI agents sent to Naoma came up with nothing. They recovered a melted PC, but that won’t be much use.”
“Can you contact Agent Winslow later and see if they can find anything else from the location?”
“Ok, will do. See you tomorrow.”
Liam took some leftovers from the fridge at home in Rock Lake, South Charleston, heated them, and headed out to the deck. They lived in a modest home that backed up to a lake. At this time of the year, the lake was home to migratory birds heading north for the summer. Looking up, Liam watched hundreds of birds move as one in the sky. The birds moved in flight like black ink strokes from a paintbrush. Suddenly, Liam’s heart was racing. “Oh, not now.”, Liam thought as he rose from the chair only to collapse on the deck.
Yes, the hook at the end kept me engaged. If this keeps up you'll have to charge for the subscription. Your reference to a ranger raid in kandahar flashed a light. In WWII Rangers fought in battalion size units on long duration deep penetration operations behind enemy lines. In Vietnam ranger operations were divided into short range small reconnaissance teams (alpha) and larger longer range deep penetration teams (delta). Of course I have little information about Afghani operations except for the early excursions when a small horse mounted group linked up with the Northern Alliance and almost destroyed the Al Chaeda command structure in Tora Bora in 2001. My neighbor was the CIA station chief in Afghanistan, a veteran of OSS in the China theater. In sum, I like your story. I would buy the book.