The next morning Max reported to her supervisor's office as the director had ordered. "You wished to see me, sir?"
"Yes, Agent Harold," Director Holms replied "I am giving you an assignment. You will be working with Agent Nick McAllen to find and apprehend a mole in the CIA." Max listened as Holms gave her more information about the case. He explained the overall sensitivity of the case and how it should be kept out of the press as much as possible. "Agent McAllen called my office this morning since he did not know how to contact you. He wishes to me with you to discuss the case. McAllen has an office on the fourth floor where he will meet you for lunch. That is all Special Agent."
"Yes, Director." Max ground out. There was nothing Max hated more than to be dictated to. When she saw McAllen that afternoon, there was going to be hell to pay.
Max headed to her office in the Major Felonies unit. This unit handled most of the cases that came into the FBI with the exception of property crimes. They worked hand in hand with the Criminal Investigation Unit, or Profilers, to solve federal cases. The profilers worked on the psychological aspect of a criminal while the MF special agents worked with the physical evidence of a crime. After only five years in the FBI, Max had become one of the top agents in the unit. Her apprehension rate was one of the highest in the unit because of her unflagging determination.
The unit secretary had left messages for Max pertaining to several open cases. Cases, Max thought, that would have to be transferred to other agents since both the director and her father were expecting Max to find the mole quickly, before there was any more damage to the CIA's credibility. Max spent the rest of her morning finishing up paper work on several other cases that she had closed earlier in the month. She was almost tempted to sit in on an interrogation of a suspect for another case just to annoy McAllen. But he would probably go to her supervisor and that would be not so good. Jeez, I am really annoyed Max thought I haven't thought in Radcliffisms in years.
Max couldn't help but laugh to herself as she approached Nick's office. The fourth floor was mostly dedicated to ballistics testing. Every minute or so a technician would be firing a gun into a water tank for comparison against bullets taken from a crime scene. Since the technicians constantly wore ear covers, the Powers That Be (Senate Appropriations Committee) didn't see the point in utilizing government resources to have the walls soundproofed. Nick's office was in the one corner of the floor not surrounded by firing labs. His office was next to the conference room. Max knocked on the door.
She looked at the sheet Holms' secretary had given her. It was the right number, so WHERE WAS HE???? The idiot hadn't left his number so she couldn't call him. Max waited at the door for another ten minutes before giving into her first impulse: picking the locks. Jack had taught her when they were kids and Max had used her skills whenever she was locked out of her apartment or car: which didn't happen as quite as often as it used to. She took a couple hairpins from her bun and started working at the lock. She had opened the lock when the door slammed open and she found herself looking down the barrel of a 9mm Sig Sauer. "Didn't your daddy ever teach you not to pick the locks on strange, paranoid men's doors?" the voice five feet above her taunted.
"Well, didn't your MAMA teach you to at least see who's there when someone knocks on said door?" Max retorted as she sprang up.
"I was sick that day." Nick replied "Come on in. Since we're half an hour late, I took the liberty of ordering out for lunch."
"Fine, whatever. What have you got on the case?"
Nick smirked. If she were going to go any farther in the intelligence community, Max would need to learn to keep her emotions separate from her work. "A few months ago, there was a leak out of the embassy in Uzbekistan. It was classified intelligence that we had spent months gathering about their WMD program. The government found out and a deep cover agent was killed because the leak had blown her cover. A week ago there was another leak, this time out of the embassy in Egypt. The leak revealed bugs and agents within the secret security force. Luckily, the team was notified and could pull out before they too were killed. In the last few months, the CIA has lost more agents to leaks than it has in the past ten years. Who ever the mole is he or she is high up with lots of contacts."
"Well, that doesn't narrow it down any." Max spoke out loud. "I don't have the access that we need to narrow it down. But from what you said whoever has level 6 clearance or above and has more than five year field experience could be a potential suspect. That leaves about 300 agents and directors, including from the open portions of your file, you."
"True." Nick replied, "But I've been cleared by the DIA and NSA." Now Max was confused.
"How?"
Nick grinned, "That's classified. Let's get to work"
I absolutely HATE that phrase.
Max thought