AK 239: The Enemy Is Already Here

National Security Agency (NSA)

Fort Meade, MD

^{Christmas Eve}

Fred is comfortably eating his tuna fish sandwich, again, as he carefully reviews his screen.

“Jerry come here.”

Jerry walks over.

“What is it now?”

“TK-20 looks now to be half apart with its nuclear reactor missing.”

“I thought we decided that wasn’t TK-20,” says Jerry.

“No, I think it is. They had just dismantled so much then pulled it into that new covered dry dock to take out the reactor. By the time they pulled it back here we thought it was another sub.”

“So what d’ya want from me?”

“I enlarged the SAT images as much as possible. COMINT gave me the an old KH-11 satellite and I can’t make the image resolution clearer but does that look like a Typhoon class sub tail sticking out of that covered port to you?”

Jerry can clearly see TK-20’s tail sticking out of a covered port but they can’t see anything else.

“Ya, looks like it. But see here the tail on the sub is missing, so it’s right there.”

“Does that make sense to you? How is just the tail in the water floating?”

“You’re the expert. I’m just the tech guy,” says Jerry as he eyes Fred’s half eaten tuna fish sandwich. Without another thought and while not looking at Jerry, Fred simply hands Jerry his sandwich as they both continue to gaze at the blurry images.

Jerry finally stands up saying, “Oh well, it’s Christmas Eve. What ya say we go home?”

Fred checks his government issued plastic watch he got at his twenty-year anniversary, “Jeez, I didn’t realize it was that late. I probably should pull from some other sats.”

“Have fun,” says Jerry as he stands to leave.

“I’m going home. Merry Christmas, Fred!”

Jerry leaves.

Not wanting to be the only idiot in the office on Christmas Eve, Fred collects his things, pauses one more time to take a long look at his computer, then leaves his tiny little cubicle.