Sigma Division

Chapter 25

Ned was standing in line in the cafeteria. He’d already had breakfast at home — a bagel with light cream cheese which tasted like mayo — but now that it was midmorning he was craving something more substantial. Plus this Tuesday they were having an all-day Russian theme and he was looking forward to sampling their version of breakfast.

He pushed his tray along the stainless steel counter and grabbed himself a butterbrot. It was a single piece of bread layered with butter, some chopped up boiled egg, and tvorog which kind of looked like cottage cheese. The longer he stared at it and the faster his appetite faded away. He promptly forgot about the food when Morty fell in beside him.

He did his best not to acknowledge him and both men continued moving along the counter. Ned got himself a doughnut as a backup plan and his friend had the same idea, reaching for a jelly roll. That’s when the deal went down.

As Morty extended his arm, he gently dropped a thumb drive on Ned’s tray with his other hand. Keeping his breathing in check, Ned set his own doughnut on top of the drive.

The line moved and so did they, continuing to browse the food selection.

Doing his best to appear casual, Ned sat down by himself and tasted the butterbrot. It wasn’t bad but he preferred the doughnut which he wolfed down in record time. He pocketed the thumb drive, returned the tray, and walked away with his coffee.

He waved at people he knew but he was in a hurry to get to his cubicle. He couldn’t even finish his coffee because his stomach was already rumbling. He coarsely wiped his hands on his pants and sat at his desk.

Here goes nothing…

He produced the flash drive and inserted it in his computer. At once a window popped up and it only contained a massive PDF file. He didn’t bother reading it. Instead he focused on what mattered most: sending the file out.

He knew it was only a matter of time before the CIA discovered that the personnel dossier had been accessed, sent out, and who the people responsible were. What he had to do was buy some time.

He went to an online service which not only compressed but anonymized files for transmission over the dark net. He glanced around furtively to make sure no one was snooping in and uploaded the document.

A progress bar appeared. 0 %. 5%. 10 %. He entered the e-mail address but it was a long process because of the compression and encryption involved.

“Come on, bitch. Hurry up for papa…”

35 %. 40 %. 45 %.

He began nervously tapping his foot.

55 %. 60 %. 65 %.

Out of the blue, Clara showed up in the doorway.

“Ned, can you come up to Houseman’s office?”

He sat upright, his heart lurching. He turned around to face her but mostly it was to block the computer screen.

“Oh, hey. What uh, what for?”

75 %. 80 %. 85 %. He needed more time.

“I’m sure he’ll tell you all about it,” Clara said. “Come on.”

He peeked at the screen from the corner of his eye. 90 %. 95 %. 100 %.

“Okay, I’m coming.”

He was hoping this was her cue to leave except she didn’t go away. The file conversion was done but he needed to hit the Confirm button. As he stood up, he used his desk for balance and accidently knocked a folder to the floor.

“Damn, too much coffee today.”

He used that confusion to click his mouse, and as he kneeled down to pick up the file he took the opportunity to remove the flash drive, concealing it in the palm of his hand.

Clara became impatient. “Let’s go, I don’t like having the boss wait for me.”

He beamed at her, his heart lighter. He put the file back on the desk and followed her out.

In spite of the air-conditioning, the apartment was stifling and Spicer opened a window. He remained next to it, the curtains pulled up to keep off the sun. Meanwhile, Esther and David Weller were sitting side-by-side on the couch, huddled over the laptop computer. Spicer figured they were more qualified to go over Houseman’s file than he was.

“Okay, let’s see,” the scientist began. “Houseman joined the CIA in the early 50s. He was in Korea until ‘55.”

Esther spotted something and became excited.

“Hey, listen to this. He was in charge of propaganda and disinformation for Project Bluebook until 1963. Why does that ring a bell?”

Spicer turned around. “Project Bluebook was the official government report on the alien crash at Roswell, New Mexico.”

“Spooky. Anyway, next he was assigned to Saigon. Received the CIA Distinguished Intelligence Medal in 1972 for the Kontum Province campaign.”

“Oh my God,” Esther whispered.

“What?” Spicer asked as he walked back to them so he could take a look at the screen. Then he saw it. “Jesus.”

Weller still didn’t understand. “What is it?”

“A young Army captain got commended at the same time. Regis Ford.”

“The Common Sense Alliance candidate?”

Spicer exhaled. “It’s the only one I know.”

“Wait, that doesn’t mean anything.”

“Maybe,” Spicer said as he scrolled down the text. “But it seems they continued to work together. Their involvement in the Watergate scandal was kept under wraps. In ‘74, they both worked on a report about the moral fiber of America. Then, in ‘78, they founded Sigma Division. Together.”

His voice trailed off. All he kept thinking about was the picture he’d found in Clara’s Mailley office. She was much more than a casual supporter. The man was involved with Sigma.

Weller leaned back into the couch. “This guy’s a Nazi nutjob!”

That hit a nerve with Esther and she stood up.

“He has fresh ideas about this country! He’s gonna make tougher laws that are really gonna stop crime.”

“My God, he’s got you brainwashed too,” Spicer said as he took a step in her direction, making her back away defensively.

“This file doesn’t prove anything! He was a soldier in Vietnam, everybody knows that.”

“His paychecks weren’t issued by the Pentagon, Esther. This guy’s been a spook if there ever was one.”

“So what? That was in the past. He’s been a US senator for the last 30 years.”

“Which committee?”

Esther stopped and looked down. She didn’t want to admit that he had a point.

Weller said, “Intelligence oversight, right?”

“Esther, I know you’re trying to get this guy elected but you have to look at the bigger picture. If he becomes President, there’s no telling what these two cocksuckers might do.”

She glanced up at him, her world in upheaval. Nothing was making sense anymore.

The young scientist perked up. “That’s if he gets elected. Last time I checked, he wasn’t ahead in the polls.”

“Jesus,” Spicer said, his jaw dropping. “They’re gonna steal the election.”