The Backup Asset

…32

Only half of the ground level in Walcott’s multilevel parking structure was open to the employees and visitors. The rest was blocked off for the company-owned fleet, for their parking spots, in addition to light maintenance, car wash, and detailing. It had a built-in automated car-wash station and a fully equipped detailing station, staffed by the fleet manager and two helpers.

Walcott Global owned several vehicles. A few black SUVs waited, readily available for traveling executives in need of transportation. The limo was used for company events and to impress visiting clients and government officials. Finally, a black Mercedes Sprinter functioned as a shuttle, hauling personnel and delegates to and from airports, conferences, and events, and Naval Station Norfolk — one of Walcott’s employees’ most frequent destinations.

Walcott Global’s revenue had topped seven-billion dollars the prior year, most of it coming from the Navy. One of the top government contractors for engineering consulting services, Walcott was the US government’s top resource in weapons and communications research and deployment, focused almost entirely on mobile platforms. That made the US Navy and the US Air Force its biggest clients. With the growing tensions in the world and a rejuvenated interest in scaling up arsenals and new technologies, Walcott was buzzing with activity.

That activity buzz reverberated all the way to the ground floor of the parking structure, where the Sprinter had to be detailed quite often. Terry, the fleet manager, handled that task personally whenever he had the time; the Sprinter had to look impeccably clean and ready to transport official delegations without notice.

The Sprinter accommodated fifteen passengers, and its luxurious, custom leather seats were organized like those on a commuter jet: two adjoining on one side, with a single one on the opposite side, while the end row had four seats without any space in between.

Terry’s first job when detailing the Sprinter was to check for any forgotten or dropped items, before bringing in the vacuum cleaner. He moved swiftly from seat to seat, sliding his gloved hand between the seats and the side panels of the vehicle, normally taking less than five minutes to finish the search. It was routine.

That morning however, he never made it past the third row. A sheet of paper had fallen between the edge of the single seat on the third row and its corresponding side panel, only a small corner of it visible.

Terry grabbed the visible corner gently with his gloved hand, careful not to tear the paper. There was enough room between the seat and the panel; the paper came out easily, without any tearing. There was nothing written on it. Terry flipped it on its other side and froze.

It was the cover page of a technical documentation file, but that wasn’t the most disturbing thing about it. The fact that it was marked TOP SECRET wasn’t either.

The most disturbing fact was that the TOP SECRET mark was in black and white, a clear proof that the document was an unauthorized photocopy of a TOP SECRET document. All legitimate copies of classified documents had to bear a stamp in original ink, with the copy date and authorization code.

The header read, “Walcott Global.” The document was titled, “Evaluation Memorandum: Compatibility and Readiness Assessment for the Installation of Laser Cannon Technology Onboard Zumwalt Class Destroyers.”

They had a leak.