nation still hasn’t recovered from True America’s attack. Public outcry about our apparent lack of infrastructure security has kicked up a storm of Congressional inquiries, none of which appears coordinated…yet. Congressmen and senators are tripping over each other to satisfy their constituents, threatening to open fact-finding investigations into every organization with an acronym. When they get their collective act together and start cooperating, the 9/11 Commission Report will look like a one page intel summary. The Department of Justice has fielded over twenty-two thousand Freedom of Information Act requests over the past two weeks alone. Last year they processed sixty-one thousand in total. It’s going to be a long year for all of us, gentlemen, especially the CIA. I have it on good authority that the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence plans to dig deep. I don’t think we can afford to have the operation you’ve suggested on the books.”
The CIA director nodded and tapped his pencil on the table. “I’ve been assured that this operation can be accomplished off the books,” he said. “The facility can be destroyed and the principals neutralized by a small team. No agency assets will be used. The facility appears to be a soft target.”
“How can you be sure it’s a ‘soft target’?” Jacob Remy asked, mimicking quotation marks with both hands to emphasize “soft target.” “A secret Russian bioweapons facility? I think you’re underestimating the security involved. We can’t afford an international incident. Not now.”
Karl Berg couldn’t resist interrupting the conversation. Selling them on the mechanics of a plan that hadn’t been developed was pointless if they didn’t agree that the facility represented a clear and present danger to the United States. He wasn’t sure they had reached this consensus yet.
“Mr. President, may I?”
Jacob Remy looked annoyed by the interruption.
“Please,” the president assented.
“During the Cold War, Vektor Labs was part of the Biopreparat system, a vast network of secret laboratories, each focused on a different pathogenic weapon. Vektor produced smallpox. Biopreparat dissolved with the collapse of the Soviet Union, and most of the facilities were abandoned. Vektor survived and became the State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology, hosting international scientists and serving as Russia’s equivalent to our CDC. The elite army regiment that guarded the facility during the Cold War no longer exists. Our information suggests that security is provided by a small contract force consisting of Russian ex-special forces and—”
“That doesn’t sound like a soft target,” Remy interrupted.
“It’s soft for the group we’ll use. Beyond contract security, response to a facility breach would be reactive in nature. A regional Spetsnaz group is tasked to provide a rapid response team in case of emergency, but it won’t arrive in time to make a difference. They’re hiding an illegal bioweapons lab in plain sight. It’s a soft target because they’re trying to draw attention away from the facility. The team can destroy the lab. I have no doubt about that. The real question is do we believe that this facility needs to be destroyed? Based on what I’ve seen in the past month, I firmly believe that this facility spells trouble. Weaponized encephalitis is just one of many WMDs in the works at Vektor. The Russians are developing offensive weapons, and as we can clearly see by their cover-up of Monchegorsk, they’re taking extreme measures to keep this a secret. I say we bury their secret before even scarier groups get their hands on their work.”
“Do you have evidence to suggest other groups are actively pursuing that angle?” the president asked, turning to the National Security Advisor.
“The Iranians have been aggressively pursuing multiple WMD routes.”
“I’m not asking about the perpetual quest by Islamic
The CIA director nodded and tapped his pencil on the table. “I’ve been assured that this operation can be accomplished off the books,” he said. “The facility can be destroyed and the principals neutralized by a small team. No agency assets will be used. The facility appears to be a soft target.”
“How can you be sure it’s a ‘soft target’?” Jacob Remy asked, mimicking quotation marks with both hands to emphasize “soft target.” “A secret Russian bioweapons facility? I think you’re underestimating the security involved. We can’t afford an international incident. Not now.”
Karl Berg couldn’t resist interrupting the conversation. Selling them on the mechanics of a plan that hadn’t been developed was pointless if they didn’t agree that the facility represented a clear and present danger to the United States. He wasn’t sure they had reached this consensus yet.
“Mr. President, may I?”
Jacob Remy looked annoyed by the interruption.
“Please,” the president assented.
“During the Cold War, Vektor Labs was part of the Biopreparat system, a vast network of secret laboratories, each focused on a different pathogenic weapon. Vektor produced smallpox. Biopreparat dissolved with the collapse of the Soviet Union, and most of the facilities were abandoned. Vektor survived and became the State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology, hosting international scientists and serving as Russia’s equivalent to our CDC. The elite army regiment that guarded the facility during the Cold War no longer exists. Our information suggests that security is provided by a small contract force consisting of Russian ex-special forces and—”
“That doesn’t sound like a soft target,” Remy interrupted.
“It’s soft for the group we’ll use. Beyond contract security, response to a facility breach would be reactive in nature. A regional Spetsnaz group is tasked to provide a rapid response team in case of emergency, but it won’t arrive in time to make a difference. They’re hiding an illegal bioweapons lab in plain sight. It’s a soft target because they’re trying to draw attention away from the facility. The team can destroy the lab. I have no doubt about that. The real question is do we believe that this facility needs to be destroyed? Based on what I’ve seen in the past month, I firmly believe that this facility spells trouble. Weaponized encephalitis is just one of many WMDs in the works at Vektor. The Russians are developing offensive weapons, and as we can clearly see by their cover-up of Monchegorsk, they’re taking extreme measures to keep this a secret. I say we bury their secret before even scarier groups get their hands on their work.”
“Do you have evidence to suggest other groups are actively pursuing that angle?” the president asked, turning to the National Security Advisor.
“The Iranians have been aggressively pursuing multiple WMD routes.”
“I’m not asking about the perpetual quest by Islamic
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