It was an extraordinarily busy day at the offices of Hammond & Gordon, located in White Plains, New York. In a back room of the building which housed the H&G offices, Ryan Gonzalez rammed his fist against the wall in frustration. Ryan had perhaps the most unenviable job of any person at Hammond & Gordon – Chief of Intelligence Operations.
It was Ryan's job to figure out a way to infiltrate the major competitors of the corporations that H&G took as clients – when necessary – and sometimes he felt he was stuck between a rock and a hard place in thinking up a plan that was foolproof enough to deliver the information his firm's clients wanted.
Still, this latest assignment had to be the worst one he'd ever received. The Jansen Group, a large corporation which a nationwide chain of hardware stores (among many other assets), was extremely eager to find a way to find out what was going on inside its largest competitor's new testing facility in upstate New York, not far from the capital, Albany.
Jansen's chief executive, Ryan had heard, had been willing to put up a fairly substantial amount of money for the information – provided H&G could deliver it quickly.
Yet try as he might, Ryan couldn't think of a way to get H&G operatives inside of the Hunt Hardware & Gardens Testing Center. Hunt's security team seemed to have thought of everything, Ryan mused.
The plant was well-guarded, equipped with metal detectors to scan for cell phones and other electronic equipment, and wired for video surveillance. The buildings didn't have windows, and the complex was surrounded by a perimeter fence.
Ryan was sure there were other security measures as well, things that he hadn't heard or read about. The only thing he really knew was where the center was located – and finding that out hadn't been easy. But how to get inside that testing center and figure out what Hunt's Research and Design team were up to seemed to be an incredible challenge.
If it was going to be done, it was going to take time. Would Jansen be willing to wait for good information? Ryan decided to ask.
He picked up the phone and dialed the number of Chief Operations Officer Jacob Fulbright, his boss. After a two second pause he heard the phone ring. Jacob picked it up after the second ring, answering with a short, brusque, "Jacob."
"Jacob, this is Ryan. I've reached the conclusion that getting inside the Hunt TC is going to take time, if it's going to be done at all. I'm wondering if Jansen is willing to give us more time – in exchange for better information."
After a moment of silence Jacob answered.
"It's your call, Ryan. I tend to like having more time to work with as well. Let me run it past Jansen's CEO and see what he says. In the meantime, I want you to work on your plan for getting in. I know Haynes – he can be patient. That's how he built Jansen into a successful corporation. Let me know when you have something solid."
"Will do." Ryan hung up the phone and leaned back in his chair. Now what? Assuming he had more time – what was the plan to be? It had to be bold, for one thing, but also innovative, because the operatives he was sending would have to get in past the heavy security and then out again with the information.
And because the plant was new there simply wasn't a lot of information available about it. Whoever was going would have to be able to improvise as they went along, and possess the ability to play it cool in a tense situation. It sounded like an assignment for Section Three.
Section Three, headed by a former criminal mastermind named Rusty O'Brien, was H&G's smallest covert operations unit, but it was also its most successful. The agents in Section Three were all masters in what the Intelligence Operations Division called "erotic persuasion" or "sexual persuasion". None of them had ever failed a mission, although there had been some close calls.
Yes, the more Ryan thought about it, the more he realized infiltrating the Hunt testing center was a job for Section Three – the champion improvisers. In order to put together a solid plan, he needed to talk to Rusty. He picked up his phone again and used his speed dial to call Rusty on his cell phone. Rusty didn't like to spend too much time in the office – or on the phone, for that matter.
"This is Rusty. What do you need, Ryan?" answered a gruff sounding voice.
"New assignment for Section Three. A lot of dough's at stake. I need to put together a plan as soon as possible. When can you be back here?"
"Within an hour," Rusty said slowly.
"Great. I'll go have lunch and see you when you get back," Ryan responded. He heard a beep as Rusty disconnected. Ryan returned his own phone to its base, got up, turned off the lights in his office, shut and locked his door, and headed off to lunch.
About an hour later Ryan and Rusty met in an unfurnished room in the underground area below the main H&G offices to put together a plan. Ryan briefed Rusty, explaining what he knew about the Hunt center, and then asked Rusty if he had any ideas.
"The way to get in seems to be to pose as Hunt employees," Rusty answered. "You can't really do it any other way or they'll beef up security – like if you tried to get in by pretending you're a journalist writing for some magazine. That wouldn't work."
"So our agents pose as employees," Ryan mused. "I think two agents would be enough. What do you think?"
"No more, no less," Rusty responded. "It's good to have a team, but I don't think you want more than that trying to get in. It raises suspicions. But a pair seems ideal. The way to start is to get our agents employed at a local Hunt's store so they can learn more about how the company operates. Get inside the system. Then at some point we'll outfit them and send them up to Albany to try and crack the R&D testing center."
"Do you have any agents in mind for this mission?" asked Ryan.
"Justin Nelson and Hillary Martin. Cream of the crop. I've been training them for years – they've already successfully completed several missions. They're young, fairly well built, and incredibly smart. They'd probably fit into Hunt's corporate culture without much of a problem. They can be a bit reckless and silly at times, but I think they can handle this."
"Very well," said Ryan. "We might as well get started and brief them on their assignment. Tell them to report in immediately."
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(
Three months later)
Justin Nelson strolled down Aisle 24 of the White Plains Hunt's Hardware & Garden, adjusting the white and blue apron he was wearing which was stuffed with a number of small tools, a couple of notepads, and some extra pencils.
After over two months of working at Hunt's, Justin felt he'd gotten a feel for how the company operated, but he still hadn't figured out a way to get into the upstate testing center. Justin had never asked outright to go there because he was sure that management would suspiciously deny the request. But there had to be another way.
As Justin contemplated his tasks for the afternoon, his partner, Hillary Martin, turned the corner and came walking up the aisle towards him. She pretended to be interested in checking the items on display and writing notes on her pad, but as she neared Justin, she whispered urgently, "We need to talk."
Justin nodded his assent and took out his own notepad. He scrawled out the words "3 PM break?" and showed it to Hillary. She nodded and moved on down the aisle.
At 3 PM, the two met outside in the parking lot across from Hunt's lot, which both knew was patrolled by the store's security team in golf carts.
"What is it?" Justin asked.
"I think I've finally figured out a way we can get inside that testing center," Hillary said in a low voice filled with excitement.
Justin felt his heart skip a beat. "How?" he whispered.
"One of the people who works in my department – Ken Morris - told me he and another co-worker are getting temporarily re-assigned to work in the testing center upstate," Hillary said. "The manager just told them this afternoon. Ken doesn't want to do it and neither does Robert, the other employee who's been assigned."
"He was planning to spend the weekend with her folks in New Jersey but his first day is apparently this Friday and he doesn't want to go to Albany. Neither apparently does Robert. I guess Robert has nothing planned but he doesn't want to do it either. They've been here for years and have never been reassigned. Since the new research facility happens to be in NY, they're pulling employees from the stores in this area and up in New England to help out."
"So...what was your thinking?" asked Justin.
"I was thinking we could offer to go in their places for the first day, so they wouldn't have to go up to Albany before the weekend," said Hillary. "That gives us an opportunity to get inside the place at least once. And if they need some persuasion...I can provide that."
"Sounds like a plan," grinned Justin. "You'll let me know how it goes. Now, it's time to get back to work."
"Right," said Hillary with a wink.
Later that day, after Hillary and Ken were finished with their shifts, Hillary decided to take the opportunity to ask. "Hey Ken," she called as they left the building. "Want to stop for coffee or something?" Ken, who had been looking downcast, brightened immediately and accepted the offer.
He crossed the street with Hillary and they stopped to get their favorite drinks from the neighborhood coffee shop. At Hillary's suggestion, the two walked down the street to a park and made their way to a quiet area. Hillary eyed a bench partially shaded by surrounding trees and sat down on it. Ken sat down next to her and sighed as he sipped his iced tea.
"What's bugging you?" Hillary asked.
"Oh, you know, the reassignment. I'm really pissed. I was going to spend this weekend with my family – my grandparents have come up from Virginia and I was really hoping to spend time with them. I haven't seen them in ages." Ken sighed again, wistfully looking straight ahead.
Hillary thought for a moment and then pretended to brighten up, as if she'd just thought of a good idea.
"Hey, I know how you can get out of your first day up in Albany," she said.
Ken turned to look at her with interest. "What do you mean?" he asked.
