Chapter 3 - Artificial Reality

Jack Wooten appeared ten years older than he had actually aged. If you knew him - truly knew him, however, you would be convinced that he had gained the wisdom of ten times the number of generations he had actually experienced in life. Jack was a self-sufficient, yet infinitely backed special agent for the newest and most secret organization the United States had ever chartered. Jack commanded the deep-cover domestic intelligence agency known only to the highest levels of the U.S. intelligence community as the Security Management Agency (SMA) which had been formed along with the creation of the office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI).

Only Jack's direct superior in the new intelligence hierarchy, the director of SMA, would ever come between his reports and the DNI, National Security Council and the President of the United States. The SMA operated at a level of authority equivalent to the Director of Central Intelligence. However, even the D/CIA had no knowledge of SMA, its mission, or its resources.

SMA allowed Jack to operate below everyone's radar, yet in plain view. His direct funding was funneled through classified channels in the DEA and ICE primarily used to secure paid informants. Knowledge of who actually received payments through these channels was secured by a minimum of three layers of separation of information between the funds distribution and the eventual payee. Most importantly, this budget was entirely off the books and completely beyond public or Congressional scrutiny.

Jack was an entrepreneur with his funding. That was the only reason he was able to carry his current case as long as he had. He wasn't as much of a financial genius as he was lucky. During the run up to the Year 2000, Jack had invested millions of dollars into technology companies through multiple online investment accounts he established through his cover. In late 1999, Jack pulled everything out and moved it into a secure Treasury bond account just before the stock market bubble burst. Fear of the Y2K effect on his access to the funds he had amassed in his franchise within SMA motivated him to seek low-risk investments to safeguard his capital before the bottom dropped out. His decision was brilliant in the minds the agents he commanded. For he was the only SAC to retain his entire team during the Y2K wealth transfer. In fact, he had actually hired most of the agents that had to be let go from the other six SMA Sacs. Jack's team at seven years old had grown to 120 agents. 120 mortgages and families depended on Jack's leadership. Jack felt the weight of his responsibility to his subordinates’ livelihoods immensely.

Jack constantly was tormented by the decisions that were made to get him and his team into the situation with the case they had developed. SMA Team 6 walked the finest of lines between covert operations and public scandal on a daily basis. It had been a miracle that Jack and his team had not been exposed by any number of political, commercial, or activist organization intent on exposing waste, fraud, abuse, and violations of civil liberties by the Federal government. His secret - he paid every one to cooperate. And once they were paid - they were just as guilty as he was.

[Target is exiting the Operational Perimeter] This was expected as Finne always left through the 15th street exit at Atled's on his way back to his office.

Once outside, the external sensors reporting from the telephone lines and tree limbs monitored Finne's movement in micro-second detail. Statistical analysis was performed on his every movement by the Universal Production Server parked in the truck on the corner. At this point in the game, Jack's agents had 250 "pets" watching Finne on their behalf. Everyone was comfortable with the wide band-width analysis interface between the local surveillance network of cameras and sensors and the UPS. Twelve generations of software improvements had gone into the decision support engine of the UPS and the communications interface with the agents had proven to be flawless.

[Operational Perimeter Established] was heard through everyone's micro comm. Finne had just crossed the line between OP6 and OP5. He was headed back into his office. Everyone could stand down now for an hour or two while he was monitored at his desk by several remote sensors.

It was time for breakfast.