EXFIL by Anthony Patton (best book reader txt) 📕

me to a polygraph after receiving the security patches, and you knew I could get past the polygraph because I was telling the truth.” I sat on the bed and shook my head in disbelief. “Did I give them a fucking Trojan horse?”

With a wink and a shot from the finger pistol, Brett transformed into the greatest artist the world of intelligence had ever known, a veritable god among mortals.

I took a deep breath to calm myself. “I want to kill you two bastards, but holy shit!”

I realized that my radical shift from suicidal depression to ecstatic euphoria might seem odd, but I couldn’t help but think that my crimes would be forgiven for my having been manipulated in such a diabolical way.

“We’re so sorry to have put you through this,” Brett said.

“Are you kidding? I would have done the same,” I said and hugged both of them. “I don’t think I could have devised something so brilliant—holy shit!” I plopped myself on the bed and exhaled. “I assume Lewis knows?” I asked.

Brett nodded. “He’s waiting to talk to you.”

I pulled myself back to reality, ready to face judgment. I paced in the cell, still fuming yet inexplicably excited about being part of such a brilliant operation—a work of art. When I heard steps on the concrete floor, I sat and took a deep breath to get in the right state of mind.

Lieutenant General Lewis leaned against the cell door and looked at me.

“I heard the good news about the operation,” I said. “I assume they briefed you before it began?”

“I’m not sure why you consider betraying your country good news,” he said, “but yes, I was briefed on the operation. I didn’t object to the proposal, but I said it would never work. I said you would never do such a thing.”

I nodded, humiliated. “I offer no justification for what I did, General, and ask only that the full context of the operation be taken into consideration.”

He nodded with professional objectivity.

“I spoke with lawyers at the Department of Defense and FBI. Because the operation was technically entrapment—you wouldn’t have given the computer files to the Chinese if we hadn’t steered you in that direction—they agreed to not pursue criminal charges and will allow you to retire with an honorable discharge, with one condition,” he answered.

I needed a moment to dry my tears. It suddenly occurred to me that I might avoid prison and get my life back. He was kind enough to wait until I was ready to listen and to take it in.

“In exchange for your silence, we need you to pass one more Trojan horse to Jade Envy. I’m not a technical guy, but apparently, we need both for the program to work.”

“Of course,” I said, ready to do double my effort to receive half the forgiveness.

“We agreed that the best cover story for your sudden retirement was your decision to take a civilian teaching position at West Point,” he said and paused to let it sink in. “I made a few calls. Your sexual indiscretions aren’t part of the legal equation,” he added with disappointment, “but you’ll have to decide what to tell Beth.”

“I know there’s nothing I can do to win or deserve your respect again, General, but I’m truly sorry.”

He nodded—not quite there.

“There’s one last issue we should discuss,” he added with a positive tone. “When Jade Envy got reassigned to Washington, we green-lighted this operation,” he said and paused, waiting for me to nod. “To give the operation the best chance of success, we wanted the Chinese to stay focused on you, and to make sure that your life was shaken up in a dramatic way.”

“I don’t understand, General.” I understood that moving me to the dark side was essential to the plan, but it wasn’t clear where he was going with this train of thought.

He looked at the floor and gestured down the hall. A few seconds later, a steel door slid open and slammed shut, footsteps echoing on the cement floor. My heart raced with each step, having no idea what to expect. I looked up to see Captain Tom Howard looking down at me with an apologetic smile. The artistry of this operation continued to take my breath away.

I stood and gave him the biggest bear hug I could manage as the tears flowed yet again.

“I’m so sorry, brother.”

TWENTY-SEVEN

I didn’t understand all the legal minutiae, but some powerful players pulled some strings behind the scenes, under the banner of “national security,” so that my case would never see the light of day. If Jade Envy were to discover that I had been detained and released before the next meeting, he would reject the security patches, the first Trojan horse wouldn’t work, and the operation would fail. We needed the Chinese to have both Trojan horses for the program to work.

When the two virus-free files were installed on the Chinese computer systems, they would combine to open a back door to their secure computer network, or so I was told. Only a handful of people knew the full scope of this operation, and the only reason I was in a holding cell was to protect me from myself—such an operation might drive someone to suicide—or to turn the case into a criminal investigation if I refused to cooperate.

After my stint in the unmarked facility, which included one night on a stiff mattress, I had a new appreciation for how fragile life was.

I was entrapped in a diabolical plot and wouldn’t have done what I did left to my own devices, but I realized what I was capable of and how my life could have imploded if I had taken a few wrong turns along the way—there but for the grace of God go I.

People talk about the seven stages of grief and other coping mechanisms, but I can say with all sincerity that I really believed at one point while alone in the holding cell that I