The SoapBoxers

The Leak

December 17, 2010

kosmo - See all 763 of my articles

The leaked documents were strategically devastating for the military, as they contained detailed battle plans for the ongoing wars.  The enemy would easily be able to use this information to determine the general strategy the army intended to use in battle.

The leaked documents were also personally embarrassing for many individual members of the military, as they contained complete medical records for tens of thousands of soldiers.

The source of the leak might have been a secret forever – if not for one single document that was included.  It was an email between the owner of the site that published the documents and the apparent source of the documents – an email that outlined an agreement to leak the documents.  The email address that the source used was a throwaway Gmail account – but the source had felt compelled to sign the email with a nickname – the Camouflage Kangaroo.

General Paul Arnaud had assigned a team to delve into the leaked documents in hopes that someone might find a clue that would help identify the source of the documents.  He was stunned when his researcher show him a copy of the email.  General Paul Arnaud knew exactly who the Camouflage Kangaroo was.  For as long as he could remember, Colonel Ann Barron had named her fantasy football team The Camouflage Kangaroos.  He was shocked that his good friend could be a traitor to her country – and equally surprised that such a brilliant woman would be dumb enough to reuse a nickname when engaging in such activities.

Paul Arnaud was not convinced that Ann Barron was the source.  After all, a good number of people had participated in their football leagues during Ann’s time playing.  Perhaps one of them had simply used the name of the Camouflage Kangaroo in order to frame Colonel Barron.  Yes, this seemed like a much more plausible explanation.  Ann Barron was loyal to her country – she would never engage in espionage.

The general’s hopes were dashed when the investigation was complete.  A review of Ann Barron’s bank records showed a number of deposits from a foreign source – spread across a dozen accounts in seven states.  The way the deposits had been spread out suggested an attempt to circumvent mandatory reporting requirements for the banks.  The amount totaled $180,000.  The general was disappointed that Colonel Barron would betray her country for a relatively small amount of money.

Barron’s access logs were equally disturbing.  Over the past year, she had used her top secret clearance to access a massive number of files.  There was little doubt that Colonel Ann Barron had accessed confidential documents and turned them over to a third party.

Colonel Barron steadfastly denied the charges during her court martial.  However, the overwhelming evidence resulted in her being found guilty.  She was sentenced to death.

Colonel Ann Barron knew that she had been framed, but couldn’t prove it.  Thousands of miles away, someone else knew that she was innocent, and he could prove it.

Unfortunately for her, her son wasn’t inclined to aid in her defense.  Billy Barron had set the trap a year ago, when he installed a key logging program on his mother’s computer.  A few days later, he had passwords for a variety of military computer systems.  He made sure that some of the money was sent to inactive bank accounts that his mother had forgotten about.  The bulk of the money, however, was sent to an account in Switzerland.  After the execution, Billy planned to visit his money – and spend a few months skiing in the Alps.

His mother had always insisted that he would enlist in the Army when he turned 18.  Billy thought that spending his life as a rich playboy seemed like much more fun.

Fiction Friday
Betrayal