Page 72 of Operation: Silent Angel
Mac closed Cooper’s door and took a seat with him. “Bet you didn’t think you’d see me this soon,” Mac greeted with a smile.
“I will admit I was a bit surprised when Shepherd told me he was going to offer you a position. I was more surprised when he told me you’d accepted. If I’d made a bet about it, I would have lost.”
“I actually asked for a position without knowing he planned to offer it to me.”
Cooper laughed. “Yeah, I wouldn’t have predicted that. But we’re happy to have you with us. We’re going to work on the onboarding over the next few hours, which include re-taking your oath, similar to the one you took when you were with the CIA.”
Mac nodded.
“We’ll lay out your training schedule today as well, though I anticipate it will be more like just verifying and checking off the items. Learning our protocols will probably be the only real training, and those are online for you to read, study, and test to show mastery of. We’ve moved most of onboarding and training online thanks to Angel and Madison.”
“So, the quicker I progress through the online items, the quicker I can be done with training?”
“Yes, pretty much so. As you are aware, we carry federal creds to give us standing when operating domestically. Shepherd plans to reach out to his CIA contact today and see what they’ll require to reissue your CIA creds. They may want you to complete the test portion of the online credentialing our people go through.”
Mac’s gut twisted. “I know the creds are only good while I am with Shepherd Security and the CIA has no authority over me to pull me for their missions, but the thought is not palatable.”
“Trust me, I get it,” Cooper said. “But the alternative is for you to start over and do a full-blown course with either the FBI or DEA. Re-establishing your CIA creds will be faster and less time-consuming.”
“I’ll suck it up and do what I need to do . Don’t worry.”
“I knew you would,” Cooper said.
They worked together for over an hour in Cooper’s office. He had the computer tablet assigned to Mac and helped him log in to complete the onboarding forms. Then Mac recited the oath, promising to support and defend the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic, and to obey the orders of the President of the United States and all officers, which included Shepherd and Cooper. This was followed by Mac reading and signing the employment contract.
“Okay, that’s it. You’re officially employed by Shepherd Security,” Cooper said. He extended his hand. “Welcome to the team, Mac.”
Mac shook his hand. “Thanks.”
Cooper took his phone from his pocket and typed out a text message. An incoming message immediately displayed with a chime. “Garcia’s ready for you. He’ll get you access to thebuilding, issue your agency phone and take care of all the digital items on the onboarding checklist.”
Mac followed Cooper back through the hallway and then up the stairs to the eighth floor. Garcia was in his workroom, beside the door to Ops, where he knew Yvette was. Garcia stood as they entered and offered his hand. Mac shook it.
“Not sure if you know, but Garcia and Jackson share the number three position here at Shepherd Security,” Cooper said. “One of the first items in the online training is the command structure at the agency. Garcia will get that pushed through to your tablet, and I’d suggest you try to knock out all the modules as fast as possible.” His gaze shifted to Garcia. “He wants to complete the training as fast as possible, not knowing what all the CIA will put him through to re-issue his creds.” His attention went back to Mac. “It’s my understanding they were pissed when you resigned.”
Mac laughed. “When are they ever happy about it when one of their assets takes a walk? Especially if they’re staying in the intelligence game when they leave. I wouldn’t be surprised if they make me start at ground zero.”
“Shepherd will negotiate it for you, don’t worry. I thought the DEA would have made me jump through multiple hoops when I left them for Shepherd, but Shepherd handled them, has at every turn,” Garcia said.
Cooper left, and they got to work. Garcia issued his agency phone and set up cloned instances for both of Mac’s other phone lines on it. Garcia granted him electronic access to the buildingand all floors. He enabled computer access to their servers and all necessary files and issued his Shepherd Security email address. That was it. His digital footprint as an agency employee was established.
“I’m supposed to bring you down to Doc now, for the installation of your tracker, but let’s swing by Flores’ office first and then I’ll show you to your office. Flores met with Shepherd shortly after your meeting with him to be told of your team assignment, and Requisition Ryan was asked by Shepherd to get it set up right after your meeting with him. He should have it nearly put together by now.”
“Damn if you guys aren’t efficient,” Mac said.
Garcia threw a smirk his way. “Seriously? You know us well enough to have expected it.”
Mac laughed. “True.”
Flores’ office was on the seventh floor. Mac used his code and palmprint to unlock the door within the stairwell to test it. It worked. Tommy Flores sat behind his desk with his computer tablet open when they entered through the open door. He stood when they entered and greeted them with a wide smile. “Hi welcome to the team, Mac.”
Mac shook his hand. “Thanks, I was happy when Shepherd assigned me to Bravo Team.”
“We’re glad to have you,” Flores said. “I was surprised when Shepherd told me earlier that you were joining the agency and Bravo Team, but it makes sense he’d want to ensure Bravo Team will remain staffed after the four of us look at retirement not too far down the road.”
Mac’s lips tipped into a grin. “I can’t see the four of you retiring anytime soon, will be a loss for sure, losing the experience the four of you have.”
“We’ll see,” Tommy Flores said. “I’ll make sure to include you in all Bravo Team texts and emails so you get a feel for us. The other three members are deployed right now. But I know we’ll all be back in town during Thanksgiving week. We’ll have an all-team meeting then.”
