Simple America

USA Network’s Burn Notice premieres next week. I wonder how Michael Weston, the protagonist of this TV show, got in this situation. Just for fun I have decided to write my version of Weston’s Burn Notice.

The conference room smelled of antiseptic clean. Flourescent ceiling lights painted the room with a harsh glow. Evenly spaced double rows of four laptops sat atop the long table. Government issue chairs covered with synthetic black leather sat in front of each terminal, with a pair capping off the table heads. Dress for success types filled each seat. They read status emails, analyzed New York Times editorials, and scanned CNN video clips to maintain control on the current project.

The field chief stood near the door. As if he guarded the only access in and out of this windowless room. Above his head the second hand of a white faced clock ticked the passing of each second. He focused his attention on the video wall. This huge screen had been partitioned into three screens. Left to right he could see a satellite view of the city, the capital building, and a map of the city. On the map several colored points betrayed the position of the asset and his targets. The asset was a blue circle, while the targets were indicated by red triangles. There was only one asset on this screen and it touched a trio of tangles. Agent Weston followed the schedule precisely.

The emergency phone buzzed in his pocket. The field director’s eyes widened a bit before he regained controll of his face. Quickly he pulled the phone out and saw the Director’s number on the caller ID. “Agent Highsmith,” he spoke into the phone.

“Terminated Red Rider,” demanded the Director.

“Sir, Red Rider is currently go status.”

“Terminate it now!”

Highsmith pulled the phone from his throbbing ear. “Terminate Red Rider,” he yelled to the suits sitting at the table.

“Sir, Red Rider is currently moving to extraction,” a young woman responded. “Target has been acquired.”

The Field Chief felt his stomach tighten in a knot. He turned to the bare wall behind him. He spoke into the phone, “Sir, target is in our possession. Asset is moving to extraction.”

Highsmith counted ten clicks. “Red Rider is disowned,” the Director spoke directly. “We did not execute this op. I repeat. Red Rider has no history with this agency.”

“What do we do with the target when the asset returns, sir”, asked the field chief?

Five seconds ticked. “Burn him.” The line beeped and disconnected.

Highsmith took in a deep breath. He turned back around to face the room’s occupants. Eight pairs of eyes looked at him and he knew there were questions behind those stares.

“Execute burn notice on asset Weston.”

“Burn sir,” inquired the young woman.

“We don’t know him any more. Agent Weston is dead to us. Cancel extraction. Terminate his phone. Remove backup assets. Shred all Red Rider files. This op did not occur.”

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 19th, 2007 at 11:07 am and is filed under Stories, Advertising. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.