Unlike the FBI, which divided its administrative center and base into two locations, the Hoover Building and Quantico, the CIA has a single headquarters, located in Langley, on the banks of the Potomac River, on the border of Washington, D.C. and Virginia.
The CIA does not set up its main training base in Quantico like the FBI does. After all, most of their agents work in secret.
Moreover, compared to the FBI, their cooperation with the military is also closer. Therefore, CIA agents are generally dispersed across various military bases for training.
As the headquarters of the CIA, Langley's security level is very high, but it is not as exaggerated as shown in Hollywood blockbusters. After all, there are thousands of ordinary civilian staff members who clock in for work every day.
Of course, this refers only to the ordinary office area of the entire building. As for the secret archive room that Jack and the bald man are about to enter, that is another matter.
"This William Cooper, I know his instructor, Kodaisky. I trained him back then."
Noticing the car had pulled into the building's underground parking lot, Frank gathered the files Jack had brought and stuffed them into his briefcase. He put on his hat and adjusted his general's uniform.
"Is it possible to bring William Cooper over to our side?" Jack asked tentatively. He was also dressed in a military uniform, holding the rank of major and serving as the general's aide-de-camp.
Ivan, the old Russian, or rather the FSB behind him, was quite resourceful. He not only arranged two fake identities for them and provided them with a full set of passes, but even prepared the contact lenses needed for iris verification to enter the elevator.
Frank waited elegantly for Jack to park the car, only to see him jog around to the other side of the Lincoln and respectfully open the door before getting out. "Then I'll have to find a chance to talk to him." After
swiping his card through security, Jack, briefcase in hand, followed Frank, who was familiar with the route, through a series of twists and turns, and finally entered a rather inconspicuous elevator.
He smoothly put on his contact lenses, entered his password, and passed his iris verification. Frank kept his thumb pressed against the P3 button leading to the third underground level.
The LCD screen displayed the floors, jumping from P1 to P3, then to B1 and B2.
The elevator continued running for over a minute before reaching B5. The elevator door dinged open, revealing a short corridor behind.
At the end of the corridor was a sturdy-looking security door. There were no surveillance cameras or other fancy security features, only a simple combination lock.
"I thought the secret archives were extremely well-secured," Jack muttered.
Frank removed his hat, revealing his bald head, and scratched it. "This place has been forgotten for a long time. No more than 20 people in the entire CIA know about it now."
"So the password has never been changed?" Jack asked curiously.
"Of course not. The password changes every six hours and is unbreakable." Before he could finish his words, Frank kicked the wall next to the door lock.
The seemingly solid wall was actually hollow gypsum board. A kick directly broke a big hole in it. The bald man reached in and fumbled around. With a click, the sturdy security door automatically opened.
Behind the door was a small room separated by an iron fence as thick as a baby's arm. In the middle of the room sat an old white man who looked older than Joe Mason.
Hearing the door open, the white-haired old man frowned and looked up at the visitor. After noticing Frank's head still shining brightly in the dim light, his expression instantly turned into surprise.
The old man stood up tremblingly, walked around the desk, and grasped Frank's outstretched right hand, "Mr. Moses, it's been a long time."
"Henry, I need to see the files on the Guatemala operation," Frank said with a smile.
"Guatemala?" The white-haired old man paused for a moment, as if pondering something. After a moment, he smiled and nodded again. "Aha, I think I can help you."
So it was that simple? Jack was amazed. It was true that one's defenses were the most difficult to prevent.
The archivist, already a centenarian, still had an astonishing memory. After opening the archive room behind him, he quickly found the information Frank needed in a cabinet.
"This place has completely changed since you retired," he muttered, handing Frank a thick bag of information. "Just take it with you. It's not safe for you to stay here for too long."
"Are you sure this won't cause trouble for someone?" Frank checked briefly, then looked at old Henry seriously.
Old Henry spread his hands, pointed at himself and laughed, his long eyebrows trembling, "What? Do they expect me to stop the famous Frank Moses? Or drive me out of Langley after I have seen so many secrets?"
The two laughed at the same time, and old Henry seemed to suddenly think of something, "Oh, by the way, I have something else to tell you."
He watched Frank stuff the file into the briefcase handed to him by Jack, and continued, "A stranger came to me yesterday and said he wanted to see your file. His name seems to be William Cooper."
"The one who is 6 feet 1 inch (185 cm) tall and has a silly hairstyle?" Frank reached into the briefcase again, took out the file he had seen on the way here, and showed the old man the photo on it.
"Ah, yes, that's him. A very handsome young man, not much less impressive than the one behind you."
Old Henry winked at the square-jawed Jack. After another round of laughter with Frank, he sternly warned, "But I think you'd better not underestimate him. I see the shadow of someone else in him."
Frank followed his gaze to Jack, his smile unwavering as he patted the old man's shoulder. "Thanks, Henry. Take care of yourself."
"You too, Mr. Moses." Old Henry smiled and shook his hand again.
After Frank and Old Henry said their goodbyes, he turned and handed Jack his briefcase, whispering, "Change of plan."
—
"I'm hoping you can convince William Cooper to join our side, not that you should go and cause trouble for him."
Although he had a backup plan in mind, Jack still didn't want Frank to go to William Cooper's office and beat him up, as in the original plot.
Well, while it was nice to think about it, since that guy had attacked him indiscriminately before, it was too much trouble to have to deal with any of these complications.
"When did I ever say I was the one to cause trouble for him?" Frank walked into the elevator, rechecked his iris, and pressed the button for the sixth floor.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Jack was stunned.
(End of this chapter)