The ASH network or American Spy Hunters Company was a publicly held company and a NGO for the United States Government sponsored by several different government agencies and their budgets. The NSA, CIA, DOD, FBI, DHS all contributed to the ASH operational budget as required by law passed by Congress over ten years ago. Tom Ledger knew that all precautions were taken to protect the ASH files but somebody had stolen every defense secret that the U.S. government had on file. The entire reason for ASH was to stop such tactics to better secure the United States and the free citizens. As the world prepared for another World War all the war plans that Yankee ingenuity could dream up were contained within the walls of the ASH building guarded 24 hours a day.

The ASH building is a modern thirty three story office building in downtown Richmond Virginia with five thousand parking spaces underground and is always under tight security.  The ASH complex sits on a landscaped twenty acre plot of land surrounded by a twelve foot steel fence much like you see in front of the White House.  ASH associates arrive at the main gates for their shifts with little delay as the car identification plates have already been scanned by cameras and monitors when they exited the interstate over three miles away.  Once the employees arrive at the first gate the security computers confirms the weight of the vehicle and determines if the car or SUV is within the security specifications before it can proceed.  At the second gate the car or SUV is brought to a complete stop and the driver must exit the vehicle and walk through sniffers, scanners and air blast machines often times messing up the hair of the ladies and the time line of the men.  The twenty different lanes at the second security gates move the cars and SUV's as fast as the drivers can walk through the security equipment.  The drivers get back inside their vehicles and drive to the underground parking lot entrance and are stopped again for a face computer scan, license plan scan, verification of vehicle weight and the very last check is the drivers fingerprints taken by the green computer screen next to the driver's window.  If the vehicle contains more than one employee it is directed to the security lane called the graveyard lane because many are convinced you could die waiting.

With all the high technology and security people at work Tom Ledger was having trouble figuring out how the ASH computer network was hacked last night and sensitive computer files copied, transmitted and now found on the internet for every citizen to read.  This precious information was the most guarded information in the United States and whoever did the job did it from the inside and they didn't leave a clue.

The ASH network or American Spy Hunters Company was a publicly held company and a NGO for the United States Government sponsored by several different government agencies and their budgets.  The NSA, CIA, DOD, FBI, DHS all contributed to the ASH operational budget as required by law passed by Congress over ten years ago.  Tom Ledger knew that all precautions were taken to protect the ASH files but somebody had stolen every defense secret that the U.S. government had on file.  The entire reason for ASH was to stop such tactics to better secure the United States and the free citizens.  As the world prepared for another World War all the war plans that Yankee ingenuity could dream up were contained within the walls of the ASH building guarded 24 hours a day.  Safely hidden behind high technology security, tall fences, armed guards and every other protection method did no good, the files were gone and only twenty minutes ago Tom Ledger faced the firing squad of the Director of Operations and his one fatal truth might get him fired today or maybe the next, he had no idea how the spies did it, no idea at all.