The Events of Thursday, December 9, 2010

          We started today with the now normal routine of our mornings before we tour D.C. Daddy went on his walk, Ben went on a run, Abby and Mom took showers, and Caitlin and I broke down beds and set up breakfast. When we were all dressed and fed, we had our family devotional and prayer time, and then had individual quiet times. Around, 9:00 am, we left our RV in its campsite, and walked to the office of the campground. We waited in the office for Nick, our driver, to come pick us up. But, today, Nick had other arrangements, so it was Cristi who drove us to the Largo Town Center Metro Station.

          We rode the blue line down to a stop near Ford’s Theatre, and … The International Spy Museum. We spent the entire day exploring this museum and never got to Ford’s Theatre, but that’s OK. We bought tickets for “Operation Spy” and for general admission into the museum. Our Operation Spy session was scheduled for 10:50, which was a while away, so we explored the gift shop. Caitlin found a funny book about how to protect yourself from a Garden Gnome Attack and Mom found a book of wise sayings for life, taken from Nancy Drew mysteries.

          Around 11 o’clock, we were led up a stairway by a docent, who stopped us in front of a blue wall. She told us that we were about to enter the Asian country of Khadar, which is undergoing major government corruption and many dangerous riots by rebels. We were going to become spies and help solve a mystery. But, first, we had to get inside, so we had to find the door, open it, and enter in 15 seconds. We tried pulling, pushing, lifting, and eventually, I leaned into the wall and a door screeched open. We all rushed in and made it just in time. She had us make up code names and then introduce ourselves to each other, so we wouldn’t get caught. Abby became Evangeline, I became Carol, Ben was Alexander White, Caitlin was Kitty, Daddy was Zipper, and Mom was Sue. The docent then introduced our spy leader, B.A. He came in and told us more about our situation.

          “Officers, you are on a secret mission to find a missing nuclear trigger before it falls into the wrong hands. Are you ready? Let’s go!” We ran around the corner and quickly into a dusky room with a few computer stations. We were told about the different people involved in our story. There had been messages and letters sent to the Khadar head of the department of nuclear energy, Bitar, about the trigger device. Another spy agent, Nadia, whose code name was Topaz, was the prime minister’s science advisor, and she and Bitar were colleagues. Via satellite, “the Chief”, the head of Operation Spy, updated Nadia about the situation and let her know extra secret agents (us) had been brought in to help her out. Nadia said she hadn’t heard anything about the trigger device, but she would arrange to meet with Bitar’s secretary at her hotel. Although the team trusts Topaz, a video tracker was secretly placed in Topaz’s purse, so we could watch her actions.

          In the “ops” room were several computer screens showing video surveillance of the hotel. We were each assigned a different room to track for signs of her. We had knobs and switches to maneuver the different cameras and could zoom them in and out. Surprisingly, Nadia arrived early at the hotel with an unknown individual. They were talking all this time about a situation and Bitar, and how Topaz doesn’t want anyone to get hurt and different details here and there regarding a mysterious object. They moved continuously from room to room, so no one would hear the full conversation, which kept us on our toes tracking them. Suddenly they left the hotel and we talked about what we had seen and heard. No one knew who this individual was and Topaz was definitely nervous about something. The object, we assumed, was the trigger device.

          Next we were moved into another room. Two other agents, who were in a surveillance van outside the hotel, video phoned to let us know that someone near the hotel was trying to call Bitar. They were going to send us the message, but we would have to decipher it. To listen in on the conversation, we had to control the background noise, the pitch, the sound waves, and some other technical features on the computers in front of us. This resulted in about 10 minutes of frantically turning knobs and switches, trying to line things up and make sense out of these crazy noises. The result wasn’t that great and Caitlin, oops I mean Kitty, was the only one who caught anything. Based on the little information we had gleaned, we had to decide what to do next. So, after a while, we decided to break into Bitar’s home office and see if we could find any papers regarding the trigger or the trigger device itself.

          Led into a raggedy, very unstable feeling elevator, we were supposedly taken underground, through a tunnel, across the street and into Bitar’s basement. We were supposed to be very quiet, but on the floor of the tunnel was a loose grate, which we all managed to step on and make noise. That noise alerted Bitar’s guards who turned on the security cameras. Now we had to figure out how to turn them off and then get into Bitar’s office. Mom was the brilliant one here who figured out how to insert extra circuits into the boxes and overload the security cameras.

           Once we were inside Bitar’s office, B.A. handed me a scanner (which was basically a long stick with a red light) and we started to search. We found a few documents and even a death threat. I scanned as quickly as Caitlin and Mom put documents before me. Dad, Ben and Abby were to search for the device. Ben had just about figured out how to crack the safe when we got a message over B.A.’s radio that told us that Bitar was coming home. We had to get out of there and fast.

          B.A. led us through the back door and we jumped into the back of the surveillance truck. The tires squealed as we sped away. As we bumped along in the back of the truck, we discussed what we had found and started to piece things together. We found some documents that were really helpful and from those, we determined that Topaz was definitely a suspect. We decided to bring her in for questioning, so the truck (basically a box shaking) dropped us off at a safe house of a fellow spy agent.

          A polygraph was set up in the next room. We brainstormed questions to ask her, and the agent in charge of the polygraph machine would administer the test. We could watch the interrogation on a video screen and use an intercom on the table to ask her questions. We asked her questions about her relationship with Bitar and if she was a double agent. She emotionally denied all these questions, but we could see that she was lying, so she eventually spit out the truth. The mysterious figure was her cousin who was with the rebels and he wanted the nuclear trigger device and was willing to kill to get it. We also found out that she was in love with her colleague, Bitar and it was her life that was in danger if Bitar didn’t turn over the device. We had to decide what to do next. Should we alert the Prime Minister or turn it over to specially trained agents to be there at the exchange to retrieve the device?

          We decided to send out some professionals to retrieve the trigger device. We were taken to a spot to be picked up by a “helicopter” and ended up at a bar to see how our act turned out. There we watched the local news to see what had happened and how the news agencies were reporting it. We found out that the trigger device was confiscated and is now in good hands but in the struggle Nadia’s cousin, the rebel, and Bitar, her boyfriend, were killed. Ironically, Topaz was chosen taking Bitar’s place as Minister of Nuclear Defense. Next we heard from the Chief spy agent. The Chief gave us a 4 out of 5 rating, meaning we were now qualified spies, and we exited the scene. As we exited we ran into some tourists that we previously met at the Library of Congress, who were just starting their Operation Spy experience. Excited from our adventure, we went to the Spy cafeteria and ate our pre-packed lunch.

          When we finished, we visited the actual Spy museum. Again, at the entrance we had to choose and memorize false identities, but this time they gave us options and more details. Caitlin was a 17 year old Maria Rivera from Mexico and her cover was that she was going to the Iowa State Fair for vacation for 13 Days. I became 33 year old Greta Schmidt, an astronomer from Germany visiting London for business for 4 days. Abby was 13 year old Jane Meyer, a student from the USA visiting Ireland on vacation for 7 days. Ben was 14 year old Billy Henderson, from the US visiting London for 9 days on vacation. Daddy was a 48 year old fisherman from Russia, visiting Boston on vacation for 5 days. And Mom became a 21 year old travel agent. Her spy name was Angelene Capone from Italy and she was supposedly visiting Vietnam on business for 30 days. We had to memorize these details and if we were asked questions, we were not to arouse suspicion.

          The first exhibits were about how to be a spy; how to do disguises and how to listen in on secret conversations, etc. Then there is the history of the spy starting all the way back to the serpent at the beginning of the world. Then, to ninjas and selfish queens and Benjamin Franklin and Harriet Tubman and so on. There are a lot of stories told throughout the exhibits and it took us a very long time. So, I’ll just mention the favorite parts. Abby’s favorite was climbing through the ducts in a house and listening in on a conversation between two Mexican officials. Caitlin enjoyed seeing clips of different spy movies. Mom liked decrypting secret messages during World War II like the Navajo Code Talkers. All the technology that spies use to solve their mysteries thrilled Ben and Daddy liked the last exhibit on Cyber Crime and what would happen if the electric grid was taken out. My favorite was a station where the museum had a bug and we had to find the microphone. Caitlin and I enjoyed yelling in different places to see if we could find it. We finally found it by a mirror, sort of behind an exhibit. It was fun.

          Finally, we were finished with the museum, so we collected our personal items and left. On our way to the subway, we walked through a Holiday Street Fair featuring various vendors selling stuff.  We were looking for some scarves for our freezing necks, but no such luck. Abby did find one she liked but it was $159! So we walked to the nearby Metro station and entered the throngs of people getting off work. This was the most crowded the Metro has been. When our train pulled up, it took a while for everyone in the train to pile out, so this huge crowd rushed to get through the doors. Somehow, only Caitlin and Abby got in while Ben struggled to hold the door open for the rest of us. A large woman shouted at him, “If you break the doors, they will unload the train.” And Mom yelled back, “Good, ‘cause I have two kids on there!” Just then, the doors fully closed and the train took off.

          Ben, Mom, Daddy, and I stood on the platform just looking at each other. Caitlin and Abby were in the train, by themselves, in Washington D.C. Panic! No, don’t panic. Oh no! No, don’t panic. We reassured ourselves that they knew which stop to get off to change trains and would meet us there. After waiting a long 4 minutes, we boarded the next train and in two stops, got off to transfer trains. There they were, waiting for us. With relieved, shaky smiles we all hugged each other on the platform and I was so relieved that I burst into tears. When we boarded the next time, we strategically placed an adult at the front and the rear. This way if we were separated again, it would be with an adult. So, together again as a family, we made it safely home to our RV and after a hot dinner of sausages, apples, and onions, headed to bed, exhausted from our exciting day.