Ah, the wonders of politics. Yeah, I guess I should have figured out that Aunt Lori was the President early on, but I was a bit more concerned with refueling jets at the time. After the nonsense was dealt with, though, we managed to get down to business. It's not that hard to evaluate a threat when the leaders of the victimized party are present to give a full report, but I think that my aunt had a mild heart attack when Discord appeared in the room. Little known fact, even though he's the God of Chaos, Discord can still be brought down by a good kick between the legs.
But I digress. The following day was... unpleasant, to say the least. Why? Because I was about to meet with the head of the CIA to ask why several of his agents had tried to kill me in Burbank...
"Ah! Mister Cross! The Director is ready for you now, if you want to see him." The secretary at the front desk of the Central Intelligence Agency was a little too chipper for my tastes, but I suppose after my little outburst at the Capitol, the federal government probably decided that it would have been in their best interest to not mess with me. I only put a guy's desk through a wall, for the gods' sake. It wasn't like I leveled an entire building.
I removed my glasses, making sure to keep my eyes from opening fully while shaking my head. "I'm fine with waiting. I was actually hoping I could get a tour of the Agency, if that's alright."
The secretary, whose nameplate showed her name as Claire, started to visibly sweat. I figured this would be a problem at some point, what with my new technical dual citizenship. "W-well, we would have to run a background check on you and ensure you had the proper clearance..."
"I have military records if that helps," I supplied. Then I pulled a folder from my bag with a load of paperwork I never thought I'd ever have to use. "And this is my security clearance investigation file from when I was enlisting. I'm still active, if I remember correctly."
Again, I could read this woman like a billboard as she relaxed visibly. "That helps me quite a bit, Mister Cross."
"Please. Call me Max," I said. "Having the title of 'Mister' in front of my name makes me feel old. I'm pretty sure I'm the youngest non-federal employee in this building anyhow." I chuckled at Claire's raised eyebrow. "I only just turned 21 a few weeks ago. Now, about that tour...?"
"That will have to wait, Mister Cross," a male voice called out from my left. I turned to see a tall African-American man in a well-kept black suit and red tie looking at me. I looked around the reception area at that moment, realizing just how much I stood out with my trench coat and urban clothing. "I'm Director Greg Ferris." At this, he walked up to me and held out a hand to shake.
I grasped the proffered hand and shook it, making sure to keep my grip firm, but not as much as I'd used on the SecDef. "Maximus Cross, al vostro servizio. I'd prefer to wait until one of my new leaders is here. I've not had the best experience with attempting to be... polite, without Sun Buns or Luna present to keep me in check." We released each other's hands, and Greg looked at me with slight trepidation. "Don't worry. We're not going to have a repeat of the incident with what occurred at the Capitol."
At that moment, Luna appeared in a flash of cobalt light, decked out in a blue feminine business suit. She had traded her full royal regalia for a pair of simple, but still very well polished silver bracers with moonstones embedded along the edges. "And I would hope you don't ever intend to do such a thing again, Maximus Cross. Tia and I had quite the time calming that poor man down after you threw a desk that used to be bolted to the floor through a wall. I am still interested as to how you managed such a feat."
I shrugged noncommittally. "A mix of my temper, chi, and that damnable magic in my veins, I suppose. I'd do it all over again to that one twit if I could. He..."
I was interrupted by the Director clearing his throat. "As many questions as I'm sure you have for Mister Cross, Princess, I understand he has questions of his own for me?" Greg looked at me expectantly.
At that moment, I allowed my eyes to open to their normal gaze. "That would be something we need to discuss away from prying ears, Director. It's... a sensitive matter."
"I must admit, this is a troubling development."
"No shit, Director." I said with a flat look. "So these guys were really federal agents? What were they doing going after us in California?"
Director Ferris scooted away from his desk before standing and moving to the large screen in his office. "According to what records we have, your name was flagged when you came into contact with Misses Scratch and Philharmonica, but that was only on a surveillance basis, since you posed no threat. These agents were acting on someone else's orders."
Luna spoke up at that point, "Director, if you have individuals such as Maximus being watched, what is to stop more of these agents from going after other Equestrians and their partners before they can be brought under our protection? Surely you must see where that poses a risk to not only our subjects, but the humans they have come into contact with." She crossed her arms and regarded Ferris with the same authority she and Celestia had displayed when faced with things like this. "I propose that you let Mister Cross and his teams handle bringing in everypony else before this can happen again."
The Director's eyes widened a bit at that last bit. "You can't be serious! What makes you think I can authorize such an action? What you are proposing could pose a security risk to not only my agency, but the entirety of the United States!" He shook his head before continuing, "I'm sorry, Princess, but I cannot allow you to go forward with such a plan. I have Homeland Security and the Department of Defense breathing down my neck as it is, since they don't even want you all to have your own military forces being trained right here in the capitol."
I stood at that point, putting away the knife I was using to cut loose strings off of my clothes. "Director Ferris, this isn't a request. Either you give us the surveillance files you've compiled on the remaining Equestrians and their human partners, or I can have Sun Buns come in here and make you give them to us." I pointed at the Princess, "Luna is only here because she knows how to play nice better than her sister in situations like this. I'm here because I was shot at and regretfully killed more than one of your rogue agents in self-defense. You're the person we went to because I suggested that you might not have your head rammed up your backside and jammed up there with a bureaucratic pole." I leaned on the desk and stared the Director dead in the eyes before continuing, "If you aren't going to help us, then we can both just walk out of this building right now and no amount of resources you have can stop us."
The sweat was beginning to form on Ferris' forehead as both Luna and I stared at him, waiting for an answer. He seemed more than a bit conflicted as he paced around the room, occasionally mumbling something to himself. Finally, he came to a stop directly next to myself and Luna.
"Tell me what you need."