The outside man

## The Outside Man

Detective Frazier took a long drag of his cigarette, the smoke curling around his face as he leaned against the park bench in plain view of seventeen security cameras. Just the way he liked it. Exposure was his specialty.

"They'll never see me coming," he mumbled to himself, "because I'm right here in the open."

Frazier led a covert organization dubbed "The Outsiders" – a group dedicated to operating exclusively in public spaces, their moves calculated to be captured on as many surveillance devices as possible. Their mission? To expose the shadowy agency known as CLOAK (Clandestine Leveraging Of American Knowledge), which had been granted unconstitutional surveillance powers and absolute immunity by a secret court.

The irony wasn't lost on Frazier. CLOAK's agents stood around smoking cigarettes in public parks from Central Park to Golden Gate, watching citizens while believing themselves invisible. But Frazier knew better. Their immunity had made them sloppy.

---

"The Outside Man strikes again," sighed Director Morrow, tossing surveillance photos across her desk at CLOAK headquarters. "This time he revealed our Boston operation by—" she squinted at the report, "—setting up a hot dog stand directly across from our agents and loudly offering 'surveillance special' discounts to anyone wearing an earpiece."

Agent Russell picked up one of the photos. "How does he know who our people are?"

"Because," Morrow said bitterly, "we all shop at the same tactical clothing store and wear the same government-issued sunglasses. We're practically in uniform."

---

Frazier's masterpiece was unfolding exactly as planned. Unlike Dalton Russell from his favorite heist movie, Frazier had no interest in being inside anywhere. His plan didn't involve masks or hiding – quite the opposite.

"Phase three begins tomorrow," he told his team, gathered conspicuously around a fountain in Washington Square Park. "Remember, be as visible as possible."

The next day, CLOAK agents nationwide found themselves being followed by people holding large mirrors, reflecting their images back to security cameras. When they moved, the mirrors moved. When they changed locations, fresh Outsiders with mirrors appeared.

---

"They're turning our own surveillance against us," Director Morrow realized with dawning horror. "Every time our agents react, they confirm their identities on camera."

"It gets worse," said Russell, dropping a folder on her desk. "The Outside Man sent copies of all footage to the press, with timestamps proving our agents have been following random citizens without warrants for years."

"How did he manipulate our people into exposing themselves?"

"That's the genius part. He didn't need to. He just made being watched so uncomfortable that our agents kept changing positions, creating obvious patterns on hundreds of public cameras."

---

The coup de grâce came when Frazier arranged for food trucks to park near every known CLOAK surveillance spot nationwide, offering free coffee to "hardworking government employees." The agents, accustomed to their cigarette breaks and long hours, couldn't resist.

Every single one signed digital receipts with their government emails for the "free" coffee.

---

Three weeks later, Frazier sat in that same park, watching as CLOAK was dismantled by Congressional order. The agency with absolute immunity had been undone by a man who never hid, never disguised himself, and operated entirely in the open.

"The perfect outside job," he muttered, lighting another cigarette and smiling directly into a security camera.

Unlike Dalton Russell who had planned his bank robbery down to the second, Frazier's plan had required only patience and the understanding of a simple truth: give someone enough immunity, and eventually they'll believe they're invisible – even when standing in plain sight.