The 355

by greygoose70

There are weapons of destruction, there are weapons classified as mass destruction and then there are weapons of total destruction. This is the story of latter and the group trying to stop it. DISCLAIMER: I own nothing pertaining to the show, those that wrote it, produced it or the network that showed it. AN: 17 chapters and is complete with a surprised ending.

4. Chapter 4

Title: The 355

By: greygoose70

Chapter 4

Sheremetyevo International Airport, Moscow

The G550 was fueled and ready to go by the time Rick and Kate arrived so they said their goodbyes to Dimitri boarded the plane and took off for the four-hour flight back to London.

"Okay Rick you kept Dimitri and I hanging when I asked about The Culper Ring. What is it you know?"

"The Culper Ring was a network of active spies during the American Revolutionary War. It was organized by Major Benjamin Tallmadge and General George Washington in 1778 during the British occupation of New York City. Their mission was to gather information on the British activities, troop and naval movements, et cetera and get the information back to Washington so he could plan his attack to take back the city."

"I don't remember reading about any of this in school," Kate responded to Rick's knowledge about the Culper Ring.

"Not surprising," he said, "most of today's history books skip over much of the events that preceded the wars major victories."

"What else do you know about this spy ring, who were these people?"

"Oh, not even Washington knew the identity of the operatives. In order to protect the identity of everyone Tallmadge devised a series of codes using numbers to describe verbs, nouns, people and places. He compiled this data into pocket size dictionaries had them distributed to his primary operatives including one to Code number 711, General Washington."

"So, we don't know their names?"

"Some had code names to help protect their true identity. What you need to know Kate is the general public was completely unaware of the Culper Ring's existence until the 1930s when Morton Pennypacker a writer from Long Island and a collector of historical material of the island put the final piece to the puzzle."

"And that was," Kate asked as she leaned forward her face cupped in her hands completely engrossed in Rick's narration.

"The true identity of Samuel Culper Junior."

"WHO!" Kate clamoured jerking her head up out her hands.

Rick had to suppress a giggle at her reaction before continuing. "Pennypacker was fairly certain he had matched the code names to their true identity. Benjamin Tallmadge's code name was John Bolton; all information was passed through him. He received the reports from his two primary spies, Abe Woodhull spy name Samuel Culper Senior and Samuel Culper Junior, real name 'unknown'. Junior was in reality the Rings primary and most effective spy, insisted upon complete anonymity. The other spies in the Ring acted more as couriers; Caleb Brewster was a whaler captain that carried messages across Long Island Sound, deliver to Austin Roe a tavern owner that would then carry the messages to Woodhull or sometimes directly to Tallmadge. There was also an English born American journalist named James Rivington who published a Loyalist newspaper called Rivington's Gazette however he wasn't confirmed as a Culper Ring member until the 1950s. And lastly there was one other member simply known as Agent 355, only described as 'a lady' in Tallmadge's code book."

"Damn it Rick, who was Junior and what does this Agent 355 have to do with him?"

"Junior's real identity was Robert Townsend. He owned a merchandize store in NYC, worked part-time at Rivington's publishing. He was also a frequent patron at a local tavern where he would pick up scuttlebutt about troop movement or naval info from slightly drunken British soldiers and sailors that also frequented the tavern. As for Agent 355 nobody knows her true identity except maybe Townsend but he never revealed her identity in any of his reports. There was speculation by some historians as to who she might be however nothing that could be substantiated. Rumor was she supplied Junior with vital information on Benedict Arnold a major general in the Continental Army who defected to the British and was partnering with British Major John Andre' to surrender Fort West Point, a major American stronghold along the Hudson River, over to the British."

"What happened to her?" Kate asked.

"Don't know." Rick replied. "Story is she was arrested and imprisoned on the HMS Jersey, a British prison ship, where she may have given birth to a boy named Robert Townsend Jr. and later died on the ship. However, Alexander Rose, another author and historian, disagreed with that narrative, stating that "females were not kept aboard prison ships, and that "there's no record whatsoever of a birth."

Just then the pilot announced they were about to land at Heathrow to please buckle up.

As the G550's wheels hit the ground Rick sent off a text to Emily letting her know he and Kate just landed that they were headed to the hotel. It wasn't more than a minute later that he received one back telling him and Kate to come to her office instead there was someone there they needed to meet.

"Well Kate, looks like our day isn't over yet."

TBC

AN: This chapter took me much longer to write than anticipated due primarily to the extra research I had to do on the Culper Ring (yes it was an actual ring of spies under the guidance of Washington). I even ordered a couple of books from Amazon that fortunately could be downloaded to my Kindle so I had them the same day, read both in one sitting then compared any differences in the two. There were a couple but not many.