Need advice: reactions of CIA/MJ12

[AutumnHare]

Hi everybody,
I have a question re: possible reactions of the CIA/MJ12 in the specific situaion I will describe in detail below.
Game: Music from the Darkened Room with certain additions and adjustments
Time: Summer 2005
Players: all FBI, zero knowledge of DG as an organization (I am still looking for ways to subtly introduce them and therefore some minor adjustments to the plot have so far served this purpose)
Situation: Players have been contacted by a DG agent (posing as a friend of their FBI boss whom they can't get hold of) and asked to remove all items that might compromise late FBI agent Arthur Donelley (again, no knowledge of his DG past, though the background checks they ran on him produced lots of classified operation names) before "CIA officers step in". Mj-12's operatives came on the pretext of a terrorism investigation involving Donnelley. They called the party and pretty much ordered them to report and hand over Donnelley's case. The players split up - 2 played dumb with MJ, while the other 2 destroyed AD's car and container in a single fire. Tell me if you want specific details (it was quite funny, actually). Shortly put, MJ's operatives should be able to piece together several facts and witness testimonies and decide that with, say, 80% probability, the players must have been involved in destruction of evidence. So far they've not been aggressive (instead they pulled strings) and the players will soon realize the "CIA" is not interested in the house in the least, they only want Donnelley stuff.
Whew, that's a pretty long description and I haven't explained the half of it yet.
Question: what do you think their most realistic reaction is going to be (remember that so far they have not been ruthless trigger-happy goons, rather ruthless bitchy bureaucrats) given that most of the stuff is beyond recovery, players have behaved in a suspicious manner (no smoking guns though) and probably deserve some spanking (but spanking is not the same as a shootout)? Let me clarify: what kind of a bureaucratic mechanism will they trigger (after all, this is clearly not the first conflict of the two agencies)?
Thanks in advance

[sapper-joe]

Hmmm...first, I am not totally familiar with the DG world, so I don't know if skips over the real world fact that the CIA can't operate in the US. So, the proper response the PC's should have gave is "go pound sand" to the agents. But that is past anyway...

Next question is do the MJ12 operatives hold "real" positions in the CIA (like how DG agents do have)? If so, they could send an administrative complaint that they believe that they have tampered with evidence. Depending on how much they could show of tampering (real or faked), the FBI's Internal Affairs could do several things: ignore it; start investigations after notifying the PC's that they are being investigated; administrative leave with pay for a short time while being investigated; administrative leave without pay for a short time to forever while being investigated; lost of position (i.e., losing the position of asst. regional agent in charge); firing; or criminal charges filed.

If there is real evidence that they destroyed evidence, the minimum would be criminal charges after dismissal.

Joe

[synthboy]

If your game is set in 2009 then you could substitute "CIA case officer" for "Department of Homeland Security" which gets around the not-allowed-to-work-on-US-soil rules that the CIA adheres to (ahem).

Sapper-Joe seesm to be all over it in regards to the discipline procedure that the FBI has and that got me to thinking it could be quite a nice way to bring the PCs into the fold. Once the **** has hit the fan somebody pulls strings to see that they are put onto administrative leave indefinitly during which time they are sent on unusual cases by a control officer from DG. Kinda inside yet outside the system at the same time.

[AutumnHare]

Hmmm...first, I am not totally familiar with the DG world, so I don't know if skips over the real world fact that the CIA can't operate in the US. So, the proper response the PC's should have gave is "go pound sand" to the agents. But that is past anyway...
Next question is do the MJ12 operatives hold "real" positions in the CIA (like how DG agents do have)?
Joe

thanks, they can be with cia for real or not (all the players have gleaned so far is that the agents have impressive clearance levels), i still have this flexibility. i wish i read more spy stories - then i probably would not miss this fact about cia. did i get it right that not even a conspiracy/ international terrorism investigation can involve the cia inside the us? will they then relegate the case to the DHS or FBI? if this is the case, i will have to substitute cia for nsa, but that will be very lame ;(.
giant thanks to sapper-joe - that is exactly the kind of answer i was looking for.
to synthboy: it is 2005, and i have had the same ideas on developing players affilitiation with dg.

[sapper-joe]

AutumnHare:

I am actually on holiday and just happen to be able to get to the computer. I will be out of pocket until Monday probably for the rest of this week.

But as for the CIA working on a terrorist investigation in the US, pre-Homeland Security days the CIA could have had an advisor assigned to the FBI to discuss information gathered overseas and exchange information / names etc. with the FBI who would have authority over the domestic investigation. This advisor would almost never be in the field or part of a raid. He was just there to help answer questions on CIA files and probably by telephone / internet for the most part. Post-Homeland Security days, I think that probably be the case but with DHS getting to call the shots as it is now labelled terrorism, but the FBI will still be the authorizing agency for investigations per the US laws.

But, again if it helps you out for working out your game, I would totally ignore that fact of the CIA's restrictions in the US unless the PC's bring it up. If they do, you can simply state that unlike in the "real" world, in the "DG" world a law was passed authorizing the CIA limited investigating powers in the US with authorization from DHS on international terrorism only. As part of the that "new" law, the CIA can or can't have arresting powers over US citizens / non-US citizens. I personally would go with no power to arrest US citizens (they must turn over these people to the FBI), but arresting powers of non-US citizens (including legal aliens).

This way the facts should not interfer with what has happen in the past with your game, plus the PC do not have to fear being arrested by the CIA. But instead, they have to worry about what the FBI would do to them for destroying evidence and interferring in an 'authorized' CIA investigation in the US.

Hope this helps.

Joe

[Gaffer]

The agents can also throw their weight around, claiming that theirs is a secret operation, "authorized at the very highest levels of the administration." Will the PC agents risk the displeasure of their own higher ups by not cooperating? Then, having cooperated, they have also broken federal laws and their own bureau policies. So they have no where to turn.

[CAThompson]

As for the CIA in the US, they can still throw weight around, or even imply that while they are in fact not suposed to be here, they are shielded by various politics. Or that the players would be well advised to make "friends" with them instead of getting in their way.

The other thing is to do what the players think is happening. If it comes up and the players think up some kind of explination, you might just run with that. Never underestimate the paranoid powers of an investigator's imagination.

[AutumnHare]

The other thing is to do what the players think is happening. If it comes up and the players think up some kind of explanation, you might just run with that. Never underestimate the paranoid powers of an investigator's imagination.

Thanks everyone. I think along the same lines as CAT (actually, I never told my players 'this is a DG world', they know the game for some reason is called Delta Green, but that's it; I would really want to avoid bending real facts to suit my poorly prepared storyline .
To Gaffer: Well, nobody told em it was secret. Their official mission is not secret. They were asked by some agent on the phone to destroy evidence, their boss was cited, but they had to make a decision whether to trust the caller and run with the ball or do nothing in a matter of appr. 2 real-world minutes. They took the chance and I want them first to doubt the quality of that decision .
To SapperJoe: Looks like I will have to recognize my mistake with the players and start calling the bastards DHS. Thanks again for all the details and goodies.

[Paddon]

Since your question's been answered, I've PM'd you my suggestion on how to handle this.

[AutumnHare]

PADDON'S PLAYERS, BEWARE! HORRIBLE SECRETS LURK HERE! TURN BACK BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!

Since your suggestions sound devious and good,I decided to post them here. Tell me if you mind.

Since your question's been answered, I've PM'd you my suggestion on how to handle this.
How the scenario proceeds is up to you, though from what I've read so far I can guess that the PCs will have some people accusing them of destroying evidence. Using this to blackmail them the PCs could be sent places and made to do things, before being offered a transfer to a branch that is given 'more leeaway.'
This, or in some other way, MJ12 recruits the PCs into either their Delta arm or one of their investigative branches, depending on what kinds of scenarios you want to run. Just never mention the names Delta Green, Majestic 12, any of the MJ numbers, and the players should be completely blindsided when they realize that they've been recruited by "the bad guys".
They could go foreign, tracking down and in one way or another interfering with foreign research into using the Mythos (I'd recommend Charles Stross' A Colder War for some suggestions on who'd use what).
They could be sent to cover up activity of the Greys in the form of being the fifth column investigators, i.e., checking up on the other ROC Delta units' effectiveness.
Or for more of a twist, have them tracking down "rogue hostile terrorist cells", and then make it a bit of a reveal that they're hunting down Delta Green

I think I'll take your idea halfway. The idea of them hunting down DG is good, though they don't have a clue what DG is or why MJ is bad, so the punchline will be lost on them. Moreover, they have behaved so far as God-fearing, law-abiding citizens and I guess they will try to dodge clandestine agency vs. agency tasks. And still I love the twist.

P.S. It's always useful to have players that don't read your fora.

[Paddon]

Ack! Well, I kinda didn't want it posted here 'cause I know at least one of my players would read it. Don't know if your players would do the same.

(EDIT: But thanks for the compliment!)

(EDIT^2: Thanks for the warning note!)