A Normal Life | Chapter 8

It was 1985, the so-called “Year of the Spy”. The CIA had been losing Soviet assets left and right; the first loss seemed like bad luck, but four in a row? That wasn't a coincidence— it was a deadly leak. And just as the Agency was scrambling to find answers, across the world, a KGB colonel named Vitaly Yurchenko walked into the American embassy in Rome and volunteered his services in exchange for immediate exfiltration to the United States.At the time, Yurchenko was the highest-ranked KGB officer ever to defect to America, and the Agency felt it had hit the jackpot. Instead, his defection would go on to become one of the most dizzying, high-stakes espionage debacles of the last century. Although many of his bombshell revelations were bonafide, a doubt soon began haunting the intelligence community: Was Vitaly Yurchenko telling the whole truth? And if not... What had he been sent to hide?Listen Now on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

The "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" era is now officially over. Does that mean Randy can finally have a normal life now, and what, exactly, is normal? 

Debates rage amongst the public, press and politicians as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" hangs in the balance. Randy struggles to imagine a reality where the policy no longer exists. 

Randy is invited to The White House. All eyes of the Secret Service will be on him and his private life. Randy is terrified, but how can he say no to the President? 

Randy's life has become a covert, paranoid and isolated operation. "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" rages on and the pressure mounts as Randy is deployed to an active war zone. 

Temperatures and tensions rise as Randy is deployed to the desert. Surrounded by landmines, shifting sands and circling vultures, Randy struggles to keep his relationship a secret. 

As Randy learns more about himself, the future he envisioned evaporates. An unexpected encounter lands him in a thrilling but dangerous reality. 

Randy implements the military's new "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. But soon, he finds himself in forbidden territory. 

Randy Taylor, a young soldier from Ohio, leaves his family behind for the US Army. But, will his new life be everything he hopes it will be? 

Randy Taylor is a soldier in the United States military. He also has a secret he can't tell.