If you had top secret U.S. military plans and had to sell them, who would you sell them to and why?

Question

Of course I personally can't even fathom getting military plans, but the characters (villains) in my story do. What do you think could happen?

Answer 1

It seems you are looking for a villain. You have to take into consideration who your readers are going to be able to identify with. Common themes are.

The madman (Lex Luthor for Example)
The political terrorist (Pick who ever is apposing your audience's politics or country)
The outcast (Someone who has been/or has the perception of being hurt by your hero).

Take a look at Tom Clancy's work. He has written some great political / governmental villains.

Answer 2

I would sell them to the Washington Post, so that they could do an expose on top secret military leaks. Alternatively, a senior politician from whatever party is in opposition to the presidency - for a similar reason. Both of those would allow some moral ambiguity which is far more interesting than cardboard villains.

Another thread to explore might be the content of the plans. Do they reveal covert and illegal operations or plans against an ally? In realistic terms, the current deployment of US troops or the blueprints for a stealth bomber are uninteresting to most people who might want the information. The risk of buying them and the difficulty of verifying them outweighs any potential benefit.

Answer 3

Um, if you can't fathom it...how exactly are you writing the story? You need to first have a strong, believeable method as to HOW the obtained the plans before you worry about them selling them!

Your story sounds structurally flawed from the beginning.

Answer 4

if they're villains wouldn't they go to a enemy country and try to seel them over there? you could have the buyer turn out to be some top secret agent working for the US military that would be interesting

Answer 5

i would sell the source i got them from back to the Government. you dont see that too often in books. you could have the source find out that the charactor is going to do that, and try to stop them, and have the government be looking for them at the same time.

Answer 6

The government could eliminate them with an assasin, thus saving the taxpayers $$$ on a pathetic court trial for their treason.

Answer 7

Is this a trap? Well, I'd sell them to the U.S., after all, who would want them more???