"As I'm sure you're aware, I need to ask you some questions about Xue Yang. Tell me about your relationship with him: how long have you known each other, where, and in what context?"

"I was assigned as his handler about a year ago when we were certain he had potential for consultancy. I've taken point on his training as well as arranging for his housing and food and so on. I've overseen him on several preliminary projects which tested his abilities as a consultant." 

Does she want to ask about the boyfriend's nudes? No, no she does not. Their sexual interactions? Of course not. But she refuses to overlook everything. "Like the terrorism?"

Smile smile smile. "Xue Yang has a very particular sense of humor."

She laughs. "He really does. So, any reason to think he might be loyal to any foreign nation?" This is nice and easy.

"None whatsoever." Or the United States, but Meng Yao isn't going to volunteer that.

"You arrange housing and food for him: does he have any trouble with finances that you think could present a weakness?" She doesn't talk like this with the subjects, but a fellow professional she can relate to a little better.

"The US government supplies all his financial needs, the cost of him experiencing financial stress would be much higher than the cost of him occasionally buying a thousand dollars of cookies." Which he did once. 

That's a matter for the GAO(1), relevant IGs(2), and the DCAA. "To the best of your knowledge, does Xue Yang have any close foreign contacts". She pauses. She has to say this. She knows her duty "from countries that I am cleared to know about?"

1: Governmental Accountability Office

2: Inspectors-General, a vaguely defined role. For more see Hilliard 2017

3: Defense Contract Audit Agency, who ensure compliance with FAR(4)

4: Federal Acquisitions Regulations

"No."

"Thank you very much for your time, Mr. Meng. Would you mind escorting me out of the building?"

"Of course. --I would like to give Xue Yang my highest recommendation for TS clearance as one of the most stable, reliable, and loyal people in his particular branch of... consulting."

...

...

Alright, so Yao is very good at lying. There is no possible way that this is what most stable looks like. Putting 20 people like Xue Yang together would probably result in an eldritch rift forming from sheer rejection of reality. The NSA would be replaced with kittens and, assuming their handlers continued their bribery campaign of sex and candy effectively, America would follow Manifest Destiny into raising the lost city of Atlantis and colonizing it. Since sunken cities continue to not exist, she'll give the man credit for chutzpah. Still, he is escorting her out. Some tact is called for. "You seem much more concerned with convincing me of that than he was."

"Well, he's not the one who has to fill out the paperwork to get him a clearance anyway if you say he shouldn't have one."

Because he would get bored and light the paperwork on fire.

"To keeping the country safe efficiently, then." She doesn't dislike him, somehow, even if he does lie to her face.

Meng Yao has not told one single lie this entire conversation!

Also, he hates his life.

Surrendering her temporary badge at the Security desk, she walks far enough that they stop interfering with cell phones and makes a call to the person who is presumably Mr. Song. She's got a long trip ahead of her and LA traffic is bad. Might as well get this over with as soon as possible.

"Hello!" He sounds like the phone call just woke him up. 

"Hello, are you Song Lan? I'm Jane Donahue, with OPM (1), calling to schedule a time to talk with you about Xue Yang. Is this a good time?" In theory she's supposed to set up an in-person meeting and care about security, but it is quite clear to her that the problems with Xue Yang will not be made worse by discussing him on a phone call.

1: Office of Personnel and Management.

"Uh, yeah, this is fine? What did he do now."

"He applied for a Top-Secret Clearance, so I'm performing a background check on him. What sorts of things has he done in the past to produce that reaction from you?"

"--I don't know anything about how background checks work, are you Delta Green or just some random bureaucrat where if I tell you shit two men in nice suits are going to show up at my front door and tell me to cut it out."

"We're on an unsecured phone line. You should not divulge government secrets on an unsecured phone line. I do not have need-to-know for any specific projects that Xue Yang has worked on unless they relate somehow to his trustworthiness or reliability as an employee of the US government." Who on earth is she dealing with?

"Nice men in suits, right. --He blinded me." Actually he melted Song Lan's eyes out of his head but who's counting.

Jane Donahue had finished a very long day when she was done talking with Xue Yang at 10:30 AM. Possibly she should not have made this phone call. And yet. "Can you elaborate on the circumstances of him blinding you?"