From Washington to Langley: How America’s First Spy Ring Still Shapes the CIA’s War in the Shadows

 

From the Culper Ring to CIA black ops — the war in the shadows never ended

When most people think of George Washington, they picture powdered wigs, wooden teeth, and maybe a cherry tree. What they don’t picture is the man behind one of the most sophisticated spy networks in American history. But that’s exactly who he was.

     Yes — the father of our country was also the father of American espionage.

     Back during the Revolutionary War, Washington wasn’t just fighting the Redcoats with muskets and bayonets. He was playing a whole different game: spycraft. He built the Culper Ring, a civilian-run network that pulled off the kind of covert ops you’d expect from the CIA today—coded messages, invisible ink, fake identities, secret drop points. The British never saw it coming.

     Washington knew early on that battles are won with brains just as much as bullets. If he wanted to beat the most powerful military on earth, he needed intel. So he became America’s first spymaster.

     Fast forward 250 years, and the same dirty, dangerous spy game is still being played—just with better tech, higher stakes, and fewer rules. That’s what makes the new thriller PAYBACK hit so hard.

     In PAYBACK, someone is targeting the CIA’s best and brightest—young agents handpicked for a top-secret Mentorship Program. One by one, they’re being hunted down and eliminated with chilling precision. It’s not just murder; it’s psychological warfare. A message. Someone’s bleeding fear straight into the heart of Langley.

     Enter CIA spymaster Corey Pearson—a man cut from the same cloth as Washington. Cool under pressure. Ruthless when he needs to be. And absolutely unwilling to back down. He’s tasked with finding the killer… and stopping a conspiracy that runs deep inside Western intelligence. We’re talking NATO, covert ops, and alliances that start to crack when trust goes out the window.

     Just like Washington’s time, the enemy isn’t always wearing a uniform. They blend in. They hide in plain sight. And they’re always a step ahead.

     That’s what makes the parallels between PAYBACK and the Culper Ring so wild. Washington had to rely on ordinary citizens—tavern owners, merchants, farmers—to spy for him. People no one would suspect. That’s the exact kind of ghost Corey Pearson is chasing: someone who knows the system, knows how to disappear, and knows exactly where to hurt the most.

The thriller pulses with the same kind of paranoia and tension Washington lived with every day. Betrayal? Expected. Misdirection? Required. Trust? Dangerous.

     And like Washington, Corey’s fight isn’t just about duty—it’s personal. It’s payback.

     What makes this more than just a clever connection is the reminder that American intelligence has always walked a razor’s edge between loyalty and deception. Washington may have written the playbook, but today’s CIA is still running the same plays—only now, the stakes are global, and the enemies are harder to spot.

     So whether you're a history buff who thinks spycraft started in 1776, or a thriller junkie who can’t get enough of black ops and conspiracies, PAYBACK delivers both barrels. It’s a modern-day echo of America’s original spy game—deadlier, faster, but still rooted in the same truth:

     In the world of espionage, the shadows are never empty. And the game never ends.

 

Robert Morton is a member of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO) and writes about the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC). He also writes the Corey Pearson- CIA Spymaster Series, which blends his knowledge of real-life intelligence operations with gripping fictional storytelling. His work offers readers an insider’s glimpse into the world of espionage, inspired by the complexities and high-stakes realities of the intelligence community.