[ WP ] Mom always said her chili con carne recipe was a secret . She was quite angry when it was published with the leaked NSA documents .

There we were one night just having our usual Friday night dinner, my mother's famous chili, when my dad opened up the newspaper and noticed the national story on page two. `` NSA leaks include chili con carne recipe'' the headline read. Out of habit he had started reading the paper in the evenings over dinner instead of in the mornings. His reasoning was that the news was already outdated anyway, so what was few more hours? When he saw that headline though, boy did he wish that today he had n't. 
 
 He closed his paper as quietly as possible trying not to give off any hint that anything was wrong, but mother sensed something right away. 
 
 `` What's wrong dear?'' She crowed at him from the kitchen, `` you've barely read any of your paper and you're already putting it down?'' 
 
 Coughing he answered, `` There just are n't any good headlines today honey.'' His gruff voice was doing a good job of hiding his anxiety. He was almost thankful that he had had a few too many cigarettes during his lifetime. 
 
 `` Ah well that's how it goes sometimes. Maybe I'll take a look at it over dinner then if you're not going to. Just because they do n't interest you does n't mean they should go unread.'' My mother was a smart woman. She knew he was trying to hide something and was going to get in on it. 
 
 My brother and I buzzed with excitement. We had sat in front of the TV enough and seen enough family sitcoms to know that something was about to happen. Every night we came to the table secretly hoping we could be like those families on TV where something interesting happens to them on almost a nightly basis. This could finally be our chance! 
 
 My father not being one to be out maneuvered did n't answer in an affirmative or denial as to whether my mother should read the paper or not. He knew a denial could be seen as an admission of guilt and just allowing her to have it would basically be like giving in. No, he had to formulate a plan. He knew that the moment she saw that article it would all be over. 
 
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 My father had worked for the NSA for going on thirty years now and through his hard work, dedication, and loyalty to his job, he had moved slowly up through the ranks. Sitting around the dinner table each night you got the sense that it was more a product of his longevity that he was getting promoted than the fact that they valued his work. Stress lines on his face seemed to appear almost every night. 
 
 It was in this weary state that he agreed to bring in his wife's chili recipe for his boss who was always asking about it. `` If you enjoy it so much then why do n't you bring it in and share it sometime?'' his boss had asked. So, with the fact that he might actually have a chip to play to get ahead of his colleagues in mind he had pilfered the chili recipe from it's hiding place on a Monday and had returned it the next day after making copies. 
 
 Someone must have left their copy behind in some classified paperwork on accident however and thus when the leaker, whoever they were, stole the file they got the chili recipe with it. 
 
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 Mother brought the plates loaded with chili over to the table with a large smile on her face. I noticed her eyeing the paper that was in my dad's lap as she carefully placed his bowl of chili in front of him. We all agreed that it smelled good and she took her seat. 
 
 The conversation started normally with my mother asking how everyone's day was. My brother told the story of how on the playground today his buddy had gotten hit in the face with the kickball, how their was blood everywhere and an ambulance had to be called. Just exactly the kind of story you want to hear as you're eating a red chili for dinner. While he was going into gory detail about the cut on his friends face I noticed my mother reaching slowly towards my fathers lap. She was having a go at the paper and my brother's story was the perfect cover. 
 
 My father always being the kind to get caught up in the minutia of a story that involved guts and glory was asking plenty of questions and was too engrossed to notice what was going on until it was too late. `` AHA!'' my mother cried as she snatched the paper out from under my father's elbow. Just as quickly she was rifling through it trying to find what it was that he was trying to keep hidden. My father's chili flew forward and his chair backwards as he leaped out of his seat trying to pull the paper from her grasp. 
 
 She had anticipated his attack however and was able to dodge it by simply standing up and moving away from the table. My brother and I watched in awe as they moved about the house in almost a ballet of moves. Him making quick jabbing motions to try and get a hold on the paper while her always seeming to know when they were coming and effortlessly dodging. It was n't long before she had found the article she was looking for though and began reading aloud for us all to hear. 
 
 > Today, in a new NSA document released by yet another hacker from within we are treated to a new kind of development. It appears that while the NSA is doing it's best to round up terrorists and drudging the internet for possible clues to a new plot, they are also doing their best to find dinner recipe's. Which raises the question as to what exactly they are doing at the headquarters and what the hell does this have to do with keeping America safe? 
 
 > In this recent development the leak has included at recipe for Chili Con Carne by a chef that has no name. We invited famed chef Bobby Flay, who is a master of chili, to come down and try it out. Following the recipe word for word and ounce for ounce we were delighted by the fragrance it gave off while we were cooking it. Even Bobby said that it was hard for him to wait the requisite thirty minutes while it cooked before digging in. 
 
 > `` This has to be one of *the best* chili's I have ever tasted,'' Said Bobby after his first three bites. `` The complexities of the flavor and the texture just go together so well that I might have to'steal' this recipe for one of my restaurants downtown. It's a shame that there is no name associated with it because I would like to personally thank the chef who created such a masterpiece of cooking. I never knew chili could be this good.'' 
 
 > We here at the Times can agree that it was indeed that good too. The first batch was gone in about fifteen minutes of making it, the second batch did n't last much longer. Who knows why the NSA is searching for recipes but we can say that we are very thankful this one got leaked. For a recipe this good should be shared with the world. 
 
 What felt like two seconds later my mother had left the kitchen and returned with my fathers gun. The one he kept in his night stand for protection. Working in the government had given him the feeling that he was constantly under threat of being assassinated by a foreign agent. No matter how much we tried to convince him that it was unlikely they would go after a mid level NSA operative he was never convinced. Today, it looked like that decision had backfired. 

