An operative collecting intelligence from inside a target’s home or place of business may
wait for days for the coast to clear—and when that moment arrives, his collection process
must be swift and undetectable. In the dark of night, when even the smallest amount of
ambient light can compromise a mission, an infrared light source provides an ideal
recourse. Invisible to the naked eye, it allows a Nomad to search a room in complete
darkness.
Though infrared bulbs and filters are commercially available, such purchases may create
unwanted scrutiny; an improvised solution, using a flashlight, a piece of camera film or the
slip of plastic inside floppy disks, and a camera phone, provides the same results.
While both film and floppy disks are becoming extinct in the developed world, they are
still readily available in many countries. Placed in front of the flashlight’s bulb, the film
acts as a filter, blocking the flashlight’s visible light rays to undetectable levels. A standard
camera phone (see below for exceptions) will allow an operative to view the objects lit by
the infrared beam emitting from his modified flashlight. Though he’ll be working in
complete darkness, any object the light is shining on will be visible in his camera monitor.
Note: Some of the newest camera phones come equipped with infrared blocking filters that
render them unsuitable for this usage. To find out if a particular model will work, obtain a
remote control. Turn the camera on and point the front end of the remote (the end with
the LED lightbulbs built into it) toward the phone’s screen. Press any button on the remote
and look at it through the screen. If the camera does detect infrared light, the glow of the
remote’s LED bulbs will be visible. If not, an inexpensive phone purchased within the area
of operation will be likely to include an infrared filter.
