Simon Ross was a British journalist of the newspaper The Guardian who had been investigating the secrets of Operation Treadstone, and Jason Bourne's past. Ross set up a meeting with Neil Daniels, a source within the CIA who was involved in operation Treadstone. He traveled to Turin to meet Daniels, and learned that Bourne was just the tip of the iceberg. Daniels informed him about Operation Blackbriar, the Treadstone upgrade, involving more clandestine assassins.