CHAOS is a division of the CIA.
The acronym came about as a play on the actual name of the department: Clandestine Administration and Oversight Services. The CAOS became affectionately known as CHAOS by some of its team members.
Rick Martinez, a former news agent, had trained his whole life to be an agent but just as he is getting a shot at a position with the Agency in the Core Collector Training program, budget cuts eliminated that program on his first day. Expressing his considerable disappointment, Martinez sparks an idea in the mind of the Director of CAOS to put him with the small team known as the Office of Disruptive Services (ODS). With considerable deviousness, though, the Director insists that Martinez be a mole and spy on the ODS members, whom the Director less than trusts or likes.
With considerable reluctance, Martinez agrees. Luckily the ODS team members are already onto the Director's plan and decide to accept Martinez nevertheless. Well, a tad more accurately, they set him up to unwittingly hand a known Russian agent a sealed envelope, filming the whole event, and then letting Martinez know that if he rats the team out, they will help bury him. Welcome to team, Martinez!
Thankfully for Martinez, all will be forgiven and the team of 3 becomes 4.
The ODS was established during the Reagan Administration to bring back the idea that a single small team could identity a problem, come up with a plan, and then implement said plan all as one. The member proudly acknowledge that they are the last of the "old time spooks", which is likely the main reason the Director resents them and wants to find enough dirt on them to end their independence. Unfortunately for the Director, the remaining ODS team still have friends in high places and have avoided his attempts to disband them but all it would take would be one major screw-up and the ODS team could fall. Hence the mole plan.
While so far the emphasis has been on Martinez, and for the most part will stay there, the other members of the ODS team are vital to the success of their missions and are quite interesting as well. They are:
Michael Dorset - he is referred to as the "Properly Paranoid Leader". It is his role to do the majority of planning for a mission and to direct the others. He is 'properly paranoid' because he is distrustful of most people and things and as such, when usually proven right in his suspicions, nearly always has a Plan B and C to help out.
Billy Collins - called the "Scottish Mr. Exposition". He was a valued member of the British MI6 until he was, well, allowed to go elsewhere (i.e., deported). His TV trope name of Mr. Exposition comes from his penchant for always explaining to the new guy what is going on and why. Since the new guy, Martinez, is new and green, this is often very useful, not to mention an aid to those of us watching the action. Collins, with his sexy Scottish brogue and his sweet-talking charm, is decidedly a lady's man and is very useful in a lot of situations.
Casey Malick - he is called by his colleagues a "Human Weapon" and a "One-Man Army" and though he does not look particularly vicious or at all capable of filling that role, watching him in action taking on a lot of guys at the same time and able to use anything at hand for a weapon, it is easy to see why he has such a deserved reputation.
Also playing interesting parts in the adventures are Fay Carson, a fellow operative though not part of the ODS. She is Dorset's ex-wife and expresses interest in Martinez though that might be at the behest of the Director, and Adele Ferrer, newly established Deputy Director and a useful ally, at times.