The Bin Laden Plot

23 POTOMAC, MARYLAND

On the second floor of her residence, Brenda Verbeck closed the door to the study and approached Dan Snyder, who had his back to her as he examined one of the oil paintings on the wall. While not up to Snyder’s standards — only paintings worth ten million dollars or more would grace the walls of his mansion — the six-figure abstract painting complemented the study’s décor quite well.

As usual, Snyder was dressed to impress, wearing one of his expensive Desmond Merrion suits. Brenda stopped behind him and, when he seemed not to notice, cleared her throat.

When he turned around, she slapped him across the face.

Snyder’s eyes widened, and he took a step back when he noticed the fury on his sister’s face.

“How dare you put me in this situation!” she said.

“What situation?”

“You know damn well what I’m talking about! Did you think your deal with Iran would go unnoticed?”

Snyder opened his mouth to deny any knowledge of what she was talking about, then decided otherwise. “How did you find out?”

“Because you’re sloppy. Your business associates thought they were clever, using point-to-point communications to defeat satellite intercepts, but we have assets covering those transmissions as well. You’re lucky the intercept was made by a black program under my cognizance and that the senior man in charge had more allegiance to me than to the Navy.”

It took a moment for Snyder to process Brenda’s statement — about a man who had more allegiance to her than the Navy. “You’re having another affair?”

“And you’re a saint?”

Snyder offered no response.

“I’ve put my reputation and career on the line for you, and you’re not even my favorite brother!”

Snyder remained silent, waiting for Brenda’s fury to run its course. But then he keyed on Brenda’s use of the past tense — had more allegiance — when referring to the man who helped her cover his tracks.

“This man who helped you conceal the information. Why did you refer to him in the past tense?”

Snyder’s question inflamed her. “Everything I’ve done, I’ve done for you!” she said as she poked him in the chest, her face turning red. “If the wrong people discover what I’ve done, I’ll be in jail for the rest of my life!”

“What have you done?”

“I’ve cleaned up most of the loose ends.”

“How, exactly, have you taken care of these loose ends?”

“I have contacts. I didn’t get to where I am without forging alliances with powerful people. The problem has been taken care of. You just need to stay out of trouble from now on.”

“What about Larson? Have you taken care of him?”

“Who’s Larson?”

“He’s the man I hired to ship the equipment, although it’s probably not his real name. I don’t think he’s a man you want to mess with, though.”

Brenda considered the new information, concluding he shouldn’t be a problem. “I’ll trust that he’s the type of man whose silence you buy along with his services.”

Snyder nodded. “I got that impression.”

Brenda folded her arms across her chest, the color of her face slowly returning to normal.

“What now?” Snyder asked.

“There are data archives on a submarine and UUV that contain the intercepted data. Once those are destroyed, you’ll be in the clear.”

She chose not to explain how those files would be destroyed. The less her brother knew, the better.