The Bin Laden Plot

32 LANGLEY, VIRGINIA

Silence gripped the seventh-floor conference room after Christine explained the situation. Bryant, Rolow, and McFarland wore grim expressions as they processed the information — that Wilson had been ordered to sink Jimmy Carter, an Iranian torpedo had sunk Stethem, and that Secretary Verbeck was involved in an effort to destroy the data collected by the UUV.

The communications intercepted by the UUV seemed to be the critical issue, so Christine turned to McFarland. “What have you discovered so far?”

“Nothing has triggered any trip wires so far. But there’s a ton of data — in the terabytes — which is usually screened first by Pentagon personnel, with only the pertinent information forwarded to us. It’s going to take time to sift through it all. However, on a related topic, we’ve discovered some noteworthy events related to the SecNav and UUV program staff.

“The first is that Secretary Verbeck’s senior military aide died of a suspected heart attack a few days ago while hiking with his daughter. We checked the SecNav’s travel records and confirmed that her aide accompanied Verbeck on her trip to Bahrain, where they briefed Captain Wilson on his UUV mission.

“The second notable event is that the senior enlisted person overseeing the UUV data screen at the Pentagon was mugged and killed a few days before that.”

“Assuming the aide’s heart attack was induced,” Rolow said, “I think we can conclude that someone is deliberately attempting to delete the UUV data and is also covering their tracks, eliminating those who know what’s going on or could piece the information together.”

“That leads to a central question,” Christine said. “Is the SecNav part of the conspiracy, or somehow being manipulated?”

She said to Rolow, “Put together a task force to investigate Secretary Verbeck. Look into her friends and business partners, potential ties to Iran, or any other reason she might be motivated to destroy the UUV data.”

Rolow objected. “You’re talking about the CIA investigating one of the president’s cabinet members. Our authority to operate on domestic soil is limited, and investigating a political appointee this high up treads on dangerous ground.”

“I agree,” Christine replied. “I’ve already scheduled a meeting with the president to brief him on what we know and request permission to investigate Secretary Verbeck. In the meantime, put together a task force and lay out a plan.”

“Understood.”

Christine turned to McFarland. “Find the critical UUV data, and we should be able to identify the link between Iran and whoever is desperately trying to destroy the data.”

“We’re working on it,” McFarland said, “around the clock.”