The Bin Laden Plot

39 LANGLEY, VIRGINIA

PJ Rolow was furious.

Sitting beside Christine, the DDO’s face had turned flush, his skin taking on a red hue. But Christine didn’t have to look at him to know he was upset. He was doing an excellent job expressing it.

“I can defend your actions at the Seif,” he said to Khalila’s image on the conference room display. “They planned to kill you, and you defended yourself. But the outright murder of the head of a foreign intelligence agency — an ally to boot — was way out of bounds, even for you!”

They were seated in the director’s conference room on the seventh floor, joined by Monroe Bryant and Tracey McFarland, with Khalila and Harrison on the other end of the VTC. Christine had kept the number of participants small due to the underlying topic — who had been taken prisoner at Abbottabad?

“We needed the information,” Khalila replied calmly. “If I had left Rashidi alive, it would have been worthless. They could have evacuated the facility at Failaka Island before we got there.”

“I don’t disagree with your assessment,” Rolow said. “But you should have asked first!”

“You would have said no.”

“That’s why you should have asked! There are other ways this could have been handled. We could have put a team in place before you met with Rashidi, to immediately follow whatever lead he provided. We could have avoided his death.”

“It wouldn’t have worked,” Khalila said. “While we put together a team, whoever is orchestrating this deception would have relocated the prisoner.”

“That’s supposition,” Rolow replied. “They would have had to infer the reason for your meeting with Iqbal at the Seif. After all these years, it’s unlikely they would have made the connection.”

“I disagree,” she replied.

Rolow slammed his fist on the table. “You did not have authorization to kill Rashidi! You knew what my answer would be, so you deliberately didn’t ask!”

“This isn’t the first time I’ve bent the rules. You knew what you were dealing with when you sent me. Shall we discuss the issue in more detail at this meeting, starting with my true identity?”

If Khalila’s question was meant to intimidate Rolow, it had the opposite effect.

Rolow’s voice dropped a notch. “Let me make this crystal clear for you. If you ever do anything like this again, you will be dealt with appropriately. Do you understand?”

Khalila was about to offer a retort, but she clamped her mouth shut instead.

He glared at her for a moment, then leaned back in his chair, the color slowly fading from his face.

“I should probably recall both of you to Langley, but considering what you’ve learned, I think it’s prudent to push forward immediately. We’re already making arrangements for an insertion onto Failaka Island in two days. Michigan is in the area on a CIA-related mission and is being tasked to support.”

Christine noticed Harrison’s face brighten at the mention of the submarine carrying his former unit, a detachment of two SEAL platoons.

“You’ll both participate in the insertion,” Rolow said, “Harrison for obvious reasons and you for linguistic purposes. The SEAL detachment has some linguistic ability, but nothing as expansive as yours. Rendezvous information will be provided once the details are ironed out.

“Any questions?”

There were none, and Rolow turned to Christine to see if she had anything to add, which she didn’t. Rolow had handled the matter fairly well, and she decided not to engage until after the delicate matter was further discussed, which was next on the agenda.

“That’s all for now,” Rolow said, then terminated the VTC.

After the display went black, Christine focused on damage control; how to deal with the repercussions of last night’s events: killing the head of the Kuwait Security Service and fourteen other Kuwaiti agents.

“As you mentioned,” she said as she looked at Rolow, “we have some grounds to work with. Khalila and Harrison were about to be eliminated by the first five agents. Those can be easily justified. Rashidi is the problem. Any ideas?”

Bryant answered, “I recommend we tie them together. We can paint Rashidi’s death as revenge for issuing the order to kill Khalila and Harrison.”

“It was a years-old latent order that got triggered,” Rolow said, “but no one will know that. Everything points back to Rashidi, and we could take the stance that we made an example of him. Anyone who tries to eliminate agency officers will suffer the same fate.”

“It’s a good start,” Christine agreed, “but I’m going to have to brief the administration today, without mentioning the real reason Khalila and Harrison were targeted. We’ll have to carefully manage who learns that we’re searching for a prisoner taken from Abbottabad.”

“To ensure we’re on the same page,” McFarland said, “that list is just the four of us, Khalila and Harrison, plus the president and his chief of staff, correct?” Khalila had confirmed that no agency personnel in Kuwait had learned the true reason for their meeting at the Seif Palace or with Rashidi.

There was agreement around the table.

“Bring the other deputy directors and public affairs into the loop as required,” Christine said, “under a cover story. Does self-defense at the Seif and revenge for Rashidi’s death cover all the bases?”

“It should hold up,” McFarland said.

“Good,” Christine said. “What about Failaka Island? How do we keep Michigan’s involvement secure?”

“That’s been taken care of,” Rolow said. “We tasked them directly through the UUV communication channel. No one else knows. Failaka Island is within their assigned waterspace, so they can execute the mission without additional Navy authorization or suspicion. The SEALs won’t know the real reason for their operation, although we’ll have to manage things if the Abbottabad prisoner is actually at Failaka Island.”

Rolow glanced at Bryant. “Monroe and I will plan the mission details ourselves. We’ll need to lay things out carefully, including how to handle the critical issue — what do we do if the prisoner is there? Does the team simply verify that fact and leave, or do they extract him? If we extract him, what do we do with him?”

“There are several sticky issues we need to work through,” Bryant added. “We’ll brief you on the plan and get your concurrence to proceed by tomorrow evening.”

Christine nodded her understanding.

McFarland spoke next. “There are two issues I have updates on. The first is related to the effort to verify the body buried in the Arabian Sea is Osama bin Laden’s. Arrangements have been made for a deep submergence vessel and its support ship. In two days, it should be on station above the location where bin Laden was supposedly buried. A portable DNA analysis kit and technician will be aboard the ship, so the analysis of the sample can take place immediately and under direct CIA control. That brings up the question — who’s going to be there?”

Christine canvassed the three other persons at the table. Rolow and Bryant would be tied up preparing for and then executing the Failaka Island mission, as would McFarland, providing analysis support. It appeared that Christine had the least pressurized schedule. After briefing the president tomorrow morning, she could board a flight to the Persian Gulf.

She hadn’t really thought about the issue until this moment, then realized it was the right answer. She wanted to be there when the DNA sample results were displayed on the machine. No secondhand reports.

“I’ll go,” she said.

“I’ll have Becky,” McFarland said, referring to Deputy Director for Support Becky Rock, “make your travel arrangements.”

McFarland added, “I have one more update, this one concerning the investigation into Secretary Verbeck. We’re analyzing the UUV data but have found nothing of interest to date. Of particular relevance, however, is that her maiden name is Snyder. Her brother is billionaire Dan Snyder.”

McFarland paused to let the information sink in. Christine knew that Brenda came from a rich and influential family but hadn’t realized that she and Dan Snyder were siblings.

“We’ve looked into Dan Snyder’s business dealings, and there are several lucrative ones in the Persian Gulf, our area of interest. No smoking gun yet, but we’re digging into the details.”

“Good work, Tracey. Hopefully, we can make sense of the SecNav-UUV issue soon.”

“That’s all I’ve got for now,” McFarland said.

As their meeting neared the end, Christine’s thoughts returned to their VTC and the fiery exchange between Rolow and Khalila. Until a few minutes ago, Christine hadn’t known that Khalila Dufour wasn’t the woman’s real name. Rolow had withheld that information. But that probably wasn’t all that unusual within the agency. Still, she was curious.

“What is Khalila’s true identity?”

Rolow replied, “That discussion will take a while. I’ll put an appointment on your calendar.”

After Christine agreed, Rolow asked, “Is there anything else you need?”

Christine shook her head, then Rolow departed, along with Bryant.

When only the two women remained in the conference room, McFarland said, “He’s not going to tell you who Khalila is. You’re not the first director who’s asked, and he’s avoided answering all these years.”

“Do you know who she is?” Christine asked.

“Nope. I can’t access her file.”

Christine was surprised at the admission. “Not even the deputy director for analysis can crack the file open?”

“I don’t know where it is. It’s not with the other personnel files. It’s hidden somewhere, and it doesn’t come up under a search for Khalila Dufour.”

“You’ve been snooping?”

McFarland nodded. “Rolow treats her differently from the other field officers, so I wondered why. Not being able to locate her file adds to the intrigue.”

She leaned back in her chair, eyeing Christine. “There’s one more topic I need to discuss with you,” she said. “It’s about the SecNav investigation. We’ve discovered one other rather interesting fact about Brenda Verbeck.” She leaned toward Christine. “She dated Rolow for five years.”

“You’ve got to be kidding.”

“Not at all. You think he would have mentioned it.”

“I agree. Have you discussed this with him yet?”

McFarland shook her head. “I wanted to talk with you first, see how you wanted to proceed.”

“What’s the normal protocol for something like this?”

“Technically, nothing is required. Rolow’s not under suspicion for anything; it’s more of an oddity at this point. But someone is going to have to pop the question to him — ask him why he hasn’t mentioned the relationship and find out what he knows about her. Do you want me to handle it, or do you want to talk with him?”

Christine considered the issue, then replied, “I’ll talk with him.” She stood. “Right now, as a matter of fact.”

“That might not be a good idea,” McFarland said. “He’s in a mood.”

Christine smiled. “That’s the best time to engage.”

She walked down the hallway to Rolow’s office. His door was closed, so she knocked, then entered after his acknowledgment. He was typing on his computer keyboard, his eyes fixed on the display.

“Can you wait a second?” he asked. “I’m dealing with something urgent.”

“That’ll work,” Christine replied sarcastically. “I’ll start talking, and you can pay more attention when I say something important.”

Rolow glanced at her before returning his attention to the display. He hadn’t picked up on her tone.

“After you left, Tracey provided an additional update on the SecNav investigation…”

“Uh-huh,” Rolow said as he kept typing.

“It was an interesting discovery concerning one of Verbeck’s previous romantic relationships.”

Rolow’s fingers stopped typing. He looked up at her. “And?”

“Why haven’t you mentioned that you dated Brenda for five years?”

He leaned back in his chair. “Because it’s not relevant.”

“That’s not how this is supposed to work. You provide the data, and we do the assessment.”

“So, now I’m guilty in some way because I dated Brenda? Does that mean that anyone who’s had a past relationship with a suspect is guilty by association?”

Before Christine could answer, he asked, “What about you and Mixell? You, Harrison, and Mixell are childhood chums. Best buddies. Given your previous relationship with Mixell, why aren’t you under suspicion every time he pops onto our radar?”

Rolow had a point. Her close friendship with Mixell was a delicate issue, considering current events. But she decided to ignore Rolow’s question.

“What happened between you?”

Rolow smiled, recognizing Christine’s deflection of his question. “I found her to be a bit too… conniving.”

Christine laughed. “Too conniving for the CIA’s deputy director for operations?”

“Brenda is a brilliant woman, her intellect overshadowed only by her ambition. She’s bent on climbing the rungs of power, always working on one scheme or another. To Brenda, relationships are merely a means to an end. She was more interested in what I could do for her professionally than what I had to offer as a boyfriend or husband. Regarding our relationship, there’s nothing noteworthy that I can recall. But if you must know the details, her favorite color is pink and she loves strawberry ice cream. She’s really good in bed, and her favorite position is — ”

“Okay, you can stop,” Christine interjected.

There was a tense moment between them before Christine asked, “Is there anything noteworthy that you recall about Brenda?”

“Not at the moment.”

“If you do, let us know.”

“Of course. That was always the plan.” Rolow smiled again. “Is there anything else?”

“Not at the moment,” Christine replied.