“The second scenario is that bin Laden was, in fact, killed, and al-Qaeda has learned the identities of the SEALs who participated in the Abbottabad raid and is arranging their deaths.”
McFarland turned to Christine, awaiting her questions or direction.
“Any comments?” Christine asked.
Rolow replied, “The implications of bin Laden being captured are far worse than al-Qaeda exacting revenge. If he was taken alive, we’d be dealing with a rogue U.S. organization covering its tracks, operating outside the law, willing to murder anyone who threatens to expose what they’ve done.”
Christine asked McFarland, “Any thoughts on how to proceed, from an Analysis perspective?”
“The first step should be to determine whether bin Laden was killed or taken captive. Once that’s determined, we’ll know which scenario we’re dealing with. I recommend a two-pronged approach. The first is to prove bin Laden was indeed the man killed on the third floor.”
“How do we do that?” Bryant asked. “The body was buried at sea.”
“It was, but what isn’t well known was that a sonic beacon was included in the plastic bag with the tie-down chains, so his body could be located and retrieved later if desired. The beacon has enough battery power to transmit for twenty years, maybe longer. With the necessary support, the body can be located and a DNA sample taken. That will determine whether the man we buried was bin Laden.”
“How deep is the water where he was buried?” Christine asked.
McFarland looked up USS Carl Vinson’s reported location at the time of bin Laden’s burial, then pulled up a bathymetric chart of the Arabian Sea. “Just over nine thousand feet.”
“Does the agency have a deep-submergence vessel that can go that deep?” Christine asked.
Rolow shook his head.
“Then we’re going to need assistance, which complicates things. We’ll need to disguise the reason we need a DSV, or at least minimize the number of people who know. If we’re truly dealing with a bin-Laden-is-alive scenario, we’ll need to prevent the organization responsible from being alerted. They’ve already proven they’re willing to take draconian measures to cover their tracks, and we need to ensure agency personnel don’t become additional casualties.”
“Agreed,” McFarland replied. “I’ll ensure our DSV requests are for an innocuous reason.”
“What’s the second method to figure out which bin Laden scenario we’re dealing with?” Christine asked.
“The other approach is to prove bin Laden is alive. To do that, we need to track down the prisoner taken from the third floor. The only lead we have takes us to Kuwait, so we should start there.”
“I agree,” Rolow said. “I recommend we send Harrison and Khalila to Kuwait, to see if they can ferret out where the prisoner is located.”
Christine nodded her agreement. “Start fleshing out the details, and let’s reconvene tomorrow. Anything else we need to discuss tonight?”
No comments were offered, so Christine said, “I think we know what we need to do: if Osama is dead, verify the body we buried is his. If he’s alive, find him.”
Christine departed the conference room, as did the others except for Bryant and Rolow.
Once they were alone, Bryant turned to Rolow. “Assigning Khalila to this mission is a mistake. You should reconsider.”
“Her contacts in the region are already the best in the agency,” Rolow replied. “If we manage this issue properly, we can improve those contacts dramatically.”
“I agree with you on that. It’s the contacts she’ll need to engage that I’m worried about — they’re too dangerous. Khalila is a crown jewel for both sides, and getting her involved in this issue puts her too much at risk. If they get their hooks into her, we might not get her back.”
“We were always going to have to risk her at some point,” Rolow replied. “This is it.”
28
USS MICHIGAN
Lieutenant Karen Bass leaned over the navigation table in the Control Room, studying Michigan’s operating area outlined on the electronic chart, deciding where to search next. They were approaching shallow water and needed to turn either north or south. Inside the Sonar Room, the sonar technicians were likewise studying their displays, searching for a sign of either the UUV or the mother ship that had retrieved it two days ago.
Captain Wilson’s trip to periscope depth for a videocon with the secretary of the Navy had been swift, but the mother ship and its UUV, operating beneath the thermocline, had vanished by the time Michigan’s acoustic sensors had dipped below the layer of warm water. They had spent the last two days scouring the surrounding area, focused primarily on the mother ship, since it emitted significantly louder tonals than the UUV. When they detected either contact, Michigan’s crew would be ready.
Torpedoes were loaded in all four tubes, with the outer doors open. Wilson had decided to keep Michigan in a ready-to-shoot posture, avoiding the noise transients caused by opening the torpedo tube muzzle and outer hull doors. The first sound the UUV or mother ship could detect would be the launch itself and not the torpedo doors opening.
“Conn, Sonar.” The Sonar Supervisor’s voice came across the Conn speakers. “Hold a new contact on the towed array, designated Sierra three-four, ambiguous bearings two-four-two and two-nine-eight. Analyzing.”
Bass glanced at the navigation display. Whatever they had detected was behind them, in either the port or starboard quarter. That was okay for the moment. She would keep Michigan steady on course until the contact’s bearing rate had been determined, which would feed the necessary information to the algorithms in the submarine’s combat control system.
A few minutes later, after sufficient data had been accumulated, Bass decided to turn south, to a course that put both bearings on the starboard side. The maneuver would resolve which of the two bearings was the real one and which was the false, mirror image.
“Helm, right twenty degrees rudder, steady course one-eight-zero.”
The former ballistic missile submarine, almost two football fields long, turned slowly to the south.
The Helmsman steadied the submarine on its new course, and the towed array eventually stopped snaking back and forth behind them, stretching back out into a straight line.
“Conn, Sonar. Bearing ambiguity has been resolved. Sierra three-four bears three-zero-one.”
Bass analyzed the new information. The bearing to the contact had shifted only slightly during the maneuver, indicating the contact was on a narrow aspect course — pointed almost directly toward Michigan. She checked the tentative solution on the active combat control console; the fire control technician had come to the same conclusion.
Sonar’s next report came over the speakers. “Conn, Sonar. Sierra three-four is classified submerged, with Seawolf tonals.”
Stepping onto the Conn, Lieutenant Bass acknowledged the report and selected the Captain’s stateroom on the 27-MC control box, then pulled the microphone from its holder.
“Captain, Officer of the Deck.”
The submarine’s Commanding Officer answered. “Captain.”
“Sir, hold a new submerged contact with Seawolf tonals on the towed array, designated Sierra three-four, bearing three-zero-one.”
Wilson arrived in Control a moment later and stepped onto the Conn, stopping beside Bass. After examining the sonar display, he turned to his Officer of the Deck.