by Frank Perry
on a case that developed through some of our international partners following a missing SS-18 “SATAN” missile warhead. This warhead carries ten smaller maneuvering warheads, which are each nuclear bombs. Combined, they yield ten megatons.”
Luke said, “And you think my investigation has something to do with this”?
Angela had come to the office and was introduced.
Aston said, “We treat information of this sort with extreme sensitivity. Yesterday, and on through the night, we worked on special access clearances for you, the SAC, and Agent Kerr. So today, your official clearance, in addition to your Justice Department clearances, is TS within the Defense Department, for this investigation only. My office in Washington will maintain your actual clearances. There’s also a SAR—Special Access Required--designation, which means extra restrictions, but the underlying intelligence information remains classified at the Top Secret level. Is that all clear?”
Sam said, “Rachael, I think we would all like to be brought up to speed on whatever you can tell us.”
“Okay, not much is written down that I can transport around, so please bear with me while I give you the oral version. I’ll spare you the details, but feel free to ask.
“Several weeks ago, the Russian MOD informed their intelligence agency, the GRU, that an inspection at the Dombarovski Missile Division showed an SA-18 warhead missing. Dombarovski is home of the Red Banner Division and is located in Southern Russia, just north of the border with Kazakhstan. We were informed in accordance with our various international agreements, but we cannot be sure when the warhead was taken from its bunker. These inspections are only done twice per year. With a strong black market and unpaid military, you can imagine the temptations, particularly with a robust mafia.
“Now, this is very rugged country and there are few ways to move something this size. We don’t believe it was dismantled. Frankly, it’s only safe to transport the whole warhead in its storage container. The container is designed for truck trailers and trains. It will fit in sea-going cargo containers called ‘Seavans.’ These are the containers you see on ships and trains that transfer to semi-truck platforms.
“Anyway, through cooperation and analysis of DSP, Defense Support Program, satellite imagery, we believe we can partially trace the movement of the warhead to the Caspian Sea. We’re reasonably sure the shipment crossed the Caspian to Baku, Azerbaijan, then transshipped by rail or truck to Tiblisi, Georgia. From there it went by rail to Trabzon, Turkey, and loaded aboard ship in the Black Sea.”
Angela was engaged by the facts. “So, terrorists bought this warhead and somehow got it into the states?”
Rachael continued, “That’s our fear, but let me give you more circumstantial information. Timing of events and convergence of information seems to confirm that it is headed to the US. In fact, with your work here and some related criminal activity in New York, we assume that the weapons have made it across our borders.”
A chilling sense of urgency infected each of them.
Aston went on, “Okay, we have some other information that needs to be factored in. We have some crossover events that have happened in the past six months, which seem to be related. Some of this is already being worked at the national level, and we will be issuing alerts to federal and local law enforcement agencies. But, from the intelligence side, we have some ELINT, Electronic Intelligence, primarily cellular phone call interceptions, and some massive funding transfers from accounts known to be controlled by terrorist groups. These are being investigated separately. But, what I can tell you is that we have been monitoring the movement of Hasan Razzaq, a top Hezbollah planner. He entered the US, two weeks ago.”
“Why wasn’t he caught then?” Angela asked what all were thinking.
“He wasn’t recognized by ICE immediately. We have a means of detecting him, but he was out of the airport at Kennedy before we could catch him. Now, it’s more important to track him to see where he leads us. We are keeping him under 24/7 observation. We think there is a connection with the killing of Curran.
Angela preempted the SAC and Luke, “So, you think the weapons are here? What is the protocol? What should we be doing?”
Rachael answered, “Protocol is still being worked out. You represent the federal Government here; and should have legal jurisdiction. Although, I suspect other agencies will be claiming authority. It may mean a lot of ‘suits’ around here and communications will be horrendous. When Timothy McVeigh blew up the Muhr building in ’95, forty-one different federal agencies claimed jurisdiction. It was a mess and cost lives. Lines are a little clearer now, but this could still be really messy.
“The Posse Comitatus Act still applies, even with the Patriot Act. The military is highly restricted from any domestic operations. Under the law, the Attorney General can request that the Secretary of Defense provide emergency assistance if civilian law enforcement is inadequate or the threat involves release of nuclear materials. The Governor of the state must also agree.”
“So, we could have martial law over this?” Luke wasn’t thrilled.
Rachael said, “I don’t think so, it’s up to the Attorney General to request the assistance, and your SAC has influence there.”
Sam interjected, “What we need to do now is to define our next steps. I’ll be the lead person at our office, and assume you Rachael are the DOD lead? The other two men we met yesterday are the POC’s in their Departments? What other vital information can you share with us, do we have everything?”
She answered in reverse order, “You have everything I can share at this time. I can’t speak for the other agencies, but feel free to interface with Graves and that Secret Service guy---I don’t remember his name.
“Sam, I’ll know everything we find through Intel sources, and I would appreciate regular reports from your office. We’ll set up a secure website for email.”
Sam responded, “Okay Rachael, but you recognize that I will need to clear this with Washington.” Sam had been in the federal game long enough to know how parochial things could get. He used his discretion most of the time based on twenty-five years with the Fed, but not this time.
Shell Game
Sam located an unoccupied office for Rachael. Neither of them was sure how long she would be in Chicago. Luke and Angela went to their cubicles, where Luke called Jim Freeman at the Newark office.
“Jim, its Luke Gallagher from Chicago.”
“Hey Luke, what’s happening?”
“Jim, I was wondering if anything had turned up on the murder case of that freight guy you were investigating?”
“No, we should probably get at it, but the case is being handled by the local police. Is there some reason you, or we, the Fed, should be checking things?”
“I can’t say too much, but we think there may be a connection between the cases. It could involve terrorist smuggling. Do you know what a Seavan is?”
Jim chuckled, “Are you kidding, know about Seavans? Man, these things take up half our time. We exist for illegal trafficking in Seavans. What would you want to know?”
“I’m not sure. Is there a way something as large as a seavan could get off a ship and onto a truck or train without customs inspection?”
“Are you serious? We get over a hundred thousand containers per month through New York. Only about two percent actually get inspected. Security depends on software and reciprocal agreements with foreign countries.”
“What if someone needed a guarantee, not ninety eight percent, one hundred percent certainty that the shipment would go through?”
“Enough money in the right places could do it.”
Luke said, “So, let’s say it involved both of our vics, how could they get a Seavan into port and onto a truck without any risk of detection?”
“Ports are not as secure as we need. Most laws are based on revenue, not security. The bad guys just break things up into smaller loads and rely on the laws of probability that most o
f the stuff will get through. It’s a money game. If it has to be in one container, it’d be hard to guarantee. But inside crooks could pull it off.”
“I can’t say much, but we think a container made it into the states. I’m not so familiar with seagoing cargo, it’s possible these guys were collaborating. Thanks for your help Mark, I’m sure we’ll be talkin’ again.” He hung up and went to the vending machine for a stale sandwich.
After lunch, Luke called MLC International and asked for Henry Miller.”
“Yeeellow, this is Hank.” Luke identified himself and explained that they needed records of all Seavan transshipments through their office in the past three to eight weeks.
Hank said, “Ah, okay Agent Gallagher, the old man said I could assist you, so I’ll figure he still means it. Now, is it just Seavans you want?”
“I think so, unless there are other shipping containers about the same size under different names.”
Hank replied, “Nah, we call them all Seavans. Now, we handle a lot of packaged goods, but not so many trucks. Let me see (keystrokes on his computer could be heard); well, it looks like we have had maybe a couple dozen Seavans in the last few months.”
Luke asked, “What kind of records do you keep?”
Hank said, “Well sir, as I showed you when you were here, we have a fully automated record system that’s approved by US Customs. So, we have