Element 94

by Kleiner Jeffries

  "Look at the activity just after this communication", Ben added, amplifying the image aboard the Yacht trailing the cargo freighter. It was obvious the increased activity directly followed the transmission they had intercepted.

  "Are we any closer to determining where this message originated?" Kelly asked hopefully.

  "No, not at all. Totally scrambled. I don't think we'll ever be able to Bill. These guys seem to have a pretty good idea of our capabilities…and limits", Ben responded.

  Ben continued to pour through the video, pausing briefly to review all radio intercepts purported to be linked to the Yacht. In all instances, the messages were rerouted and scrambled, shielding the location of the sender every time.

  Kelly cringed as they came upon the point in time when the freighter exploded. All the while, Ben continued to provide the facts of what had occurred as impassively and objectively as he could. As the image paused on C.J.'s capture aboard the yacht, Kelly couldn't help but be puzzled as to the retrieval of the containers. It was as if the terrorists knew there was no way to avoid being seen, and so made no attempt whatsoever to conceal their activity from the spy cameras above. But still, no evidence of the containers was evident. This bit of information was obviously quite deliberately concealed from view.

  "Ben, how did they get the radioactive devices on board?" Kelly asked.

  "I wasn't sure at first either. But I noticed something interesting about the report of the yacht you all found abandoned. There was a hatch in the hull towards the bottom of the boat. That is a custom addition, not found on the factory model of that vessel. It is entirely possible the containers were delivered through this unique opening."

  "How large is the hatch?"

  "It's pretty small actually, about two feet in diameter, max". Kelly nodded in thought after Ben spoke, prompting the analyst to ask a question of his own.

  "You thinking that’s why C.J.’s capture wasn’t better disguised?"

  "Yes, but also something else.”

  “Something else what?” Ben asked almost as if the question should not have required the asking to coax the reply.

  “Well, just that we've got some time to figure this one out, that’s all. How much, I don't know, but we've got a chance here. There's no way a weaponized device could fit through an opening like the one you just described", Kelly stated rather assuredly. It seemed as if their previous hypothesis about the nature of the smuggled device was correct. “That is, of course, if you’re certain there’s no other way a larger device could have been salvaged.”

  “I’m pretty sure. I see no other way those three containers could make it on board without our cameras picking it up”

  “Okay then”, Kelly said, satisfied.

  “Now at this point”, Ben motioned once again to the screen, which now read T + 120, denoting two hours after the freighter’s demise, “we lose the yacht. The predator’s cameras are focused on ground zero, and we don’t have an overhead satellite at this time.”

  It sounded strange to denote anything since the world trade center collapse as ground zero, particularly an event at sea, but the phrase, while immortalized, had not been retired out of lack of a suitable replacement.

  “But it’s pretty clear the divers on board retrieved the three containers and made way for the sound. They obviously knew we’d find the boat eventually, and scuttled the ship on Long Island.”

  “Do we have any idea where they are now?”

  “I can’t say for sure, but I’d have to think some of the men went to shore with the containers. As for C.J., I’ve no clue. He probably threw a twist into their plans, but I’d have to believe they will continue to interrogate him. And that means, he is probably on his way to see some higher-echelon people within the ranks of our adversary. I just don’t think we’ll find C.J. on U.S. soil any longer.”

  “Shit”, Kelly said under his breath, again regretting not having HERMES placed in his own operatives. Things would be different moving forward, but he had never had to face such a scenario before. Unfortunately, the system was difficult to change, and often took a calamity to readdress current practices. Kelly only hoped that in this case the calamity was not fatal.

  “Okay, we’ll do whatever we can for C.J. Now, what do you make of the discovery of Salaam’s body?” Kelly had informed Ben that fragments of the man’s body had been retrieved from the scene. How the death played out in Ben’s algorithm of what unfolded the night of the freighter assault Kelly did not know. Confirmation of his death was a key element of the ongoing investigation off the NY coastline.

  “Well, tough to say. My initial reaction was the man fits the profile of a martyr, and could have easily triggered the devices. But we know they used timers to synchronize the blasts. Salaam must have known about the neighboring yacht. Why didn’t he just give himself more time, and somehow escape to the sea? He had a chance to be saved by his men nearby, so why did those charges go off so prematurely? I mean, the man’s capable of martyrdom, but this was not some fool brainwashed to follow orders blindly. So the question again is, why did he feel the need to sacrifice himself, when an altogether better option existed?” The “altogether better option”, of course, denoted rescue by salaam’s fellow countrymen aboard the neighboring yacht. There was an obvious safety valve that had not been used. This is what seemed to puzzle the analyst.

  “So he could take more of us down with him?” Kelly speculated. “Or perhaps he feared capture, our discovery of the devices and potentially disabling them. It could be anything?”

  “Could be. But it could also be that one of your men triggered the devices.” Ben knew this statement would touch a nerve with his boss, but they had to consider all the possibilities, however unpleasant they might be.

  “Now why do you say that?” Kelly knew there was a leak, but was not yet convinced that it was someone within the vaunted operations group; that it could be one of the inner sanctum of his most trusted and revered unit was something he was still finding difficult to believe.

  “Just that Salaam is a survivor. I think he’d have taken that chance. But someone didn’t give it to him. Bill, do we have any idea how he died?” DNA had been retrieved for analysis from the body fragments found, but cause of death, given the state of the discovered material, could only be assumed.

  “Yeah, he got his head blown off by a bomb!”

  “Or maybe he was killed before the explosion.”

  “Are you suggesting one of my men killed him, and then set the charges in such a manner as to lead to such a calamity?” A heavy dose of incredulity marked Kelly’s words, but Ben persisted.

  “I’m saying it’s a possibility. I’ve read Salaam’s file. I know this man as well as anyone without firsthand knowledge can, and I’m telling you what happened out there is not consistent with his profile. I think he would have given himself a chance, that’s all.”

  “Ben, that’s preposterous. Why would…”

  Here, listen to this”, Ben said, cutting off Kelly in mid-sentence. Audio from the communications between the cutter and the dive team could now be heard through the speakers; it was policy to record everything for later review. The line was conspicuously silent, and Kelly was getting impatient.

  “Well?”

  “Hang on one more second…okay, there!” Ben exclaimed, and paused the feed. After seeing Kelly’s blank expression, he replayed the recording, manipulating several parameters in the process.

  “Here, listen again. Amplified threefold.”

  A faint swoosh could be heard in the background. Kelly’s face registered comprehension as he heard the break in the silence for a second time. The sound was muffled, almost imperceptible against the background noise. But there it was – the sound of…could it be? Yes, the sound was not unlike a shot fired through a silencer. They all carried one that evening.

  “How sure can we be about this?” Kelly asked.

  “It’s not 100%. Artifact error can occur during amplification. I isolated the soun
d as best as possible by filtering it through the system. Bill, this could be nothing, but I don’t want to ignore it either.”

  “Nor I”, Kelly agreed. “But let me play devil’s advocate for a minute. Why would one of my men risk his own life in the sabotage process? Not a single one of them escaped comfortably, and few were unscathed. Surely our hypothetical traitor had a better option than a close call like that?”

  Ben had anticipated this line of reasoning on Kelly’s part, and was prepared with a rebuttal. “Not necessarily. Bill, how else, but through such an audacious maneuver, could that cargo have been salvaged? Think about it - if the focus had not been so averted, that yacht might have been discovered right then and there by our intel, by the predator overhead. That explosion focused our assets on the immediate event; it clouded our peripheral vision, at least momentarily while we tried to pick up the pieces.”

  “So then why did your hypothetical traitor choose not work in tandem with Salaam?”

  “I’m not sure. But Bill, let me ask you. How did you know about that ship?”

  “Why are you changing the subject? What does that have to do with anything?” Ben was not privy to the existence of HERMES. Kelly had thought about telling the analyst before, but had decided against it. He was sworn to secrecy on the subject, along with the handful others who were in the know.

  “Because that may be the answer to your question.”

  A brief pause in the dialogue ensued. Bill digested Ben’s assertions, and finally grasped his point.

  “So you think the traitor meant to dispose of Salaam out of fear of his jeopardizing the operation?”

  “Yes, I think whoever was working for the other side was either concerned about Salaam’s loyalty, or else about his mere presence, and what risks keeping him alive entailed.”

  Bill was shocked at how close to the truth his analyst had come. But how had he arrived at such a conclusion?

  “Based on your analysis, Ben, why would you not just assume Salaam somehow tipped us off?”

  “That’s exactly what I am suggesting. Only I don’t think he knew he was the catalyst in his own downfall.”

  “Why’s that, Ben?” The analyst was right on, but Kelly wanted to know just how such a supposition arose. It might illuminate how transparent their activity might be to those who would use such information against them.

  “Because I’m an analyst. I know there was no way any of your agents could have planted both devices and salvaged the cargo in time. I looked at the blueprints, studied this thing ad nauseam. There just wasn’t enough time for one person to do everything in the narrow window of time when they boarded until the bombs went off. And what’s more, I don’t think Salaam could have pulled it off himself either. There were only 15 minutes between the communication we intercepted warning of the assault and detonation. Salaam had enough time to get his protective mask, and not much else. So at least 2 men were involved, and none of the Spaniards aboard the freighter are suspect. So that leaves Salaam’s participation in helping to set those explosives, but some assistance from a second individual – one of your men.”

  Ben paused momentarily to let Kelly digest the line of reasoning, and then proceeded.

  “Now, if Salaam tipped you off, why would he then work to bring you down? So I must conclude that he did not willfully betray his position, but somehow you were on to him” Looking Kelly more squarely now, Ben added “Now, how did you know Salaam was on that ship, Bill? Is there something you haven’t told me?

  When Kelly failed to answer, Ben pleaded on.

  “You just can’t expect me to help you if I don’t have all the facts. Now I know the implications of this case. I have a vested interest in this too, we all do. But I need you to help me help you…How did you find Salaam?”

  “Ben, there are some things I just can’t tell you.”

  “Good enough. But then you should know that if I don’t have a complete picture of the information before me, then by definition my analysis is compromised.”

  Kelly pondered this statement of Ben’s for a moment. Of course the analyst was correct; it boiled down to a simple axiom – garbage in, garbage out; any output depended upon accurate and complete input. But Hermes was a sensitive matter – perhaps the most sensitive in Kelly’s opinion. Then again, could he afford to have his analyst operating at anything less than 100%? With the threat now looming, the answer was obvious – no. A risk-benefit analysis supported a changed stance on this issue.

  “Ben, we never had this discussion.” And with that, Kelly began to fill in the analyst about the Hermes project in its entirety. The reaction he got was pleasantly surprising from the left-leaning analyst.

  “Son-of-a…So that’s how we finally got to everyone after being able to capture no more than a trickle of the most wanted Qaeda, Taliban, and Iraqi Baath party loyalists following Afghanistan and Iraq. You just unleashed an army of unwitting Trojan spies that you knew would take you right to the sources…And all the while, looking quite humanitarian to the outside world - what with the kind treatment, massive releases from incarceration…just unbelievable!” The words were spoken in such a way as to denote his approval of the project, even his admiration at its brilliance.

  “So do any of your men know about HERMES, Bill. Because if my theory holds, and one of your inner circle is complicit in this, then…”

  “No Ben, no one except Mack. And we cleared him from the outset, right?”

  Ben nodded, and Kelly then continued “And of course the STAT group that maintains the system.”

  “So assuming our enemies do not know about HERMES, then why the need to kill Salaam? Why would they have to fear him?”

  “I don’t know. Perhaps just a gut instinct, a suspicion, I just don’t know. Or perhaps this is where your theory just breaks down.”

  Ben refused to abandon the hypothesis just yet. “Well, what about STAT? And maybe we need to reexamine Mack’s hand in this?”

  “I just can’t believe Mack or anyone at STAT had anything to do with this.”

  “Well who do you think did then? You’ve been cagey about discussing this Bill, but it all fits into one big jigsaw puzzle. Every part of this case is linked with the others, and if we don’t solve one piece, the rest may not fall into place. We can’t just subdivide and conquer this investigation piecemeal – it has to be viewed in its entirety.”

  “I agree Ben, that’s why we’re here.”

  “So tell me what your thoughts are about the weakness in your command and organization structure. You had a hand in recruiting them all, so what is your best guess as to who the double agent is… That is what he is, right, a double agent?” Ben tried to lighten the mood somewhat with this last query.

  “I guess so. Have you been watching too many movies again?” The fleeting smile the CT chief adorned was now gone as he added more seriously: “Every time I think I might have some inkling as to who it is, I find a valid reason to lessen, or even negate the suspicion. Take Ali, for instance. His upbringing is the most suspect - he grew up in Sudan, didn’t make it to this country until he was older. But when he was still a child he lost family in a suicide bombing and has been raging against the fundamentalists ever since. And, he’s been my most efficient agent over the years. If I told you how he’s risked his ass for me, you’d automatically cross him off that list of ours.”

  “Not to mention that it was Ali who raised the alarm about the explosive in the stern of the freighter. Without him, the whole team may have been lost, right?” Ben noted.

  “Exactly.”

  “But it is curious that he was the one who found the bomb, no?”

  “Yes, I gave that fact significant consideration. But just because he triggered the warning, it simply does not follow that he planted the bomb. This was not the first time that man saved my life, and if I owe anyone the benefit of the doubt, it’s Ali “

  “Bill, I’m not making accusations here, just some constructive analysis. Now bear with me here. Ali m
ay have had his reasons for saving the cutter and her crew. And I’m not talking about a paroxysm of remorse here. Maybe…just, maybe, he needed you and the cutter intact to save his own ass.”

  “He didn’t need the cutter – he had the yacht nearby. If he really wanted to kill us all… God, I can’t believe I’m even engaging you in this debate.”

  “Bill, it’s time you went over this with someone. Nothing is as simple as it first appears.”

  “I never said it was, Ben. You don’t think I’ve gone through this calculation already. Shall I move on?”

  “Sure”

  “Now take Stevie. He escaped unscathed, with radio intact, the works – which automatically invites suspicion. But then he divulges critical information about the salvaged container. Why he would do that, if he were the traitor, I have no idea? A.J. one would suspect last, given what his brother is enduring as we speak, but do we really know for sure he’s not involved? No. We just do not know shit!”

  Kelly regained his composure, and continued more calmly, “Ben, all I’m saying is I can go on the same about each and every one of them. Oh, and I almost forgot – Mack feels DOD may represent an intelligence leak as well, what with HERMES operating by way of the military GPS system. So we can go in dizzying circles here without further information.”

  “Or without a motive.” Ben added correctly.

  “Yes, that would help. But I just can’t find one – for any of the men. They have all risked their lives for me and for this country. I just cannot fathom how or why any one of them would turn their back on us now?”

  Ben could sense the topic was frustrating Kelly. He had probably spent many nights going over his men, painstakingly reviewing each and every bit of their backgrounds. They would make no further progress at this time, and he decided to shift gears. There was one new and important bit of information he still had to disclose to his boss. But first he had to elicit some more information out of Kelly. There might be more than just HERMES to which he had not been made aware.