“I don’t know now. It depends on what Brandson tells us and how soon the Dutch can be ready. If you don’t mind, I’ll leave that little liaison issue for you and SecNav to sort out.”
“All right. I’ll keep you posted.”
Claire left him, and Mike sat alone thinking about the young STL at Fort Bragg.
***
Randy arrived early and had unfolded a map that was laying on the table. He was waiting for Brandson, who entered, ten minutes later, carefully maneuvering his way inside the box while holding a folder and his oversized coffee mug. He didn’t spill a drop as he sat the two down on the table and then turned to close the seal-proof door he’d left standing open when he came in.
“Me and coffee, an old navy habit,” he said, after gently sitting himself in a chair.
“Can’t stand the stuff myself,” Randy stated. He watched the old spy veteran open the folder he had laid on the table. “I’ve been sitting here thinking about the op and wondering about the increased level of interest you seem to be showing in it, which has me a bit baffled. Is there something about your time in the navy, Bill, that has you jacked up about this particular op?”
Brandson finished a sip of coffee while briefly reflecting on his past. He sat the mug down.
“I joined the navy in 1968. I was in the Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M when I took my commission after graduating. Six years later, I relinquished my commission when the agency offered me a spying career.”
Brandson paused for a moment, taking another sip of coffee. Randy thought he was through and decided to dig a little further to see if he could learn a bit more about his boss.
“So… you came in from the military, as did Shocklee and me, except we came in as knuckle draggers, paramilitary types, and later became ops officers. How did the agency get an interest in you while you were in the navy? Weren’t you approached by a recruiter while in college?”
“Yeah, there was a recruiter who approached me about six months before graduation. I turned him down and decided on a career with the navy. My father was a navy careerist and had hopes that I would follow in his footsteps someday, so I did.”
“Well, what brought you back in contact with the agency?”
“I was detailed to the agency in the early seventies. The CIA wanted help from the navy, someone with an engineering degree, to help with the Glomar Explorer Project, and I got the nod.”
Randy was impressed. “Wow, I guess that must have been an interesting assignment. But, as I recall from reading about the op, it wasn’t a total success. Was it?”
Brandson had a brief flashback of six Soviet submariners being given a formal sea burial.
“We managed to get a couple of nuclear-tipped torpedoes and some of their cryptographic machines, but not much more.” He pulled out his wallet and showed Randy a picture. “That’s my son standing on the hull of a boomer—a ballistic class submarine. He was the XO then; today, he’s the captain of a fast tracker—a Los Angeles class submarine on duty someplace out in the Atlantic. Now, that’s enough about me. Where are we with NEEDFUL QUEST?”
Randy slid the map and his chair over closer to Brandson.
“You’ve seen a copy of the message sent from headquarters, so we know the team will cross the border south of Narva. It’s nearly a hundred miles from there to Saint Petersburg, which means they’ll need transportation and a place to stage for the op. The RAVENS have a hunting cabin located here,” he indicated, by pointing to an area on the map. “There’s nothing else around for miles. It’s been used before without any problems. It’s located about nine miles inland from the border, which means the team could get there in about eight hours on foot. We can use it as the initial rendezvous point.”
Randy paused for a moment and without any comment from Brandson, continued.
“From the hunting cabin, we’ll need to get them to a safe house closer to the target—one they can use to rest for a few days before going after Mauldin. I suspect they’ll want a day or two to acclimate and possibly time to make a trial run. I’m recommending that we use the PELICAN farmhouse to satisfy that requirement.” Randy pointed to the map again. “It’s located here, in Telezi, about twenty-five miles outside the city in a location where there are very few neighbors. We can stage the ops vehicles in the barn and use the place for Allison to brief Nina and get her updated on the operation.”
Bill interjected.
“Nina! You think that using the best reporting asset we have down there to support the op is a good move? She’s young, inexperienced, and ill-prepared for a role like this. Why her and not someone else? And what about Allison? She’s under nonofficial cover—a NOC. If something bad happens, we’ll have two people to get out of the country instead of one.”
“To be frank with you, boss, we don’t have anyone else down there capable of supporting the team the way Nina and Allison can. Nina’s mobile; she knows the territory, and she can move about the area freely without raising any suspicion. She’s been all over the area down there conducting interviews with the military. She’s a quick thinker; someone who can talk herself and the team out of a tough situation if they happen to run into trouble while making their way from the rendezvous point to the safe house. Also, Allison handles all three of the assets that will be involved in supporting the operation: Nina, the PELICANS, and the RAVENS. I don’t think introducing someone new from the station will work very well.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right, but have Allison spend some time with Nina to give her some hands-on training. I think we’ve got about four weeks before the ops team will be ready to leave, and Jeff has said that SE plans on sending out the diversion team. I think the FSB will recognize them as agency personnel as soon as they’ve applied for visas, which fits with the plan.”
“What about the timing of their arrival? Should we get them geared up now?”
“Yeah, I think so. Send a message to Jeff and see if they can deploy the same day the insertion team leaves for Den Helder. We can really screw with the FSB by having the diversion team running about the city as soon as they get here. Ten days to two weeks of clandestine backstreet maneuvering will be more than enough to keep the FSB surveillance teams occupied and the gurus at Lubyanka wondering what the hell is going on. Also, go ahead and set up a meeting with Allison. I’d like a detailed plan that incorporates her and Nina’s roles in supporting the operation, as well as the RAVENS. I know Allison knows this, but tell her I said to exercise extreme caution when making the support arrangements, and I want Nina prepared for a worse-case scenario.”
***
Forty-eight hours later, Moscow’s DCOS was sitting with Allison in the business class lounge at the Helsinki Airport. Allison had ostensibly been called back to Helsinki for a company business meeting, and Randy had gone to Helsinki to visit with the embassy. They had both spent the day tending to their respective business arrangements and afterward met in the lounge. The tactic to meet at the airport was a security protocol the station developed for face-to-face meetings with their Saint Petersburg NOC. Station operatives working under commercial cover, also referred to as nonofficial cover, were mainly used to handle support assets. In this case, Allison had a full plate handling the PELICANS, the RAVENS, and Nina, who was considered by headquarters to be a foreign intelligence reporting asset.
The PELICANS were an older couple of Estonian heritage with grandchildren attending school in Europe. The money the CIA paid to the elderly couple more than covered the cost of their grandchildren’s education. When the CIA needed to use the safe house, the PELICANS were sent to Tallinn, ostensibly to visit with relatives. When the use of the safe house was no longer required, Allison, via another Moscow security protocol, would advise Tallinn Station to inform the couple that they were free to return home.
The RAVENS were a homogenous cluster of four assets. Two brothers, Otto and Paavi, owned and operated a garage and vehicle repair shop with the help of two cousins Reko and Sakke. Reko was the shop
mechanic and Sakke the tow truck operator. They were all of Finnish heritage. The CIA had paid the brothers to move to Saint Petersburg years earlier to establish a business that could support agency operations. Later, the brothers brought in other family members to support the business, the two cousins, who were paid handsomely to make the move. The RAVENS were trusted and vetted assets who had been on the agency payroll for many years. In fact, it was Otto’s, RAVEN/1’s, suggestion that they acquire the hunting cabin located near the Narva Reservoir.
Allison was surprised when Randy told her of headquarters’ decision to go after Mauldin, and even more when he told her of the decision to use Nina as the embedded asset, but she didn’t argue against it; it wasn’t her place to do so. They had plenty of time to discuss the operation and the many different action items. They came up with a good plan. Allison would meet with Nina at the safe house, explain the op, and teach her how to handle a firearm. The RAVENS would be tasked with providing a large van—one that could not be traced back to them or Nina and have it stored in a rented warehouse. RAVEN/3 would ensure that the van was in good running condition. RAVEN/4, with his tow truck, would be the only one on the street during the op to run interference if the team ran into trouble nabbing Mauldin and had to bug out.
Allison was the one who came up with the security protocol that Nina and Shocklee could use to verify each other’s bona fides. They went over the plan several times to ensure that all bases had been covered, including team communications. Before boarding her plane, Allison would purchase four prepaid phones with international SIM calling capability for use during the operation. Back in Saint Petersburg, she would program each phone for a quick dial to each of the principal participants. She would be listed as CONTACT. RAVEN/4 would be listed as HELP. Nina would be listed as LOCAL and Shocklee simply as TL, meaning team leader. She would explain everything to R/4 and Nina after she got back home. The phones would not be distributed until days before being needed for the operation. It also meant that she’d be carrying three different cell phones to use: one for her to communicate with Nina for normal spy business, one for her use with the ops team, and one for her to communicate with Randy during the op.
The call to board Allison’s flight came two hours later, after she had purchased the phones. She left, and Randy followed suit an hour later after having purchased a similar phone. They both left Helsinki feeling good about the plan.
Chapter Six
Border Crossing
Dutch naval authorities were aware of what was being reported in the news regarding illegal Russian submarine activity in Swedish territorial waters and the claim made by the Russian media that it could have been a Dutch sub. However, it was not their sub, although there had been one in the area participating in a joint training exercise with the Swedes. That sub had left the joint training exercise area two days before information about the Russian violation started to appear as public news. Based on their obligation as a NATO member, the Dutch felt compelled to support the Swedes by releasing a statement to the press denying that the sub was one of theirs.
The Dutch decision to release the press statement was, of necessity, coordinated with officials from the US Navy to give them a “heads up” so that contingency plans could be developed should the Russians show an increased interest in Dutch submarine activities. Months earlier, the US had proposed, and the Dutch had agreed, to conduct a highly classified joint operation. The exercise with the Swedes was part of the planning to secretly advance the movement of a US Navy SEAL team from Den Helder, the headquarters of the Dutch submarine fleet, to a designated drop-off point near the Estonian coastline.
Preparing for unexpected events is paramount when it comes to successfully completing an intelligence operation and Windstrum knew that. The fact that the Russians had a submarine illegally operating in Swedish territorial waters at the same time the Dutch sub was there was not an event that anyone had anticipated, and it concerned her.
Did they have a source in the Dutch Navy who had revealed details of the ongoing operation? Or had they been tipped off about the joint training exercise by some other source and had their sub there to monitor the exercise?
She hoped that the op hadn’t been compromised. Thankfully, the Dutch submarine, commanded by Captain Marcus, with six other officers and a crew of forty-six men, was already at a naval base in Tallinn when news of the incident first appeared in the press. Her team was safe, for the time being, as they had yet to be moved to the designated drop-off point. She thought about advising the director to cancel the operation for fear that the Russians were on to them. Instead of acting impulsively, she decided to check with Taylor at navy to get his input. She picked up the phone and informed her office aide to put a call through to him.
“Afternoon, Jim,” she said, after being informed that the secretary was a holding on a secure line. “Are you having any second thoughts about using a Dutch sub instead one of our own?”
“Not really. Why are you asking?”
“You haven’t heard the news? The stink going on out there between the Swedes and the Russians?”
“If you’re talking about the AP report, yes, I have, and no, I don’t have any increased concerns. The mission is still a go. You’ll be the first to know if we decide otherwise.”
“We! Don’t give me this we, bullshit, Jim. You and I haven’t decided anything since that AP report came out. The Dutch are a key player, but this is principally a joint operation between our two organizations and any ops decision made as it pertains to the security of the operation is to be made by you and me or the director.”
“Let’s keep the conversation civil,” he responded. “I’m aware of my community obligations; you don’t need to remind me of that. I was referring to we, the US Navy, and not anyone else. The Dutch haven’t expressed any ops concerns to me. I’ll let you know if they do, and we can take it from there.”
“All right, but I want to make sure we’re on the same page regarding decisions being made about operational security. I’ll brief J. D. and let him know what’s been going on out there, that we have discussed the risks, and have concluded that the op is still a go. Stay in touch.”
The DDO slowly placed the handset back in its cradle. No concerns my ass, Windstrum thought, reflecting on previous decisions they had made about the operation. She recalled the argument Jim had made against using a US sub, which was based on Russia’s ability to track sub movement in the Baltic Sea. So they decided to bring the Dutch in on the operation, and the Dutch agreed after learning the details and realizing the potential benefit they could receive if the US was successful in acquiring information on the development of Russian submarine stealth technology. Claire instinctively knew that Taylor had already agreed with the Dutch to continue the operation without getting her input. She picked up the AP report and read it again.
STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden’s biggest submarine hunt since the dying days of the Soviet Union has put countries around the Baltic Sea on edge.
In a scene, reminiscent of the Cold War, Swedish naval ships, helicopters, and ground troops combed the Stockholm archipelago for a fourth day for signs of a foreign submarine or smaller underwater craft that officials suspect entered Swedish waters illegally.
While Sweden hasn’t linked any country to the suspected intrusion—and Moscow suggested it was a Dutch sub—the incident sent a chill through the Baltic Sea region, where Russian forces have been accused of a series of border violations on land, sea, and air in recent months.
Swedish military officials say there have been three sightings of the elusive craft since Friday, just 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of Stockholm amid the myriad of islands and skerries that stretch from the capital into the Baltic Sea.
A military spokesman said more than two hundred personnel were involved in the operation but stressed that unlike Sweden’s submarine hunts in the 1980s, the military wasn’t using depth charges or other antisubmarine weapons.
A local Swedish n
ewspaper has reported that Swedish intelligence picked up distress signals suggesting a Russian minisubmarine had run into trouble in Swedish waters and could be damaged.
The official government newspaper of Russia, the Rossiiskaya Gazeta, questioned whether there was any submarine at all, noting the Swedes hadn’t found anything.
A defense ministry official quoted by the Tass news agency pointed fingers at a Dutch submarine that participated in an exercise with the Swedish Navy last week. The unidentified official suggested Sweden should save “taxpayers’ money” and ask the Netherlands for an explanation.
The Dutch navy said that the submarine left Sweden on Thursday and had been in Estonia since early Friday. In Sweden, Armed Forces spokesman Philip Simon said the Dutch submarine was not what triggered the Swedish search.
She laid the document back down, thinking that the Swedish Intelligence Service probably planted the story. She knew they didn’t have the means to decrypt Russian radio communications and, therefore, couldn’t have detected a distress signal, but they probably wanted the Russians to think they had. She also thought about the reporting of a small underwater craft being in the area illegally.
Were the Russian’s using a small sub, under semihostile conditions, to test advancements made in the program that Dr. Mauldin had been working on?
She began typing a note for the director.
J. D.,
Per the attached article, there could be some increased risk in continuing the operation to get Mauldin. I’ve discussed the recent events being reported in the AP article with SecNav. He and the Dutch want to continue the operation, and I agree, although, I believe the Russians are probably more alert to activities in the area than they normally would be due to the stink being made by the Swedes. Also, in recent weeks, as noted in the article, elements of Russia’s 6th Army have been particularly active in the Western Military District, which is the geographic area abutting the Baltic States. We’ll continue to move forward with the op unless I hear something different from you.
Asset Page 4