The Bin Laden Plot

As Harrison and Khalila rode the elevator to the seventh floor of the Original Headquarters Building, they discussed the next step in their search for Mixell. They had spent the day at the National Counterterrorism Center in McLean, Virginia, a logistical hub staffed by fourteen government agencies, including the CIA and FBI, which coordinated the collation and dissemination of terrorist-related information within the U.S. intelligence community. Working on the main floor among sixty other analysts, with supervisors observing from glass-enclosed offices on the second floor, they had reviewed the cases being investigated, searching for potential links to Mixell. They had found nothing thus far.

A half hour earlier at McLean, messages had appeared on his and Khalila’s computers — a meeting had been scheduled for 5 p.m. today at Langley, with their attendance required. As they stepped from the elevator and headed down the hallway, Khalila spoke.

“Thank you for what you did the other day, insisting I be authorized access to the Neptune Spear program. When Rolow directed me to leave, you could have done nothing and have been rid of me. Why did you do it?”

“Because my goal is to track Mixell down as soon as possible. He killed McNeil, so he’s probably involved with Neptune Spear in some way. If so, I suspect those leads will take me to the Middle East. As Rolow pointed out, when it comes to the linguistic skills and contacts in the region, you’re the best the agency has to offer. In that regard, it was a logical decision to include you.”

“And in other regards?”

Harrison eyed her for a moment, wondering why he needed to explain the obvious. Upon his return to the agency, Khalila had proffered a deal: he could trust her as long as he didn’t learn her true identity. They had shaken on it, but Harrison had reservations. There was no telling what situation he might be in when he discovered her real identity, nor could he predict her response.

“The inability to completely trust you is a problem,” he replied. “Conditional trust, as you put it, doesn’t really work.”

“Trust is an overblown commodity,” Khalila replied.

“What’s more important?”

“Competence. Putting your trust in an incompetent partner will get you killed.”

“You don’t get it,” Harrison replied. “Both elements are required for a team to function properly.”

Khalila stopped suddenly, and Harrison turned to face his partner, as did Khalila. She stepped closer, stopping only a few inches from his face. At six feet tall, Khalila was only two inches shorter than he was, and her eyes bored into his.

“Oh, I do get it. I just disagree. I know for a fact that complete trust is not an essential element.”

“How do you know that?”

Her lips pursed momentarily, then she replied, “None of your business.”

She continued toward the conference room, bumping into him on purpose as she passed.

Harrison shook his head. He was beginning to regret the olive branch he had extended by requesting Khalila be read into the program. It had been an attempt to establish the trust between them that he considered essential. Then he realized he’d gotten it all wrong. Khalila already trusted him. It was he who didn’t trust her, and his effort had reinforced the wrong side of the issue.

Khalila was already seated when he entered the conference room, and Christine, Bryant, Rolow, and McFarland arrived a moment later. After Christine took her seat, McFarland energized the display.

“We were able to penetrate the JSOC firewall and locate their Operation Neptune Spear files. On the screen is a summary of the critical findings.”

McFarland worked her way down the list. “As McNeil’s video and Jake indicated, the JSOC files confirm that a prisoner was indeed taken from bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad. However, the captive’s identity is never mentioned. What we do know is that he was sent from the base in Afghanistan to Kuwait, where he was turned over to Kuwaiti intelligence officials for detention and interrogation.”

Christine asked, “Why would JSOC turn their prisoner over to Kuwait?”

The DDO replied, “Two reasons. The first is because the transfer is a ruse. To get around U.S. laws and regulations, the standard practice is to transfer a detainee to another country with less stringent restrictions on interrogation methods. In reality, the prisoner remains under U.S. control and is interrogated by American personnel, but more effective methods of extracting information can be employed.

“Kuwait was chosen because their government owes the United States a significant debt of gratitude for liberating their country after Saddam Hussein’s invasion. Managing this issue for us would be partial payback.”

“Why would the JSOC files go silent on this prisoner?” Christine asked. “No identity or specific location.”