The Bin Laden Plot

“I can defend your actions at the Seif,” he said to Khalila’s image on the conference room display. “They planned to kill you, and you defended yourself. But the outright murder of the head of a foreign intelligence agency — an ally to boot — was way out of bounds, even for you!”

They were seated in the director’s conference room on the seventh floor, joined by Monroe Bryant and Tracey McFarland, with Khalila and Harrison on the other end of the VTC. Christine had kept the number of participants small due to the underlying topic — who had been taken prisoner at Abbottabad?

“We needed the information,” Khalila replied calmly. “If I had left Rashidi alive, it would have been worthless. They could have evacuated the facility at Failaka Island before we got there.”

“I don’t disagree with your assessment,” Rolow said. “But you should have asked first!”

“You would have said no.”

“That’s why you should have asked! There are other ways this could have been handled. We could have put a team in place before you met with Rashidi, to immediately follow whatever lead he provided. We could have avoided his death.”

“It wouldn’t have worked,” Khalila said. “While we put together a team, whoever is orchestrating this deception would have relocated the prisoner.”

“That’s supposition,” Rolow replied. “They would have had to infer the reason for your meeting with Iqbal at the Seif. After all these years, it’s unlikely they would have made the connection.”

“I disagree,” she replied.

Rolow slammed his fist on the table. “You did not have authorization to kill Rashidi! You knew what my answer would be, so you deliberately didn’t ask!”

“This isn’t the first time I’ve bent the rules. You knew what you were dealing with when you sent me. Shall we discuss the issue in more detail at this meeting, starting with my true identity?”

If Khalila’s question was meant to intimidate Rolow, it had the opposite effect.

Rolow’s voice dropped a notch. “Let me make this crystal clear for you. If you ever do anything like this again, you will be dealt with appropriately. Do you understand?”

Khalila was about to offer a retort, but she clamped her mouth shut instead.

He glared at her for a moment, then leaned back in his chair, the color slowly fading from his face.

“I should probably recall both of you to Langley, but considering what you’ve learned, I think it’s prudent to push forward immediately. We’re already making arrangements for an insertion onto Failaka Island in two days. Michigan is in the area on a CIA-related mission and is being tasked to support.”

Christine noticed Harrison’s face brighten at the mention of the submarine carrying his former unit, a detachment of two SEAL platoons.

“You’ll both participate in the insertion,” Rolow said, “Harrison for obvious reasons and you for linguistic purposes. The SEAL detachment has some linguistic ability, but nothing as expansive as yours. Rendezvous information will be provided once the details are ironed out.

“Any questions?”

There were none, and Rolow turned to Christine to see if she had anything to add, which she didn’t. Rolow had handled the matter fairly well, and she decided not to engage until after the delicate matter was further discussed, which was next on the agenda.

“That’s all for now,” Rolow said, then terminated the VTC.

* * *

After the display went black, Christine focused on damage control; how to deal with the repercussions of last night’s events: killing the head of the Kuwait Security Service and fourteen other Kuwaiti agents.

“As you mentioned,” she said as she looked at Rolow, “we have some grounds to work with. Khalila and Harrison were about to be eliminated by the first five agents. Those can be easily justified. Rashidi is the problem. Any ideas?”

Bryant answered, “I recommend we tie them together. We can paint Rashidi’s death as revenge for issuing the order to kill Khalila and Harrison.”

“It was a years-old latent order that got triggered,” Rolow said, “but no one will know that. Everything points back to Rashidi, and we could take the stance that we made an example of him. Anyone who tries to eliminate agency officers will suffer the same fate.”

“It’s a good start,” Christine agreed, “but I’m going to have to brief the administration today, without mentioning the real reason Khalila and Harrison were targeted. We’ll have to carefully manage who learns that we’re searching for a prisoner taken from Abbottabad.”

“To ensure we’re on the same page,” McFarland said, “that list is just the four of us, Khalila and Harrison, plus the president and his chief of staff, correct?” Khalila had confirmed that no agency personnel in Kuwait had learned the true reason for their meeting at the Seif Palace or with Rashidi.

There was agreement around the table.

“Bring the other deputy directors and public affairs into the loop as required,” Christine said, “under a cover story. Does self-defense at the Seif and revenge for Rashidi’s death cover all the bases?”

“It should hold up,” McFarland said.