The Bin Laden Plot

They crept slowly above the ocean floor, with Hillsley monitoring the three sonar displays, until an object was located almost directly ahead — a small, gently sloping protuberance on the otherwise flat bottom. Hillsley shifted the fore-aft thrusters to reverse, stopping Alvin just before the bump.

Alvin was well equipped for tonight’s task, with a tube corer in one of the submersible’s claws, although it was much smaller than the standard corers used by Hillsley in the past, since its purpose was to take a small tissue sample once it pierced the body bag. But first, they had to clear a path to whatever lay beneath the ocean sediment.

Hillsley activated a suction tube used for taking sediment or organic samples, set to discharge instead of suction. In its current configuration, it worked like an underwater blower, clearing the sediment away as Hillsley moved it back and forth with Alvin’s other manipulator. A black speck beneath the sediment appeared, growing larger as more material was blown away. The intense sea pressure had compressed the plastic bag around its contents, and the outline of a body became evident, lying atop a set of chains and beside a spherical object that must have been the sonic beacon.

Hillsley asked no questions as he prepared the corer in the manipulator’s right claw. He turned to Christine, who simply nodded. He inserted the corer through the bag into the corpse, then withdrew the corer with its sample and placed it into a bio box staged in the submersible’s storage bin.

Once the bin was secured, Hillsley dropped several hundred pounds of iron weights from the DSV to begin the ascent. As they rose, Alvin’s lights illuminated the body bag until it faded into the darkness.

47 FAILAKA ISLAND, KUWAIT

The two RHIBs headed toward shore, with Harrison’s boat in the lead. As he scanned the dark horizon, the beach appeared in the distance. Keller identified their insertion point — a dark strip of sand — and adjusted course.

The SEALs in both RHIBs, along with Harrison, had shed their swim gear and donned bullet-resistant tactical vests, plus helmets with built-in communications and attached night vision goggles, arming themselves with MP7s with attached suppressors. Khalila had also shed her swim gear, but instead of donning tactical gear, she wore the same pants, shirt, and headscarf she had worn when she boarded Michigan, but with soft armor beneath her blouse.

After the mission brief aboard Michigan earlier, Harrison and Khalila had joined the squad of SEALs in the Battle Management Center while the submarine moved into position, devising a plan incorporating Harrison’s and Khalila’s participation. While reviewing the reconnaissance in more detail, it had become evident that although the east side of the island was unpopulated aside from the facility in question, a half dozen or so bright yellow lights had appeared on the beach each night.

Zooming in on the satellite imagery had revealed the details — groups of men and women gathered around bonfires, partying, most likely consuming drugs, alcohol, or both. Technically, drinking alcohol wasn’t illegal in Kuwait, but buying, selling, or carrying alcohol, or being drunk in public, was, which made consuming alcohol a challenge. Drugs, on the other hand, were strictly forbidden, but they were still prevalent among the younger population.

Taking into account the presence of these small groups along the shoreline, the SEALs had selected a long stretch of beach devoid of any visitors. Additionally, Khalila had proposed a plan to infiltrate the facility, which the SEALs had accepted.

The plan required the SEALs to get their hands on tonight’s supply van, without peppering it with bullet holes. Although Hacker spoke Arabic, providing an opportunity to engage the van driver once the vehicle was stopped, Khalila had suggested she pose as a drugged or intoxicated woman walking along the road, supposedly from one of the nearby parties. Hopefully, the driver would stop to inquire with less suspicion than if a man approached, which would provide Khalila an opportunity to neutralize the driver without damage to the van. If anything went wrong, the SEALs would be positioned nearby to intervene.

Just before reaching shore, the RHIB drivers shifted the engines to neutral, and the boats coasted to a halt as they grounded onto the beach. The SEALs hauled the boats across the beach and hid them in the foliage. Noviello then led the squad into the island interior.

The two fire teams spread out, remaining within visual distance of each other, with Noviello leading one team and Senior Chief Burkhardt the other. After a half-mile trek, they reached the road leading to the facility.

The two teams took positions on opposite sides of the road, hidden in the brush. They waited for thirty-five minutes, until Narehood announced, “Movement.”