The Bin Laden Plot

As he studied the DDO, Harrison came to the conclusion that something was definitely wrong. Rolow was tense as well. Harrison’s instincts told him — act now!

He pulled his pistol from his shoulder harness and leveled it at Rolow. He saw Rolow’s right hand twitch — he had started going for something behind his back, then decided otherwise.

“He’s armed,” Christine said. “He’s got a pistol behind his back. He was going to kill me.”

“Really,” Harrison said, his eyes narrowing as he remained focused on Rolow. “Put your hands in the air and turn around slowly.”

He could see the rage on Rolow’s face as he followed the instructions. Khalila moved forward and pulled the pistol from his back, then joined Harrison.

When Rolow turned to face them again, Harrison kept his eyes on him, then asked Christine, “What’s going on?”

“He’s in league with Secretary Verbeck. Rolow is the one who arranged the deaths of Verbeck’s military aide and Pentagon supervisor. Verbeck is in his bedroom right now.”

“Is she armed?” Harrison asked.

“Not when she left the study.”

Harrison motioned to Khalila to round up Verbeck, and she moved into the hallway and disappeared. She returned a moment later, with Secretary Verbeck leading the way. Verbeck stopped beside Rolow while Khalila stayed near the door, keeping both pairs — Rolow and Verbeck, and Harrison and Christine — in view.

“Where do we go from here?” Harrison asked Christine. “We’ve got a complicated situation, with a renegade DDO and corrupt SecNav. Who do we call — the FBI?”

“I think you’re going to have a problem doing that,” Rolow said.

“Why is that?” Harrison asked.

Rolow gestured toward Khalila.

She had a pistol in each hand: her own, plus Rolow’s. One was pointed at the DDO while the other was aimed at Harrison.

“Drop your weapon, Jake,” she said.

“What the hell, Khalila? What are you doing?”

“Drop your weapon!”

Harrison realized too late that Khalila had played them all, her true colors emerging now that she had stumbled into an absolute coup for al-Qaeda: the execution of the CIA director and DDO in one swoop. She had been absolutely brilliant, worming her way into the CIA and playing along until the perfect opportunity presented itself.

He considered whether to take his chances in a shootout. The odds weren’t in his favor, however. Khalila’s eyes and a pistol were locked onto him, while Harrison had his firearm pointed at Rolow. He’d have to swing his pistol toward Khalila and shoot before she squeezed the trigger. The odds of him firing first were nil.

Harrison briefly entertained the thought of diving into a roll, giving her a moving target as he brought his weapon to bear, but she’d shoot the instant she detected sudden movement.

It took a few seconds, but Harrison finally conceded.

He dropped his pistol onto the floor.

“Kick it to me,” she said, and he complied. The pistol slid to a stop at her feet.

Rolow turned to Harrison and Christine. “Looks like we’re back on the same team.”

70 USS MICHIGAN

“First torpedo bears one-one-five. Second torpedo bears one-two-zero.”

Wilson acknowledged Sonar’s report and evaluated the situation — both torpedoes were approaching from Michigan’s starboard aft quarter — then reassessed his submarine’s evasion speed. He had ordered ahead full instead of flank in an attempt to retain the thin copper wire attached to their torpedo. The ship convoy would likely change course, and Wilson’s crew would need to send an update to their torpedo. It was still traveling blind, with its sonar off, and would need a course correction if the merchant maneuvered before the torpedo gained contact.

Until the torpedo enabled and detected its target, it was Wilson’s responsibility to keep it on the proper path. He glanced at the Weapon Control Console. Thus far, they had retained the wire.

He returned his attention to the incoming torpedoes. They remained on a steady course with an aft bearing rate, indicating they had been fired on a line-of-bearing solution — back up the path of the incoming MK 48 torpedo — rather than on a corrected intercept solution toward Michigan, which meant they would pass behind the evading submarine. Wilson evaluated the distance between the nearest torpedo and Michigan at the closest point of approach, concluding they would be far enough away from it to avoid detection.

Montgomery announced, “Target zig, Master one through Master five. Contacts are turning away and increasing speed.”

It appeared that the Russian warships had communicated with the merchant, then turned in unison away from the incoming torpedo. The maneuver itself wasn’t a problem as long as the Russian warships were burdened with the slower merchant; Michigan could remain within engagement range. The more important issue, however, was that their MK 48 torpedo was no longer traveling on a course that would intercept the merchant.