Chapter 20 - Spilling the Beans
Lee Crane stayed on base, locating an empty office with a telephone. He called a friend from high school who'd gone to work for the NY Times, Lacey Caldwell. She worked in features, so she brought a news editor on the call.
"You swear this is the truth, Lee?"
"Every word, Lacey. I'll stand behind all of them."
"You may have to, Commander," Ben Bernowski, a news editor added. "The Navy will try to bury this, even with civilian reports of explosions off the coast."
"He's good as his word," Lacey offered.
"They may try to ruin you, Commander. Are you prepared for that?"
"I'm well aware of what our government may do, and yes, I've made this commitment, absolutely," Lee affirmed.
"Damn the consequences?"
"Yes, damn the consequences."
"Does Admiral Nelson know this yet?"
"I couldn't say for certain. If he did, it wouldn't change my position."
"You'd cede command of the Seaview to get this story out? Why?" Bernowski asked.
"Because it's the right thing to do. To keep a promise."
"All right, Commander. We'll roll this out as soon as we clear fact checking and editorial. You are expressly agreeing that to the extent we can't otherwise confirm facts, you will publicly source the story. You further acknowledge that we have been recording this interview since I came on the line."
"Yes, on all counts, Mr. Bernowksi, and if you want the truth of it, I'd just as soon you'd source it from me and get it out before the Navy spins it."
"I'll see what I can do, Commander."
"Thank you. Lacey, you too."
"Don't wait so long to call me next time, Lee."
"Sure thing, Lacey. I might have plenty of time on my hands soon."
Lee hung up. He lumbered towards headquarters, exhaustion finally taking over. Two MAAs picked him up before he got there. "Just in the nick of time, gentlemen. I could use a lift about now."
He accompanied them with no fuss and was ushered directly into an office occupied by Admiral Robert Watson. Watson had been recently installed at ONI on what was likely a short term appointment as Watson headed towards retirement. Lee had yet to work under him and knew little about his style of command. Admiral Nelson sat with his back to the door. "Admirals," Lee acknowledged as he entered.
Nelson jumped out of his chair to go to Crane, patting his arm. "Lee, you look, well, I've seen you worse. I'm so relieved to have you back."
"Take a chair, Crane," Watson barked. "Where have you been for the last forty-five minutes?"
"Attending to personal matters, sir."
Nelson looked confused.
"Nothing to be concerned about, Admiral," Lee said looking only at Nelson.
"You knew an escort was waiting at the med center to bring you here. You ditched them. Why the deception?" Admiral Watson asked.
"Indeed, why?" Lee teased the man.
"I won't suffer insubordination, Commander. Tell me where you were and what you were doing."
"I was off duty at the time, sir. Moreover, my mission for the Navy had been completed some time earlier. I don't believe I have any obligation to report my activities since I arrived on base."
"Your duty doesn't cease until you've been debriefed, Crane, and you damn well know that."
"You know, come to think of it, I'm pretty certain I've only acted in a civilian capacity in this entire matter. I had no official orders from anyone. I was just helping a friend."
Watson glared toward Nelson for help.
"Lee, there's no reason to get defensive. We're all just relieved it worked out, that you and Anne are safe."
"Safe, Admiral? Do you have the slightest clue what happened in the last several hours?"
"Some. The rest is why you are here for debriefing," Nelson said.
"Dr. Simon and I escaped with moments to spare. That's all there is to know."
"No, Commander. What did Christie tell you about the People's Republic when you were on that boat? Did you overhear any conversations? Learn about his contacts? We want details," Watson slapped the table.
"I have none."
"That won't suffice, Commander Crane."
Lee shrugged. "That's all I've got to say."
"This isn't a game, Commander. I know you've been through an ordeal, but this is necessary. It's a matter of national security," Watson fumed.
"With due respect, Sir, it's not. Christie's dead. The People's Republic sub has been destroyed. National security is doing just fine."
"The Joint Chiefs are meeting as we speak to decide how to handle this matter. You are directly ordered not to speak about this outside the upward command chain until further notice. Understood?" Watson commanded.
"Understood and acknowledged, sir. Now, if it wouldn't trouble you, I'm in serious need of both rest and food."
"All right, but there will be a full debriefing later. You can rest next door until we hear from the Joint Chiefs. I'll have my secretary bring you something to eat."
"Oh, please, Watson. At least let me settle him into officer's quarters for a bit. You can see he's hurting."
"Only on the condition that you stay with him, Harriman, and a guard will be posted. I won't have another disappearing act pulled on my watch."
"Lee, I assume that's fine with you?" Admirals Nelson and Watson both accepted Lee's nod as an answer.
"I'll have the secretary arrange quarters and for food to be delivered shortly. Give her your size too so she can get you into a proper uniform before you go before the Joint Chiefs."
"Yes, Admiral. Thank you, Admiral."
Once accompanied to quarters, Lee headed directly to the bedroom where he laid down, fully clothed. Nelson followed him. "Hairy business. You want to tell me about it?"
"No."
"Come on, Lee. I'll find out sooner or later."
"Later."
"I could order you."
"You could try."
"All right, I'll let you rest a while. I can see you are in a state."
Lee fought the jumble of emotions he felt, worsened by exhaustion and pain. He didn't really want to strike out at Nelson. He understood only too well the difference between Nelson's intentions and ultimate actions. At a certain level, he even respected what Nelson had done. At another level, well, it wasn't the first time Lee had seen or even been a scapegoat for his nation. If he was being honest, he would admit it probably wouldn't be the last, unless the choice was taken from him, as it might well be as a consequence of his present commitment. Losing the Seaview would be an enormous blow. There'd be no Navy or ONI job to fall back on either.
Lee's effort to nap lasted about fifteen minutes. He couldn't help reviewing what had happened, how it could have been avoided, how he might have done things differently. So many people dead. A full crew on the People's Republic Sub. All the players knew there would be no surrender. Then there was also the troubling matter of how Christie knew where to find Kate. Lee got up and took a long, hot shower. He found fresh clothes waiting on the bed when he emerged. Mother hen Nelson confronted him as soon as he exited the bedroom.
"Feeling a little better now, Lee?"
"Marginally."
The Admiral rarely heard any response to a health question other than "fine," so he knew to tread carefully. "Why don't you come eat something then?"
Lee lumbered quietly toward the kitchen table. Nelson sat down opposite him, gauging Lee's mood. Lee viewed Nelson's glare rather differently, as pressuring him to talk soon.
Nelson broke the awkward silence first. "So Jamie tells me that you really aren't banged up all that badly for a change. He was quite relieved, as was I."
"No, that privilege went to Kate instead."
"Jamie said that last he saw her, she was resting comfortably."
Lee angrily swept his dish off the table into the wall.
"Lee, what's wrong? What set you off so?"
"The fantasy world you live in," he said as he pushed back from the table.
"Meaning what?"
"Jamie told you what you wanted to hear, Admiral, no more, no less."
"All right, I'll take your word for that. What should he have told me?"
Lee huffed a minute. "She's a civilian, Admiral. She wasn't prepared or trained to endure the things that happened, and I can assure you she's not likely to be resting comfortably any time soon!"
"You either, apparently. Look, Lee, you can leave me guessing, or you can tell me what happened, but I don't appreciate being the whipping boy without knowing why I've been chosen."
"Don't worry, Admiral. I have bigger fish to fry just now."
"Meaning what?"
"How did Christie know where to find Kate?"
"I couldn't say. She'd been at that house for quite some time, so it's possible that he had people track her earlier."
"If that was the case, why not carry through on the threats to kill her for testifying before now? Why wait until some random act of nature frees you from jail?"
"Maybe he wanted to do it himself? Maybe Christie wasn't sure if he really wanted to carry through with his threat? Whatever else I could say about the man, he once truly was devoted to her."
"No, something isn't right. He knew she was in the Federal Witness Protection Program. He's also smart enough to know that once he had escaped and remained at large, she'd be moved to a safe house until he'd been recaptured."
"Maybe he knew her well enough to know she wouldn't go?"
"Oh, Admiral, neither of us are that naive! He knew because he was told where she was!"
"The U.S. Marshal's office would know where she was, which I suppose means the Justice Department would have access too."
"Those are the obvious answers, Admiral, but maybe too obvious. Let's think it all the way through. Just because the initial information went through Justice doesn't mean it wasn't improperly leaked."
"True enough. It also could have been shared with numerous other agencies from the FBI to ONI."
"So maybe the right question isn't where Christie got the info, but why he wanted it in the first place?"
"Revenge, Lee."
"That's certainly a part of it, but does it make sense by itself?"
Nelson shrugged.
"Remember, five years ago, Dirk Christie was willing to sell out his country for money. Now he's free, he's escaped. Now he needs money for more reasons than ever. His company and assets are gone," Lee said.
"There's that Swiss bank account."
"Maybe, Admiral, but he has to get there to get the money. He can't leave from a U.S. departure point as he has no passport."
"Those problems can be fixed."
"Absolutely, but it's expensive. Who helps him and for what reasons?"
"His mob connections, I would think, Lee."
"Possible, I suppose. But according to Kate, his explanation for conspiring with the People's Republic was that he wanted to fund his exit from the company to get out from under mob control that he was sure would soon be discovered."
"That doesn't mean he didn't resort to those contacts now. We have no reason to believe he ever broke off his mob connections. Anne's being shot at was more likely a mob effort than a foreign government's. His trial lawyer was a well known mob defense lawyer. Do you know anything about Christie's father, Lee?"
"Okay, maybe his father is willing to help him. Maybe the father has contacts who can get information from the Marshal's office. Maybe the father is willing to give Christie lots of money to flee the country. The flaw in this line of reasoning is that it doesn't entirely comport with what actually followed. Christie obviously contacted the People's Republic. We know he didn't do that through his family connections. Clearly revenge is still paramount on his list, but revenge upon whom, Admiral?"
"Anne, obviously. He headed straight for Anne."
"You and I know little of what he did before he arrived in Maine, but we do know one thing he did earlier. He made a threatening call to you. It wasn't the first time Christie threatened you either."
"No."
"He was deadly serious about it the last time, Admiral."
"You've put those pieces together, have you?"
"Kate told me."
"And I never did. Lee, please understand that the time my concerns weren't the whys of what happened, but getting you right again. Later, it just didn't seem to be important. Christie was convicted and it all was over."
"We never did learn precisely how I was found and taken."
"No," Nelson conceded.
"Admiral, I think there may be a link between now and then. That link isn't in the Marshal's Office. It's in the Navy, and very possibly ONI."
"You believe there is a mole in our midst?"
"How did we end up here in Maine? Did you push it or did ONI encourage it? Why did I end up at Kate's house instead of the U.S. Marshals? Why did the Navy keep you from intervening but let me go? Why did Christie not seem surprised to find me at Kate's when she and I had no connection until last week, but also disappointed not to find you? Why was Naval Intelligence involved at all?"
"I'd have said it was a perfect storm, Lee, but the more we talk about it, the more I think coincidence — by which I mean the hurricane — only started the ball rolling."
"How about rewinding to the beginning then, as you experienced it?" Lee asked.
"Fine. Let me just get some fresh coffee for us first."