Chapter 28 — Resolutions
Two days later, Lee Crane, Will Jamieson and Admiral Nelson reconnected at a small airstrip near Hartford. Nelson pulled Lee aside shortly after take off for a private conversation.
"How is everything, Lee?"
"Fine."
The Admiral resisted rolling his eyes at the typically unhelpful answer. "You seem a little glum. Maybe you'd like to stay on a little longer, Lee?"
"No. Home sounds good now, Admiral."
"I'll second that. The good news is that the herculite windows are showing no signs of premature stress. In fact, it turns out that changes made in the process may have inadvertently improved the tempering."
"Glad something's finally gone right."
"Did something happen with Anne, Lee? Something that's upset you?"
"Nothing happened exactly. Maybe I was hovering too much."
"She pushed you away?"
"More or less, Sir."
"You weren't ready to go?"
"I just wanted to be of help in any way I could. There just isn't a lot I can do at this point. I'll stay in touch," Lee said.
"I'm going to try to do that also. Stop. I know what you're thinking. Jamie and I have talked. I have a strategy."
"Strategy, Sir?"
"To not alienate her again. To reconnect. When she was little, Lee, I was a favorite uncle of hers. I've got letters from her mother to share, and lots of memories too. We'll talk shop too. No pressure about the Institute, just new developments and ideas. Jamie thinks that will help her focus on the future."
"Jamie's a smart man. He suggested I back off for a while, that no matter how much I want to help, for the present I'm too big a reminder of everything that happened."
"Yes, he is a wise man. You should listen to him more often, Lee."
It was Lee's turn to roll his eyes.
"Lee, before you went to Connecticut, I asked you to think about how you want to deal with the Navy and ONI in light of what's happened. Have you had a chance to think about that?"
"I didn't quite understand what I was supposed to think about given that I'm supposedly about to get a promotion. Of course, that promise is unlikely to survive the newspaper reports and the court martial to follow."
"I had my doubts that you would accept the promotion even if it did come through. Frankly, after what happened, I was concerned you might resign your commission."
"That would mean giving up Seaview. It may be forced upon me soon enough, but I'm not resigning anything until then, Sir."
"Good. I think you might like what I've been up to. I've been negotiating some changes with the Joint Chiefs that might free us up from government operations and obligations."
"Free us, Admiral? I don't see it happening in my lifetime. Even if we were decommissioned from permanent Naval Reserve status and stripped of all weaponry, I don't see the powers that be allowing us to operate privately, not with a nuclear reactor on board, not a vessel of our size and capabilities."
"I know that, Lee."
"I wouldn't allow it if I were in charge."
"Don't trust yourself?"
"Most of the time I value our relationship with the Navy. It's been big part of my life and I've generally been honored to serve when asked. I think you feel the same, Admiral."
"Yes, but the times that I haven't, they increasingly disturb me. So let me tell you what I have negotiated. First, we'll have much more space on Seaview soon."
"Why, Sir?"
"The missile silos will be removed. There are enough missile deployment systems under direct Navy control without the addition of Seaview's resources."
"Removing missiles will certainly make the Seaview a less interesting target for the enemy, Sir."
"Exactly. Second, no civilian personnel except those expressly approved by the Navy will be permitted on board during any government missions."
"That could make staffing complicated at times."
"But it's doable, isn't it, Lee?"
"Yes, I'd estimate that 85% of the crew is active in the reserves."
"Of course, all command staff would be required to be active at all times, Lee."
"For a minute, you had me wondering if I could resign my commission and stay captain for non-government missions."
"No, Lee, but you could tell ONI to stuff it."
"I'll consider it next time they call, if they ever call again."
"They'll call."
"It's hard to say no sometimes," Lee shrugged.
"All right, I can see I won't win this fight today."
"I'm all fought out for a while, Admiral."
"Then let's go home. We've got mounds of paperwork ahead of us. We'll be in refit for at least a month. That should give you plenty of time to keep current on this and handle the fallout." Nelson handed Lee a copy of the New York Times.
Lee settled into a chair and read it immediately.
Sinking of People's Republic Sub Raises More Questions Than Answers
— Preview of a Special Investigative Series by the NYT
As body parts and debris from a sunken People's Republic submarine continue to fill fishermen and lobstermen's nets and wash ashore in Down East, Maine, questions remain as to exactly what transpired. The Navy refuses to officially comment on the presence of the People's Republic sub in U.S. waters beyond confirming the fact of the sinking.
Instead, explanation came from an unexpected source: Commander Lee Crane, captain of the private research submarine Seaview and also active Naval Reserve. According to Commander Crane, the People's Republic sub hovered off the coast of Canada as part of a complex plot involving recently escaped federal felon Dirk Christie. Three years ago, Christie was convicted for intentionally supplying inferior parts to the Navy resulting in the deaths of twenty-four sailors on the USS Solaris. At the time of Christie's arrest and trial, rumors of treason and underworld activity were whispered amongst those involved in the case, but the government never pursued such charges. After Christie's escape from jail, it appears he turned to the People's Republic for an exit strategy, offering up as bounty his former girlfriend and business associate, Anne Simon, and Commander Crane whom he had taken hostage.
When fouled props stopped the boat carrying Christie and his hostages from leaving U.S. waters, the People's Republic sub entered U.S. territorial waters to pick up Christie and his hostages. According to Admiral Harriman Nelson, owner of Seaview and also active Naval Reserve, the Navy was monitoring these events and intervened to prevent the transfer. The People's Republic sub refused to surrender to the Navy and instead launched missiles at naval vessels and aircraft. The Navy retaliated, resulting in the complete destruction of the sub.
The details of the bizarre tale — from Conglomerated Industries founding by Dirk Christie to the sinking of the People's Republic sub — will be explored in depth over several weeks. Among the areas to be covered are the original trial and conviction of Dirk Christie, specifically focussing on why the government declined to pursue treason and money laundering charges years ago despite strong evidence. Instead, the government settled for pursuit of less serious charges leading to a quickly obtained conviction of seven years for twenty-four sailors' lives. Factors playing into that decision appear to include: (1) concealment of government negligence with regard to vetting Conglomerated Industries' principals and backers; (2) the government's desire to avoid embarrassment at revelations of underworld funding and treasonous activities by the largest government contractor; and (3) concerns about how revelations of Simon's birthright might impact the prosecution's case against Christie.
The bulk of the details for the article initially were provided by Commander Crane to the Times in an exclusive, recorded interview. Commander Crane's presence in the story at first appears confounding, as he lacked any direct connection to Christie. However, his boss - Admiral Nelson - led the Navy's forensic investigation into the Solaris disaster, which pointed the blame at Consolidated Industries. Admiral Nelson then enlisted the assistance of Simon - who at the time of the Solaris incident was both living with Christie and working for Christie's company - in procuring critical evidence against Christie himself and the company.
New revelations reveal that prior to Christie's trial, in order to prevent Nelson from testifying and in revenge for soliciting Simon's help in securing incriminating evidence, Christie aided and abetted the People's Republic in kidnapping and brainwashing Commander Crane, risking the lives of over 125 men aboard the Seaview. Although the Seaview suffered damage in the ensuing plot, Admiral Nelson survived and his testimony was important to Christie's conviction.
Christie's other target for revenge upon escape was Anne Simon, Ph.D. (MIT). Ultimately it was Simon's copying of documents that Christie later destroyed that directly implicated Christie personally in the Solaris disaster, and her testimony that resulted in his conviction. On the day of her testimony, Simon was wounded in an assassination attempt on the courthouse steps. That attempt injured her and killed a federal marshal protecting her. While no evidence was presented at trial concerning who fired the shots, Simon's testimony - which proceeded as scheduled despite a serious shoulder wound - could not have helped the defense. Christie entered into a plea agreement immediately after her testimony. Afterwards, Simon was taken for treatment and then entered into the Federal Witness Protection Program.
What never became public during Christie's indictment, trial or thereafter, were these startling revelations: (1) Christie's company was initially funded by underworld money, specifically via his blood relations, the Scamorza family of New York, and Consolidated was partially owned by them through a series of shell companies until Christie's conviction; (2) Christie and Consolidated accepted funds from the People's Republic in exchange for acts which undermined the integrity of parts ordered by the U.S. military, including at least one instance of intentional sabotage of parts, and Christie transferred these funds to foreign accounts he held personally; and (3) Simon, Christie's longtime girlfriend, employee and a company officer, is the daughter of notorious convicted traitors Erving and Rose Rutenberg.
Flash forward three years from Christie's imprisonment. Hurricane Nora rampaged through the Carolinas. The Beaufort Federal Penitentiary was hard hit and nearly destroyed, with both guards and prisoners injured. Several surviving prisoners, including Christie, took advantage of the opportunity to escape. Christie immediately undertook a daring plan of revenge against Admiral Nelson and Dr. Simon.
Christie enlisted the aid of his underworld family, the People's Republic and the services of a government agent sporting a personal grudge against Commander Crane. According to Admiral Nelson, "this agent duplicitously involved the Navy in an unjustifiably risky operation without disclosure of his agenda or relevant facts, putting both Crane and Simon in grave danger." Commander Crane postulates alternatively that the Navy didn't care about the risk to Simon, himself or other civilians involved. He suggests that the opportunity to sink an enemy sub in U.S. waters proved too tempting to Naval officials, leading to ill-informed and ill-advised actions. The motivation? Money. Crane posits that with the military budget at its lowest in decades, Congress would be hard pressed to refuse an increase in defense spending following an incursion by an enemy sub in Maine (even if said incursion was baited by the actions of U.S. agents).
In parts one and two of the article premiering next Monday and Wednesday, the history of Christie's company Conglomerated Industries and Christie's personal history until the time of his arrest will be explored. Expect startling revelations about Christie's mob connections, his former girlfriend's notorious parentage, and how these facts influenced Christie's actions in defrauding the government and committing treason. The following week will feature parts three and four focussing on Christie's trial and imprisonment, including facts about efforts to derail his trial involving violence and conspiracy to commit treason. The third week's concluding parts five and six will explore the actions of Christie during and after his escape and the roles of those who aided and abetted him: the underworld, the People's Republic, and a government agent. In this last part of the story, chance, coincidence and the drive for revenge are the major factors which led to the bizarre end game, the sinking of a People's Republic submarine off the coast of Maine.
"It's a good start," Nelson reassured Lee.
"And a lot to promise to deliver," Lee nodded. "Thank you for your help." Nelson had much at stake in going on the record even in the limited way he had. Lee could not have expected more from his friend, mentor and boss.
