“Did he request the early discharge, or was it offered to him?”
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“I’m not aware of the exact circumstances. Admiral Devoe, the force commander for the SEALS, and the secretary of the navy signed off on it.”
“Was Admiral Devoe Coleman’s immediate superior in the chain of command?”
“Yes.”
“Do you think you could track the admiral down and call us back? I’d like to ask him some questions about Coleman.”
“I’ll get him on the line and call you right back,” responded Heaney in his quick, efficient, military tone. McMahon looked up at Kennedy, who was still standing over the phone. “What was that all about?” Kennedy sat down in a chair and closed her eyes. “Do you remember the Pan Am flight that was blown up over Lockerbie, Scotland?”
“Yeah.”
“About fifteen months ago, the Agency located the whereabouts of the two terrorists responsible for the bombing. They were at a small military base in northern Libya. We sent a SEAL team in to take them out …. I’m not sure what happened …. All I know is that we lost part of the team.”
“How many men?”
“Ten.” The phone rang and McMahon grabbed the receiver. “Hello.”
“Skip, General Heaney. I’ve got Admiral Devoe on the line.” McMahon hit the speaker button and placed the receiver back in the cradle.
“Good morning, Admiral, this is Special Agent McMahon with the FBI, and I have
Irene Kennedy from the CIA in my office. We’d like to ask you a few questions.” With a noticeably unenthusiastic tone, the admiral said, “Shoot.” Kennedy stood placing both hands on Skip’s desk and leaning over the phone. “Admiral, has General Heaney told you why we want to talk to you?”
“Yes.”
“Good Would you explain to me the events surrounding your granting of an early discharge for Commander Coleman?”
“Before I answer that, I’d like to know why you want to know.” Kennedy looked at
McMahon, and Skip leaned forward. “Admiral, this is Special Agent McMahon. We are involved in a very important investigation.”
“Is Commander Coleman a suspect?”
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“No,” answered McMahon. “Is that no, or not yet?”
“General Heaney, can you help me out here?” asked McMahon.
“Bob, this is some pretty serious stuff. I’ve been working with Skip and Irene for the last five days. They’re straight shooters.” Devoe thought about it and responded, “I will answer what I can.” Kennedy rephrased her question. “Admiral, did Commander
Coleman ask you for an early discharge, or did you offer it to him?”
“He asked for it.”
“Why?”
“He was unhappy about a certain issue.”
“Did that issue have anything to do with Operation Snatch Back?” asked Kennedy. “I
am not at liberty to discuss that subject.” This time it was Kennedy’s turn to ask Heaney for help. “General?”
“Bob, Irene did the pretermission intel for Snatch Back.
She has a higher clearance than you or I do.” Kennedy repeated the question. “Did that issue have anything to do with Operation Snatch Back?”
“Yes,” answered Devoe. “Did he want out because the mission was a failure?”
“Not exactly. He was more upset about something that happened after the mission.”
“What?” After a reluctant pause, Devoe said, “Listen, I know where you’re headed with this, and I know the type of pressure you’re going to be under to make some arrests.
I can tell you right now Scott Coleman has nothing to do with these assassinations ….
None of my boys do. I’ve been having nightmares about this ever since I heard you showed up at JSOC five days ago. If you dig, you’ll find enough motive to indict every single one of my SEALS. None of them are really enamored of the behavior on Capitol
Hill. Most of them have voiced opinions on the subject of who they think is fucking this country up-excuse my French—but that doesn’t mean they killed anyone.”
“Admiral, we understand that,” said McMahon. “We have already discussed this universal dislike of politicians with General Heaney, and we respect the sacrifice these men have made for America. I am running this investigation, and I’m not going to arrest anyone unless I have some solid evidence to back me up.”
“Special Agent McMahon, pardon my candor, but you are fooling yourself if you think you’ve got the final say in
