He then called the president and asked for an urgent meeting.
68. Persian Gulf
As Al Costantini matched his speed exactly to the SEAL boat below, he eyed a group of fast boats coming at flank speed toward him from about two thousand yards away. He heard the loud staccato of a 50 caliber machine gun below him and spoke in his helmet microphone, “Lower the harness.”
His crew dropped a double harness attached to a cable controlled by a hoist. When it reached the SEAL boat, two crewmen held it as Kella and Steve climbed into it. Once Steve and Kella were safely fastened, a SEAL motioned up to the Chinook and the winch slowly began to pull them up. When they were free of the boat, Costantini, keeping his attention on both the Iranian boats and on the CIA operatives dangling below, separated his aircraft as quickly as he could from its dangerous proximity to the water and to the SEAL boat.
As the chopper gained in altitude and speed, the cable holding Steve and Kella swung back. By the time the winch reeled them in, they were about two hundred feet above the water and moving fast toward Manama. Mike and Ali watched closely, holding their breaths. They understood why Steve self-consciously had a hand on his backpack as he went up.
When Steve and Kella were inside the chopper, Costantini reported to his Naval Task Force, “This is Sea Bat. I repeat; this is Sea Bat reporting that our two guests are on board. Heading for home. ETA 0650. Out.”
* **
In the boat below, both Mike and Ali beamed and shouted “Hoo-Ha! Hoo-Ha!” Ali jumped up but quickly had to hang on to something before getting bounced overboard. Duncan had informed them that he had orders to bring them to the Dulles where Mike would receive medical attention and from which they would be flown to Manama.
No one had ever briefed them on Steve and Kella’s mission. However, they both understood that Steve was carrying CDs that contained information of interest to the highest levels of the government. Ali sat back down and high-fived Mike.
69. Mousavi’s Office
The reply from the president’s office was that the president was leaving town but would speak to Mousavi on the phone for a minute. That’s all they needed to decide to trigger the secret cyber weapon against the United States. The president’s prerequisites had been met.
The U.S. Navy was again interfering in a body of water that by rights and history belonged to Persia. Further, Mousavi said he had captured the Satan Spy who could soon be publicly tried. The anniversary of the capture of the American Embassy in 1979 would be missed by a few days, but the exact date was not important. The trial would begin with a media blitz commemorating the event.
70. The White House: Oval Office
While waiting outside, Kella asked Steve, “Do you miss the excitement of being in the field yet?”
Steve didn’t rise to the bait. “I’m very happy that no one is trying to kill me. Life is good. Maybe we could take a trip one of these days. Ever climb Mount McKinley in Alaska?”
She smiled and replied, “Okay, champ. Let’s start with Mount Whitney in California, not far from Death Valley. If you graduate from my desert survival course, I’ll climb Mt. McKinley with you. And when we come back, we’ll do some serious planning on ‘The Vertical Dimension.’”
When invited to the White House, Steve had said he would be happy to go, assuming Kella, his father Marshall, Ali and Mike went with him. However, Ali had been sent on another mission, and Mike was still at Brooke Army Medical Center in Austin being treated for his burns. Both Thérèse LaFont and Wally Deuel had been officially invited, but only Thérèse was present. Deuel was briefing the Gang of Eight, the Majority and Minority Leaders of the House and Senate intelligence oversight committees, and the four leaders of the two Houses of Congress, on the recent success in Iran.
The Oval Office was bigger than Steve had imagined. Maybe it was the rug. Was it beige? With darker spokes radiating from the great seal, like sun light? He and Kella sat on one of two parallel sofas perfectly color coordinated with the rug, and the president sat on a blue and gold striped chair. Marshall shared the other sofa with Thérèse. Both sofas were perpendicular to the president’s desk, made from the British ship HMS Resolute. To the left and behind President Tremaine was a bust of Lincoln; on the other side, Gilbert Stuart’s painting of George Washington looked down on them.
“First,” President Adam Tremaine said, “Wally Deuel wants me to persuade you, Steve, to join the CIA officially. He said he can’t go on giving you awards for each mission unless you join, which seems fair to me,” he grinned.
Steve seemed embarrassed, and Marshall said, “Offers of employment don’t come any higher than this, Steve.”
“That’s very flattering Mr. President,” Steve replied, “but first I think Kella and I are going to take a few days off.”
Turning to Kella, Tremaine continued. “That offer goes for you too Kella. Together, you’re a fantastic team. Which reminds me...” He stood and walked to his desk to glance at a paper that he pulled out of the only file on his desk. Looking at Steve, he said, “My Chief of Staff wants to meet you. Who knows? He may offer you a job also. Wally is
