Read Online Darke Mission by Scott Caladon - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Scott Caladon
Ads: Link
west of Washington.
At 10am on 9 th March 2014 the scheduled meeting began in a secure room on the ground floor. There were only six attendees. Officer Reynolds and Eagles were both there. That may have seemed like overkill, one of them would have been enough, but they were the joint authors of the report and the CIAâs Associate Director for Military Support, John Adams, asked that they both attend. In addition to Adams, a short chunky man in his early fifties with cropped silver hair, all salt and no pepper, there was Timothy Thornton from the Special Activities Division of the NCS and George McAllister representing the US Pacific Fleetâs interests in the Department of Defense. The final attendee was a well-defined but slim young man of about twenty-five, short cropped fair hair, 5ft 10in and wearing the uniform of a commander in the Navy SEALs. His name was Mark OâNeill. The meeting was chaired by John Adams and after brief introductions, he began.
âThank you all for coming here today. Youâve read the report produced by the NGA officers, who are here to elucidate and answer any questions. What I want to know is, is it real? If it is, what do we do about it?â
Lieutenant McAllister was based in Honolulu and he was regarded as the Pacific Fleetâs expert on submarines. He was in his mid-forties with longish, dark hair and an educated east coast accent. âLook,â he began. âThe report is detailed, thorough and on the face of it accurate. However, we have been monitoring Russian subs for countless years. Not only do we know where they are, weâve virtually got the names and addresses of all their crew.â
This opening little anecdote generated a modicum of mirth among half the attendees; Reynolds, Eagles and OâNeill being the abstainers.
McAllister continued. âThe satellite images arenât perfectly clear and the fact that there may be a covering over whatever vessel is there makes it more difficult to be sure whatâs underneath. Also, the Haeju naval yard on the west coast is equipped for primarily the servicing and repair of merchant vessels; this could easily be a cargo ship undergoing repairs.â With that Lieutenant McAllister paused for a sip of water. Associate Director Adams turned to the NGA team and motioned with his eyes that a response may be in order.
Carolyn Reynolds piped up. âWith all due respect Sir,â she started. Dannielle Eagles grimaced because she knew what was coming next, maybe not in content, but in attitude. All due respect wasnât a trio of words that was regular in her friendâs vocabulary. âThe satellite images, which have been checked and rechecked by many of our colleagues at the NGA show a vessel that is over 550ft long. Yes, that could be consistent with a small merchant or cargo ship, but the beam is around 44ft. Thatâs about one quarter the length of an average container shipâs beam or one third of any merchant vessel thatâs ever been at the Haeju naval yard,â stated Carolyn with authority. âItâs not a ship, gentlemen. Itâs a sub and its dimensions are virtually identical as far as we can tell to a Borei class Russian Navy submarine.â Now it was Carolynâs turn to drink some water. She was enjoying hers a lot more than McAllister was enjoying his.
Tim Thornton was a serious looking man in his mid-thirties. He had a thin face, light brown hair, a full beard with a hint of ginger in it and a kind of perma-tan which made him look healthy, albeit a little orange. âAs far as you can tell Officer Reynolds, is the submarine carrying weapons?â Thornton knew enough about satellite imagery to know that shots taken from space could not give enough detail to determine whether there were missiles or torpedoes on board. He fully expected a donât know response and that would be the first hint of indecisiveness from the NGA officers.
âNo,
At 10am on 9 th March 2014 the scheduled meeting began in a secure room on the ground floor. There were only six attendees. Officer Reynolds and Eagles were both there. That may have seemed like overkill, one of them would have been enough, but they were the joint authors of the report and the CIAâs Associate Director for Military Support, John Adams, asked that they both attend. In addition to Adams, a short chunky man in his early fifties with cropped silver hair, all salt and no pepper, there was Timothy Thornton from the Special Activities Division of the NCS and George McAllister representing the US Pacific Fleetâs interests in the Department of Defense. The final attendee was a well-defined but slim young man of about twenty-five, short cropped fair hair, 5ft 10in and wearing the uniform of a commander in the Navy SEALs. His name was Mark OâNeill. The meeting was chaired by John Adams and after brief introductions, he began.
âThank you all for coming here today. Youâve read the report produced by the NGA officers, who are here to elucidate and answer any questions. What I want to know is, is it real? If it is, what do we do about it?â
Lieutenant McAllister was based in Honolulu and he was regarded as the Pacific Fleetâs expert on submarines. He was in his mid-forties with longish, dark hair and an educated east coast accent. âLook,â he began. âThe report is detailed, thorough and on the face of it accurate. However, we have been monitoring Russian subs for countless years. Not only do we know where they are, weâve virtually got the names and addresses of all their crew.â
This opening little anecdote generated a modicum of mirth among half the attendees; Reynolds, Eagles and OâNeill being the abstainers.
McAllister continued. âThe satellite images arenât perfectly clear and the fact that there may be a covering over whatever vessel is there makes it more difficult to be sure whatâs underneath. Also, the Haeju naval yard on the west coast is equipped for primarily the servicing and repair of merchant vessels; this could easily be a cargo ship undergoing repairs.â With that Lieutenant McAllister paused for a sip of water. Associate Director Adams turned to the NGA team and motioned with his eyes that a response may be in order.
Carolyn Reynolds piped up. âWith all due respect Sir,â she started. Dannielle Eagles grimaced because she knew what was coming next, maybe not in content, but in attitude. All due respect wasnât a trio of words that was regular in her friendâs vocabulary. âThe satellite images, which have been checked and rechecked by many of our colleagues at the NGA show a vessel that is over 550ft long. Yes, that could be consistent with a small merchant or cargo ship, but the beam is around 44ft. Thatâs about one quarter the length of an average container shipâs beam or one third of any merchant vessel thatâs ever been at the Haeju naval yard,â stated Carolyn with authority. âItâs not a ship, gentlemen. Itâs a sub and its dimensions are virtually identical as far as we can tell to a Borei class Russian Navy submarine.â Now it was Carolynâs turn to drink some water. She was enjoying hers a lot more than McAllister was enjoying his.
Tim Thornton was a serious looking man in his mid-thirties. He had a thin face, light brown hair, a full beard with a hint of ginger in it and a kind of perma-tan which made him look healthy, albeit a little orange. âAs far as you can tell Officer Reynolds, is the submarine carrying weapons?â Thornton knew enough about satellite imagery to know that shots taken from space could not give enough detail to determine whether there were missiles or torpedoes on board. He fully expected a donât know response and that would be the first hint of indecisiveness from the NGA officers.
âNo,
Similar Books
