Secretary Nunziata looks peeved. “Are you saying Covah was recruited by the CIA?”
“CIA tried. Covah disappeared for a while, then showed up working in secret for Toronto’s biggest biotech corporation, Cangen. Dr. Goode eventually recruited him at Keyport.”
Rocky turns to Nunziata. “Without Covah, Dr. Goode could never have completed Sorceress’s biointerfacing silicon microcircuitry, or her genetically engineered computational bacteria. The man really is a genius. Unfortunately, none of us had a clue about the man’s real intentions … with the possible exception of Gunnar Wolfe.”
Pertic nods. “Covah exhibited all the telltale signs of being the perfect defector. The breakup and financial collapse of the Soviet Union brought with it massive chaos in Russia’s naval yards, which were overwhelmed with a logjam of nuclear subs waiting to be decommissioned. Covah became disgusted with the dismantling and disposal procedures and began providing us details regarding the storage and reprocessing of the boomers’ spent nuclear fuel cells as early as 1987. CIA recruited him a short time later. As a precaution, he had his wife, Anna, a Chechen woman, move their family to her parent’s home in Zitinje. Turned out to be a fatal mistake. As preparations were being made to bring the entire family to the States, the Serbs invaded Kosovo. Covah hurried to Zitinje, only to find the village destroyed and his in-laws’ house burned to the ground. Anna had been raped and beaten. Simon was captured and tortured in front of his wife and daughters. The Serbs set him on fire and left him for dead, then murdered the remaining members of his family, burying the bodies in the neighbor’s backyard.”
Rocky stares at the hologram and the hideous facial deformities of the computer expert who had worked under her command for nearly two years. An act of hatred, fueling a thousand more …
Pertic continues. “How Covah actually survived the trauma is a medical wonder in itself. As you can see, the right side of the man’s face was burned clear down to the bone. Doctors had to replace the temporal section of his skull with a steel plate, which runs along his mangled earhole and right cheekbone. Covah refused to cover the plate with a skin graft—”
“He told me he always wanted to be reminded of the butchery,” Gunnar mumbles, a bit too loud.
Pertic gives him a long look. “Yes, well perhaps it was that internalized rage that gave him the strength to endure. Whatever the case, he spent four months in a NATO hospital before getting himself prematurely released. By that time, the United Nations had intervened in the Balkans and the pendulum had swung the other way. Covah joined the Kosovo Liberation Army, and the hunted became the hunter. Ethnic Albanian refugees returned to Kosovo from Macedonia and Albania, and the Serbs and other ethnic minorities suddenly found themselves at the mercy of the once-oppressed. Covah participated in some of the brutality, then just disappeared. Two years later, he showed up in Toronto. Dr. Goode brought him to Keyport after he quit Cangen.”
“He didn’t quit Cangen,” Gunnar says. “They threw him out.”
“Why?” Nunziata asks.
“Let’s just say, he pushed the envelope a bit too far.”
“Covah was brilliant,” General Jackson interjects. “He won the Feynman prize, awarded for molecular nanotechnology, three years running. The contributions he made to the GOLIATH Project were invaluable.”
“Yes, I’m sure the Chinese appreciated his efforts.” Nunziata snaps.
“Gentlemen, please.” The president looks tired. “Finish, Mr. Director.”
Gabor Pertic refers back to his notes. “The Chinese claim Covah and seven members of his team were given political asylum and large commissions to work on the Goliath.”
“Covah’s team?” Nunziata glances at Pertic. “Not more of our scientists?”
“No, sir. In fact, none of these men offer the kind of expertise that might be useful on a submarine. Bit of a ragtag group, vigilantes mostly.” Pertic scans the list. “Two Kurd brothers, a Tibetan refugee named Trevedi, a history teacher from Sierra Leone, a guerrilla leader in East Timor, an older Albanian, believed to be a relative of Covah’s deceased wife and his personal physician, and Thomas Chau, a Chinese engineer educated in the States. Covah convinced the Chinese that he needed this team in order to complete the programming phase of Goliath’s bioengineered artificial brain. Knowing squat about Sorceress, the Chinese were forced to give Covah carte blanche. Two days prior to the sub’s shakedown cruise, Covah’s team killed three guards and sneaked aboard. Stole the ship right out from under the Communists’ noses.”
“Does their story check out?” Secretary Ayers asks.
The CIA Director cues an aerial image, zooming in upon an immense fireball coming from what had been the Chinese submarine facility. “These photos were taken by Darkstar three days before the attack on the Ronald Reagan . As his parting farewell, Covah destroyed the entire submarine base.”
“I don’t get it,” Nunziata says. “This guy leaves Russia, gets booted from Canada, commits treason against the United States, then destroys China’s naval base. What the hell’s he after? Who’s his allegiance to?”
“I don’t know,” Rocky answers, “but he has followers. He sure had Commander Strejcek convinced.” She turns toward Gunnar. “And, of course, Captain Wolfe.”
Gunnar feels his blood pressure rising. “I had nothing to do with this.”
Rocky shakes her head. “Come on, Gunnar. Everyone at Keyport will testify you were Covah’s only friend.”
“Enough!” President Edwards stands, his face flushed. “Eight thousand sailors and $70 billion worth of warships are lying on the bottom of the Atlantic. What I want to know—what the American public is going to demand to know—is how the hell we’re going to stop this thing.”
A long silence.
“We did get one break,” Pertic says. “The Chinese claim Covah stole Goliath before any of their nuclear missiles had been loaded on board.”
“Some break,” Rocky mumbles.
Secretary Nunziata looks up, removing his spectacles. “Yes, Commander Jackson, you have something to share?”
Rocky takes a deep breath. “Sir, with all due respect, this committee has absolutely no idea what this submarine is capable of.”
“Which is why you’re here. Enlighten us, Commander. What makes this vessel so special?”
Rocky leans forward and ejects Pertic’s minidisk, inserting one of her own. The stingray-shaped image of the Goliath materializes, rotating slowly in midair.
“This is the only drawings we had left of the submarine. God knows what Covah’s added over the last seven years. The fact that Wolfe destroyed all of Goliath’s schematics really hurts our chances of stopping her.”
Gunnar grinds his teeth, but says nothing. Easy, G-man. Remember, discipline is one of the highest forms of intelligence … .
“As you can see, she resembles a giant stingray. NUWC researchers began working with the design in 1997 after we successfully shattered the sound barrier in water using flat-nosed projectiles. The flattened curvature of the Goliath’s hull lends itself to increased hydrodynamic performance and incredible speeds, while making her nearly impossible to detect underwater.”