When CIA head Morris Cooper entered the room, Lambert groaned inwardly. He and Cooper always seemed to be at loggerheads.
"Sorry I'm late," Cooper said. "Traffic in the hallways was thicker than usual."
No one seemed to appreciate that Cooper was attempting humor. He shrugged and sat across from Lewis and Lambert.
"Now that we're all here," Senator Coldwater began, "I'd like to start with some budgetary concerns and get that out of the way before we talk about the new business at hand." Then she looked at the two NSA representatives. "Mr. Lewis and Colonel Lambert, the Committee members have been going over the budget that handles the various agencies and organizations involved in our nation's security. As you know, this includes Homeland Security, several antiterrorism task forces, and other classified groups within the FBI and CIA. I'm afraid that the NSA is high on the list for a reduction in funding because some headway must be made somewhere."
Lewis shifted in his seat and Lambert felt his stomach lurch.
"You're talking about Third Echelon?" Lambert asked.
"Yes."
Lambert cleared his throat. "With all due respect, Senator, might I remind the Committee of what Third Echelon has accomplished since its inception. In the last year alone we stopped a major conflict in the Middle East that would have brought disaster to Israel. We completely destroyed the terrorist organization known as the Shadows. We've run the illegal arms-dealing entity known as the Shop out of Eastern Europe and the Middle East. You can't say that we haven't done our jobs. Our plans for the future will make our little group even more effective. For example, we're expanding our Field Runner program. These support agents travel with Splinter Cells to sites of operations and provide much-needed back-watching."
The senator nodded. "The Committee appreciates what Third Echelon has accomplished, Colonel. But I'm concerned about Third Echelon's record of losingSplinter Cells. It's very high, considering there aren't very many of them. In the last year you lost how many? Three? Four?"
"That was because the Shop had the names. We've discussed this in Committee meetings before, Senator. A leak--"
"And you've had nearly a year to find that leak," Cooper said. "What is it you're doing over there in that little building of yours?"
"Well, Morris, we're not just pulling our puds," Lambert said. Cooper snorted and Lewis nudged the colonel to cool it.
The senator continued. "Colonel, the cost to recruit, train, and pay one single Splinter Cell is immense. Losing one in the field amounts to the military losing a handful of million-dollar missiles. I must also point out that the operations in the Middle East you mentioned did not occur without some public knowledge. The whole point of Third Echelon was to perform its tasks without anyevidence of its actions. The business in the Middle East last year was very messy. People were killed. Governments knew you were there. The president was placed in a very uncomfortable position."
Lambert took a deep breath and said, "All I can say is that the results were solid. Our goals were accomplished and we prevented worldwide catastrophe. I'm sorry if the president had to tell a couple of white lies."
Lewis nudged Lambert again. The colonel continued. "As for the leak, we're doing everything we can. I'd like to remind everyone that the only people that know of Third Echelon's existence are the small group of employees working under me, the president and vice president, and the people in this room."
Morris Cooper leaned forward. "Is that some kind of accusation, Lambert? You think one of us--?"
"Gentlemen, please," Senator Coldwater said. "No one's blaming anyone in here."
Lambert took a breath and continued. "I have a man tracking down the Shop's known directors as we speak. We have successfully identified them and we are hot on their trails."
"I'm happy to hear that, Colonel," Cooper said.
Darrell Blake came to Lambert's defense. "The FBI is looking for these men as well. What's the CIA doing?"
"Oh, we're on the lookout, don't you worry," Cooper said. He sat back in his chair and folded his arms.
Senator Coldwater nodded. "Fine. At any rate, gentlemen, nothing has been decided yet. The budget is still being broken down and analyzed. Colonel, I will take your words under advisement. Let's move on." She then nodded at Admiral Colgan.
The naval officer cleared his throat and spoke. "Senator Coldwater, gentlemen, thank you for allowing me and my colleague, Charles Kay--you all know Charlie, the director of SeaStrike Technologies?"
Some of them shook their heads. Lambert had heard of him but never met the man. SeaStrike Technologies was a subsidiary of a major defense corporation that researched and developed tools and weaponry for the U.S. Navy.
"SeaStrike Technologies has been working with the navy for several years now on our MRUUV project. You're all familiar with that."
Lambert nodded. So that was what this was about. The MRUUV program had been initiated by the Naval Sea Systems Command to research and develop the technology necessary to create a Mission-Reconfigurable Unmanned Undersea Vehicle--the MRUUV--capable of being launched from the twenty-one-inch torpedo tube that is standard on all U.S. Navy submarines. The last Lambert had heard about the project was that SeaStrike was close to realizing its completion.
"Charlie, why don't you tell everyone what you came here to say?" Colgan asked.
Kay nervously pulled on his shirt collar and then spoke with the clarity of a scientist. "At the heart of the MRUUV project is that it's the evolutionary development of the tube-launched long-range mine reconnaissance system, or the LMRS. We intend for it to be launched from a Virginia-class or Los Angeles-class attack submarine for clandestine ISR, as well as mine neutralization and tactical ocean survey."
Lambert's interest perked up. ISR stood for "intelligence collection, surveillance, and reconnaissance"--just the stuff that was Third Echelon's expertise.
Kay stood and moved to the covered easel. He removed the drape to reveal a rendering of a sleek, tubular rod with various sensors and probes sticking out of it.
"This is our MRUUV," he said. "It is mission-reconfigurable and offers advantages over single-mission UUVs because submarine torpedo spaces are too small to carry separate twenty-one-inch UUVs for each mission. By reconfiguring sensor packages and other mission payloads on the UUV either inside the submarine or at a support facility ashore, the mission payload can be optimized for the submarine's overall mission." Kay pointed to the rendering with his pencil. "The Flight 1 MRUUV has a diameter of twenty-one inches and weighs approximately twenty-eight hundred pounds. It will capitalize on the BLQ-11 long-range mine reconnaissance system to provide an initial ISR capability for current SSNs. It's operated from its mother sub and it communicates directly to the sub or indirectly via satellite communications with other nodes. The system uses its mother sub's navigation systems for mission planning and is capable of receiving mission updates from the Global Positioning System. The real beauty about it is that the MRUUV can use modular payloads that can be swapped out."