“I would say that I did the best I could under the circumstances. I never willingly gave classified information to the Chinese. And as soon as I discovered that the Red Cell was not what it appeared to be, I made every effort to organize an escape.”
The director seemed satisfied with that answer. He looked at the general. “General Schwartz has recently been assigned to us. He is the Associate Director of the CIA for Military Affairs. I’ve asked him here because the four of us need to discuss a part of Operation SILVERSMITH that might become very important. I’ve known General Schwartz here for over two decades. I trust him implicitly. He tells me that he knows your father. He swears to me that you’re from good stock.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“I will also note that I think it’s very easy to second-guess someone if you haven’t walked a mile in their shoes,” the director continued. “So — if anyone gives you a hard time David, you just let me know. I, for one, think you’re a fine American. I think what you did showed ingenuity, and tenacity. And I need scrappy, intelligent fighters on my team.”
David looked at his brother, and then back at the director, not sure what to say.
Director Buckingham went on, “I also need someone who’s seen what we’re up against. Your experience will be an invaluable asset. And I’d rather have you helping us here than sending my interrogators to try and tease out bits of information that may or may not be the most relevant. I can’t think of anyone who would be a better contributor to Task Force SILVERSMITH than you. You not only have the knowledge of what these bastards are up to, but you’ve also got the motivation to disrupt their plans. So, what do you say?”
“What do I say, sir? I’m sorry. About what?”
“I would like you to join us here at Langley for the foreseeable future. We’ll work out the admin details with In-Q-Tel, but it should be manageable. We’d like you to work as an analyst and advisor for us as we evaluate the Red Cell and any potential Chinese war plans. Do you accept this request?”
He blinked. “Um. Yes. Yes, of course.”
“Excellent. I apologize for the inconvenience of all those Q&A sessions we’ve been putting you through. But as you’ll see, we are putting the information to good use. Now let’s go back downstairs and get this show on the road.”
Marching down the steps behind the other three, David felt dozens of eyes on him. He caught a few of their gazes. Not all were friendly. He wondered what they thought of him being here, given that he had been part of the Red Cell.
The director said, “Ladies and gentlemen, as most of you now know, we have been directed by the president to form a joint task force to defend against the Chinese threat to our national security. If you are in this room, Operation SILVERSMITH is now one hundred percent of your work plan. Drop everything else. Don’t talk about what goes on here to anyone. What we do over the next few days, the next few weeks, and the next few months is crucial to the security of our nation. I have no doubt that each of you will give it your very best. Alright, that’s my pep talk. Susan, I understand you’re going to bring us all up to speed?”
“That’s correct, sir.”
“Alright, hit it. I’ve got…” He looked at his watch. “Twenty minutes.”
They all sat. The lights dimmed. The woman whom the director had referred to as Susan spoke. Her voice was amplified through a small microphone attached to her collar.
“Director Buckingham, General Schwartz, good afternoon. My name is Susan Collinsworth and I’m the staff operations officer lead for this team. This is the introductory brief for Task Force SILVERSMITH. Our objective is to identify and counter the Chinese threat to our nation, with a specific emphasis on the recently identified plans of Cheng Jinshan and the Chinese Red Cell. The following is a brief timeline of relevant events.”
David looked over the room. The scattered audience sat in rows, many behind computer terminals. They each looked up at the big screen, where a presentation showed a timeline of events and pictures.
Susan said, “On October second, twenty Americans are flown from various locations in the continental United States to a small airport in California — Half Moon Bay Airport, near Oakland. From examining satellite feed and FAA records, we have determined that nine private aircraft were used in all. Each of these aircraft was owned and operated by a shell company connected to Cheng Jinshan — more on him later in the brief.”
She took a sip of water, then continued, “These aircraft then refuel and fly the twenty Americans to what we shall refer to as the Red Cell island — it has another name, but frankly, it’s a bear to pronounce. The Red Cell island is located north of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. We assess that none of the Americans knew their true whereabouts or who was planning and operating the Red Cell.”
David saw a few questioning glances in his direction. “We assess” was not the same as “we know.” He wondered what the others in this room were thinking. Perhaps that he and the others in the Red Cell were fools? Or worse… traitors? The thought made him sick.
“From October third until October twelfth, these twenty Americans participate in a Red Cell operation on the island. There they are told that China is planning to attack the US, and that the goal of the Red Cell is to plot out ways in which the attack might be conducted. As many of you know, the group of twenty Americans was comprised of military and intelligence experts, as well as civilian experts in technology, communications, utilities, and several other fields.”
Groans could be heard throughout the room. There was David’s answer about how people felt.
The director said, “I’ve heard much of this before, but let me ask the obvious question. How were these people duped?”
Susan glanced at David and cleared her throat. “Sir, in each instance, there was a legitimate source within their chain of command that triggered the participation request. Each of the American experts thought they were going to be participating in a work-related project that was vital to US national security interests.”
“So who were the people telling them to travel?”
“Sir, we’ve identified at least five personnel that we think were responsible for triggering the travel and participation requests for the Red Cell participants. These five people had positions of authority in various defense and intelligence agencies. For example…” She looked down at her notes. “A GS-15 in the Defense Intelligence Agency used a contract with a Boston-based consulting firm to send one of their consultants on the trip. This consultant was a former Army officer and held a TS/SCI clearance. She had expertise in multiple classified Army weapons systems.”
“So to be clear, this looked legitimate to the members of the Red Cell.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And where are these five people who triggered the travel and participation requests? What happened to them?”
“Four of them are missing. Each appears to have fled the country or gone into hiding.”
“And the fifth?”
“Tom Connolly turned up dead on the shores of Bandar Abbas the day of the Gorji assassination.”
The director nodded. “Ah, yes. Tom Connolly. Delightful. Please proceed.”
David thought it was odd that the CIA director would have asked these questions today. David had been home for weeks. He had been interviewed many times by various government agencies, and especially the CIA. So the investigation into the Red Cell would have been going on for at least that long. The director must already know these things. He does know. He’s just trying to give the members of the Red Cell credibility. To show that while they were duped, they should be considered loyal Americans.