David said, “Yeah. Near Ecuador. I remember.”
The analyst shook his head. “Not near Ecuador. Further north. Several hundred miles north.”
David looked at Susan, confused.
She was nodding. “Turns out that the most likely source of the radio transmission was a seized Colombian narcotics transport vessel. The Navy spotted it a few days after the radio transmission and conducted a boarding. A Coast Guard cutter came in to take over the investigation.”
“What investigation?”
“Based on GIANT’s report and what our NSA partners are saying, this incident has at least some in the Chinese government convinced that Lena Chou is dead. The Chinese knew she was on that smugglers’ boat, from their connections in Colombia. The NSA matched her voice to radio calls in the area. If they did it, you can believe the Chinese 3PLA did the same thing. We also believe that 3PLA hacked into and read our Coast Guard investigation report. Here it is. There was a gunfight. Several dead. Most were found floating in the sea. No one was alive on board. Lots of blood, though.”
David said, “So Lena was really there?”
The analyst said, “We do think Lena Chou transmitted from that boat. Yes.”
“What the hell was she doing there?”
“We don’t know. But as GIANT reported, the Chinese government now considers her officially dead.”
“But who in the Chinese government?”
“Exactly. This report came from a source close to the Chinese president. We think that means that people aligned with him are being led to believe that Lena was killed on this drug boat, while trying to escape.”
“But you don’t believe that?”
“No. This is classic deception. Rule number one: if there is no body, consider your target alive.” Susan stood.
David said, “What do you want me to do?”
She smiled. “Figure out where Lena went, and what she’s up to now.”
David nodded. That day, he connected with different members of the SILVERSMITH team — including representatives from the FBI, Homeland Security, and the NSA. He ran the facts by them, gathering their thoughts and asking them to put out alerts to their agencies.
The next day, they caught a break. David gathered Susan and General Schwartz to show them what they had found.
“Last week the US Navy and Coast Guard conducted a joint boarding on a vessel about a hundred miles off the coast of Central America. Drug smugglers use standard lanes coming up from South America and into Mexico, and we think this was a mothership. This particular mothership was empty, except for one dead body. But the forensics analysis now shows that at least five people were killed there. There is signals intelligence that suggests Lena Chou broadcast a radio transmission from that vessel.”
Susan waved him on. “We know. We know. So…”
David held up his hand. “Here’s the new news. You’re familiar with a man by the name of Charles Beulah?”
General Schwartz and Susan both shook their heads. “Never heard of him.”
“Did you hear about a religious fanatic in Oklahoma who is missing after they found his wife dead in their home?”
General Schwartz frowned. “I think I read something about that. Saw the headline…”
The NSA analyst in the room spoke up. “Chinese social network bot farms have been plastering this guy’s name up—”
David interrupted. “Can you explain what those are, for those who might not be familiar?”
“Sure. Governments like Russia and China sponsor bot farms—”
David said, “Start with bot.”
The analyst looked annoyed. “Bot. Robot. A bot is a software program that automatically performs a certain task. Like an automated response for your email. But bots can get a lot more advanced than that. Foreign intelligence services will create fake profiles on social media. They will program these bots to post or relay information from each of these fake social media accounts — this acts to amplify a certain message.”
General Schwartz said, “Pardon me, I’m just an old soldier. Posting online for everyone to see isn’t really my style. I don’t have, nor do I want, a Facebook account. So my question is, does that really work?”
David said, “The bot farms can control millions of fake social media profiles. To answer your question, sir — yes. We’ve done studies that show how they really do influence people’s opinions. These fake accounts look and behave like real people. And with the way these social networks are set up — especially in China, where the government controls everything — the effect is that your average user believes that an idea or article is very popular. This idea of appearing popular is very important in shifting people’s opinions. I mean, why else would companies spend billions of dollars a year on marketing, if it didn’t work?”
Susan said, “Marketing 101. If you want to influence people to think a certain way, convince them that everyone else likes what you’re selling. So these bots in China are amplifying certain ideas?”
The NSA analyst nodded. “Yes. They have been talking a lot about anti-Western and, in particular, anti-religious themes lately. This guy Charles Beulah is a popular target.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s nuts. Or at least, that’s the way the Chinese websites are portraying him. He’s well known there in some circles. He proclaims to be pro-America and pro-Christianity. But some of his views are way out there, and he’s obsessed with China. His website talks about how he wants the US to use drones to kill Chinese politicians, for example.”
“Okay. And this guy just went missing?”
David said, “Yes. A local relative drove to Beulah’s house and found his wife dead inside the home. Beulah hasn’t been seen since. The SILVERSMITH team gets any news and intelligence bulletins that might be related to China. This one crossed our desk, but at the time we didn’t think it was relevant.”
“But?”
“I asked the NSA to focus some of their more sophisticated surveillance programs on that area, to see if anything pops up related to Lena Chou.”
The NSA analyst tapped on his computer and an image appeared on the screen. It was a white van. The resolution was good, but the van was a bit blurry. “Sorry that the picture isn’t perfect. This was taken from a home security camera one mile from the Beulah residence, the same day that the coroner’s office says the wife was killed.”
In the passenger seat of the van sat a woman. Long black hair flowed down from her head, covering half her face. From what was visible, she looked Asian.
“You think that’s Lena Chou?”
“Yes.”
“That would never hold up in court. It’s not clear enough.”
“I wasn’t aware that was our standard.”
“It’s not. Good work.”
General Schwartz leaned forward, his hands on the table. “Am I thinking about this right? What are we saying here? That Lena Chou murdered the wife of this religious activist?”
David said, “Correct. And she didn’t act alone. The bullets found on the drug smugglers’ boat were fired from weapons favored by Chinese navy special operations. And someone is driving her in that van. Looks like an Asian male, about twenty to thirty years old.”
“So Lena and a Chinese special operations unit murdered people on a drug-smuggling boat in the Eastern Pacific? And this same unit murdered Chuck Beulah’s wife—inside the continental United States?”
The FBI representative said, “That is one possible conclusion, yes. We don’t have hard evidence that Lena Chou and/or any other Chinese nationals were involved in the Beulah shooting.”
General Schwartz said, “But this Beulah religious activist guy is missing. And Lena Chou is still missing.”