by Jeff Noonan
“We had the entire suite, including a non-lethal version of the security system that was attached to it, reassembled and the room re-created, using the original equipment, in a CIA laboratory at their headquarters. Mr. Dolby will be glad to show this to any of you who would like to see it. Our intent is to use this facility for both training and espionage purposes.”
At this point Saxton, assisted by Dolby, went into a detailed description of each item of equipment that had been found in the mansion. This took almost a half hour. Then he moved on to the other items that had been found at the same time.
“The banks of file cabinets the old man kept were probably just as important as the equipment we captured. These file cabinets revealed a complete history of everything Randall Symington and his people had done since he returned from Russia thirty years ago. It looks like he has always been certain he was going to be known to historians as a hero. So Symington made careful records of everything he’d done.”
Saxton paused, then dropped a bombshell. “Symington’s records also revealed details on six other Soviet cells that currently exist in the United States. One of them is active, snooping into Air Force systems. The other five are what we call ‘sleeper cells’. The CIA is taking a variety of actions on them at present. I don’t want to discuss these actions because we could jeopardize some very sensitive work Mr. Dolby is coordinating.” He looked to the President for approval and got it in the form of a slight head nod.
The six other cells were news to Tom and Lee. They exchanged proud smiles when they heard this news.
Saxton continued, “What was even more amazing to the investigators was the written descriptions that Randall left of the murders committed by him and his people. They murdered several Spanish-American workers, a shipyard employee named Bernard Shapiro, and a local neighborhood teen-ager. Each of these events was documented in its individual file folder in very matter-of-fact statements. Symington’s written documents simply stated that, in each case, the killings were justified because somehow each of the individuals had endangered ‘the mission.’ The household help had all either been caught in the old ballroom or they attempted to escape. The boy was captured, in Symington’s words, ‘prowling on the grounds’ of the mansion. Bernard Shapiro had figured out that far too many highly classified documents were being routed to the shipyard’s combat systems office. He was planning to ask the shipyard commander to put a stop to the practice, but first he discussed it with Thomas Sloan. That was his last mistake.”
He cleared his throat. “According to the documents, all five members of the Symington Group killed at least one person under the old man’s supervision, thus putting each of them in equal jeopardy. Randall seemed to take great satisfaction in documenting how he had used his WW2 sniper skills to eliminate Mr. Shapiro. Apparently, Thomas Sloan lured Shapiro outside one evening after regular working hours. Old Man Symington, firing his old Springfield rifle from atop a big shipyard crane, had taken him out. He even detailed the fact that they had loaded Shapiro into his own car and dumped him ‘downtown in mob territory.’
“At this point, I am absolutely certain that the revelations in these files will leave no doubt as to the guilt of the three prisoners when they go to trial. They will all be found guilty of premeditated murder, and a host of other criminal charges. We will make sure that they are sentenced to federal penitentiaries, hopefully for life with no hope for parole.”
“But it should be noted that during his pre-trial questioning, and during sessions with his assigned defense attorney, Symington frantically tried to claim “prisoner of war” status. We’ve told him that he can try to use that defense if he’s ever charged with espionage or a war crime. But since he’s being charged as a common murderer, it doesn’t apply. When we told him this, he broke down and wept. He kept protesting that he wasn’t a common criminal over and over again. After a few days of this, he seemed to slip a cog. He began making speeches to anyone around him, accusing us all of being puppets of a corrupt capitalistic society. His ravings may, at trial, became too bad for of the courtroom. He may end up being ruled too mentally unstable for prison. If so, we will make sure that he is locked up in a hospital for the criminally insane until such time as he is able to stand trial. In either case, we will make sure that he will never be a free man again.”
The Attorney General turned to the President. “That’s everything I have, Mr. President.”
The President was scribbling notes on a pad in front of him. He looked up now and said, “Mr. Dumsfeld. Can you give us the fallout from the military’s point of view?”
Ronald Dumsfeld, the Secretary of Defense, took the pointer from Saxton and moved to the screen. His presentation appeared on the screen in outline form.
“Mr. President, gentlemen. Obviously the Department of Defense was the hardest hit by this situation. The Navy got it worst, but all services were affected in those places where the technology overlapped between the services, such as with the IFF systems. We’ve been doing some real scrambling to recover and change things so we can deny the Soviets any military gains from this point on into the future.”
“A lot of the information that Symington’s people divulged was related to electronic footprints. These are, simply put, the frequencies of electronic equipment from different electronic systems. If the enemy knows these frequencies, they can jam them or duplicate them to mislead us in a time of war. So we had to do a real fast change-out of any equipment or component that contributed to that footprint.” He paused to let that sink in.
“Many of the systems were fixable by just altering frequencies or frequency patterns. Some had to have components replaced. Our worst problems, the ones that are the hardest to fix, are the older systems with hard-wired technology such as fixed-frequency klystron transmitting systems. These are primarily found in some of our radar and gun/missile fire-control systems.”
At this point, Dumsfeld, assisted by his joint chiefs, went into great detail, talking about specific systems and the fixes the engineers had designed to minimize the military damages caused by the Symington’s espionage. This discussion went on for some time before he got to something that made Lee’s head come up.
“The one place where we have serious ongoing problems because of the situation is with our current shipboard surface-to-air missile systems. We have three of them in operation now: Talos, Terrier, and Tartar. The biggest of them, the Talos system is also the oldest and costliest to operate. We kept it around this long because of its nuclear capabilities. But we had recently started phasing it out, even before this espionage crisis. Our engineers tell me that it simply wouldn’t be cost-effective to try to do the updates that would be needed to continue using this system in view of these leaks. Oh, we can still drive the Talos ships around and show the flag. But they’re paper tigers in today’s world. I am working at present to gradually phase out all of our Talos ships. These ships, and all of the Talos systems, will be decommissioned in the next couple of years.
“The second and third SAM systems, Terrier and Tartar, are still operational, and we need them, at present, in the fleet. We’re working on updates for the guidance systems and the missiles themselves that’ll nullify the harm that Symington’s crew did to them. The updates will be ready in about another three months. They require some larger hardware changes, as well as some frequency changes that will be quietly introduced. This will be done without fanfare, as just another routine upgrade of the systems. But this will be an interim fix, a stopgap measure until we can completely replace these systems and these ships.
Dumsfeld paused while the slide projector was reloaded with another set of slides. These slides showed conceptual drawings of a new type of missile system. “Luckily, we have been working on new missile systems that will eventually replace Terrier and Tartar. The new systems are in the experimental stages right now, but I intend to ask Congress for the money that’ll be needed to expedite their development and procurement. The systems will utilize a new
type of phased-array radar that will be used for both search and missile guidance purposes. The system will be entirely solid state and will be capable of responding to emergency situations such as the one we are discussing here today. The prototypes system has been christened the Aegis system by the people working on it.”
“In summary, we have everything under control except the old radar and missile systems. We’re working to phase them out, but that’ll take time and money. In the meantime, we can still operate with what we have, as long as we don’t put the Talos ships into any dangerous situations.”
At the conclusion of that presentation, the President threw the floor open to questions, and several people questioned details of the situation from all presenters. The only question that wasn’t answered was one pertaining to the six Soviet cells that the CIA was “handling.” The CIA Chief would only say, “Those cells are being used by us for purposes we will not reveal right now.” He was adamant when this question came up and the assembly was sophisticated enough not to ask a second time.
Finally the questions died down, and people began preparing to leave. But the President spoke again. “Please stay seated. Before we leave here, there’s one more detail that I would like to take care of.”
The President stood and walked to the end of the table where the screen had been a few moments before. He gestured to the Marine guard at the door. “Sergeant, would you bring the ladies in, please?” The sergeant opened the door and motioned. Tom’s wife, followed by Maggie, came in and walked to where the President was standing.
Lee looked at Tom in astonishment. But Tom was staring at the two women with his mouth open. Neither of them had known that this was going to happen. Both of them had kissed their ladies goodbye this morning as usual, without a hint that they would be here today.
President Ford turned and addressed the audience. “We came together today to discuss our recovery from a serious blow to our country, a sneak attack that could have succeeded if we had gone to war without knowing about it. But, thanks to two people who kept plugging away, even when others thought them mistaken, we are now out in front of the danger. Therefore, I think it’s incumbent on us to thank these men. Mr. Thomas Michael Wright and Lieutenant Commander Leland Anthony Raines, please come forward.”
Lee and Tom stood, and walked to a position in front of the President. They were both absolutely stunned by this turn of events.
The President looked around the room and spoke to the assembled people while the two men took their position. “Normally something like this would take place in the Oval Office. But this entire situation has to remain classified at the ‘Eyes Only’ level, so I can’t take a chance on some snoopy reporter seeing the award and starting to ask questions. These men have done such a service to their country that it demands reward. But unfortunately, the paperwork and fancy pronouncements will have to stay secret in the FBI and Pentagon archives for the foreseeable future.”
He turned to the two men in front of him. “Gentlemen, I cannot ever thank you enough. You may have, very quietly, saved our country. I thank you. The people in this room thank you. If they only knew, all of our countrymen would thank you. I am sure that, when this story can finally be released, many future generations of Americans will also thank you.”
He paused. “Gentlemen, I hereby award to each of you the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It’s not enough for what you’ve done, but it’s the highest honor I am capable of bestowing. Thank you, gentlemen.” He turned to the two women. “Ladies, would you do the honors?”
As the assembled U.S. National Security Council uniformly stood and applauded, the two women moved forward and pinned the awards they had been carrying on their men’s chests. Only Maggie and the President, as close as they were, could hear Lee’s murmured reaction: “holy shit!” The President grinned from ear to ear. Maggie just stretched her neck and kissed him on the lips.
The President moved forward and shook their hands. Then everyone stood as he left the room. Soon the entire crowd was around the two men, congratulating them and saying their personal thanks. Lee and Tom were both overwhelmed, and neither could think of anything memorable to say. They were just happy when the room began to clear. As soon as he could, Tom sat down, holding the award in one hand while he stared at it and shook his head. Lee was more demonstrative. He grabbed Maggie and gave her a huge kiss. She looked up at him, eyes shining, and he kissed her again.
Just then, Ronald Dumsfeld came back into the room. “Mr. Raines, a second of your time, please?”
“Certainly, sir.”
Dumsfeld took Lee by the arm and led him a few steps from the others. His voice was low, as if he was conspiring with Lee. “Mr. Raines, I like you, and I like what you’ve done. You have a very bright future. I’d like for you to come to Washington and work for me. Would you like that?” He was smiling, obviously confident that Lee would be appreciative and would accept the offer.
Lee looked down and saw that Maggie was listening intently. He knew she could hear, even though Dumsfeld was speaking very softly. Lee looked at her, then back at the Secretary of Defense.
“Sir, I’ve been a Navy man for all of my adult life. I think I’ve been a good one. But I’ve recently discovered something about myself that’s kind of hard to put into words.”
“You see, when I was aboard ship, I always felt like I was just marking time. I saw things and did things, but I created virtually nothing that lasted. Then I got into this FBI thing and did the job I was asked to do. But again, I was just cleaning up messes. Plus, I was getting shot at.” He paused and grinned at this.
“But while I was doing this last job, I was also working in the shipyard in a job that actually made me happy. I was very, very, proud when I saw USS King steaming down the Delaware River, ready to go to war! I knew that I had a part in accomplishing what we did for that ship. For once, I was actually building something. I was doing some good, good that I could actually reach out and touch.”
Then he looked down at Maggie. “Beside all of that, I finally have a home and a great woman who loves me.”
“I appreciate your offer, sir. I really do. But I’m not cut out to be either a Washington bureaucrat or a policeman. I’m just a simple guy who wants to do what he does best: fix ships. If I can do that with this woman by my side for the rest of my life, I will die a happy man. I’m sorry, sir. I want to stay right where I am. But thank you for the offer.”
Dumsfeld looked stunned by Lee’s response. “But don’t you want to fight for your country, Mr. Raines? Here, working with me, you can truly contribute to the improvement of your country.”
Lee slowly drew himself up until he was standing straight and tall, eye to eye with the Secretary of Defense. “Mr. Secretary, I have fought for my country, in real fights. I’ll be available to do so again if I’m called.”
He paused, with his eyes still locked on Dumsfeld’s. “Like all Americans, I’ve watched you politicians, on both sides of the aisle, do your little battles for years. With all due respect, neither of you are fighting for anything real. Your fights are simply ideological temper tantrums by spoiled brats who should be working together. These fights aren’t contributing to my country. In fact, they may be destroying it. No, sir. I want no part of your kind of life. But again, I thank you for your offer.”
Dumsfeld glared at Lee for a moment with his mouth open, prepared to retort. Instead, he shook his head and walked away.
Lee looked down at the woman in the crook of his arm, worry creasing his brow. “Maggie, I probably just turned down a fast track for promotion. Did I make any sense to you?”
“You big goof! If you’d even considered taking his offer, I would’ve screamed. I love you too much to want you living that kind of life!”
He breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks, love.”
She stretched and gave him a solid kiss on the lips. Then she whispered in his ear words that he’d been waiting to hear.
“C’mon, big guy. Let’s
go home, plan our wedding, and make our first baby. My clock is ticking.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
eff Noonan is a Montana native who retired in 2001 as the president of a nationwide corporation. He is married with four children and eight grandchildren.
As a young man, Jeff worked as a laborer for farms, ranches, lumber mills, and a railroad. He then served in both the Army and the Navy, retiring from the Navy as a commissioned warrant officer. While in the Navy, he commissioned five ships at Bath Iron Works, worked in guided missile research at White Sands Missile Range, and served two and a half years in Viet Nam operations. At the time of his retirement, he was a combat systems officer in Philadelphia Naval Shipyard.
After leaving the military, Jeff worked his way up from an entry-level technical position to become the executive-vice president of a 900-person corporation with offices worldwide. During this era, he moved two companies into the impoverished city of Camden, New Jersey, in order to provide jobs where none existed. Then he took over a troubled seven-person North Carolina company and turned it into a solvent corporation with over 250 employees. In recognition of these efforts, a U.S. Congressional Committee officially awarded him their 1999 North Carolina Businessman of the Year plaque during a Washington, DC, ceremony.
Jeff sold his business interests in 2001 and retired to his hometown where he was soon elected president of the Community Council, a position he held for four years. He was also the president of the County Chamber of Commerce for two years. His bright red hair has long since turned white and partially vanished, but he still lives very happily in western Montana.
