Against All Enemies ps-4

by John G. Hemry

  "But you can say the software has no legal function and anyone who wants that software could only use it for illegal activities."

  "If they used it, yes," Laskey agreed reluctantly.

  "And it has been previously established that the software was used during the downloading of classified material onboard USS Michaelson, Dr. Laskey. Now, these props you spoke of gamers making. How many of them are functional?"

  "I beg your pardon?"

  "How many of these gaming props can actually function as sophisticated espionage tools?"

  Laskey rubbed his chin, thinking. "I can't think of many, but it depends what you mean by sophisticated. You'd be amazed what kids can do."

  "By sophisticated I mean a station pass modified to display all area security clearances and false identities."

  "Yeah. That's sophisticated. No. I don't know any gamer who's done that kind of thing. If they do, they keep it quiet."

  "Because it's illegal?"

  "That sort of thing is, yes."

  "Only authorized employees of the U.S. government are allowed to possess such devices?"

  "If they're functional, yes."

  "And the pass in Lieutenant Pullman's possession was fully functional, wasn't it?"

  "I haven't seen it myself."

  "Do you have reason to disagree with the testimony of the government's expert witness?"

  "No. None that I know of."

  Commander Carr nodded, her eyes still fixed on Dr. Laskey, who was watching her closely. "Now, as to your comments regarding the arrest of Lieutenant Pullman. Dr. Laskey, the basic idea behind tradecraft is to successfully accomplish missions and avoid either detection or capture, correct?"

  "Yes. That's a good summation."

  "Yet agents do get caught. Can you summarize the reasons for that when it happens?"

  Laskey sat back, rubbing his chin again. "Ah, let's see. Bad luck. Sometimes there's no other word for it than that. Unexpected developments. Something no one foresaw that kills the mission. Sloppy execution. Somebody gets careless. Betrayal. Sometimes a combination of those things."

  Carr took another step closer to the witness stand. "Then you say that sometimes covert agents are captured because they become sloppy? Careless? Over-confident?"

  "Objection," David Sinclair declared. "Trial Counsel is leading the witness and putting words in his mouth."

  Carr held up one hand. "I will restate the question. You are saying then, Dr. Laskey, that covert agents have been known to be sloppy in their tradecraft, so sloppy it results in their capture."

  "Yes. Sometimes."

  "Then would it be fair to say that failure to execute tradecraft correctly is one of the causes of mission failure for covert operatives?"

  "That's another way of saying it, yes."

  "And you testified that Lieutenant Pullman did a sloppy job of executing tradecraft."

  Laskey regarded Carr for a long moment, then nodded. "Yes, I did."

  "Meaning this case would not fall outside of the situations you know of in which covert operations failed."

  "Not in the broad sense, no. I won't say the exact circumstances necessarily match."

  "Dr. Laskey, you testified about gamers who go to great lengths to pretend at being spies, to role-play as spies. If someone uses real espionage methods, real espionage tools, and is caught with classified material, would you describe them as pretending to be engaged in espionage, or actually engaging in espionage?"

  Another pause, then Laskey shrugged. "If it quacks like a duck…"

  "Please, Dr. Laskey, could you state your reply clearly for the record?"

  "Yes. That is, I'd call that someone committing real espionage, or else so reality challenged they can't tell the difference between gaming and real life any more. That happens sometimes."

  "Thank you, Dr. Laskey. No more questions."

  "Does Defense Counsel wishes to redirect?"

  David Sinclair, sitting at the defense table and looking straight ahead, shook his head at the judge's question. The members exchanged looks, but none of them had questions, either. Watching them, Paul couldn't help feeling that they hadn't been impressed by the witness. It wasn't that Laskey didn't obviously know what he was talking about, but rather that his points hadn't held up under Carr's cross-examination.

  David Sinclair waited as the judge thanked Dr. Laskey, and as the display was turned off and removed from the courtroom, before speaking again. "The defense calls as its next witness Lieutenant Paul Sinclair."

  Paul jerked his head around and stared toward David, who gazed back impassively. Commander Carr was giving Paul a surprised look, but reading his own reaction just tilted her head toward the witness stand.

  He stood up and marched to the stand, feeling a slow burn of anger building. David had ambushed him, made him a defense witness with no notice. Would it have killed David to give Paul a heads-up?

  Of course, David had to have seen how Commander Carr was consulting Paul at times. Maybe the ambush wasn't all that unreasonable.

  Paul sat and was sworn in by the bailiff, then tried not to stare around the courtroom. The last time I was up on the witness stand was during Captain Wakeman's court-martial. That seems so long ago. At least then I knew it was going to happen and what I was supposed to be testifying about. His eyes, wandering across the courtroom despite his best efforts, focused on a man and woman sitting near the back among the observers. His mother and father, who'd managed to pull enough strings using their old Navy connections to come up in time for the hastily rescheduled wedding. They must've arrived this morning and come to the court as the surest way to meet up with their sons. Hi, Mom and Dad! You've arrived on-station in time to watch one of your sons examining your other son on a witness stand in court.

  As David approached the witness stand again, Paul made a point of catching his eye and then looking pointedly toward their parents. David followed the gesture so smoothly it probably wasn't apparent to other watchers, then locked eyes with Paul again and quirked a smile so fast it too was probably lost on anyone else watching.

  "Are you Lieutenant Paul Sinclair, currently assigned to duty on the USS Michaelson?"

  "I am."

  "Do you know the defendant?"

  Paul finally looked over toward Brad Pullman. "Yes."

  "What has been the nature of your relationship to the defendant?"

  Paul took a deep breath before answering, giving himself time to order his thoughts. "I knew Lieutenant Pullman in passing at the Academy. We were classmates and had a few classes together. The next time I saw him was when he reported onboard the Michaelson for duty."

  "How close was your relationship on the ship?"

  "We were roommates," Paul noted. "We didn't stand any watches together. We ate a number of meals together on the junior officer meal shift. We attended some training sessions together."

  "Would you say you knew Brad Pullman as well as anybody else on the ship did, if not better than anyone else did?"

  Paul thought about that, then nodded. "Probably. Yes."

  "Did you have conversations? About work and about your personal lives?"

  "Yes. Sure." Paul couldn't help remembering the conversation when he'd worn the NCIS wire and hoped that didn't show on his face.

  "Did you share confidences?"

  "Some, I guess. No deep, dark secrets."

  "Do you regard yourself as Lieutenant Pullman's friend?"

  Paul gazed at his brother's face. David was looking back with a dispassionate expression, giving no clue as to what answer he wanted. Not that it mattered, because Paul only had one answer he could honestly give. "I think we were friendly, but he wasn't onboard the ship that long and we didn't really have time to become friends as I'd define the term."

  If he was disappointed by that answer, David gave no sign. "Then you wouldn't consider yourself a partisan for Lieutenant Pullman?"

  It hurt to say it, in a way, because Pullman had been a shipmate. "No. I mean, I want
him to get a fair shake. Just like anyone else."

  David pointed at Pullman. "Prior to Lieutenant Pullman's arrest, did you ever have cause to suspect him of wrongdoing?"

  That was a tough one. Paul had known of the NCIS evidence, which had led him to suspect Pullman. Sort of. He'd really been sure it'd been Commander Moraine, though. So what was the right, true answer? "No. I personally did not suspect him of wrongdoing."

  "Did you ever feel you had cause to doubt his trustworthiness?"

  "No."

  "Did you ever entrust Lieutenant Pullman with any special obligation, any special responsibility, freely and without worry that he'd fail to meet that responsibility?"

  "Do you mean like turning over the watch to him? I did that, yes. He relieved me a few times as Junior Officer of the Deck. I relieved him of the same watch quite a few times."

  "Without any qualms?"

  "Right."

  David looked over at the members, then back at Paul. "During your last period of time together while the ship was out of port, a tragedy occurred. You observed South Asian Alliance ships bombarding an illegal civilian settlement of an asteroid. Did you have any opportunity to observe Lieutenant Pullman during that event?"

  Paul thought hard, but nowhere in his memory of the event was any sign of Brad Pullman. "No. I don't remember seeing or hearing from him during the incident."

  "Did you see him afterwards?"

  "Of course."

  "Did you talk about the incident with him?"

  "Yes. We all talked about it. One on one and in groups. It was all we could think about."

  David nodded slowly. "Did Lieutenant Pullman show any signs of unusual remorse during those conversations?"

  "I'm sorry. Unusual? We were all upset."

  "As if he carried some burden of guilt."

  Paul paused to think again. "No. I can't say I ever noticed that." Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Brad Pullman at the defense table, a thin but firm and still-confident smile visible on his face. I still haven't noticed that.

  "He didn't act any differently than the rest of you?"

  "No. Not that I remember."

  "Do you think you'd have remembered if he had?"

  Paul looked over at Pullman again. "Yes. I'm sure it would've stood out in my mind."

  David began walking back and forth before the witness stand. "Then the officer who knew Lieutenant Pullman best on his ship didn't notice anything amiss with Lieutenant Pullman at any time. He didn't feel any lack of trust or any concerns regarding Lieutenant Pullman. He didn't notice any reactions of Lieutenant Pullman's which differed from those of the other officers on the ship. Is that right, Lieutenant Sinclair?"

  Paul nodded. "That's fair to say."

  "What was your reaction when Lieutenant Pullman was arrested?"

  "Shock. Disbelief."

  David came closer, looking directly into Paul's eyes. "You didn't have any premonition? Any ideas based on your own knowledge and perceptions that Lieutenant Pullman might be engaged in such serious and dangerous activity?"

  Another tough one. "I'd been advised of NCIS's concerns that someone on the ship might be committing espionage."

  David showed a flash of surprise in his eyes, but nowhere else. "Did you believe Lieutenant Pullman was the source of NCIS's concerns?"

  "No. I honestly didn't." Paul didn't look at Commander Carr. Even if she was disappointed in his answer, he wasn't going to lie about it or try to shade the truth.

  David held up his hand and began ticking off points on his fingers. "You, Lieutenant Pullman's peer, roommate and fellow worker, saw no suspicious or untoward behavior. You saw no cause to doubt his trustworthiness. You did not believe Lieutenant Pullman constituted a threat. You were, in your own words, shocked by his arrest." Then he paused and look at Paul.

  Paul nodded again. "That's right."

  "No more questions at this time."

  Commander Carr came toward the witness stand. Watching her approach, Paul felt nervous. He'd seen Carr stroll up to a witness stand in just that fashion a score of times, then demolish the witness and shred his or her testimony. He wondered if this was what a wildebeest felt like when it saw a lioness approaching.

  "Lieutenant Sinclair, do you have any reason to doubt the manner in which the NCIS investigation was conducted on your ship?"

  "I don't know of any, ma'am."

  "Do you know of any reason that it might have failed to identify the right source of the espionage on your ship?"

  "I don't know of any specific reason."

  "You testified that you knew Lieutenant Pullman as well as any officer on the ship. Just how well was that?"

  "As I said, ma'am. We'd known each other in passing at the Academy. We'd just started getting to know each other on the ship."

  "You weren't friends."

  "No, ma'am." Paul knew Pullman was watching him, but he wasn't going to deny that truth.

  "Do you believe you know him well?"

  Paul inhaled deeply to calm himself, trying to think. "No."

  "Not like a brother?"

  Paul glanced at Carr sharply, but she betrayed no sign that the question was a dig at the fact the defense counsel was Paul's brother. "No. No, ma'am."

  "Did you share personal secrets with Lieutenant Pullman?"

  "No, ma'am."

  "No band-of-brothers bonding?"

  "No. He hadn't been on the ship long enough."

  "Did you bond with other officers on the ship in that fashion?"

  "Yes, ma'am."

  "One? Two?"

  "Uh…" Carl Meadows, Kris Denaldo, Jen before they'd become more than friends, Mike Bristol, Commander Sykes, Lieutenant Sindh. Paul's eyes strayed toward Lieutenant Kilgary at the members' table. "At least seven, ma'am."

  "Do you believe you know Lieutenant Pullman well?"

  "No, ma'am."

  "Did you believe you knew him well prior to his arrest?"

  "No." He looked over at Brad Pullman. "No, not really, ma'am."

  "Thank you, Lieutenant Sinclair. No more questions."

  David Sinclair stood. "Defense Counsel will redirect. Lieutenant Sinclair, prior to Lieutenant Pullman's arrest would you have gone into battle with him?"

  That really wasn't too hard to answer. "Yes."

  "Willingly? With no qualms about having Lieutenant Pullman by your side in the face of the enemy?"

  Paul stared downward, trying to remember for certain, but knowing that if he'd felt differently he'd surely remember that. "Yes."

  "Then wouldn't you say you knew Lieutenant Pullman well enough to trust him by your side in the most extreme circumstances?"

  "Yes, I guess you could say that."

  "Were there other officers on the ship you trusted less? Officers you'd have wanted by your side in combat less than Lieutenant Pullman?"

  He hated to state it publicly, but it was true. He had no idea how Lieutenant Isakov would react in combat, he thought Commander Moraine was a flake and he thought Randy Diego simply never learned nearly enough from his mistakes. Fortunately, he didn't have to name anyone to answer the question. "Yes."

  "Yes, you'd rather face combat with Lieutenant Pullman by your side than with some of the other officers on your ship?"

  Damn. He didn't want to malign the wardroom of his ship, most of whom were fine officers. But he was under oath. Lying wasn't an option. "Yes. Just a couple." And please don't ask me to name them.

  "Thank you. No further questions."

  Captain Nguyen regarded Paul thoughtfully. "Lieutenant Sinclair, why are you a witness for the defense?"

  "I don't know, ma'am."

  "You didn't volunteer this time?"

  "No, ma'am." So Captain Nguyen did remember Paul from Captain Wakeman's court-martial. He'd wondered about that.

  "Would you have volunteered if you'd known some information you thought could help Lieutenant Pullman's defense?"

  Paul hesitated. "Yes, ma'am."

  "But you kno
w of nothing? No flaws in the NCIS investigation? No errors in the handling of evidence? Nothing?"

  "No, ma'am."

  He saw the look on her face and realized he'd just inadvertently confirmed Pullman's guilt in Captain Nguyen's eyes. My damned reputation. Nguyen knows I'd speak up if I knew anything or even felt Pullman was being wronged. But I can't find any basis for saying something like that. God knows I've tried to think of anything like that.

  Commander Sriracha had something of the same look on his face that Captain Nguyen did. "Lieutenant Sinclair, correct me if I'm wrong, but do you make a presumption of competence with every new officer?"

  "Excuse me, sir?"

  "When a new officer comes aboard, do you give him or her the benefit of the doubt? That they're capable enough and intelligent enough and steadfast enough?"

  Paul considered the question for a moment. "Yes, sir, I do. I assume that because they're officers they've proven some abilities. That's just a baseline. Once I get to know them I evaluate them on personal knowledge."

  "Do you think that's what you did with Lieutenant Pullman? Give him the benefit of the doubt since you didn't know him all that well?"

  Paul looked at Commander Sriracha, then nodded. "Yes, sir. I believe I did." Another nail in Pullman's coffin, perhaps.

  Lieutenant Kilgary spoke next. "Lieutenant Sinclair, you testified that you'd have preferred to go into combat alongside Lieutenant Pullman over a couple of other officers in the wardroom of your ship. For the record, do you have any qualms about facing combat with your fellow officers on the USS Michaelson?"

  "Do you mean qualms in terms of trusting them and counting on them? Not the wardroom as a whole, no. No qualms at all. Not the enlisted onboard, either. When shots were being fired by warships at that asteroid I was frankly worried about the prospect of combat, but I was glad to know who was with me on the Michaelson if it came to combat." Even Garcia, who was always mad but knew his job. Even Commander Kwan, the XO, who doesn't like me but knows his job.

  "Thank you, Lieutenant Sinclair."

  Paul almost thanked her back. If he knew anything, he knew Colleen Kilgary had deliberately given him a chance to publicly praise a wardroom of other officers that he might otherwise have been accused of maligning.