The Vigilant Spy

by Jeffrey Layton

  Yuri was the ideal candidate for the mission. He had in-water and on-land knowledge of the target area, something no other U.S. military officer or NCO could claim. He was also an expert diver with training that far exceeded SEAL qualifications. And most important of all, Yuri was an expert in underwater robotic systems. Whatever innovations the Chinese had created with their new and deadly autonomous antisubmarine weapon, Yuri was the most qualified of anyone on the team to identify what was important and what was not.

  This must have been their goal from the very beginning.

  While the trio had munched on their seafood platters, Yuri launched a vigorous rebuttal to Chang and Andrew’s proposal. He tried in vain to talk himself off the mission but got nowhere.

  They should bring in someone else from their own weapons research program—they don’t need me!

  Yuri had argued that plenty of other U.S. Navy and/or DoD personnel could identify the key components of the PLAN weapon system. Chang countered that none of the other potential candidates were trained to take on such a mission. It might take weeks of physical training and dive certification before a candidate was capable of carrying out the mission. Time was of the essence and Yuri was the only one primed to go.

  I can’t believe they’re going to let me go aboard one of their new subs.

  Yuri was flabbergasted when Andrews reported that he had been cleared by the Secretary of Defense to accompany the Ghost Riders aboard a U.S. Navy nuclear powered submarine. The Virginia class boat would transport the SEALs and their SEAL Delivery Vehicle to within a few miles of Hainan Island. Yuri could not imagine such an event occurring in the Russian Navy—allowing a former spy access to one of the nation’s most valued and secret weapons.

  This whole mission is crazy. The risk is way beyond what we did at Yulin.

  Yuri knew his fate had been predetermined. To preserve his dream of living a normal life with Laura and Maddy, he had no choice but to join the mission.

  Just before yielding to fatigue, Yuri’s last thought centered on what was coming. I might not make it out of this one.

  Chapter 39

  Day 27—Monday

  Dr. Meng Park’s stomach roiled. She was on the verge of vomiting as the Lian wallowed in the swells. Forty knot gusts buffeted the ship. Drenching rain soaked everything. The South China Sea was in turmoil this morning as a tropical front flowed through the region.

  The 308-foot research ship was 430 nautical miles southeast of Hainan Island. Meng and her team were in the process of deploying their third installment of the Serpent ASW system.

  Clad in canary yellow rain gear with a hard hat and life jacket, Dr. Meng stood on a portable ladder and leaned over one of the containers housing a coiled Viperina. She checked the LED control panel at the exposed end of the eighty-two-foot-long device, verifying the serpentine robotic sub killer was primed and ready for deployment.”

  Meng climbed down to the ship’s deck. Standing beside the steel cradle that held the six Viper units, she faced the installation supervisor, a mid-twenties PLAN officer. “They’re all okay. Let’s go ahead and deploy.”

  “Ma’am, the ship’s movements exceed safe protocols for operating the winch system.”

  Meng glowered. “How long?”

  “The latest weather report indicated that this system will pass out of our operating area within the next hour.” The lieutenant junior grade checked his wristwatch. “I expect that the seas will be within acceptable operating limits around twelve hundred.”

  Disappointed, Meng said, “I guess we have no choice but to wait.”

  “Very good, ma’am. We’ll secure the system and reschedule deployment. I’ll let the captain know.”

  “Okay, thanks.”

  Meng Park turned and began walking forward. If she was going to puke, better to do it in the privacy of her own cabin than on an open deck with half a dozen sailors nearby.

  As the only female aboard the ship, and a particularly attractive one, Park couldn’t help but notice the stares, especially from some of the older men. The Lian’s entire crew was military, under the direct authority of Captain Zhou Jun.

  Park took precautions. She wore her glasses instead of contacts. The baggy coveralls she wore were a couple of sizes too large. She kept her hair in a plain bun. When accessing the interior of the Lian, she avoided dead-end passageways and confined spaces. And when inside her cabin, she always double locked the door.

  Park wished that Zhou Jun had accompanied her on the voyage. Tasked with completing the integration of the Serpent operating system with the S5 surveillance network, he and his staff had their hands full. Fleet harassed Zhou with requests on the timeframe for full implementation of Serpent.

  Park was behind schedule too. She needed to oversee the deployment and installation of all six Viper stations before she could return to Sanya. Another PLAN crewed ship worked the southern basin of the South China Sea. It had installed one station so far.

  Why is Beijing pushing so hard?

  Both Meng and Zhou had asked the same question on numerous occasions before.

  The Americans must be up to something!

  Park worried that Beijing’s rush to full-scale deployment of Serpent was in response to a threat from the United States. From pillow talk with Captain Zhou, Park knew that despite tough talk from Beijing, China’s Navy elite still feared the U.S. Navy, particularly its submarine force.

  Dr. Meng Park was not a pious person. But as she made her way forward, she prayed to Buddha.

  Please, let Serpent work!

  * * * *

  “Hi sweetie!”

  “Yuri!” Laura Newman called out.

  Yuri telephoned from his room. It was 8:05 A.M. in Yokosuka; 4:05 P.M. the previous day on the U.S. West Coast.

  “Where are you?” Laura asked. She and Maddy resided in the condo apartment in downtown Bellevue; Laura decided to avoid the Sammamish home until Yuri returned.

  “I can’t talk about that.”

  Laura uttered an audible sigh. “Can you at least tell me if you are in the States or out of the country?”

  “Out.”

  Recognizing that it was useless to pursue Yuri’s whereabouts, Laura shifted tactics. “So, how’s it going, whatever you can tell me?”

  “Okay. Lots of meetings, kind of boring at times.” Yuri attempted to downplay his absence but Laura was suspicious.

  “Just meetings, nothing else?”

  “I’m a consultant. That’s all.” Yuri changed gears. “So, how have you and Maddy been?”

  “We’re both good. She’s starting to . . .”

  Yuri and Laura caught up for the next few minutes on family matters before returning to his current situation.

  “When will you be coming home?” Laura asked.

  “Probably a couple of weeks.”

  “Are you in danger, or will be?”

  Aware that the FBI and/or National Security Agency might still be eavesdropping on their cellphones, Yuri followed protocols established by Special Agent Michaela Taylor—absolutely no discussion of operational matters over unsecured communications.

  “No way. I’m just pushing paper.” Before Laura could react, Yuri asked, “How’s the merger going?”

  The diversion worked. Laura spent the next couple of minutes briefing Yuri on the continuing discussions between Cognition and its Fortune 100 suitor. Their call ended with a promise from Yuri that he would return home as soon as he could.

  After Yuri pocketed his cell, trepidation resurfaced as the memory kicked in. He’d slept soundly for several hours until the nightmare woke him. A couple of weeks had passed since the last eruption.

  About six months earlier while aboard a yacht in Vancouver, B.C., Yuri had fired twice, both rounds striking the target. It was a split-second decision. Yuri’s foe fired simultaneously but miss
ed him; instead, the errant round plowed into another person.

  The awful truth that Yuri took another human being’s life haunted him. And now with the pending return mission to China, Yuri’s angst mounted.

  The SEALs are going to walk into a snake pit, dragging me along. No way we’re not going to get bitten.

  Yuri brushed away the troubling premonition. He checked his watch. Time to go.

  He and Jeff Chang had arranged to meet for breakfast. The café was a five minute walk away. Yuri intended to press Chang hard before meeting with the Ghost Riders for another round of pre-mission planning.

  Somehow, I’ve got to convince him they don’t need me.

  * * * *

  Captain Petrovich was atop the Novosibirsk’s sail as the submarine cruised under the bridge spanning the Bosfor Vostochnyy and entered Ussuri Bay. The magnificent cable stayed Russky Bridge with its twin sculptured towers linked the Russian mainland with Russky Island. The seas were mild this afternoon, just one meter high swells rolling in from the southeast. The chilled sea breeze reminded Petrovich that autumn had just commenced. He was thankful he wore his wool sea coat instead of a windbreaker.

  The three watch standers on the bridge behind Petrovich were each assigned a section of the surrounding waters to monitor. Petrovich scanned the approaching sea. Two kilometers ahead—about a mile, a tankship laden with twenty million gallons of diesel fuel, gasoline and jet fuel preceded the warship’s departure from Vladivostok. The tanker was bound for Petropavlovsk-Kaminsky, some 1,500 nautical miles to the northeast. The tankship would soon transit Peter the Great Gulf and enter the Sea of Japan where it would commence its northbound journey. It would follow the Kuril Island chain to the Kamchatka Peninsula.

  Standard protocol called for the Novosibirsk to also cruise northward where it would pass between Japan’s Hokkaido Island and Russia’s Sakhalin Island to reach its normal patrol area—the North Pacific Ocean. However, Captain Petrovich’s orders called for a different route.

  Petrovich estimated it would take eight days to reach the target area. For this mission, all but four of the normal charge of torpedoes were offloaded. Thirty ‘specials’ were stored in the weapons bay instead.

  Novosibirsk’s orders were personally delivered by Admiral Belofsky. The commander of the Pacific Fleet was unable to offer Petrovich an explanation as to the purpose of the radical mission parameters, only that the edict had originated from the Kremlin. Knowing he had no choice in the matter, Captain Petrovich accepted the mission.

  As Petrovich eyeballed the tanker ahead, he couldn’t shake the dread that nibbled away at his well-being. It started with his prior mission, which took the Novosibirsk deep into hostile Chinese waters and later to Hawaii. From that excursion, Petrovich learned firsthand what his masters in the Kremlin were capable of.

  And now he was tasked with raising the stakes even higher.

  * * * *

  Yuri returned to the same meeting room from the day before, accompanied by Jeff Chang. Lieutenant Commander Andrews and the Ghost Riders were already waiting. The group gathered beside the scale model of the Shendao harbor. Jeff Chang reported the latest update from the Pentagon.

  “Good news, gents,” Chang said. He held an eight by ten infrared color photograph in his hands. “NRO re-tasked one of its birds last night.” He referred to the National Reconnaissance Office. “It scanned the Shendao area as we requested.” Chang turned the photograph toward the group. “See these two white streaks here?” He pointed to the aberrations on the otherwise bluish background. “That’s hot air. Langley said the signature is consistent with air vents for an underground chamber.”

  “All right!” CPO Dillon said, pleased that his suggestion bore fruit.

  Lieutenant Commander Andrews commented next. “Is that in the area where you think the command center is located?”

  “It is.” Chang handed the photo to Andrews and removed another print from an envelope he held. “NRO also scanned the subterranean sub facility at the Yulin Naval Base for a comparison check.” He displayed the photo. “Several ventilation stacks are visible on the east side of the hill. They had similar thermal signatures to Shendao.”

  “Any idea on the diameter of the vent?” Andrews asked.

  “The actual vent is surrounded by vegetation. That’s why it doesn’t show up in the photos. But by analyzing the discharge plume, NRO was able to come up with a rough estimate of the vent diameter, which is around three-quarters of a meter, maybe thirty inches.”

  “That’ll work,” Dillon aka Driller said. “Even Murph’s big ass could make it down the tube.”

  That drew a few laughs but not from Yuri. “Based on my experience,” he said, “there’s no way that the PLAN would allow direct access from the hillside into that vent. At a minimum, it will be screened to keep wildlife out. You should plan that it will also have sensors around the opening and possibly inside.”

  “Good points,” Andrews chimed in. “We’ll need to thoroughly check it out before attempting to use it as an entry point.”

  Yuri said, “I recommend a backup in case the vent doesn’t work.”

  Andrews turned toward Chang. “Jeff, you got any ideas on that?”

  The CIA officer half smiled. “If we can’t use a ventilation shaft to gain entry to the underground control center, our only option will be to use the front door.”

  “How will that be done?” Andrews asked.

  “With this little black box of magic.” After reaching into his pocket, Jeff presented an electronic device about the size of a pack of cigarettes.

  “What is it?” Master Chief Halgren questioned.

  “ID card reader. We know all personnel accessing the Shendao logistics building use individually issued proximity cards. No need to swipe the prox cards through a reader, just stand near the door. All we need to do is place this gadget near one of the door readers. It’ll pick up the current codes. I can then duplicate them at will.”

  “Cool,” Halgren said, “but what if they use different prox cards to access the underground command center?”

  “I expect that will be the case. But once we get inside the building, I’ll have access to the computers. That’ll be our way into S5.”

  Murphy jumped in. “How do you crack the passwords to the PCs?”

  “I don’t need the passwords. I know how to bypass the memory and get direct access to the files.”

  “Sounds good,” Murphy said.

  “What’re the ROEs?” asked Senior Chief Baker, referring to the rules of engagement.

  Andrews responded. “First and foremost, no engagement. In order to accomplish the mission, the team can’t leave any traces behind.”

  That prompted Yuri to comment. “I’m sorry, Commander, but that’s not a realistic expectation. You may be able to get around electronic locks and security measures but my experience and training regarding the Chinese military is that they will have multiple systems in play to guard that command center—similar to what the Russian military does. That means a labyrinth of electronic sensors supplemented by numerous human guards.”

  Jeff Chang joined in. “Your points are well taken. But we do have solid intel on the personnel using the facility.” He turned toward the model and pointed to the replica of the Shendao Fleet Logistics and Support Center building. “One of our agents installed miniature cameras to surveil the three ingress and egress points. Without going into details, we’ve been observing everyone coming and going into the building twenty-four seven for over a month. We estimate that at this time the Shendao antisubmarine facility—S5—has a staff of thirty-eight. During a typical daytime shift, it has around two dozen personnel including guards. But that drops to just a handful between midnight and six in the morning. That’s when we’ll be going in.”

  “That’s surprising,” Yuri commented. “From what happened at Yulin I would
have expected a large around the clock security team guarding S5.”

  Chang nodded. “We think the PLAN believes they managed to hide their ASW control facility, using the mundane service building as a cover…hiding in plain sight.”

  “And that’s very good news for us,” added Commander Andrews.

  The Ghost Riders all echoed their concurrence.

  “Sounds good,” Yuri said. But reservations remained.

  Sounds too good.

  Chapter 40

  Commander Yang Yu observed from the deck of the pressure casing. The squad of technicians scurried around the aberration bolted to the exterior skin of the Heilong. It was positioned on the submarine’s hull about sixty feet astern of the sail. Around thirty feet long and six feet in diameter, the steel cylinder had the appearance of an oil tank on its side. The aft hemispherical door to the tube was swung open to the port, revealing the interior of the pressure resistant chamber. A retractable steel frame cradle protruded twenty-five feet from the opening; its solid rubber support wheels rested on the steel deck. The “package” hovered above the cradle, suspended by steel cables from an overhead monorail crane.

  The monorail system was bolted to the rock ceiling of the grotto. The Heilong floated inside the secret subterranean sub base at Jianggezhuang near Qingdao.

  “Captain, permission to lower the unit into its cradle?” The officer in charge of the installation stood beside Yang.

  “Proceed, Lieutenant.”

  “Yes sir.” The officer turned about and began issuing commands to his work crew.

  Yang watched as the package gradually descended. It had the shape of a drainage pipe, roughly twenty-five feet long and just over three feet in diameter.

  The package made a soft landing in the cradle with its bow positioned aft toward the Heilong’s stern. Designated Shing Long—Victory Dragon, the machine represented the People’s Liberation Army-Navy’s latest autonomous underwater vehicle. Coated with a jet-black sound absorbing rubberized veneer, the AUV had a bullet shaped nose cone, stubby tailfins, and a ducted propeller.