“The Supreme Commander or Jameela?”
Instead of replying Jeff looked at Kyle and both broke out in laughter.
As Jameela looked out the window, she thought about the two new Field Commanders. She knew that Jeff admired and respected her, not just gawked at her when her back was turned. Jameela respected the fact that Jeff always addressed her in a humble and endearing fashion.
Jameela’s stomach grumbled. She suddenly realized she hadn’t eaten in a while. She had this thing for Gullah history and food. The Gullah were African-Americans who lived in the low-country region of South Carolina and Georgia, which included both the coastal plain and the sea islands. Jameela also had a penchant for Gullah dessert, although it always meant more exercises afterward. She sought it out each time she was here.
Jeff and Kyle arrived at the hotel several hours later. They got there just in time to join Jameela for a southern breakfast buffet. After which they retreated to the quietness of the carriage house which Jameela had booked purposely as it was separate from the main house and afforded privacy while providing complete access to the main house and piazza.
Jameela welcomed them in. “Have a seat at the dining room table. I can pull things up on my Apophis Tablet there.”
Kyle took in the awesome view of the Charleston Harbor from the very large living room while Jameela walked to the kitchen to put on coffee. When she walked back, she asked, “Where is Jeff?”
Kyle stalled by saying. “He went back to the car…forgot something he said.”
At that very moment, Jeff walked in. “I ran to the car to get this.”
Jameela loved Gullah desserts and so the boys surprised her as they had stopped at the Gullah restaurant in Charleston and picked up a chocolate meringue pie known to Gullah as pluff mud pie, nicely wrapped and ice-cold.
“Thank you so much. I was just thinking that when I have lunch tomorrow on the Gullah Tour, I would order a slice of pluff mud pie. Now I won’t have to.”
“How many times have you taken that tour?” asked Jeff.
“What is your point?” Jameela then motioned for all of them to be seated. Her expression turned solemn. “So it begins. Praises be to Allah! In the coming days, it is important to do the required readings of the Quran, okay?” Jameela reached forward and placed a hand on each of their chins. “When the Quran is read, listen to it with attention, and hold your peace that ye may receive mercy.”
They both smiled at her. She smiled back. “You are Allah’s greatest.” Jameela poured coffee in the dead silence. They all sipped and looked at one another. Finally, Jameela broke the silence. “In our past meetings, we discussed the nuclear impact and blast zones. So let’s discuss the operational aspects of the event.”
Jameela swiped the touch screen of her Apophis Tablet. The schematic of a super oil tanker appeared. While pointing to it she began, “Four of the ships will be oil tankers that transport bulk oil. We leased crude tankers. Each loaded with B53 bombs, 300,000 tons of dead weight of refined petrochemicals, and 110,256 tons of Red Mercury. This puts our B53 bombs on steroids. It’s like putting jet engines on the back of a turtle. This, my comrades is a Hades cocktail. This will ignite the ocean and the air around it and at the same time create a massive tsunami. Savannah gets one container ship and one oil tanker. Charleston gets one container ship and one oil tanker. Tybee Island gets two oil tankers, no container ship. We need two tankers out in international waters to drive the force of the tsunami.”
Jeff looked confused. “I am sorry, you mentioned Red Mercury. The stuff does not exist.”
Jameela shook her head and grinned. “Satan’s greatest strategy is to convince humans that he does not exist. The western governments and their puppets greatest strategy were to convince the world that red mercury does not exist.”
Kyle’s eyes lit up. He got it. He really understood the brilliance of it all. “I get it. Detonators are needed to ignite an atomic weapon. You could drop an atomic bomb 33,000 feet and it would not detonate if there was no trigger, like a detonator. The world as we know it says that in order to create an effective nuclear bomb, you need plutonium, which when exploded can create a fusion reaction among hydrogen atoms. If red mercury is real, it can be used as a detonator to make the bomb itself explode. Red mercury can function as a detonator for nuclear weapons because of the strength of its explosion.”
Jameela added, “The Russians conceived it. The Iranians perfected it. It is amazing what men can do when they are not distracted by sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll.”
Jeff still did not believe. “Red Mercury, the CIA director said that it doesn't exist.”
Kyle blurted, “The same CIA director that ignored his counter-terrorism chief's warnings in July 2001 about communications intercepts and other top-secret intelligence showing the increasing likelihood that al-Qaeda would soon attack the United States, possibly in September of 2001?”
Jameela asked a rhetorical question. “Then why do terrorist organizations worldwide bid outrageous amounts of money to procure it? The price is currently running at a half a million per kilogram. Oh yes, dear boy. It’s real. We do have red mercury and we have enhanced the B53 bombs with red mercury. We will burn the western hemisphere to make things right for our people.”
She stood up, bent over and looked Jeff directly in the eye. What she said next caused Jeff’s eyes to widen. “This bomb would create a fireball several miles wide and at least twenty stories high. The Hindenburg flew as low as 330 feet when necessary to stay below the clouds. If a Goodyear blimp were hovering at 800 feet over a stadium at a sporting event and several of these bombs went off, they would also see the entrance to hell!”
Jeff’s face was frozen. He cried out, “Unbelievable. Unbelievable!”
Kyle ignored Jeff and asked an interesting question. “Where did you get the B53 bomb from? It is amazing to think you got your hands on one. It is insane to think you got your hands on as many as you did.”
Jameela sipped her coffee. “Genesis took advantage of perfect storms that presented opportunities to secure the nuclear weapons.”
Kyle knew there was a great story here…somewhere. “Go on.”
Jameela began her story. “There are rare but actual phenomena which occur in such a confluence, that they result in events of unusual magnitude…in these events are opportunities. On January 16, 1966, Tea 16 departed Seymour Johnson AFB out of North Carolina. Just as United States presidential transports flew under the call-sign Air Force One, the call sign for this special Boeing B-52G Stratofortress was Tea 16. This was a flying leviathan traveling at maximum speeds of 638 mph. It was a demon in the sky in its day. This demon was special in the sense that it carried 43,000 pounds of nuclear bombs, mainly B53s. It could search for enemy activity for 8,338 miles before needing to refuel. The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker, an aerial petrol pump, would refuel this flying fortress. At about 10:30 a.m. on January 17th, 1966, while flying at 31,000 feet, the B-52G bomber commenced its second aerial refueling with a KC-135 out of Morón Air Base in southern Spain. For reasons unknown even to this day, the B-52G bomber was flying a little too fast. The KC-135’s boom struck the B-52G’s longeron.”
“What’s a longeron?” asked Kyle.
Jameela laughed. Jeff punched Kyle, jokingly. “It is a thin strip of material on the skin of the aircraft. I think it's fastened in the fuselage area.”
“Jeff is correct. Longerons transfer aerodynamic loads on the airplane’s skin into the stronger frame of the aircraft.”
“Darn, dude. I am impressed. Those hours of watching Mighty Airplanes on Discovery Channel finally paid off.”
Jeff punched Kyle again.
Jameela yelled, “Okay, commanders. I would like to continue.”
Jeff and Kyle gave her their undivided attention as she continued with her story.
“When the boom struck the longeron, the left wing of the bomber snapped off. Four nuclear weapons were released. Three of the bombs fell with the B-52 wrecka
ge near the village of Palomares on Spain’s Mediterranean coast. The first was located near the beach. Another dug deep into a tomato field, while the third landed near a cemetery. The dirt dampened the plutonium, which escaped from the damaged bombs. The United States Air Force teams raced to dig the bombs out and haul away tons of radioactive dirt. It was not a good day for U.S. foreign relations. The fourth bomb was missing. The U.S. Navy sent more than thirty ships on this massive sea hunt. Two and a half months after the accident, the United States Navy also sent the most advanced submersible in its day to join the hunt. With three people on board, the deep submergence vessel named ALVIN helped locate and secure the missing bomb. The USS Petrel lifted the fourth bomb aboard just before 8:00 a.m. on April 7.”
Kyle scratched his head, “So, what is your point, Commander? I do not see the connection.”
Jeff replied, “The connection and the point Kyle is that there were more than four nuclear bombs on board and they were still missing!”
Jameela laughed. “You see; Strategic Air Command did not want to alarm the world that they had lost nuclear bombs. So, fast forward. Genesis commanders were interrogating several operatives years ago. They were serving as moles for our enemies and we got lucky. One of them blurted out the location of the bombs after being injected with truth serum. We played along and purchased the bombs from several underpaid government workers and shelved them for future use. The future is now, you might say.”
Kyle was still curious. “So that how all the B53 bombs ended up in Genesis’ arsenal?”
Jameela replied, “Well, sort-of.”
Jeff was now curious, “What do you mean ‘sort-of’.'”
As Jameela refreshed their warm coffee with piping hot coffee, she continued her story.
“You Americans are always losing stuff. America’s Strategic Air Command is always losing bombs under its Chrome Dome Airborne Nuclear Deterrence Operations. One of the most mysterious losses was the disappearance of a B-47 over the Mediterranean in March 1956. The bomber penetrated a cloud deck to hit a refueling point at 14,000 feet and was never seen again. No trace was ever found of the airplane or its crew. Two nuclear capsules vanished. Then in February 1958, a B-47 jettisoned a nuclear weapon in Georgia’s Wassaw Sound. Divers searched for two months but came up empty-handed. The weapon has never been found. On January 21, 1968, as the French say, déjà vu. A B-52G, call-sign Hobo 28, took off and headed for Thule, Greenland, which was home to a U.S. special radar installation which is key to the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System. The radar and its command and control link were also thought to be at the top of the Soviet Union’s target list if a nuclear war were to break out. Hobo 28 had an experienced crew which made one small mistake. Extra seat cushions were brought aboard for the flight and placed too close to a heat source. Hours into the flight, something started to smoke. Soon the crew had expended all their onboard fire extinguishers. As the cabin filled with smoke, they bailed out over the ice. Greenlander Dog Sled teams set out immediately to help search for the downed aircrew. Six out of seven crew members survived after spending hours in subzero temperatures on the ice. One crewman had been fatally injured on ejection. The Thule crash, with missing bombs on Greenland territory, was a diplomatic nightmare. Greenland is a Danish territory. This country has a clear specific nuclear-free policy. A week after the crash, investigations quickly determined that all four bombs had disintegrated into the ice.”
Jeff and Kyle notice that Jameela was becoming increasingly on edge. She took out a portable bug detector approximately the size of a credit card and only a quarter inch in thickness.
Jeff asked, “Those are new?”
“Yes, I have one for each of you.” Jameela gave one to each as she started scanning for wireless signals. “Place your cell phones on the dresser. Do it now.”
Jeff and Kyle followed Jameela’s order and the scanner began scanning for the transmission of cellular signals. Jameela looked relieved. “If a signal is detected the cell phone creates white noise to prevent others from listening in. Just random checks guys. You can never be too careful!”
Jameela sipped her coffee and continued with her story. “Genesis has also made several people associated with the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration very wealthy with our acquisition of their junk. You know the saying, ‘One man’s junk is another man’s bomb.’ The last of the final fifty B53 bombs on this planet were held in a reserve after that nuclear weapon’s retirement from the U.S. arsenal. We quietly purchased several of those 'big dogs' to complete our needs. The beauty of this deal is that the bombs' uranium pits were still intact.”
Kyle looked at Jeff for agreement. “My brother’s best friend, who is a captain in the United States Marines, once told us that the B53 dismantlement program involved more than 130 engineers, scientists, and technicians. The transport and facilities are heavily armed and under intense surveillance. The plant in Amarillo, Texas, well, the guards are wielding high-tech weapons that could shred an army. So how did you get them out of the armed and heavily guarded facilities and transported?”
“Here is how this works commanders. U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration agents who are nuclear materials couriers provide safe and secure transportation of nuclear weapons. Let’s just say that if you are nice to nuclear materials couriers, they will be very appreciative.”
Jeff rubbed his chin, “Genesis is spending more money than some governments.”
Kyle winked at Jeff and asked, “Jameela, how much money do we have?”
Jameela laughed, “A lady does not answer such questions.”
Jeff laughed nervously, “The only advantage the US government has over Genesis is that it can print its own money.”
Kyle scratched his brow, “It is amazing that you could finance such a purchase. What is even more amazing is the fact that your procurers were not caught. How in the hell did they pull this off?”
Jameela laughed and said, “Relax guys. The ones that were lost were no problem at all. We were the highest bidder there. The ones at the plant in Amarillo, Texas required, as you Americans would say, finesse and finance. Since the B53 was made using older technology by engineers who have since retired or died, they had to call in engineers to develop complex tools and new procedures to ensure safety for dismantlement. In this process, our people literally took bomb components out in pieces and replaced them with dummy and replica parts. We paid the players close to a quarter of a billion dollars. Show me a man with a lavish appetite, I will find his price in about ten minutes.”
“That long huh?” snickered Kyle.
Jameela’s face turned serious as she continued, “The bombs are being armed with red mercury and loaded on the six ships we leased. Keep in mind that each bomb weighs about 10,000 pounds and is the size of a minivan. We will pack two to each ship with four on the oil tankers that head to Tybee Island. So let’s talk about the detonators. They are traceable. The military is smart. You have the largest deadliest bomb in the world, but if you cannot manually or remote detonate, it is worthless. The detonators are under layers of security. Genesis had a scientist on the Black Sea Coast in Bucharest replicate the detonators. Actually, the modified detonators he built are more accurate than the original ones. One of you will meet the scientist at the hotel in Bucharest to secure the detonators. You will be contacted at the appropriate time.”
Kyle and Jeff were given a primer on how and why the detonators work. Jameela pointed out that the B53 bombs were designed as gravity bombs. The B53 did not have the layered arming features of modern weapons of mass destruction. They simply had a mechanical lock on a firing system that was activated either by a free fall airburst, parachute retarded airburst, or immediate-contact surface burst.
Kyle asked, “Are these things safe? Could you accidentally set one of these weapons off?”
Jeff laughed. “Yeah, it would be the last mistake you and lot of people would know about.”
“Relax, guys. It is impossibl
e to trigger a nuclear bomb without using Apophis activation codes. Kyle will have Apophis codes for Charleston Harbor and Jeff will have Apophis codes for Savannah and Tybee Island. When the ships are within ten miles of their targets, they will activate links to the satellite. The device Jeff dropped in international waters will ensure this. At that point, the B53s are hot. Apophis will be the only thing preventing the release of each bomb’s deadly force.”
Commander Jameela got up. She started pacing the floor. “We do expect losses. Ships and tankers of this size will not go unnoticed even while we have gone to great care to be sure they are carrying regular cargo headed for their usual ports of call. Something will go wrong. It always does. The one ship that must get through to deliver its nuclear payload is the GWO Savannah. Its target and purpose is the facility at Fort Stewart Georgia. The Americans must pay for what they have done to our men and women.”
Jeff pondered, “So it's like salmon headed upstream. Only the strongest will get through.”
Jameela was quick to correct him. “Actually, no it's not. The Genesis attack strategy can be compared to the strategy of Darius the Great, the king who ruled Persia for 35 years, from September 522 BCE to October 486 BCE. He was the third Achaemenian king and considered by many the greatest of the Achaemenian kings. The Persian war strategy required the use of an almost unlimited quantity of men and resources. King Darius had both. His legacy included one of the most grandiose military operations of all history. King Darius’ Persian warriors were known as The Immortals. The Persian army was so vast that it typically relied on numbers over performance. They were feared for the massive scale of their attack. If you killed one Persian warrior, another one would appear instantaneously, giving the appearance, of course, that they were indeed immortal.”
Accelerant- Sixth Extinction Page 10
