Chris walked out of the room and looked down at Tommy.
"Come on, brother, we've got to get out of here. We'll go back and tell the others . . . then figure out what to do next," Chris said, as he reached down and helped Tommy get up.
"Chris, I've killed my share of deer, and gutted them too. But this . . . all those people," Tommy said, while leaning against the wall.
"I tried a couple of the phones . . . no signal," Cornell said, as he walked out of the room.
"We have to remember why we came up here. We were going to go outside and try to get a cell connection," Tommy said, while taking a few deep breaths to clear his head.
"Not here. It's too open. They could be waiting outside," Chris said.
"Let's go get the others, and then go back down the stairwell to 286'. There's an exit in the ventilation room. We can get out on the roof by the Containment Building. It's pretty secluded, and we might get a signal," Tommy said.
286' Roof
2030 hours EST
As they exited the RAB onto the roof, they were greeted by the howling roar of the Main Steam Dumps. The Reactor may have tripped and stopped the fission process in the core, but an enormous amount of heat energy was still being released. Tripping the Reactor tripped the Main Turbine, leaving nowhere for the secondary side steam from the three Steam Generators to go, but up.
"They won't stay around here. It's too damn noisy," Chris yelled, as he reached into his pants pocket and removed his cell phone.
"Are you getting a signal?" Kay asked, while looking at her own phone.
"There's still too much interference. We need to get out in the open," Cornell said.
"Cover me. I'm going to go out on the open section of the roof," Steve said, as he pointed toward an open area past the steam dumps.
Steve ran through the maze of steam piping. The heat and the sound combined to shake his bones as he ran through the cloud of secondary steam. As he broke into the open, he stopped and looked at his phone.
"Three bars!" he said, as he entered 911 on the key pad.
He never felt the three bullets that entered his chest. One penetrated his heart. He died before his body slumped to the roof. Cornell had followed Steve through the steam, but had stopped at the last row of piping. When he saw Steve fall, he turned and ran back to the others.
"Get back in the building . . . now! Steve's dead," Cornell yelled, and began pushing his stunned friends back toward the exit door.
Security Command Central
2033 hours EST
Aiguo stood beside Sergeant Davies and watched the plant worker drop to the roof.
"Good shooting, Renshu. Did you see any others with him?" Aiguo asked over the comm link.
"I don't think so, but there is so much steam in the area, I can't be sure," Renshu said, from his sniper position on the adjacent Tank Area Building roof.
"Go down there and check the area. If you find anything, call me," Aiguo said.
"Understood," Renshu replied.
"I've seen Chonglin on the cameras. Who did you leave with my family, or have you already killed them?" Jonathan asked.
"I have another individual with them. It was someone who I didn't really need here. Your family will remain safe as long as you continue to cooperate," Aiguo said.
"Yeah, I can see how much you trust me," Jonathan said, as he pulled against the tye wraps securing his feet to his chair.
"Just a precaution. What is the American saying . . . 'trust, but verify' . . . something like that," Aiguo said, while checking the various camera views across the plant site.
"What will they do? How will they react? By now they will have found the guards in the shack and Chonglin's surprise. They know that we have the plant. All ground communications in or out have been shut off. I thought we had killed all of the plant staff, but I suppose a few stragglers were to be expected," Aiguo said, and patted Jonathan on the shoulder.
"What do you think, Sergeant Davies? How will your government react?" Aiguo asked.
"They'll come in here and kill every one of you," Jonathan said, as he glanced to his left at the three day shift guards still secured to the railing.
Aiguo had shot each one in the head when he had entered the area and saw that they were still alive.
"I was touched that you tried to save a few of your former comrades, instead of killing them like I told you. But to me, they were just loose ends and potential problems. I am a man of my word, Sergeant Davies. We have a deal. You cooperate, your family lives. I didn't make a deal with them," Aiguo said.
"Will you really let my family go when this is done?" Jonathan asked.
"Despite what you think, I'm not a murderer. Your wife and your children are not a threat to the accomplishment of this mission. I don't need to kill them. They are leverage to keep you obedient, nothing more," Aiguo said.
"You keep monitoring the cameras. Call me if you see anything. I have some other things to do. They may try to probe the perimeter or send in drones to look around. Your continued cooperation ensures the safety of your family, Sergeant Davies. Remember that," Aiguo said, while turning away to leave.
Reactor Auxiliary Building 261'
2035 hours EST
The four RP techs were sitting behind an air handling unit. Kay was softly crying, her head on Chris's shoulder.
"Are you sure he was dead?" Tommy asked.
"Yeah, he was hit in the chest at least twice. There was a lot of blood. I don't think he got off a call. I don't know where the shooter was. There was too much noise. I never heard a shot, Steve just dropped. His face turned when he fell. His eyes were still open, just staring, blank. He was gone," Cornell said.
"So now what?' Chris asked.
"We know these bastards have a bomb with them. That's what the President said. They'll put the bomb in the Fuel Handing Building, up on 286'. We have to stop them," Tommy said.
"You're crazy, Tommy Borders. I'm not going anywhere near there. We need to go deep in the plant and hide. We're not soldiers; we're technicians, and Steve's dead because we tried to do something that's none of our business. Let Security take care of them," Kay said, and began crying again.
"Kay, we're dead either way. If they set off a nuke, there aren't any safe places on site. Tommy's right. We have to try to stop them. I think they've already taken care of the security guards," Chris said, while hugging her with one arm.
"The only way up to 286' is through the Waste Processing Building. That means we have to stay on this elevation and go all the way back through the RAB. Then we take the stairs up to the south end of 286' Fuel Handing Building," Tommy said.
"I'm not doing it. You boys are being stupid . . . again," Kay said.
"Cornell, why don't you take her back to the Radwaste Control Room? Chris and I will go look around up on 286'," Tommy said.
"We should all stay together. You'll just get yourselves killed . . . just like Steve," Kay said.
"Why don't we all go back to Radwaste? There's a fridge. We could all use some rest and something to drink. Then we'll decide what to do," Cornell said.
"Cornell Waines, you're not as stupid as I thought," Kay said, while patting Cornell on the knee.
"That's the plan, then. We'll go back to Radwaste. Let's get going," Tommy said, while standing up.
Fuel Handling Building 261'
North End Railcar Bay
2035 hours EST
"I told you. I've looked everywhere. I can't find the damn keys," Heng said, while continuing to search the forklift parked at the south end of the Railcar Bay.
"They probably have some rule about leaving keys in a parked vehicle. There has to be an office here somewhere. Chonglin, put your knife up and search for an office. Without the keys, we can't unload the bomb," Jian said.
"Who cares? It's a nuclear bomb. We back the truck in here and leave it. What difference does it make?" Chonglin said, while carving his trademark 'Tiger' character into the green paint of the massive outer stee
l door that sealed the Railcar Bay.
"Would you like to tell the Lieutenant that you think his plan is stupid?" Jian asked.
Chonglin began mumbling in Chinese, and then placed his knife in the sheath on the front of his chest.
"I'll go look for the keys," Chonglin said, while walking deeper into the building.
He returned a few minutes later, and tossed a set of keys in Heng's direction.
"They had a locked key box on the wall in a small office. I pried it open with my knife," Chonglin said.
"Heng, start up the forklift. I'll open the back of the truck," Jian said, as he ran outside to the brown truck.
"Chonglin, go check the elevator. We'll use that to move the weapon to the top floor," Jian yelled from outside.
Chonglin nodded, then climbed the three stairs from the railcar bay floor to the office level and went through another set of doors looking for the elevator.
When he returned, Heng was backing the forklift into the railcar bay. The nuclear device was strapped to a large steel pallet.
"Jian, this will never work. The hallways are too small and the elevator is for people, not equipment," Chonglin said.
"How do they get things up there?" Jian asked.
Heng looked around; then up. He pointed at the ceiling high above them.
"That's a hatch cover. They must bring things in here and then offload them with a crane. There has to be a crane up there to remove the hatch, or it just slides to the side, or maybe it's hinged," Heng said, while staring at the red plate in the ceiling.
"You two go look upstairs. I'm going to go outside and call the Lieutenant. This is going to delay us for hours," Jian said.
Security Building Armory
2050 hours EST
"How long a delay?" Aiguo asked.
"I'm not sure. Chonglin and Heng are upstairs looking for a crane. There has to be a way to remove this hatch. Are you sure you want us to move the weapon up there? It may take hours," Jian said.
"The map shows a large open area between the two main pools. I want the weapon between the two pools. Call me back when you have a time estimate," Aiguo said.
Aiguo placed his phone back inside a pocket on the outside of his body armor, then resumed his inspection of the armory.
"Impressive, very impressive for a plant security force," he said, while opening a crate marked 'Raytheon Missile Systems, FIM-92D, 1ea'.
"Eight Stingers, not the latest model, but still effective," Aiguo said, as he continued to search the armory.
He began laughing, as he removed three weapons crates to verify what was beneath them.
"Raytheon Missile Systems, FGM-148 Javelin. . . . an anti-tank missile launcher. Were they expecting an assault by tanks? Why would a security force have one of these? And why only one?" Aiguo asked, while opening the case.
"Bingwen, come into the armory. You have some deliveries to make," Aiguo said over the comm link.
CHAPTER 44
The White House
The Oval Office
Washington, DC, USA
August 2, 2017
2100 hours EST
"Mr. President, I'm sorry to interrupt, but I have some information that you need to be made aware of," Roger Yost, White House Chief of Staff said, having just opened the door to the Oval Office.
"Come on in and close the door, Roger. I'm on the line with the FBI Director. It's probably the same information from North Carolina," President Miller said.
Roger nodded in agreement and closed the door.
"Director Campbell, if you don't mind, I'm going to put you on speaker phone. My Chief of Staff in now in the room," President Miller said.
"As I was saying, Mr. President, we have received confirmation of an incident at the Harris Nuclear Plant located in New Hill, North Carolina. We think it pertains to the missing Chinese terrorists, and possibly the missing nuclear device. Local 911 personnel received a call from a woman at the site claiming to be the Site Vice President. My understanding is that Duke Energy has a vice president assigned to every one of their nuclear sites . . . in this case, a Ms. Gail Jacobs. In the middle of the call the woman began screaming, and the call was terminated. North Carolina Highway Patrol personnel were dispatched to the plant to investigate. They discovered three dead security personnel in the security building at the plant boundary. When one of the highway patrol troopers opened the door to the building to verify the status of the three guards, a bomb detonated, and the trooper was killed," FBI Director Campbell said.
"I'm not seeing the connection, Director Campbell. This is a possible threat to a nuclear plant, but . . ." the President began.
"Mr. President, another Tiger mark . . . another Chinese character . . . was found carved into the inside of the door where the dead security guards were found. An image was forwarded to a police forensic analyst familiar with this case. This analyst, Doctor Wilton Janson, verified that the character was made by the same man as the ones involved in a previous case in Alexandria, Virginia," Director Campbell said.
"Jesus, Bill . . . are you trying to tell me that these rogue Chinese Special Forces operators, in possession of a nuclear weapon, have taken over one of our nuclear plants?" the President asked.
"Yes, Mr. President . . . that is our worst case scenario, and the most likely one. We have been unable to contact any personnel inside the plant. The NRC tried to contact the Main Control Room on a dedicated emergency line. There was no response," Director Campbell said.
"What does the NRC have to say about this?" the President asked.
"Mr. President, since they can't contact the Main Control Room or anyone else on site, they are going to declare a General Emergency at the Harris Nuclear Plant in an hour or so. When they do that, the whole world will know," Director Campbell said.
"Do we know for a fact that they've taken over the plant? Don't these places have a large armed security force?" the President asked.
"Yes, Mr. President, they do. But the fact that there were casualties at the gate, no word has been heard from any more personnel on site, and the Main Control Room is out of contact, lead us to believe that hostile personnel have control of the plant," Director Campbell said.
"Mr. President, there was one other item. A local 911 operator also received a call from a woman near the plant who said her house had been taken over by Chinese soldiers. She claimed to have killed one of them. The sheriff's department responded and found a dead Asian woman inside the house. At first, they thought it was a simple murder. Then one of the deputies noticed a symbol carved into the handle of a chair sitting in the hall. He remembered your speech, and took a picture of it and forwarded it to his boss. It was the 'Tiger' character. That same guy was at this house. The house is only three miles from the Harris plant," Director Campbell said.
"First, the farm in South Carolina . . . now this place . . . they were moving closer to Harris," the President said.
"Mr. President, I was just handed a note. This second woman, the one who made the 911 call, her husband is a security guard at the plant. My guess is that the Chinese used the family as leverage, and forced this man to provide information and access to the plant," Director Campbell said.
"Damn, we shouldn't be surprised. These men are trained Special Forces operatives. This whole thing has been well planned and thought out from the beginning. It all started when they snatched their former leader from the hospital in Alexandria. Keep me informed of any changes, and I mean anything. Is that understood?" the President said.
"Understood, Mr. President. If anything changes, I'll let you know," Director Campbell said.
The President hung up the phone, closed his eyes, and began rubbing his temples with both thumbs.
"Damn it! These bastards are always one step ahead of us. Holy crap . . . a nuclear plant. Roger, arrange a meeting of the Homeland Security Council. Have them here in one hour. Make sure the NRC sends a representative. One hour, Roger, and no damn excuses from anyone, or I'll have their he
ads," the President said, while rising from behind the Resolute Desk.
"Yes, Mr. President . . . one hour," the Chief of Staff said, as he hurried from the Oval Office.
CHAPTER 45
The White House
The Situation Room
Washington, DC, USA
August 2, 2017
2200 hours EST
The President sat at the end of the long mahogany table. The Great Seal of the President of the United States was mounted on the wall behind him. The mood of the Homeland Security Council was grim.
"Roger, if you would, please brief all the attendees on the latest information available," President Miller said.
"Yes, Mr. President," Chief of Staff Yost said.
"Ladies, Gentlemen, the briefing package in front of you contains the latest information on the ongoing incident at the Harris Nuclear Plant in New Hill, North Carolina," Roger said, and proceeded to present the timeline and all available information.
After each individual had read through the package, the President said, "All right, I need opinions and analysis. We'll start with Vice President O'Quinn."
"Mr. President, when this goes public, people will panic. If we don't get ahead of this it will make Katrina look like a picnic," Vice President O'Quinn said.
"Agreed, and your advice?" the President asked.
"We have to evacuate the area now. We can't wait like the administration did before Katrina. We can't worry about the inconvenience to people. Their lives are at stake," the Vice President said.
"Chairman Wisnicki, I know that the NRC is required by law to publically announce the declaration of an emergency at the Harris Nuclear Plant. When is this going to occur and what steps is the NRC taking to ensure the safety of the public?" the President asked.
HARRIS (Detonation) Page 17
