Tommy and Chris ran across the roof, and around the outside of the Reactor Containment Building. Chris paused as they neared the Main Steam Dumps where Steve had been killed. The roar of the steam dumps seemed even louder than before.
"Check your phone. See if you can get a signal!" Chris yelled.
"No, same as before. We're surrounded by three different buildings. It's like being in a valley," Tommy said, as he crouched down, and faced back the way they had come.
"So, we climb out of the valley," Chris said, while pointing to his right.
They both stared at the caged ladder that was mounted on the side of the Reactor Containment Building. It was a scary climb, but it led straight to a circular walkway built into the outside of the containment building. It was where the cylinder shape of the building ended and the curved dome began. The only higher point on site was the cooling tower.
"I'll cover you from down here. When you get to the walkway, you cover me while I climb up," Tommy said.
Chris nodded, loosened the sling on his weapon, placed it across his back, and began climbing.
. . . .
Chonglin opened the door to the vestibule outside the south end of the Fuel Handling Building and paused, waiting for the smoke from the grenade blast to clear.
"Two more doors, which way did they go?" he asked himself, while stepping inside.
He opened the door on the left, and saw a stairwell leading downward.
"They would have gone to hide somewhere," he told himself, while glancing at the other door.
He walked through the door leading to the stairwell and proceeded downward.
. . . .
Walkway on the side of the Reactor Containment Building
0020 hours EST
"God, I hate heights," Chris said, as he lay on the concrete walkway outside the containment building.
The walkway was narrow, only three feet wide. A handrail was on the outside, and the curved surface of the dome on the other. The dome rose another 60 feet above them. Another ladder hugged the curve and led to the peak of the dome.
"Beats getting shot at," Tommy said, while lying on his stomach, face to face with Chris.
"Try your phone. I'm too tired to move," Chris said, while rolling onto his back and staring up at the night sky.
"We have to get a signal up here," Tommy said, while calling 911.
"9-1-1, what's the emergency?" the operator said.
"Holy shit, I got through!" Tommy yelled.
"Quiet, somebody might hear us. You don't know where that guy went. He could be right below," Chris said, while rolling on his side and looking down at the base of the ladder.
"I repeat, 9-1-1, what's the emergency?" the operator said.
"My name is Tommy Borders. I work at the Harris Nuclear Plant. The plant has been taken over by terrorists. We think they're trying to move that nuclear bomb the President talked about into our Fuel Handling Building. We just had a shootout with them. We had to run, me and Chris Baardsen. We're hiding on the side of the Reactor Containment Building. We need help," Tommy said.
"Mr. Borders, please hold on the line while I transfer you," the operator said.
"Holy crap . . . now I'm on hold," Tommy said, as Chris rolled back over and stared at him.
"I didn't see anything down below. I think we're safe up here," Chris said.
Over a minute later, a different voice came on the phone.
"Mr. Borders, my name is Brian Madison. I'm the Emergency Operations Director at the North Carolina Emergency Operations Center. Just so you know, another half dozen people from various agencies, including the FBI, are listening to this conversation. Are you calling from the Harris Nuclear Plant?" Director Madison asked.
"Yes, Sir!" Tommy said, and proceeded to give his full name, social security number, date of birth, address, and home phone number, in rapid succession.
"Mr. Borders, what position do you hold at the Harris plant?" Director Madison asked.
"I'm a Senior ALARA Technician in Radiation Control. I've worked here since 1985," Tommy said.
After another pause, Director Madison said, "Mr. Borders, we believe you. Now tell us everything that's happened to you this shift."
Tommy told him everything they had seen and experienced since they had come to work that night.
"Mr. Borders, we want to get a visual on your face. Some people here think that you are a diversion. I've been told that there is a ladder near your location that extends to the top of the dome of the containment building. We have drones in the area and want to verify your identity. We would send the drone to you, but that would give away your location," Director Madison said.
Tommy put the phone against his chest, and said, "Chris, now they want one of us to climb to the top of the frigging dome. They think I might be Chinese. They've got a drone around here, and they want to ID my face," Tommy said.
"What? The hell with that! Don't do it, Tommy. I can't believe I climbed up here to begin with. I hate heights," Chris said.
Tommy lay back against the concrete and wiped the sweat from his face. Then he looked at his phone and said, "Okay, I'll climb up there, but I'm not staying up there long. It's too exposed."
"Mr. Borders, I'll let you know when we have verified your identity. Then you can go back down," Director Madison said.
Tommy looked at Chris, and laid his rifle on the walkway.
"Great, no cage! Just a straight frigging climb on a curved ladder," Tommy said.
"I'll be right back, cover me, dude," Tommy said, as he tucked the live phone into a shirt pocket, and began climbing the ladder.
Chris nodded, as he crawled on his hands and knees along the ledge toward the southeast side of the plant. The wind had shifted. There was a strong wind blowing from the southwest. The plume from the main steam dumps had flattened out. Chris saw a man walking on the Tank Area Building roof.
"That's the guy. He's the one who shot Steve," Chris told himself, while tilting his head downward.
He could see Steve's body still lying in the open area outside the steam dumps. His blood was a dark stain on the roof. The stain snaked off to the right ending at a floor drain in the roof.
"So his life ends there, just running down a floor drain," Chris said.
Chris could feel the anger and the hatred rise, as he slid the stock of the M-16A2 into his shoulder.
The wind shifted again. The steam rose and blocked his view of the man on the other roof. Chris could hear the sound of thunder. He looked up at the horizon as the storm clouds in the distance lit up. He remembered listening to the news as he was driving to work. Right before he got out of his car, the weather report said that thunder storms were probable during the night.
"Great! They're never right about the weather. Tonight they have to be right," Chris said, as he settled into a prone shooting position.
"I'll wait for the wind to change," Chris said, as he stared at the movement of the clouds, revealed by cloud-to-cloud lightning.
Chris had vague memories from Navy boot camp of qualifying with an M-16. Unlike Tommy, he wasn't a hunter. He hadn't shot a rifle in well over 20 years. A pistol was more his style.
"I can hit this guy. That's got to be less than 100 yards," Chris told himself, as he pulled the weapon tight into his shoulder and formed a sight picture.
"Look through the peep hole in the rear sight. Put the front sight post in the middle. Look through and find the target. Line it all up," Chris said, remembering how awkward it had all felt back then.
He moved the selector switch from 'Safe' to 'Semi' and thought about what he was getting ready to do.
"They'll know we're outside and armed. They may hunt us down and kill us if I shoot this guy . . . but he murdered Steve. They've murdered everybody but us. Damn . . . I'm getting ready to shoot a man. Screw that, he wouldn't hesitate to kill me for one second," Chris thought, as he regained the sight picture, and began to squeeze the trigger.
"Center of mass. That's what
the instructor always said. Don't try a head shot . . . just center of mass," Chris said, held his breath, settled on the man's back, and felt the weapon jump in his hands.
Tank Area Building Roof
0040 hours EST
Renshu was knocked to the ground as the bullet struck him. His body armor had stopped the round, but he still felt like someone had kicked him in the back. He jumped to his feet and began zigzagging across the roof of the Tank Area Building. He felt another bullet whiz by his head as he turned toward the plant and began firing.
"It's Renshu! I'm being shot at from the northwest! I'm leaving the roof now," Renshu yelled into the comm link.
Renshu ran for the caged ladder that was the only way off the Tank Area Building roof. One bullet skipped by near his feet. He felt another zip by his head. He turned, and began climbing down the ladder. He never felt the bullet enter his right temple and exit from his left eye. He fell three rungs, catching one leg in the cage, and then an arm. He hung there, 20 feet off the lower roof.
. . . .
Chris stared at the man hanging inside the caged ladder. The wind shifted once again, and the man disappeared as the steam blocked his view. He could feel his heart pounding and was nauseous.
"They always seem happy in the movies when they kill the enemy. Why don't I feel happy?" Chris thought, as he closed his eyes and laid his forehead on the warm barrel of his weapon.
Outside the Security Building
0042 hours EST
"Renshu, come up!" Aiguo said, for the third time.
There was no answer.
"Sergeant Davies, do you have any cameras pointing toward the center of the plant or the Reactor Containment Building?" Aiguo asked, over the comm link.
"We have adjustable cameras all along the perimeter. There are also cameras on the 314' level of the Turbine Building. What am I looking for?" Jonathan asked, over the comm link.
"The last time I visited you, we saw Renshu take out the individual who ran out of the steam cloud. Now Renshu seems to be missing. You know where he was. Look for him and anyone in that area . . . and Sergeant Davies . . . remember your family," Aiguo said, and closed the comm link.
"Bingwen, have you finished your deliveries?" Aiguo asked, over the comm link.
"No, two left, these damn things are heavy. Guan's bastards are making me carry them up to the top of the guard towers," Bingwen said.
"Something has happened to Renshu. He's not answering. The last thing that he said was that he was taking fire. I want you back here now!" Aiguo said.
"I'm on the other side of the plant. I'll drop the missiles at the base of the stairs up the towers and head back your way. I'll be there in less than ten minutes," Bingwen said.
"This is Sergeant Davies. I found your missing man. I think he's dead. He's hanging inside the caged ladder coming off the TAB roof," Jonathan said, over the comm link.
"Then find the shooter, Sergeant Davies. Find the shooter and call me back," Aiguo said.
Aiguo stood outside the Security Building, staring at the elevated position that Renshu had held. Steam still billowed in the background, shifting as the wind changed from moment to moment. He lifted his rifle and used the 4X scope to scan the area known as the Power Block. From this angle, the various roof lines of the multiple buildings crisscrossed and intersected. The only one that was different was the dome of the containment building.
"Why would Renshu abandon that position? He had elevation. That means the shooter had higher elevation," Aiguo thought.
Aiguo lowered his rifle and stared at the dome. The steam kept shifting and obscuring his view. He thought he had seen something or someone. He lifted the rifle to his shoulder and rested the barrel against the side of the Security building to steady is aim.
"There's a man up there on the top of the dome. All I can see are his head and shoulders. That's a perfect sniper position," Aiguo thought, as he relaxed, leaned against the building, and focused on the target 300 yards away.
Top of the Reactor Containment Building Dome
0041 hours EST
Tommy lay on the curved ladder at the top of the containment building. He wasn't exactly afraid of heights, but he didn't seek them out either.
"Okay, I'm at the top of the RCB. Can you see me?" Tommy said, into his cell phone.
"The drone is at the plant boundary, Mr. Borders . . . right in front of you. Wave your hand," Director Madison said.
Tommy stuck the cell phone up in the air with his right hand and waved. The bullet struck his forearm. He screamed, and watched the cell phone tumble down the side of the dome, bounce once, and skip through the rails on the platform below.
He slid to the right, holding onto the ladder with his left hand. His feet began skidding on the concrete, as he lifted his right arm and stared at the rip in his forearm.
"Jesus, I just got shot!" Tommy said, as he began to feel dizzy.
He hugged the side of the dome as his left hand loosened from the ladder, and he began to slide down toward the narrow walkway 80 feet below.
Chris was still staring at the limp body hanging in the ladder cage when he heard Tommy scream. He scrambled to his feet, and began running back toward the ladder that led to the top of the dome. He heard or felt the bullet that caromed off the concrete dome to his left. As he rounded the curve, he saw Tommy slam into the walkway ahead. A smear of blood ran up the side of the dome.
Waste Processing Building 236'
0045 hours EST
Chonglin found himself back at the stairwell by the elevator, and knew that he had walked in a complete circle.
"This place is a maze. There must be a thousand different rooms and cubicles. They could be anywhere, and I've checked every room I've passed . . . except one," he said, then walked past the elevator and through a set of double doors.
"A boundary . . . portal monitors? I walked past here and all the way around this area. There's something in the middle," he thought, while approaching the magenta and yellow boundary rope and signs. A sign said 'RCA Exit to the Radwaste Control Room'.
"The rats have a nest," Chonglin said, as he reached the boundary.
He stepped through the portal monitor and cursed when it alarmed. When he opened the door on the other side, he saw a set of stairs leading upward. Voices told him that he had found his prey, and that one of them was a woman. The door shut behind him with a loud click, and he paused, listening. The talking above him had ceased.
Chonglin smiled, and rolled his shoulders to loosen the tension in his neck. He could smell the woman's perfume as he crept up the stairs, his weapon trained on the area at the top. He stopped before his head cleared the floor, and loosened a grenade from his harness. He pulled the pin, counted to three, and tossed the grenade high into the room above.
He heard a man scream 'Grenade!' just before the detonation. Two seconds after the blast, Chonglin ran up the stairs and began firing into the haze left by the explosion. A man rose from behind a fallen desk and began firing and cursing at the same time. Chonglin was struck twice in the chest and once in the arm as they exchanged shots from 20 feet away.
Chonglin was wearing body armor. The man in front of him was not.
Cornell was thrown against a wall and sagged to the floor. Kay began screaming as she stepped from behind a wall locker, pointed her M-16 at Chonglin, and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. She squeezed the trigger again and again, as the man began laughing at her.
"The eyes, the eyes tell everything. The old black man was a soldier when he was young. His fear was controlled. He was already wounded by the grenade before I killed him, but he waited for me to appear. Only a soldier has that kind of control. But you . . . you don't even know how to fire that weapon. You are shaking like a leaf. A woman should know her place," Chonglin said, grimacing at the flesh wound on his left arm.
"I will have fun with you before I kill you," Chonglin said, as he set his rifle aside, rolled his shoulders, and slowly slid his knife from its sh
eath.
Kay pointed the weapon at him, and pulled the trigger again and again. Then she remembered Tommy telling her about the selector switch. The man was ten feet way and walking toward her when she slid her thumb onto the selector switch, moved it, and felt two clicks.
Chonglin saw the motion and rushed toward her with the knife extended.
A three-round burst struck him in the chest and knocked him backwards. He screamed through the pain, and turned back toward her as another burst struck him in the left side. One bullet shattered his upper arm and spun him around. Three more rounds tore into his legs, causing him to collapse onto the floor. The knife tumbled from his hand as he reached for his handgun.
"Know my place, my ass!" Kay said, as she blew his head apart with another three-round burst.
Kay stared down at the man as his life poured onto the carpeted floor. She fired the weapon again until it clicked. Her heart was pounding in her chest, as she began to shake. Then she thought about Cornell. She threw the weapon aside as if it was a snake. Then ran behind the desk and knelt by his body. His chest was riddled. His eyes stared at nothing . . . and everything.
"Oh, Cornell, I'd be dead if you hadn't thrown me behind the locker. Why did you have to go and die? Now I'm alone," Kay said, as she rested her hand on his chest and began to sob.
Walkway around the Containment Building
0045 hours EST
Chris jumped over Tommy's still body, and knelt by his head as he rolled him over.
"Tommy . . . Tommy, shit, you've been shot!" Chris said, as he looked at Tommy's forearm.
"Flesh wound, the bleeding has almost stopped. I'll bandage it later. Now wake up! Aww, please don't make me give you CPR," Chris said, while checking for a pulse at his friend's neck.
HARRIS (Detonation) Page 21
