"Mr. Vice President, I've thought about that over the last few months. We were wrong to have done that. We've all sworn allegiance to the Constitution and the elected officials that represent the people. What we've developed is amazing, but it shouldn't have been kept secret for so long," General Munford said.
"General, we both know that if the Pentagon had told the Congress about the 'Dory' and the 'Kraken', the information would have leaked within 48 hours. Then the Chinese would have started infiltrating the program to steal the tech. Some things have to be kept hidden. That's why the Chinese are always a decade behind. We have to ensure that it stays that way," Vice President O'Quinn said.
"I understand that, Mr. Vice President, but I won't cross him. He's the President, and I have sworn allegiance to him," General Munford said.
"Incorrect, General. You've sworn allegiance to the Constitution. He never said that you couldn't make contingency plans to address the problem with China. That's what you guys do, isn't it? You make contingency plans for multiple eventualities. So make some plans, General. We'll just wait and see how things develop over the next few months. Once things settle down, the American people are going to be pissed. They'll want their revenge," the Vice President said, as he turned and walked away.
CHAPTER 60
Harris Nuclear Plant
Fuel Handling Building
216' North
August 3, 2017
0530 hours EST
"Listen, Mr. Borders, I appreciate what you're saying, but I have to find out what happened to my battalion," LTC Anthony Thompson said, as Tommy stood in front of the door leading out of the area known as 216' North Fuel Handling Building.
"Colonel, you're not listening. We're 50 feet underground. There is probably 20 feet of concrete between us and the outside. There's an area monitor on the wall over there, and the dose rates in here are 100 times normal. Once we leave here and start heading up the stairs to the refuel floor, they'll be 10,000 times higher, maybe more. We need to wait down here for a day at least," Tommy said.
"Do you want me to move him, Colonel?" SSG Clay asked, as he walked up and stood beside Anthony.
Both men towered over the technician, but he stood his ground like a pit bull.
"Tommy, your name's Tommy, right?" Amanda asked, as she pushed both men aside.
"Radiation Protection is your specialty. I understand that, but we have to get out of here. That woman over there needs medical help. I'm guessing that there are first aid supplies, maybe a small clinic of some sort inside these buildings. She needs some help or she's not going to make it," Amanda said.
"There's a first aid room in the Waste Processing Building, up near our offices. But that's near the outside of the building. There are doors to the outside near there. Those doors are two inches of steel, but they might as well be made of paper. The gamma radiation will go right through them. We need to stay behind concrete, lots of it. The plant ventilation has shut down, but the airborne contamination will start filtering into the building. We'll need respirators, or the ingestion will kill us," Tommy said, as the two men started closing in again.
"Tommy, can we leave here and get her help?" Amanda asked.
"Yes, but you have to follow me and do as I say. We have to move fast and stay away from any openings to the outside," Tommy said, as he started planning a travel path in his mind.
Waste Processing Building 236'
Radwaste Control Room
0530 hours EST
It had been almost an hour since the building had stopped shaking. The lights were out, and Kay sat huddled in a corner with her mag light for company. She had cried until she didn't have any more tears. Then her electronic dosimeter alarmed and caused her to jump to her feet.
"That was the bomb. The bomb must have gone off. But I'm still here and the building is in one piece. If it had gone off inside the Fuel Handling Building the whole plant would have been torn apart. So it must have been outside," Kay said, reassured by the sound of her own voice.
"Okay, so what do I do? What are the dose rates in here?" she asked herself, and then remembered that the operators had their own private stash of radiation survey instruments in the Radwaste Control Room.
She broke the seal on the wall locker, and saw protective coveralls, booties, hoods, respirators, and survey instruments. Five minutes later she was completely covered from head to foot in protective clothing. The respirator was tight, which made it harder to breathe, but she found the confinement somehow comforting.
She removed a Teletector from the wall locker and set it down on a desk. Then she loosened the strap on her M-16 and draped the weapon in front of her. She picked up the Teletector again, and walked down the stairs from the Radwaste Control Room.
"Let's go see what's out there," she told herself, as she turned on the Laurus 6112M Teletector.
"Wow, 10 mRem per hour in here. Normally, it's less than 0.01. No wonder my ED alarmed," Kay said, and then began laughing for some reason.
Waste Processing Building 261'
Exit Door from the Fuel Handling Building
0540 hours EST
Kay screamed as she exited the stairwell from 236' onto the 261' elevation. The automatic weapon was aimed at her head. She instinctively pointed the Teletector at the man, and then began cursing when she noticed Tommy standing beside the soldier. Tommy was laughing while he asked the huge man not to shoot her.
"Tommy Borders, you scared me almost to death," Kay yelled, her voice muffled by the respirator, as she ran up and hugged him.
"This is Kay Snaps, she works with me," Tommy said, as the group exited the stairwell behind him.
"Kay, where's Cornell?" Tommy asked, as he grabbed her by the shoulders and stared at her face through the respirator.
"One of them came after us . . . found us in the Radwaste Control Room. He killed Cornell, and I killed him," Kay said, as she patted her M-16.
"You killed a Chinese Special Forces operator? Are you sure he's dead?" SGG Clay asked, as he walked up beside the pair.
"I shot him in the legs, shot him in the arms, and took most of his head off. I'm pretty sure he's dead," Kay said, while fighting the urge to throw up.
"Well, damn!" SSG Clay said, as he backed up and looked at the woman encased in protective clothing with an M-16 draped across her chest, and some strange, telescoping, radiation detection device in her hands.
"Where's Chris?" Kay asked, as she looked past Tommy at the collection of strangers.
Tommy shook his head and said, "He drove the bomb offsite on a forklift."
Kay just looked at him, fresh tears welling up in her eyes.
They all jumped back, as the double doors leading into the forward office areas of the building popped open. Four soldiers were aiming automatic weapons at them.
"Colonel . . . Hey guys, it's the Colonel. We thought you were dead, Sir. The last we heard, your vehicle got hit up by an AT missile. After that, things went to shit. We tore up the front of the plant, and killed everyone who wasn't wearing tan. Then we were ordered to exit our vehicles and evac inside here. Then the bomb went off," said First Lieutenant Billy Powell, as he stepped forward and saluted LTC Thompson.
"Somebody found a survey meter back there in the offices. They turned it on and said it pegged. We're getting everyone deeper into the building. We're not sure where to go," Lt. Powell said.
"How many men made it in here?" Anthony asked.
"Most of the battalion, Sir. We're backed up tight behind me," Lt. Powell said.
"Where can we take them?" Anthony asked Tommy.
Tommy thought for a few seconds, and then said, "Kay, take them down to 211', and then come back up here. We've got to go get some medical supplies."
Kay nodded, opened the door to the stairwell she had just come from, and said, "Follow me."
"Lieutenant, follow that woman and get a head count," Anthony said, as Lt. Powell followed Kay down the stairwell.
"Yes, Sir," came the reply.
"Now all we have to do is survive until help arrives," Anthony said, as he glanced at Amanda standing beside him.
She leaned against him, reached over, and squeezed his arm. Neither one of them wanted to move.
CHAPTER 61
Central Military Commission Headquarters
August 1st Building
Beijing, China
August 7, 2017, 1830 hours CT
The 16 men who formed the power base of the People's Republic of China sat at a long rectangular table deep below the August 1st Building, headquarters of the Central Military Commission. Ten senior officers sat opposite five politicians. Each group talked quietly amongst themselves. Party General Secretary Li Xibin, the man to whom all had sworn their allegiance, sat at the head of the table.
"General Fan, what is the latest information?" General Secretary Li asked the Vice-Chairman of the CMC.
"There has been a nuclear detonation within the United States, at a location near a nuclear plant in North Carolina. That is in the southeast portion of . . ." General Fan began
"I know where North Carolina is, General Fan. How are the Americans reacting? Have their fleets begun to move? Have they increased the readiness of their nuclear forces? Have there been any sightings of their damned space planes? What are they preparing to do?" General Secretary Li asked, as he thumped the table with his fist.
"General Secretary, as far as we can tell, they aren't doing anything . . . reactionary. We all saw the President's address to his people. They are using their military resources to support recovery within the areas affected by the nuclear detonation. Their only fleet movements have been to move in support of recovery operations. As far as their space planes . . . we still have no way of detecting them," General Fan said.
"Six months . . . it has been six months since I stared at a silent, hovering aircraft with a fluttering red, white and blue pattern. It hovered in the courtyard of the most sacred building in our nation. The American President was showing me that we had nothing. Do you understand me, General Fan? Nothing!" General Secretary Li said, as he began shouting at the military officers at the table.
"You failed to control a rogue general. You allowed him to develop a private nuclear force right under your noses. Then you had the audacity to bring him to me with his insane plan of blackmailing the Americans," General Secretary Li yelled, continuing his tirade.
"General Secretary . . . with all due respect . . . you went along with his plan when it was presented to you," General Fan replied, understanding that his life was at risk.
"Comrades, this is not productive. We all had a hand in this debacle to one extent or another. We can continue to tear ourselves apart, have a few people in this room shot, or we can take action to protect ourselves," said Admiral Wu YaoYan.
"Admiral Wu . . . despite the fact that we publically laud the achievements and power of the new and modern Chinese navy, we all know that your fleet is shit when compared to the Americans," General Fan said.
Perhaps, Comrade General, but what we lack in technological advancement, we make up for with brute force . . . and the careful placement of certain hidden assets," Admiral Wu replied.
General Secretary Li sat down and shook his head before saying, "I think we are reverting to our past. You gentlemen are no more than warlords, each with their own private army. Please tell us, Comrade Admiral, what hidden assets?"
"Comrades, I must humbly confess that General Kung was not the only servant of the Chinese people who had plans for our eventual domination of this planet. The Americans may have the high ground, but I have the sea," Admiral Wu began, and then paused as he rose to his feet.
"On October 30, 1961, the Russians detonated the largest nuclear weapon ever developed . . . the Tsar Bomba. It had a theoretical yield of over 100 megatons. The subsequent explosion was only 50 megatons. Otherwise the aircraft that dropped the bomb would not have been able to escape the blast. The limited weapon was ferocious, and discarded as too unwieldy," Admiral Wu said, in a calm manner, as if he was teaching a classroom of cadets at the naval college.
"The Soviets built a total of three of these weapons. I am in possession of the two that remain. One sits imbedded deep within the island of La Palma, in the Canary Islands. The other sits in the Gulf of California, nestled on top of the southern end of the San Andreas Fault. The first device would produce a tidal wave over 500 meters high that would engulf the entire Atlantic Seaboard. The second device would . . . what is the phrase in English? Unzip . . . that's it! The second device would unzip the San Andreas Fault, and rip the West Coast of the United States apart," Admiral Wu said, while sitting and calmly watching, as the Generals and Politicians all began shouting at once.
THE END
To be continued in 'FIRE AND WATER'
HARRIS (Detonation) Page 26
