by Sam Fisher
The senator picked himself up and could just make out the contours of the space. It was a narrow corridor with a door at the far end. He stumbled towards it in the gloom, the heat from the auditorium still scorching his back. In the dark it was difficult to find the handle. His hand brushed against metal. He yanked at it. Nothing. It was locked.
His mind racing, Foreman grabbed for his cell phone. He could see from the illuminated screen that he had a very weak signal. Desperately, he stabbed at the keypad: 9, 1, 1. He heard the dial tone, then a click.
Foreman looked at the screen in disbelief. Connection lost, it read.
He dialled again. The words No signal appeared on the screen. He hit the phone with his fist and yelped in pain, then threw his arms down in despair. The screen light on the cell went out.
Foreman turned to survey the corridor, his eyes wild in the dark. He was sweating profusely, his breath coming in gasps. He could see no other exit. Ahead lay the inferno of the auditorium. Behind him a locked door. He hammered on the door in a futile attempt to break through by sheer willpower. Then he began to scream.
32
There were 32 satellites in total, each of them put into orbit seven months earlier. BigEye 1 through BigEye 32 had been launched in a single array from the Space Shuttle Endeavour. Now they formed a girdle around the earth at a mean altitude of between 22,330 and 22,335 miles. This altitude is known in the trade as a geosynchronous orbit, which is a fancy term for when a satellite orbits at the same rate as the planet turns. This means it stays in one position relative to the surface: it sort of 'hovers'. Between them these satellites could monitor 98 per cent of the planet's surface. And they were packed with some of the most advanced digital information collection and processing devices CARPA could offer; the sort of stuff that would not be seen in a conventional NASA or ESA satellite for at least two decades.
The BigEye satellites could detect any form of 'unconventional disturbance' on Earth. They could filter out, almost instantaneously, any 'registered' or 'legitimate' explosion, gas emission or radiation burst, and they could notify the ground crew of E-Force of any natural disturbance above a designated level. The moment an earthquake, a volcanic eruption, a bomb blast or a catastrophic gas leak occurred, a BigEye would know about it. The instant a serious gunfight broke out or a riot began, a BigEye would sound a warning.
But detection was just the beginning. A single BigEye, smaller than an automobile engine, possessed more processing power than the Pentagon. It could analyse the chemical composition of a gas leak in a building to one part in a billion. It could produce high-res 3D images of a dust mote from 22,000 miles up, and it could locate the heat from a human being five floors below ground. It could pick up the sound of a heartbeat.
BigEye 7 was positioned 22,334 miles above southern California when the bombs exploded at grid reference 34? 02' 22.77'' N, 118? 16' 03.93'' W, the California Conference Center in downtown Los Angeles. The first bomb blast was at 19.17.36 Pacific Standard Time, the second at 19.17.41. Travelling at the speed of light, the energy emitted from the blasts took about 0.12 seconds to reach BigEye 7's photoelectric detectors and gamma-ray receptors. Zero point six seconds later, the central processor array instructed the retro rockets to realign the satellite and the radiation detectors to focus on a circle half a mile in diameter with the CCC at its epicentre. Another 1.3 seconds passed before twelve of those detectors began to collect data. Information concerning chemical emissions and sound would take much longer to reach the satellites, but when that data arrived it would be added to the mix to give a fuller picture of what had happened.
The two explosions were 4.7 seconds apart, the second more powerful than the first. The detonation rate – the speed of the explosive wave-front – was 18,649 feet per second for the first explosion, and 19,989 feet per second for the second. The detectors aboard BigEye 7 quickly pinpointed the precise locations of each explosion. The first had been on the Ground Floor of the CCC, and the second on the Lower Ground Floor, directly beneath Hall A. First indications from BigEye 7's radiation detectors showed that the explosive material was non-nuclear. From the explosion profile and detonation rate, it was most probably a variant of HBX-1, a blend of TNT and RDX, a white crystalline substance often called hexogen and composed of calcium chloride and a wax dubbed D-2.
Even before a fireball with a measured mean temperature of 6960K ripped through Hall A – some seven seconds after the second blast – a warning signal was sent from BigEye 7 to Base One. With it was transmitted all the data gathered from the explosion sites up to that moment, a packet of just over 3 gigabytes of information. BigEye 7 then passed on a constant stream of updates as more data was collected.
Nine point two seconds after the second explosion, the first human beyond the immediate vicinity of the California Conference Center became aware that a catastrophic explosion had occurred in downtown Los Angeles. That person was Tam Finnegan, Technician 1st Class, at Base One, Tintara.
33
Base One, Tintara
7.27 pm, Pacific Standard Time
They were all gathered in Cyber Control. On the large screen was a map of Los Angeles.
'This is what we know so far,' Mark Harrison began. He was standing closest to the big screen and was wearing a black boilersuit and boots. He had been on a training exercise with Stephanie and Pete when he received the news. 'A BigEye has detected two large explosions at grid reference 34° 02' 22.77'' N, 118° 16' 03.93'' W. The first occurred eleven minutes ago at 19.17 PST. The second one came very soon after.'
The image on the screen changed as the computer zeroed in on the reference. A satellite image of downtown LA now filled the screen, and as the edges fell away the California Conference Center grew. Soon they could all see the large complex of buildings girded by the Santa Monica and Harbor freeways. There were two massive holes in the roof, and what looked like lunar craters all around the gutted infrastructure. On closer inspection, the gaping black holes were huge jagged openings in the metal roof pinpointing the epicentres of the explosions. All around the building lay concrete pillars, piles of twisted metal and a carpet of shattered glass. The image began to move again, focussing in on the building. They could see lumps of red and pink, and vaguely human shapes that were black as pitch.
Cyber Control was silent, apart from the hum and occasional click of one of the many machines in the room. Then Mark's voice cut in. 'Some of you may recognise this building. It is the California Conference Center. At the time of the explosion it was host to a special event, a speech by Senator Kyle Foreman, the founder of OneEarth. The hall he was speaking in has a capacity of 1100, and it was a sell-out – there was a queue outside the main entrance of the CCC.'
'Any idea of casualty figures?' Peter asked.
'It's not possible to say for sure. The local emergency services are on their way as we speak. We can only make an educated guess based on what we have from the BigEye.' He took two paces towards the main computer console, where Tom was positioned in his electric wheelchair. 'Sybil,' Mark said to the air, 'can we have the stats for the explosion, please?'
The female voice of the computer answered immediately, and at the same time numbers flashed up on the big screen. 'According to BigEye 7, the first blast had an explosive power of 18,649 feet per second. The second, 19,989 feet per second. Mean temperature at the epicentre of first blast was 6960K; for the second, 7180K.'
'Pete,' Mark said, turning towards him. 'You're the expert. What's that in English?'
Peter Sherringham shook his head. 'Not good,' he said, and ran a hand through his hair. 'Very bad, actually. Each blast was equivalent to about a ton of TNT. In the same ballpark as a very big airborne bomb used in Iraq.'
'Latest data from BigEye 7 suggests the first blast was equivalent to 0.9 tons of TNT, the second 1.2 tons,' Sybil confirmed.
'What about the type of explosive?' Pete asked, joining Tom at the console. 'Anything from the satellite, Sybil?'
'Preliminar
y spectroscopic analysis indicates the presence of at least 24 different chemicals. The most common are calcium chloride, a complex manmade wax, possibly D-2, and high levels of phosphorus.'
'Aye, it's an HBX explosive.'
'Which is?' Josh asked.
'A very powerful plastic explosive used by the military.
A fistful of the stuff would produce blasts like these. It's practically odourless and easily hidden. Bloody perfect for this sort of operation.'
'Who uses it, apart from the military? Is it a signature explosive?'
'Yeah, it was a favourite of al-Qaeda. But the Chechen rebels used it too. Iraqi resistance forces dabbled with it. It's popular.'
Mark joined Pete and Tom beside the computer console. 'So what are we looking at in terms of damage?'
Pete shook his head, looking at his feet. He let out a heavy sigh. 'It's not going to be pretty, Mark. I'd put it at 90 per cent kill rate within a hundred feet of the blast. But of course there's no accounting for where the bombs were placed and what the structure of the Conference Center is like. Look at 9/11. Who could have imagined the towers coming down?'
There was another long silence. No one seemed to know what to say.
Then Stephanie spoke. 'Mark, what are you thinking?'
'That we're not ready.'
Peter, Josh and Steph all protested simultaneously.
'We've almost completed training. We know what we're doing,' Josh declared.
Mark raised both hands. 'I understand your enthusiasm. It's admirable, but we cannot risk –'
'Mark, don't talk crap,' Pete stated bluntly.
Mark looked stunned for a moment, then said, 'Okay. The emergency services are on their way. We can offer them assistance from here, satellite data, anything that will help.'
'That's horseshit, Mark, and you know it,' Josh spat. 'We could go into parts of the building the emergency services can't reach. We could ferry the injured to hospitals. We could put out fires, stabilise the roof, use our heavy lifting gear to rescue survivors. There's plenty to do, for God's sake.'
Mark whirled on him. 'Oh, right! You make it sound easy, Josh! Do you think I like turning my back on a disaster like this? Huh? You know as well as I do that if we go in unprepared we could do more harm than good. This isn't a game.' Then, with uncharacteristic venom, he added, 'Be grateful it's not your decision, my friend.'
Josh was bristling, but took a deep breath and kept quiet.
'The best thing we can –'
'Sir?' It was one of the technicians at the terminals.
Mark spun on his heel. 'Yes?'
'Priority red call, sir. It's Senator Mitchell.'
Mark took a few paces towards the big screen, which had now lit up with the visage of a man in his mid-sixties. White hair swept across his head. He had piercing dark-brown eyes and a small mouth. Senator Evan Mitchell had been Mark's most enthusiastic supporter in establishing E-Force.
'Senator.'
'You've heard, of course.'
'Yes.'
'What do you plan to do?'
'We're not ready to move. I'm sorry.'
'That is a pity,' Mitchell said. 'Have you taken a straw poll?' And he gazed into the face of each of the team, beginning with Josh, who still looked extremely tense.
'We're not a democracy.'
'No, I understand. It's just that I think you're going to have to be ready.'
'What are you talking about?'
'We've just traced a call made from Senator Kyle Foreman's cell phone. A call to 911. He's alive, or at least he was a few minutes ago. You have to get him out of there, along with anyone else you can save.'
No one spoke. Josh stared at Stephanie, who would not meet his gaze. Tom sat with his hands in his lap, a faint, unreadable smile playing about his lips.
'And this is not open to debate?'
'I understand your anxiety, Mark. Believe me.'
'But you want me to risk the lives of the team and the very real possibility we'll screw up on our first mission. What a great ad that would make.'
'That hardly sounds like the ringing endorsement your team deserves, does it?' Senator Mitchell looked around at the others again.
'You're twisting my words, Senator,' Mark responded. 'I have every faith in my team.'
'Excellent. So that's settled then. Keep me appraised, Mark.'
'Hang on,' Mark snapped. 'How on earth did you know Senator Foreman used his cell?'
Senator Evan Mitchell smiled briefly. 'Don't sound so surprised, Mark. I would have thought it was obvious. Kyle Foreman's a very important man. His phone has been tapped for at least a year.'
34
Mark Harrison lowered himself onto a stool close to Tom Erickson's workstation, crossed his legs, and folded his arms over his chest. After a moment, he looked at the team gathered around him. 'Well, that's that, then. We'd better get to work.'
'Mark –' Stephanie began.
He raised a hand. 'Enough has been said, Steph. But I just want you all to know, I have never doubted your abilities for a second. It's simply that this thing has never been tested. It's . . .'
'Risky?' Josh offered.
Mark shook his head. 'And then some.'
Tom brought a schematic of the CCC and the surrounding area up on the big screen. 'There are two parts to it,' he began. 'First, the 20-storey Hilton Hotel. From the BigEye images, it looks like it got off very lightly, just superficial damage.' Aerial shots of the tower with shattered windows appeared at one side of the big screen.
'There's a bridge on the first floor linking the Hilton with the Conference Center. Or at least, there was. It's collapsed. The other building is the CCC itself. It's a low, squat structure only four floors high, but spread out over a large area. However, there are six floors below ground. Mostly parking, but also admin and storage areas.
'There are six elevators serving all ten floors of the complex. It has four sets of emergency stairs, two at each end of the building.' Tom ran his hands over the virtual keyboard and a cursor indicated the stairs. 'There is also a large service lift, here.' A red cursor moved to the back of the building. 'This is for accessing the main storage area on B6, the deepest level of the complex. It runs directly from B6 to Ground, but does not go up to the other three floors.'
'Okay, Tom. What about the surrounding area?' Josh asked.
'It's smack in the middle of downtown LA, tucked up close to the junction of the 10 and 110 freeways. There's a large ground-level car park to the south-east of the main building. Directly opposite the main entrance is a low-rise mall, a Kmart, a Dunkin' Donuts and a gas station.'
'Well,' Mark said. 'As you know, we work with the emergency services whenever we can. We can see paramedics and firefighters have just been mobilised. The Los Angeles County operational coordinator will have been notified. Like everywhere, post-9/11, they'll have well-rehearsed procedures for responding to an incident like this. At least, I hope they do.
'Our orders are clear. We have to focus on the senator and whoever else is with him. Josh, you go ahead in a Silverback. Steph and Pete, you follow on in the Big Mac. We'll go through the equipment you'll need and get it on board ASAP.'
'What about Mai?' Stephanie asked.
'She'll be with her mother in Houston, I imagine. I'll contact her right away. If she's able to join us, I'll get her picked up. We have a base there with a Silverback on permanent standby. She should make it to LA about the same time you two get there.'
'Tom,' Mark added, 'I'll need the mayor and the emergency response coordinator.'
'They're going to be up to their necks in it.'
'I'm aware of that, but I must have their clearance. If there's any resistance from either of them, go straight to the governor. And if that fails, get Senator Mitchell to call the White House direct. Let's go.'
35
California Conference Center, Los Angeles
The first people to respond to the explosions at the CCC were those just beyond the blast radius
who managed to escape injury and scramble for their cell phones. Most called their homes to speak to loved ones, but a few dialled 911. Information concerning the blasts was conveyed to the office of the disaster management area coordinator (DMAC), some two miles away from the explosions. Staff at the office had heard and felt the blasts, but it was not until they received the call that they knew for sure a major incident had occurred.
The DMAC was an old hand and had dealt with more than a dozen major incidents in LA since taking up the position over a decade earlier. He knew the emergency management system as though it were etched into his brain, and he flew into action. His first call was to the County Emergency Operations Center (CEOC), located some three miles away from his office. The staff there had heard and felt nothing, not only because they were further away from the explosions. Their building could shake off such effects in the way a super-tanker would react to the wake from a toy boat. After making his report, the DMAC placed his number two, the assistant management area coordinator, in charge. He was then driven to the CEOC.
The operational area coordinator (OAC) was called, along with the director of health services (DHS). They headed straight for the CEOC. En route, the OAC called the Californian governor, the Area H fire chief, the police chief and the Community Emergency Response Team. Meanwhile, the DHS contacted the health authorities, who immediately put all local hospitals on red alert and mobilised scores of paramedics and the Red Cross.
At the CEOC, advisors contacted the chief administrative officer, the Department of Beaches and Harbors, the Department of Children's Services and the Department of Public Social Services. In that first wave of calls they also alerted the Department of Parks and Recreation so they could prepare areas for evacuees.
As soon as the governor heard the news, he called the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Transportation Security Agency and the White House. After consultation with the President, White House staff contacted the Department of Homeland Security, the CIA, the FBI and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), which had the second-largest satellite network in the world.
