The entire ride back, Ike seemed like a different man. Quiet and nervous, he only looked up occasionally. He seemed disturbed by Lina and her actions.
Pelly gained respect for her. Not only was she beautiful, she was willing to take drastic steps as part of her duties. She was great. He wondered if he would ever get to see her again when all this unpleasantness was finished.
Staub raised the garage door as soon as Pelly drove the truck back into the lot. He spun it around and backed into the bay next to poor Professor Tuznia's Audi. He popped out of the pickup and felt some relief when he saw Lina, unharmed and tied to a chair next to the office door. A boney, balding, nervous man was next to her, smoking a cigarette. Obviously the new professor.
As Pelly walked behind the Audi, he noticed the trunk lid was open and the naked body of Professor Tuznia lay curled in the clean, empty trunk. The colonel had not even bothered to close her eyes. Pelly took a second and pushed down her eyelids.
Colonel Staub said, "Quickly, Pelly, take Ike and uncrate the front of the weapon. We have little time to waste."
The skeletal, balding man paced back and forth in front of the office, then changed his direction and headed toward them near the truck.
With Ike's massive shoulders and arms, they easily slid the crate back onto the tailgate. Pelly used a crowbar from a nearby shelf to pry open the wooden face of the crate.
The colonel joined them as the bald man reached in and swept away some packing straw. He had apparently already discussed with the scientist what was needed and shown him the cash.
The man worked amazingly fast, fastening wires and then splicing in his own plug. The plug fit into the back of a cell phone. The man taped the phone next to the open space on the bomb where the wires came out.
The man looked up at Staub. "When you want to detonate, call number of phone."
Pelly thought the man sounded German, with his sharp sounds and Ws changed to Vs.
Staub looked at a small sheet of paper. "I have the number."
The bald man said, "On the fourth ring, it will answer automatically. Press the numbers one, two, three, four, and that will trigger the mechanism. It will then initiate the first reaction that will then start the fissionable material."
Staub smiled. "How big will the blast be?"
"This is a warhead that would've been launched by a Soviet SS-18 missile. Modified, of course. Should be very good explosion. The tamper material is U-235. This surrounds the core. It should yield ten full kilotons. Enough."
The man didn't look remorseful or proud to Pelly. He was just another guy trying to make a buck off his skills.
"And this phone will detonate it anywhere?"
"Anywhere Nextel has service, so not too many places, but it should work if it has a signal."
"Excellent," said Staub as he motioned for Pelly and Ike to help shove the whole crate back into the truck. Then Staub looked at Ike and said, "Start driving."
The wide man said, "Now?"
"Of course now."
"Where?"
The colonel looked at him like he was an idiot. "Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada."
"Where in the hell is that?"
He handed him an envelope. "Here is a map, and a number to call when the bomb is in position."
"Why there?"
"It is the perfect target. Symbolic, military and devastating."
Ike moaned, "It'll take me more than a day just to drive there."
"We have time. I will not call the number until you say the truck is in position and you are a safe distance away."
Ike just stared at the colonel and swallowed hard.
The colonel raised his voice. "No delays. Get started, now."
Pelly and Colonel Staub watched as Ike shuffled over to the pickup truck, closed the tailgate on the open bomb, crawled into the driver's seat and slowly pulled the truck out as Staub used a remote to open the big door. Pelly could tell Ike was a beaten man.
Pelly waved to his American comrade.
Ike gave him a dispirited nod back.
The colonel said, "Good luck, Ike. You will be a hero in the new America."
Ike didn't look thrilled with his potential status as hero. He backed into the lot and paused. Then, after about thirty seconds he pulled onto the street and headed toward downtown Houston.
Staub turned back toward the office. He called over his shoulder, "Thank you, Professor. Here is your cash." He gestured toward the crate now at the door of the office.
The bald man said, "I will count."
"As you wish." Staub placed his phone and a few things from his pocket on a shelf outside the office, then turned toward Lina, who had been following the tall colonel with her eyes every time he moved.
Pelly felt a twinge of anxiety the way the colonel looked at Lina and said, "Now to tie up loose ends."
Duarte felt sure they had been gone too long on their wild-goose chase when he found the street to the warehouse again. As he came down the street, he saw a vehicle, then said, "Unbelievable. It's the truck."
Félix said, "You gotta leave me off. I'll get Lina."
Duarte didn't answer.
"I can call in help from the office phone. C'mon, just slow down. I'll jump."
Duarte nodded, watching the truck turn the first corner. He slowed the small Chevy Cobalt as Félix opened his door and sprang out onto the street. He wasn't graceful as he lost his balance and tumbled toward the curb, but Duarte relaxed a little when he looked in the rearview mirror and saw his friend struggle to his feet and start loping toward the warehouse.
After turning the corner, Duarte saw the truck moving at a reasonable speed and punched the gas to close the distance. He had no gun, so he knew he'd have to ram the truck to disable it. He was prepared to do anything and sacrifice anything to keep a nuclear weapon that he had allowed into the country from being detonated.
54
PELLY WATCHED AS THE BALD PROFESSOR QUICKLY COUNTED the stacks of cash in the box. He may have been a physicist, but he wouldn't finish hand-counting the crate full of cash until early morning. He'd have to count a sample then get moving. Pelly wouldn't mind sending the bald man on his way as broke as when he arrived. That was cash that could be used to expand the business. Business that would probably suffer after the colonel made the call to the trigger phone.
The bald man looked up at Pelly, apparently noticing his face for the first time. He flinched and said, "I need help getting this to my car."
It was an order, not a request. Pelly said, "It'll cost you a million bucks."
The professor stared at him.
"That's only about ten of the stacks of hundreds. You can afford it."
"I could hire a real monkey for a lot less." The man had no humor in his voice, but it didn't matter. The comment was all Pelly needed.
He turned toward the man, who had foolishly gone back to counting his cash. He shifted his Beretta for a fast draw, although right now he didn't plan to use it.
As he took a step toward the man, he said, "You think that's funny, Adolf?"