“If he means to actually fire the rocket, Kirk, what’s his target”
Trotter asked. “What’s Baranov up to”
“And if he doesn’t need the chopper to escape, how the hell is he going to get out of there? We’ve got the entire square surrounded. I’ve got my people everywhere”
“You have the surface of the square covered” McGarvey said. Collingwood glanced at the city engineer who was cowering a few feet away from them, his eyes as wide as saucers. He understood enough English to know at least the gist of what was about to happen here. “The storm sewers”
McGarvey said. “The transporter is parked directly over a sewer grate. I saw it before the light failed. “Jesus H. Christ” Collingwood swore.
“They’ll have a car waiting for them a few blocks from here, and while we’re waiting..”
“Is there a hatch in the floor of the transporter”
“Just unplug the umbilical cords”
“Too dangerous. They might have someone watching. If we make a move to tamper with the missile from the outside they might go ahead and blow it anyway. Is there a hatch in the bottom of the transporter”
“Yes there is, siran Army captain who’d been standing in the background spoke up. He came forward. “Who are you” McGarvey asked.
“Jim Hunte. I know that missile, sir. I’m one of the alert crew chiefs.
In fact I was on duty when that sonofabitch walked off with it”
“He can disarm the missile when it’s secured” Collingwood said. “In the meantime we’ll cover all the sewer exits.
“No” McGarvey said. “They’ve still got the trigger for the plastique.
And unless I miss my guess they’ll be programming the missile for a delayed firing”
“Then what the hell do you want”
Collingwood shouted. Captain Hunte wore a military .45 strapped to his hip. “Do you know how to use that thing, Captain” McGarvey asked. “Yes, sir. “Have you got the tools to disarm the missile”
“In my car”
“Get them” Hunte’s eyes were shining. “We’re going to kick some ass”
“We’re going to try to save some. Now, move yours”
“Yes, sir” Hunte snapped, and he hurried off. McGarvey took his Walther out of its holster at the small of his back and cycled a round into the firing chamber. “I’ll start by moving my people out of here now”
Collingwood said. “No” McGarvey responded. “The moment he sees that, he’ll set the missile to fire. “Well, at least I’m going to send a few of my people with you”
McGarvey shook his head. “Just hold the fort here, Colonelhe said, and he turned and hurried off into the darkness. Collingwood was fuming.
He turned to Trotter. “Just who the fuck does he think he is”
Trotter managed a very tight little smile. He took off his thick glasses and cleaned the lenses with his handkerchief. “You don’t want to know, Colonel. Believe me”
Captain Gerry Stewart was still on duty in Missile Control’s situation room. He was not a smoker, but in the hours since he had discovered Major Mccann’s body in the empty missile bunker he had gone through nearly a pack of Marlboros.
The base had been placed on alert. The situation room hummed with activity. A red light suddenly began to wink on the Six-P-Two Launch Board. “We have an A Key indicator on the Flybabythe technician called out. The Pershing missile, like most NATO nuclear weapons, was operated on a dual key system. It took two separate keys to activate the weapon for launch. Stewart jumped up and hurried to the console just as the B Key light came on. He stared at the board in disbelief. Both keys had been activated. Christ. The missile was live now, and starting through its firing cycle. “Impossible” he breathed. The rest of the board began to light up. “We have a firing sequence countdown the technician started to say, but then he stopped in midsentence. “It’s stopped, sir” he said, looking up. The firing sequence had stopped halfway through. Something was holding it. Stewart turned around and rushed for his console where he snatched up his comms phone. “I want Colonel Coilingwood. Now” he shouted.
The launch control board had come alive.
For the first few moments Kurshin had thought something was wrong. The fire sequence lights had begun coming on, one at a time toward a ten-second countdown. Suddenly they stopped. “Thereschey said, looking up. “The counter is running. In ten minutes the missile will launch”
“You’re sure” Yegorov asked, even his voice hushed now. “Of course”
Schey replied. “Nothing can stop it” Kurshin asked. Schey shook his head. “Nein”
“Thank you” Kurshin said. He raised the pistol he’d been hiding behind his leg and shot the East German in the face, the man’s head slamming backward against the bulkhead. He slipped off the bucket seat and crumpled in a heap on the floor. Yegorov hurriedly pulled up the floor panel, and then, getting down on his stomach, reached through the opening and removed the storm sewer grate, shoving it aside. The street beneath the transporter was in deep shadow. He looked up and Kurshin nodded. Yegorov levered himself down into the cool stonn sewer, his feet searching for and finding the metal rings set into the concrete. When he looked up again, Kurshin handed down the trigger for the plastique.
“Just in case” Kurshin said, and he too started down into the storm sewer.
One block off the square the side streets were in darkness. McGarvey and Captain Hunte had removed the grating from the storm sewer the city engineer assured them connected with the tunnel beneath the missile transporter, and McGarvey was lowering himself into the black hole when they heard someone running down the street. Hunte spun on his heel, yanked his .45 out of its holster, and levered the slide back. McGarvey was halfway through the opening. He braced himself and pulled out his pistol. “Mr. McGarvey” someone shouted from the darkness. Seconds later the figure of Todd Kraus emerged” It’s all right” McGarvey said to Hunte. “Here” he called to Kraus.
“Christ, am I glad I made it in time” Kraus said, skidding to a halt.
“You can’t go through with it”
“What’s happened”
“We just got word from the situation room at the base. The missile is in countdown mode. Both keys have been activated. “How much time do we have”
McGarvey snapped. Kraus was shaking his head. “No one knows, but it could happen at any second. The countdown has stopped halfway through its sequence. Once it starts again, the launch will occur in ten seconds”
“There’s no way of telling if they’re still in the transporter then”
“Trotter wants you back now. Collingwood is startin to pull his people out”
“They could be rigging some kind of delay circuit” Hunte said. “It would give them time to get out of there” McGarvey thought it out, weighing the risks versus his chances of success. “Tell Collingwood to try to reach Kurshin on the radio. We can’t risk sending the technicians over there until we’re sure he and his people are gone” He turned to Hunte. “I’m doing this one alone”
“Like hell you are” Hunte said. “I could order you to stay behind”
Hunte grinned. “I’m lousy at taking orders” he said. “Besides, that’s my missile out there” Kraus was looking at them, shaking his head.
“You’re both crazy. But I’m coming with you. There are three of them”
“No” McGarvey said. “Get my message back to Collingwood. If you want, you can stand by at the square. If we make it up to the transporter, we may need your help”
Kraus was obviously disappointed, but he nodded. “Good luck” he said, and he turned and hurried back to the square. “I’ll be right behind you, Mr. McGarvey” Hunte said, uncocking his pistol and reholstering it.