“The Russians don’t have time for civvies, unless they can use them as human shields, or get them to tramp across minefields.”
Thinking back to the scene he had witnessed when the three NATO combat vehicles had crushed and gunned down other refugees Revell knew the dangers they faced did not come just from the enemy. Out there every-one was their enemy.
While the squad stayed concealed they had no visits from Russian patrols entering the area. Several times though they heard tracked and wheeled vehicles passing on the road beyond the distant exit. A cautious reconnaissance by Dooley and Ripper had revealed that the road was a main boulevard in the shopping district and already being employed as a cross-town route by Russian troops.
The traffic was a mix. Several lone vehicles were luxury saloons, their drivers invisible behind smoked glass windshields. Likely they were the last of the looters trying to get out, but one bullet riddled Saab at the roadside displayed that not all were being successful. An ordinary hatchback that lurched past. was obviously being driven by a Russian unused to the controls after the crudeness of Soviet transport. He was trying to race his trophy but succeeding only in grinding the gears and revving the engine so fast that the clutch was not going to last. Shortly after, they heard tracks and bellowing high-powered engines. It was a Russian patrol, two missile armed scout cars, a motorcycle combination and two old T62 tanks.
“Can we idle out of here on one engine, keep the noise to a minimum?” Revell leant forward over the drivers seat, watching while Burke tinkered with a loose bracket securing a lighting and power panel.
“She won’t take that ramp on one, too steep. But after that, yes I can motor on one for as long as you want. We’ve done it in the past often enough” Finally Burke found a few shreds of thread on the bolt and managed to secure the board against the hull.
Revell had paced out the interior of the unloading area. “There’s a hundred and fifty metre run-up to it. If we start right up against the rear wall, could we do it then?”
“Possible, but I wouldn’t bet my life on it.”
But that was just what they would be doing. If the Russians had any weapons covering that section of the main street then their arrival at the top of the ramp with almost no way on them; they would be an easy target.
“I could take the run-up on both motors and cut one at the mid-point on the ramp, we should have sufficient momentum to drive out on to the street making the minimum of noise. This big cellar will shield most the racket we make getting up to speed.”
“That’s what we will do then.” Revell felt a moment of relief. “Ready in ten minutes?”
“No problem.” Burke started to activate controls and watched as panels began to flicker through their self-testing sequences. “Get the others out of the way. I will have to back up fifty yards to start the run from the best position.”
With five minutes to go the officer briefed Burke on the route they would have to follow. This time his street map was better, but in such detail they had to employ a magnifying glass in the poor light.
“Best place to aim for is this water tower. The area around is a load of salvage yards, transport parks and the like. The bomb should be just here according to the satellite tracker device that had been transmitting for a while. Close to a flyover complex, here.” Revell indicated the points to Sergeant Hyde.
“If the area is clean, if the Russians have withdrawn then we’ll do the last couple of hundred metres on foot, find out precisely what’s happening. If there’s only a bomb squad and escort present then we’ll devise a way to take them out.”
“Does this planning involve me?” Carson crowded forward and was almost shouldered aside by Lieutenant Andy.
“We’re parking as close to the location as we can. A scouting party will determine the situation and then we play it by ear. Ideally we grab the bomb, get you to check it and then call up the APC to load up. If that’s not possible, then you take charge and set this lot of calculated frightfulness,” Revell tapped the container, “prepare the bomb for destruction.”
“I presume this case of stuff includes suitable delay fuses or timers of some sort?” It was a thought that had occurred to Hyde before, but it was the first time he had expressed it.
“Sure, a mechanical timer that’s pretty accurate. Normally we’d back that up with a conventional fuse. I can set it for anything from five seconds to one hour. That is for anything from sprinters to the wheelchair brigade.”
“Five seconds?” Burke swivelled in his seat to smack the map. “You’re kidding, right. How far have we got to be from that bomb to be safe. Just in case it sets off rather than melts down, how powerful is it?”
“It’s as powerful as you want it to be. We’re told the one we’re due to collect is set at a fraction of a kiloton. Safety, well that depends on your definition of safe.” Carson looked at the much-embellished case of thermite. “If this stuff doesn’t do the job and the bomb goes off, then a kilometre would be nice. If you were out in the open then half that if you have a real nice chunk of masonry or a bit of a hill between you and it. At a pinch though, behind armour…” Carson glanced at the aluminium walls and pursed his lips, “A couple of hundred metres might do it in this contraption if you don’t mind being tossed about and collecting a dose of rad’s that will make your goolies glow in the dark. Of course if the weapon were dug in, especially in soft material, sand or clay… then the crap flying about to form the crater wall might just mean you’ll be buried. Not relevant here though. We are looking at a ground level blast, no problem. Lots of flying bricks and fence posts, nothing worse if we have a bit of distance between us.”
“You said ‘normally’ when you talked about the fuses. What do you mean by ‘normally’? Are we missing something?” Revell expressed the sudden suspicion that was in his mind.
“We have to be sure the destruction goes according to plan. We can’t set it up and then retire to a safe distance, coming back to it if there is a problem. As the material of the bomb melts a lot of radio-activity will be released.” Carson played with the flap of material covering the top of the thermite casing. “Once the weapon is rigged with this stuff we have to witness the initial stages of combustion to be sure it’s all going to plan. Once we’re sure, then we can scoot.”
“So the equivalent of a staggering amount of conventional explosive plus enough radio-activity to fry us.” Sergeant Hyde voiced the fears he knew would be in the others. “And you want us to hang about and make sure we have a nice fire going before we leg it.”
“Correct.” Lieutenant Andy rapped with his knuckles on the floor and on the walls of the APC. “Can I change the subject a moment? This wagon seems pretty substantial but I sure wouldn’t mind knowing if there are any hull mounted auxiliary fuel tanks, and if they can be jettisoned real swift.”
“All the gas is under the floor, in the centre of the hull. Why do you want to know?” Hyde was aware he was piling one misgiving on another, but he felt he just had to know.
“Oh it’s just that if because of Warpac tinkering the bomb does go off while we’re motoring away, and we are still real close to ground zero, then we’ll have a pulse of super-heated air washing around us for a second or maybe two. I don’t suppose you mind losing the shovel handles and anything else combustible fixed on the outside of the hull but do you want to be close buddies with a couple of drums of boiling gasoline, because that is what you’ll have. External fuel storage, not a good idea.”
“How about the ride skirts?” Burke thought of the thick reinforced Kevlar fabric surrounding the air chamber.
Carson shrugged. “It’s a dense material, the worst you might get is some surface charring and bubbling. In any event it’s fairly low on the ground and should be sheltered even if the rest of the hull isn’t. If you’re reactions are fast though I would suggest collapsing the skirt to rest the hull on the ground so we’re not tossed about like a piece of loose debris.”