Morris bit off a sarcastic reply. “The accord has already been violated. It is now time for damage control, and we have to get those bombs out of there.
‘To help solve the second problem, the various intelligence organizations have all been notified and are investigating this situation.” He swung his gaze to General Hodges. “I want your source at SNN to find out everything they have on this situation. I also want everything you’ve received from the two personnel you’ve already detained in connection with this incident.”
Morris fixed his gaze on a full colonel at the end of the table. “What do we have that can get there ASAP to secure those weapons?”
The colonel looked at the large map at the end of the room. “To be honest, not much, sir. I think the closest ground forces would come from either Panama or Hawaii. Elements of the Third Fleet are operating off Australia. The big problem is that we have no way to deploy forces by air without an inflight refuel. That’s the most isolated place in the world — a minimum flight of two thousand miles from the nearest land.”
“I don’t want problems. I want results.”
“Yes, sir.”
Kim laid the satchel charge in the middle aisle of the Our Earth plane. They’d just located it, parked four hundred meters away from the base, and Major Pak had directed Kim to destroy it. He estimated that thirty pounds of explosive would more than do the job. Kim pulled the fuse igniter and hopped out the door. He ran back to the SUSV and clambered into the cab, next to Pak. The driver immediately threw the vehicle into gear and they headed away.
Three minutes later, the dull crack of the explosion sounded through the blowing snow; the flash was lost in the white fog. Thirty miles directly ahead lay the coast.
Chapter 23
“I wonder why they haven’t cut off the power?” Swenson asked.
“Maybe they don’t care if we’re hiding in here,” Conner suggested.
“Maybe they’ve already left,” Devlin added. “Surely they wouldn’t want to hang around any longer than they had to.”
The five of them were sitting in a semicircle, facing the hatch. There had been no noise for quite a while. Sammy had to admit that she was surprised the power was still on and that the Koreans hadn’t tried to finish them off. The more she thought about this, the more it didn’t make sense. She was still missing too many pieces in the puzzle, and the puzzle kept getting more complicated.
Sammy nudged Riley. “What do you think about all this?”
Riley considered his reply for a few seconds. They were all deferring to him now out of default. He was the one who came up with a plan, and that was why they were alive now. “This whole thing doesn’t make sense. Skipping the issue of why the Koreans — be they from the South or North — would want two nuclear bombs, we’re left with the question of how they think they can get away with this.
“Even if they had wiped us all out and tried to make it look like an accident — say a fire destroying the base and all the bodies — they’ve got to know that Parker’s been told about the bombs. The United States would then send a team down here to search, and when they didn’t find the bombs, the heat would be on.”
“Maybe they were hoping there would be enough time for them to get away before anyone discovered that the bombs were missing,” Conner offered.
‘True,” Riley agreed. “But then they should have killed all of us.” He shook his head, which was beginning to throb with a splitting headache. “They’ve got a long trip back to Korea with those things, and what are they going to do with them once they get there?”
“Whatever happens,” Devlin said, “the U.S. government is going to look pretty stupid. How could they have put two bombs down here and then just forgotten about them?”
Riley had been thinking about that. “There’re a lot of ways that could have happened. You all probably don’t realize the sheer numbers of atomic weapons the United States has. If I remember correctly, there were more than three thousand of these MK/B 61s built. And that’s just one of several types of weapons in the inventory. There’re easily over ten thousand U.S.-made nuclear weapons in various places all over the world. Add in the former Soviet Union’s, and it’s a wonder one hasn’t turned up in the wrong hands before this.”
“Well, let’s pray these two never get used,” Conner said. “That’s one story I never want to cover.”
“Amen to that,” Swenson added.
Devlin suddenly stood up. “I can’t sit here any longer and just allow this to happen.”
“What are you going to do?” Conner asked.
“Riley’s probably right — the access tunnel is most likely booby-trapped,” Devlin said. He pointed to the ceiling. “I say we go up to the surface and come back down the main shaft. They won’t expect us to be coming that way — that’s if they’re still here. Or we go for the plane.”
Swenson, Sammy, and Conner all turned to Riley, looking for his opinion. “Well,” he said, “we’re going to have to get out of here sooner or later, but I think it’s safer to wait for later and let someone come to us. If we get out and the weather still isn’t good enough to take off, then we’re stuck out on the surface if the Koreans are still in the main base. Plus, the Koreans have probably destroyed the plane. It’s the logical thing for them to do.”
“Someone won’t come here for several days at least,” Devlin countered.
“I still think we ought to wait,” Riley quietly replied. “You don’t have a plan beyond getting to the surface.”
“Let’s at least see if the shaft is blocked,” Conner said.
Riley couldn’t find any way to refuse that request. “All right.” He grabbed one of the chairs and slid it underneath the trapdoor in the ceiling. The door was held in place by two latches. The first one came free easily enough, but the second was more stubborn, resisting Riley’s efforts. After a few minutes Swenson took his place and gave it a try. On the third attempt the latch slid free and the door swung down, sending Swenson sprawling on the floor.
“You all right?” Riley asked.
“Aye, mate.”
Riley stepped up on the chair and shined his flashlight into the shaft. It was clear for five feet, then another hatch blocked the way. “They sure put a lot of doors in this place,” he remarked.
Devlin tried to make himself useful, if only with knowledge. “That’s to keep in the radiation once they powered up the plant. It’s the same reason this place is offset a quarter mile from the main base and the tunnel has those turns in it. They shielded the reactor not only with these walls but also with all the ice between here and the main base. They probably planned on using this room only for occasional maintenance checks.”
Riley grabbed the inside lip of the first door with his gloved fingers and lifted himself up. There were rungs in the wall, and he could stand on the six inches of frame that rimmed the first door. The second door was similar to the first, and Riley went to work on the latches.
Both moved relatively easily. He knelt down to let the door swing open over his head. Shining the light up, Riley wasn’t surprised to see the shaft blocked by ice, about ten feet above his head. He carefully dropped back down into the reactor room.
“It’s filled with ice. I’m not sure how much of the shaft is blocked.” He looked at Devlin. “How far below the surface do you think we are?”
Devlin shrugged. “Hard to say. If we’re on line with the main compound, then I’d say about thirty feet under. But the access tunnel slopes down a bit, which makes sense since they would want to have more ice on top to help shield it. I’d say we might be as deep as fifty to sixty feet below the surface.”