“We don’t have a lot of time, Dave. We’ve confirmed we have terrorists inside the plant and assume they’ve planted bombs, probably on Unit 1. They may also be inside Unit 1 containment by now. That’s why we were checking on the door alarm. I know this is bad, but we’re working on it.”
“Who else is involved in this? How deep does this go? I’ve got guys out in the plant. What should I tell them? Are they going to be safe?”
“Working on it,” Hector responded. “ But don’t make any PA announcements for the time being. Call your guys by phone if you can, and tell them to stay put, don’t move around the plant. If they move around they’re going to look a lot like targets and that’s only going to make our job more difficult.”
“I’ll do my best. What else can I do? Do we want to bring in the local law enforcement?”
“No! We need to contain this situation. And I really need to go. Keep the control room safe. We’ll be in touch.”
With that, Hector hung up the phone. He had no time for outside people trying to assist them. He had immediate problems and needed to get moving on them.
As Hector was talking on the phone, several of his men showed up in SAS, looking serious, weapons in hand, and unsure of the identity of the older man standing in front of them. It was crowded in the small space, and that made the men even more uncomfortable. One brought his weapon up, not sure if SAS was secure or not.
The Old Man said, “Hector, tell your guys I’m with you!”
Hector said authoritatively, “Lower your weapons. He’s okay.”
They still showed skepticism but relaxed their posture. They didn’t know what was going on; but whatever it was, they knew it was highly irregular and probably illegal. But they knew Hector, and, for the moment, that was good enough for them. Deep down, many of them yearned for a fight. They had trained for years and this was an opportunity for them to put their skills and training to the test. Far from hesitant, they were anxious to get in the game.
The Old Man turned to Hector. “You need to get me to the Unit 1 emergency airlock. Can you do that, and I mean, now?”
Hector knew immediately what he was planning to do. “Okay, but I’m going with you.”
The Old Man looked at the determination in Hector’s eyes. “This is bad, you know. If we’re lucky enough to get in there before something blows up, we may not get out of there in one piece.”
“We’re wasting time. You ready?”
The Old Man nodded his head.
Hector said, “Before we go, what do you want my guys to do?”
Looking at the grim faces around him, he said, “We need you to look at the emergency diesel generators on Unit 1. We’re pretty sure there are explosive devices hidden there. And shut down access to the radiological controlled area for the same reason. Jerry has a list of the locations the bad guys went into. He can brief you. Those are the areas that need to be cleared.”
Hector looked at his men. “Any questions? This is as real as it gets, guys,” then turned his head and nodded to Jerry. With grim resolve on his face, he looked at the Old Man. “Let’s go!”
CHAPTER 60
Red Two played it by the book written by Nick; shoot out the cameras if possible, cut a hole in the fence, and charge through the plant’s outer defenses. Within seconds, the team members found themselves inside the plant perimeter. Without hesitation, they took off at a run and headed for a stairwell near the back of the auxiliary building that they were told would lead to the Unit 1 containment emergency airlock. In the confusion and delays from the intake ruse, and the incapacitated camera system, they were able to get across the yard and move up the stairs with no shots being fired at them.
They were prepared to return fire to keep people at bay, but only if they had to. They didn’t know who the good guys were and who the terrorists were — everyone was likely to be dressed the same way. They could have used rubber bullets, but to do that they would have had to change out the bolts in their rifles — and the rubber bullets were only good for a limited range. They had to safeguard the good guys, but they also needed deadly force for the terrorists, should they encounter any. They’d have to be at the top of their game to distinguish between them. A moment’s hesitation could cost someone their life.
At the top of the stairs, Hays, the Red Two team leader, noticed the vestibule door to the emergency airlock was open. Shit! They were too late. Someone had already gotten inside. Hays knew they’d have to go in after him. Whoever was in containment now was the enemy, and the gloves were off.
“Henderson, with me. Pak, cordon off this area. Nobody gets in or out!”
“Copy that, boss,” said Pak.
Hays and Henderson worked their way carefully over to the airlock. They were just about there when their earpieces squawked.
In a quiet voice, they heard, “Danger close. Danger close! Two guys approaching, one in uniform, one in civilian clothes. Both armed.”
“Is the guy in civilian clothes an older guy?” Hays asked.
“That’s affirm.”
“Hold your fire! I think he’s one of us.”
As Hector and the Old Man came running up, Hays stepped out of the shadows and said, “Stop right there! Identify yourselves. Don’t do anything. There are several guns on you.”
The Old Man spoke up, “Code word is green.”
“Response is blue,” said Hays as he lowered his weapon.
Hector wasn’t so sure. The Old Man turned to him and said, “These guys are Nick’s team. They’re the good guys”
Hector looked over the situation, saw the door to containment open, and immediately got on the radio. He knew this would be broadcast in the clear and that CAS and whoever else was listening would hear him. At this point, it couldn’t be helped and probably didn’t matter.
“All units, this is Hector. Unit 1 containment emergency airlock outer door is open. I’m on scene but containment has been compromised. Say again, Unit 1 containment compromised. Stand fast. Do not fire on anyone in this area. Area secured by friendlies.”
A short pause, followed by, “What? Just who the hell are ‘friendlies’? What the hell is going on Hector?”
“Do as you’re told, God damn it! I don’t have time for this! Hold your fire in this vicinity, do you copy?”
A brief pause, followed by “Copy that, Hector,” as the central alarm station radio operator relayed that information to the rest of the security force. Hector breathed a sigh of relief. This was some treacherous ground he was standing on. God help him if he was wrong about any of this.
The Headlands Delta responders stopped in their tracks, not knowing what the hell was going on. Several of them called CAS to confirm the order to stand fast. The fence had just been blown open, and they didn’t like the idea of doing nothing. This wasn’t right.
“I said stand fast! Good guys are holding containment. Stand clear!”
The Old Man went over to Hays. “How long have you been here?”
“Just got here, sir.”
“The door wasn’t opened too long ago. We have to assume the terrorist is still in there then. We need to get him out. Preferably alive so we can ask him where he planted his charge.”
“Copy that. What else do we know?” asked Hays, as Hector came over to join the discussion.
The Old Man said, “One guy in there, armed, probably carrying explosives. The control room was compromised, but Nick took care of that. The plant’s under attack, gentlemen, and we must get inside and stop the guy before he can do what he was sent in there to do.”
“What’s the plan?” Hays asked, knowing only that this old man in front of him was an extension of Nick.
“We’ll make two teams. I’ll take Hector with me. You two guys go together. There are two stairwells. We each take one. Odds are he’s near the lower level, near the reactor coolant pumps. They would be the easiest things to damage with a small charge. We know where to look, so we’ll do the searching. You guys secure that back stairwell.”