Joe radioed in that they were on their way over, and Jennifer was impressed at the loud speakers blaring out the message. The guards at the gate heard it on their radios and replied that they would look out for them. It was time to go and get the other two fuel trailers.
“I saw a couple of little Cessna 172s at the airport and thought of getting someone up there to patrol tomorrow,” said Preston, nodding up at the sky. “When some of our fly-in pilots actually return, and we are almost out of flyers right now, it could be an early warning system to get something up there to serve as a spotter plane. A Cessna 172 could stay up there for four hours at a time, and as long as the heater works, it could give some of our fancy Air Force or civilian pilots some very boring flying time.”
“Nobody thinks that anything will happen today,” replied Jennifer. “It’s only been 36 hours since New Year’s Eve, and they couldn’t have seen our transponders until we used them eight hours later. If they have troops in the United States, the general thinks that they will have to travel in from around Washington or even further north. It will take them time to decipher their information, contact their troops who will need to find transportation, and then drive down here. The highways are pretty lousy up around Washington, and must be worse further north. If they start moving today, probably later today, they would still only be here by dawn tomorrow at the earliest, and then they will still have to case the joint. That is when our troops will let us know, and of course your ‘eye in the sky’ if you get one up during daylight hours. Anyway, I’m headed off to Seymour Johnson to refuel, grab some more men, and the wire they are putting together right now, and return here. Then I think I’m going north.”
“How much fuel can the Air Force get their hands on right now?” asked Preston.
“They have set up a system hotwiring one tank of jet fuel at Seymour Johnson. It’s the smallest one of three tanks, but still holds about a million gallons. The other two are bigger. Andrews AFB has your generator up and running and has access to a fuel tank similar to one at Seymour Johnson. Hill AFB should have one selling gas soon, as well as Edwards AFB, so we have enough jet fuel to start a war, just not enough airplanes to use it all.” Jennifer paused to look at her watch and check the weather pattern above her.
“Also, before I forget, there are one or two more C-130s in service as of later today, so expect some new traffic in here. I hear we might have three old F-4s serviceable today or tomorrow as well. They were General Allen’s retirement project for the Air Force museums. He told me that he had Tom and Jerry completed, two F-4s at Hill, and a third one at Edwards, I heard. Mother Goose is a surprise—one he wouldn’t even tell me or Sally. Mother Goose should be here sometime today and his ‘surprise’ to you will hopefully be here by morning. Mother Goose is yours, on loan from the Air Force for awhile. I was told not to tell you about her, or the surprise—the even bigger surprise.”
Preston was left still puzzled as he watched Jennifer in the now empty C-130 taxi to take off for Seymour Johnson. He stood with Joe, David, and the team of Joe’s sons ready to roll back to RDU. This time they had the two armored cars, the Saracen, and the two tractors to pull the fuel trailers back. Both he and Martie, who was taking little Beth with her, would fly two more Cessnas back.
They left the front gate, which was now looking very secure, and Preston was surprised to see his truck at the end of his driveway with a large new green wooden sign on two legs being lifted out of it. They stopped and went over to the men digging the holes in the ground for it with shovels. “Strong Air Force Base,” it read in big letters across the top with the picture of a Stealth Bomber in the middle. “Government Area ~ Do Not Enter” was written underneath in smaller letters. Preston smiled. “The general has been hard at work,” he said to the crew.
They drove down US 64 towards the city and the airport. Carlos’ three Colombian bodyguards accompanied them this time, as well as the sergeant and four men in the Saracen. They all added fire power and wanted to see the country and the effects of this disaster on the surrounding area. The ‘newbies’ hadn’t seen much except a street or two in New York, or flying over in aircraft from Seymour Johnson. Preston rode in the Saracen with Martie and little Beth, who would not leave Martie’s side. Little Beth had slept well, was full of food, and seemed to have recovered a little from the shock of her harrowing ordeal.
The road was as quiet as the last time. The air smelled like smoke again and he could see the rising of smoke here and there through the trees in the more densely populated areas to the east of them— fires that had not been there yesterday. This time, they turned right down state road 751—a rural road that would take them to the entrance of the nuclear power station in New Hill.
Three miles later, they turned into the main drive to the power plant. The gates were locked and there was no movement. The main buildings were off the road by 100 yards or so, and the armored car easily tore down the gates so they could drive through. The first building was nothing more than offices and a welcome center, and they continued past it for another mile. This time, they came to a second gate—the same kind as the first—and it was locked, with no guards at the small guard house. This time there was a bell to be pressed and several seconds later a guard came running down the road.
“Are you the Army?” he asked. “We are not allowed to let anybody through unless you are the government. There are two gun positions in the woods and they are armed.”
“We are on orders from the President of the United States,” Preston answered, getting out of the Saracen’s side door. “Washington wants to know the condition of all the nuclear reactors immediately and whether they are a severe danger to the country. There are no communications and these troops here are Air Force personnel out of Seymour Johnson. The Air Force is willing to place troops here for protection against any future terrorist threats, but first they want to check to see if the reactor is safe.” The guard ran back the way he had come, presumably to report back, and the gate opened several minutes later to allow them through.
Preston went into the main office and control center with the sergeant and two men. The two men were armed, and there was a group of very anxious-looking people waiting for them. Several still wore white coats, and there were three guards around the main door.
For an hour, Preston was shown around the control center. The system had gone into full safe shutdown mode an hour after midnight on New Year’s Eve, and nobody could stop it. There was nothing they could do once the shutdown control system had been automated.
“It’s a measure we knew was in place, but only for extreme emergencies where nobody was alive in this room and automated procedures were needed,” explained the engineer in control. “It went into its automated mode exactly one hour after New Year’s Eve and the system, now still several days from complete and safe shutdown, was working perfectly and out of our control. All we can do is watch and monitor,” he finished.
“What is still needed for complete shut down?” asked Preston.
“The rods are closed and dormant, but the reactor’s cooling will still take several days to bring temperatures down to a safe level. The electrical turbines are down, but the cooling pumps are still operating, pulling in cold water from Harris Lake. I believe that another week’s pumping will be needed until the final phase is complete,” the man in the white coat replied.
“Do you need military protection?” the sergeant asked.
“I would assume so, since we do not know what is going on out there. This installation needs constant protection and I would suggest a team of soldiers stay here until further notice. We have the gas heating system working and a small generator lighting up the control center. We have several days of gas and supplies, but naturally we would like to go home to our families at some point. We’ve all been on duty since New Year’s Eve, and don’t really know what’s happening. What is going on out there?” he asked.