|
|
|
Inside the apartment, Abdula pulled a bottle of wine from a cabinet, poured some into a glass, swirled it around and smelled it before taking a sip.
He looked over at the bomb and then to his three captives and said, “Fifty minutes left. You don’t be so downcast, the good news is that you will die quickly in the explosion and not have to bear any of the debilitating side effects of the radiation. I wish I could stay longer and chat with you, but I must be leaving soon.”
“What do you have to gain from killing a lot of innocent people?” David asked.
“Again, it’s nothing personal, you’re all just...how do you say it, collateral damage. This explosion will help me market my expertise to other weapons buyers. You should consider yourself lucky, you’ll be front page news, you may be immortalized,” Abdula said.
He walked over and looked out the window and saw the wind blowing the leaves on some trees.
“It looks like the wind is blowing in from the east, I’d better leave that way,” Abdula said as he turned and smiled evilly at the trio.
Inside the CIA’s RV, Hoskins, Veronica, and Leslie cringed as Abdula walked up to the window to look outside. The terrorist appeared to be looking right at them as his face filled the screen on the monitor. They breathe a sign of relief as the terrorist walked away from the window and did not see the small hummingbird that was hovering less than a foot above him outside the window.
In the apartment, David said, “I don’t know how much money you lost, but you’re not going to get it back by killing us, why don’t you demand a ransom for us? I’ll even give you the number to call.”
“You know, I was thinking about doing just that,” Abdula said, “However, this might not come as a surprise to you, but I don‘t trust the CIA. Besides, there are a lot more Tariq Amin’s out there who will pay me more, a whole lot more, when they find that I’ve laid waste to Tbilisi.”
“You’re an animal,” Tamara said.
Abdula ignored her insult and said, “You know that once I declare responsibility for this, I could go back to the Mideast and spread the word that I’m a recently converted zealot. I could have the rich Saudi’s eating out of my hands and bilk the rich bastards out of millions, tens of millions, before they realize that I was a fraud. Yes, I like that idea, I’ll probably never have to work again.”
Abdula smiled broadly as he slowly packed his bag and then made his way toward the door.
In the CIA RV, Hoskins was pacing nervously, and occasionally looked over at the video monitor.
“Wait! I think Abdula is leaving,” Veronica said, “He’s moving toward the door.”
“Thank God, let him get the hell out of there and give Frank a shot at the bomb,” Hoskins said as he picked up the phone to call Frank.
“Frank, he is on his way out, unless you have a clean shot, let him go and you could take care of the bomb, we’ll catch up with him later.”
“Roger that,” Frank said as he made his way up the stairwell in the back of the apartment building.
As he got up to the second floor, Frank went into the hallway, but quickly withdrew back into the corridor when he saw Abdula come out of the apartment and start walking in the opposite direction toward the front stairwell. Frank saw that the terrorist’s two hands were free and that he did not have a hand-held remote detonator within reach. Frank pulled out his pistol and knew that he could not miss putting a round of bullets into Abdula’s head and spine from this distance. He took aim and started to slowly squeeze the trigger when suddenly an old couple came out of their apartment and obstructed his view of Abdula. Frank silently prayed for the two people to get out of the way, but by the time they moved, Abdula had exited down the stairwell in the front of the building.
Frank lowered his gun and ran up the hallway to apartment 210. He found that the door was locked and kicked it in with a solid leg kick. Brad and David’s eyes widened with relief as they finally saw a friendly face. Frank immediately went over to the bomb and checked the timer that read 45:00 minutes and counting. He quickly untied David and said to him, “Untie them and get out of here now, go to the middle of the square and Hoskins will pick you up, now hurry.
As David was untying the others he said to Frank, “What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to try to disarm this bomb, but I need you to get out of the building first.”
Frank handed David a loaded pistol and said, “You’ve used one of these before, right?”
“Yes sir,” David said, trying not to sound nervous.
“Listen to me, go down the back stairwell, use the side street and work your way around to the square, when you get there, stay by the fountain, and Hoskins will find you.”
Frank looked David right in the eye and said, “If you see Abdula, don’t mess with him, kill him, shoot him before he shoots you, now move it.”
As Brad, David, and Tamara ran out of the apartment building, Frank studied the bomb intently for a minute and then dialed Hoskins on the cell phone.
“Jack, there’s a remote trigger on the bomb, and I’m sending the kids out the back door.”
“Are they okay?” Hoskins asked.
“They’ll live, but you’d better pick them up fast, that madman still might be in the neighborhood.”
“I’ll send Veronica out to get them right now.”
Veronica heard the conversation, put on her coat, checked her gun, and left the RV to find the trio.
“After you pick them up, don’t stick around here, move the RV east of this building as far and fast as you could,” Frank said.
Hoskins ignored him and said, “How do you like your chances with that bomb?”
“Not good,” Frank said as he gently looked in the compartment door of the bomb, “Those crazy bastards apparently know all about fail-safes, I see at least two traps already.”
“You keep working on the bomb and I’ll start working on some contingencies,” Hoskins said before he turned to Leslie and said, “If we were near the coastline we’d have time to haul the bomb out to sea.”
“There’s only one or two small lakes in this area, that’s about it, we could never make it to the Caspian or Black Sea on time,” Leslie said.
“You’d better get the hell-fires armed and ready,” Hoskins said.
“What?” Leslie asked with a look of concern on her face.
“If we can’t get that cesium out of that building safely, we’re going to do everything we could to make sure it doesn’t get out at all.”
“I sure hope you know what you’re doing,” Leslie said shaking her head in disbelief.
“So do I,” Hoskins said as he picked up the cell phone and made a call.
“Mr. Evans, evacuate the apartment building immediately, you have maybe twenty minutes or less, tell them to set off the fire alarm and do what ever they need to do to empty that building.”
“I understand,” Evans said.
“After that building is empty, start on all of the adjacent buildings as a precautionary measure,” Hoskins said, “Tell the police to cordon off a minimum of two city blocks around the building.”
“The building super is on his way over to start the evacuation right now, I’ll contact the police and the people in charge of the other buildings as soon as I hang up with you,” Evans said.
“Good, and get me the physical makeup of that building, I need to know all about it’s construction, is it steel, concrete, wood, whatever the super could tell you about the structure may be helpful.”
When Hoskins finished the call, Leslie said, “There’s got to be another way to do this without bombing that building.”
“The clock is ticking, I’m all ears if you come up with one,” Hoskins said as he placed another call to Frank.
“Frank, I don’t want you to get rattled, but you’ll probably hear a fire alarm any second now, we’re evacuating the building.”
“I appreciate the warning, with my shaky hands, you just never know.”
“I’m not worried, you’re the best there is, but please listen to me, if you can’t disarm it, give yourself at least ten minutes and take that bomb down into the basement. As soon as you get out of there we’re going to hell-fire the building before the bomb detonates, our only hope may be to bring the building down on top of that bomb and contain a majority of the radiation.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea,” Frank asked.
“Well, until we come up with a better one, it’s the only one I have.”
“You’re the boss,” Frank said, “The timer says 25 minutes, keep an eye on the time for me in case I lose track of it.”
“I sure will, be careful, Frank, I want you out of there in one piece,” Hoskins said before he set the cell phone down and made another call to the Embassy from the speakerphone on the control console.
“Mr. Evans, did the apartment building superintendent give you any information on the physical structure of his building?”
“Yes, it’s an old Soviet style structure that was built right after World War II, plain but rugged. It’s mostly constructed from brick, wood, and concrete, not much steel was available after the World War II.”
“Good work, Mr. Evans,” Hoskins said before he hung up that call and made another to CIA HQ in Langley, Virginia.
“Nelson, we have a red alert situation.”
“Let me guess, you’re having an unpleasant flight, let me guess, the in flight meal’s not quite up to your standards,” Nelson said.
“You’re a barrel of laughs, Nelson, unfortunately we missed our scheduled flight, instead I may have to level an eight story brick building in downtown Tbilisi.”
“Are you kidding?”
“Believe me, I wish I was, it’s a brick, mortar, and wood structure with a foundation of 100 feet by 150 feet and I only have two hell-fires to work with, how about doing some quick research and find out what my chances are.”
“Let me make sure I have all the facts first, you need to blow up a building in Georgia using two hell-fire missiles?” Nelson asked as he and another in-house agent stared at each other incredulously.
“Yes, I’m sorry, but I don’t have any time to explain, we have to bury a dirty bomb in the basement of the building and I need this info quick.”
Nelson started typing on his keyboard and said,
“No need for further explanation, please stand-by, we’re getting into the weapons server right now. It says here that the hell-fire will take out concrete bunkers and fortifications, tanks and heavy armor, radar sites, large towers, and small buildings.”
“I guess they don’t define what small is?”
“You guessed right, it says that it has an explosive force equivalent to 35 mach, and that upon collision with the target, an impact sensor engages the fuse to initiate detonation. Okay, we may have something here,” Nelson said, “Give me a second to read this.”
Hoskins paced nervously waiting for Nelson’s response.
“One hell-fire to the basement of a multi-level structure has a fifty percent chance of razing the complete building. So, I would say that with two hell-fires you might have it made. They recommend that the missiles are fired with a twenty-second or more delay between the first and second. The first missile will cause major structural damage and apply intense heat to the base of the structure. The second missile twenty seconds later should put the finishing touches to the task by literally ripping the weakened stone and wood framing apart,” Nelson said.
“Do you have an estimate on collateral damage around the premises?” Hoskins asked.
“The force of the explosions will be propelled outward through the basement windows and doors, and upward through the first few floors depending upon the thickness of the construction. The outward force of the explosion will rip the hell out of everything it touches within a half-block area, so make sure you evacuate the area before you fire those missiles.”
“Understood, thanks again, Nelson.”
Hoskins hung up the speakerphone and picked up the other line to talk to Frank.
“Frank, we’re at 20:00 minutes, are you doing okay?”
“Yeah, I think I found the right wires, I just have to double check them one last time before I start cutting.”
“Go for it, I’ll call you in five minutes.”
“Why don’t we bring in a bomb squad?” Leslie asked.
“Frank already checked with all the local agencies and all they have is one containment unit mounted on a truck, so we’d have to bring the bomb out to them. Abdula may be hanging around waiting to see his workmanship, and he sure as hell isn’t going to let anyone walk out of that building carrying his bomb.”
Veronica was pacing slowly around the fountain in the middle of Freedom Square when she saw Brad, David, and Tamara walking through the square toward her. She quickly showed her ID and introduced herself to them before she escorted them back to the RV.
On the other side of the square the watchful eyes of Abdula Nassir also spotted the trio. He cursed to himself and was puzzled about how they could have gotten away. He put his pistol back in his coat pocket, put on his hat to cover his appearance and got out of the car to follow his escapees. He saw them go around a corner to a side alley.
When he spotted the RV, he quickly turned back before they could see him. He cursed, threw his half-smoked cigarette to the ground and stepped on it. He looked around the corner again to make sure that the four people did get into the RV. He looked down at his watch and saw that there were less than 18:00 minutes until the bomb detonates. The rage inside him was boiling as he walked back to his car. There was no way that the CIA was going to cheat him out of another victory, and there was no sense in giving them any time to try to do anything with the bomb. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the remote detonation device. He looked to the window of the apartment and saw that the light was still on. He put his thumb on the detonation button and was going to depress it when he suddenly remembered the deadly cesium. He cursed himself and his stupidity for nearly killing himself like a dim-witted suicide bomber. Abdula would be the first to admit that it was his love of explosions that was keeping him there even as the lethal timer was counting down. Since this was the first time that he ever dealt with a deadly substance, his plan was to view the explosion from his rearview mirror as he headed east out of town. The last thing he needed or wanted was a cloud of the radioactive dust billowing out the building’s window directly at him. Even if he were inside the car he probably would not be safe. Abdula cooled his rage as he remembered that he did not see the three young people carrying the bomb, so it was probably still on the table in the apartment. He got back into his car, lit a cigarette and decided to wait until the bomb timer got down to 5:00 minutes before he moved his car into position to speed safely out of town. He wanted to make absolutely certain that the deadly task was accomplished.
Inside the CIA’s RV, a relieved Hoskins said to Brad and David as they got into the RV along with Tamara and Veronica, “You two just can’t seem to avoid trouble, can you?”
“We’re really glad that you were here to help us out again,” Brad said.
“We’re not quite out of the woods yet, Frank’s still trying to disable that bomb, take a seat in case we need you.”
Veronica took out a first aid kit and tended to Brad’s wounded arm.
Hoskins held out his hand to Tamara and said, “Sorry we had to meet under these circumstances, young lady, hopefully we’ll have you back in your apartment before too long.”
“Thank you,” Tamara replied as she shook Hoskins’ hand.
Hoskins picked up the phone to talk to Frank.
“Frank, we’re at 15:00 minutes, how does it look?”
“After double-checking everything, there’s still a fifty-fifty chance that I could either disable it or set it off,” Frank said.
“Well, that settles that, I can’t risk your going up with that thing, let’s not take any chances with it.”
“What other options do we have?” Frank asked.
“Take the bomb down into the basement and we’ll hellfire the damn building,” Hoskins said.
Frank shook his head incredulously and said, “How sure are we that the cesium will be contained?”
“I’m not going to lie to you, Frank, I can’t guarantee anything.”
“What kind of collateral damage are we looking at?” Frank asked.
“Probably more than you and I would care for,” Hoskins said as he tried his best to sound confident.
“We don’t have much time, Frank, take the bomb down into the basement, see if you could find a secure room somewhere in the center of the floor and get the hell out of there.”
“I’m on my way now,” Frank said before he hung up the phone and carefully carried the bomb out of the apartment.
Hoskins then said to Leslie, “Get the predator in a good flight pattern to launch the hell-fires.”
“Hoskins pointed to a monitor showing the apartment building and said, “Your target is this basement window right here.”
The monitor showed a close up of the base of the apartment building on the corner of the block. There’s a 20-foot lawn between the building and the sidewalk and street. The basement has five three feet by one foot basement windows evenly spaced across the foundation of the building. Hoskins picked the third or middle window as the target and said to Leslie, “I need you to put the first missile in this window.”
Tamara was sitting next to David on the sofa and getting nervous as she watched things unfolding before her.
“David, are they are going to bomb my apartment building? Everything I own is in there.”
“Sis, they would only do this if it meant saving the lives of many people,” David said.
 |  |  |
|
|
|