The Sum of All Fears.pdf - Delta Force

'Larry, it's hotter here than it is at the stadium!' another NEST team member
reported.
'Makes sense,' Parsons said. 'Ground burst.' He pointed. 'Far side, down-wind
side. In-close was shielded some.'
'What can you tell me?' the FBI agent asked.
'Not much,' Parsons said, over the sound of the turn ing rotor. 'Ground burst,
yield under twenty KT, all I got.'
'It's dangerous here?'
'Hell, yes! Set up – where, where?'
'How about at the Aurora Presbyterian Hospital, two miles up-wind?' a NESTer
suggested. 'Across from Aurora Mall. Ought to be okay there.'
'You know where that is?' Parsons asked.
'Yes!'
'Then move out! Ken, you tell these people to get the hell out of here, it's
twenty percent hotter here than in close. We have to get samples. Ken, you make
sure they clear the area in ten minutes – fifteen max. Drag them out if you have
to. Start here!'
'Right.'
The FBI agent ducked as the helicopter lifted off. The NEST team member began
running down the line of fire trucks, waving for them to get away. The agent
decided to do the same. After a few minutes, he got in his car and headed
northeast.
'Shit, I forgot about the neutrons,' Major Griggs said.
'Thanks a lot!' Callaghan screamed over the sound of the tank.
'It's okay, they cut it off at a hundred. A hundred won't really hurt anybody.'
Callaghan heard the sound of the engines pulling away. 'What about the people
inside?' The chief found the interphone at the back of the tank. 'Listen up, we
have ten minutes and we gotta get the hell out of here. Lean on it!'
'You got it, man,' the tank commander replied. 'Better get clear. I'll give you
a ten count.'
Callaghan ran to the side. Colonel Lyle jumped off and did the same. Inside the
vehicle, the driver backed off ten yards, took the engine to the red line, and
slipped the brake. The M728 crushed five vehicles, slamming them aside. The tank
was moving at perhaps a mile per hour, but it didn't stop. Its treads ripped up
the asphalt, then it was through.
The area immediately next to the stadium structure was amazingly intact. Most of
the wreckage from the roof and upper wall had been thrown hundreds of yards, but
here there were only small piles of brick and concrete fragments. Too much for a
wheeled vehicle, but clear enough that men could walk. Firefighters advanced and
sprayed everything. The asphalt was still very hot, and the water steamed off
it. Callaghan ran in front of the tank, waving for his men to go left and right.
***
'You know what this looks like?' a NEST team member said, as the helicopter
circled the ruined stadium.
'Yeah, Chernobyl. They had firemen there, too.' Parsons turned away from that
thought. 'Head downwind,' he told the pilot. 'Andy, what do you make of this?'
'Ground burst, and this wasn't any hundred-KT weapon, Larry, not even