The Sum of All Fears.pdf - Delta Force

Washington?'
'Sure.'
'The bomb was a ground-burst, less than fifteen kilotons. We have samples of the
residue, and it's on the way to Rocky Flats for spectroscopy. You know how to
get that out?'
'Yes, I can do that.'
'Okay.' Parsons hung up.
'You have pieces from the bomb?' the FBI agent asked incredulously.
'Sounds crazy, doesn't it? That's what fallout is, bomb residue that gets
attached to dirt particles.'
'So what?'
'So, we can figure out a lot from that. Come on,' he told the agent. Both men
ran back across the street towards the hospital. An FBI agent, Parsons decided,
was a useful fellow to have around.
***
'Jack, got something from Denver, came in through Walt Hoskins. The bomb was a
ground burst, fifty or so kilotons. The NEST guys have residue, and they're
going to test it.'
Ryan took his notes. 'Casualty count?'
'Didn't say.'
'Fifty kilotons,' the S&T man observed. 'Low for what the satellites said, but
possible. Still, too goddamned big for an IND.'
***
The F-16C wasn't exactly ideal for this mission, but it was fast. Four had left
Ramstein only twenty minutes earlier. Put aloft by the initial DEFCON-THREE
alert, they'd come east to what they still referred to as the inter-German
border. They'd not even arrived there when new orders had sent them towards the
southern end of Berlin to get a look at what was happening at the Berlin
Brigade's kazerne. Four F-15 s from Bitburg joined for top-cover. All eight USAF
fighters were loaded for air-to-air missions only, with two extra fuel tanks
each in the place of bombs for the F-16s, and conformal fuel cells for the
Eagles. From ten thousand feet, they could see the flashes and explosions on the
ground. The flight of four broke into two elements of two each, and went down
for a closer look, while the Eagles orbited overhead. The problem, it was later
decided, was two-fold. First, the pilots were simply too surprised at the turn
of events to consider all the possibilities; adding to this was the fact that
American aircraft losses over Iraq had been so minor as to make the pilots
forget that this was a different place.
The Russian tank regiment had both SA-8 and SA-11 missiles, plus the normal
complement of Shilka 23mm flak vehicles. The anti-air company commander had
waited for this moment, not illuminating his radars, playing it smart, as the
Iraqis had singularly failed to do. He waited until the American aircraft were
under a thousand meters before giving his order.
Barely had their threat receivers come on when a swarm of missiles rose from the
eastern edge of the Russian encampment. The Eagles, high up, had a much better
chance at evasion. The F-16 Fighting Falcons, descending right into the SAM
trap, had almost none. Two were blotted out in a matter of seconds. The second