The Sum of All Fears.pdf - Delta Force

You have to step back from this for a moment. Take a deep breath, walk around
the room – think! There is no reason to expect that the Russians did this. Now,
I just talked to CIA, and they said – '
'Ryan, you mean?'
'Yes, he just filled me in and – '
'Ryan's been lying to me.'
'Bullshit, Bob.' Durling kept his voice level and reasonable. He called it his
country-doctor voice. 'He's too much of a pro for that.'
'Roger, I know you mean well, but I don't have time for psychoanalysis. We have
what may, be a nuclear strike about to be launched on us. The good news, I
suppose, is that you'll survive. I wish you luck, Roger. Wait – there's a Hot
Line message coming in.'
PRESIDENT FOWLER:
THIS IS ANDREY IL'YCH NARMONOV COMMUNICATING TO YOU.
THE SOVIET UNION HAS TAKEN NO AGGRESSIVE ACTS AGAINST THE UNITED STATES.
NONE AT
ALL. WE HAVE NO INTEREST IN HARMING YOUR COUNTRY. WE WISH TO BE LEFT
ALONE, AND
TO LIVE IN PEACE.
I HAVE AUTHORIZED NO ACTION WHATEVER AGAINST ANY AMERICAN FORCES OR
CITIZENS,
YET YOU THREATEN US. IF YOU ATTACK US, WE MUST THEN ATTACK YOU ALSO, AND
MILLIONS WILL DIE. WILL IT ALL BE AN ACCIDENT?
THE CHOICE IS YOURS. I CANNOT STOP YOU FROM ACTING IRRATIONALLY. I HOPE
THAT YOU
WILL REGAIN CONTROL OF YOURSELF. TOO MANY LIVES ARE AT RISK FOR EITHER OF
US TO
ACT IRRATIONALLY.
***
'At least we're still getting these,' Goodley noted.
'Yeah, it just makes things so much better. It's going to set him off,' Ryan
announced. 'This one's really going to do it. You can't tell an irrational
person that he's losing it . . .'
'Ryan, this is Durling.' Ryan fairly leaped at the button.
'Yes, Mr Vice President.'
'He didn't – he didn't listen, and then this new one came in, and he reacted
rather badly to it.'
'Sir, can you open a channel to SAC?'
'No, I'm afraid not. They're on a conference call with NORAD and Camp David.
Part of the problem, Jack, the President knows he's vulnerable there and he's
afraid well . . .'
'Yeah, everyone's afraid, aren't we?'
There was silence for a moment, and Ryan wondered if Durling felt guilty for
being in a place of relative safety.
***
At Rocky Flats, the residue samples were loaded into a gamma-ray spectrometer.
It had taken longer than expected, due to a minor equipment problem. The