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"Why?"
"An aerial burst increases the range and destruction of the blast. Just sit tight and let my people work. The Blue Team should be there in five minutes, and we'll have the device defused in no time."
Rapp glanced down at the bomb. "Excuse me for not sharing your confidence, but when al-Yamani said that only Zubair could defuse this baby, I think he meant it."
"Mitch, these bomb techs from SEAL Team Six are the best. They'll be able to figure out the fire set."
"And what if they can't?" asked a clearly skeptical Rapp.
"It's never happened before, Mitch."
"Is that in practice or reality?"
"Both."
"Bullshit. You're telling me these guys have defused live nukes before?"
"No not live nukes, but they deal with working exercise devices all the time. The principle is the same."
"I hope to hell you're right."
* * *
Ninety-Two
The Blue Team arrived aboard two gray U.S. Navy Seahawk helicopters. The large birds set down in the parking lot and a half dozen men piled out of each helicopter. At least six of them were dressed from head to toe in black combat gear and heavily armed. These men immediately fanned out to secure a perimeter. Two of the men were wearing light blue anticontamination suits, with sealed boots, helmets, and gloves. The other four men were dressed in desert fatigues.
Rapp was still at the helm of theScandinavian Princess. He watched the SEALs unload their equipment and consult with the members of the DOE Search Response Team. He checked his watch. It was 12:08. Rapp had gotten over the jitters that this thing was going to blow any second. He was sure that al-Yamani wanted to get it as close as possible to the heart of the capital, and also to kill the president and the rest of the leaders who were to be present at the dedication of the new WWII memorial. That event was to begin at 1:00, so if Rapp was forced to bet, he'd say they probably had another fifty-two minutes until the bomb was set to go off.
In his mind, though, those were crucial minutes that could be used to get the bomb further away from the city. Rapp looked at the four helicopters in the parking lot, and decided to call Reimer back. "Paul, listen to me. I'm guessing the weapon is set to go off at one o'clock. I still think we should put it on a helicopter and get it as far away from the city as possible."
"Mitch, I already told you, we need to do the diagnostics first."
"Can't they do that in the air?"
"What if the terrorists placed an altimeter in the fire set and the second this thing gets a hundred feet off the ground it blows?"
Rapp hadn't thought of that. "All right, but what's the plan if the SEALs can't defuse it?"
"We're working on that right now."
Rapp watched the two men in the sealed suits walk down the boat ramp carrying a piece of equipment. "What do you mean, you're working on it?"
"Our first choice would be to take it out to sea."
"That's assuming you'll have enough time. It's at least a hundred miles to the Eastern Shore."
"And the beaches are packed right now, and the wind is blowing to the west, and that's just for starters, Mitch. We game this stuff all the time. The environmental impact, the economic impact, we've looked at it from every angle."
"If taking it out to sea isn't going to work, then what's the other option?"
"The only other option is to take it someplace remote, where the blast and fallout will do the least damage."
"That's it?" said a shocked Rapp. "That's our last and best option?"
Reimer didn't answer right away. "There is one other option, but it has never been fully studied. I don't think the president would ever authorize it. I know the Pentagon would flat out say no."
"Why?"