He stood up, smoothed the wrinkles out of his clothing and stared at me with contempt. “Where’s the journal?”
Slowly, I rose to my feet and wiped the blood from my face. “Half your life,” I said. “You’ve spent half your life searching for the Bell. Was it worth it?”
“Of course it was worth it. The Bell is the future of weapons technology. Its value is immeasurable.”
“The future? The thing’s over thirty years old.”
He laughed. “You don’t know what the Bell is, do you?”
I backed around the desk, keeping a corner between him and me. I needed time to think of an escape plan. The window and the door were the only exits. Unfortunately, I doubted my body could handle another climb. At the same time, Standish stood outside the door, guarding it. “It’s a particle accelerator,” I replied. “Hartek probably used it to create some useless material. What was his deal anyways? Just another scientist gone mad?”
“Hartek wasn’t a scientist. He was an alchemist, the last of his kind, yet decades ahead of the world. And yes, the Bell is a particle accelerator. But it’s not just any particle accelerator. Hartek used it to subject a mercury-based fuel to tremendous amounts of electricity and torsion. Eventually, he created Red Mercury.”
“What’s that?”
Chase considered me for a moment. “It’s a superheavy element on the Island of Stability. While similar substances decay in a matter of seconds, Red Mercury has a half life of one hundred and fifty-five days.”
I shrugged. “So what?”
He clucked his tongue, clearly annoyed at my ignorance. “So, Red Mercury is a super-dense form of exotic matter. It’s nearly indestructible. But when subjected to extreme pressure, it undergoes a chemical reaction that releases an enormous amount of heat energy.”
“Sounds like a blast at a barbecue.”
“The amount of energy released is sufficient to replace the fission-based primary in a fusion bomb.”
My heart beat faster. “Wait, are you saying…?”
“Indeed I am. Once I have the Bell, I’ll be able to produce an endless supply of Red Mercury, which will allow me to build hydrogen bombs without going through the costly and tedious process of gathering and enriching uranium.”
He smiled. “In other words, in a few short hours, I’ll be the world’s newest nuclear power.”
Chapter 34
The truth crashed into my mind, sending it spinning in a dozen different directions. “You’re lying.”
“Why would I lie?”
I suddenly felt very tired. I’d lost a lot of blood during the last hour. I just hoped I had enough left in me to keep from passing out. “But how…?”
“The Bell originated from the
Uranverein
. It…”
“The
Uranverein
?”
“The Nazi nuclear energy project.” He took a step toward me. “When it became clear that Germany was doomed, the SS dismantled the Bell and murdered all of the scientists and technicians associated with it. But they spared Hartek, seeing him as a valuable asset for the inevitable rise of the Fourth Reich. Later, they entrusted him with Nazi spoils via ODESSA.”
I stepped back. “Come to think of it, I’ve heard of Red Mercury. Back in the 1990s, there were all sorts of reports about it. But it was developed by the Soviet Union, not the Nazis.”
“The reports started much earlier than that – 1976 to be exact.” He frowned. “After Rictor vanished, I suspected a double-cross. I did everything I could to find him. When that failed, I leaked the existence of Red Mercury to the media, hoping to smoke him out. Unfortunately, it didn’t work.”
“How do you know Red Mercury even exists? What if Rictor made the whole thing up just to get a payout?”
“Do you really think I’m stupid enough to buy something without proof?”
A wave of dizziness hit me and I grabbed the desk to steady myself.
“Frankly, yes.”
He sneered. “Rictor gave me a sample of Red Mercury during our first meeting. Tests confirmed that it generated sufficient amounts of energy to explode a hydrogen bomb. After it decayed, my best scientists spent years trying to recreate it. But without the Bell, nuclear weapons are beyond my capabilities.”
“Along with any hope for sanity.”
Chase ignored me. “Theoretically, it’s not difficult to build a nuclear weapon. The U.S. Army proved that in 1964. They secretly hired two physics professors to design an atomic bomb using only public information. In just two years, those professors had developed the blueprints for a Hiroshima-sized weapon that could be built in a normal machine shop.”
His eyes tensed. Then, his hand reached to his collar and scratched his neck. I caught a glimpse of a large ugly welt underneath his shirt’s fine fabric.
“Just blueprints?” I asked.
“Even with a working design, an atomic bomb was out of their reach. They lacked the appropriate fissionable materials. Specifically, Uranium-235 or Plutonium-239. That’s the secret of non-proliferation efforts. While the knowledge to build a bomb is available, the materials are nearly impossible to procure. Red Mercury will change that.”
“And in the process, put nuclear weapons in the hands of terrorists.” I shook my head. “Are you crazy?”
“I’m not crazy. I’m a businessman who sees an opportunity. For over sixty years, a small club of elite states has held a monopoly on nuclear arms. They’ve fought hard to maintain that monopoly, even going to war in some cases. And yet, they refuse to give up their own weapons.”
“There hasn’t been a nuclear attack since 1945. I’d say that’s the only thing that matters.”
“That’s because you’re an American.”
“Takes one to know one.”
His lip curled. “I might live here, but I’m not an American. Since the end of World War II, this nation has waged countless wars across the globe. Korea, Vietnam, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Panama, and nations throughout the Middle East have all faced the wrath of the American empire. And do you know why? Because they lacked a nuclear deterrent.”
He stepped forward and I took another step back. “You’ve got a lot of nerve complaining about wars,” I replied, “considering that your entire business model revolves around them.”
“Obviously, your small mind can’t see the big picture. I didn’t start ShadowFire to prolong wars. I did it to help bring them to an end, with as little blood and chaos as possible. But my efforts have failed to address the big picture. Red Mercury will change that. It will end war on this planet.”
“How? By wiping out the human population?”
“By raising the cost of war to an unacceptable level. With Red Mercury, even the most backward countries can own nuclear weapons.”
I circled around the desk and back toward the window. The giant puddle covered one half of the entire floor and was slowly seeping over to the other side of the room. In a few minutes, it would be totally flooded. “And of course, you’ll earn a tidy profit in the process. Since Red Mercury decays quickly, nations will be forced to keep buying it from you.”
He shrugged. “Global deterrence comes at a price.”
“You know damn well that deterrence requires rational leaders who know how to make good decisions. Does that sound even remotely similar to any politician you’ve ever known?”
“Any nation that chooses to use Red Mercury without just cause will find its supply cut off. That alone will keep leaders in check.”
“Your plan only works if all nations buy your product. What if that doesn’t happen?”
“It will,” he promised. “Red Mercury will be a godsend to leaders throughout the world. For the first time, they’ll have the ability to defend against an American invasion.”
Chase had an answer for every objection I could muster. He was utterly convincing and yet, I wasn’t convinced. “Every nation that buys Red Mercury will insist on a demonstration. Imagine over a hundred hydrogen bombs exploding at the same time. Nuclear winter is a foregone conclusion.”
“I’m way ahead of you. There will be just one demonstration. A very visible one that will be impossible to miss.”
“Oh?”
“I’m going to detonate a hydrogen bomb in New York City.” He said it easily, as if he were ordering lunch at a sandwich shop.
My body tensed. “You’re crazy.”
“Hardly.”
I clenched my fists. “You’re going to kill innocent people if you do that. Why not just detonate it underground or over the ocean?”
“America needs to pay for its crimes. And it’s only fitting the country that dropped the first nuclear weapon suffer the fallout from the last one.”
“What do you have against this country anyways?”
Chase grabbed both side of his silk shirt and yanked. It burst open, revealing a disgusting mass of scars, welts, and discoloration.
Bile rose in my throat. “What the hell happened to you?”
“August 6, 1945.” His voice took on a harsh, bitter edge. “The Enola Gay dropped Little Boy on Hiroshima. Eighty thousand civilians died instantly. Thousands more perished afterward, due to injuries and radiation fallout.”
“You were there? But that’s impossible. You told me your father was an American soldier who died while you were an infant. You said you wanted justice for him.”
“My father was an American soldier. He was also a prisoner of war. The Japanese kept him in Hiroshima, along with at least eleven others, as a deterrent to prevent American bombings. Somehow, a Geisha girl found her way into his cell. She gave birth to me. But the politicians didn’t care about any of that. The deterrent, if you will, wasn’t large enough.”
“Killing innocent Americans won’t bring back your dad.”
“Even today, most Americans glorify Little Boy for saving lives. They don’t even realize that the atomic bombs were completely unnecessary. They weren’t the last bombs of World War II.” He glared at me. “They were the first bombs of the Cold War, with no other purpose than to scare the Soviet Union. Americans are fools who deserve to feel the pain that they’ve brought to the rest of the world. I plan to give them a taste of their own medicine and in the process, bring about the end of war.”
Feverishly, my brain considered my choices. The window was a non-starter. My only option was to take out Chase and then do my best to get past Standish. But between my injuries and loss of blood, I wasn’t sure I was up to the task.
I stared into his eyes. “War begets war. If you blow up a bomb in New York City, you’ll merely unleash more hell upon the earth.”
“That’s enough talking,” Chase said. “I need Hartek’s journal. I hope you’ll give it to me because you understand that I’m doing the right thing. If not, I’ll be forced to kidnap Diane. How much torture do you think you’ll allow her to endure before you tell me where to find the book?”
His feet shifted positions, causing light splashes in the giant puddle.
My mind flashed back to the subway. To the industrial river flowing through the trackbed.
To the third rail.
Leaping forward, my hand grabbed the desk lamp.
Startled, he shifted his gun toward me.
I smashed the lamp onto the ground and leapt away from the water. It exploded and sparks shot across the floor, lighting up the dark space.
As Chase scrambled onto the desk, I darted across the room. At the door, I turned and shot him a quick glance.
He glared at me. “You’re dead.”
I smiled grimly as I barreled into the next room.
No, I’m not. Not yet anyways
.
Chapter 35
The metal door caught as I crashed through it. I heard Standish shout. Lowering my shoulder, I shoved it with all of my might.
Abruptly, it gave way and I burst into the reception area. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Standish collapse in a heap on the floor. I’d bought myself a few seconds. It wasn’t much.
But it would have to do.
I whipped my head to the left. The double glass doors came into view, as did the hard chairs, the framed articles and pictures, the side tables, and the stacks of military-themed magazines.
Not a single damned weapon.
My head revolved to the right so fast my vision blurred. More framed articles and pictures. A small water cooler. A single-serving coffee machine on a table. A swivel chair. The receptionist’s desk.
Something glinted in the overhead light.
My hand shot to the desk. My fingers closed around the textured grip and I ripped the gun from my satchel.
I wheeled around and pointed it directly at Standish’s heart. He lay sideways, one elbow balanced on the floor, the other poised loosely in the air. His tense hands were wrapped around his 9 mm. His eyes peered out from behind the sight.
“Ryan,” screamed Chase from the other room. “Don’t shoot him. We need him.”
Standish’s eyes tightened. “Drop the gun.”
“You first.”
“I’ll shoot.”
“No you won’t.” I intensified my gaze. “But I will.”
“Ryan,” Chase yelled again. “Don’t –”
Standish growled. “Shut up, Jack.”
For ten seconds, we stood there, neither of us moving an inch. We were like two statues in some sort of bizarre museum exhibit…quiet, unyielding, and deadly.
I still felt dizzy from loss of blood. But despite everything, I still hadn’t experienced a stabbing headache or a sudden burst of strange colors. What did that mean? Was I finally putting my PTSD behind me?
My muscles grew tense and my mind focused on the task at hand. I couldn’t afford to waste time. I needed to get out of that room and fast.
Keeping his gun leveled with my eyes, Standish slowly rose to his feet. “I don’t care what Jack says. If you don’t put that gun down, I’ll kill you.”
“Is that right? Am I just another obstacle on your way to mass murder?”
“What are you talking about?”
He looked genuinely confused. I decided to press the point. “Chase told me about his plans for Red Mercury. I knew you were cold-blooded, but a nuclear attack on Manhattan? That’s insane.”
He laughed. “We’re not attacking anyone. We’re going to make a mint selling the stuff. But that’s as far as it goes.”
I grinned knowingly. “You might want to have a talk with Chase. It seems he’s been keeping secrets from you.”