MARYLAND
The National Security Council had been waiting impatiently for news about the contents of the container in Charleston. Interestingly enough, the vessel that had been boarded by SEAL Team 6 in the Chesapeake Bay seemed to have no weapons aboard. A search of the entire ship with gamma neutron detectors had produced not a single hit. The specific container in question was located in a rather inaccessible area of the hold, but the SEALs were able to lower a gamma neutron detector down between the containers and get a whiff that came up negative. As a precautionary measure the president ordered the vessel turned around and taken back out to sea, where a floating crane and barge would then be used to move the cargo around so they could take a closer look at the container in question.
When Reimer's voice rang out of the secure conference room speakers at Site R, all conversation ceased immediately.
"Mr. President, it's Paul Reimer from NEST. I've got an update for you on Charleston, and I'm afraid it's not good." His voice sounded concerned but not in the least bit panicked.
The president shot Kennedy a glance, and then looked at Reimer's face, which was once again up on the large screen at the far end of the room. "Go ahead."
"It appears the information provided by the CIA is accurate. My team has confirmed that a device of special nuclear material is in fact inside the container in question, and it is large enough to create an estimated yield in the twenty-kiloton range."
No one responded to Reimer's shocking information at first. Uncomfortable glances were exchanged and a few hushed expletives were mumbled by no one and to no one in particular.
Finally, President Hayes asked the obvious. "Is it secured?"
Reimer hesitated for a second and then said, "That's the million-dollar question, sir. In the sense that it is in our possession, yes it is secure. But just how stable it is...has yet to be determined."
The president's chief of staff frowned and asked no one in particular, "What in the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"It means that we have it...and the terrorists don't." Reimer commented. "At the same time, however, my people haven't had enough time to ascertain the specific configuration of the mass."
Jones waved her hands in front of her face and in an unusually conciliatory tone said, "Mr. Reimer, I'm sorry, but I'm not following you. Could you put this in simple English for those of us who don't have a technical background?"
"Simply put," Reimer sighed, "We don't know if this damn thing is critical and ready to blow or not." He could tell he'd finally got everyone's undivided attention. "We have to move cautiously with it. We can't simply rip open the door of the container and start rummaging around for the device. It could be booby-trapped, so my people are just now getting ready to X-ray the container in an effort to ascertain the configuration and design of the device."
The president cautiously folded his arms across his chest and said, "Give me your best-and worst-case scenarios."
Reimer shrugged, "Best case...the thing never got this far."
"But it has," the president said firmly.
"Best case," Reimer shrugged again, "the device has yet to be armed, and it's relatively easy to secure and dispose of. Worst-case scenario...someone is waiting for the container in Charleston and they discover that we're onto them."
"And?"
"They remotely detonate the device, sir, and in the blink of an eye the city of Charleston is history."
The president glanced up at his secretary of Homeland Security who had only minutes ago lobbied hard for locking down the city. He made a mental note to himself and addressed Reimer again. "What do you advise we do at this point?"
"Before we do anything, sir, we need to find out exactly what is in that container. That's going to take a little bit of time and a lot of patience. Once we know what we're up against we can deal with it. We've got the Delta Force WMD render safe team on its way down from Fort Bragg, and until they're on site my team is more than capable of conducting diagnostics and design analysis."
"How much time are we talking?" asked Hayes.
"Within thirty minutes my people should have a pretty complete picture of what we're up against."
"And if it's armed and ticking?"
"We'll have an in extremis situation and Delta's going to have to work real fast, sir."
The president scratched his chin and said, "All right, Mr. Reimer. Good work and let us know the second you find anything else out."