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By Root 1429 0

reading the numbers. "We're looking at the remains of a fizzle. This was not an IND. All that tritium Christ, this was supposed to be a two-stager, that's too much for a boosted fission weapon - it's a fucking H-Bomb!"

The technician adjusted his dials to fine-tune the display. "Look at the 2,391,240 mix "

"Get the book!"

Sitting on the shelf opposite the spectrometer was a three-inch binder of red vinyl.

"Savannah River," the technician said. "They've always had that gadolinium problem Hanford does it another way they always seem to generate too much promethium "

"Are you crazy?"

"Trust me," the technician said. "My thesis is on contamination problems at the plutonium plants. Here's the numbers!" He read them off.

A NESTer flipped to the index, then back to a page. "It's close! Close! Say the gadolinium again!"

"Zero point zero five eight times ten to the minus seven, plus or minus point zero zero two."

"Holy Mary Mother of God!" The man turned the book around.

"Savannah River That's not possible "

"1968, it was a vintage year. It's our stuff. It's our fucking plutonium."

The senior NESTer blinked his disbelief away. "Okay, let me call B.C."

"Can't," the technician said as he refined his readings. "The long-distance lines are all down."

"Where's Larry?"

"Aurora Presbyterian, working with the FBI guys. I put the number on a post-it over the phone in the corner. I think he's working D.C. through them."

"Murray."

"Hoskins, I just heard from Rocky Flats. Dan, this sounds nuts: the NEST team says the weapon used American plutonium. I asked him to confirm it, and he did - said he asked the same thing. The plutonium came from the DOE plant at Savannah River, turned out in February 1968, K Reactor. They have chapter and verse, he says they can even tell you what part of K Reactor - sounds like bullshit to me, too, but he's the friggin' expert."

"Walt, how the hell am I going to get anybody to believe that?"

"Dan, that's what the man told me."

"I need to talk to him."

"The phone lines are down, remember. I can get him in here in a few minutes."

"Do that, and do it fast."

"Yeah, Dan?"

"Jack, the NEST team just reported into our Denver office. The material in the bomb was American."

"What?"

"Listen, Jack, we've all said that, okay? The NEST team got fallout samples and analyzed them, and they say the uranium - no, plutonium - came from Savannah River, 1968. I have the NESTer team leader coming in to the Denver Field Division now. The long-distance lines are down, but I can patch through our system and you can talk to him directly."

Ryan looked at the Science and Technology officer. "Tell me what you think."

"Savannah River, they've had problems there, like a thousand pound MUF."

"Muff?"

"M-U-F, acronym: material unaccounted for. Lost material."

"Terrorists," Ryan said positively.

"Starting to make sense," S&T agreed.

"Oh, God, and he won't listen to me now!" Well, there was still Durling.

"That's hard to believe," the Vice President said.

"Sir, it's hard data, checked by the NEST team at Rocky Flats, it's hard, scientific data. It may sound nuts, but it's objective fact." I hope, oh God, I hope. Durling could hear Ryan thinking it. "Sir, this was definitely not a Russian weapon - that's the important thing. We are certain it was not a Soviet weapon. Tell the President right now!"

"Will do." Durling nodded to the Air Force communications sergeant.

"Yes, Roger," the President said.

"Sir, we've just received some important information."

"What now?" the President sounded tired unto death.

"It came to me from CIA, but they got it from the FBI. The NEST team has identified the bomb material as definitely not Russian. They think the bomb material is American."

"That is crazy!" Borstein announced. "We do not have any missing weapons. We take damned good care of those things!"

"Roger, you got that from Ryan, didn't you?"

"Yes, Bob, I did."

Durling heard a long sigh over the line. "Thank you."

The Vice President's