state-of-the-art, and we haven’t had any problems with them. Not yet, anyway.”
He slowed the jeep as they drove up to a bunker. The bunker was unguarded, but it looked formidable. They climbed out and walked toward the bulwark. A concrete driveway led up to the bunker. A searchlight, shielded with a grid of steel, sat on top of the concrete wall. The bunker’s face jutted out from a mound of dirt. Fellows placed a hand on the steel door as McGriffin poked around the exterior.
“The door’s made of four-inch-thick steel, originally manufactured as siding for battleships. The concrete walls are eight feet thick, reinforced with rebar, and built to survive a direct hit by a twenty-thousand-pound bomb.”
“How do you open it?” McGriffin pounded on the steel. It didn’t vibrate or budge to his blow.
Fellows motioned him over to a small steel box embedded in the bunker’s side. He leaned against the box. “We’ve gone to a holographic keying system. It’s impossible to break into.”
McGriffin lifted his brows. “Impossible?”
“There’s over a billion trillion possible combinations available from the interference patterns in the holograph.”
McGriffin whistled. Fellows swept his arm across the view of the crater. “We have the capability of storing most of the nation’s stockpile of nuclear weapons here. And that’s what the Department of Defense is heading toward. I guess they want to save money by consolidating the storage sites; that, and keeping the Russkies happy.”
McGriffin leaned against the steel door and gazed across the expanse of Alpha Base. It seemed so calm. The sand was quiet, undisturbed by even the presence of insects. A slight chopping from unseen helicopters was barely audible. If not for the presence of the bunkers and ubiquitous four fences, the scene would have been straight out of a John Wayne western.
McGriffin put a hand in his pocket. “Do you think it’s a good idea to have the entire national stockpile under one roof?”
Lieutenant Fellows looked startled. “Huh? I don’t know. I mean, I’m just a lieutenant, not a general. I’ve never thought about that.”
“Well, what do you think?” pressed McGriffin.
“You saw the guards. Even the air space around Alpha Base is restricted. We’ve got RAIDS—that’s a Radar Airborne Intrusion Detection System— coupled with anti-aircraft missiles using Passive Optical Sensing Technology. The POST Stingers have orders to shoot down anything that flies overhead.”
“Isn’t that a little radical?”
Fellows looked grim. “It’s kind of like protecting the White House. We’re at the top of all Notes to Airmen. We have a five-mile buffer zone with searchlights, radio warnings, and flares to wave off planes if they get close. If they keep heading for us …” He shrugged.
A warm gust of wind whipped around the two, kicking up sand. McGriffin glanced at his watch. “Sounds like you play hardball, Lieutenant.”
“We’re dead serious, sir.”
“I guess that answers my question about a single repository.” They turned and headed back down into the crater to the jeep. “I was just a little concerned last night when that rabbit made it through two of your fences.”
“On the contrary, sir, if a rabbit can’t get through our defenses, then nothing can.”
McGriffin glanced at his watch again. “I appreciate the time you’ve spent, but my shift at the base command post begins in a little over an hour and a half. Do you mind if I get back to you on that tour of your command post?”
“I think the Red Room would be more interesting—it’s where we keep our nuke mock-ups, kind of a show-and-tell. Do you have your CNWDI clearance yet?”
McGriffin frowned, then remembered that CNWDI stood for Critical Nuclear Weapons Design Information. “Yeah. I was briefed into it yesterday.” McGriffin climbed into the jeep. “Sounds interesting. Maybe you guys can throw some excitement back into my
He slowed the jeep as they drove up to a bunker. The bunker was unguarded, but it looked formidable. They climbed out and walked toward the bulwark. A concrete driveway led up to the bunker. A searchlight, shielded with a grid of steel, sat on top of the concrete wall. The bunker’s face jutted out from a mound of dirt. Fellows placed a hand on the steel door as McGriffin poked around the exterior.
“The door’s made of four-inch-thick steel, originally manufactured as siding for battleships. The concrete walls are eight feet thick, reinforced with rebar, and built to survive a direct hit by a twenty-thousand-pound bomb.”
“How do you open it?” McGriffin pounded on the steel. It didn’t vibrate or budge to his blow.
Fellows motioned him over to a small steel box embedded in the bunker’s side. He leaned against the box. “We’ve gone to a holographic keying system. It’s impossible to break into.”
McGriffin lifted his brows. “Impossible?”
“There’s over a billion trillion possible combinations available from the interference patterns in the holograph.”
McGriffin whistled. Fellows swept his arm across the view of the crater. “We have the capability of storing most of the nation’s stockpile of nuclear weapons here. And that’s what the Department of Defense is heading toward. I guess they want to save money by consolidating the storage sites; that, and keeping the Russkies happy.”
McGriffin leaned against the steel door and gazed across the expanse of Alpha Base. It seemed so calm. The sand was quiet, undisturbed by even the presence of insects. A slight chopping from unseen helicopters was barely audible. If not for the presence of the bunkers and ubiquitous four fences, the scene would have been straight out of a John Wayne western.
McGriffin put a hand in his pocket. “Do you think it’s a good idea to have the entire national stockpile under one roof?”
Lieutenant Fellows looked startled. “Huh? I don’t know. I mean, I’m just a lieutenant, not a general. I’ve never thought about that.”
“Well, what do you think?” pressed McGriffin.
“You saw the guards. Even the air space around Alpha Base is restricted. We’ve got RAIDS—that’s a Radar Airborne Intrusion Detection System— coupled with anti-aircraft missiles using Passive Optical Sensing Technology. The POST Stingers have orders to shoot down anything that flies overhead.”
“Isn’t that a little radical?”
Fellows looked grim. “It’s kind of like protecting the White House. We’re at the top of all Notes to Airmen. We have a five-mile buffer zone with searchlights, radio warnings, and flares to wave off planes if they get close. If they keep heading for us …” He shrugged.
A warm gust of wind whipped around the two, kicking up sand. McGriffin glanced at his watch. “Sounds like you play hardball, Lieutenant.”
“We’re dead serious, sir.”
“I guess that answers my question about a single repository.” They turned and headed back down into the crater to the jeep. “I was just a little concerned last night when that rabbit made it through two of your fences.”
“On the contrary, sir, if a rabbit can’t get through our defenses, then nothing can.”
McGriffin glanced at his watch again. “I appreciate the time you’ve spent, but my shift at the base command post begins in a little over an hour and a half. Do you mind if I get back to you on that tour of your command post?”
“I think the Red Room would be more interesting—it’s where we keep our nuke mock-ups, kind of a show-and-tell. Do you have your CNWDI clearance yet?”
McGriffin frowned, then remembered that CNWDI stood for Critical Nuclear Weapons Design Information. “Yeah. I was briefed into it yesterday.” McGriffin climbed into the jeep. “Sounds interesting. Maybe you guys can throw some excitement back into my
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