confirm that two of those type warheads are unaccounted for in their arsenal holding area."
"So where's the other one?" Lamb demanded.
"It wasn't in Colombia," Hawkins snapped.
Lamb gazed across the table. "I'm sorry about that. Faulty intelligence."
"There's a little part of my mind," Hawkins said, "that wonders if maybe there wasn't any intelligence at all and you just used it as an excuse to take out that member of the Cartel."
Lamb's eyes didn't waver from Hawkins's. "If I had wanted your team to take that asshole down, I'd have simply ordered you to do it-I wouldn't have had to make up a cover story. I think the intelligence may well have been a setup by the source who fed it to us, but that's in the past and we have a whole big mess right here we have to deal with.
"We've got to get that other bomb tracked down. The President's talked to the Russian President to try and get some support from his people, but he's not having much luck. We were lucky with this one. The next one might end up in a city."
Hawkins tapped the folder. "While you were talking to D.C. I went through the latest analysis on the explosion and found out we weren't lucky on this one."
Lamb settled his eyes on Hawkins. "Go on."
Hawkins tapped the satellite photo. "The damage is only apparently minimal. That bomb obliterated the Red Streak series of mines. It is-was-the richest deposit of gold and uranium ever found. The loss of that mine will cripple the South African government economically. "
Lamb already knew that. "So what?"
Hawkins opened a folder in front of him. "Your whiz people did a projection on the worldwide economic effect, and the results were extremely startling." Even as he said it, Hawkins wondered if Fran Volkers had had something to do with what he was looking at. Hawkins scanned the page that he himself had only just read. "There is a fifty-six-percent chance that the loss of that mine will trigger a global depression on the order of the crash of 1929--most likely worse, since it will come on top of the recession we've only just started to recover from."
"WHAT!" Lamb leaned forward. "How can that be?"
Hawkins slid a piece of paper across the table to his boss and tried to keep it as simple as possible. "I'm not an expert, but it's laid out pretty clearly there. As you can see, a large number of the world's countries still have a gold-based economy. Most of those nations are in the Third World. Over the past twenty years South Africa has been propping up many of those economies with gold that was not yet mined in exchange for various economic, military, and political concessions. Mandela hasn't changed that policy. Most of that gold is now lost inside what used to be the Red Streak mine.
"Without the gold to back up their currencies many of those countries will slide into economic chaos within a year. The ripple effect will take another year or so to reach us and the other industrialized nations."
Lamb quickly scanned the document, then looked up. "All right. If this projection is correct, what can we do to avoid the depression?"
Hawkins slowly closed the folder. "According to the last page of the report there's not much we can do. We are barely able to maintain our own economy--there's little we could do to help others."
Lamb flipped to the indicated page and read it. When he looked up, his eyes showed his despair. "If the projection on the first page is correct, this is like spitting in a fire. I'll get this thing reworked. I need some better suggestions before I go to the President with it. He'll tear my head off if that's all I give him." He stood, his body hunched over in weariness. "We've got to get that other bomb."
Hawkins gestured around them, taking in the entire complex. "What about all this? Is there anything you didn't tell us in the briefing?"
Lamb shook his head. "You know as much as I do. We assume it's related to the first explosion because of the down link to Vredefort Dome. We have no idea if there
"So where's the other one?" Lamb demanded.
"It wasn't in Colombia," Hawkins snapped.
Lamb gazed across the table. "I'm sorry about that. Faulty intelligence."
"There's a little part of my mind," Hawkins said, "that wonders if maybe there wasn't any intelligence at all and you just used it as an excuse to take out that member of the Cartel."
Lamb's eyes didn't waver from Hawkins's. "If I had wanted your team to take that asshole down, I'd have simply ordered you to do it-I wouldn't have had to make up a cover story. I think the intelligence may well have been a setup by the source who fed it to us, but that's in the past and we have a whole big mess right here we have to deal with.
"We've got to get that other bomb tracked down. The President's talked to the Russian President to try and get some support from his people, but he's not having much luck. We were lucky with this one. The next one might end up in a city."
Hawkins tapped the folder. "While you were talking to D.C. I went through the latest analysis on the explosion and found out we weren't lucky on this one."
Lamb settled his eyes on Hawkins. "Go on."
Hawkins tapped the satellite photo. "The damage is only apparently minimal. That bomb obliterated the Red Streak series of mines. It is-was-the richest deposit of gold and uranium ever found. The loss of that mine will cripple the South African government economically. "
Lamb already knew that. "So what?"
Hawkins opened a folder in front of him. "Your whiz people did a projection on the worldwide economic effect, and the results were extremely startling." Even as he said it, Hawkins wondered if Fran Volkers had had something to do with what he was looking at. Hawkins scanned the page that he himself had only just read. "There is a fifty-six-percent chance that the loss of that mine will trigger a global depression on the order of the crash of 1929--most likely worse, since it will come on top of the recession we've only just started to recover from."
"WHAT!" Lamb leaned forward. "How can that be?"
Hawkins slid a piece of paper across the table to his boss and tried to keep it as simple as possible. "I'm not an expert, but it's laid out pretty clearly there. As you can see, a large number of the world's countries still have a gold-based economy. Most of those nations are in the Third World. Over the past twenty years South Africa has been propping up many of those economies with gold that was not yet mined in exchange for various economic, military, and political concessions. Mandela hasn't changed that policy. Most of that gold is now lost inside what used to be the Red Streak mine.
"Without the gold to back up their currencies many of those countries will slide into economic chaos within a year. The ripple effect will take another year or so to reach us and the other industrialized nations."
Lamb quickly scanned the document, then looked up. "All right. If this projection is correct, what can we do to avoid the depression?"
Hawkins slowly closed the folder. "According to the last page of the report there's not much we can do. We are barely able to maintain our own economy--there's little we could do to help others."
Lamb flipped to the indicated page and read it. When he looked up, his eyes showed his despair. "If the projection on the first page is correct, this is like spitting in a fire. I'll get this thing reworked. I need some better suggestions before I go to the President with it. He'll tear my head off if that's all I give him." He stood, his body hunched over in weariness. "We've got to get that other bomb."
Hawkins gestured around them, taking in the entire complex. "What about all this? Is there anything you didn't tell us in the briefing?"
Lamb shook his head. "You know as much as I do. We assume it's related to the first explosion because of the down link to Vredefort Dome. We have no idea if there
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