'The Bikini figures?'
'More than that. Sixty-five percent of American test data from Eniwetok
Atoll in 'fifty-two up to the test ban in 'sixty-three.' The Afrikaner
shook his head. 'Sir, you can't imagine what a one megaton surface
blast will actually do.'
'Yes, I can, Pieter.'
'It leaves a crater one mile across and sixteen stories deep.
Christ, we've got the design, the plants ... If we had six months, we
could probably divert-'
'I'll be dead in six months!' Horn snapped.
'What do these figures tell you about our current resources?'
'The blast effects will be greater than we predicted. Using round
figures, a forty-kiloton air burst should vaporize everything within
three kilometers of ground zero. Intense heat will incinerate anything
for a five-kilometer radius beyond that. And the resulting winds and
fires will wreak havoc for a considerable distance beyond those already
mentioned.'
'And the fallout?' Horn asked.
'Twenty percent higher than we predicted.'
Horn digested this without emotion. 'And these figures ... you believe
they are more reliable than our own?'
'Sir, except for the secret Indian Ocean test, all South African figures
are purely theoretical. By definition they are predictions.
The American figures represent verified data.'
Horn nodded thoughtfully. 'Apply them to our scenario.'
'Everything depends on the target, sir. Obviously, groundzero at the
center of Tel Aviv or Jerusalem would obliterate either city. But if
the weapon were used at the right time, its effects could be greatly
enhanced, possibly even doubled, by a collateral factor: the weather.'
'How?'
'By the wind, sir. At this time of year the prevailing winds in Israel
blow southeast. If the weapon were detonated in Jerusalem, the fallout
would probably dissipate over Jordan. But if it were detonated inTel
Aviv, not only would it obliterate the city, but it might well spread a
lethal blanket of strontium-90 over Jerusalem within one or two hours.'
Horn closed his eyes and sighed with satisfaction. 'And if we get the
cobalt-seeded bomb case in time?'
The Afrikaner turned his palms upward. 'We won't, sir.
Not sooner than twenty days. The technical problems are formidable.'
'But if we did get it?'
Smuts pursed his lips. 'With a cobalt-seeded bomb case and the revised
yield figures, I'd say ... sixty percent of the Israeli population would
be dead within fourteen days, and Palestine would be rendered
uninhabitable for at least a decade.'
Horn let out a long sigh. 'Increase the bounty, Pieter. Five million
rand in gold to the team that delivers a cobalt bomb case within seven
days.'
'Yes, sir.'
'Do we have any further information on the Israeli doctrinal response?'
Smuts shook his head. 'Our London source dried up after we requested
the American satellite photos. Frankly, I don't even trust his initial
reports on that subject.'
'Why?'
'Do you really think Israel would target Russian cities?'
Horn smiled. 'Of course. It's the only way the Jews could win a war
against a united Arab force. They must be able to prevent Soviet
resupply of the Arabs, and the only way they can do that is to blackmail
the Soviets. What do they have to lose by doing so?'
'But the deployment plan for Israel's nuclear arsenal is the most
closely guarded secret in the world. How could our London source,know
what he claims to know?'
Horn smiled. 'Not the most closely guarded secret, Pieter.
No one has yet proved that South Africa's nuclear arsenal even exists.'
'Thanks in no small part to us,' Smuts observed. The Afrikaner began
cracking his knuckles. 'The Russian matter aside, I think we can safely
assume that if Tel Aviv or Jerusalem were destroyed, Israel would go
beyond a measured response. If they knew the source of the attack, they
would respond with a significant portion of their 'black' bomber and
missile forces.'
'They will know the source of the attack,' Horn rasped.
'There is one unpredictable factor,' Smuts said carefully.
'If our clients were to detonate the weapon at Dimona, Israel's
weapons-production plant, there is a slight chance that the rest of the
world might believe the explosion to be a genuine Israeli accident.
The Americans might coerce the Jews into waiting until an outside
investigation was completed.
By that time cooler heads might prevail.'
Horn made a dismissive gesture with his skeletal arm.
'Don't worry. I'm relying on Arab impatience, not stupidity.
Hussein, Assad, these men might have the self-control to wait and try to
develop a cohesive plan. N-of our friend. He will strike swiftly.
Consider how quickly he agreed to our meeting. He won't purposefully
hit Jerusalem-there are too many sacred Muslim sites there. And the
security around Dimona is airtight. We needn't worry on that score.
The target will beTel Aviv.'
Horn's one living eye focused on the Afrikaner. 'What of the Spandau
matter, Pieter? Have they captured the traitor?
Have they found the papers?'
'Not yet, sir. Berlin-One assures me it is only a matter of time.
However, I received a call from his immediate subordinate, Berlin-Two.
He's a lieutenant, I believe. Jiirgen Luhr.'
'And?'
'Lieutenant Luhr doesn't feel the prefect is up to the job.
He's moved some of our German assets into play without the prefect's
knowledge. He checked the files on the two missing officers and
dispatched men to all locations they might possibly run to. I approved
his action. Who knows what those Bruderschaft clowns are really doing.
A little competition might speed up the capture.'
'I'm surprised that these policemen were able to escape at all,' Horn
