'Superheated. The only thing I know that could do this is an e-bomb.'
'Are you sure?' Hood asked.
'The glow of the lights, the monitors, is like a fingerprint. Nothing else could cause that.'
'Was it inside the building or out?' Hood asked.
'Inside. I stopped by the Tank, and it was fine. I left Jefferson there to call for help. He was able to raise the front gate, which means they were not affected.'
While all of Op-Center was secure, the Tank was the equivalent of an electronic fallout shelter. The conference room was protected from eavesdropping, hacking, and all manners of attack, including electromagnetic pulse. Stoll had designed it to be a large-scale Faraday cage, a hollow conductor that spread a charge along the outside of a system without producing an electric field inside. That would include a burst from an electromagnetic pulse. Ironically, Hood had believed that the only way they would be affected by an e-bomb is if an Air Force test at Andrews went sour.
Until now.
The smoke and the smell grew stronger as they neared the lounge. Stoll covered his mouth with a handkerchief, but Hood did not. The smoke was not too acrid, and he did not want to appear weak or impaired. That was important in a crisis. The men rounded a corner and entered the lounge.
The small room was clogged with yellow gray smoke. Without ventilation, it hung there, virtually impenetrable.
'Is anyone in here?' Hood shouted.
There was no answer.
'The smoke is from the explosive that triggered the EM burst,' Stoll said. The portly scientist shuffled across the tile so he did not trip over any debris. While Stoll moved deeper, he waved his left hand to help clear the smoke. 'The explosion was extremely low yield.'
'How can you tell?' Hood asked. He was following behind, waving both hands and looking for victims.
'For one thing, the explosion did not have to be large to trigger the pulse. For another, I can see the base of the water cooler. The left side is gone. The bomb must have been beside it.'
Hood saw a body. He knelt and bent close. Ugly, twisted pieces of the water cooler base were lodged in the man's chest. Blood stained his blue shirt thickly. He was not breathing.
'Who is it?' Stoll asked.
'Mac McCallie.' Hood went to where he knew the candy and soda machines were. He fanned away the smoke. The vending machines were damaged, but not badly. Hood continued to feel his way around. There were upended tables and chairs, their legs twisted and surfaces peppered with shrapnel. From below. He felt the tops. They were spotted with blood. That meant they were still standing when McCallie was struck.
Stoll was correct. The bomb was probably beside the cooler. Mac must have been here checking on the scheduled water delivery. Bloody damn government contracts like that were public information. Anyone could have gotten it. Hood took a slightly singed dishcloth from the sink and lay it gently across the dead man's face.
'This was designed to stop us, not kill us,' Stoll said.
'Tell that to Mac,' Hood said.
'Chief, I'm sorry,' Stoll replied. 'He was in the wrong place. All I'm saying is that whoever created this wanted to shut Op-Center down.'
Jefferson Jefferson appeared in the thinning smoke of the doorway. 'The base has been sealed, and an emergency rescue team is on the way.'
'Thanks. Now get yourself out of here, but wait for the ERT at the top of the stairs,' Hood said. 'Tell them to come here.'
'Yes, sir,' the young man replied. He remained in the doorway for a moment looking at the body on the floor.
'Go,' Hood said.
Jefferson turned and left. Hood heard his footsteps as he retreated.
