them.
Unlike conventional trains, all but two of the coaches on the high-speed Eurostar shared what trainmen called a common truck, the large wheel assembly below the base of the car. These cars were essentially welded together; separating them while the Eurostar was moving without completely destroying the train was probably impossible. But for safety reasons there was one spot where a more conventional coupler was used. This allowed the train to be separated in an emergency inside the Chunnel, with either half able to proceed, thanks to the fact that there was a power car at either end. The device, called a Scharfenberg coupler device, was located between cars nine and ten; it was invisible to anyone walking between the cars, since it was located below the floor.
Mussa had to place his two bombs in precise locations so that the coupler would be obliterated without damaging the cars enough to derail the train. Neither bomb was all that small, of course; they’d still kill anyone within a few yards of the burst — including Mussa if he was not careful.
He measured the location of the first bomb using the package itself — exactly ten bomb lengths from the sidewall at the center and then over four lengths toward the front of the train. Mussa dropped to his knees and turned the package over and over, only to find the spot blocked by the metal bulkhead of the car’s inner door.
Had there been a mistake?
He slid the bomb as close as he could to the proper spot, then placed the other package. He rammed his fingers into the triggering devices — a simple poke hole at the top of each bomb — then began running into coach ten, grabbing his submachine gun from the cart as he went.
91
The bullet caught the top of Karr’s shoulder and made him lose his grip. He tried to swing himself forward so that he would land on the man who had shot at him, but instead he bounced against the edge of the metal fence and rebounded to the left, tumbling over but somehow managing to fall into the V of two girders right next to the man with the gun.
Karr saw the weapon, a Beretta pistol; the next thing he knew he was falling against the man, struggling against the thick girder.
There were two other men nearby in a steel-piped cage, and there were wires around Karr’s hand. The men didn’t have the coveralls the others had had. Karr thought for a second that they were policemen, but then something cracked, loudly, and he felt pain in his skull.
Something hard smacked his head again. A boot — one of the men was kicking him.
Karr rolled and then saw that he was against the stack of bomb material — six large pieces of molded plastic strapped together with wire against the metal girder. He started tearing at them, felt something stabbing at him — he twirled and slammed his arm, throwing his assailant off.
The man fell, shrieking as he bounced off the ironwork.
Karr saw the wire for the bombs wrapped around the post. He grabbed at the wire, pulling but unable to get it off.
“Off!” he yelled. “Off! Off! Off!”
“The packages have to go off together,” said Rockman in his ear. “Pull them apart.”
The helicopter loomed above.
“Get the helicopter away!” Karr shouted as the air around him began to explode.
92
Dean was just punching the lock button on the bathroom door when he heard the explosion. He slapped his hand against the open button, but the door didn’t respond. He slammed the large button again, harder this time. The door hissed open as the train shuddered, wheels and brakes screeching ferociously. People in the car screamed, throwing themselves down — Dean ran through the coach toward the back as the lights flickered. The back end of coach nine had been blackened and some of the metal twisted; an old man lay white-faced on the floor, arm severed just above the elbow. He looked at Dean for a split second, horror in his eyes.
There were voices behind him, shouts. Dean pushed into the vestibule at the back of the train, now a jagged and misshapen envelope of metal. Sparks flew upward; the train rocked violently from side to side, still moving at a good pace.
The train had been severed; the other half was behind them but a good distance away, with the gap growing even as the brakes were applied. The gap was five, then ten meters. There was another explosion, more sparks, screams from behind him.
Lia was in the other half of the train.
Dean waited a few more seconds as the gap grew wider, then he leaped into the darkness.
93
Rubens pushed the button on the com device, selecting the direct line back to Air Force One, and in the meantime strode toward Sandy Chafetz’s console.
“George, we have more information for the French — and the British. The Chunnel may be a target,” Rubens told the national security adviser. “The computer that accessed the one where the formulas for damaging the Eiffel Tower were discovered had another formula for blowing up the Chunnel. We’re still trying to pull the scenario together, but it looks as if it’s intended to trigger a tsunami across the English Channel. It may involve the French warhead.”
“That’s impossible,” said Hadash. “Even if the tunnel were to collapse.”
“Actually, the simulation shows it’s
Hadash didn’t reply.
“We have to shut down traffic through it, at least until we have more information,” said Rubens.
“Agreed,” said Hadash. “I have the President of France here. I’m going to put him on the line, with the President’s permission.”
As he waited, Rubens glanced down at Chafetz.
“Where are Dean and Lia?” he asked.
“They’re in the Chunnel. Something’s going on there — one of the transmission stations just recorded a wild power fluctuation.”
94
Dean’s first thought as he rolled onto the track was that he hoped he didn’t hit the third rail and fry to death. Then as he rebounded he realized the back half of the train was still moving in his direction at a very good pace and very likely to run him over. He felt the rumble and sensed the air closing in on him — he pushed to what he thought
