Red Mercury

M.W. Fletcher

Description

What is Red Mercury and does it exist? Up until now, it has been looked at as mythical pure fusion bomb, which the Russians may well have developed. However, should it truly exist and should it fall into the wrong hands, it has the potential to cause destruction on an enormous scale. A secret Russian weapons research facility has sent a clandestine cargo on a flight out of the USSR to London and then on a British Airways flight to New York. The plane never makes it to the USA as it catches fire and goes down in the Atlantic, with all lives lost. Suspicions are raised about some of its cargo and MI5 hire an American salvage company to retrieve it. However once on American soil it mysteriously disappears. In several weeks time the Russian President will come to Washington to sign the SALT-1 agreement, with the American President. There are people from within both countries that do not want this to happen and they have devised a devastating plan, the consequences that may well start WW3. The US President and the Russian Prime Minister both contact the British Prime Minister asking for her help in the form of Max Storm and the OSC, working on the premise that they both have traitors amongst their respective communities and to utilise their own people would result in failure to stop the impending catastrophe. The OSC arrive covertly on US soil in an attempt to avert WW3. On top of this, a high profile IRA terrorist's escapes custody and begins a reign of terror in London. Max Storm and the OSC are the UK's first and last line of offence.

Sujets

• Adventure (Guyana)
• Adventure

Informations

• Publié par: Andrews UK
• Date de parution: 25 mai 2016
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781785380174
• Langue: English

Extrait

Title Page
RED MERCURY
A Max Storm Novel

by
MW Fletcher



Publisher Information
Published in 2014 by
Andrews UK Limited
www.andrewsuk.com
The right of MW Fletcher to be identified as the Authors of this Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998
Copyright © 2014 MW Fletcher
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Any person who does so may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.



Quote
“If you look too deeply into the abyss, the abyss will look into you.”
Friedrich Nietzsche
15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900



1
Secret WPF
Fifteen miles south
Chapayevsk
&
600 miles east by south east
Moscow
USSR
Lat = 52 degrees, 52.6 minutes North
Long = 49 degrees, 36.6 minutes East
Thursday 3 rd August 1989
Twenty one sixteen hour’s local time.
The Russian secret weapons production facility (WPF) was located a mile down an asphalt road just of route P226, south of Chapayevsk; the entrance was through a security gate with armed guards.
As far as the outside world was concerned this was just another typical Soviet military base.
There were twenty outer buildings; however, the main production facility was underground.
The man in charge was a Russian scientist named Nikolay Demyanov, he was a short stocky man born in 1938 in Moscow.
He had a balding head with wispy hair on the sides, along with a pair of oval style glasses and he had been working at the WPF for the past ten years.
One of his colleagues knocked on his office door, Nikolay spoke in Russian, “enter”.
A man opened the door and walked into his office and said, “sir; everything is ready to go!”
Nikolay replied, “I will be with you in a few minutes, Alexey!”
Several minutes later a container was being loaded onto a truck under the watchful eye of Nikolay, a man approached him known to Nikolay as Ivan Balagula.
Balagula said, “Remember not a word or your family will suffer Nikolay!”
Nikolay replied, “I have done my job; you assured me my family would be safe?
Balagula replied, “Once I have this container on the plane, then you and your family are out of it.”
Nikolay replied. “Just be very careful with the contents, if the Red Mercury falls into the wrong hands the world will pay a heavy price!
Balagula gave him a smile and a cursory salute and then walked back to the truck.
Ten minutes later the truck was heading north east on route P226 destination Moscow.



2
Air space thirty eight thousand feet
Above the North Atlantic Ocean
Lat = 38 degrees, 24.5 minutes North
Long = 59 degrees, 18.9 minutes West
Friday 4 th August 1989 (The following day)
Twenty three forty-nine hour’s Local time.
The Boeing 747-244B flight number BA-323 is a combi- variant, of the aircraft that permits the mixing of passengers and airfreight on the main deck, the aircraft was carrying, six pallets of cargo along with the passenger’s baggage, that had been loaded on to the aircraft at Heathrow.
Class B cargo compartment regulations mean; there is sufficient access in flight to enable a crewmember to effectively reach any part of the compartment with the contents of a hand fire extinguisher.
When the access provisions are being used, no hazardous quantity of smoke, flames, or extinguishing agent, will enter any compartment occupied by the crew or passengers.
There is also a separate approved smoke detector or fire detector system to give warning to the pilot or flight engineer station.
The aircraft had a crew of nineteen along with one hundred and forty passengers and was now, five hours and ten minutes out from Heathrow airport, with a flight time of six hours twelve minutes.
Destination Washington Dulles International Airport USA.
The smoke alarm broke the calmness of the cockpit.
The captain looked at the instrumentation, noticing that it was indicating smoke alarms from the cargo area, on the main deck had been activated.
He jumped into full alert mode and cancelled the fire alarm.
The co-pilot flicked a switch that operated the phone in the gallery area of the aircraft; a steward picked the phone up.
The co-pilot said, “We have a fire alarm signalling smoke in the cargo area, take a look?”
The steward replied, “I am on it.”
Captain Roger Preston contacted Dulles airport, “Dulles; this is British Airways three two three.”
The air traffic control at Dulles replied, “Three two three, good evening go ahead.”
The Captain replied, “Good evening, we have, a smoke problem and we’re doing an emergency descent to level, one five zero, over.”
“Confirm you wish to commence a descent to flight level one five zero?”
“That is correct Dulles.”
“Roger, you are clear to descend immediately to flight level one five zero.”
“Roger, we will appreciate it if you can alert the fire services, over.”
The air traffic controller replied, “Do you, eh, request a full emergency?”
The Captain replied, “that’s affirmative, Dulles.”
“Roger three two three, I will declare a full emergency.”
Back in the cargo hold, area the steward had picked up a fire extinguisher, from the wall located by the cargo door.
As he entered the room, it was already filling with smoke and he could see flames emitting from behind some of the pallets.
The Steward operated the fire extinguisher, directing it at the flames, he emptied the fire extinguisher, however the flames continued to burn, he went back out and grabbed another one; repeating the process.
By this time, the flames were filling the rear area and were reaching the ceiling.
The steward retreated from the cargo room closing the door behind him.
Some of the smoke had entered the passenger cabin area and some passengers were beginning to show signs of stress, which began to infect the other passengers.
The steward phoned through to the cockpit, the interphone chimed and the co-pilot answered.
“What’s the situation back there?”
The steward replied, “I have emptied two extinguishers on it, but its continuing to burn.”
The co-pilot thought for a moment and replied, “Try again with some more fire extinguishers.”
The steward replied, “Okay, I’ll see what I can do; the passengers are beginning to see some smoke, from the rear of the plane.”
“I’ll make an announcement and try and reassure them.”
The steward replaced the phone, picked another extinguisher up, and headed for the cargo hold.
The co-pilot spoke into the Comms, “This is your co-pilot, we have a smoke problem in the cargo area, please follow the cabin attendants to the front of the plane.”
The co-pilot relayed the information to the Pilot, who said, “read of the checklist.”
Just at that moment, there were two pops from the breaker panel, followed by some of the electrical systems in the plane that began short-circuiting.
The co-pilot began reading the checklist, “Duct insulation ventilation switches... open. Top valve switches... all open. Recirculating fan switches... on.”
The checklist also advised the captain to begin an emergency descent, but this was not possible; as the plane was still too far out from Dulles airport.
The captain checked the altimeter that showed they were at 25,000 feet.
He took control of the aircraft and began a very deep descent to 15,000 feet.
Captain Preston contacted Dulles air traffic control, “Dulles this is BA three, two, three, over.”
“Go ahead BA three, two, three.”
“We have a fire in the cargo hold Dulles; attempts to extinguish it have proved negative so far.”
“Request your actual position please and your DME distance?”
The captain replied, “We haven’t got the DME yet.”
“Roger and your actual position please.”
DME stands for Distance Measuring Equipment, which allowed the plane to calculate how far it was from the airport.
“Captain Preston replied, “We have now lost a lot of electrics, we haven’t got anything on the aircraft now.”
“BA three, two, three, do you have an Echo Tango Alfa to Dulles please?
“ETA Forty-five minutes, Dulles.”
The captain turned to the co-pilot and said, “Go to the back, take the fire extinguisher and give it to the steward and come back here!”
Without question, the co-pilot popped the cockpit Halon 1211 extinguisher and bolted out the door.
Because of the steepness of the planes angle, he found it difficult to walk, feeling like a walk up a steep hill.
When he eventually reached the cargo area, he handed the extinguisher over to the steward and walked downhill back to the cabin.
Inside the cargo area, the conditions were very hot and harsh as the steward approached the fire; he began to douse the flames.
The hydrochloric acid was strangling him, the heat was burning him, and the one of the pallets was catapulting molten pieces of iron at him.
He quickly abandoned the dousing and he exited the cabin area, coughing and sputtering.
Smoke and acid had scorched his lungs, and he was now in no condition to do anything.
After a demanding seven minutes and twelve seconds, the smoke had filled the aircraft, many passengers were falling unconscious as soot and acid began building in their tracheae.
The captain was left with one last item on his checklist.
Approaching the b