Friday, July 21st, 2017
London City Airport
Royal Docks, London
12:35 GMT+1 (11:35 GMT July 21st)
Located some seven miles to the east of the City of London, the airport operated a single runway of 1,508-metres.
The descent into the airport was not one for the fainthearted pilot as it required a steeper-then-usual five-point-five-degree approach slope compared to the more usual three-degree approach slope. Only a few aircraft are capable of sustaining such an approach which limits the types and sizes of the aircraft which can land at the airport. Not only was the approach slope an issue, but it was also the fact that the runway was bordered by the water-filled Royal Albert and King George V docks to the north and south respectively.
For the giant C-17A Globemaster III, such a landing was part of its design and the challenge just a normal day at the office for the Royal Air Force pilots, both of whom were veterans of Afghanistan and the need for rapid landings and take-offs under threat of being shot down. One tactic designed to confuse potential ground-based threats was the reverse idle tactical descent – a virtual roller-coaster of a ride!
Approaching at thirty-thousand feet, the pilots engaged the thrust reversers on the four Pratt & Whitney F117-PW-100 turbofans causing a dramatic loss of forward air speed and the aircraft quickly took on a nerve-rackingly steep nose down attitude as it dove directly for the runway. The forty-five-thousand-kilogrammes of aircraft then dropped . . . down, down, down. To increase the rate of descent, the speed brakes were engaged, and the aircraft went into near free-fall with Sir Isaac Newton in primary command. Inside the aircraft, within the massive cargo hold, the intense vibration instilled by the shaking of the engine nacelles caused fear to be etched in many a face, although that was often replaced by a grin as the negative 2.0G influence of gravity pushed everyone against their retraining straps. In the cockpit, the instrumentation struggled to keep up with the rapid descent and the pilots got to see a huge amount of land in their cockpit windows – much more than they usually saw from a safety point of view.
At two-thousand feet, the nose was hauled up into a six-degree approach slope and the thrust reversers were cancelled allowing the aircraft to regain normal forward flight before the nose was dropped half a degree a few minutes later. At the same time, the undercarriage was dropped, the drag slowing the aircraft even further. Then, just a minute later, it was all over as the twelve tyres of the main undercarriage touched down, followed seconds later by the twin tyres of the nose gear. All four engines went into reverse thrust for a second time and the maximum flap setting along with the speed brakes deploying and the wheel brakes engaging, the aircraft came to a rapid halt in a little over a thousand metres, leaving a full third of the runway untouched.
The landing had been a rarity, if not a first, for the airport and many a plane spotter had received the experience of a lifetime as the unexpected monster had suddenly descended to the runway in what was obviously a combat landing. Indeed, as soon as the C-17 had touched down, eight Jackal 2 armoured vehicles belonging to 34 Squadron RAF Regiment and equipped with mounted heavy machineguns roared onto the runway and escorted the transport off to the main terminal where it could park and unload.
As the ramp at the rear of the aircraft dropped, Mindy relished the fresh air, even if it did stink of aviation fuel. Once she had unclipped her harness, she was directed aft by a crewman, and she descended the ramp with the bergen containing her personal equipment on her back. The sunlight was a relief as was the natural warmth compared to the frozen environment they had left so far behind and the cold of the aircraft in which they had spent so many hours. Her eyes identified the military vehicles arrayed around the aircraft as well as the armed personnel which included attack dogs and the ominous sight of a British Army Stormer HVM tracked vehicle topped with an eight-round Starstreak missile launcher.
Obviously, nobody was taking any risks and their safety was a top priority.
..._...
They were met by two large fifty-two-seat coaches fitted with dark tinted windows.
All seventy-three of them were guided aboard and their equipment was stowed inside an innocuous-looking 7.5-tonne truck rented from a civilian company that very morning. Once both coaches were filled, the tired troops and vigilantes were driven four miles to the west where they entered the financial district of Canary Wharf on the Isle of Dogs. Mindy had not been told where they were to be based – only that it was to be a surprise and indeed it was. It did not take too long for them to pull up outside a large building, readily recognisable to some. Mindy smelt a rat as she climbed down from the air-conditioned coach into the muggy heat of London in summer. Her eyes identified plenty of undercover security in visible sight and she assumed there would be much more in due course. Also, readily visible were marked police cars cruising past at seemingly random intervals. Mindy scowled as she recognised Diana and Natasha walking towards her, but Natasha was grinning broadly as she wrapped Mindy in a crushing hug.
"Welcome to London, Mindy – let's get you into some more familiar surroundings so you can get a shower and some clean clothes," Natasha said as she wrinkled her nose. "Maybe two showers!"
"That bad?"
"Yes," Natasha laughed. "Come on."
Natasha and Diana led the large group inside Wayne Enterprises Site A where the unfortunate Ransom and his son were whisked away by MI5 for medical treatment and further interrogation. The Royal Marines were met by uniformed compatriots who led them up two floors to where they were offered food, drink, showers, and clean uniforms – as well as fresh weapons. That just left Mindy and her tired vigilantes. Natasha and Diana led them through the building and then back outside where Mindy stopped dead causing Stephanie to cannon into the back of her.
"What the fuck!?" Stephanie exclaimed but then she went silent as she laid eyes on Mindy's favourite toy.
"When? How?" Mindy stammered.
"They were sailed here by the RN and they both arrived about five days ago. Both have been cleaned and outfitted ready for boarding. I suggest you all board and shower," Natasha responded.
Mindy had never before been so pleased to see OCEAN VIGILANTE. As she climbed the gangway, she could see CALEDONIA moored outboard; both vessels had their prows pointed at the dock gates and the River Thames with the 'dome' beyond. Moored astern of the two yachts, a Union Jack flying proudly from the prow, was HMS SEVERN. The twenty-millimetre cannon mounted on her bow was uncovered and Mindy's experienced eyes could see that live ammunition ran from the ammunition box to the weapon itself. A pair of 7.62-millimetre General Purpose Machineguns were mounted, one per side on the bridge wings, and both were fitted with ammunition boxes, although there was no sign of any gunners.
"We gather in the briefing room – third floor – at fourteen-hundred," Natasha advised before she turned and she walked back inside the building with Diana.
Fusion and Vengeance swiftly boarded their own vessels while Honneur joined Vengeance aboard CALEDONIA.
..._...
The hot water on her skin had never felt better as she groaned and allowed her body to relax knowing that they were all safe – for a few hours at least.
However, that had only been after Mindy had all but hugged the life out of her two children, Danny and Anne-Marie. Mindy had exchanged a tearful glance with Chloe who was causing Becky breathing problems as they hugged. Naturally, Jennifer had been just as happy to have her two girls, Xiāngxìn and Lin, in her own arms. Next door, aboard the neighbouring yacht, Cassie had been unable to prevent herself from soaking Naomi and Kaitlin but then she had had to explain why Jake was not present and that had turned the happiness decidedly sour.
Aboard both yachts, everyone was relaxing in familiar surroundings as they cleaned up, dressed, and grabbed some food. Everyone knew that they had a full day and a full night ahead of them but at least they knew that it would be over by the following morning.
One way or another.
An hour or so later...
Canary Wharf, London
Wayne Industries Site A
14:00 GMT+1 (13:00 GMT July 21st)
Everyone was much happier now that they had showered, eaten some real food, and drunk some real liquids, not to mention that they were dressed in clean clothing which for the most part was civilian-oriented but with the standard FCCS Mk2 worn underneath and combat boots, although most importantly less than seven or eight layers of increasing thickness.
The Royal Marines all wore the conventional MTP (Multi-Terrain Pattern) summer uniform of shirt with sleeves rolled up and trousers with combat boots. Also present were uniformed members of the Metropolitan Police and Specialist Firearms Command (SCO19) as well as civilian-clothed members of the Royalty and Specialist Protection (RaSP), and Counter Terrorism Command (SO15).
Three giant flat screens occupied one wall, the centre of which displayed a map image depicting central London with a second screen to the right, displaying a slightly smaller map showing Heathrow Airport and the road approaches from London. A third screen was blank. Marked on those maps were five ominous red dots which pulsed. Everyone was directed to seats at or around a three-sided rectangle of tables, the long side of which faced the wall on which the screens were mounted. Behind and to the sides of the tables which could seat twenty-four were forty or so chairs. Mindy, Dave, Natasha, and Cameron were invited to sit at the table along with Captain McFadden and Sergeant Martin of Alpha Troop, Captain Racell and Sergeant Barclay of Brigade Patrol Troop, Commander Haig and Sergeant Woodward of SO15, and several uniformed members of the Metropolitan Police. Everyone else took seats behind those seated around the table but many had to stand (or lounge against the wall in the case of Stephanie and Abigail).
Commander Lawrence stood at a wooden lectern from where he briefly smiled at Mindy before he turned serious.
..._...
Mindy returned the smile.
"Good afternoon!" Commander Lawrence addressed the almost one hundred men, women, and children present. "I am Commander Lawrence, Royal Navy, and I will be the operational commander for Operation Handel. This operation has three objectives. Number one: the identification of all five nuclear devices, including their locations and potential defences. Number two: the simultaneous takedown and deactivation of the five nuclear devices. Number three: the confiscation of all five nuclear devices by Royal Navy Bomb Disposal and Royal Logistics Corps Explosive Ordnance Disposal personnel.
"The five locations for the nuclear devices are: Waterloo Station, Canary Wharf, the Ministry of Defence, Heathrow Airport, and the Royal Albert Hall. Since the decommissioning of the National Attack Warning System in 1991, there is no simple manner to alert the almost nine million people who live within the M25 that their lives are in danger. Not that that is a problem as there is also no simple way to evacuate that many people without mass panic and the breakdown of law and order. Under an emergency directive issued by the Prime Minister, limited martial law has been implemented across the country but will only be enforced as required until this emergency is over. As far as the press is concerned, a DSMA-Notice has been issued which may or may not hold in place, but we only need tonight, and a cover story is in place for tomorrow – assuming that there is a tomorrow.
"Now, introductions are in order, I think. Commissioner Jade Morton of the Metropolitan Police and her deputy, Deputy Commissioner Jeffrey Walton. They will coordinate any contact with the police officers deployed on the streets. Should those of you out of uniform require assistance, use the codeword Awkward - AWKWARD. That word will have the officer call back to the main control room where officers are based who are 'in the know' about this operation and they can then direct the officers accordingly. Next, we have Commander Justin Sutton of Specialist Firearms Command (SCO19). He has brought fifteen three-man Trojan ARVs to the table along with a dozen sixteen-man CTSFO (Counter Terrorist Specialist Firearms Officers) teams. We will cover their role, later in the briefing as we will the teams belonging to Commander Patrick Haig of Counter Terrorism Command (SO15). RaSP will be ensuring the protection of the Royals who remain in the city – currently, just The Queen, her husband, and the Princess Royal are in residence at Buckingham Palace, along with Princess Mary. Currently, The Queen is not for being moved!"
Indeed, there were problems at the palace, to put it mildly!
Around that same time...
Buckingham Palace
Princess Mary was getting precisely nowhere!
Forty minutes of pleading and begging, then yelling and generally being obnoxious had accomplished absolutely nothing beyond causing her grandfather to suffer a coughing fit as he laughed too hard at her behaviour which he alone knew could never persuade the Monarch to leave her post when her country was in peril.
"Mary."
"Yes, Gran."
"You have to understand my position. If I were to run when my subjects cannot, then how could I ever hold my head up in public again?"
"Point taken . . . I suppose," Mary responded somewhat grudgingly.
"Your heart is in the right place but while I can do little to protect this city beyond offering my presence as support, you my Belle, you can do so much more."
Belle smiled as she looked out of the window to where she could see a BBC film crew with a reporter speaking into the camera.
..._...
The BBC cameraman focussed his camera onto the reporter while a sound engineer held a microphone on the end of a long boom just out of shot as the reporter made his report to the newsroom.
"There has been no comment from Downing Street concerning the growing concern in the capital where we have seen a high level of security deployed in and around public buildings as well as the presence of the Army in decidedly unceremonial dress. Whether the level of security has anything to do with the fighting and deaths of a few weeks ago, is unknown. Astute observers have noted that there are two large helicopters on the ground within the walls of Buckingham Palace. One is a Royal Navy Merlin Mk4 while the other is the Vengeance gunship, NIGHTSHADE. Why these two helicopters are there, is completely unknown, however, conjecture hints towards the possible evacuation of the Royal Family, but again, no one is sure why that may be a requirement. There have been numerous overflights of London by British and American helicopters, including the giant American Osprey machines. Whether this activity has anything to do with the unprecedented sonic booms which have been reported across the country, caused by RAF and USAF fighter aircraft, is unknown at this time. As is the landing of a giant C-17A Globemaster III transport aircraft belonging to the Royal Air Force at City Airport, earlier today."
The reporter continued with his report as Mary turned back into the room.
Canary Wharf, London
Wayne Industries Site A
14:40 GMT+1 (13:40 GMT July 21st)
Time To Detonation: 8 hours 20 minutes
Commander Lawrence pointed up at a rectangular window in the top left of the giant screen.
"Now that I have sketched out our basic plan, we all need to know that a clock is ticking – literally and figuratively. We have a little over eight hours to neutralise the devices in place. Any and all measures are authorised and as far as the Government is concerned, those who have sided with the Axis of Evil have doomed themselves and their lives are forfeit. Now, that does not mean a bloody killing spree is authorised..."
Mindy studied her fingernails intently as she felt many eyes aimed in her direction.
..._...
Minutes before the meeting had begun, Saoirse had stopped dead as she had recognised the young man who stood speaking with Cassie.
Swiftly, she had turned to face Willow and Lucy, and she had opened her mouth to say something but then Lucy had frozen, and her expression had darkened enough that Willow had figured that she might be safer heading for the next hemisphere. Patrick Millar had also appeared at the same moment, and he had immediately clocked his two oldest students, just as Leo had turned to lay eyes upon Lucy for the first-time in...
"Now you fucking turn up after fucking years!" Lucy growled as she moved in Leo's direction.
"Hi, Luc."
Without warning – actually, Patrick, who could read Lucy like a book, saw it coming – Lucy spun and kicked Leo in the side, sending the young man flying down the corridor.
"You fucking bastard!" Lucy growled as she glared at her former colleague then advanced on him.
"Shouldn't you...?" Willow asked Patrick.
"Give it another twenty seconds, I'd say."
Willow and Saoirse looked on as Lucy slowed and then she looked down at Leo who just sat on the floor, grinning up at Lucy.
"I saw you in Chicago," Leo said quietly. "You had a life, and I did not want to intrude."
"Fuck, Leo!" Lucy growled as she pulled Leo to his feet. "I've missed you."
"Okay – time to move on," Willow muttered to Saoirse as Lucy kissed Leo.
Saoirse, though, was enjoying the sight of the pair kissing and caressing one another. She grinned as Leo squeezed one of Lucy's breasts and Lucy groaned.
"Time and a place, you two," Patrick called out and two slightly embarrassed youths split apart.
Lucy was grinning broadly as was Leo, and it was obvious that both were very pleased to be finally back together after so long apart.
"Leo, I'm putting you in Foxtrot Three with Lucy," Patrick went on. "You happy with that Lucy?"
"I suppose," Lucy responded, somewhat cagily.
"You happy to be underneath Lucy?" Willow threw in.
"I always liked having Lucy on top," Leo responded coolly.
Willow scowled and decided not to respond.
..._...
The briefing was winding up and everyone was eager to get out onto the streets, especially as they were acutely aware of the limited time available.
"Now, CTSFO will be deployed to make initial contact with the Axis – that is not negotiable," Commander Lawrence continued. "Where possible the civilian authorities will take down the opposition – that is a political decision and one which we will follow. However, we all know what is at stake and what the opposition will do to prevent us succeeding. Takedown time is set for nineteen-hundred Zulu and that will be coordinated across the other cities. Stay safe and should you need anything, let somebody know. Time to go."
With that the briefing was over and everyone filed out of the room, chatting animatedly amongst their groups.
Waterloo Station
London, England
19:40 GMT+1 (18:40 GMT July 21st)
Time To Detonation: 3 hours 20 minutes
Team Victor Bravo, Team Foxtrot Two, Team Hotel One
Charlie Tango Zero-Eight/One-Zero/One-Two
Waterloo Station is a major terminus in central London.
The station is the terminus for many lines covering the south of England from as far away as Weymouth and Exeter. Beneath the sprawling station there is a London Underground station of the same name. As well as being the busiest railway station in the United Kingdom, it was also the last to see steam as the primary form of power in 1967, and it also held the titles of being the largest by floor space and with the greatest number of platforms of any railway station in the country.
Team Victor Bravo, under the command of Crimson, was moving amongst the many dozens of commuters seeking out sustenance on the upper level of the station. Arbiter and Intrepid were with Aegea, the three girls scanning for anything out of the ordinary. They had been there for over an hour seeking out the enemy who had not shown themselves even once. Each wore civilian clothing under which they wore their FCCS2 armour, and each carried a backpack which concealed their larger weapons. They were looking for anything out of the ordinary and every now and then, they would come across Team Foxtrot Two who were patrolling around the main concourse level.
Team Foxtrot Two, under the command of Shadow was just as busy as their colleagues on the level above. Torment and Nox were with Rogue and Scamp searching in and around the main concourse and platforms. For Scamp it was also time with Shadow and the pair were often walking together, talking but always keeping their eyes wide open. As for Battle Guy, he was using his technical abilities to tap into the station CCTV systems as it was far too dangerous to speak with the station staff just in case they had already been compromised which was highly likely.
"You got anything, Akuma?" Battle Guy asked his French technical colleague.
"I've got feeds fourteen, fifteen, and eighteen but eleven to thirteen, and sixteen, seventeen are missing," Akuma replied from her seat in the front of a borrowed Land Rover Discovery Sentinel parked in Chicheley Street a few dozen yards away to the east of the station with two armed Metropolitan Police officers in Trojan Zero-Two, a marked Volvo X70, to protect her.
Team Hotel One under the command of Le Chat Noir was busy checking out the non-public areas of the mainline station. La Coccinelle and La Terreaur were checking out employees as well as the hidden areas which were a veritable rabbit warren where it was very possible for the enemy to hide a device and still keep an eye on it. They were very keen for the CCTV to be fully monitored by Akuma and Battle Guy, but the pair were having some difficulty with the CCTV system which was prehistoric in some places but cutting edge (and encrypted) in others. Forty-eight cameras had been hacked into with many more still to go.
Outside the station, three sixteen-man teams of CTSF officers awaited the signal to move in from three different directions.
..._...
Also close by, actually a thousand feet above where Akuma was scanning the current electronic feeds, were two girls who were having the time of their young lives.
For Rampart it was a dream come true. She was in command of an aircraft, just like in the desert, only this helicopter was state of the art and from the current decade and indeed century!
"You'd better not break this one," Obsidian commented from the left seat of SCOURGE.
"You're right there," Rampart conceded as they flew above the River Thames.
The aircraft was amazing and a virtual twin to her own URSULA back in Chicago. However, unlike her URSULA, this McDonnell Douglas MD530F was heavily armed with dual M134D miniguns, dual M260 seven-round rocket pods, and two Griffin B missiles. Her job was to keep a bird's eye view of the situation and watch for interlopers from the air or from the water. Rampart had been stunned into silence – a state which some had enjoyed – when Hit Girl and Crimson had offered her the Vengeance gunship. However, any opportunity to be airborne was rare, so Rampart snapped it up and she launched from City Airport half an hour earlier after a lengthy briefing and pre-flight under the watchful eyes of Raptor who normally flew the small helicopter. Obsidian had been selected as co-pilot as she had flown with Rampart previously and the girl had spent many hours going through the tech manuals for URSULA.
It was an example of how desperate the situation was that the normally covert Vengeance machine was operating in broad daylight, and fully armed.
Four miles to the east...
One Canada Square,
Canary Wharf, City of London
19:40 GMT+1 (18:40 GMT July 21st)
Time To Detonation: 3 hours 20 minutes
Team Victor Echo, Team Foxtrot Three
Charlie Tango Zero-Five/Zero-Nine
Kora stared upwards.
Her eyes travelled up some fifty storeys of glass which were topped off by a stunning one-hundred-ton forty-metre-tall pyramid which itself topped out the building at some 235-metres above ground level. Kora gave up trying to see the very top of the pyramid as her neck was hurting. Instead, she followed Insidious and Styx down into one of the various basement levels. Not too far away, Piranha led her team into the capacious eleven-metre-high entrance lobby which was clad in ninety-thousand square feet of marble. At the speed-gates, installed to prevent quick and easy access to the lifts, each swiped a card provided to them by MI5 which allowed them to pass through without incident or hinderance as they mixed in with dozens of other people who were heading into the large tower.
Along with Piranha, there was Foxtail, Wildcat, Trojan, and Wolf. Together, they had a decidedly hairy entry ahead of them into the target floor where they believed the nuclear device to be located. They were joined by two CTSFO teams: Zero-Five and Zero-Nine, who would assault from the ground. Of the five nuclear devices outstanding the in the city, their device was the only one with a fairly clear location – not that that would make things any easier considering they had no idea on defences or exact location. In addition to those in the ground and in the tower, area support was being provided by TWILIGHT under the command of Raptor with Harrier in the co-pilot's seat. The helicopter was armed to the teeth with her usual complement of twin weapons pods with their combined 12.7-millimetre machineguns and triple 70-millimetre rockets.
Raptor had the machine orbiting the area over the docklands while Harrier studied the ground below and the skies all around through high-powered binoculars.
A little over four miles to the west...
Ministry of Defence, Whitehall
19:40 GMT+1 (18:40 GMT July 21st)
Time To Detonation: 3 hours 20 minutes
Team Victor Delta, Team Foxtrot One,
Team Victor Romeo, Sierra Zero-Zero,
Reserve One
Charlie Tango Zero-Three/Zero-Seven
Also operating under the watchful gaze of SCOURGE were Sleuth and Hit Girl.
Across the river from Waterloo Station, the sprawling Grade I listed Ministry of Defence Main Building towered ten stories above the river with another three below. The place was a veritable maze and covered some three or so acres. Commander Lawrence himself could attest to the infeasibility of searching the entire building which had such a high level of security that smuggling a nuclear device into the building was nigh on impossible.
The teams made up one of the larger groups and were under the overall command of Sleuth of Team Victor Delta. His team was made up of Stripe, Overrun, and Viridian. They were joined by Fury, Rage, Psyche, and Kick-Ass, all under the command of Hit Girl. Covertly keeping out of public sight in a Discovery Sentinel parked up on Whitehall was Belle who was under the watchful eye of Rigour while both girls in turn were under the watchful eyes of Minder.
Currently parked up in an Audi S8 outside the Commonwealth Office, just down the road towards Westminster Abbey was Sierra Zero-Zero consisting of Leon and Songbird. They were in a vehicle which was fast and capable of relocating in a very short space of time. In the boot was a selection of long weapons and a dozen different types of ammunition in three different calibres. Parked up a short distance to the north was Reserve One, a Jaguar XF Shooting Brake, inside of which was Doctrina, Pyrrha, and Allegiant.
They were joined by the CTSFO teams, Zero-Three and Zero-Seven.
Some fourteen miles to the west...
Heathrow Airport
19:40 GMT+1 (18:40 GMT July 21st)
Time To Detonation: 3 hours 20 minutes
Team Victor Alpha, Team Foxtrot Four,
Reserve Two, Brigade Patrol Troop
Charlie Tango Zero-One/Zero-Four/One-One
Covering some five square miles and located fourteen miles to the west of London, the airport is one of the world's busiest and has been in existence in various forms since 1929.
Currently, over seventy million people and some 1.7-million-tonnes of cargo passed through the airport via 474,000 aircraft movements each year. At any one time, tens of thousands moved around the site, working, arriving, or departing. None of them had the slightest idea that their world could end in a little over three hours in a bright flash of blinding light. However, until then, those tens of thousands of men, women, and children went about their activities, seeking out their gate or stripping for security. As well as those seeking their flights and a hundred other different activities, two-hundred aircraft sat on their parking bays awaiting passengers and/or cargo.
Located, somewhat centrally, and towering some eighty-seven-metres above the concrete and tarmac of the airport, a number of NATS controllers were on duty, ensuring the safe movements of some thirteen-hundred aircraft which would make use of Heathrow Airport that day. The tower had a panoramic three-hundred-and-sixty-degree view of the entire airport from the ends of runway 09L/27R to the northwest and northeast, to the ends of runway 27L/09R to the southeast and southwest, along with everything in between. To the west, was Terminal 5 while to the east lay Terminal 3 and the Terminal 2. To the southeast lay Terminal 4 with the Cargo Terminal to the south.
The Tower Controller, Maxine Masters, smiled as her two visitors stepped out of the elevator and into the tower. The fifty-two-year-old was an experienced controller having worked for National Air Traffic Services for over twenty-five-years. However, she was not all that happy to be welcoming such distinguished guests who were to be the harbingers of doom. Indeed, their very presence had been approved by the head of NATS and the head of the body which controlled the airport.
"Welcome," Maxine said to the two men, one of whom was young while the other was much older.
"Astute," the older man said, offering his right hand which Maxine shook.
"Drift."
Again, Maxine shook hands and then she stood quietly as the two men gazed out at the unbelievable view below as dozens of aircraft, some as large as the Boeing 747 and Airbus A380, manoeuvred between terminals and runways in what appeared to be managed chaos. Maxine was used to it as everyone who set foot into the tower for the first time was always stunned by what they could see. Two more people appeared from the elevator, both of whom appeared to be youths who then stood for a moment, taking in the panoramic view. Splinter and Custos were stunned by what they could see arrayed around them never having ever seen such a sight before.
A short distance away, down at ground level, Team Victor Alpha (Custos, Necis, Nox, and Polaris, with Drift in command) and Team Foxtrot Four (Splinter, Hellcat, Ravage, and Tigercat, with Astute in command) sat in a Range Rover Sentinel and a Discovery Sentinel respectively, parked up at the Terminal 3 collection/drop-off point. They were joined by Surgeon and Athena in their Audi A6 Avant who together made up Reserve Two. In various other vehicles, three CTSFO teams: Zero-One, Zero-Four, and One-One were driving around the public side of the airport searching out trouble. In support, and currently on the ground at stand 402 where it was out of ready view, was NIGHTSHADE under the command of Scorpion with Goshawk and Chief aboard. They had abandoned their previous position at Buckingham Palace where the intention had been to provide armed escort for The Queen, however, word from Belle had indicated that the Monarch was not for shifting. Beside NIGHTSHADE a Royal Air Force Puma HC.2 sat on the concrete at stand 403. Aboard that Puma, the ten men of Brigade Patrol Troop – callsign Bravo Papa One – under the command of Captain Racell and Sergeant Barclay awaited a go order.
The initial plan was to obtain assistance from those who knew the airport better than anybody else to try and locate the device.
A dozen miles to the east...
The Royal Albert Hall
19:40 GMT+1 (18:40 GMT July 21st)
Time To Detonation: 3 hours 20 minutes
Team Victor Charlie, Alpha Troop
Charlie Tango Zero-Two/Zero-Six
Opened by Queen Victoria in 1871, the majestic dome-topped concert hall in Kensington was the destination for Team Victor Charlie under the command of Nemesis.
Nemesis was joined by Q, Ajax, Glide, and Prowl as well as Alpha Troop – callsign Alpha Tango One – under the command of Captain McFadden and Sergeant Martin who had twenty-two men with them. The attack force was topped off with the men and women of CTSFO Zero-Two and Zero-Six.
Ahead of them was a subterranean rabbit warren of Victorian architecture which had been updated, blocked up, opened up, shifted, altered, and otherwise disrupted with very little in the way of architectural plans. It was the seemingly obvious location for the device but the device could also be somewhere else in the building, so they had to keep their options open. To make things worse, over five thousand men, women, and children were already in the building to enjoy a night of rousing patriotic music played by the BBC Symphony Orchestra. There was no way to close down the building and send so many people home without causing a major panic.
That left Nemesis with a conundrum.
Some thirty-six-hundred miles
away, across the Atlantic Ocean...
Potomac Park, Washington D.C.
United States of America
16:40 GMT-4 (18:40 GMT July 21st)
Time To Detonation: 3 hours 20 minutes
Team Bourne
Situated on the tidal basin just off the Potomac River, the Jefferson Memorial paid tribute to Thomas Jefferson, the man who was deemed to be the principal author of the Declaration of Independence and who served as the third president of the United States.
Beneath the magnificent marble and granite structure, a bronze statue stood tall, surveying the tidal basin and staring directly at the White House, a mile distant. Off to the right of the statue, some two-hundred-and-forty-yards away, a dark blue GMC Yukon was parked up under some trees. Inside, two adults, and two teenagers enjoyed the vehicle's air-conditioning which fought against the outside temperature which was in the low thirties Celsius. Nobody was keen to leave the precious coolness and endure the relentless heat – they had all had enough of relentless heat in the desert. All four sets of eyes were hidden behind dark sunglasses and heads were covered in baseball caps. It was impossible to see the meaningful professional looks in those eyes. The family was very different to the dozens of other families roaming around the adjacent parks and tourist attractions. The family was strong because they needed one another. The family had endured imprisonment, torture, and the hell of the Sahara Desert, but to them, it had just been a family adventure.
Wraith looked over her left shoulder and she smiled at her adopted son and daughter – Snake Eyes and Siren respectively. The pair had grown closer during the previous months as they had supported one another through thick and thin. They were truly brother and sister compared to the pair of youngsters who had constantly been at each other's throats. Bringing up a pair of troubled children was not easy, but Wraith also had the assistance of her troubled husband, Spectre.
"Okay, where do we start?" Snake Eyes asked.
"Siren?" Wraith asked with a smile at her daughter.
"We may as well wait until five, little brother," Siren responded as she finished reassembling the Kriss Vector submachine gun which lay in her lap, finishing the weapon off with an eight-inch suppressor. "Then we can kick some ass!"
"You talk so much crap," Snake Eyes commented as he affixed a suppressor to the muzzle of his Heckler & Koch MP5K submachine gun. "But some of it rings true."
Spectre simply laughed as his mind considered the poor tactical situation and the mediocre chances of success.
Not too far away...
The White House
16:40 GMT-4 (18:40 GMT July 21st)
Time To Detonation: 3 hours 20 minutes
The bunker was located some five storeys beneath the seat of American Government.
Built during other subterranean works in 2010, the new facility was state of the art and designed to resist the very worst that could be thrown at it. Whether it could survive a nuclear detonation from as close as that which threatened the city was debatable but most were positive of survival for those inside.
The President of the United States of America sat at the head of a long highly-polished wooden table upon which sat numerous telephones and laptop computers spread out along its length. A dozen men and women were arrayed along each side of the table busily gathering and processing a massive amount of intelligence information procured from all around the world. She had been there for most of that day, listening, responding, thinking. So much weighed upon her shoulders and the shoulders of so many others who were about to risk their lives in cities across the planet. Her very own chief of staff had demanded that she evacuate the city, but she had refused, instead sending her vice president to Florida. But what worried her most was her most treasured accomplishment to date, one even more treasured than her ascension to the presidency. Grace Adams stood up and walked out of the situation room and turned right into her private quarters. There, seated on a couch and looking bored sat her pride and joy.
Emma Adams was not a fan of being dozens of feet underground – she much preferred the outdoors and fresh air as opposed to the mechanical air conditioning. Being forced into the bunker was not the way she had wanted to start the day. Nobody would tell her why her mother, her father, and herself had been escorted by the Secret Service into the ominous bunker with a massive pair of steel doors and more concrete than she had ever seen in one place. Despite being kept away from the serious stuff, Emma had gleaned a lot of information since her trip to Ascension Island and she had compiled her own mental dossier on what might be going on and no matter how she rearranged the facts she knew, the outcome was bad, very bad.
As far as she could tell, people were going to die; people she knew.