‘They have.’
‘We won’t.’
‘Then we lose.’
‘We’ve lost already,’ said the Indian Prime Minister.
‘Then stop,’ pleaded Khrishnan.
‘We can’t, Khrishnanji. Don’t you understand, India can’t surrender now.’
The Situation Room, The White House, Washington, DC
‘The whole of central Bombay is flattened,’ said Tom Bloodworth. ‘We’re picking up the formation of a mushroom cloud. There are reports of black rain falling on the Tulsi Lake in the national park to the north of the city.’
John Hastings stood upright in the centre of the room, looking at the satellite imagery being translated into impact data on the map of Bombay.
‘Reece Overhalt calling from Jamie Song’s office,’ said Joan Holden.
‘President Tao gave the order for only one launch,’ said Overhalt. ‘He does not want to strike again.’
Bloodworth, on another phone, interrupted the President’s conversation. ‘Mr President, Hari Dixit is retaliating.’
‘For Christ’s sake tell him China’s calling it a day,’ yelled Hastings.
‘That’s not the point,’ said Bloodworth.
‘The Chinese are calling an emergency UN Security Council meeting,’ Overhalt said to Hastings.
‘Cynical bastards.’
‘Two Agni launches from north-east India,’ said Bloodworth.
‘Get that shit Gorbunov on the phone,’ snapped Hastings.
Military Headquarters, Western Hills, China
‘Nuclear air-burst over Chengdu?’ said General Leung. ‘Where, exactly?’
‘Unclear. We have lost contact.’
President Tao remained silent. He sat in an office chair, his chin in his hands, staring at the huge map in the war room. Hari Dixit had more nerve than he had anticipated. If India and China slugged it out city for city, India would lose eventually, but China would not be an outright winner. The progress of the last quarter of a century would be wrecked, and the Motherland’s standing in the international community would be in tatters. Yet if Tao stopped now, China would be a defeated nation. He pushed the chair back, stood up and walked over to the wall map, his shadow moving across it like a storm cloud.
The Kremlin, Moscow, Russia
‘Are you threatening me?’ said President Gorbunov. He had taken the call from John Hastings, without interpreters or even his private secretary taking notes.
‘I will repeat myself, Mr President,’ said Hastings. ‘You have five minutes to get an unequivocal ceasefire from both India and China. If you fail, we are going to obliterate China’s military capabilities with nuclear and conventional weapons. If you threaten to strike the United States or Europe we will strike Russia. Your office will be ground zero. This is not a threat, Mr President, it is reality.’
‘You are at risk of creating an even more dangerous situation.’
‘I did not call you for a debate in international relations. I called to tell you what is going to happen.’
‘And if I comply?’
‘No one need know this conversation ever took place.’
Operational Directorate, South Block, Delhi, India
‘They’ve launched from Tibet,’ said Unni Khrishnan. ‘We should head for the bunker.’
‘No,’ said Hari Dixit. ‘If the people of Delhi are to die in a nuclear attack, this captain is going to stay on the bridge.’
‘President Gorbunov calling from Moscow,’ said Khrishnan’s aide de camp.
‘Tao has called a ceasefire,’ began Gorbunov.
‘He’s just launched,’ said Dixit.
‘Six minutes to impact,’ said Unni Khrishnan.
‘You have my word that China will carry out no more attacks.’
‘Can they destroy the missile, mid-flight?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Listen, Vlad, within five minutes we could be vapourized. I don’t regard it as a ceasefire. It’s the act of high cynicism.’
‘Agni ready for launch, Prime Minister,’ said Unni Khrishnan.
Hari Dixit cut the line to Moscow: ‘Go ahead,’ he said.
Ground zero was between the North Block and the South Block. The fireball swept through the elegant buildings of pink Rajasthan sandstone, which collapsed into molten rubble incinerating everyone inside. The magnificent architectural buildings of Indian democracy were destroyed within seconds of the blast; India Gate, the Parliament Building, the National Archives, the Supreme Court, then further out with temperatures still almost a million degrees, the path of destruction hitting Connaught Place, Janpath, and other landmarks of India’s heritage. The glass walls on the newer buildings shattered immediately, with people and furniture instantaneously hurled outside. Then, like in Bombay, the firestorms reached the flimsier structures, the more densely crowded parts of the city, where people died in their tens of thousands.
Even ten miles away in places like Vasant, Vihar and Janakpuri, everyone outside was struck with severe burns and houses spontaneously caught light, causing unstoppable fires to rage through the slums killing those inside. Within the three kilometre radius of ground zero, nothing survived. The men in charge of the government of India were dead. The institutions which ran the country were out of action.
The Situation Room, The White House, Washington, DC
‘Dixit targeted the Western Hills before he died,’ said Tom Bloodworth. ‘It must have been a 250 kiloton warhead to make the range.’
‘Did it hit?’
‘Yes, but the Chinese bunker is too well dug in. The only casualties are the villagers, fruit orchards and a few army barracks. There’s a strong westerly wind. In nuclear terms the damage is minimal. We’ve just picked up new signals from the bunker, so their backup communications system must have kicked in.’
Hastings sat heavily in a chair, allowing the exhaustion to show for the first time in forty-eight hours. ‘Hari Dixit refused to go for the civilian targets, didn’t he?’
Bloodworth pointed to one of the computer screens. ‘These are the latest satellite pictures from India. This is Delhi.’ He changed the picture. ‘This is Calcutta. Then Bangalore, Madras. It’s going on everywhere.’
Even though ill-defined, the images showed streams of people fleeing the population centres of India. The main roads were too clogged with human life to take cars, carts or even motor-scooters. Vehicles were abandoned, as were possessions which hindered escape. The nuclear holocaust had instilled terror throughout the country.
‘What about China?’ said Hastings.
‘There’s cloud over Chengdu. So we don’t know what’s happening there. Tao has closed down all telecommunications. Even mobile phones. The television is showing a sitcom.’ He brought up an overhead scene. ‘This is Tiananmen Square, Beijing. The signs say it is closed for redecoration. This is the main road south. Traffic moving as normal. It’s the same for Shanghai, Wuhan, Harbin. You name it, the Chinese are controlling it.’
‘They’ve won, haven’t they, Tom?’