Sure enough, five minutes later, after Bob briefed the control room watch-standers, he made a PA announcement about the change in power level and plant conditions. It was 12:29 a.m.
Out in the brush near the intake, I could hear a PA announcement being made, but I could barely make out what was being said. Had this been daytime, I never would have heard it. I got on my phone and called Prichard.
“I assume that announcement was related to shutting down the circ water pump?”
“That’s correct,” Prichard confirmed.
“Good job,” I told him. “If he has the pump off line in twenty minutes, I’ll be in the water box sixty minutes later. Have Dave open the east water box hatch at 0200.”
“I suppose it’s foolish to ask you to reconsider this plan,” Prichard said one last time.
“If you have a better idea, now’s the time.”
Prichard said nothing.
“It’s too late to turn back now, anyway. Plans are in place and we have no choice now but to see them through.”
“Okay. I’ll tell Street. And Nick?”
“Yes?”
“Good luck, man.”
“Roger that,” I said and hung up. I then dialed another number. “Red Two, this is Red One. Green light to proceed at 0200.”
“Copy that, Red One. 0200. Out.”
I put my phone away and quickly moved down the embankment toward the water and the skiff still floating there up against the rocks, out of sight of the Intake security cameras. One false step and I could lose my footing and plunge into the dark, icy cold water below. There was no beach here. I had to climb down the rock face and into the skiff. The fog was getting thicker and the rocks were becoming dangerously slippery.
CHAPTER 41
At 12:25 a.m., Jansen made a final call to a plant number. Rob answered immediately.
“Everything set to go?” he asked Rob.
“Yes. We’re ready.” Rob was getting nervous. This was serious business and not something to be taken lightly. Things could go wrong — very wrong. The upside was a lot of money. The downside was, well, unknown. A nuclear power plant is a complicated machine. Three stories tall, it looked particularly large and menacing tonight. Hopefully, what they were attempting to do would be worth it.
Hearing some hesitation in Rob’s voice, Jansen said, “Don’t bail on me now. Stick to the plan. You got it?”
“I’m all right. You just make sure you hold up your end!” Rob said, trying to hide his apprehension. “What happens if Street doesn’t go along?” Rob’s breathing was becoming labored and he tried to hold down the gorge rising in his throat. This had sounded like a good plan months ago, but now he wasn’t so sure. It was starting to look too risky. But he was committed, and that realization suddenly made him nervous and wonder if there was a way out of this for him.
“It’s your job to make sure he gets the message. We’ll take care of the rest.” Jansen was getting pissed. He didn’t like relying on people he hadn’t trained with. Rob and this team from Waxman were unknowns to him. He’d just have to work through it, but it was time to calm everyone down. He needed Rob.
“I want you to calm down… right the fuck now! We’re going to do this. My men and I will do the heavy lifting. You just do your part and everything will be fine. Got that?”
Rob’s nerves were frayed. “I’ll be ready! Remember, once we start this, there’s no turning back.”
Just then, Jansen heard a plant PA announcement being made in the background.
“No! He can’t do that! He's ramping down!” Rob said more to himself than anyone else. “I gotta go!” he said to Jansen, hanging up.
“Shit!” Jansen swore as he put his phone away. Their plan called for the plant to be at full power. With the plant at full power, the fear generated by the accident they had in mind would be at the maximum. Besides that, it involved less activity in the plant, and he had a greater chance of controlling the situation and not having his men observed as they moved about the plant.
Rob had been in on discussions with the FBI and helped them reach their decision to also hold power at 100 percent. He wanted them to hold off any actions until morning. By then, it would be too late for them to do anything. But if they got wind that the plant was ramping down tonight, they might alter their plans and decide to do something before everything was ready. He had to get to Street and stop him from doing this. He went to his secure phone that didn’t register on the other end to show who was calling. Dave answered the phone almost immediately.
“What the hell are you doing?” Rob practically screamed into the phone. “I told you to hold at full power!”
Dave stared at the phone. “Who is this?” he demanded.
“You know perfectly well who this is. I’m the one calling the shots. You will stay at 100 percent power, or else…”
Dave interrupted him because he didn’t want to hear the rest of that threat. “We can’t stay at full power. We have a problem with the screens and have to reduce to half load and secure a circ water pump. The high tides have kicked up the kelp and it’s plugging the screens.”
Dave thought the voice on the other end of the phone sounded familiar, but the person seemed to be trying to alter his voice. He just hoped his lie sounded convincing. But he was getting pissed now and his natural assertive tendencies were coming out so he decided to take the initiative and said, “Even an idiot like you can appreciate that if we don’t act now, we may lose the circulator altogether.”
Rob was trying to think quickly. He was immediately intimidated by Dave’s tone and accusation, and knew that wasn’t the position he wanted to be in. He didn’t know the plant that well, but what Street was saying made sense to him. He’d heard about kelp and screen problems for years, especially in the winter. He also knew enough to understand that if the PA announcement had been made, the plans were already set and the plant was probably already ramping down. Shit!
Rob gritted his teeth and said, “All right. But 50 percent power. No lower! Do you understand what will happen to your wife and kids if you disobey me?”
With a lump in his throat, Dave said, “I understand, you piece of shit!”
“Good. Don’t disappoint me. I’ll call you later with further instructions.”
With that, Rob hung up. Damn! This wasn’t supposed to happen. Okay… okay… get control. Their plans should still be okay at 50 percent power — if nothing else goes wrong.
Dave hung up the phone, realizing that whoever it was, had heard the announcement about the ramp down in power. Whoever just made that phone call was on site.
CHAPTER 42
I moved through the brush, down the side of the cliff to the water’s edge, as silently as I could. I doubted if anyone was around to hear me, but I didn’t want to chance it. It came naturally to me from years of doing it, and there was simply no reason to make noise.
I got to the water’s edge without falling in, though there were moments that challenged me. The terrain was steep and slippery, and I had to use the prickly brush as handholds. I was glad I was wearing gloves or my hands would be torn up pretty bad by now. I was about 10 feet from the skiff where the Old Man waited with several duffle bags full of gear. I worked my way over to it, tossed in the small grip I was carrying, and gingerly stepped into the little boat, not wanting to overturn it and dump us, and our gear, into the frigid Pacific Ocean.