No one knew for sure when the theft took place. After a thorough investigation by the military police, the incident with the Baader-Meinhof gang in 1977 was singled out as the most likely time for the theft. This finding was reported up the chain of command, and the Chief of Staff demanded blood. The culprits were the two officers who were in positions of responsibility at the time, or more accurately at the suspected time, of the theft. The base commander declared his innocence and there was no solid evidence tying him to the incident, but his army career was over.
Captain Kilgore had long since retired from the army and had settled down in Hawaii, where he was posted as a reward for foiling the raid on the base by the terrorist group. He was shocked when three black SUVs packed with military police surrounded his cottage near Waikiki Beach and arrested him. Within two hours he was sitting handcuffed in a military plane on its way to Los Angeles, accompanied by two armed officers who refused to tell him why he was arrested. The plane refueled and continued its way to Andrews Air Force Base, near Washington, DC. From there Captain Kilgore was rushed to a military tribunal and was charged with major negligence in guarding nuclear weapons. The court heard him out patiently when he told his story and commended him for the successful ambush, but at the same time reprimanded him for not checking on the stocks of weapons, particularly the highly sensitive nuclear weapons that were stored on base. His meticulously clean military record had spared him from a death sentence, but he was sentenced to 10 to 30 years of solitary confinement, in a high-security military prison. He was forbidden to tell his story to anyone, under the pain of a retrial and capital punishment. Needless to say, not a single word about the missing nuke was ever published.
When the communist regime of East Germany collapsed, the value of the land in areas neighboring the former border increased dramatically. A real-estate company purchased the land from the far-sighted investor and planned to build a new residential suburb. A lone bulldozer was dispatched to flatten the land and prepare it for the new construction. The old cowshed was torn down and the hiding place was exposed. The operator of the bulldozer, Hans Auerbach, jumped off his vehicle and took a close look at the strange box that was uncovered. He looked around, and when he saw that no one was watching, he pried the lid open. He saw a cylindrical object wrapped in a shredded tarpaulin. Its olive-green color and red markings indicated that it was a piece of military equipment. He resealed the box and used the bulldozer's blade to excavate it and transport it to his pick-up truck. Nobody noticed what he was doing.
In the evening Hans drove his pick-up truck to an isolated spot and investigated the contents of the box. He realized that this was a very large artillery shell and was obviously not something left over from the Second World War, but much newer. His nephew, Ludwig Auerbach, had been an officer in the West German tank corps, and he figured that he would know something about this strange artillery shell, so he called him.
Ludwig took one look at the shell and said, "Uncle Hans, do you know what you have here?" When he saw the look on his uncle's face, he continued, "This is a 280 mm artillery fired atomic projectile — AFAP, in short. There were not many tests with this weapon — because it could be as dangerous to the forces firing it as to the enemy. A large gun, weighing 85 ton could fire it to about 30 km. Its yield was similar to the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, but it weighs only about 350 kg — less than one tenth of the Hiroshima bomb. Uncle Hans, you would be wise to report it to the American forces, or if you are afraid, to the local police."
Hans was shocked by the information, but his eyes glittered with greed, "Is it worth anything?"
Ludwig was taken aback by this, "Yes, Uncle, it worth a death sentence to whoever is caught with it."
Hans scratched his head, "Ludwig, you know that my brother, your father, is deep in debt. He lost his business when the people from the former East Germany came over in hordes. He couldn't compete with the low cost of their labor. He took loans to expand his business and make it more competitive but lost everything. If we can sell this object we can help him regain his business, and of course, you and I will be able to retire."
Ludwig interrupted, "I want nothing to do with this. You are crazy to think of selling such a thing. Who would buy it? No one has the gun needed to fire it."
Hans said, "I thought of disassembling it and removing the active part."
"Do you think this is like your bulldozer? Something you can take apart with a screwdriver and a couple of wrenches? There is dangerous radioactive material here and it probably has some devices that protect it from being handled by unauthorized people. It could blow up in your hands and destroy the whole town in which you live."
Hans thought this over, "OK, I'll seek professional help."
Ludwig laughed, "Publish an ad in the newspaper 'Atomic bomb experts needed for a secret job' or perhaps sell it to a terrorist organization."
"You have just given me a great idea. I'll try to contact one of the terrorist organizations."
"Uncle, do you want this bomb to appear in Berlin, or London, and destroy the whole city?"
"Ludwig, frankly, I wouldn't mind it going off in London, or for that matter in New York or Tel-Aviv. The British, Americans and Jews have humiliated Germany and almost destroyed it. So, I'll contact one of the groups who are against these enemies of the true German people."
"I am now certain that you are out of your mind."
Hans Auerbach sighed, "You, young people have learnt nothing. You are so naïve and gullible and believe all the propaganda about a new world order, about justice for all, about equality and human rights. In the real world, you must care for yourself and your family above everything else. God has sent me a gift, a treasure. Do you want me to waste it? To forgo the opportunity to get rich? No, Ludwig, I must make the most of this. The question is — do you want to help me?"
Ludwig hesitated for a moment, before answering, "Uncle Hans, I want no part in this. This meeting has never occurred, I haven't seen a thing, I know nothing and will tell no one. Just be careful with it. If the wrong bunch of people realize the true value of this, they will kill you, leave your body to rot, and take it away. Good-bye, Uncle Hans."
With that, Ludwig returned to his car without glancing back at Hans who was busy covering the precious object with the tarpaulin and drove away.
Hans drove his pick-up truck to the spot where he had left his bulldozer and positioned the bulldozer's blade close to the pick-up's deck. With great difficulty he managed to move the heavy box onto the blade. He got into the driver's seat and drove the tractor to the spot in the forest where he had met with his nephew — a few kilometers away from the new construction site. He unloaded the heavy box and used the large blade to dig a deep hole near a copse of tree. He then carefully moved the box into the hole and covered it with the soil he had piled next to the hole. He used the bulldozer's blade to smooth the soil and tried to erase all traces of the freshly dug hiding place. He carefully noted the position of the hole relative to the copse of trees and wrote it down on a piece of paper.