Levi nodded again and tapped the bomb’s exposed corea smooth piece of dark metal about half the size of a small grapefruit.
“It seems hard to believe that this little lump and its twin over there could kill thousands or even tens of thousands, doesn’t it? But believe me, this is really all one needs-a few kilograms of highly enriched uranium. That and the proper arrangement of a few more kilos of high explosive. “
O’Connell took an involuntary step backward.
“Christ! That stuff’s U-235?”
Levi nodded a third time, inwardly amused. Like many laymen, O’Connell obviously had some serious misconceptions about nuclear materials. He’d also been too busy planning the operation itself to attend Levi’s technical training sessions. The temptation to lecture, just a bit, was simply too strong to resist.
The Israeli scientist laid his palm flat on the bomb’s metallic core.
“As a solid metal, U-235 is not dangerously radioactive, Major. It’s mainly an alpha emitter, and even your skin can stop alpha particles.” He stroked the smooth black surface.
“You could even hold this in your lap for a month or more without suffering any significant ill effects.”
O’Connell took the unsolicited science lesson with good grace. He grinned suddenly, appearing years younger for a brief instant.
“Hell, Professor,
I’d curl up to sleep with every one of these damned things for a year if it meant getting ‘em safely out of this frigging country. “
Ten Rangers led by the leader of the battalion’s Support Platoon trotted down the steps and crowded into the bunker.
“Okay to take these now,
Colonel?”
“You bet. Carry on, Harry.” O’Connell moved toward the entrance with Levi in tow.
The Israeli scientist risked a quick glance at his watch. So far so good.
He’d helped the Rangers find and capture South Africa’s nuclear arsenal.
Now he had to try completing the most difficult part of his mission-the part he’d kept secret from the Americans. He cleared his throat.
“Your troops hold most of the compound, don’t they?”
“Yeah.” Small elements of Pelindaba’s garrison still fought from sections of trench along its northern perimeter, but almost all the rest of the
South African soldiers had been killed or wounded. O’Connell paused just outside the bunker doorway and looked down at him.
“Why do you ask, Professor?”
Levi swallowed hard. Now for the lie.
“Because I’d like your permission to search the Administration Center for certain scientific documents of interest to both our governments. Records of nuclear experiments and weapons design blueprints, among others.” He scanned the men hurrying to and fro outside the storage complex-carrying wounded, collecting weapons, and checking corpses. Bomb blasts echoed off in the distance as carrier-based planes kept pounding away at other South African military installations and air bases.
“All I need are a few minutes. Five at most.”
O’Connell walked away without answering, his face hard and remote.
Levi limped after him.
“Please, Colonel, it’s important.” The American stopped and turned around.
“I agree, Professor. But your personal search isn’t necessary. Captain Kelly already has a team going through the Admin building. They know what to look for. We need you here with the weapons.
“
Levi choked. The Americans were ahead of him? He tried again.
“But my technical expertise could be invaluable. I should be there-“
“So you can destroy any records showing the size and composition of your own country’s nuclear stockpile? I don’t think so, Professor. “
Levi felt his jaw drop open in shock.
O’Connell smiled wryly.
“You and your compatriots should have known better, Esher. Americans are sometimes naive, but we’re not stupid.
Naturally, we’re grateful for your country’s help with this operation, but that doesn’t make us blind or deaf.” He shook his head slowly.
“I’m afraid Jerusalem’s just going to have to live with the knowledge that some of its best-kept secrets aren’t so secret anymore.”
Levi stood openmouthed for a moment longer and then shrugged, accepting his defeat with good grace. So much for the Mossad’s rather Byzantine plot. Washington would soon know exactly how much weapons-grade uranium
Israel had received from the Pelindaba enrichment plant. And that, in turn, would allow the United States to calculate exactly how many nuclear bombs his country had manufactured for its own deterrent force.
Well, he hadn’t been that keen on deceiving the Americans anyway.
“In that case, Colonel, what else can I do to help you? Your men will soon have the bombs loaded, but you still have wounded to be collected. My conscript service included rudimentary first aid courses… perhaps
I can assist your medics?”
O’Connell’s weary eyes lit up with approval.
“Thank you. My men and I would appreciate it.” He broke off abruptly as several of his noncoms moved past, checking dog tags on bodies scattered around the storage site.
The Ranger watched them for a moment before shaking his head sadly.
“I expected losses, but I never thought it would be this bad.”
Levi tried to offer some comfort.
“But you’ve won, Colonel. And your battalion’s sacrifices have saved many thousands of lives.”
O’Connell shook his head again.
“We haven’t won yet. We’ve still got to get these damned bombs down the road and out through Swartkop.
The Israeli stared at a horizon lit red and orange by dozens of fires raging out of control. Jets thundered low overhead, crisscrossing
Pretoria in search of new targets. He spread his hands in confusion.
“But what kind of fighting force can the South Africans possibly have left to throw against us?”
“I don’t know, Esher, and what I don’t know could still kill us all.” He raised his voice.
“Weisman!”
The sad-eyed little radioman came trotting up.
“Colonel?”
“Inform all commanders that we’re pulling out in five minutes. I want every truck or car they can lay their hands on at the main gate ASAP.
We’ve got a lot of wounded to move. And tell Carrerra we’re on our way.
Got it?”
Weisman nodded vigorously, obviously already mentally running over the list of code phrases needed to transmit 0”Con nell instructions.
“Good. After you’ve done that, put me in touch with Night Stalker Lead and Tiger Lead. I want solid air cover over us all the way to Swartkop!”
Levi moved away, looking for a medic to whom he could offer his services.
O’Connell’s depression had vanished for the time being, washed away in a flood of work still to be done.
Galvanized by their commander’s radioed orders, small groups of Rangers moved into high gear all across the Pelindaba complex. Some helped wounded comrades into stolen trucks. Others carried boxes of captured documents down the Administration Center’s bullet-riddled stairwells, past bodies sprawled in the building’s central hallway, and out through a set of double doors blown open by recoilless rifle rounds.
To the north, other American soldiers kept up a withering
fire, trying to pin down those few South Africans who’d survived the initial assault. But slowly, one by one, men slipped away from the firing line, joining skeletal squads and platoons assembling by the compound’s main gate. The Rangers were getting ready to leave Pelindaba’s corpse-strewn lawns and wrecked, burning buildings behind.
ROOKIAT TWO ONE, A TROOP, I ST SQUADRON, PRETORIA LIGHT HORSE, ALONG
THE
BEN SCHOEMAN HIGHWAY, NEAR PELINDABA