Judgment at Alcatraz by Dave Edlund (carter reed .txt) 📕

Vernon strode across the separation.

“The drone’s ready,” he said to Sacheen. “The payload is sealed. It’s safe to approach.”

“What are you doing?” Toby said.

Sacheen held out her hand toward the drone.

“Come. I’ll show you.”

The aircraft came into view as they approached. It had six large propellers on arms that symmetrically stretched out two feet from the main body. The props were arranged at the end of each arm, around the center of the craft. Beneath the junction of the six arms was a squat metallic cylinder oriented so the axis of the cylinder was vertical.

To the side, Toby saw seven similar drones. Each even had the same short metal cylinder affixed to the body of the aircraft.

“What is that fixed to the drone?” Toby said. “Is it a bomb?”

“Oh, no,” Leonard said. “A bomb that size,” he pointed to the aircraft, “wouldn’t do much damage. Maybe break a few windows. That’s about all.”

“Then what is it?”

“Inside that chamber is some of the deadliest material mankind has ever made,” he said.

Toby’s eyes widened.

Leonard continued. “You see, when the atomic genie was released from her bottle, she unleashed more than just the atomic bomb. Thankfully, governments have largely refrained from using such terrible weapons, and they’ve managed to keep their stockpiles secure.”

“At least, as far as we know,” Sacheen said.

“But uranium and plutonium used to make bombs are not the only radioactive elements that can cause great harm,” Leonard said. “You see, inside that payload chamber is a mixture of strontium-90 and cobalt-60, in the form of a fine powder. Have you heard of these elements?”

Toby stared back in silence.

“No? I’m not surprised. Not the sort of thing one would discuss in normal conversations. Cobalt-60 is used in medical imaging machines and industrial devices, for scanning welds in things like steel pipelines. And strontium-90 was used by the Soviets to make thermoelectric generators. They placed hundreds of these machines at remote beacons in the Arctic to serve as navigational aids. Both materials are highly radioactive, hence the protective suit worn by Vernon as he loaded the capsule.”

“If these materials are so dangerous,” Toby said, “how did you get them?”

“It’s really not so hard if you know where to look. Sacheen took care of the acquisition.”

“The cobalt was purchased from a metal recycler in Mexico,” Sacheen said. “The strontium was a bit more difficult, mostly because I had to travel to northern Canada to acquire the material. When the Soviet Union collapsed, the government abandoned nearly all of their thermoelectric generators. Not that they were ever secured in the first place. Anyway, it was a simple matter to contract with some enterprising men to scavenge the materials from two of the rusting machines.”

“But how did you get that stuff into the country? Don’t they have radiation detectors at the borders?”

“Of course. At the major international crossings. But we didn’t use those. It was easy to smuggle the material where the borders are unguarded.”

Toby folded her arms across her chest.

“So you’re going to fly the drone over San Francisco,” she said, “and crash it into city hall. So what? City hall will be contaminated, but who’s going to care?”

“You misunderstand,” Sacheen said. “That’s not our plan at all.”

“Then what?”

“This will be a message. A warning.” Leonard faced Vernon. “Power up the drone and fly low on a direct course for Pioneer Park.”

Vernon nodded. He flipped the master power switch on the controller, and all six electric motors turned on with a buzzing sound. He advanced the power setting until the aircraft rose to a hover. Finally, he made some trim adjustments and ensured he had a clear image on his phone clipped to the controller. Then he sent the drone south toward San Francisco.

“Like I told you before,” she said to Toby, “we don’t want to hurt anyone. Vernon will land this drone in Pioneer Park, with its cargo of radioactive dust still locked away inside the payload capsule. I’ll call the police and tell them where to find it and what it contains.”

Leonard said, “Once they confirm that we’re telling the truth, they will have no choice but to capitulate to our demands.”

“They’ll never give in,” Toby said.

“That would be a mistake,” Leonard replied.

“You can call it what you like,” Toby said. “I’m just telling you that the politicians will never give in to your demands. You can’t blackmail the government. Other people have tried, and it never works.”

“True. But that’s because the threat was never sufficiently…painful before. This time it will be.”

“You just don’t get it.” Toby raised her voice. “You can nuke city hall. You can nuke the entire block. They don’t care. They’ll just fence it off, tear everything down, and rebuild.”

“You take us for fools if you think we don’t know that,” Sacheen said, with fire in her eyes.

Leonard motioned toward the other seven drones.

“This fleet of unmanned aircraft has the capability to spread enough radioactive dust to blanket San Francisco, Berkeley, Richmond, and Oakland. More than one and a half million people will be displaced. Thousands will die from cancer within the first year. All of San Francisco, and half of the East Bay, will be uninhabitable for half a century, maybe longer. And that’s just the beginning. If we have to, we’ll nuke every major metropolis in America.”

“My God,” Toby said. “You’re all mad.”

Chapter 18

Leonard lashed A vicious backhand across Toby’s cheek, drawing blood from the corner of her mouth.

“I thought you to be smarter than that. As spokeswoman for all Indigenous People, your voice would carry influence. You could help unite our people for the first time, while building support among other ethnic groups for our cause. Change is overdue. It is inevitable.”

He nodded his chin toward the barracks, Sacheen’s signal to return Toby to the other hostages. As the two women departed, Vernon addressed Leonard, starting at the video display on his phone.

“Do you really think you can turn her?”

“In time, yes.”

Vernon returned his concentration to the flight path