Shepherd One by Rick Jones Read Free Book Online Page A

that way. Right now we’re looking for a money
trail.”
    The president nodded his disgust. “For a person to sell such
a weapon on the black market is incredibly irresponsible and undeniably lacking
in reason and conscience, which makes Perchenko a very dangerous man.  And such
men do not deserve the right to walk this planet.” 
    After a moment of tense silence, the president offered an
inquiry in a tone suggesting forced calm. “Tell me about the weapon found at
the site.” 
    Secretary of Defense Michael Draewhite proffered a faxed
photo taken at the scene. “When NSA opened the lid they discovered that the
case was lined with a thin layer of lead to act as a marginal shield. The
essential parts of the unit, as Doug mentioned, were cannibalized, but only to
a degree.”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    “The workings within the case, Mr. President, are basically
computerized components manufactured with microchips, processing boards—things
that didn’t exist during the Cold War. What is the same, however, are the three
spheres inside, units I believe were taken from the Cold War versions and
reassembled to what you see there.”
    “And the spheres are what exactly?”
    Draewhite didn’t pull any punches. “They are the crucibles
that provide the ignition of an atomic blast.”
    President Burroughs continued to examine the faxed photo as
Draewhite continued.
    “The Cold War versions possessed only one sphere with the
bulk of the backpack possessing a detonator unit, which consumed a large
capacity of space. Over time those units have been miniaturized to provide more
room. So instead of holding one sphere as the old units did, the new unit is
now capable of holding three, tripling its yield.”
    “And how much yield does each sphere contain?”
    “A single sphere contains exactly one kiloton.”
    President Burroughs closed his eyes. Three kilotons was
approximately one-quarter of the yield that wiped out Hiroshima. 
    “And Perchenko may be responsible?” When the president said
this he did so more to himself as if slipping off into reflection, quickly
realizing when the KGB transitioned into the Directorate S, Perchenko’s role as
assistant director was to watch over several departments, one that included
conducting terrorist operations and sabotage in foreign countries. Although he
might not have pulled the trigger, he at least provided the gun. Everything
seemed to fit, at least on the surface.
    The president sighed. “What about the men killed at the
site?”
    Doug Craner laid a second photo before Burroughs, his finger
pressing it firmly to the desktop for a brief moment as he spoke. “We have
confirmation that all three men were on the FBI watch list. But one in
particular is of extreme interest. This is Khalid Hassan, an Iraqi national who
fought in Iraq before serving with al-Qaeda forces against American troops in Baghdad. His stint was cut short due to being severely wounded. But we believe Hassan is
responsible for the deaths of nearly thirty-seven American troops and
operatives prior to his decommission from battle.”
    The president leaned forward, a photo in each hand, a
Russian and an Arab, the man trying to determine the ties that bind them. “So
now I pose this question to you, Doug: In the assessment of the CIA, do you believe the Russians and Arabs to be working together against American interests?”
    “All I can say at this point and time, Mr. President, is the
BlackBerry found at the scene is definitely a Russian make with Russian
Cyrillic on the keypad, and in the display window. We even traced the serial
numbers on the processing boards within the unit itself and followed it to a
manufacturing firm in Minsk. But we believe Perchenko is working independently.
I don’t believe the Russian government has a hand in any of this. But again,
we’re looking at all angles at this time and dismissing none. On the surface it
looks like the Arabs were working strictly with an