Dragon (Dirk Pitt 10)

Then, at a predetermined altitude, an agreed reading by two units would send the firing signal to the fusing system mounted on the front of the implosion sphere. The second arming system was the barometric switch that was also set to close the firing circuit at a preset altitude.

The firing signal circuits, however, could not be closed while the plane was in flight. They had to be triggered by clock-operated switches that were not bypassed until the bomb had dropped well clear of the bomb bay. Otherwise Dennings' Demons would have gone up in a pre-detonated fireball.

After the panel was removed, Pitt swiveled a miniaturized video camera on the end of the left manipulator. He quickly found the barometric arming switch and focused on it. Constructed of brass, steel, and copper, it showed signs of corrosion but was still intact.

Next, Pitt coupled a slender three-pincer hand to one manipulator. The arm was flexed back toward the front of the DSMV, where the pincers opened the heavy mesh lid of a tool crib and removed a strange ceramic object that looked like a small deflated soccer ball. A copper plate was imbedded in the concave bottom, surrounded by a pliable bonding material. The appearance was deceiving. The object was actually a very sophisticated pressurized container filled with an inert puttylike compound composed of plastic and acid. The ceramic cover surrounding the caustic substance ha

d been contoured to fit snugly over the barometric firing switch and form a watertight seal.

Pitt worked the manipulator hand and positioned the container around the switch. Once it was firmly in place, he delicately pulled a tiny plug that allowed the sea to seep very slowly into the container. When the inert compound inside came in contact with saltwater, it chemically turned active and became highly caustic and corrosive. After eating through the copper plate-- the thickness governed a delayed sequence of one hour-- the acidic compound would then attack the copper in the barometric switch, eventually creating an electrical charge that would set off the firing signal and detonate the bomb.

As Pitt retracted the manipulators and gently backed Big Ben away from the hideous monstrosity lying like a fat, slimy bulge in the mud, he stole a quick glance at the digital clock on his instrument console.

He had run a tight race. Mother's Breath would explode forty-eight years late but within a new deadline in another time.

"Any word?" asked the President anxiously from the Oval Office.

"We have an unexplained communications breakdown," Jordan reported from the Situation Room.

"You've lost Admiral Sandecker?"

"I'm afraid so, Mr. President. We've tried every means at our disposal but have been unable to re-establish contact with his aircraft."

The President felt a numbing fear spread through him. "What went wrong?"

"We can only guess. The last pass of the Pyramider showed the aircraft had broken off with the Deep Sea Mining Vehicle and was headed on a course toward the island of Okinawa."

"That doesn't make any sense. Why would Sandecker abort the mission after Pitt had successfully removed the bomb from Dennings' Demons?"

"He wouldn't, unless Pitt had a serious accident and was unable to complete the detonation."

"Then it's over," the President said heavily.

When Jordan replied, there was the hollow ring of defeat in his voice. "We won't know the full story until the admiral makes contact again."

"What is the latest on the search for the bomb cars?"

"The FBI task force has uncovered and neutralized another three, all in major cities."

"And the human drivers?"

"Every one a diehard follower of Suma and the Gold Dragons, ready and willing to sacrifice their lives.

Yet they put up no resistance or made any attempt to detonate the bombs when FBI agents arrested them."

"Why so docile and accommodating?"

"Their orders were to explode the bombs in their respective vehicles only when they received a coded signal from the Dragon Center."

"How many are still out there hidden in our cities?"

There was a tense pause, and then Jordan answered slowly, "As many as ten."

"Good God!" The wave of shock was followed by an intolerable fear and disbelief.

"I haven't lost my faith in Pitt," said Jordan quietly. "There is no evidence that he failed to prime the firing systems in the bomb."

A small measure of hope returned to the President's eyes. "How soon before we know?"