William Bernhardt - Capitol Offense

“Worse. Intense radiation poisoning. What the docs call ARS-acute radiation syndrome. Burns all over the body, even more serious internal damage. Organs baked from the inside out. Immune system shutdown. GI tract disintegrated. Stomach lining aspirated. Stress on the body triggers a cardiac arrest in the most painful-”

“I get the idea.”

“That’s what started my investigation.”

Loving remembered the radiation warnings he had seen on the hospital doors in the oncology wing. “There’s something inside the hospital? Something dangerous?”

“Very dangerous. And valuable. If you’re a terrorist.”

Loving glanced up the side of the hill, making sure they weren’t doing anything to attract the attention of the men waiting for Dr. Sentz to come out with the contraband. “Can you clue me in?”

“Ever heard of cesium?”

“Can’t say that I have.”

“It’s one of several radioactive materials used by hospitals today for radiation therapy. That’s one of many purposes. It’s also used in the oil industry to create a more effective drilling fluid. Scientists use it in atomic clocks. Photoelectric cells. But cancer treatment hospitals are the primary users in the United States.”

“For what, chemo?”

“It’s primarily used to treat gynecological cancers.”

Loving thought for a moment. “That was Joslyn Thomas’s specialty.”

“Cervical and uterine cancers?”

Loving nodded.

“Apparently they place the cesium inside a woman’s uterus to irradiate the cancerous growth.” Mike swore under his breath. “That’s the real irony here. The same stuff docs use to cure cancer patients can also be used by murderers and terrorists to make dirty bombs.”

“Dirty bombs? Is that for real? I thought that was a myth. Like Red Mercury.”

“Just because we haven’t seen one explode in the United States doesn’t make it any less real. Dirty bomb is basically a catchphrase for any radiological dispersal device. A weapon that combines conventional explosives with radioactive material.”

“Does that make it more effective?”

“In a way. You can actually kill more people immediately with conventional bombs. The primary purpose of the dirty bomb is to spread radioactive material over a large area. High-intensity exposure to radiation can kill a person in a few hours. If released in a limited and controlled environment, it could make the place uninhabitable for centuries. In any scenario, thousands could be irradiated. Even if it’s not fatal, you know what that means.”

“Panic.”

Mike nodded grimly. “Terror. Which is the primary objective of terrorists.”

“How hard are these bombs to make?”

“Unfortunately, not very. Contact with water is enough to set cesium off. Ice, even. Like all alkali metals, it’s highly reactive.”

Loving’s lips tightened. “Criminy. I thought this case was about vengeance. Not weapons of mass destruction.”

“More like weapons of mass disruption. It’s all about the psychological effect. Which can actually be a great deal more devastating than killing a lot of people in an explosion.”

“You think those guys up there are terrorists?”

“I think they’re supplying materials to terrorists. Through the black market.”

“There’s a black market for this stuff?”

“Big-time. Has been steadily growing since the mid-nineties. The main problem is transportation. This junk can be deadly. You’ve got to have a protective carrier. Most people wear protective clothing, especially if they’re handling it. Even your major-league zealots don’t want to be around it. Who would?” He sighed. “But the black market still seems to flourish. Greed and zealotry can be a lethal combination.”

“In Oklahoma?”

“You might be surprised. It’s everywhere. Haven’t you read about the Chechen bombs? The spy assassinated with radioactive materials in London? Surely you remember that Jose Padilla, the al-Qaeda terrorist, was planning to detonate a dirty bomb in the United States. The first robbery from a radiotherapy clinic occurred in Brazil; the thieves got a capsule filled with cesium-137. It usually takes the form of a powder, or sometimes a piece of silvery metal about the size of a postage stamp. They keep it in stainless-steel tubes, but that doesn’t stop the radiation-only lead can do that. Those Brazilian thieves planned to sell it but got sick before they could. In the meantime, they managed to contaminate two hundred and fifty people and kill five.”

“Geez Louise.”

“Not too long ago there was another robbery on the East Coast. These little creeps made off with twenty-seven tubes. We know the stuff ended up on the black market. The authorities couldn’t stop it, but they shut down the facility. Terrorists started looking elsewhere. That brought them to Oklahoma.”

“When did you find out?”

“When we found the irradiated body in the woods just north of the Arkansas River.”

Loving winced. “Who was it?”

“That’s the thing-we don’t know. The body was too ravaged to be recognizable. Print and DNA checks didn’t produce results. After Dr. Barkley determined that it was radiation poisoning, I started investigating the hot lab at St. Benedict’s-the only source of radioactive materials in town. After talking to the head administrator, we began an inventory and I eventually learned that some of their cesium was missing.”

“How much?”

“A scary amount. Almost twenty tubes.”

Loving whistled.

“The security in there is a lot less than what you might find at a government stockpile or a nuclear power plant. Which is why those jerks upstairs have been able to get away with this.”

“There must be some precautions.”

“Only a few of the docs have access. You need a magnetic key card to get in and you’re supposed to sign out for anything you take. Not hard regulations to get around. Especially if you have an oncology doctor working for you.”

A light went off in Loving’s head. “Joslyn Thomas worked in oncology. Would she have had access to this stuff?”

“Probably.”

“You think she was in on this operation?”

“Either that or she found out about it.” Mike paused. “Maybe her accident wasn’t all that accidental.”

“Why did you come here tonight?”

“My investigation led me to the remaining oncologist, Dr. Gary Sentz.”

“The brother of Christopher Sentz.”

“Another disturbing bit of synchronicity,” Mike murmured. “I found out about his little rendezvous tonight because I, uh, managed to find a way to intercept his text messages.”

Loving grinned. “That was one busy signal tower.”

“What do you mean? You haven’t been doing anything illegal, have you?”

“Perish the thought.” He jabbed Mike in the side and pointed. “Look! Sentz!”

Loving pushed his night goggles back into place and started up the hill, careful to cling as closely to the ground as possible.

Dr. Sentz emerged from the back door. He was wearing some kind of outfit. A big baggy uniform with a helmet.

Loving looked more closely. It was a hazmat suit. Guess he couldn’t blame Sentz for being careful, given what Mike had told him.

“What’s that thing he’s pulling?” Loving whispered. It looked like a lawn fertilizer, but Loving suspected that wasn’t it.

“That’s the pig,” Mike whispered back. “It’s a transport vehicle. Basically a covered bucket on wheels. Made of lead, of course. Hospitals keep them around to transport cesium from one facility to another.”

“Or from a facility to a terrorist.”

“That too.”

They both crept closer. Loving could pick up some of what Sentz was saying.