11 Jul 2009

Tom Swift Jr #35, Chapter 19: Chain Reaction

Posted by joncooper

Irene glared at the guard at shouted at him in Spanish. “Where have you been, you incompetent fool? Can’t you see that someone has broken into this office? Where is security? Why has no one answered my calls?”

The guard’s eyes widened in surprise. He, too, switched to speaking in Spanish. “There has been a fire in the hangar, madam. It has taken all of our attention. We have still not been able to control it.”

“And so you decided to leave this entire floor unguarded?” Irene shouted. “Have you no sense?”

“We are understaffed,” the guard protested. “All of our forces have accompanied our leader to America. There is only so much we can do.”

“It’s not enough,” Irene snarled. “I will see that this incident gets reported.” She gathered up the papers on the desk and put them in a folder, which she took with her as she walked toward the door. “Now, escort me to the hyperplane. I must get this information to our leader immediately.”

The guard looked at her and frowned. “But the hangar is on fire, madam. You know this. It will be hours before it can be put out. While it rages it is not possible to retrieve the other aircraft from the hangar’s lower levels. Besides, there is no one here who can fly the plane.”

Irene opened her mouth to protest, but the guard cut her off. “Let me see your pass. If you are one of its few pilots then you must have the clearance, no?”

The girl sighed. I knew it was too much to hope for, she thought to herself. When she could not produce a pass the guard pronounced her under arrest and escorted her to the lowest level of the base. There he locked her in a vault, promising to keep her there until Xanthus returned and decided her fate. “He will be most interested in dealing with one who attempted to steal his aircraft,” the guard explained. “Most interested indeed.”

After the metal door clanged shut and was bolted securely Irene took a look around. The room where she was being held prisoner was surprisingly large. Its floors, walls, and ceiling were all made of some kind of steel, and the walls were lined with enormous, thick shelves. There was no furniture of any kind and the only source of light was a row of light bulbs embedded high above her in the ceiling. This obviously wasn’t built to be a prison. I wonder what they stored in here. Thinking about it gave her an uneasy feeling.

Irene shook her head sadly. Great. Just great. So what do I do now? As one hour after another passed by with no sign of help, the girl began to realize that she was in serious trouble.

* * * * *

Later that morning Tom Swift Jr. slowly returned to consciousness. “Welcome back, skipper!” Bud said eagerly.

Tom opened his eyes and groaned. “What happened? Oh, my head. The last thing I remember is tackling that spy. Did he get away?”

“Yeah, but not before you got the evidence.” Bud removed the incriminating papers from his pocket and gave them back to Tom. “Right after you took it from him something ignited the gasoline in the hangar and turned the place into a raging inferno. There must have been some other explosives in there because all kinds of things started going off. You were knocked out by the blast, and Irene and I had to drag you out of there. You’ve been unconscious ever since.”

Tom winced in pain. The fire had singed in him several places, and he was covered in bruises. “You know, I am really becoming tired of getting hit on the head. I have a headache you wouldn’t believe.”

“No, I’d believe it,” Bud said. “You’ve been out for hours. I was beginning to get a bit worried about you. I would have taken you to a hospital but I didn’t see one that was handy.”

Tom Swift sat up, rubbed his eyes, and looked around. He frowned. “Hey, where’s Irene? I don’t see her.”

“She went inside the base to look for a way to get us home,” Bud explained.

“And you let her go alone?”

Bud shrugged. “Somebody had to stay with you. We couldn’t exactly just leave you here by yourself.”

“I guess,” Tom said reluctantly. “How long ago did she leave?”

Bud looked at his watch. “Man. I guess it’s been about twelve hours now. She’s been gone quite a while.”

Tom leaped to his feet. “She’s been gone how long? Why haven’t you been looking for her?”

“Well – ”

“I know,” Tom sighed. “You couldn’t leave me. But we’ve got to find her, Bud. Something has happened to her.”

“Agreed. So what’s the plan?”

Tom thought for a moment. He looked through the trees and across the runway at the Brungarian base. “It looks like they put the fire out.”

“Yeah, they did that a few hours ago. They’ve also removed the ruined carcasses of the jets. The hangar is almost operational again. I’ve got to give them credit – they’re pretty efficient.”

“Do you think you could grab one of the guards?” Tom asked.

Bud nodded. “Probably. I haven’t seen very many of them. All I’d need to do is find one that’s by himself. I think there’s a lone guard a few hundred feet from here guarding an access door. What’s the plan?”

“It’s quite simple,” Tom said. “You’re going to dress up as a Brungarian guard and escort me inside the base, as if I was your prisoner. With his uniform, access cards, and weapon no one should look at you twice. Then all we have to do is find where Irene is being held, set her free, and go home.”

“I see one tiny flaw in the plan,” Bud replied. “I don’t speak Brungarian. English is pretty much all I know unless you count Pig Latin.”

Tom grinned. “Yeah, that’s what I figured. But I’m hoping we’ll get lucky and the base personnel will let you go about your business. I am open to suggestions, though. Do you have another idea?”

Bud shook his head. “Nope! Sounds like a plan to me. Wait right here.”

The young test pilot left Tom and walked into the trees. About twenty minutes later he returned, dragging the unconscious body of a Brungarian guard behind him. When he reached Tom he let the body fall to the ground and breathed a sigh of relief. “Man, he was heavy!”

Tom smiled. “You did good! He’s about exactly your size. You should be able to wear his uniform without any problem.”

Tom proved to be right, and a few minutes later Tom and Bud were inside the base. They had left the security guard tied to a tree so that he could not raise an alarm if he woke up. The two teenagers walked through the long concrete corridors of the base, looking for an elevator. I sure wish I could read these signs, Bud thought to himself. They passed a few people in the hallway but no one stopped to talk with them. Each person was too wrapped up in their own business to pay any attention to what an armed guard happened to be doing with an unfortunate intruder.

When they got to the end of the hallway they found a large metal elevator. As Bud pushed the button to call the elevator he suddenly heard a voice behind him. He turned around to see a large, burly guard talking to him excitedly. The guard walked up, slapped Bud on the shoulder, and grabbed Tom.

What do I do now? Bud wondered. Panic immediately gripped him, and he fought hard not to show it. A moment later the elevator doors opened and the guard pushed Tom inside. Not knowing what else to do, Bud followed. The Brungarian pushed a button on the panel and the elevator descended to the lowest level of the base. All Bud could do is stand beside Tom and wait.

When the elevator at last reached the basement the guard once again grabbed Tom and forcefully escorted him down a series of corridors. Bud could not read any of the signs but he did recognize the radiation symbol on a few doors. This must be where they do nuclear research, he thought to himself. Although they haven’t been doing much of it lately. This entire floor looks deserted! There’s not even any equipment down here.

The guard stopped in front of a massive iron door that prominently displayed several radiation warnings. He took out a key and unlocked the door, and then swung the massive vault door open. As the guard thrust the prisoner inside Bud saw that Irene was in the room!

That’s good enough for me! Bud thought to himself. He grabbed a nearby chair and crashed it over the guard’s head with all his might. The chair shattered and the guard slumped to the floor.

“You have no idea how glad I am to see you,” Irene said, as she and Tom left the room. Bud dragged the guard into the vault and then shut and locked the door behind him.

“It was touch and go there for a minute,” Bud said weakly. “When that guard came up behind me and grabbed Tom I thought for sure it was curtains. But it worked out well.”

“Are you ok?” Tom asked Irene.

“I’m fine,” Irene replied. “But your dad isn’t. He’s in terrible danger!” Briefly Irene told Tom what she had discovered in Xanthus’ office.

Tom whistled and glanced at his watch. “It’s already two in the afternoon back home. Wasn’t the plant supposed to open at noon?”

Irene nodded. “Unless something has happened it’s already online. We’ve got to reach your Dad! Maybe there’s something he can do. He’s got to be told that the plant is going to enter an uncontrollable chain reaction if he doesn’t shut it down.”

“But how are we going to do that?” Bud asked. “I mean, Brungaria is kind of far from New York. I’m pretty sure you can’t just place a phone call and hope for the best.”

Irene looked at Tom. “Well, genius boy? What’s the answer?”

Tom thought for a moment. “I think we’re going to have to do this the hard way. We’ll just have to find some radio equipment, send out a message, and hope that the United States government picks it up and relays it to Dad. I’m sure they’re monitoring all messages that come out of Brungaria. It’s not much, but it’s our only hope.”

“And, of course, we still need to find a way out,” Irene pointed out.

“One thing at a time,” Tom said. “First, let’s call Dad.”

* * * * *

Tom Swift Sr. glanced at his watch. It was fifteen minutes past four. He looked back at Xanthus, who was still seated comfortably in one of his office chairs. “So what’s the plan? Are you just going to sit here and wait?”

His enemy nodded. “It is not that I am trying to prevent you from escaping, my friend. You cannot escape from your fate. By now the reaction is too far gone. There is nothing you can do to prevent it from going critical, and it matters not where you are when this happens. The world will know that you are responsible. Your infamy will never be forgotten!”

“How long do we have?” Tom asked.

“A couple hours,” Xanthus replied. “I am not sure of the exact time. It may be sooner. But it will come.”

Tom’s door suddenly flew open and armed guards rushed in. Before Xanthus even knew what was happening he was overpowered.

Tom stood up in surprise. “What brought you here? How did you know something was wrong?”

Frank Herschell, the chief of plant security, spoke up. “The Navy just called. They told us that a Brungarian was here trying to destroy your plant. We immediately began a thorough search.”

“The Navy called?” Tom asked. “How did they know?”

“Apparently your son tipped them off. They want to speak to you immediately.”

Tom nodded. As he walked out the door Xanthus called after him. “You cannot escape! There is nothing you can do to save them.”

“We’ll take care of him,” Frank said. He sent a guard to escort Tom to the communications center, where a high-ranking officer from the Navy was on the phone. “This is Admiral Thompson,” a gravelly voice said on the other end of the line. “I trust the Brungarian has been apprehended.”

“He has,” Tom replied. “My security guards have him in custody. He will not escape.”

“Splendid! I will send some men over shortly to take him off your hands. The Armed Forces are very interested in what he has been doing. This is an international incident that will have worldwide repercussions.”

Tom spoke up. “I understand that my son told you he was here?”

“That is correct. About a half-hour ago a Navy warship off the coast of Brungarian picked up a message. Your son had infiltrated a Brungarian nuclear research facility and learned of Xanthus’ plot.”

“My son is in Brungaria?” Tom shouted. “What in the world is he doing there?”

“Apparently he went there to learn more of Xanthus’ activities. He told us that your reactor has been sabotaged and is in danger of undergoing a chain reaction that will destroy New York City. Can you confirm the safety of your reactor?”

“Give me a moment to check,” Tom asked. “I will be right back.”

“We will be standing by,” Admiral Thompson replied. “Please hurry. This is an urgent matter. If your son’s claims are true we do not have much time.”

Fifteen minutes later Tom returned to the communications center. “I apologize for keeping you waiting, Admiral. I had to make sure before I made my report.”

“I trust you bring good news,” the Admiral replied.

“I’m afraid not,” Tom said sadly. “Xanthus did his work all too well. We’ve disconnected the computer that was driving the reaction but it’s too late. The reaction is already self-sustaining and it’s slowly building. Since he sabotaged the electronic brain there is no way of telling it to shut down.”

“Can you repair the computer?” Admiral Thompson asked.

“I have no replacement parts, nor a way to make them in time,” Tom replied. “If I had several days I could find an alternate method of control, but we have less than two hours. There just isn’t time.”

There was silence. “Then we will do what we can. I will relay the news to your son. I strongly urge you to do all you can to shut down the reactor. The consequences are most dire.”

“Understood,” Tom said. He hung up and then stared into space, straining to think of a way to shut down the runaway reactor. There’s got to be something I can do, Tom thought.

His concentration was broken by another phone call, this time from Ned Newton. “Hey, Tom, I just touched down in California and I heard the news. What’s going on?”

“You mean it’s already in the news?”

“No – I got a call from the government. But it’ll be in the papers soon. Did you know they’re issuing an order to evacuate New York City?”

Tom whistled. “That’s not going to go well, Ned. People are going to panic. There is no way they can even begin to evacuate a metropolis of that size in the time we have left.”

“It gets worse,” Ned replied. “Apparently the State Department sees this as an act of war on the part of the Brungarians. My sources tell me that our armed forces are on high alert. The government is mobilizing its nuclear arsenal, Tom. If the reactor goes off they’re going to strike Brungaria with everything they have.”

“They can’t do that!” Tom gasped. “Brungaria never intended to destroy New York. Xanthus is a Haargolander, Ned. This is all about revenge for the talcap incident. The Brungarians were just in it to steal our nuclear secrets. They’re not looking for war.”

“That’s not how the President sees it,” Ned said. “Xanthus was working for the Brungarians. They financed him and they provided support. None of this would have happened without them.”

“But no one can win a nuclear war!” Tom protested. “If we strike them they’ll strike us back. The exchange could end civilization as we know it.”

“I know,” Ned replied. “That’s why you’ve got to stop your reactor from going off. You’ve got to, Tom. If you can shut it down then the whole thing will blow over and we’ll live to see another day. If you don’t then the world will end tonight.”

“But I can’t shut it down!” Tom replied. “It can’t be done, Ned. There’s nothing I can do.”

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