Craig Kreident #2 Fallout Read Online Free Page B

as “Uncle Mike” since she was a little girl, offered to help Ambassador Nevsky at the facility after hours, leaving her to babysit the remaining Russians.   Once they got away from the bleak Test Site, the seven stuffy men had consumed their comrade’s share of alcohol, feeling no guilt about leaving their team leader behind to keep working.   Paige had left the men to their own celebrations, returning to her room for a long hot bath and a good night’s sleep.
    Still trying to wake up, she rummaged through the drawer and pulled out a sleek black one-piece swimming suit.   Even with her frenzied schedule, Paige insisted on maintaining her own routines.   She’d have time for a brief swim down in the pool, then she could pick up coffee and a bagel to take back to her room while she changed for another day at NTS.  
    She eased to the floor and started her stretching exercises, taking long, deep breaths.   Paige held a hand over her head and slowly extended it until she could grasp her foot.   She’d put up with the hectic schedule for four more days, then she would be glad to see the Russians off.
    The phone rang just as she switched to stretching her left leg.   The clock blinked 6:53 A.M.   Had she ordered a wake-up call?   But when she answered the phone, the voice on the line sounded worried.   “Paige?”
    “Yes,” she said, initially startled.    “Uncle Mike?   What’s wrong?”
    “Can you please come out to the DAF as soon as possible.”   He sounded grim.   “There’s been an . . . accident.   Last night.”
    “An accident?   What is it?   Is everyone OK?”
    “Ambassador Nevsky — he’s dead.   As the DOE representative, please get over here as soon as you can.   I need . . . I need your help, Paige.”
    Shocked, she gripped the phone tightly.   “I’ll be there within the hour.”
    Before she hung up, he spoke in a voice that seemed stronger, as if he took heart just from knowing she was on her way.   “We’ve got an international incident on our hands, and we need to move quickly — otherwise the whole disarmament process might blow up in our face.”
     
     
     
    CHAPTER 3
    Tuesday, October 21
    7:15 A.M.
     
    Hoover Dam
     
    Take charge.   Think fast.  
    Craig Kreident couldn’t spend days pondering the ramifications of his decisions.   Too many lives depended on his reaction time for him to hesitate.   And he had to get it right the first time.
    He pointed to Goldfarb, Jackson, and the other law-enforcement agents.   “Fan out now.   We’ve definitely got a bomb, but we don’t have a bad guy to help us track it down.   The clock is ticking, people — move it!”
    Garcia, the shift foreman, looked grayish and sick.   He had seen the militia man throw himself backward into the churning water, and now he stared with disbelief at Craig’s pronouncement.   “A bomb?   For real?”
    “Yes, sir,” Craig said.   “Did you recognize that man?”
    Garcia swallowed, then shook his head.   “Didn’t look like anyone I know on shift.”
    “Could have been an infiltrator,” Jackson suggested.
    “Mr. Garcia, sir,” Craig said, trying to keep his voice calm; even a hint of uncertainty would rattle them all.   “It’s time to evacuate your people from the dam.   Get them away from here and up to safety.   We don’t know how big the bomb is, or when it’s set to explode, or who could be hurt.   Then I need you to help us out.”
    With wide eyes, Garcia turned and ran for a facility telephone mounted in a utility shack.
    Craig turned to the three Hoover Dam policemen.   “One of you stop traffic on the highway.   Get somebody up there to put up roadblocks.   I don’t want anyone driving across this thing if there’s going to be an explosion.”
    Robbins brightened as if he suddenly realized he would rather be stopping traffic than searching for a bomb.   “I’ll do it.”   He ran back to his police cruiser and leaped in.
    “Jackson,