First Strike

“We’re going to need some help,” said Rich.

“I called in backup as soon as we found the missiles,” Chance told them. “Weak signal, but there’s an extraction team ready in India. It’ll take them hours to get here, though. With the rebels on their way, we’re on our own.”

“You know how to disable a nuclear missile?” Jade asked.

“It’s never too late to learn.”

“You are kidding.”

Chance shrugged. “Afraid not.”

In the distance they could hear the thump of booted feet on the metal stairway.

“I think we should hurry,” Mr Chang told them. “The rebels are coming, remember?”

“Right,” Chance decided. “Let’s take a closer look at the problem.”

He set off for a metal ladder leading up to the walkways above. It seemed in better condition than the stairs they had come down, and soon all four of them were climbing.

“They don’t know we’re here,” said Jade. “They’re looking for the missiles. We could hide.”

“What about the unconscious soldiers?” said Rich. “They’ll know someone’s down here.”

At the top of the ladder, a metal gantry led across towards the top of the missile. There were railings along each side, but they were rusty and corroded.

Rich looked down, feeling his stomach lurch when he saw how high they were.

“If they try and launch that thing, it’ll probably explode,” he said. “It’s so old and neglected.”

“They will remove the warhead and use another delivery method,” said Mr Chang.

“Can we remove it?” Jade wondered. “Get the warheads away from here?”

“No, we can’t,” Chance called back over his shoulder. He was almost at the nose of the rocket. One of the large strip lights was shining in their eyes, so the rocket was just a hazy blur.

“Why not?”

“First, because it’s far too heavy. And second…”

The roof was just a metre above their heads. The walkway turned to circle the rocket. There were massive hinges holding it to the wall, and Rich guessed it would be swung away when the missile launched. It was obviously positioned there for maintenance, allowing engineers to get close enough to work on the nose cone.

Except there was no nose cone. The top of the rocket was an empty cylinder, with wires and cables spilling out.

“And second,” Chance finished, “because someone’s already taken the warhead away.”

“So, the missiles were decommissioned,” said Mr Chang. “The rebels will be rather disappointed, if they’re all like this.”

“I’ll bet they are,” said Jade. “But we don’t have time to check.”

Far below, uniformed men were running into the silo. They spread out through the open space, checking everywhere, guns at the ready.

“We’re too close to the light for them to see us,” said Chance. “That’s why we couldn’t see the warhead was gone. And neither can they.”

“But they’ll soon come and look,” Rich told him. “And there’s no way we can get down without them spotting us.”

Jade was leaning over the top of the missile, braced against the rusting handrails. “Look at this.”

“What is it?” Chance hurried to join her.

“Oil. Recently spilled. And the edges of the wires where they’ve been cut—they’re still shiny, like new.”

“You mean, this was recent?” Rich asked.

“Can’t be more than a day or two since the warhead was removed,” Chance agreed. “The rebels must have known they were still here, and they’re only just too late. That’s what Ralph was warning us about, I bet—that the rebels were planning to get the missiles. Seems the Chinese knew that too and finally acted—got the warheads to safety before the rebels could take them.”

“So where are the warheads now?” Jade wondered.

“There was a convoy,” said Mr Chang. “Yesterday, my contact at the factory told me, a lot of soldiers and vehicles left this base.”

“You didn’t mention that,” said Chance.

Mr Chang shrugged. “I told you they had left only a small force behind. It didn’t seem important. But now…”

“The nukes can’t be far away. They might still be in Wiengwei. They’re too big to fly out on a cargo plane, so they must have left by road, on big, slow, cumbersome trucks. And the rebels will soon be after them.”

“Once they’ve finished with us,” Rich whispered. “Look!”

He pointed to where the first rebel troops were climbing up the metal ladders towards the walkway.

There was another ladder leading down from the other end of the walkway, but rebel soldiers were climbing that one as well.

“There’s no other way down,” said Jade.

Rich stared at the rocket. Something had occurred to him, though it wasn’t a thought he relished. “What about up?”

“Up?!” Jade stared at him.

“The roof must open when they launch the missiles. There must be a way out.”

“That hatch,” said Chance.

There was a huge circular hatch that they had seen from the ground. But it was tight shut.

“How do we get it open?” Mr Chang asked.

“Ideas soon, please,” Jade hissed.

The first rebels were almost at the top of the ladders.