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twelve inches in diameter and connected to the tank was coiled beside it. The two RPV crewmen would use a high-power spray to wash the radioactivity off Morgan's diving suit, whenand ifhe came out of the water safely. |
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In the center of the compartment, already breathing oxygen from a rebreather, John Morgan stood, swaying with the motion of the helo as it flew low over the water toward the group of flagged buoys ahead. |
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Anna checked the radiation counters affixed to the padded bulkheads of the compartment. They showed a steep rise in gamma ray concentration, close to the point at which it would fog her film. She realized that she was holding her breath, and exhaled, trying to breathe normally, and stuffed her cameras into their protective pouches without regret. She had proclaimed her fight to take pictures of these heart-stopping moments ''for posterity." Somehow, here and now, that boastful right no longer seemed important. She didn't even know if any of the pictures she had taken over the last few days could be developed. And if the warhead went off, she and her cameras would be blown up. Even if they survived the blast by some miracle, who would be around to see them? |
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She could catch only glimpses of Morgan between the bulky bodies that surrounded him. It was hard to reconcile her tender lover of last night with that armor-clad being making ready to dive into the poisoned sea below. He loves me, she thought with some astonishment. He said so. Why does that simple statement make me so uneasy? |
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Anna's fears had made her initial concern about Arkady Karmann's absence into an obsession. Everyone else was too busy to be concerned by the disappearance of Arkady Karmann and Ekaterina Marchenka, they were all absorbed in the task at hand. Morgan had been impressed by the scope of Karmann's notes. But the Russian was gone. Was that a sign that Karmann had lied about the missile? About where it was and how it could be disarmed? God, I haven't had a headache |
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