Today is the day I die - Part II

Riggs: Sir, the threat has been eliminated. Unit 6 just radio'ed from UN headquarters that the bomb has been diffused.
George: What the...... So soon? How? I mean just 5 minutes ago I went to take a piss, fearing it would be the last one I take and here you are, telling me they diffused the frigging bomb.
Riggs: Sir, you have been in the rest room for the almost 30 mins.
George: Ahem..... Give me that radio!
George: Unit 6, this is Special Agent Mason from Unit 2. How do we proceed from here?
Unit 6: Hold your position Agent Mason, until you get further instructions.

George[putting a cigarette in his mouth]: Got a light, Riggs?
Riggs: Sir, this is no-smoking zone.
George: What do you think I am? Illiterate? ............. I can read the frigging sign!

Lights his cigarette...

George: No-smoking zone, huh? Tell that to the terrorists who were about to smoke whole of Manhattan.

I was at 8 Broad Street, the New York Stock Exchange(NYSE) building. The FBI had appointed special agents at every major building in Lower Manhattan. It was all over the TV; how our brave(read lucky) boys had averted the deadliest threat that the country had ever faced. The UN building was the crime scene and forensics and NEST teams were trying to figure out the source of this bomb. The President addressed the nation and the chaos calmed down to some extent. The man-hunt was still on for the culprits.

Meanwhile the trading at NYSE had not stopped. The market experienced a major setback after the threat was declared. But now that the city had overcome the ordeal, it was expected to bounce back. The trading floor is located at 11 Wall Street. Five mammoth rooms overflowing with traders and stock enthusiasts dealing in hundreds of billions. They say the NYSE has a global capitalization that surpasses even the GDP of USA. As the market was about to close, the increase in flow of people in and out of the building was making the entrance crowded. I noticed a crowd gather right in front of the building. I asked Riggs to enquire what was going on. As the crowd dispersed I saw Riggs carrying a beautiful blonde in his arms and a guard pushing a baby pram, walking towards me. She was unconscious and the baby wont stop crying. We called 911 but with all the traffic around they wouldn't be reaching soon. After sprinkling water on her, she came to her senses. Riggs interrogated her. She claimed to be the babysitter. Her ID and SSN confirmed her claim. She was asked to wait in the lobby till the paramedics arrived. Everything was smooth again, except the fact that the darn baby wouldn't let go of my hand. I switched on my cellphone to find 9 missed calls from Sherry. I called her back.

George: Hey, whats the matter?
Sherry: The nuclear bomb, thats the matter. Where were you? I couldn't reach you on your cell.
George: Yeah, it was switched off.
Sherry[shouting]: Switched off!!! Do you realize how worried I was.
George: Sherry, Calm Down!
Sherry: You didn't have the courtesy to call me and say that you were alright.
George: Whats the matter with you? I am a Federal agent. I have a job to do. An important job, other than help you make babies! You know what, I dont need to give you an
explanation, because in less than a week we would be officially divorced. [Hangs Up]

George: Riggs, wheres the babysitter?
Riggs: She went to the restroom Sir.
George: Okay. Call up 911 and find out when the paramedics would be here. I got better work to do than help babysit.

10 mins. later...

George: Riggs, where is the darn babysitter?
Riggs: I will go check sir.
George: Yeah, you do that.

I stood there staring at the baby in the pram, it just hit me and I realised what had happened.....

Riggs: Sir.......
George[completes his sentence]: the babysitter is gone.

The width of the pram was more than the width of the metal detector gateway. The pram was not passed through the metal detectors.
There were no NEST teams in Lower Manhattan, given the vastness of the UN headquarters all the NEST teams were deployed to scan the UN building.
Why would the security guards check a baby when the babysitter is that beautiful and unconscious.
This was the plan all along. They knew that the bomb would be found and diffused in time. But they also knew that once the bomb is found, no matter how strict the surveillance is, it is bound to get complacent and develop a slack. The news of the bomb was spread by the same terrorist group. But everyone was told that there is only one bomb.

I lifted the baby, uncovered the pram and there it was. The second bomb. We were briefed by NEST personnel early morning where they displayed photographs and designs of nuclear devices and dirty bombs. This was definitely a dirty bomb.

George: Call NEST team now!

Riggs gets on the radio and informs NEST team.

George: They would never make it on time. Roads are blocked. There isn't a helipad nearby to land a chopper. I gotta get this thing out of here.
George: Riggs, which one is closer? North River or East River?
Riggs: I.. I am not sure sir.
George: Damn it Riggs!!................... Anyways, I am going for North River. I want you to call Harbor Patrol and tell them to intercept me along 23rd Street ASAP. Tell them what I am carrying, they will know what to do.
George: Dont think! Just pick up the frigging phone and DO IT!

I carried the bomb in a car and made sure that no one accompanied me. As I was honking my car continuously to clear the way, it hit me that I could die any moment. I almost hit the brakes and felt like running away. In spite of knowing the fact that since it was a nuclear device, I would die anyway. Never before in my life was I this scared. And I wasn't even a big fan of my life. The bomb didn't even have a timer, all I could hear was a beep, which got louder and faster with time. It was right there, on the adjacent seat, staring at me, as if it was about consume me. After the longest 15 minutes of my life, I reached the river where Harbor Patrol got me rid of the deadly parcel. They had everything ready to drown the bomb and fortunately it didn't go off until it was deep in the river.

As it is with most dirty bombs, this one too was leaking radiation. The NEST team reached the North river, so did Riggs and my team at the NYSE. I was the stupid one to carry the bomb and hence had maximum exposure. Somehow, I couldn't help but think about the baby.

A Doctor started examining me for the radiation levels, as he went through the readings on his device for my exposure level, his face went pale. I knew the whole story right away.

George: Hey Doc, there was a baby at the scene. Send someone and find that baby and make sure its ok.
Doc: The baby is right here, your team got the baby here for check-up as well. And.........its a 'she' by the way.
George: How is she?
Doc[reluctant to answer]: She was exposed for a considerable amount of time and was in close proximity as well. She won't make it.

I never liked babies, to the extent that I didn't even want one with the woman I love. I was about to divorce my wife because she wanted a baby and I didn't.
And here I was, tears flowing down my eyes for a baby who I barely knew for few minutes. It was all so clear to me. I was this whole new, transformed person....... who was about to die in few hours.

After the Doc was done with all the tests....

George: So how is it gonna happen?
Doc: Uh... There's a latent period where you'll be mostly asymptomatic, even in the most extreme cases. It can last a while.
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Here I am waiting for my death. I am not scared to die. Who wouldn't want to get rid of a life like mine. But there was this one thing that I had to do. I had to apologize to the
single good thing in my life, Sherry.