Alex Lawson(woking title) prologue

Prologue

         “What do you mean you don’t know how it got there!” the Prime Minister screamed at his stony faced cabinet.
         “Isn’t this what we pay you’re fucking wages for? Isn’t it?”
         “Yes, Prime Minister” replied the defence secretary staring straight ahead, “but the other side also has people who are paid wages to stop us from finding these things out.  Sometimes we just don’t have the resources and frankly, the intelligence, to outsmart the Germans every time.”
         “Well frankly that’s just not goddamn good enough!” The backhanded insult was not lost on the secretary who cringed at the feeling of uselessness that the Prime Minister could so easily instil in him.
         “So, then ladies and gentlemen, what is the situation? I trust we are trying to repair on our shortcomings?”
         “Yes, Prime Minister,” now it was the Foreign secretary’s turn to go under the glare of the Prime Minister, “we know that the bomb is being held somewhere in Africa-”
         “Africa! I thought we were dealing with the fucking Germans!”
         “Yes, Prime Minister, if you would be so kind as to let me finish, we are dealing with the Germans, at least to our knowledge anyway.  As far as we’re aware, a group of Nazi extremists have stolen an atomic bomb from the Koreans, and have it in hiding somewhere in Africa.  As we all know the Nazi group have been in contact with myself to declare terms, if the United Kingdom do not release the sum of two hundred and fifty million pounds to them by noon a this coming Sunday, a mere six days away, they will drop this bomb on the centre of London.  They have guaranteed that the atomic bomb will destroy every landmark in the capital, and to ensure that it induces the maximum number of casualties, they are also planning on dropping smaller warheads onto every town and city in the country, this, so they say, is to make sure not too many people flee from London.”
         “Yes, yes, we know all that babble get down to the important stuff, like how the fuck did these Nazi bastards get a bloody nuclear warhead from under the Korean’s noses?”
         “Well we have a couple of possibilities sir…”
         “Yes? Well what are they then you fool?”
         “The first and least likely is that the Nazi group stole it from the Koreans without their permission.  The second and least welcome, but more likely is that the Koreans gave it to them.”
         At this last sentence, the Prime Minister became literally speechless and a minute passed without a single sound passing throughout the room.  Finally, “gave it to them? Holy shit,” this last obscenity was uttered as the Prime Minister put his head in his hands, the veins in his temples visibly working themselves over and over.
         “But if they gave it to them freely, that means that they may just as well be working with the Nazi scum.”
         “Yes, Prime Minister, that is the situation as we believe it to be.”
         “Christ almighty, we’re in trouble,” said the Prime Minister with a far quieter, more worried tone than any of the cabinet members present had ever heard from him.  The Prime Minister never panicked, always had the solution and always gave anyone who didn’t serve him to his high standards hell.  But here he was clearly flummoxed by the grave news just delivered to him.
         “What can we do?” He asked to no one in particular without raising his head from his hands.  When no-one replied he resumed his usual manner, “what can we do? Do I look like I’m talking to myself? Think people! If we don’t come up with a viable solution then London is flattened by this time next week.”
         “Well, we could give them the money.”  At this the Prime Minister whirled round at the education secretary who spoke in an explosion of anger.
         “WE DO NOT NEGOTIATE WITH TERRORISTS!” He sat back into the seat which he had vacated to emphasise his point, “I will not do it, cannot do it.  If we are seen to give in to two hundred and fifty million today, what will it be tomorrow? Five hundred million, one billion, no, we will not cooperate.”  He poured himself a glass of still water from the glass jug in the centre of the table.  “Now, what options do we have ladies and gentlemen, because the fate of the country depends on it.”