cockpit.
“Where were your parents heading to?” he asked panicking.
“Why, what’s wrong?” asked Tom.
“Just tell me where they were going!” shouted Kano.
“Gabon, they’re going to Gabon. Why?” asked Tom who felt
instantly sick.
“Oh, thank God for that,” said Kano.
“Why, what’s happened?” asked Tom, still concerned about
Kano’s panic.
“It’s just that we were listening to a news station and they
reported a huge explosion in West Africa but it wasn’t Gabon. We just put two
and two together and got about 45, sorry Tom.”
Tom’s concern did not wane.
“Where exactly in West Africa?” he asked.
“Some place called Equatorial Guinea,” he replied.
“Oh, my God!!”
“What’s wrong?” asked Lela as she watched the colour drain
from Tom’s face.
“Gabon is next to Equatorial Guinea. It could be Alba One, the
timing’s right, they’re due to land in about ten minutes which would put them
over Equatorial Guinea for the last 15 minutes.”
Tom stood up and made his way to the cockpit. Kisho had heard
what Tom had said and was frantically radioing for confirmation of what the
explosion was caused by.
“This is Tom One. Can you please confirm source of explosion
in Equatorial Guinea. Was it a plane crash, repeat, was it a plane crash?”
No response came. Kisho tried again and again. Finally the
radio came to life.
“Sorry Tom One, nobody knows. Reason for explosion so far
unknown.” The radio died again.
Tom grabbed his mobile and dialled his father’s number. It
went straight to voicemail.
He tried again but it went straight to voicemail again.
He put the phone down and turned to Lela who shook her head as
if to say it couldn’t be happening.
Tom’s phone rang. Without thinking, he answered.
“Hello?” and a huge smile appeared on his face. “Dad! You’re
OK! Thank God! We were so worried. Hang on, I’ll put you on speaker.”
“Of course I’m OK, I was trying to call you but you kept going
to voicemail,” said Donald.
“I was trying to call you, we just heard about the explosion.”
“I know, I know, I was calling to tell you all about it. I was
looking out of the window and saw what looked like a shooting star but it fell
straight into the ground and the whole thing just blew up.”
They were all so relieved they couldn’t say anything so they
just listened to Donald telling them about the explosion and what he thought
may have been a meteor. He then made his apologies for having to go as they
were on their final approach and the captain was asking him to get off the
phone.
Chapter 13
Beaumont relaxed in his office, the first stage of the African
operation had been a success. In fact, a greater success than they had
expected. CNN were covering the story, along with every other world news
agency. Beaumont could not believe his luck. The missile had caused far more
damage than anticipated, over 2,000 people were presumed dead. He was
delighted. Human life meant nothing to him.
The missile had targeted a remote mining town near the coast
of Equatorial Guinea. Timing was of the essence as the only moment the missile
could make a direct entry into the mine shaft was when the miners finished
their shift at 18.45. At that time, the mine’s elevator was lifted out of the
shaft and manoeuvred to the side to allow the miners to disembark. On target
and on time, the missile plunged down the shaft and exploded, igniting a
heavily laden explosives room. The kinetic energy and force of the missile
increased the explosive potential of the mining explosives by 10 fold. The
explosion ripped through the mine network uncovering numerous weak points and
resulting in a massive implosion which had the effect of swallowing the
surrounding town in one huge catastrophe. It was not anticipated that any
survivors would be found. Certainly the bemused miners who had witnessed the
strange meteor hurtling past them and then down the
“Where were your parents heading to?” he asked panicking.
“Why, what’s wrong?” asked Tom.
“Just tell me where they were going!” shouted Kano.
“Gabon, they’re going to Gabon. Why?” asked Tom who felt
instantly sick.
“Oh, thank God for that,” said Kano.
“Why, what’s happened?” asked Tom, still concerned about
Kano’s panic.
“It’s just that we were listening to a news station and they
reported a huge explosion in West Africa but it wasn’t Gabon. We just put two
and two together and got about 45, sorry Tom.”
Tom’s concern did not wane.
“Where exactly in West Africa?” he asked.
“Some place called Equatorial Guinea,” he replied.
“Oh, my God!!”
“What’s wrong?” asked Lela as she watched the colour drain
from Tom’s face.
“Gabon is next to Equatorial Guinea. It could be Alba One, the
timing’s right, they’re due to land in about ten minutes which would put them
over Equatorial Guinea for the last 15 minutes.”
Tom stood up and made his way to the cockpit. Kisho had heard
what Tom had said and was frantically radioing for confirmation of what the
explosion was caused by.
“This is Tom One. Can you please confirm source of explosion
in Equatorial Guinea. Was it a plane crash, repeat, was it a plane crash?”
No response came. Kisho tried again and again. Finally the
radio came to life.
“Sorry Tom One, nobody knows. Reason for explosion so far
unknown.” The radio died again.
Tom grabbed his mobile and dialled his father’s number. It
went straight to voicemail.
He tried again but it went straight to voicemail again.
He put the phone down and turned to Lela who shook her head as
if to say it couldn’t be happening.
Tom’s phone rang. Without thinking, he answered.
“Hello?” and a huge smile appeared on his face. “Dad! You’re
OK! Thank God! We were so worried. Hang on, I’ll put you on speaker.”
“Of course I’m OK, I was trying to call you but you kept going
to voicemail,” said Donald.
“I was trying to call you, we just heard about the explosion.”
“I know, I know, I was calling to tell you all about it. I was
looking out of the window and saw what looked like a shooting star but it fell
straight into the ground and the whole thing just blew up.”
They were all so relieved they couldn’t say anything so they
just listened to Donald telling them about the explosion and what he thought
may have been a meteor. He then made his apologies for having to go as they
were on their final approach and the captain was asking him to get off the
phone.
Chapter 13
Beaumont relaxed in his office, the first stage of the African
operation had been a success. In fact, a greater success than they had
expected. CNN were covering the story, along with every other world news
agency. Beaumont could not believe his luck. The missile had caused far more
damage than anticipated, over 2,000 people were presumed dead. He was
delighted. Human life meant nothing to him.
The missile had targeted a remote mining town near the coast
of Equatorial Guinea. Timing was of the essence as the only moment the missile
could make a direct entry into the mine shaft was when the miners finished
their shift at 18.45. At that time, the mine’s elevator was lifted out of the
shaft and manoeuvred to the side to allow the miners to disembark. On target
and on time, the missile plunged down the shaft and exploded, igniting a
heavily laden explosives room. The kinetic energy and force of the missile
increased the explosive potential of the mining explosives by 10 fold. The
explosion ripped through the mine network uncovering numerous weak points and
resulting in a massive implosion which had the effect of swallowing the
surrounding town in one huge catastrophe. It was not anticipated that any
survivors would be found. Certainly the bemused miners who had witnessed the
strange meteor hurtling past them and then down the
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