Chapter 17
Mac leaned over the table as Daisy showed him some basic schematics for small modular reactors—SMRs— on her laptop, which had been Francois Tremblay’s area of expertise.
“It’s a mini nuclear reactor, which has the advantage of being able to be set up in more locations.
They could be advantageous for remote communities and space exploration.
Tremblay’s lab has been working on increasing the fuel efficiency of the current designs because they’re not as good as the more common, large light-water reactors and use more raw uranium. ”
“Safety-wise, would they be easier to exploit for a would-be terrorist than one of the bigger sites?” Mac had a serious demeanor, but there was a wicked glint in his eyes when something amused him. He wasn’t amused right now.
Daisy frowned. “It’s hard to say. Most reactors, regardless of size, should have excellent security, but with anything that involves humans, well…”
“A cynic after my own heart.”
She tried to imagine how a terrorist might view it. “We’re told the safety features on large-scale, modern reactors make them unappealing for terrorist attacks.”
“That’s how we want to keep it.”
Why was he talking to her? A lowly grad student. “Surely the FBI has experts on nuclear threats?”
“Yes, ma’am. Expecting one of the WMD guys from SIOC to join the task force once we prove a connection to Bocharov, but until then the director is reluctant to jump the gun so to speak. I appreciate you giving me a rundown on this so I don’t look like a complete moron when he turns up.”
“Somehow I doubt anyone thinks you’re a moron.”
“You haven’t met my fiancée.”
She laughed.
“Talk me through the safety features, one-by-one.”
She pulled up another basic diagram from the internet.
“In broad terms, as all sites will vary in how they’re set up, we have the three Cs.
First, is control. We have to control the reaction.
Under normal operations, we do this with control rods which absorb neutrons and slow down the reactions inside the reactor.
They can be inserted deeper into the reactor core or removed, depending on if we want to increase or decrease the rate of the chain reaction.
“For emergency situations, we have systems that allow us to inject material into the core to poison and stop the chain reaction—Xenon-135 usually. These backup systems aren’t reliant on the power grid and can be manually activated if necessary.”
She took a sip of the coffee Jordan had brought over earlier. She was trying not to think too much about that kiss. Trying not to think too much about how his past had moved her.
“Next we have the second ‘C.’ The cooling element. In the most basic terms, nuclear fission produces heat, which produces steam that turns turbines and produces electricity for the grid. But if the core gets too hot, it’s going to damage the integrity of the rods and housing, and that’s bad.
So we need to cool the reactor to prevent the core from overheating. ”
“Meltdown.”
Daisy nodded. “Which would be bad.”
The glint appeared. “Even I know that much.”
Daisy grinned. “Generally, water is pumped from a lake or reservoir to cool down the fuel rods. Facilities rely on the main electrical grid for this, but most sites have at least two backup generators to keep water flowing in an emergency. This was the problem at Fukushima. The main electrical system was knocked out by the initial earthquake. Then, while they were trying to fix that issue, they were hit by the thirteen-meter-high tsunami, which took out the backup generators and killed the technicians who were trying to fix the problem. After that, they lost the ability to cool down the core, and the result was a meltdown in three of the six reactors.”
“Could it have been avoided?”
“According to after-accident reports and 20-20 hindsight, sadly, yes. They should have prepared for the possibility of an earthquake and tsunami in that area. Unfortunately, the safety culture of the company at the time was reported to be an issue—a common denominator for all three major nuclear accidents: Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, and Fukushima Daiichi—which blows my mind when you’re working with something as dangerous as radiation.
People have to be able to challenge authority and safety practices without fear of losing their jobs.
Otherwise, people keep their mouths shut.
Japan had a very hierarchal system, as is their culture.
Chernobyl was dealing with a bad design, bad safety protocols, and everyone being too scared to admit when someone fucked up because they feared the consequences.
” She leaned back in her chair. “They should have respected the science. Regulatory agencies need to be independent and do their jobs. They should inspect the shit out of places and not let safety regs be voluntary for commercial companies.”
Mac grunted and pointed to a line on the screen. “So taking out the cooling abilities would trigger a meltdown?”
“Not necessarily,” Daisy said cautiously. “Not if they can shut down the reactors safely first. Plus, there are additional systems in most places to make sure the flow of cool water over the rods continues, such as pressurized nitrogen and other methods to move water while repairs are made.”
A frown crumpled his brow. “Why was Chernobyl so much worse than Fukushima?”
“The third ‘C.’ Containment. Containment of the radiation starts with ceramic pellets holding the radioactive material—typically in the form of enriched uranium oxide. These pellets are housed inside a rod commonly made of zircaloy that is resistant to heat and corrosion. The work I’m doing with my supervisor is on making pellets and rods even safer and more efficient.
Rods are loaded into pressure tubes and those, in turn, are housed inside a metal framework that is situated inside a reinforced concrete vault.
Then there should be a containment structure made of reinforced concrete and steel around the whole reactor.
Chernobyl didn’t have one. Fukushima did. ”
“So,” Mac stated, “the three Cs for nuclear safety are control, cooling, containment.”
“Exactly.”
He picked things up fast. Most of the people she’d met who worked for the FBI did. Except for Blue Team. Blue Team were losers.
“And safety protocols exist so that if something goes wrong with one of the three Cs, the other safeguards come into play?”
Daisy nodded. “They’re complex systems but surprisingly robust nowadays.”
Mac’s lips firmed. “But not infallible?”
“Not infallible, no.” Daisy held his serious gaze. The first real whisper of fear skated across her shoulders. “If they took out any of the safety systems before the reactor could be shut down, then a power plant could be in serious trouble.”
Could a Russian arms dealer really be planning to attack a nuclear facility? It was speculation, that was all. Even if they were planning an attack, it didn’t have to be in the US. It could be anywhere.
“Why would someone, a terrorist for example, deliberately target smaller reactors rather than the larger ones? Seems like the larger ones could potentially cause a lot more damage.”
She frowned. “Some of the arguments against the SMRs are that people think the safety protocols may not be as robust, and that the reactors are less efficient and produce more waste than a typical reactor. And they don’t know how they’ll withstand natural disasters such as an earthquake or tsunami—like the one that hit Fukushima.
Or how wildfires might destroy the surrounding buildings and infra-structure.
And they don’t know how they might be targeted by hostile nations. ”
“Which is essentially our concern too.”
“Yup.” Daisy covered a yawn. No matter the seriousness of the threat, it had been an exhausting 24 hours.
“Who’d be dumb enough or evil enough to target a nuclear facility though?” Mac’s brows crunched. “They can’t dictate which way the wind blows.”
“And radiation is an all-inclusive killer.”
Mac raised his head. “Is it possible someone was interested in Tremblay’s research to target a specific facility?”
“I guess.” She frowned. “But why kill him? Seems to me someone with bad intentions could find out how these things work better by leveraging someone who works at a specific facility or an engineer familiar with the project.”
“Or attend a conference on nuclear engineering?” Mac’s mouth smiled, but his eyes didn’t.
She stared at her screen. “That level of information would be way over most people’s heads and not specific to any one facility. I struggled with some of the talks that were heavy on theoretical physics.”
“I’d be asleep in under a minute.” Mac’s jaw flexed under his fingers.
“Francois might have had blueprints or designs of systems on his laptop, but they didn’t steal the laptop, right?”
“It was still in his room, although no telling if someone had gotten into it or not. I appreciate the overview, Daisy. I have to admit this stuff scares the shit out of me—this and biological and chemical warfare.”
“That’s what sparked my interest. How can I make it safer?”
“I admire your dedication.” He took a sip of his own coffee. “So you and Jordan Krychek, huh?” His lips tweaked. “I can’t wait to hear what your father thinks about that.”
“Why are you all obsessed with what my father thinks about my sex life?”
“Revenge.” He huffed out a deep laugh. “We’ve had to put up with him all these years. Don’t worry, I’ll leave it alone. I already have enough ammunition with him marrying a much younger woman.” He grew serious. “I was damned glad to get him back in one piece.”
Emotion clogged her throat. “Me too.”
“But it doesn’t mean I’m not gonna bust his balls at every opportunity.”
“Whose balls?” Jordan came over with a wary expression on his face.
Mac’s eyes glinted again, but he gave her a wink. “Anyone who doesn’t help me figure out if this sonofabitch is who we think he is.”
“I’m sure.”
“Which is why we’re all here, Krychek. Any sign of him on the Dark Web?”
The man called Alex Parker spoke up. “Not exactly.”
“What does that mean?” Mac asked impatiently.
Jordan answered, “Too many potential arms dealers on the Dark Web to know for sure. We do know he didn’t reuse any of the old bank accounts or IP addresses or usernames.
” Jordan lowered his voice and shot a quick glance over his shoulder at Detective Granger who was hunched over a laptop with Lucy Aston.
“I don’t like having Chicago PD involved. ”
“You genuinely think your old friend had something to do with it?” Mac’s voice was soft.
Jordan shrugged. “Only a handful of people in the FBI knew about my undercover role. I hadn’t ever been into the Chicago Field Office before the night of the fire. More CPD officers knew though.”
“They lost four of their own.”
“Maybe the snitch didn’t realize what would happen, maybe they didn’t care. But whoever it was, knew they were signing my death warrant.”
Daisy shivered.
“We never discovered how Bocharov found out.” The lines around Jordan’s eyes cut deep, and she ached for him.
“But I wonder if you asked Parker to investigate now, if he might find something. Some payment. Someone living beyond their means? Otherwise, we might be sitting here with someone feeding Bocharov everything we discover.”
Mac stared over at where Agent Crabtree sat talking to someone at the NSA on a secure line. “I can’t ask Parker to investigate Chicago PD or the FBI agents involved without probable cause.”
Jordan’s expression fell.
“Maybe we’ll get lucky and some willing civilian will approach him privately.”
Mac’s and Jordan’s gazes both swung to her.
“Fine.” Daisy gave a slow smile as she watched Alex Parker laugh at something Lucy said. “It’s not exactly a hardship.”
Jordan scowled, and Mac grinned.
Mac’s phone dinged. His lips twisted to the side as he read the message. “The Mexican authorities are sending the results from the DNA analysis of the blood samples from Tremblay’s room.”
“What will that prove?” Daisy thought about everything she knew about the case so far. “You said it was possible someone tampered with the original sample and the FBI is using the wrong profile as a comparison. How can you trust the results?”
Jordan and Mac exchanged a look.
“I’ll recognize the original sample material.” Jordan headed for the door.
“Can I come with you?” Daisy asked.
Agent Crabtree looked up from his screen.
“Not this time.” And, with that, Jordan was gone.
“Dammit.” Look at how easily he left her behind.
“You go have a quiet word with Parker, and I’ll see how Granger and Lucy are getting on with the conference attendees. We could use your help with that, if possible.” He checked his watch. “We’ll be working for a few more hours, but if you need to rest…”
Daisy stifled another yawn. “I’m good for now. Think you could organize some food?”
“Pizza?”
“Man after my own heart.”
His eyes twinkled and made her smile even as anxiety started to rise inside her about what this all meant if Jordan was right.