Free The Bombmaker by Stephen Leather Page A

'Four thousand pounds,' she said eventually.
    'Four thousand pounds? That's almost two tons. No one's ever made a two-ton fertiliser bomb before.'
    'So we'll get you into the Guinness Book of Records,' said Green-eyes.
    'How are you going to move it?' asked Andy. 'That's a truck-load of explosive.'
    'You can leave the logistics to us. All you're concerned about is the building of the device.'
    Andy shook her head. 'You could blow up a small town with a bomb that big. I can't be responsible for something like that.'
    She leaned forward, resting her arms on the table. 'I can't.'
    Green-eyes' lips tightened. 'If you can't, we'll get someone else. But you know what that means.'
    Andy put her hands up to her face. 'Jesus, Mary and Joseph,'
    she whispered.
    'Whatever,' said Green-eyes. 'The major component is ammonium nitrate fertiliser,' she said. 'Correct?'
    Andy nodded.
    'We already have that,' said Green-eyes. 'Fifteen hundred kilos. Do you work in kilos, or pounds?'
    'Pounds,' said Andy. Ireland used the metric system but she'd been born in Belfast, in the north of the country, and most of the time she still thought in pounds and ounces, miles and gallons.
    'So we have just over three thousand pounds of ammonium nitrate fertiliser. Will that be enough?'
    Andy shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. 'What?'
    'Please try to focus, Andrea,' said Green-eyes. 'We don't have all day.'
    'It depends.'
    'On what?'
    Andy shook her head again. It was all too much for her to take in. She put both hands up to her temples and massaged them. 'It's complicated.'
    'I appreciate it's a complicated process, Andrea. That's why we need you.'
    Andy cupped her hands around her chin. 'Where are you planning on building it?'
    'That's none of your concern.'
    'Yes it is. That's what I mean about it being complicated.
    You need pure ammonium nitrate, but you can't buy it in Northern Ireland. At least, you can buy it, but it's not pure. The government's not stupid -- they know what the pure chemical can be used for, so in Ireland you can only buy it mixed with other stuff. Bonemeal, potash, the sort of stuff farmers need. The pure stuff isn't for sale to the public, and if you order it, you'll be checked out. So if you're building it in Northern Ireland, you've got to buy tons of common-or-garden fertiliser and boil off the impurities. It would take for ever to get two tons of pure ammonium nitrate.'
    'What about in the UK?'
    'That's different. Is that what you're planning? A bomb here in England?'
    The woman ignored Andy's question. 'How much would we need? Is three thousand pounds enough?'
    Andy tried to concentrate. A four-thousand-pound fertiliser bomb. The fertiliser accounted for eighty per cent of the mixture. Eighty per cent of four thousand. Three thousand two hundred. She nodded. 'That should be okay, give or take.'
    The woman pointed at the far corner of the factory with her pen. Andy turned her head to look. A green tarpaulin covered a mound almost three feet tall. Next to the mound were a dozen large conifers in black plastic pots and several boxes of smaller plants. 'You can check it yourself later. What else?'
    'Hang on,' said Andy. 'You can't just use it straight from the sack. It's got to be prepared.'
    'And how do we do that?'
    'Even if it's sold as pure, there'll still be some impurities and you've got to get rid of them first. You have to mix it with alcohol, then strain off the liquid.'
    'So how much alcohol will we need?'
    Andy did the calculation in her head. 'Assuming you re-use it a few times, a hundred gallons or so. The more the better. It's got to be denatured alcohol. It's used as paint thinner or antifreeze.'
    'Where do we get it from?'
    'Any biggish paint suppliers should have some.'
    'What would happen if we didn't use the alcohol?'
    'It might not go off.'
    The woman nodded. 'What equipment will you need, to purify the fertiliser?'
    'Large containers. Plastic or glass. Stirrers. Wooden or plastic.
    Then something to