Free Phoenix Rising: by William W. Johnstone Page A

how that one worked out,” Jake said.
    â€œBut I did give him that line he used. I regret that I have but one life to give to my country ,” Bob said.
    â€œYou sure do have a way with words. No wonder you’re a writer.”
    â€œYou old guys are crazy, you know that?” Tom said, laughing.
    â€œThat’s all right. Being crazy is what keeps us sane.”

C HAPTER E IGHT
    New York City
    Two years earlier, when Ohmshidi’s outlandish socialist policies had brought the Republic to its knees, Islamic terrorists had managed to sneak in three 100-kiloton nuclear bombs. There were simultaneous explosions of the three nuclear devices, one in Boston, one in Norfolk, and one in New York. The bomb in New York, by design, had been off-loaded from the ship, put into a rental truck, and driven to 350 Fifth Avenue, where, at the agreed upon time, it was detonated right in front of the Empire State Building.
    Within the first second, the shock wave destroyed even the most heavily reinforced steel and concrete buildings including the Empire State Building, Madison Square Garden, Penn Station, and the New York Public Library. Within this initial circle more than 75,000 people were killed instantly. Those caught outside were exposed to the full effects of the blast. Those inside, though shielded from some of the blast and thermal effects, were killed as the buildings collapsed. The fireball had a maximum radius of two tenths of a mile. However, the blast effect greatly outweighed any direct thermal effects due to the fireball. An overpressure of at least 10 psi extended out for one mile, and concrete and steel reinforced commercial buildings were either totally destroyed or severely damaged out to the edge of this ring. The few buildings that remained standing on the outside edge of this ring had their interiors destroyed. Landmarks affected by the blast at this distance were the Chrysler Building, Rockefeller Center, the United Nations, and four hospitals. All of those buildings were either totally destroyed or so severely damaged that they were unusable. Most people inside those buildings were either killed by flying debris or died as the buildings collapsed. Those in the direct line of sight of the blast were killed instantly by the thermal pulse. Fatalities were estimated at 300,000 with at least another 100,000 being severely injured, many of whom died within the next six months.
    By the end of the second second the shock wave had moved out another half mile, extending the destruction out to a 1.5 mile radius. The overpressure dropped to 5 psi at the outer edge of that ring, which covered an area of 4 square miles. Reinforced structures were heavily damaged and unreinforced residential type structures of brick and wood were totally destroyed. At this point the affected structures included Carnegie Hall, the Lincoln Center, and the Queensboro Bridge. All these structures were near the outside edge of the expanding ring. All windows in these structures were shattered and many interior walls collapsed.
    At this point, 190,000 more people, who were inside buildings, were killed by building collapse and flying debris. Another 190,000 suffered varying degrees of injuries. Most of those outside, and not in the direct line of sight of the explosion escaped direct injury from the blast, but many were injured by flying objects. The thermal pulse, which was still sufficiently intense to kill anyone in the direct line of sight, killed another 30,000. The total number of injured was over 200,000.
    This region presented the most severe fire hazard, since fire ignition and spread occurred more easily in partly damaged buildings than in completely flattened areas. At least fifteen percent of the buildings were instantly ignited, then the fire spread to adjoining buildings. Over the next twenty-four hours, fires destroyed about half the buildings.
    Two and one half miles from ground zero, reinforced structures received