Meltdown

• By the Same Author
  
• Title Page
  
• Copyright Page
  
• Glossary
  
• Prologue
  
• Chapter 1
  
• Chapter 2
  
• Chapter 3
  
• Chapter 4
  
• Chapter 5
  
• Chapter 6
  
• Chapter 7
  
• Chapter 8
  
• Chapter 9
  
• Chapter 10
  
• Chapter 11
  
• Chapter 12
  
• Chapter 13
  
• Chapter 14
  
• Chapter 15
  
• Chapter 16
  
• Chapter 17
  
• Chapter 18
  
• Chapter 19
  
• Chapter 20
  
• Chapter 21
  
• Chapter 22
  
• Chapter 23
  
• Chapter 24
  
• Chapter 25
  
• Chapter 26
  
• Chapter 27
  
• Chapter 28
  
• Chapter 29
  
• Chapter 30
  
• Chapter 31
  
• Chapter 32
  
• Chapter 33
  
• Chapter 34
  
• Chapter 35
  
• Chapter 36
  
• Chapter 37
  
• Chapter 38
  
• Chapter 39
  
• Chapter 40
  
• Chapter 41
  
• Chapter 42
  
• Chapter 43
  
• Chapter 44
  
• Chapter 45
  
• Chapter 46
  
• Epilogue
  
• About the Author
  
• Also By Andy McNab
  

Moving into the reception area at the front of the
building, Danny and Lee pulled Tasers from their
pockets before going through the doors to the
main stairs.

Lee checked that Danny had a firm grip on the
Taser before whispering to him, 'You all right?'

Danny nodded.

'Good. Don't worry, you'll be OK. You take the
one on the right. Be sharp. Don't think, just do.'

Danny nodded again, his mouth suddenly dry
and his hands clammy. He knew why Lee was
concerned and anxious to reassure him. He was
about to take offensive action for the first time;
actually attack another person. Until this moment
Danny had always been on the receiving end of an
attack, only fighting to escape. This time it would be
very different . . .

Great reviews for Boy Soldier:

'Highly explosive'
The Bookseller

'Exciting insights into SAS secrets and a
fast-moving plot make this an adrenaline-filled
and highly addictive read'
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'Great stuff . . . highly recommended'
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www.boy-soldier.co.uk

Also by Andy McNab and Robert Rigby

BOY SOLDIER
PAYBACK
AVENGER

Adult titles by Andy McNab

BRAVO TWO ZERO
IMMEDIATE ACTION

AGGRESSOR
CRISIS FOUR
CROSSFIRE
DARK WINTER
DEEP BLACK
FIREWALL
LAST LIGHT
LIBERATION DAY
RECOIL
REMOTE CONTROL

Also by Robert Rigby

GOAL!

The official tie-in novelization of the movie

GOAL II

The official tie-in novelization of the movie

ANDY
McNAB
and ROBERT RIGBY

MELTDOWN

This eBook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author's and publisher's rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

ISBN 9781407046990

Version 1.0

www.randomhouse.co.uk

MELTDOWN
A CORGI BOOK 978 0 552 55224 0

First published in Great Britain by Doubleday,
an imprint of Random House Children's Books
A Random House Group Company

Doubleday edition published 2007
Corgi edition published 2008

1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

Copyright © Andy McNab and Robert Rigby 2007

The right of Andy McNab and Robert Rigby to be identified as the authors
of this work has been asserted in accordance with the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

This electronic book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior consent in any form other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser

ISBN: 9781407046990

Version 1.0

Corgi Books are published by Random House Children's Books,
61-63 Uxbridge Road, London W5 5SA

www.kidsatrandomhouse.co.uk
www.rbooks.co.uk

Addresses for companies within The Random House Group Limited can be found at:
www.randomhouse.co.uk/offices.htm

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

GLOSSARY

Glasgow

The thirty-minute team made the best use of the
shadows as they approached their entry points and
prepared for the attack. Close by on the river Clyde,
two tugs passed in opposite directions, their stubby
bows pushing through the inky-black water.

The four snipers were giving cover with their
7.62mm suppressed longs from fire positions 200
metres from the target building, a single-storey warehouse.
They watched all sides and the roof, ready to
give warning instantly if they saw movement from
within the target that would compromise the assault
team as they made their entry.

Sniper one could see all four entry points and the
assault groups moving in on them. He was giving
constant updates to the entire team and the team
commander, who was at the rear of the target with
his signaller. He was the link between the team, the
heli and London.

'Sierra One has no change. No light, no movement'

Three of the four assault groups reached their
entry points, and each MOE man carefully began
attaching two 10×15cm pads of explosive to the
doors by their adhesive undersides. The brick-sized
rubber door-entry charges were stuck close to the
door hinges inside the frame.

'Sierra One. No change.'

The calm, reassuring words gave the team confidence:
everything was OK and someone had eyes
on them as they continued with their work.

They couldn't afford to cock up. Bringing in
special forces to take action against non-terrorist
targets on UK soil is a big deal, and permission for
such action can only come from the very highest
level.

The terrifying extent of the Meltdown crisis, with
its threat to national and international security, had
been kept from all but a very few. The mission to
seek out and destroy the drug factory was urgent
but it had to remain totally secret.

So when intelligence came in giving the location
of a suspected DMP, immediate action had to be
taken. The PM was consulted and asked for permission
to 'stand to' the SAS counter-terrorist team
from their base in Hereford. He gave the go-ahead.

The members of a thirty-minute team have to be
able to reach camp within half an hour of being
paged. As soon as the messages came through, just
like volunteer firemen, they stopped whatever they
were doing and got on the road.

At the same time a Chinook helicopter took off
from its RAF base to pick up the team. By the time
the guys had arrived at the camp and come into the
crew room, where their gear was packed and
waiting, the commanders were already writing
down instructions on white marker boards.

The most important piece of information about
the job appeared in big red capital letters:

HELI PICK-UP
COVERT OP UK

The team knew instantly that it was a civvies
clothes job, in boots and jeans, and that once the job
was done, it would never exist on any database;
they would act as if it had never happened.

Within thirty minutes the team, along with two
Range Rovers, was airborne in the Chinook. Each
member was armed with an MP5-SD, the
suppressed version of the machine gun, and wore
earphones and a mic so that their commander could
relay orders for the attack as they flew north.

The Chinook landed three miles from the target
area, on a desolate stretch of mudflats downstream.
The wagons were swiftly unloaded, and within
minutes the team was on its way to an area of
abandoned warehouses and dockyards.

The whole operation to get the team to the target
had taken less than four hours, and now three of the
four groups were ready to attack, with sniper one
keeping the commentary going.

'Sierra One has Red One, Two and Three ready.'

Red Four was taking the entry point furthest from
their start position; slowly they crawled under the
final window to reach the fire-escape door where
they were going to make entry.

The MOE man moved to the right-hand side of
the door and started to place the charges as the
other three got into the assault position. Number
one was just thirty centimetres away from the
charges, with numbers two and three pressing up
behind him. They had to be packed close together
so that everyone was through the door as soon as
possible to take on the x-rays inside.

The MOE man started to unroll the firing cable
from the charges so that he could stand on the lefthand
side of the door. He attached the electrical
firing device to the cable and nodded to number
one.

Only one thing remained to be done before the
attack could begin. The final group's number two
pulled the pin on an aerosol-can-sized 'flash-bang'.
It was a grenade that exploded with blinding
flashes and bangs, designed to attack the human
eardrum and eyes so that its victims collapsed on
the ground in agonizing pain. The assault groups
had to go in at the same time as the flash-bang
kicked off or they would lose the initiative. They
had trained with the grenades over a long period
of time and were now almost unaffected by
flash-bangs.

The number two pushed his arm forward so that
the flash-bang was in front of his number one's face;
he knew everyone behind him was ready to go.

Sniper one could see that the final group was in
position.

'Sierra One has Red Four ready. All groups ready.'

The team commander wasn't about to waste any
more time or risk compromise by the third party or
however many x-rays were inside the target.

'Hello all stations, I have control. Stand by! Stand by!
Go!'

The four MOE guys pushed their buttons: earshattering
explosions instantly blew away the
doors. The teams stood their ground as wooden
splinters were thrown into the air by the force of the
charge, and the number twos threw in their flashbangs
as the number ones barged their way into the
target.

The torches on the extra-thick suppressed barrels
of their MP5s penetrated the smoke and brick dust
as flashes and bangs sent shock waves through their
bodies, and the rest of the team followed them in.
They kept their mouths open to stop their eardrums
from bursting as the pressure waves from the flashbangs
filled the building; meanwhile their eyes
hunted out targets.

There were none. Not a single x-ray.

And there was no sign of any manufacturing
plant – the building looked completely empty.

Then, as Red Four moved further into the haze
and the flash-bangs stopped, their number one
came across a dead body. Well dead.

The guy looked as though he was in his early
twenties. He lay flat on his back in a pool of blood
which had burst from his mouth, eyes and ears. His
face was bloated and contorted into a twisted mask
of agony and fear.

Number one reached into his pocket and pulled
out a camera. He took some photos of the bloodsoaked
body, then grabbed it and began to drag it
from the building.

Within seconds, news of the failed attack had
been relayed to London and a decision was taken.

It was time for a complete change of tactics.

CLASSIFIED – CLASSIFIED – CLASSIFIED

OPERATION MELTDOWN – FORMATION OF
MELTDOWN 'TASK FORCE'

Background and current situation

Meltdown (also known as an 'M' or a 'Melt'):
chemical/designer drug first appeared in UK and
Europe spring 2006.
Known to have been created
and manufactured in UK.
The tablets (marked with a
distinctive 'M') are being manufactured and
distributed at an alarmingly quick rate: manufacturing
site(s) and distribution method(s) unknown.

Effects

Without doubt, and for numerous reasons, this is
potentially the
most dangerous chemical drug ever
created.
Apparently called Meltdown because slowing
of the heartbeat leads to a gradual feeling of
relaxation, tranquillity and complete well-being.
However, prolonged use appears to cause completely
opposite effect:
uncontrollable rage and extreme
violent behaviour.
The drug is highly addictive.
Laboratory tests indicate that Meltdown causes
breakdown of brain tissue and 'meltdown' of internal
organs. Autopsy on the only known death (male, aged
23 years) directly attributed to continued use of
Meltdown appears to confirm all indications. The
victim, an army dropout of known previous A1 health,
suffered brain tissue destruction, extensive damage
to liver and kidneys, and abnormal enlargement of
heart muscle. Autopsy report concludes that at the
moment of death the victim's heart literally 'burst'.
Full autopsy report attached (Doc: MD0/574688C).

Chemical make-up, formula and manufacture

While our scientists have identified the chemical
'ingredients', to date the specific formula and
manufacturing method remain completely elusive. In
layman's terms, the simplest analogy is with Coca-Cola,
in that we know what is in Meltdown but we do
not know how, or by what process it is constructed.

National and international implications

Specially convened government think-tank, in conjunction
with our European partners, predicts that if
Meltdown is permitted to spread at current rate,
health services throughout Europe could go into overload
within two years, and violence on the streets will
reach uncontrollable levels, leading to the implementation
of martial law.
The think-tank also stresses
the danger of the Meltdown formula falling into the
hands of a terrorist organization. Worst-case
scenarios include the possibility of Meltdown being
converted into liquid form to contaminate public
water supply or into a highly concentrated aerosol
form for use in confined spaces, e.g. public
transport.
Full think-tank report attached (Doc:
GTT/829745a).

National and international security situation

The added threat of potential terrorist interest/
involvement in this drug dictates that we continue to
keep the full effects of Meltdown unknown to the
general public for as long as possible.
Note: This
instruction comes from the highest possible level,
with unanimous agreement from European partners.
Public, press, media, police and other arms of the
security services
must
remain ignorant of the operation.

Current operational situation (UK)

Total failure of previous raid on suspected DMP and
lack of further strong intelligence has led to a rethink
on tactics and strategy and the planned formation
of a
Meltdown Task Force.
Surveillance operations
continue, targeting Meltdown users and dealers.
These have resulted in some new leads, but a highest level
decision has been made to take no further
direct action until the Meltdown Task Force is
operational. Vitally important that task force
becomes operational immediately.

Operational aims

To infiltrate organization producing drug, destroy
manufacturing plants, identify and eliminate European
distribution network and contacts.
To eliminate all
those knowing the Meltdown formula and to destroy
formula itself.

CLASSIFIED – CLASSIFIED – CLASSIFIED