The Doomsday Conspiracy (Paperback)

Chapter One

DAY ONE
Monday, October 15th

He was back in the crowded hospital ward at Cu Chi Base in Vietnam, and Susan was leaning over his bed, lovely in her crisp, white nurse's uniform, whispering, 'Wake up, sailor. You don't want to die."
And when he heard the magic of her voice, he could almost forget his pain. She was murmuring something else in his ear, but a loud bell was ringing and he could not hear her clearly. He reached up to pull her closer and his hands clutched empty air.
It was the sound of the telephone that brought Robert Bellamy fully awake. He opened his eyes reluctantly, not wanting to let go of the dream. The telephone at his bedside was insistent. He looked at the clock. Four a.m. He snatched up the telephone, angry at having his dream interrupted. 'Do you know what the hell time it is?'
'Commander Bellamy?' A deep, male voice. 'Yes...'
'I have a message for you, Commander. You are ordered to report to General Hilliard at National Security Agency Head- quarters at Fort Meade at 0600 this morning. Is the message under- stood, Commander?'
'Yes.' And no. Mostly no.
Commander Robert Bellamy slowly replaced the receiver, puzzled. What the devil could NSA want with him? He was assigned to ONI, Office of Naval Intelligence. And what could be urgent enough to call for a meeting at six o'clock in the morning? He lay down again and closed his eyes, trying to recapture the dream. It had been so real. He knew, of course, what had triggered it. Susan had telephoned the evening before.