Flight AF4011 from New York to Paris.
An A380 operated by a French airline was just taking off from John F. Kennedy Airport in New York. The destination was Paris. About half of the seats in the wooden class were occupied. Sandra Hopkins, 54, and her 57-year-old husband, Thomas, were on a vacation flight to France. It was their thirtieth wedding anniversary, which they planned to spend there. They were going to see this steel colossus, the Eiffel Tower, which was once built in Paris at the end of the 19th century for the World's Fair there, and which many Parisians cursed at the time because they thought it spoiled the cityscape. It was planned to dismantle the Eiffel Tower after the World's Fair, but it was not.
And over time had become the symbol of the capital of France. Lovers from all over the world magically attracted to the colossus of steel, held together by millions of rivets. Which with its curved shape somehow also reminds of a giant phallus. It could not be missing from any vacation photo taken in Paris. They had reserved a seat in one of the restaurants on the first level. The plane accelerated and leisurely the A380 took off and began to transition into a slow climb. The passengers were gently pressed into their seats by the acceleration forces. Sandra squeezed her husband's right hand tightly. Her hand was wet. She was scared and nervous. As always when flying. In love, she looked to her husband, who answered that with a smile.
"Don't be afraid. Nothing will happen," he said, looking at her with an amorous smile. The plane set course north. It would then head to France via Greenland and Ireland.
The ultimatum passed. The U.S. was unwilling to roll back its financial transaction sanctions against Russia.
Shortly thereafter, a small Russian bomber fleet soared from a Russian air base near the enclave of Kaliningrad, formerly Königsberg. It consisted of two Tupolev Tu-160s. Those in the bomber had been in service since the early 1980s. Once they belonged to the Soviet Union, later to Russia. Those have a very strong resemblance to the Concorde. With an equally pointed nose and large delta wings and are almost similar in size. With a length of 54 meters, the Concorde was only about seven meters longer. Four crew members were on board. Those TU-160s could approach their target at nearly twice the speed of sound. With an operational radius of 7000 kilometers, they could reach just about any target in Europe from Kalingrad. With a weapons load of forty tons, those Concorde-like bombers were one of the most lethal weapons available. As cargo, they could carry twenty-four nuclear warheads or twelve CH-102 strategic cruise missiles with nuclear warheads. As well as cruise missiles with normal warheads and radar countermeasures missiles. Shortly after launch, they turned on the afterburner and accelerated to twice the speed of sound.
Their goal was to fire a nuclear warning shot. To drop an atomic bomb on an airbase in Poland. They were accompanied by thirteen Russian fighter planes.
Shortly after reaching combat altitude, the two TU-160s each fired ten of their AS-11 killer radar countermeasures missiles, which had a range of 245 kilometers, at air defense positions and radar installations in Poland and the Baltics. And then fired a total of three of their CH-102 cruise missiles with nuclear warheads and returned to their airbase in the Kalingrad enclave. However, one TU-160 was caught by a Polish air defense position on its way back.
All three cruise missiles with nuclear warheads reached their targets in Poland. The 350 kiloton nuclear bombs exploded just above the surface of the earth.
After the Russian nukes detonated, NATO launched a small fleet of bombers from the Rammstein. Among them, four B-1 Lancer Rockewell Those have been in service since about the mid-1990s. With an operational radius of about 5000 kilometers and a top speed of about 1.2 times the speed of sound, they are among the most modern and powerful American bombers. Their target was the enclave of Kaliningrad. They reached their target and destroyed the city.
At the same time, a nuclear missile hit Hong Kong.
On the radio, the Thompsons heard:
"The Russian city of Kaliningrad was also hit by a nuclear weapon. An American nuclear weapon has hit the Chinese city of Hong Kong. Hong Kong is completely destroyed according to reports"
David cursed. Traffic on the highways was still going, sometimes stalled, but they were still moving briskly. While the lane into London was almost empty. No one wanted to enter the city. They all wanted to get out.Eighties those in the bomber were in service. Once they belonged to the Soviet Union, later to Russia. Those have a very strong resemblance to the Concorde. With an equally pointed nose and large delta wings and are almost similar in size. With a length of 54 meters, the Concorde was only about seven meters longer. Four crew members were on board. Those TU-160s could approach their target at nearly twice the speed of sound. With an operational radius of 7000 kilometers, they could reach just about any target in Europe from Kalingrad. With a weapons load of forty tons, those Concorde-like bombers were one of the most lethal weapons available. As cargo, they could carry twenty-four nuclear warheads or twelve CH-102 strategic cruise missiles with nuclear warheads. As well as cruise missiles with normal warheads and radar countermeasures missiles. Shortly after launch, they turned on the afterburner and accelerated to twice the speed of sound.
Their goal was to fire a nuclear warning shot. To drop an atomic bomb on an airbase in Poland. They were accompanied by thirteen Russian fighter planes.
China also launched a nuclear warning shot. They launched two Dong Feng 41 ICBMs against Brussels and Montreal. With a range of fifteen thousand kilometers and the ability to deliver up to ten multiple warheads to the target, the Dong Feng 41 is one of the most powerful intercontinental ballistic missiles in the world.
Meanwhile in Europe, Russia launched bomber fleets and short-range missiles. The about three hundred nuclear warheads against NATO bases and some cities, including London, were on the way. When NATO learned of this, it in turn launched more bomber fleets. About 170 nuclear warheads were to come down on targets in western Russia.
Meanwhile, several Chinese nukes struck Brussels and Montreal.
Deaths in Europe so far: about 3.5 million. 0.7 million in Canada and 6.2 million in Hong Kong.
By now, the Thompsons had already left London behind.
Traffic began to stall. A car had broken down and the driver had gotten out. When he tried to run across the hard shoulder, he had been killed. His body lay on the hard shoulder. Cars and trucks swerved and drove along the hard shoulder. They simply drove over the body. As the Thompsons got closer, David saw that there was a body in the breakdown lane. Vehicles were slowing down there, but progress was being made.
"David, what's up ahead?" said Eva, whose horror was clearly visible on her face.
"There's a body lying there," David said.
"You're not going to drive over there now, too?" said Eva, almost in panic.
"Yes we do, we can't get on the other lane. They won't let us get in line," David said. They were right behind a station wagon that turned onto the hard shoulder. David followed it and pulled onto the shoulder as well. The sooner the better, he thought.
"Oh, God. The kids," Eva said, turning to face the children.
"Close your eyes," Eva said to her children in a panic.
"Did you hear me. You close your eyes as long as I tell you to," she said again to them very forcefully.
Emma and Tim nodded and closed their eyes.
Just before the body, the cars braked as and then slowly drove over.
The station wagon in front of them drove slowly over the corpse. It lifted the car slightly.
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