“What the Professor then went on to lecture and explain of his design was done so openly and minutely, I am sure he thought it above my capability to follow. And for the most part it was. “He has made a significant change in his previous designs. His intense study of thermodynamic and extremely high pressures has refined his thinking. He has decided to utilize the near temperature of the sun that is created in the cavitation bubble collapse to refine the uranium pellet before it is shot out at the target. This means the first water jet is to cause the hot spot into which the impure pellet is injected. The temperature will purify and melt it into a denser body. The subsequent blast will expel a much more energized projectile that will hence cause more damage. At least that is what he thinks will happen. He is allowing them to do the first test, then with the results he will modify the prototype he is taking to the Krupp munitions in Essen. For the initial test he is only using a minute pellet, just to gauge the feasibility and principles, for he was pushing the boundaries of knowledge and technology beyond the extreme. We were resigned to our parts, Jack would have to go with Moriarty or bring suspicion on himself; especially now that he was in charge of security. He could not have sabotage done while he was on site. Even if he was not suspected of complicity, his incompetence would be an instant death sentence. That Friday, we made our way to the test site. We presented our passes at the main gate of the munitions facilities and complained about the short notice we had been given and would have to make up for it by working overtime. I did all of the talking, since my German was much better than Watson’s high school remembrances. We were given a map (which we really didn’t need since Jack had given a much more detailed one) and directions to the lab. We were told we could be stopped anywhere in the compound and asked for our papers again, and would certainly have to produce them at the lab itself. We quietly made a detour to the shop where we would get the last of our equipment. We found the workshop had just finished construction our ‘test equipment’ as per specs. We took them to our wagon, opened the bottom compartments, inserted and set the charges. The test schedule was to initiate the first firing exactly at 10 that night. We synchronized our watches and the clockwork timers precisely. It was with tense apprehension we continued on to the test laboratory with our rigged equipment. We weren’t so much concerned about our being stopped and exposed, as we were leery of the unpredictability of the explosives we were gingerly transporting. The scientists were much too busy with preparing their own instruments to bother with us after they had read Jack’s clearance and supposed reason to add more apparatus but that would only be used sub sequentially. We were criticized by one overbearing scientist that we were interfering with them getting their project prepped, but a technician called us over and sympathized with us having to deal with the uppity scientists who looked down at any technician. He even helped us move some of the scientist’s gadgets a bit so that we could place ours where Jack’s blue prints dictated. We had barely finished when the lead scientist ordered everyone out. We were led out of the building to our wagon. We used the excuse to break out our evening meal sandwiches and ale, to linger behind the adjacent building. Our plans were to wait for the explosion, then gun down any scientist or team technician that survived the detonation. Our silencers should cover any shooting noises and the chaos would cover our deadly slaughter. We ate slowly with trepidation as we watched our watches beneath a light on the side of the facility. “Five minutes to go, Watson,” I quietly stated. We took out our guns and screwed on the silencers in anticipation of our carnage. Just as we were about to turn the corner, to head back toward the test facility, a blast so abrupt and so unexpectedly, blew the building to smithereens, knocking us off our feet. And I don’t mean the test facility, but the building we were waiting behind blew up instantly. The blast in the test facility was so humongous; it actually flattened those surrounding it. A gigantic cloud shot up into the sky. The blast had set buildings half a block away on fire with a shower of burning debris. The conflagration spread from building to building and set off munitions being manufactured and those being stored, all over the munitions compound. The destruction was incredible! As the building complex continued to destruct under the series of explosions, we scurried to safety, following scores of others who were fleeing the annihilation as we were. Our horse had been killed when the covering building blew. I yelled a complaint to Watson. “We were too late,” I wheezed through a growing fog of smoke and ash and chaos of people running out to escape and those running in to help.