Brittain was trying to keep his mouth shut, but at that moment there was a glare of light which flashed bluely through the hard quartz of a nearby window.
From somewhere far to the north, another interceptor rocket had found the atomic warhead of an enemy bomb.
Brittain knew and recognized that flash. He screamed wordlessly and then began to sob like a hysterical child.
Karnes began to slap him again. "Come on, what was it?"
"Don't—don't let them go back to New York! It said—it said—" he gasped and took a deep breath "—WE'LL ALL BE KILLED!" he screamed.
"Why?" Karnes's voice was cold.
"BOMB!" Brittain screamed again.
After a few more minutes of questioning, Karnes finally got the rest of the story from him.
The Galactics had found that on this date a nuclear bomb would get through the UN screen and completely destroy most of Greater New York. Only one other bomb would get through, but it would be thrown off course and land somewhere in the Pacific, having missed Los Angeles entirely.