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“I can do it,” Jack said

“You can do it now?”

“I can withdraw a single-fuel rod from the pile,” Jack said

Caine stared at him Almost as if this wasn’t the answer he wanted

“Okay,” Caine said softly

“But I have to start by lowering the control rods all the way This will stop the reaction, which means it turns off all electricity”

Caine nodded

Diana said, “You mean, there won’t be any power for anyone Not just Perdido Beach”

“Unless someone restarts the reactor,” Jack said

“Yeah,” Caine said, but distracted, like his head was somewhere else

“I can lift out a power rod It’s twelve feet long Actually it contains pellets of uraniu, thin can filled with pebbles It’s extremely radioactive”

“So your plan is to kill us all?” Diana said

“No There are lead-lined sheaths they use to carry the rods They aren’t totally effective, but they should shield us for the time we need Unless…”

“Unless?” Caine demanded

“Unless the sheath is daed Like if you drop it”