Ultimatum

On the day after the Sunday it is posted at 10 Downing Street addressed to the Prime Minister, a letter purportedly written and signed by Professor John Willingdon is forwarded to Scotland Yard, Superintendent Folland to lead the investigation into the issues of the letter. A senior research scientist at government run Wallingford, Willingdon develops bombs for possible war purposes. The crux of the letter is that he will use one of those bombs, the portable UR12, to blow up the seat of government (the bomb which in turn has an approximate 12km radius explosion zone) at noon this upcoming Sunday unless the PM makes an announcement that the government will stop developing such weapons of mass destruction. In his investigation, Folland has to determine if the letter was indeed written by Willingdon, if so if it was done under duress, or if he is making this threat on his own volition. The details of the letter are also on a need to know basis when Folland is conducting his investigation, Willingdon's family, including his invalid wife and his young adult daughter Ann, not on that need-to-know list, while Stephen Lane, Willingdon's personal assistant, one person who does need to know. When Folland does eventually discover that the threat by Willingdon is real, probably in he coming to the realization that his work is against his personal morals, it becomes a manhunt for Willingdon who, with the bomb, has gone missing as he tries to elude the authorities. The resulting question also becomes how much Folland and the PM will make public, and when, the answer constantly changing as it gets closer and closer to Sunday noon without Willingdon and the bomb yet having been discovered.