Volodin threw the yoke forward. The nose of the helicopter dipped down and to the left. The treetops flashed beneath them, a smear of green. He pushed the machine to its maximum speed, away from the railway station and toward Pripyat. Then the cockpit door flew open, framing the terrified civil defense major, his own radiometer in his hand. “What have you done?” the officer screamed against the howl of the engines. “You’ve killed us all!”
