Part 35 (1/2)
”He's almost babbling. Something about a helicopter. He's--”
”Put him on. And have the d.a.m.ned thing traced.” He hit the speaker b.u.t.ton.
”Isaac. What's--”
”Johan, he's got a gun at my head.” The voice was unmistakable. It had made students quake for forty years. It had made _him _quake. Now it was quivering. He had never heard his old professor in such a state.
Very, very unlike Isaac.
”Dr. Mannheim?”
”They made me call this number. I know I'm not supposed--”
”Who's they?” The connection was intermittent, but he still could make it out.
”The . . .” He paused, then seemed to be reading. ”The Resistance Front for a Free Europe. They've taken over the SatCom facility here, everybody. They shot down my helicopter. They killed--”
”What did you say? Helicopter?” Hansen's pulse quickened. Was Isaac talking about the Israeli Hind that had attacked the Glover? And what was this Resistance Front--for something or other . . . ”Free Europe?”
Europe was already free. Maybe too d.a.m.ned free, given all the ethnic turmoil.
The connection chattered, then another voice sounded. Hansen noted a trace of an accent, but he couldn't identify it. ”Johan Hansen, this is to inform you that all the American engineers here are safe at the moment. We have no desire to harm anyone. We merely want our demand addressed.”
Hansen glanced at Brock, who nodded, then pushed a b.u.t.ton next to the phone that allowed him to record both sides of the conversation.
”This had better not be a prank.”
”It's no prank. The staff of SatCom is now hostage.”
”Listen, whoever you are, the United States of America doesn't negotiate with hostage takers. We never have before and we're not about to start now.”
”I'm afraid the rules of the past no longer apply. In fact, I have no desire to negotiate either. There is nothing to negotiate. We have a very simple demand. And you have no alternative.”
”You've got that backwards, whoever you are. You have no alternatives.
You can release whatever hostages you have and get the h.e.l.l out of there. That's your one option.”
”We would be delighted to comply. As I said to you, we merely have a small nonnegotiable demand. I a.s.sume we are being recorded, but you may wish to take notes nonetheless. In case you have any questions.”
”If you're talking about ransom, I can tell you now it's absolutely unthinkable.”
”That kind of intransigence will get us nowhere.” He sighed, a faint hiss over the line, and then continued. ”You may consider our demand as merely a small repayment to the Muslim peoples, large portions of whose homeland America has seen fit to devastate. That payment will be eight hundred million dollars, to be delivered according to conditions that will be specified by fax. I a.s.sume you will wish some time to make the arrangements. You have twenty-four hours.”
”You're out of your mind,” Hansen said firmly. ”You've got a h.e.l.l of a nerve even--”
”Don't make me repeat myself. I will fax you the bank information. As I said, you have twenty-four hours. If you have not wire-transferred the funds by that time, an American military installation in Europe will be incinerated. And without your frigate Glover, sent to spy on the Islamic peoples of the region, you will have no inkling where that installation will be.”
”Just what do you think you're going to do?”
”The same thing America once did to j.a.pan. Only this time with a little help from one of your so-called 'non-nuclear' allies.”
Hansen pulled up short. Was this the nightmare every U.S. President had feared--a nuclear device in the hands of terrorists. No, this took it one step further; the terrorists had just seized the means to deliver the device. It was that nightmare compounded.