The pilot switched off the sound.
George said, "Hadn't you—" and then he stopped.
The pilot got up from his seat. There was a gun in his hand. "The signal won't be necessary," he said calmly. "None of you aboard this ship will be rescued."
Silvia bit her lip, hesitating. Then she said, "I've changed my mind, the deal's off."
The man smiled. "A contract is a contract, Mrs. Bennet," he said. "Besides, we've gone too far now with plans to turn back."
George was staring at her in disbelief. "Silvia, you mean that you—"
"I'll explain later," she told him.
"The time for explanations," the man said, "is right now. There will be no 'later' for any of you. What your wife means, Mr. Bennet, is just what you suspect. And what your husband is trying to say, Mrs. Bennet, is that he arranged a similar contract with me as did these other people."
Silvia felt a chill pass through her at the words. George, she thought, George was planning to—
"I was desperate," George cried, beside her, his eyes pleading. "I was afraid that once we got a divorce you'd tell them about me. But I couldn't go through with it, Silvia: that's what I meant when I said I'd changed my mind."