"All or nobody," Hans said. "It may not always be best, but those are the rules."
"Exactly." Armont closed out the subject. "All or nothing. So let's get out the blueprints and start assigning the entry-points."
[Chapter Sixteen]
11:16 P.M.
"It's him," Alicia's voice came back over the intercom in the Oval Office. By now it looked as disheveled as the Situation Room in the basement.
"What?" Hansen said. "The son of a bitch is on the phone again? At this hour?"
"What do you want me to do?" she asked.
"Just a minute." He clicked off the intercom and returned to his other call. "Caroline, I don't know. Just play it by ear and do the best you can. Press Secretaries get paid for giving non-answers. Tell the goddamn Post we have no comment. Try and make a deal. Say you'll give their team an exclusive, deep background, just for them, if they'll hold off another few hours to give us time to sort this out. Tell him we promise not to give the Times anything fit to print until after their deadline tomorrow. The late edition." He paused. "You're probably right, but give it a shot anyway. Look, I've got to go."