"All right, Johan. Please talk to him." Mannheim handed back the receiver. His hand was shaking.
"Have you made a decision, Mr. President?" Ramirez inquired.
"Yes, goddammit. I've got an open line to Gournes. You can listen while I issue the order to hold off the assault for six hours. Does that satisfy you?"
"It will do for a start," Ramirez said. "Then we can talk about the money."
And he listened as Hansen spoke tersely through the secure communications link to Mission Control on the Kennedy.
What he did not hear in Hansen's conversation was the incredulity on the other end of the line. But the assault is already under way, General Max Austin was declaring, stunned. They were in communication with Nichols, and the SEALs were about to open fire on the hostiles.
"Just scrub the operation," Hansen barked. "That's an order."
"That was a wise decision," Ramirez said, listening. "Now about the money."
"Check with the bank in fifteen minutes," Hansen said, a note of resignation in his voice. "It will be deposited. Now, I want you out of there, all hostages safe, and those weapons disarmed and left."
"You have nothing to worry about," Ramirez declared, scarcely able to contain his sense of triumph. "You have made a decision for humanity."