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“Where is he now?”

“He’s en route. I believe they are still in the air.”

“I want to talk to him now. I don’t want to wait two hours.”

McGuiness had his story prepared and was about to see if it would fly. “There is something wrong with the satellite that lets us see the President in the air. It has to do with the sun and the time of year. There is no consistent visual with him until he gets to the White House, so we’re going to have to wait.” Max was livid.

“You are fucking kidding me! You’re out of touch with the President because of the sun? What do you think, that I’m five years old?”

“Mr. Leonard, there are some things that are out of our control. There is only one way to have a solid visual with the President when he is in the air, and right now that is being disturbed. I could not see him myself, but all that will be restored when he returns to the White House.”

“And how long will that be?”

“It should be under two hours.”

Max thought a moment. He had a few options. He could bluff and tell them he wouldn’t wait, or he could ask to speak with the President using voice only, but he didn’t want that. It had always been his plan to look Bernstein in the eye. He knew that this conversation would make its way around the world, and the best way to succeed was to have a one-on-one, face-to-face, with the President of the United States. Anything short of that would not accomplish his goal.

The second speed patch was now kicking in and it made him feel invulnerable. “I’ll wait until he is at the White House, but if there’s any more delay you can say good-bye to the people on this ship. Is that clear?”

“I hear you,” the general said. “Are you sure you cannot speak to me? I have great authority, you know.”

“You’re nothing, General. Even the President is weak, but you have no power without him. But there is one thing you can arrange. When my conversation with the President is over I will want a helicopter to take me and my group, along with five hostages of our choosing, to Cuba. When we land there safely you can fly the hostages back. So you might as well plan for that now.”

This was the first time anyone had heard that demand. McGuiness was impressed. If these guys could get to Cuba they would be heroes. And even though over the decades the relationship with Cuba had softened somewhat, there was still no extradition and there was still no love for America. The Cubans would take these men and allow them to escape with their lives, and that would create even more problems. McGuiness acted as though he didn’t understand the demand. “I’m sorry, what are you requesting?”

“Play the fucking transcript back if you didn’t hear me. I want the chopper to land on the boat before my conversation with the President. And if you try anything foolish … well, you’ll probably kill me, but I will definitely take every last person on this ship down with me. Is that clear, General?”

McGuiness had no more negotiations up his sleeve. All of this would buy him at least two hours, which was enough time to try to end this the military’s way. “Yes. It’s clear.”

* * *

Laura Li and her husband were watching this unfold like every other person in the United States and in most of the world. A crisis like this was like a worldwide police chase; everyone watched it in real time, glued to their screens of all sizes, waiting to see what would happen next.

They were still in bed, looking up at the ceiling. The projector in their bedroom would put visuals wherever they wanted, and Shen and Laura had found that their favorite position was lying on their backs, staring straight up. It was like looking at the stars. They loved the holographic video of a planetarium show, which was even more fun after a little hit of the organic weed grown on their windowsill. They’d probably watched that at least twenty times, making love and getting lost in the colors and the depth.

As they watched the hijacking unfold, Shen was a bit surprised by how angry it made him. “Do you know