"Don't bullshit me," Borken said. "I know you cut the line. I want it fixed."
Webster winked at McGrath.
"OK," he said. "We can do that. But you've got to do something for us first."
"What?" Borken asked.
"Holly," Webster said. "Bring her down to the bridge and leave her there."
There was another silence. Then the laughter started up again. High and loud.
"No dice," Borken said. "And no deals."
Webster nodded to himself. Lowered his voice. Sounded like the most reasonable man on earth.
"Listen, Mr. Borken," he said. "If we can't deal, how can we help each other?"
Another silence. McGrath stared at Webster. The next reply was crucial. Win or lose.
"You listen to me, Webster," the voice said. "No deals. You don't do exactly what I say, Holly dies. In a lot of pain. I hold all the cards, and I'm not doing deals. You understand that?"
Webster's shoulders slumped. McGrath looked away.
"Restore the fax line," the voice said. "I need communications. The world must know what we're doing here. This is a big moment in history, Webster. I won't be denied by your stupid games. The world must witness the first blows being struck against your tyranny."
Webster stared at the ground.
"This decision is too big for you alone," Borken said. "You need to consult with the White House. There's an interest there too, wouldn't you say?"
Even over the tinny handheld radio, the force of Borken's voice was obvious. Webster was flinching like a physical weight was against his ear. Flinching and gasping, as his heart and lungs fought each other for space inside his chest.
"Make your decision," Borken said. "I'll call back in two minutes."
Then the radio went dead. Webster stared at it like he had never seen such a piece of equipment before. McGrath leaned over and clicked the button off.
"OK," he said. "We stall, right? Tell him we're fixing the line. Tell him it will take an hour, maybe two. Tell him we're in contact with the White House, the UN, CNN, whoever. Tell him whatever the hell he wants to hear."
"Why is he doing this?" Webster asked, vaguely. "Escalating everything? He's making it so we have to attack him. So we have to, right? Like he wants us to. He's giving us no choice. He's provoking us."
"He's doing it because he's crazy," McGrath said.
"He must be," Webster said. "He's a maniac. Otherwise I just can't understand why he's trying to attract so much attention. Because like he says, he holds all the cards already."
"We'll worry about that later, chief," McGrath said. "Right now, we just need to stall him."
Webster nodded. Forced himself back to the problem in hand.
"But we need longer than two hours," he said. "Hostage Rescue will take at least four to get over here. Maybe five, maybe six."
"OK, it's the Fourth of July," McGrath said. "Tell him the linemen are all off duty. Tell him it could take us all day to get them back."
They stared at each other. Glanced at Johnson. He was right out of it. Just slumped against the rock face, white and inert, barely breathing. Ninety hours of mortal stress and emotion had finally broken him. Then the radio in Webster's hand crackled again.
"Well?" Borken asked, when the static cleared.
"OK, we agree," Webster said. "We'll fix the line. But it's going to take some time. Linemen are off duty for the holidays."
There was a pause. Then a chuckle.
"Independence Day," Borken said. "Maybe I should have chosen another date."
Webster made no reply.
"I want your Marines where I can see them," Borken said.
"What Marines?" Webster said.
There was another short laugh. Short and complacent.
"You got eight Marines," Borken said. "And an armored car. We got lookouts all over the place. We've been watching you. Like you're watching us with those damn planes. You're lucky Stingers don't shoot that high, or you'd have more than a damn helicopter on the ground by now."
Webster made no reply. Just scanned the horizon. McGrath was doing the same thing, automatically, looking for the glint of the sun on field glasses.
"I figure you're close to the bridge right now," Borken said. "Am I right?"
Webster shrugged. McGrath prompted him with a nod.
"We're close to the bridge," Webster said.
"I want the Marines on the bridge," Borken said. "Sitting on the edge in a neat little row. Their vehicle behind them. I want that to happen now, you understand? Or we go to work on Holly. Your choice, Webster. Or maybe it's the General's choice. His daughter,