“That’s just stupid. I am not going to kill these people. Their love protects me. I am going to send a signal to the ones who need to receive it — the people who would deny my rightful place at the decision-making table. This is my final warning. A pulse of energy, no more, but no less. It will register on the seismographs of the world and will be reported in the press as a moderate earthquake off the coast of Colombia. But the experts know how to distinguish between an earthquake and the detonation of an atomic device. The people I am signaling will get the message.”

“You’re going to have all the governments of the world looking for you.”

“You’re very naïve, Commander. The perfect patsy. Do you think they don’t know I have another half-dozen such weapons? This says I am not afraid to use them. The Soviet Union collapsed because it did not have the will to use its atomic weapons, unlike the United States, which did not hesitate. I will not hesitate if I am not left alone. Boston, Philadelphia — and it won’t be my fault.”

“And me? Is it my fault?”

“That room is going to get very hot tomorrow morning. You won’t survive. I am going to broadcast your plight live all over the United States. Even at that early hour, people will see it. Word of your fate will get to the right people. I can live with their confusion and consternation.”

“You have two chairs.”

“Your wife proved to be more interesting woman than I imagined.”

“If I can’t get out of here, Chino, first I’m going to have my privacy, and then I’m going to raise as much hell as I can!”

He shot the second camera. He had no plan. Now the lights went out.

Silence.

“Sam?”

Scott Waller on the cell phone.

“I’ll be right there, Scott!” He had to find the phone — he had to find the control console first. The room was pitch-black. Even the monitor was off. The light emitting diode on the cell unit would be giving off a gray-green glow. All Merrill had to do was get to the console without breaking his neck. Was Chino giving Gregory new instructions? Merrill remembered that he had to keep to the left to get around the machinery in the center of the room. Now he saw the LED. “Scott? I have to be quick. He’s headed down here. You heard what he said. ‘The money is where the money is.’ You said the same thing to me earlier. Who did you get it from?”

“I’ll put him on.” Waller’s cell phone clattered.

“Ivar Ward, Commander. I flew right down from Washington as soon as I heard about your situation. How is your wife?”

“So far, so good.”