Page 98 of The Devil's Ransom

Alexander Palmer said, “We could go to the Swiss with a message basically saying, ‘If this spacecraft crashes, we’re doing regime change.’ That would get their attention.”

President Hannister nodded, rubbing his face, thinking.

Kerry Bostwick spoke up, saying, “And if it’s not them? What do you think they’re going to do? We just threatened their veryexistence over an event they do not control. They aren’t going to sit back and wait for the buildup of forces like Saddam did. He had no weapons of mass destruction and let us prepare to invade anyway. Iran has seen that playbook. If they have nothing to do with this, they’re going to attack us with all they have preemptively, which is formidable in an asymmetric way. I’m talking Israel, troops in Iraq, suicide bombers here at home, more cyberattacks, you name it. That, in turn, will guarantee a response from us, but won’t do a damn thing for the space station.”

He looked around the room and said, “In short, if you send that message, and it’s them doing this, we might be able to save that capsule. If you send it and it’s not them, we’re going to war.”

President Hannister said, “Dylan, how sure are you on this?”

“Sir, there are no absolutes, but if I were still working in Cyber Command, I would tell you that this is Iran just like I did when they penetrated the casinos in Las Vegas. ItisIran.”

President Hannister turned to the NASA engineer and said, “How long do I have before I have to send that message? If they turn off the ransomware, how long does it take to obtain control again?”

“If they turn it off, it’s pretty much instantaneous. We’re talking minutes, maybe an hour for complete control.”

“So I have what, twenty-two more hours to figure out more proof it’s Iran?”

Amanda Croft said, “No. Not really. We have no direct diplomatic relations with Iran, so there is no way to send them the message immediately. If we go through the Swiss, that alone will take time—first convincing them to send the message, then letting them send the message, then time for the Iranians to deliberate before giving a response, which the Swiss will then relay to us. It’s not a quick process.”

“So what are you saying?”

“I’m saying you have about six hours. Total.”

Nobody in the room spoke, and then President Hannister said, “Send the message. Tell them we know it’s them, and that we won’t tolerate it. Do it now.”

The secretary of defense said, “Sir, like Kerry, I must caution you that the message you’re sending may engender the very thing we want to avoid. They might not even respond with diplomatic words. You’re basically telling them we’re finally an existential threat. They’ve thought it for years, but they’ve never heard it from a sitting president.”

President Hannister slapped the table and said, “I understand that!” He calmed down a little bit, then said, “I understand that, but what else can I do? They’re holding our people hostage in a spacecraft just like they did in the embassy in 1979.”

Kerry Bostwick said, “Unless it’s not them.”

Nobody replied to that statement. President Hannister said, “Just get it done. Amanda, give me a readout on the Swiss in the next hour. General Oglethorpe, get everyone on alert that you need to—82nd Airborne, Fifth Fleet, whoever. Kerry, give me the chatter this causes. Let me know if this is real or something else.”

He looked around the room and said, “Any questions?”

When none came, he said, “Meeting adjourned.”

President Hannister stood up and left the room, the principals of the Oversight Council right behind him. The rest of the minions broke up into small cliques, talking about what had just occurred, as if they were discussing how to get more votes for an ethanol subsidy.

Wolffe saw Kerry Bostwick still in the room and went to him, saying, “This is a war of choice. We don’t know it’s them.”

Kerry sighed and said, “Yeah, we don’t. But we also don’t know itisn’tthem.”

“You know Pike is on the hunt, right?”

Kerry looked at him in confusion, then said, “We turned him off. He isnoton the hunt. Right?”

“I turned him off, but the message isn’t going until tonight. I need some help here. If Dylan Hobbes is right, then so be it. But if he’s wrong, we’re going to war for the dumbest of reasons. I need some help.”

“I can’t turn off the president. What help?”

“CIA help. You can do that. You have much more leeway than I do.”

Kerry glanced around the room, then said, “We’re stepping over a dangerous line here. I can’t cross Taskforce activities with CIA ones.”

“And I can’t bring the men who get killed in a misguided war back to life. Think, man. Give Pike a chance.”

“What, specifically, do you want?”

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