"Look, you bastard," the President was saying into the phone. "I've done everything you asked. I've deposited the money and pulled back all American forces for six hours. Now you're going to live up to your end of the agreement. You're going to disarm those weapons and get the hell out of there. No hostages. I personally guarantee you safe passage." If he'll believe that, Hansen was thinking, he's still writing letters to Santa.
"Who do you think you're talking to?" Ramirez asked. "There's a force on the island right now, that's got my people under fire. I no longer can take responsibility for anything that happens."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Hansen replied, genuinely puzzled. Had the Deltas countermanded his orders? Carried out a rogue operation? If so, there was going to be hell to pay. "If there's somebody there, they're not part of the American armed forces. That's your problem, not mine."
"It is your problem. I want you to put a stop to it."
"How the hell am I supposed to do that, exactly?" What can he be talking about? Hansen was still wondering. "If you can't handle your situation, then maybe you'd better go back to terrorist school. I've kept up my end."
Ramirez proceeded to tell the President two things. First, when the Sikorsky took off from the landing pad, Isaac Mannheim was going to be on board, a hostage. He was their insurance. That much was true. The second was a lie.
“The other thing you should know is that we have armed a nuclear device and secured it on the island. The detonation sequence is radio-controlled. If there is any interference with our egress, no matter at what point, we will not hesitate to detonate it."
"You do that," Hansen said, "and you'll be tracked to the ends of the earth. That's something I can guarantee you for absolute certain." He had visions of his presidency going down in ruins. And if the story of the money ever came out, the headlines…
“Then you also have the power to guarantee that it doesn't happen. Think about it." With which cryptic farewell, the connection was severed, for the last time. The fact that a fifteen-kiloton nuclear bomb was about to obliterate Souda Bay, Crete, and the Sixth Fleet in a matter of minutes was not mentioned.