Hostage to Need

It didn’t take Wyatt long to convince the military officer that the gas field could easily be turned into an inferno and that storming it shouldn’t be something that should be done rashly.

When John Singleberry came back on, he was calmer. “They said they were holding the staff and the field hostage. They said they were something called the Mask of the People and were revolutionaries. They say they will release one hostage for each million dollars BG puts in an off-shore account, and for ten million more they won’t fire the field. And they say that Al-Jazeera TV will have to broadcast any video they send them.”

“OK. That gives us something to work with, John. They must have given you some way to contact them to agree to their terms and coordinate the releases.”

“Yes. They gave me some commo equipment dialed to their frequency. And it’s pretty good stuff, not the crap that—”

“Listen to me, John. Tell them we agree to their terms but must have the hostages released five at a time so that we know they’ll hold up their end of the bargain. That will give the military officer there time to get a possible rescue operation planned and poised. And, John, this is important. Tell them we’ll supply the names of the hostages to be released. That we have records of who has a medical problem or should be released first on humanitarian grounds. And we want Drake Ellinger released in the first set.”