SECURE FACSIM.V.F. TRANSMISSION
ORIGINATING FAX NO: 12025556122 DESTINATION FAX NO: 5134549775 DATE: 5 JAN, 1999
TIME: 18:55:45 (LOCAL)
SENDER CODE: 004 (NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR)
MESSAGE IS AS FOLLOWS:
Having consulted with his advisors, and in keeping with his well-known views on terrorism, the President has instructed me to inform you that he WILL NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES pay to you any sum of money to restrain you from detonating any device you may have in your possession.
W. PHH,VP LIPANSKI
National Security Advisor
to the President of the United States
'Jesus,' Race breathed. 'They're not going to pay…'
Renee came over, looked at the fax. 'God, look how forceful the wording is. They're trying to call his bluff. They don't think he'll blow the Supernova.'
'Will he blow the Supernova?'
'Absolutely,' Uli said from the floor, causing Race and Renee to spin around.
Uli spoke through clenched teeth. 'He talks constantly of it. He's insane. He only wants one thing—his new world.
And if he can't have that, then he will simply destroy the existing one.'
'But why?” Race said.
'Because that is the currency he trades in. It is the currency he has always traded in—life and death. Ehrhardt is an old man, old and evil. He has no further use for the world. If he doesn't get his money—and hence his new world order—he will just destroy the old one without even thinking twice.'
'Wonderful,' Race said. 'And we're the only ones who can stop him?'
'Yes.'
'Then how do we do it?' Renee said, turning to Uli. 'How do we stop the countdown?'
“You have to enter the disarm code into the device's arming computer,' Uli said. 'But as I said before, only Weber knows the code.'
'Then somehow,' Race said, 'we're going to have to get that code out of him.'
Moments later, Race was running around the rim of the immense crater, heading for the southern cable bridge.
The plan was simple.
Renee would wait at the start of the northern bridge while Race ran around the crater to the southern bridge. Then, when he arrived there, they would both make a run for the control booth at the same time, from opposite ends.
The logic of their plan was based on the fact that the two cable bridges that stretched out to the control booth were quite advanced and very sturdy each bridge was constructed of high-tensile steel threads and to drop either of them would require someone to uncouple four separate pressure couplings.
If Race and Renee bolted down the two bridges at the same time, one of them might make it to the booth before Ehrhardt and/or Weber managed to uncouple both bridges.
After six-and-a-half minutes of running, Race arrived at the southern cable bridge.
It stretched away from him, out over the mine. It was so monstrously long—a feature which was accentuated by its narrowness. While it was only wide enough for one person to travel down at a time, it was easily as long as four football fields stretched end on end.
Oh God, Race thought.
'Professor, are you ready?' Renee's voice said suddenly in his earpiece. It had been so long since he'd used his radio gear, Race had almost forgotten he was wearing it.
'As I'll ever be,' he said.
'Then let's go.'
Race stepped out onto the rope bridge.
He saw the white box-shaped cabin at the far end of it, suspended high above the floor of the mine saw the door sunk into its wall at the point where the bridge met it. At the moment, that door was closed.
There was no movement inside the control booth's long rectangular windows, either.
No. The booth just sat there—silent—hovering perfectly in the air, seven hundred feet above the world.
Race moved down the bridge.
At that very same moment, Renee was moving quickly down the northern cable bridge.
She moved with her eyes locked on the closed door at the end of her bridge—watched it with tense anticipation, wait ing for it to burst open at any moment.
But the door remained resolutely closed.
