Flynn interrupted. “Schroeder, you are most certainly part Irish. I’ve rarely met a man more possessed of so much ready bullshit for every occasion.”
“I’m serious—”
“Well, Baxter’s fate depends mostly on what you do now.”
“No. It depends on what you do. The next move is yours.”
“And I’m about to make it.” Be lit a cigarette and asked, “How far are they along in their attack plans?”
Schroeder said, “That’s not an option for us.”
Flynn stared at him. “Caught you in a lie—your left eye is twitching. God, Schroeder, your nose is getting longer.” He laughed. “I should have had you down here hours ago. Burke was too cool.”
“Look—you asked me here for a private meeting, so you must have something to say—”
“I want you to help us get what we want.”
Schroeder looked exasperated. “That’s what I’ve been doing.”
“No, I mean everything we want. Your heart isn’t in it. If the negotiations fail, you don’t lose nearly as much as everyone in here does. Or as much as Bellini’s ESD. They stand to lose fifty to a hundred men in an attack.”
Schroeder thought of his imprudent offer to Bellini. “There will be no attack.”
“Did you know Burke told me he’d go with Bellini? There’s a man with a great deal to lose if you fail. Would you go with Bellini?”
“Burke couldn’t have said that because Bellini’s not going anywhere.” Schroeder had the uneasy impression he was being drawn into something, but he had no intention of making a mistake this late. “I’ll try to get more for you only if you give me another two hours after dawn.”
Flynn ignored him and went on. “I thought I’d better give you a very personal motive to push those people into capitulation.”
Schroeder looked at Flynn cautiously.
“You see, there’s one situation you never covered in your otherwise detailed book, Captain.” Flynn came closer to the gate. “Your daughter would very much like you to try harder.”
“What … ?”
“Terri Schroeder O’Neal. She wants you to try harder.”
Schroeder stared for a few seconds, then said loudly, “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Lower your voice. You’ll excite the police.”
Schroeder spoke through clenched teeth. “What the fuck are you saying?”
“Please, you’re in church.” Flynn passed a scrap of paper through the bars.
Schroeder snatched it and read his daughter’s handwriting: Dad—I’m being held hostage by members of the Fenian Army. I’m all right. They won’t harm me if everything goes okay at the Cathedral. Do your very best. I love you, Terri.
Schroeder read the note again, then again. He felt his knees buckle, and he grabbed at the gate. He looked up at Flynn and tried to speak, but no sound came out.
Flynn spoke impassively. “Welcome to the Fenian Army, Captain Schroeder.”
Schroeder swallowed several times and stared at the note.
“Sorry,” said Flynn. “Really I am. You don’t have to speak—just listen.” Flynn lit another cigarette and spoke briskly. “What you have to do is make the strongest possible case for our demands. First, tell them I’ve paraded two score of well-armed men and women past you. Machine guns, rockets, grenades, flamethrowers. Tell them we are ready, willing, and able to take the entire six-hundred-man ESD down with us, to destroy the Cathedral and kill the hostages. In other words, scare the shit out of Joe Bellini and his heroes. Understand?” He paused, then said, “They’ll never suspect that Captain Schroeder’s report of seeing a great number of well-armed soldiers is false. Use your imagination—better yet, look up at the landing, Schroeder. Picture forty, fifty men and women parading past that crypt door— picture those machine guns and rockets and flamethrowers…. Go on, look up there.”
Schroeder looked, and Flynn saw in his eyes exactly what he wanted to see.
After a minute Schroeder lowered his head. His face was pale, and his hands pulled at his shirt and tie.
Flynn said, “Please calm down. You can save your daughter’s life only if you pull yourself together. That’s it. Now … if this doesn’t work, if they are still committed to an assault, then threaten to go public—radio, TV, newspapers. Tell Kline, Doyle, and all the rest of them you’re going to announce that in all your years of hostage negotiating, that you, as the court of last resort for the lives of hostages, strongly and in no uncertain terms believe that neither an attack nor further negotiations can save this situation. You will declare, publicly, that therefore for the first time in your career you urge capitulation—for humanitarian as well as tactical reasons.”
Flynn watched Schroeder’s face but could see nothing revealed there except anguish. He went on, “You have a good deal of influence—moral and professional— with the media, the police force, and the politicians. Use every bit of that influence. You must create the kind of pressure and climate that will force the British and American governments to surrender.”
Schroeder’s voice was barely audible. “Time … I need time…. Why didn’t you give me more time … ?”
“If I’d told you sooner, you wouldn’t have made it through the night, or you may have told someone. The only time left is that which remains until the dawn—less if you can’t stop the attack. But if you can get them to throw open the prison gates … Work on it.”
Schroeder pushed his face to the bars. “Flynn … please … listen to me…. ”
Flynn went on. “Yes, I know that if you succeed and we walk out of here free, they’ll certainly count us, and they’ll wonder where all the flamethrowers are…. Well, you’ll be embarrassed, but all’s fair in love and war, and c’est la guerre, and all that rot. Don’t even think that far ahead and don’t be selfish.”
Schroeder’s head shook, and his words were incoherent. All that Flynn could make out was “Jail.” Flynn said, “Your daughter can visit you on weekends.” He added, “I’ll even visit you.”
Schroeder stared at him, and a choked-off sound rose in his throat.
Flynn said, “Sorry, that was low.” He paused. “Look, if it means anything to you, I feel bad that I had to resort to this. But it wasn’t going well, and I knew you’d want to help us, help Terri, if you understood the trouble she was in.” Flynn’s voice became stern. “She really ought to be more selective about her bunkmates. Children can be such an embarrassment to parents, especially parents in public life—sex, drugs, wild politics …”
Schroeder was shaking his head. “No … you don’t have her. You’re bluffing….”
Flynn continued. “But she’s safe enough for the moment. Dan—that’s her friend’s name—is kind, considerate, probably a passable lover. It’s the lot of some soldiers to draw easy duty—others to fight and die. Throw of the dice and all that. Then again, I wouldn’t want to be in Dan’s place if he gets the order to put a bullet in the back of Terri’s head. No kneecapping or any of that. She’s innocent, and she’ll get a quick bullet without knowing it’s about to come. So, are we clear about what you have to do?”
Schroeder said, “I won’t do it.”
“As you wish.” He turned and began walking up the stairs. He called back. “In about a minute a light will flash from the bell tower, and my men on the outside will telephone Dan, and … and that, I’m afraid, will be the end of Terri Schroeder.” He continued up the stairs.
“Wait! Listen, maybe we can work this out. Hold on! Stop walking away!”