Download the Book - Islam and Science Fiction

second, choose a victim who will evoke the greatest emotion, and
make their utter helplessness plain to them. He looked his captives
over.
The girl in engineering was already teetering on the edge of
helplessness, he judged. He checked his watch impatiently, waiting
for the ten minutes to pass, and letting her think. It was important that
she think. Rashness wouldn't do. She had to accept that Shahid made
the rules, and that she must comply to save her friends.
< --- >
Jan pulled a drawer open and found a box of killer grapes. She
stared at them for a moment, uncertain of why they held her attention.
"Hussein, did you tell me once that there was some link between killer
grapes and explosive bolts?"
"Yeah," Hussein shouted back from across the lab. "Same
voltage inverter as we use to set them off. Why?"
"Don't ask, just go find me half a dozen nice big exploding
bolts."
Hussein launched himself from the lab as Mike looked up from
his search. "Got an idea?"
Jan nodded as she examined one of the orbs. "Cruise grapes. I
had to cut up one of those bolts once. The detonator is tiny, and the
explosive is like putty. I think I can rig these things as little bombs."
"I didn't know you were an explosives expert."
"Sure," Jan chuckled. "My uncle used them in construction.
Told me all about them. A couple of times."
"Great," Mike replied dubiously. He glanced at his watch. "And
not much time. No way you could do it before they kill someone.
The bridge crew’s training is to sit tight and wait for us to take action,
unless we signal otherwise or fail to signal at all."
Jan slammed her fist against the bench. "Jesus, now I know how
Churchill felt when he let the Nazis bomb Coventry! If we try to gas
the bridge, those bozos will just put on their masks and kill
everybody. Signal our guys to rush the hijackers, and we’ll lose half,
minimum. Our option is letting them kill a friend while I work on a
new trick. God help me, it's a real clear choice."
"Given any thought to how you'll aim them?" Mike asked.
"One of them, evidently the leader, is kind enough to have
himself on an intercom camera," Jan answered. "We try to take him
out, and set off a few more charges as distractions. Maybe the bridge
crew can take care of the rest of the problem themselves. Signal to
hang tight and stay ready."
< --- >
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