Chapter 17-18 Summary

Inside the bunker, Agent Warch has organized his agents into shifts, while outside the U.S. government transfers the full sum of money demanded by Aziz into his bank account. While Aziz remains concerned about Harut's safety, he also must stay focused on the task at hand and informs Skip McMahon that one third of the hostages will be released later that day. One of those hostages, Anna Rielly, is now certain that one of the terrorists is planning to assault her, as he already has one other woman in the group. She feels brief elation when Aziz randomly selects her to be one of the hostages released, but her admirer insists she remain, and then punches her in the head when she attempts to defy him.

At the Pentagon, the military is deeply concerned Baxter is leading the government down...