colonel travis, as you know, the president is out of the country, scheduled to meet with the soviet premiere tomorrow. we're in constant communication with him. he's been apprised of everything i am about to tell you. kaplan glances at sarlow and grant.
in the past hour, some new, rather disturbing elements have surfaced, possibly calling for some extraordinary measures. that's why you're here. travis looks around at the sober faces staring at him. he seems to be the center of attention -- as if he's the last to be brought in on something. he turns back to kaplan.
the immediate situation is this. the prime minister is demanding jaffa's release or he'll take action on his own. we're going to comply, to gain some time, at least. general sarlow?
we have to consider, colonel travis, the strong possibility that gaining the release of jaffa is only the first phase of a larger plan.
meaning, colonel travis, if this scenario is true, the president would have no other choice but to order the plane destroyed.
because, we've been told we may have another option, colonel. which does concern you. let's get on with it, gentlemen. nelson nods to one of his aides who leaves the room.
this does appear to be the exception to the rule. we said this was a wild card, colonel. but if your team can board that airplane, determine if there is a bomb and take control of the situation, we at least have a fighting chance. otherwise, four hundred and six passengers will have to be sacrificed. the president does not want to shoot down that plane, colonel.  but he will. he cannot risk 50,000 american lives. in his words this is a hail mary pass. he has no other options. kaplan continues to look at travis.
i think one addition to the team is called for, colonel. an expert in arabic dialects, someone who has made a careful study of ali's life, who knows how he thinks, how he operates.  travis turns and looks at grant, their eyes locking. this was unanticipated by grant and his face shows it. the major-general, travis's boss speaks up.
on the contrary, general, i think his actual presence could prove crucial. captain grant might be able to forecast something ali is going to do, before he does it.
where is the task force, admiral? the admiral points to a location on the situation board.
thank you for your help. please excuse me. he takes the two men aside.
it's confirmed.
as per the orders of the president, instruct admiral crosby to go to full alert. when he's in range, he's to launch his strike aircraft. authorize the press release for the b.b.c. as per ali's instructions.
contact ambassador hennings in london. i want to deliver a message to jaffa. i want him to negotiate with ali hassan. tell him we know of ali's plot, that we will exchange the lives of the passengers for ali's, if he will divert to an isolated airbase. jaffa's the only one who knows the frequencies to contact ali. i'm not giving up on those four hundred americans. that madman is our last avenue of hope. we've got to try.
authorize it. notify the press. he turns to the major-general.
general.
it's up to jaffa.
he's forcing the president to destroy the plane, hoping we'll retaliate.
whomever he chooses to implicate.
if only we could. they'll stick to civilian air corridors, and we could never violate the foreign airspace anyway. it would be an act of war. kaplan turns away, staring at the situation board, show- ing the 747 growing closer to the fail-safe line every second.
tell admiral crosby to intercept the 747. then contact the president. from this point on its an executive decision.
we have already met your first condition and are willing to comply with the rest of your demands. but for security reasons, we must insist that the exchange take place.
we just can't shoot them down without a warning.
we've got to end this. order the attack.
i think i can say, captain, this is a day either of us won't soon forget. how are the men?
the president personally sends his deepest thanks. i'm sure he will want to meet with you when he returns. we all owe you a great debt, captain grant. thank you.
we have accomplished a tremendous victory, but our satellite intelligence reports indicate that jaffa is just now touching down in north africa. i hate to see that bastard get away. grant places the black case on his lap and begins to enter something on the keyboard as he talks. on the screen we see: code key access: 04973. wildfire code key approved. secure line ready for transmit.