Part IV, Mother's Breath: Chapters 68 - 73 Summary

Pitt's mission is expected to take approximately six hours to complete. While the U.S. waits, Tsuboi contacts the President and informs him of his demands. He requests that the states of Hawaii and California be turned over to the Japanese and subject to Japanese rule. He gives the President only six hours to make the announcement to the American people. This is exactly how much time it will take for Pitt to get the bomb detonated off the island of Ajima. The timing becomes critical, and the President is sweating. Pitt is ahead of schedule, having been able to extract the bomb, with a very tense moment when he had to allow the bomb to free-fall a couple of feet in order to maneuver into position. Giordino and Sandecker have been flying...