The casino ship had been hijacked, and more than two thousand people were in mortal danger. It instantly drew the entire country's attention, with every major media outlet reporting on it. The Crystal Palace casino ship became famous overnight, and so did the tourists aboard it.
It was time to show his face. He stepped forward and personally ordered the Coast Guard to ensure a successful rescue, protect the lives of those thousands of people, and capture the hijackers, bringing those terrorists to justice.
He also released a recent photograph. The massive luxury cruise ship was anchored at sea, surrounded by several Coast Guard patrol vessels. Several helicopters flew overhead, while more ships continued arriving from behind to provide support.
"We have the ability to rescue the hostages. We will absolutely capture those terrorists and send them to prison."
He declared this with utmost confidence.
Inside the rescue command center, the officials in charge of the operation were far less confident than he was. From the outside, they had observed several blast sites. Although the hull had not been damaged, quite a few facilities had indeed been destroyed. Explosives experts had determined from the blast marks that if fifty kilograms of this stuff were placed together, it would be enough to blow a huge hole in the ship's bottom. Then the ship would have only one fate: sinking to the bottom of the sea.
No one knew how many bombs were on board, and no one knew where they had been planted. So no one dared gamble on whether that person would simply blow up the ship. If they enraged the hijackers and they chose to detonate it, everyone here would face severe punishment. Forced resignation would be the lightest consequence.
"Try contacting the hijackers and see if we can