- This chapter starts with a moment of quiet companionship among Gen, Mr. Hosokawa, and Father Arguedas. Isn't that nice?
- Then the narrator tells us that regular time ceased to have meaning for the people stuck as hostages, and we might as well rejoin them a week after the ill-fated birthday party.
- Things have settled into a standoff, and the everyday life of the hostages is dull, but surprisingly not terrible. The terrorists know the hostages aren't going to fight back, and the hostages are pretty sure the terrorists won't shoot them. Sure beats all-out panic.
- The narrator sure is right that not much is up. Lots of tiny details show us that time is weighing heavily on everyone and doesn't feel like it's moving at all.
- But a few things happen.
- The terrorists decide Messner is their favorite negotiator and refuse to work with anyone else. Good for Messner?
- Mr. Hosokawa has learned some Spanish. He also discovers that he's not really concerned about his company, Nansei. Which is not exactly what a CEO puts at the top of his LinkedIn profile.
- People point out where they're from on a globe. The younger terrorists are curious, so they make a game of it.
- One of the younger terrorists, Ishmael, tries to play this game with Ruben Iglesias. Ruben almost wishes he could adopt the boy because he seems so young and vulnerable. Ruben tries to explain that he and the boy live in the same place on the globe, but the boy says Ruben doesn't know how to play. What's clear is someone needs geography lessons.
- Ruben sees the terrible condition of the boy's boots and tells him to take some tennis shoes or boots from one of the closets.
- A few of the hostages talk about planning an uprising and getting away, but they don't have any luck convincing anybody else.
- The soldiers spend time exploring the house. One day Simon Thibault turns on the television to amuse them. They're pretty surprised, and they make a lot of noise, since they've never seen a working television.
- That's what we said: they've never seen a working television.
- Other terrorists show up, and the three Generals slam Simon into the wall. He gets a cut lip. Yowch! All because he turned on a TV. Lucky it wasn't a soap opera.
- The Generals do know how to work the television, and the terrorists start watching while Simon slips out of the room. Hard to blame him for giving up at this point.
- Two of the terrorist soldiers turn out to be women. One is named Beatriz, the other Carmen. Beatriz doesn't mind people knowing she's a woman, but when she tells people Carmen is female, Carmen gets upset and heads off to the kitchen with her revolver. Surprisingly, no one follows her. Or maybe it's not so surprising, because: revolver.
- Anyway, everyone assumes she'll eventually come back.
- Ruben Iglesias starts talking to Oscar Mendoza, a contractor who, in real life, lives nearby. Oscar says he didn't notice a girl and implies this is because the only woman one could notice was Roxane Coss. He says he wants to tell her he loves her, and he and Ruben chew the fat about this for a while. He says it's Ruben's house, and if Ruben wants to tell Roxane he loves her, Oscar will let him go first.
- It's kind of weird.
- Ruben isn't sure it would be appropriate. But he considers the possibility.
- Oscar says they'll get killed in the end and he wants to make some sort of effort. But he also thinks of his wife and five daughters and worries that boys are trying to seduce the daughters. This makes Oscar rethink the plan of telling Roxane he loves her.
- He and Ruben then start to talk about their hopes of getting out of the hostage situation, and Oscar says he's changed his mind and doesn't think anyone will kill him. Ruben leans his head against Oscar's shoulder and says he likes this talk better than thinking they'll die.
- Um. Cute?
- The scene changes. Roxane Coss is hoping to find an accompanist so she can practice. She doesn't really want to sing for the terrorists, but she's missing her music.
- Gen helps her out, since he's the only one who can talk to everyone present. He asks tons of people. No luck.
- Finally Tetsuya Kato, who is a vice president at Mr. Hosokawa's company, walks to the piano and begins to play Chopin's Nocturne opus 9 in E Flat major no 2. That's convenient.
- Everyone is surprised. Gen has known him for years and had no idea that he could play.
- Now Kato's an instant star. His music pulls everyone together around the piano.
- And we mean everyone. Carmen comes out of the kitchen, where she's been hiding all this time after getting upset with Beatriz earlier. The Generals even gather to listen.
- General Benjamin is glad they've found an accompanist.
- Mr. Hosokawa is proud that someone from his company is the pianist.
- Smiles all around.
- Roxane Coss shakes Kato's hand and he bows his head, and it's clear that he will accompany her after this.
- Pretty awesome for a guy whose main gig is corporate work and who usually plays in his house. It's like getting discovered by a famous band when you've been playing in your parents' garage.