Once again, please let me know if any of the characters are OOC. I love constructive criticism as well.
"Anyone else have something to add?" Sarge added at the end of the debrief, making Ed smile at the groans elicited from his fellow teammates. He even added one of his own, wanting to head home to his wife and son. Nobody had anything to add. "Then get out of here," Sarge waved his hand, a weary smile on his face as he dismissed them.
Usually as team leader, Constable Ed Lane waited for the rest of his team to disperse before he got up. Today, he was just as anxious as the rest of them. It had been a long shift. Something about rogue snipers really took it out of him. He stood up and followed the guys into the locker room, giving Sarge a pat on the shoulder as he headed out.
"So we were sitting there for the better part of two hours before-" Spike was already mid-story by the time Ed entered the room. Ed tuned him out somewhere between the bad service and the cold food of his latest restaurant endeavor. The tale was over before he realized his brain had unintentionally stopped listening.
Ed had packed up his gear, changed into civilian clothes and exited the room before he even recognized he had. It was like walking through a haze. All he could think about was getting home, because the alternative was thinking about the night's cases. He wanted to let those thoughts rest until at least tomorrow.
The hall was quiet for a moment. The Boss was still in the briefing room. The rest of the team had not finished changing. The hall was silent except for the steady beat his shoes rapped out against the ground until another pair joined his own at a much faster pace. Sam's voice made Ed stop.
"Hey, wait!"
He wanted to groan with impatience. He was so close to going home. Still, Ed turned around and faced Sam, who appeared rumpled from his rush to get dressed and catch up with him.
"I know it's late, but could you spare me a ride home?" Sam all but pleaded.
Ed would have laughed if he wasn't so tired. This coming from the guy who sold his car thinking he didn't need it anymore. Still, he couldn't say no. Sam's place was hardly out of the way. It would add only minutes to his trip. They all hadn't had the easiest day, Sam included. Maybe Sam especially. It was always hard to lose a subject after you connect to them.
"You ready to get out of here?" Ed asked dubiously looking at the unzipped duffle flung over Sam's shoulder.
"Yes, sir."
"Let's go," Ed said as a way of showing Sam that he didn't mind giving him a lift. The smile it brought to his face was worth the few minutes. Sam was still like a kid in some ways like that. Then again, Ed didn't envy the guy for having to make it home on his own steam. He might smile like that from the reprieve too.
They made their way to Ed's parked car. Sam threw his duffle in the back seat and Ed waited a moment for his friend to get settled. "I have to stop at the store for a sec, you mind?" he asked as he turned to back out of his spot.
"Nah, that's fine."
"Good, 'cause we're stopping anyways," Ed said. The serious tone belied the intentions of the words being a joke. They came out weaker than he intended. He was tired and putting any emotion in his voice required effort. He could tell Sam felt the same way, or at least he assumed from the noncommittal nod he got for a response.
Normally he would put off the store until tomorrow, but Sophie had texted him earlier in the day for him to pick up a few items on his way home.
It was nearing eleven o'clock, when the superstore near them closed. He hadn't expected to be in this much of a rush to get there. He hadn't expected for a lot of today's events. It came with the job. And dealing with his job was one of the many things Ed loved about his wife. Most of the time she could brush off a late night or early morning, but he could feel her annoyance sometimes. He needed to remind her that he was there for her, for both of them, particularly after a day like this. They were probably all over the news. Letting his wife know he could still help out sometimes was worth the time and effort it took for a few items from the store.
The two rode in silence. And while that might have been awkward in any other situation, it was a companionable silence. When they reached the store, Ed had to focus more than usual as he pulled into a parking spot. "You can stay in the car if you want," Ed offered.
"I'd probably fall asleep," Sam got out. "What d' you need?"
"Sophie wanted me to pick up some detergent and flour."
"Sounds like an interesting meal."
Ed threw Sam a look as they walked in through the automatic doors. "Divide and Conquer? You take detergent, I'll take flour?"
Sam nodded. "Does that make me Sierra One?" He called out at Ed's turned back. He didn't have to hide his smile as he turned down the aisle of baking necessities. Powdered sugar, brown sugar, salt. He moved to about halfway down before he came to the flour.
Self-rising flour, organic flour, instant flour, gluten flour. Ed spent a moment contemplating his options. Sophie hadn't specified the type. He hadn't baked in god knows how long. They all looked the same to him, packaged neatly in bags placed side by side. It was too late for this.
Taking a guess and grabbing the all-purpose, because that made the most sense, Ed examined the back for any evidence that this was the wrong target. It looked innocent enough. Sophie couldn't get too mad if she didn't specify anyway. He didn't spend a moment thinking of the sizes, which one she needed. The five pound bag looked good enough.
Mission accomplished. Maybe sometime he'd have Sophie emphasize the different types, or he'd just let her continue to do the shopping. The latter seemed like a good option. It's not like he'd have her pick out the best tactical solution to a bomb threat.
Ed wondered how Sam was faring with the detergent. He almost shuddered at the multitude of brands, types, and scents. He wondered if there was an all-purpose detergent as well.
He made his way back to the front of the store to meet up Sam, knowing he wouldn't spend too long debating garden lilac versus sunset breeze. He moved to the magazines in front of the checkout, giving a nod to the cashier before turning to face the aisles. This turned out to be a mistake.
Maybe it was because of the stressful day of making decisions and running up and down flights of stairs. Maybe it was the fact he was no longer in his uniform and left the job at work. Maybe it was simply because the guys were sneaky, but Ed decided against the last thought after further inspection.
He heard someone enter the store through the jingling of the bell. He heard footsteps, but this didn't concern him. Ed had just gone in minutes before in a similar fashion. It was not even worth turning around, or so he thought.
He was corrected by the distinctive sound of a gun cocking.
If there was one benefit of being in the SRU, it was that Ed did not panic at this sound. He didn't scream like the young cashier behind him or fall to the ground like the elderly man walking up the beverage aisle. He simply switched back into work mode.
"Everybody on the ground!" A voice called out, probably a teenager if the crack had any indication. "On the ground!"
Ed raised his hands in the air slowly, still holding the bag of flour. "I'm going to turn around now," he announced, moving slowly before the gunman could respond. When he sunk to his knees, he came face to face with four subjects, all clad in black ski masks.
He knew they weren't professional immediately from the nervous stance of one of the members and the awkward way one of them held the gun. Three of the subjects were clearly armed. The nervous one didn't have a weapon in sight. The one who had spoken initially held a single action revolver in his direction, another had his gun facing down towards the cashier, who was shaking already.
"Over there," the one pointing the gun at him gestured at him. He motioned for Ed to get closer to the man sprawled on the floor, who had gingerly moved his old limbs into a semi-upright position. The leader told the same to the cashier. "You," he pointed to one of his partners, "go check out the rest of the store."
That subject moved immediately to the first aisle and ran down it like he was straight out of a Mission Impossible movie. If he didn't have a gun pointed straight at him, he would have rolled his eyes.
"Eyes over here!" the leader shouted at him. Ed looked to him calmly.
"My name's Ed Lane," he began.
"Shut up, move over there." The leader was still speaking with highly agitated words. The other two hung back behind him, almost nervous to stand too close.
"Okay, I'm standing up to walk over there."
The gunman nodded, gesturing again with his gun. Ironically, Ed hoped he could handle the thing. He didn't want it accidentally going off. He got down to his knees slowly next to the old man. When the leader turned to move the cashier in their direction, he helped him up.
"How are you doing?" Ed asked quietly. The man did a combination of shaking and nodding his head that Ed could only assume meant he was okay for now. He didn't have time to say anything else when the leader faced them again.
"Okay," the leader reassured himself. "Okay," This time he spoke louder. "Where do you keep the money?"
If he hadn't thought they were amateurs before, Ed certainly did now. The cashier would have little ability to reach any of the money apart from what was in her drawer. He knew this before she shook her head and got closer to the floor in submission. The manager of the store, wherever he or she was, would know, not an entry level position worker.
This manager was probably somewhere else in the store, maybe the back. Then again, so were any other customers, including Sam. Ed wished there was a way to make contact to his teammate, or at least hoped he would stay in the back until he realized something was going on. Sam was aware of his surroundings though, if anything the military taught him that. Ed hoped Sam was alert enough to recognize the threat.
"Where do you keep the money?" the leader shouted once again when the cashier didn't respond at first.
The girl, probably only 16, didn't look like she was about to answer. Ed stepped in for her.
"She's just a cashier. She doesn't have access to anything beyond the drawer."
Despite the calm tone in his voice, the gunman turned on him suddenly and Ed found himself closer to the business end of the revolver than he would have liked. He suspected that he could get access to the weapon fairly easily, but there were other hostages and subjects to deal with. It was too risky.
The gunman paused. "How would you know that?"
"It's to protect the store, so employees don't steal from them," Ed said slowly.
There was a crashing sound from the aisle over, further back in the store. The gun went flying in that direction, and Ed really wished he would stop throwing that thing around. At least the other armed guy kept his weapon to the ground, flicking his head in the same direction.
"Jon? You a'ight?" the one with his gun down called.
They were using first names apparently. Aside from the masks, little they did suggested the group knew what they were doing.
There were several choice words from the subject he assumed was named Jon. Emerging from two aisles over was an overweight man, hands in the air, wearing a half tucked in collared button-up and sporting a terrified expression on his face. Behind him was Jon, gun pointed to the man. "He called 911," Jon said, holding a cellphone in his free hand.
"Dammit," the only unarmed subject said, turning around and looking like he was about to puke. "Let's get out of here," he sounded worse than the manager looked.
Ed looked at this subject carefully. He was definitely the smallest of the group, standing maybe 5'6'' or so, no taller. He also seemed the most skittish. He didn't have much influence on the group, nobody responded to his suggestion.
The news of 911 was a relief to Ed. They just had to hold out a few more minutes before the SRU could take over negotiations. In the back of his mind, Ed hoped Sam would stay hidden wherever he was until this whole thing was over. Somehow, he doubted his stubborn friend would do so. He wondered if Sam was even aware of the situation yet. From the nervous stance of each member, things were probably going to escalate soon.
"You haven't hurt anybody yet. That's good. When the police get here, we can talk to them, figure something out," Ed tried to reason with the subjects.
The leader swung his gun at Ed, hitting him in the jaw with more force than he would have thought possible. His vision blurred momentarily and he fell sideways with the hit.
"I said for you to shut up," the leader snarled.
"Take their cellphones," Jon said after the manager got down next to the cashier. "And their wallets."
Ed took a breath to clear his vision, feeling like the old man trying to sit up. He could feel his pulse in the burning sensation on his jaw. It wasn't broken. Ed could tell by feeling it, but the kid was stronger than his wiry frame suggested.
The cashier handed her cellphone over to one of the armed subjects, the unnamed one- not the leader who still had his gun trained on Ed. The old man only had a wallet to hand over. He didn't own a "portable phone." Ed managed to take his hand away from his swelling jaw to pull out his phone and wallet. From the way the gunman patted down the old man and the cashier, he wouldn't be able to conceal either.
"Okay," the leader muttered again. He took a step back and examined the loot the other subject had collected. "There anyone else in the store?" He looked to Jon.
"I didn't see anybody."
That wasn't a confirmation, and Ed knew for a fact that there was someone else in the store. Where, he wasn't sure. He figured by now Sam must have heard something. Maybe found an exit by now, but he figured Sam wouldn't have left him, even though he knew he should.
"D' you come with anyone else?" the leader looked at the old man, then to Ed. He didn't want to lie to the subject, that was one of the rules of negotiation. He knew that right now Sam had a tactical advantage, though, and he wasn't about to give that away. Both men shook their heads.
"That true?" the gunman looked to the cashier. The girl, with girl brown hair and tears in her eyes, started crying harder, sinking further to the ground. Ed wanted to do something to calm her down. She wasn't helping matters in any way. His jaw still ached from the last time he spoke, and clearly the subject did not want him talking. He wanted her calm, but he didn't want to escalate the situation further.
The hope that things would calm down was immediately squashed when sirens were heard from outside. The skittish one, the one who wasn't armed, outwardly jumped. The others turned their head and Jon let out a curse. Ed wanted to know why the police hadn't approached quietly. Clearly the SRU was not yet involved. This should be a stealth approach. Unknown hostages, unknown number of subjects. The noise was risky.
The leader turned to the cashier once again after only a second's distraction from the sirens. He moved his gun directly to her for the first time. "Did you see anyone else enter the store?"
Ed knew before she said anything that Sam didn't have a hope of remaining unknown. For a moment, Ed felt angry at the girl, knowing she was going to crack. He took a deep breath though and thought of his own son. Ed would want Clark listening to all demands if he were in the same situation.
The girl, whose nametag read Erin, took a few shuttering breaths, trying to speak. The gunman was impatient. "Did you?" He was close to shouting.
"Another guy came in with him," she cried, ducking her head down again. Ed wanted to express his frustration at the situation, but he remained calm. The leader turned back to Ed and he was starting to get put up with the gun being so close to him.
"You said you didn't come in with anybody." Now the leader's voice was much calmer, but this didn't build Ed's confidence. Before he could respond, the gunman continued. "Where is he?"
Ed told the truth. "I don't know."
This time Ed managed to duck the gun swung toward him. This only made the leader angrier and he kicked him in the side. "Tell the truth, or I'll shoot."
"I don't know where he went. He was supposed to meet me at the front of the store."
This made the leader angry. Ed wasn't sure what to expect from him next. So far, he had shown a reluctance to use his weapon for anything beyond a pointer, but he wasn't ruling him using it out yet.
"He looked like he was waiting for someone when we came in," the small one said. "He might not know."
"Shut up, Garret," the leader said, not turning around. Garret's words, however, must have had an effect because he didn't shoot Ed. He took a few steps back and looked to the cashier, Erin. "You have an intercom in here?" He asked.
The manager replied for her. "It's the phone next to the register."
The leader moved to the phone, giving the hostages the most space since this whole thing started. Ed still wasn't left with many options. He hadn't realized how long the response time of the SRU was until he was on the other side of things. Then again, between his jaw, his side, and the way things were going right now, time might be on another dimension at this point.
The leader grabbed the phone and the intercom buzzed to life, static cracking over the speakers. "What's your name?" he asked Ed, holding the phone against him so his voice would not carry.
"My name is Ed Lane," Ed began his speech once again, but the subject wouldn't let him talk. This time Jon took a step forward, gun in his direction.
The leader brought the phone to his ear. "If you want your buddy, Ed, here to be alive in the next minute, you'd better come out wherever you are," he said. Rather than his customary snarl, his voice had taken on a sing-song quality. Ed wished he had his com system, so he could order Sam away. He didn't see a positive outcome until Greg or another negotiator took on the scene. The subjects wouldn't even let Ed talk so far to start the negotiations.
Just when he wondered if the SRU would respond at all, the store behind the empty customer service counter rang. "Don't pick it up," the leader snapped.
Ed didn't turn from the aisles, looking down to see if Sam was approaching from any angle. Once again he hoped that his friend had abandoned him. It was a false hope. He knew that before Sam even was in sight.
The phone stopped ringing before it started again. The leader was becoming more and more visibly nervous.
"Maybe we should-" Garret started.
"Shut up," the leader said.
"But Tyler-"
The leader didn't speak this time, because a shot fired off. Ed's first reaction was to flinch away. His training offered him the unique experience of being around armed, angry men. He wouldn't admit aloud that there was a big difference being unarmed against them. What Ed was not expecting though, was the leader was not turned to Garret, who still fell to the ground, but in a direction behind Ed. Ed didn't want to turn when he heard the sound of a body hitting the ground, but he had already allowed two mistakes from his civilian side today. He turned, knowing there was only one unaccounted for person in the store.
"I said, shut up," the leader-Tyler-yelled to the others. He had no remorse, no noticeable shock, from shooting Sam.
Thanks for reading. Please review to find out what happens next. Also know that I am not a negotiator or in the SRU, a doctor, or anything other profession that would help me know this sort of stuff. I've just seen a lot of Flashpoint. Keep that in mind if there are some minor info errors on that sort of stuff.