"I'll have to think about it."

"Don't take too much time, Casey."

"How many others are in there with you?"

"Seven, "Casey replied.

"Are any of them hurt?"

"Not yet. As long as they leave me alone they'll stay that way."

"What's it going to take to let all of them go and end this, Casey?"

"I haven't decided yet. You'll give me anything I want?"

"Within reason."

"What are they worth to you?"

"That's not up to me."

"I'm gonna have to think about it."

The phone clicked. "Damn!" Chris yelled. "He hung up."

"What do you want to do, Chris?" Pride asked, studying the young agent's face.

"I need to get in there. I think he's just a scared kid. I don't think he wants to hurt anyone."

"How do you plan on doing that?"

"I haven't figured that out yet." Chris un-holstered his gun from his belt and put it in his ankle holster. "If he sees a weapon he may hurt the others."

"Chris, it's not a good idea," Pride said.

"You said yourself I'm in charge, King."

"That's not what I meant," Pride replied. "How do you know he won't see the gun?"

"I don't know, but I'm not going in there without protection."

Pride dug a headphone out of his pocket. "At least take this."

Chris held out his hand. "This is harder to conceal than the gun."

"You won't listen to me about the weapon. I understand your logic but I want to know what's going on in there."

"Are you plannin' on takin' the kid out, King?"

"If I have to. Yes."

Chris put the com back on Pride's hand. "That is exactly what I'm trying to avoid."

"Christopher."

Chris raised a hand. "I'm sorry, King."

"We're gonna talk about this later."

"I'll be looking forward to it." Chris walked away from the group. Pride followed him up the stairs and through the front door. Christ stopped and turned around. "I gotta do this, King."

"I'll be right outside."

Chris nodded and started walking again. He signaled for the SWAT team to stop at the end of the hall. He walked on by himself. He tiptoed up to the back door of the classroom and slowly turned the handle. It was unlocked. Chris knelt down and opened the door, slowly. He walked in and shut the door gently behind him. He put a finger to his lips when one of the other kids notice him.

Casey had been sitting at the teacher's desk, pretending to read. "You didn't think I'd see you?"

"I would never think that," Chris said, standing up. "I figured we should talk face to face."

"You just wanted to get in here so you can shoot me yourself. You want to be a hero and take the kid down."

"I don't want to shoot anyone, Casey. Especially not you. That would get me in more trouble than I am already in with my boss."

"He told you not to come in here, didn't he?" Chris nodded. "But you did it anyway."

"I'm the one they called to help. Not him"

"I'll bet that went over really well when you told him that."

Chris sighed. "I've never been good at taking orders."

"How is that you still have a job?"

"My boss. He's real patient and gives me a lot of chances that I don't deserve."

"What are you really doing here?"

"I was hoping maybe you'd let me take Mr. Rucker's place. There are EMTs outside waiting to take him to the hospital."

"Then I suppose you'll ask me to let the others go too."

"What purpose do they serve?"

"Power. Everyone here bullies me. Now I get to do the same to them."

"By waving a gun at them?"

"It's not loaded."

"How is it that Mr. Rucker got shot?"

"There was only one bullet in it. It wasn't meant for him."

"Who was it meant for?"

"We'll get to that later. Did you bring a gun with you?"

Chris turned around slowly. "No."