Chapter Three
"How is he?" Lee asked, moving carefully while the gunmen's attention was on the phone call.
"He's stable for the time being, but he needs medical attention," the nurse replied, applying pressure to the security guard's shoulder. The guard's head was tilted to one side in an uncomfortable sleep, while the red splotches on his cheeks signaled a fever. "I'm Tracy by the way," she added, her dark brown hair framing a delicate face sporting very little make-up. Her natural beauty needed little help as her brown eyes filled with compassion for her "patient".
"My name is Lee," he answered, smiling in response, before addressing the other hostages. "Is everyone okay?" He motioned a finger to his mouth to indicate they should speak quietly, as the ones that could hear him nodded, some in weaker nods than others.
"Young man," the elderly man called. "My wife needs her inhaler."
"I'm going to see what I can do about that," he promised, "just be patient and let the police play this out. They're going to do everything they can to get us out of here," Lee encouraged. The group nodded back and Lee sank back into this spot when it looked as if the phone call was coming to an end, with the encouragement he'd given providing much needed comfort. He was settling back into his spot when he heard a small voice.
"Pssst."
Lee turned toward the four-year-old, who was watching him intently. The young boy's eyes were red from tears, but the small smile on his face was unmistakable. He returned the smile, hoping to offer reassurance to the young lad.
"Glasses?" the boy whispered unsuccessfully, and talking a little too loudly for their situation.
"Shhhh," his mother urged, gentling his face against her shoulder as Kyle noticed and looked over.
"Quiet over there," he ordered, then peered at the mother and son for a moment before turning his attention back to Jason.
Lee was perplexed for a moment at the boy's request, before it dawned on him what he wanted. He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out his Ray-Ban Aviator sunglasses. He handed them over, placing a finger to his mouth to be quiet, then winked when the boy put his finger to his own mouth and nodded in agreement, then slid his thumb into his mouth. His mother moved to stop his thumb sucking, a habit she was obviously trying to break, but thought better of it, snuggling him in closer and allowing the boy the comfort he was able to offer himself. He rested his head against her shoulder, holding the folded sunglasses in one hand and sucking his thumb somewhat content.
The whole exchange only sealed Lee's concern for the group. Police were more and more, taking a stance of non-negotiations with hostage-holders these days. Instead, they would seek to wear down the gunmen, seizing upon their weaknesses as they presented themselves, in an effort to curb the rash of bank robberies with hostages that had occurred as of late. He could only hope the police were tuned into the fact that the gunmen had already shot the guard, clearly demonstrating their violent tendencies. Furthermore, they had shown little concern for the injured man; no mercy for the medication the elderly woman required; and some subtle indications that he feared could turn very bad if JD continued to show interest in the young woman he had singled out earlier. Add to that the fact that there was a child involved, and he knew a resolution needed to be worked out soon.
He leaned his head back against the wall silently working through several options, before settling on one in particular. He'd wait to see what the police could negotiate, but he'd be ready to act quickly if things took a deep dive south.
# # # # #
"Do you think that was smart, Jason?" JD asked, his concern etched deeply on his face that their leader had hung up on the cops.
"You don't get it, do you? We're the ones in charge, and the sooner they realize it, the sooner we get what we want. How does living on a little island somewhere suit you? The good life on the beach, being served drinks with umbrellas in them by a pretty girl in a bikini?" he added, sweetening the pot for his young friend.
"You really think so, Jason? You really think they'll give us a plane out of here?"
"They'll call back soon, and I'll lay it all out on the line, boys. Trust me. If they don't, we'll show them we mean business with one of the hostages," he added darkly.
"I didn't sign up for that, Jason," Ted joined in nervously, displaying the first sign of any disagreement with the leader so far.
"Trust me, Ted, just trust me. I got you out of tough times before, didn't I?"
Ted lowered his eyes, expelling a long breath and nodded. "Yeah Jason, I haven't forgot what you did," he agreed devoutly.
Jason placed an approving hand on Ted's shoulder and then turned toward Kyle, who had turned sideways to keep a watch over the hostages while monitoring the conversation.
"What about you, Kyle? You got any second thoughts?"
Kyle pursed his lips and shook his head slowly. "No man; not me. If it's a fight they want, then it's a fight they'll get," he said with confidence to the man who had given him a purpose again in life.
"And the hostages?" Jason probed.
"Every war has its casualties," he answered with cold-blooded indifference, his answer sending a chill up the spine of many of the hostages who were listening to the exchange.
The chill in the air produced by Kyle's remark only heightened when the silence was broken by the shrill sound of the phone ringing once again. Jason reached for the phone, resting his hand on it while looking toward his three accomplices, all nodding their devoted faith in their leader. Jason smiled and answered on the third ring.
"Hello."
"Jason, this is Capt. Thompson. I'd like to talk."
"Well now, that's good, 'cause I want to talk too."
"That's good, Jason. We'd like to know…"
"This is my show, Captain," Jason interrupted. "Now, I've got twenty-four hostages in here with me, including a security guard with a bullet in his shoulder and a kid. So, the first thing I'd advise is for that sharp shooter of yours to withdraw, because I'll take out five hostages for any one of my boys that goes down. If you don't believe I'll do it, check my record… I'm Jason Worley and if you check real hard, you'll know I mean business."
"Okay, Jason, I hear you loud and clear, but I want assurances that those hostages will be unharmed if I negotiate in good faith."
"You keep your end of the bargain, and I'll keep mine."
"Fine then, let's talk. Face to face," Thompson suggested.
"No way man, you think I'm crazy?"
"Okay, how do I know you have twenty-four hostages?" the captain asked, pushing the point in an attempt to get detailed information on the captives.
"I thought you'd say that," he said with a grin, pleased that he had foreseen the question. "I've got me here the names of each hostage, are you ready?"
"I'm ready, Jason," the captain replied.
Jason began reading from the list he had made earlier. When he read the last name, he laid the paper down and slammed the receiver onto the cradle deliberately. "That should give them something to think about for a while," he announced.
"I don't like all this waiting," JD said, pacing back and forth to use up some pent up nervous energy.
"Relax, JD, we're holding all the cards, and each one of those hostages is like an Ace in the hole. You got to make them sweat it out; otherwise they think they're in control."
"Okay, I guess," he answered, but continued his pacing while Ted took a seat on top of one of the desks, dangling a leg over the edge and seemingly unconcerned.
Meanwhile, Kyle continued his vigilant watch over the hostages, his eyes moving up and down the line of men and women against the wall; his heartless gaze boring into the eyes of any hostage who dared look him in the eye.
# # # # #
"Excuse me," Mr. Harper said, raising his hand tentatively to get his captor's attention. "My wife needs her medication."
"It's okay, John," she said, her breathing short and labored. "I'll be all right," she urged, not wanting her husband to bring attention to himself.
Kyle made no move, but Ted answered from his spot on the desk.
"She looks fine to me," he said with no concern whatsoever.
"Please sir," Mr. Harper continued. "It's the inhaler; she'll be fine as long as we…"
"I said, she looks fine!" Ted shouted, standing and taking heated steps toward them.
Lee just couldn't sit and watch as the confrontation escalated, moving quickly to intercept Ted's advance on the elderly couple. His movement garnered instant attention from Kyle, however, as he leveled his already cocked weapon, while sounds of confusion and fear from fellow hostages added to the tense scene.
Lee stood his ground between Ted and the elderly couple with his hands raised in front of him, hoping to placate the gunmen.
"Sit down!" Kyle ordered as one of the other men had risen to try and help as well. He sat slowly, but Lee remained standing.
"Listen, all she needs is her inhaler, you've got to know that if she gets worse you'll end up with a medical emergency, and that won't help your cause any," he reasoned with his hands still raised in submission.
"Are you looking for trouble, Hero?" Ted asked, moving closer, his handgun drawn and pointed menacingly at Lee's middle.
"I'm not looking for trouble, but she needs her medication. What can it hurt to give her the inhaler?" he asked, appealing to Ted's humanity, which he seriously doubted existed at this point.
"I ought to put a hole in you right now," Ted threatened.
"Give it a rest, Ted," Jason said from across the room. "You pull that trigger and we'll have the sharp-shooter picking out targets in no time."
Ted took a step back.
"Here," Jason said walking part-way over and tossing the inhaler to Ted. "Give her the damn thing so I can think."
Lee stepped aside as Ted tossed the inhaler to Mr. Harper, his disdain toward the old man abundantly apparent.
"Thank you," Mr. Harper offered gratefully to Ted's disgusted roll of the eyes. "Here Martha," he said, and then sighed with relief when she took the necessary dosage.
"All right Hero, back to your spot," Jason ordered.
Lee turned, only too happy to comply with his only goal to secure the inhaler for Mrs. Harper fulfilled, but with his back turned, he completely missed the slight nod from Jason. The next thing he knew, he was the recipient of a mean jab to his back, courtesy of Kyle's rifle butt. He ended up on his knees, gasping for his next breath at the heavy blow and barely hearing Jason's words in the background.
"Don't none of you think you can stand up to us again," Jason threatened with his gun drawn as Lee was pulled to his feet by both arms, with Ted on one side and JD on the other.
"Now you're gonna get what's coming to you, Hero," Ted said from his left side as Lee took a solid fist in the face from Kyle.
His head whipped to the left and then the right, before Kyle landed three consecutive blows to his gut that nearly raised him off his feet with each punch. The muscular man followed up with an upper cut that buckled Lee's knees as he hung limply between his captors. JD's disturbing giggles filled the air, as his perverted excitement over the beating escalated.
"That's enough," Jason ordered, stopping the assault before addressing the rest of the hostages. "A word of wisdom to all of you, don't mess with us if you want to get out of this alive."
At that, Lee was dragged and dropped unceremoniously in his spot, where he crumbled to the floor struggling to put air into his lungs.
# # # # #
It had been a calculated risk to stand up to Ted, and though he was caught off guard by the jab in the back, he couldn't say he was completely surprised by the attack. It wasn't the worst beating he'd ever received, but he was well aware of several fractured ribs, courtesy of Kyle's iron fist. The big man had put every pound of his ample muscle behind every punch and subsequently, he was now the recipient of dark bruises on his jaw, along with a swollen right eye. He wiped a thin stream of blood from the side of his mouth with the back of his hand and concentrated on breathing shallowly, his newly cracked ribs protesting with every breath.
"Are you, all right?" Tracy asked, from her place, still watching over her patient.
Lee's head rested against the back of the wall as he swallowed and nodded. "I'm okay, tell Mrs. Harper, I'm okay," he said, having picked up on her cries above the other hostages as he was dragged to his spot.
He closed his eyes to discourage further conversation; the last thing he needed was for Jason to start in on any other hostages. A soft whimper from his left, reminded him that the young boy had witnessed the violence.
"It's okay Timmy, time for your nap," his mother urged, having not been completely successful in keeping him from seeing the attack.
Lee looked over to see Timmy staring back at him and smiled, hoping to show the boy that he really was fine.
"Ouchie," Timmy said sympathetically, pointing toward Lee's face.
"It's all right. Take your nap like your mommy says," he whispered with a small smile and then rested his head back against the wall when Timmy nodded and closed his eyes. The hostage situation was in danger of being on a collision course with disaster, and he could only hope that the police negotiator had sized the situation up right. He had a backup plan if negotiations failed, but now wasn't the time. If the negotiator could bring this to a peaceful end, then he was all for it; but if not, he had his own ace in the hole to play.