When the window came and went, the man yanked me to my feet and forced me into the center of the lobby. I lifted both hands now, annoyed that I couldn't keep pressure on my arm. Though if he were to shoot me where I knelt, a little more blood oozing out of the graze didn't make that much of a difference.

I considered springing into action when the gun was removed from my head. A kick to the groin, a blow to the back of the head would incapacitate him long enough for me to get the gun. Maybe even long enough to get his hands tied together, and haul him out for the team to deal with. Then all I'd need was a trip to the hospital for a few stitches, and I could be back at HQ in no time. Particularly if I didn't tell Serg how bad the wound on my arm was.

I took too long thinking, and the man clipped something heavy around my neck. Dread sunk into the pit of my stomach – I didn't need him telling me what it was to know. A necklace bomb, proably similar to the one that I had dealt with more than two years ago on the night that Sam had first kissed me. I still felt like it was my fault for what had happened that night. Taking a breath, I waited for his orders.

"Stand up."

I did as I was told. The man probably had military training, to get such a good shot to the cameras. Maybe bomb expertise too, to be able to carry around a necklace bomb without worrying that it would go off if he moved wrong.

"You are going to go out there. You are going to talk to this 'Greg'. You are going to tell him that he has until 4pm to get me one million in twenties and fifties, into a car with a full tank of petrol. No trackers or anything sneaky like that. If he follows, or doesn't compley…"

"You blow my head off." I couldn't keep the bitterness out of my voice.

Why had I left my gun at home?

"Exactly. And each quarter hour beyond that, I kill one of them." He nodded to the other hostages and arranged a scarf around the bomb.

I wondered what would happen if he ran out of hostages. 4pm was only an hour and a half away.

I walked as calmly to the door as I could, and waited for Judy to open it. The two steps that led down to the street level would be more tricky, I didn't know how sensitive the bomb was now that it was connected. Getting to Serg without the police stopping me or noticing how thick of a scarf I had on might also be tricky.

Then again, the Uni's were so often dense, I doubted that they would actually notice.

Taking a breath, I stepped outside with both hands raised and made my way down the stairs. Ducking hands of the Uni's and their guns, I beelined for the van and shook my head at Serg, begging him silently not to say my name. He swallowed visible, and the concern faded from his face.

"Did he send you with a message?" He asked, getting the message.

"Yes sir. 4pm, 1 million unmarked. 20's and 50's in a car with a full tank, and one that doesn't have any sort of GPS thing. If you don't…" I unwound the scarf. "He'll detonate this."

The scarf fell away and Serg turned his back, pressing both hands against his helmet. A classic Serg position, when he tried not to show us how upset the turn of events had just made him, weather it be a hostage getting shot or the revelation that an explosive device was being used. At least being outside, there were not tables for him to slam.

Serg turned back towards me and took a breath. "Spike, jam all cell phone signals within a six block radius." He said into the headset. "Then get behind the van with your kit. We've got a code black."

I imagined the rest of the team's reaction to the code black. Explosive device with immenite threat to one or more lives. It would change the entire tactile situation, how each thing was done. Sam and Wordy would be holding off, not wanting any breeching to set off the device. Ed wouldn't take the shot even if he had the solution if the detonator was in view. No one would risk a possible dead man's switch, particularly without knowing the logistics of the device.

Though because Serg had called Spike to the far side of the van with his kit, they would know the bomb was outside, not in. Which would make it a much higher threat to the first responders on the scene. Even so, bomb squad was probably on their way.

Serg turned to several of the Uni's on the way to the meeting spot. "Let's see about meeting his demands. I'm not about to let him set off this bomb." He removed the ear piece and added in a hushed voice. "She's one of ours, and I am not about to lose my best shot." After demanding that they not reveal my identity, he put back on the ear piece and helped me onto the waiting gurney.