CHAPTER 4

Johnny could feel his heart beating hard in his chest. He felt the barrel up against his head, and prayed that no one would do anything to startle Hamilton. He wasn't ready to die, and didn't want to die by accident. Gage looked at Roy, his eyes pleading with his friend and partner to do something, anything, to help him out of this mess.

Roy was scared and knew Johnny had to be as well. They had been in some tight spots in the past, but had always been able to rely on each other. Roy didn't know what he could do this time to help his friend. But he wasn't ready to watch him get his head blown off by this guy.

Malloy and Reed could only wait and watch. Neither of them was in any condition to take Hamilton on again. Pete could barely move with the bullet in him. And Jim got dizzy when he tried to get up. There was also a handful of SWAT cops in the room, but none of them had a clear shot at Hamilton.

It was a stand-off. A stand-off with John Gage possibly in the middle of a shootout.

"Go away," Hamilton spoke to the SWAT team. "Go away, or I'll kill him. And that other fireman will be next!"

"You won't get away with that, mister," said the team leader. "If you shoot them, we'll be forced to shoot you."

"So what! You think I don't know that's what you want to do anyway. Well, go ahead. Shoot me! Kill me! But this guy goes first!" Hamilton tightened his grip around Gage's neck.

Roy DeSoto got between the SWAT team and Hamilton, trying to calm the tension in the room. "Look guys, let's not get carried away here. We don't want to get anyone else hurt," Roy said, trying to calm himself down as well.

"Mr Hamilton….Mike...listen to . Don't hurt him. There's got to be something we can work out here. Look, I'm a paramedic, I'm here to help these guys because they're hurt, just liked my partner and I helped your wife. I don't pretend to know what's going on with your life. I don't know why all this happened today. I just know that I want out of here, in one piece. So does everybody else. But I gotta tell ya, I'm shaking like a leaf. I don't usually get involved with situations like this. I mean, I've had my share of scary rescues, but I'm outta my league here. Mike, this man is my friend. He's saved my life more times that I care to remember. And he helped save your wife's life today."

Hamilton was scared. He didn't know what to do. How had he gotten into so much trouble? How did all this happen!?

"I gotta think! Let me think!" he said. He had a good grip on Gage and wasn't about to let him go yet. He backed up against the wall, dragging Gage along with him, keeping his arm around Johnny's throat and the gun against the side of his head.

"C'mon mister, just put the gun down and we can all walk out of here," said the SWAT team leader. "It can all be over in just a few minutes. What d'ya say?"

"Shut up, cop! Just shut up!" yelled Hamilton. He pulled the gun from Gage's head and started waving it around the room. "All of you just get out of here!"

Malloy looked over at the team leader and then back to Hamilton and Gage. "Joe," he said to the SWAT leader, "back out of the room. We don't want to make things worse."

"Pete, you're hurt, man," Joe responded. "I can't just leave you guys. We're here now, and we can end this. All he has to do is put the gun down."

"Pete's right, Joe," argued Reed. "DeSoto was getting through to him before you guys crashed in here. Back off and let us handle it." But the SWAT leader didn't look like he was willing to leave.

DeSoto took in this whole conversation, while trying to think of something to say that would make Hamilton release Johnny and give himself up. He couldn't think of a thing. He was lost in this world of suspects and guns, out of his element. He knew fires and IV's. He wasn't used to somebody holding him hostage like this.

So he decided to just do the only thing he could think of. He started talking to Hamilton, hoping to reason with him.

"Look, Mike, these guys are just doing their jobs," he explained, as he slowly walked toward the distraught man. "But I really don't want to see anybody else get hurt. So how about if you let Johnny go, give the gun to me and we'll walk out of here together. What do you say, huh?"

Hamilton looked at the SWAT members, all pointing their weapons at him.

"Get them out of here first, then we'll see."

Pete turned to look at Joe Hendricks, the SWAT leader. "Look man, you're not helping matters here. Just leave and we can probably settle this."

Henderson glanced over at Malloy. "Pete, I don't like this. I don't want to leave you guys in here with him."

"It's okay, Joe, we'll be alright," said Malloy. "After all, we have medical help here already." Pete shifted his weight, wincing when he moved his arm.

DeSoto saw Pete move, and knowing he was in pain, walked over to the sofa where Pete sat, looked at the wound and checked Malloy's vitals again.

"Mr. Hamilton," Roy began, "I'll tell you what. I think these guys will leave if you let them take these injured officers with them. Their biggest concern is getting these guys to the hospital. Johnny and I will stay here as your hostages and the SWAT team can take these officers out of here."

"I don't know about that, Roy," said Pete. "It would be putting in you guys in a tough spot."

Roy chuckled softly. "Seems to me, we're already in a tough spot. Take a look, Pete, Johnny has a gun to his head. If you guys leave, maybe Hamilton will relax and let him go." DeSoto looked over at Hamilton. "So, is it a deal Mr Hamilton?"

Hamilton looked around the room. He still looked frightened and unsure of what to do.

"Mr Hamilton? Can I get these guys out of here?"

Hamilton closed his eyes, shaking his head. "I don't know," he mumbled, "I just don't know."

Johnny had been keeping quiet, afraid to speak, afraid he might spook Hamilton into making a bad move. Now he decided to get involved in this conversation..

"Mr. Hamilton, listen," Gage said, "I know you didn't mean for any of this to happen. But, you let us get your wife to the hospital. The officers getting hurt was a bad mistake, but they're not hurt seriously. If they can get to a hospital right now, they will both recover. And Roy's right, he and I will stay with you until you're ready to leave on your own. But please, let the officers go. It'll show the police outside that you mean it when you say you don't want to hurt anyone else. And it will help them relax a little and give you the time you need to think this through."

Hamilton relaxed his tight grip on Gage, but kept him close.

"Yeah, okay. Get them out of here. But make it quick."

Nobody moved for half a second. Then Roy started to help Malloy up from the couch. Hendricks directed his men to assist Reed and Malloy, and they all left through the front door. A minute later the three men left inside the house heard the siren on the ambulance that took Pete and Jim to Rampart General.

Roy spoke to Hamilton. "It's just us now Mr Hamilton. Take your time and decide what you need to do."

Hamilton slowly lowered the arm he had been holding around Gage's neck. Johnny felt the pressure release on his neck and began to pull away from Hamilton, who didn't stop him from walking away. Johnny rubbed his neck, as Roy walked over to him, making sure he wasn't hurt.

"Thank you, Mr Hamilton," Roy smiled at him. "That was a good thing you did."

"Yeah, Mr Hamilton," agreed Johnny. "Now, how about we get out of here."

Hamilton gazed at the paramedics, his shoulders slumped, dejected.

"You guys go on…leave…get out of here. I just want to sit here and think awhile," said Hamilton, as he shuffled over to the chair in the corner and sat down, still holding the revolver that he had threatened Gage with, although it was now dangling from his hand, not pointed at them.

Roy and Johnny exchanged glances. Both were thinking the same thing. They couldn't just walk away while Hamilton was still armed. He had already threatened to shoot himself. They couldn't live with themselves if they walked out and let him succeed.

As they looked back toward him, Hamilton was raising the gun to his own head. Roy was closest to him and lunged at him.

"Noooooo!" yelled DeSoto.

He was able to grab the gun and pull in away from Hamilton, but the man fought him, screaming incoherently, trying to break Roy's grip.

As Gage got close enough to grab Hamilton, he heard a shot!

/