Sam's POV:
The sound of ringing in the background was what brought me out of the darkness at first…but what happened. I opened my eyes slowly at first and then all the way as I tried to move my arms but couldn't. My hands were cuffed behind my back and I can feel a headache coming. I remember Janice hitting me in the side and then whacking me on my left temple as I kept her from taking Ed as a hostage. Ed!
"Don't make any sudden movements or they will know you have regained consciousness," spoke a young man to me. He was one of the hostages that hasn't said anything the whole time we have been stuck in this stupid grocery store.
"Wha…" I felt myself say as the guy put a hand up to his lips for me to be quiet. I could hear arguing and the continuing ringing of a phone. Why weren't they answering the phone? What happened? I turned my head to look towards where the yelling was occurring to see Janice yelling with the mustache man as they kept pointing to the ringing phone and then towards where I was with the young man.
"Ah…you are awake," spoke Janice as I noticed her walk towards where I was laying. I noticed her kneel down next to where we were and then I felt her grab my hair as I couldn't help but let out a moan as my head was pulled back and up some. I tried to get my knees under me but the pain coursing through my body was almost unbearable. By the time I opened up my eyes I realized that it was just that other young man and myself in the room we were in…a storage room…not in line of the cameras.
"What's up Janice?" I questioned as I noticed her fuming as I felt myself pushed to my left side as I smacked against the concrete and just laid there.
"You ruined everything!" she yelled as I noticed the mustache guy come into the room as well, "you made it where I couldn't take the bald guy as a hostage and therefore made it where I had to attack you. Your men are confused at the moment and do not know what to do, and I don't know what to tell them!"
"Put him on the phone," spoke the mustache man as I just looked up at him confused, "get him to have them give us more time or we will shoot this guy here who has been tending for you." I looked from the bearded man to the young man who was just sitting leaning against the wall just looking at me sadly.
"Tell your friends you are hostage, don't worry about me," spoke the young man as I watched as the bearded man just turned and brought his gun down on the man.
"Stop…I will tell them what you want, just don't hurt him anymore," I spoke as I could even hear the defeat in my voice. If it meant that this guy was going to be safe if I just talked to my team again then I would do that.
"Good, you do anything funny and I will shoot him," spoke the bearded man as he picked up the ringing phone and answered it then put it on speakerphone before placing it to the ground.
"Janice?" questioned the voice as I knew instantly that it was Greg. I don't even know what to say but I have to say something. Before I could respond, Greg continued to talk, "thank you for answering the phone. Can you tell me how the other hostage is doing? Also, I would appreciate it if you could move him back out to where we can see him. I don't know how much longer I can give you more time if you continue to hide the hostage from my sight, for I cannot tell if he is alright at the moment. Well?" I noticed Janice shake her head side to side to show that she was not wanting to move the young man back into the open.
"No." I stated as I noticed there was a pause on the other side of the phone as Greg realized that it was me who said that.
"Sam, buddy…you doing okay?" questioned Greg's voice with some concern in it at the same time Janice bent down and whispered in my ear. "Get him to think you are fine and that I lied. You are still the subject and in charge in here. Do it or I will make sure your team dies."
"Yes, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"
"Janice mentioned she set you up to do this and that you were just working because you didn't want anything to happen to us. She also mentioned you had been shot. So are you doing alright?" So that is what they must have been yelling about. Janice in her anger to me about letting Ed go she blurted to them that I was in here as the hostage. I already know they will kill me if they get the chance.
"They lied; I'm still the one in charge here."
"Don't you lie to me Sam; I saw her beating you up when I left. You wouldn't let her take me as a hostage," spat Ed's voice on the line. Greg must have it set up in everyone's headsets.
"It was all a plan. A plan to get it where you thought I was a hostage, for you guys to lower your defenses and I guess that is what you have done since you have yet tried to storm the store area again. I am going to have to call you back in a minute." With that I hung up the phone and turned to Janice, "You are going to unhand cuff me so that I can go out where he can see me while I drag the hostage out there. If not, then there is no way that any of us are going to get out of here alive." I felt Janice come and un-cuff me and hand me her gun.
"Don't try anything," spoke the bearded man as I just looked at him like did he really need to keep telling me these things.
"I got it," I stated as I pushed the guy forward as I dialed the phone.
"You are going to move that gun away from that guy's head, now!" yelled Greg into the phone as I just was startled to hear him yelling. What all did I miss why I was out, and it is so dark outside now.
"What time is it?" I asked as I turned to the young man. He seemed to know that I didn't want to harm him but he was standing up showing the people outside that we were obliging with their requests.
"It's 6:15pm," replied the man as I could hear Greg talking on his end but I decided to pay no attention to it.
"You will hand him over Sam or we will have to take you down. You will not be doing more killings today!" stammered Greg into the phone. Killings? What were they talking about? I haven't killed anyone and I don't know of any killings other than that boy that Janice killed when they first entered the store…when I shot at Wordy.
"The others…they shot and killed 3 out of the 5 hostages, myself included in that count. They killed one hostage when the bomb squad arrived, another when SWAT arrived, and the third was killed when the officers were approaching the store. All of this happened while you were out," spoke the young man as I guess shock was just on my face as I couldn't believe what he was talking about. I was probably knocked out around 4 or 4:30, and it seems like I was out of it for quite some time. And in that time, the other subjects in here happened to kill three people making it where the likelihood that we get out of here safely is not going to happen.
"My team?" I questioned as I had hung up on Greg when he mentioned that there were killings as I had my focus on this young man.
"They seem to be fine at the moment. After Janice said that you were a hostage in this situation they tried hard to get contact with you but not getting anything they seemed defeated. They kept calling and calling but nothing. The bearded guy had caused another one of the explosions to go off while you were out severely injuring a couple of cops. I want to say whatever doubt that your team still had about you possibly being a hostage vanished and they started to act rash making the guys in charge in here act rasher. I know you are only doing what you are doing to make sure your team gets out of here alive, and for that I agreed to be the last hostage in here. They did let one hostage go, since I told you about the 3 out of 5 dead. The one hostage that left here, left here alive but it was a scared teenager girl. I doubt she would have said anything to your team," replied the man. So he knew why I was doing what I was doing and was completely behind backing me up.
"Why are you okay backing me up even though it could get you killed?" I felt myself question as I knew Janice and the bearded man were getting whatever they had initially came here for.
"Because I had an older brother who died in the war, but he let me know before he went for his last tour that some people have it hard but soldiers are the ones who do the craziest things…even if it means their life is on the line for others. I get that you are trying to put your life on the line for your team, but that doesn't mean you need to die," replied the man.
"What's your name?" I spoke as I was looking at him not believing that he was willing to risk his life so that I wouldn't have mine taken from me protecting others.
"James," replied the man, "look out!" I heard the man tell me his name was James and then him scream, pain, and hitting the ground hard. I couldn't figure out what was going on until I heard voices around me and then yelling.
"You okay?" questioned Janice's voice as I noticed her bending down over me as I opened up my eyes but then squinted them again as pain rushed up my left arm as I tried to push myself up to move.
"Careful," spoke James's voice as I looked to where he was being held up by the bearded man. There was blood down the right side of his shirt as I looked at him with panic in my eyes.
"You're bleeding!" I stammered as I tried to get to my feet but felt someone instantly put pressure on my left upper arm making me stay where I was as pain moved through me.
"It's not his, it's yours. They shot at you. I saw the little laser hitting your heart and pushed you out of the way right when the shot was fired. I was able to get you out of the way enough where you only got scrapped but…" spoke Jack as I could tell that he felt bad about not getting me out of the way completely.
"A scrape, that's all," I replied as I noticed the doctor bending down and cleaning my wound and then wrapping a bandage around it, "now what the hell did you do to the hostages!" I knew I was yelling as I stood up and turned my gun on Janice as I could hear the phone ringing. I guess they noticed two of us go down, and the bearded man was basically hiding James due to his size. What Greg was calling about now, I have no idea. I'm mad…they shot at me when I was talking to Jack, and for that I guess I let my defenses down some since I wasn't expecting a sniper to try to take me down. The fact that they were going for my heart instead of my head is surprising but then again, I could have moved and that was the only shot they were able to get.
"You weren't awake. You even warned them that if they called bomb squad you would kill a hostage so that is what we did! What did you expect us to do?" hollered Janice.
"Get what you came for already. I've been buying them time like you said but then you want me to buy you some more time when you don't even have the decency to tell me that you killed people."
"Well we almost have what we came for!" yelled Janice as I noticed her go and open the phone and shove it at me, "finish what you said you would do or I will make sure every member of your team is taken care of." With that Janice hit the redial button and the speakerphone button as I could hear the other side pickup.
"Yes," replied Greg's voice.
"You tried to kill me," I replied trying to keep my voice calm. I knew they could see what was going down since the cameras seemed to still be up.
"Apparently it didn't work."
"Yea, you almost killed the hostage instead."
"I see he is alright though…why he pushed you out of the way I do not know."
"I hear you called for bomb squad, SWAT, and tried to forcefully approach the building and all three times you had to deal with a death. I would hate to be the person who would have to tell their families is that the reason they died is because the police called bomb squad or something like that. How are you doing though Greg? I heard that it has been a stressful few hours."
"Why do I need to tell you, when you were the one that ordered the killings," spat Greg, "now what do you say about letting him go?"
"Why just so Ed there can have a clear shot at shooting me down?"
"No need for that," replied Janice as I turned to her and noticed her smiling at me, "we got what we wanted, so thanks for keeping your team at bay for me." I noticed her quickly approaching me as I turned and raised my gun and shot the bearded man in the upper right shoulder. I watched as he fell to the ground.
"James, RSD!" I yelled as I noticed him just staring at me shocked, "now!" I watched him turn and start running down the aisle towards the right side door as I heard other people running to the front of the store where we were from within as I turned to look at Janice and noticed her smiling as I felt something cold and hard hit me against the side of the neck and then darkness along with a couple more shots fired. What is going on?
Reviews greatly appreciated! :)
