A/N: I am so, so, so, so, so, so, so sorry for the long wait. I really hope it won't take that long again. Hope you all don't hate me and are still reading this story.

Enjoy.

Chapter Eight

Six hours earlier, 11p.m.

Rob slowly pushed the handle of the door down. When the door was opened a crack, he stopped and pulled his hand away. He waited a few agonizing minutes until he was sure that no alarm was triggered. Rob breathed a sigh of relief. He was good to go. The rescue was on its' way, and there was no turning back now.

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"Drop the guns! I'm going to kill him! Drop the guns!" Suze yelled at the other men, who had all aimed their guns at her when she struck. They didn't waver. The other hostages watched in shock and terror.

"They don't care, Susannah," Diego told her calmly, "We're not friends behind these masks. We're here to get what's in the vault—"

"Shut up!" Suze shouted, looking down at him, "Shut up, and tell them to do what I say now." She looked back at the other men.

"Kill me—"

"Now!"

"Kill me, and they lock you in and blow the lobby," Diego informed her. Suze looked back down at him. "They've got the detonator. I'm the only one who can contact the buyer, there is no deal without me." Looking around at her fellow hostages, Suze began to waver. Diego had his hand on the one of hers holding the knife to his neck. "So, there's no reason to get what's in the vault. They will use the explosion to cover their escape. So you see, you wouldn't just be killing me, you would be killing your fellow hostages and yourself."

Suze was definitely starting to falter now. Her grip on the knife loosened a little bit. "Drop the knife," Diego instructed her. Suze looked at Adam and then over to CeeCee, who was trying to control her breathing. "Come on," Diego coaxed her, "Drop the knife."

She started to move her hand. Diego took her hand as she let go of his head. "Drop. That. Knife," he said as he loosened her grip on the knife and whipped it from her hand. He stood up to face her, holding the knife close to her chin. "What do I do with you now?" Diego questioned her, "Hm."

"Ahh—oww!" CeeCee cried leaning forward, gripping her stomach."Ahh."

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Dr. Krantz finished tying the man up on the chair, then stood up and began walking to the door. "We have to get out of here," he said to Jess.

Jess leanedover the man to get something off his belt. "Dr Krantz—Dr Krantz, no—"

Cyrus went to grab her. "Jessica, come on." She followed him, holding a knife. "Let's move," he looked at her as they made it to the door, "What did you—"

Jess didn't answer him as she walked out the door. Cyrus closed the door, and then felt Jessica touch his arm. He looked up, and immediately pointed his gun at the man, who had walked up pulling Ruth.

"Drop your weapons or she dies!" the man warned them. He pulled Ruth over to them so that he could get closer.

"Don't listen to him, Dr Krantz," Ruth replied, "He's not going to do anything unless his boss tells him to—"

"Be quiet, Ruth," Jess instructed her best friend. "Be quiet."

"Well," the man said holding his gun on Ruth, "Do you want her to die?" Jess and Ruth both looked at Cyrus, wondering what he was going to do. Dr Krantz sighed and handed the gun over. The man reached out and grabbed it, making Jess toss the knife away. The man held both guns on the three of them, "Up against the wall. Up against the wall!"

They walked over to the wall, lining up across from the man. "We can take him, Dr Krantz. He's outnumbered," Ruth said.

"Be quiet," Cyrus told her.

The man kicked opened the door to the room Jess and Dr Krantz had been in, not turning his back on the three of them. He quickly looked to see how Four was. "Why didn't you run?" Ruth whispered to Jess. "You could have saved yourself."

"I would never leave you behind," Jess whispered back to her, "You're my best friend, I wouldn't do that to you."

"Quiet!" the man called to them. "Mr Diego will decide what happens to all of you."

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"Okay, where all they now?" Jake asked into the phone. He listened to man on the other end. "No, no, let them–let them go in, alright? Just keep me posted." Jake hung up the phone, and turned around to see Tom staring at him curiously.

"Jake, is there something going on the rest of the command should know about?" Tom asked him.

"We're in a crisis situation, Tom, or haven't you heard?" Jake retorted.

"We're supposed to be coordinating actions. You start putting procedures into effect without following the chain of command, someone's going to get killed," Tom warned him.

"Hey, call it intuition, alright. If there is some movement inside of that building, I want to make sure there is a team in place to extract the hostages at a moment's notice," Jake explained to him. He looked up, past Tom's shoulder. "MayorStevenson..."

The mayor walked up to the two men. "Why haven't you two gotten the hostages out?"

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Rob opened the door and walked in slowly, his hand on the gun at his waist.

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Diego pulled Suze over to where CeeCee was sitting. She grimaced as she felt another cramp. "You know what? I'm actually wondering if you're in pain or if you're just playing me?" He questioned the mother to be.

"I'm really cramping," CeeCee cried.

"Well, you're certainly being dramatic about it," Diego replied. He looked back down at her when she continued talking.

"This is my first pregnancy. I don't want to lose these babies."

"Can't you bring Nicholas back to examine her?" Adam spoke up, not being able to bear seeing CeeCee in pain. "I can trade places with him, if that helps."

Diego started to lead Suze away. "I'm sure you'll all think it would be lovely if I let the sweet girl walk to freedom, but thenwho would take care of Tasha while CeeCee gave birth in the parking lot?"

"It's too soon for these babies to be born," CeeCee whimpered.

"Then, I suggest you calm down, think happy thoughts, and meditate on your navel," Diego warned her, "because if you continue this way, you and your babies will die tonight, okay? Good, thank you." He began walking Suze away again.

At that time, Jess, Ruth, and Dr. Krantz were brought back into the room. Diego stopped and watched curiously. The rest of the hostages were also curious. The man with the three explained, "These two knocked out Four and were trying to escape."

Diego cocked his head at Jess and Cyrus. "Aww," he was shaking his head, "that's...disappointing. Ruth, you need to stay close to sweet CeeCee. Some children are thinking of making a very early appearance. Go."

Ruth moved over to sit by CeeCee. Diego pulled on Suze's arm. "Now, you and I need to have some alone time, darling. Come on," He pulled on her again and led her out of the lobby.

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"What about CPR?" Paul asked Nicholas, leaning forward on the back of the couch.

Nicholas sat on the edge of the couch, keeping close tabs on Doug's pulse. "No, it's not going to make his heartbeat regular," he replied. Nicholas got up from the couch, and walked away. Paul followed. "If we don't get him out of here soon," Nicholas whispered to Paul, "he's going to die."

They both turned to look at the injured man on the couch.

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"Why aren't you negotiating?" Mayor Stevenson question the district attorney, "We should have a constant line of communication open to the lobby..."

"We've tried that, okay?" Jake interrupted the mayor, "The ring leader just jerks us around. I don't want to play into his hands. I think if we just give him a little bit more time, then he'll have the incentive to negotiate with us."

Elliot Stevenson stared at him. "You don't have the expertise to deal with these people."

"Well, thanks for your vote of confidence, mayor, but get out of my way so I can do my job," Jake shot at him. He tried to walk away, but the mayor stopped him.

"And you are making me look ridiculous," Elliot said.

"You don't need me for that," Jake replied back.

There was a short silence. "If these people haven't started negotiating in one hour, we're sending in the tactical teams to extract the hostages by force," Elliot demanded. He walked away after that, leaving Jake to his thoughts.

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The light on the briefcase continued to annoyingly blink. Lena sat on the floor with her back against the wall, looking at her captive. "What?" Three demanded of her. He was kneeling in the center of the vault, close to the briefcase.

Lena shook her head. "Nothing," she said. They both continued to stare at each other. Lena shrugged her shoulders. "Pizza," she laughed a little bit.

"What about it?" Three asked, his eyes narrowing in confusion.

"Well," Lena hesitated for a minute, and then stood up, continued, "There's this one place, I forget the name of it, but they have this delicious pizza, it's fully loaded, thin crust. I can't stop thinking about it." Three stared at her. "Wouldn't that taste great right now? Wouldn't it be great to have something, I don't know, normal? As opposed to me, sitting here with a guy in a ski mask and a blinking briefcase."

"If it's normal we're going for, put me down for a Philly cheese steak," Three spoke up.

A disgusted look came upon Lena's face. "Gross."

"Gross?" Three repeated, shocked.

"Yeah, gross," Lena explained, "All that soggy bread and fake cheese."

"No, not the kind you get at the food court at the mall," Three elaborated, "I mean an authentic Philly cheese steak from Philly. You know, where the meat is grilled and the cheese is fresh. Now that's a little piece of heaven."

Lena nodded. "Okay, I'm convinced, but you have to tell me exactly which stand in Philly has the best cheese steaks."

"I got a better idea," Three changed the subject, "Shut up and mind your own business."

Lena looked at him, stunned at the change in his attitude.

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Rob moved slowly and quietly through the hall so that he didn't call any attention to himself. He held his gun out in front of him for instant protection. Rob looked up for any air ducts. He knew he couldn't just walk into the lobby; he needed to know what he was up against. He continued on.

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Nicholas and Paul watched over Douglas intently, making sure that he didn't get worse. Suddenly, the door opened, and Diego came in with Suze, with Two following behind. "Hello," he greeted, "Oh, not dead yet. Ah, the little lady and I need some privacy. Go away. Take the young man, too."

"He shouldn't be moved," Nicholas said.

"Oh, of course he should," Diego contradicted, "The exercise will do him good. Go."

Paul and Nicholas, reluctantly, helped Douglas up off the couch. They each got on either side of him, and helped him to the door. "I hope you like surprises," Diego replied. As the three passed through the doorway, Diego turned to Two, "Oh, um, check on Four in the other office before you drag the trauma club back to the lobby. Go."

Two left, closing the door behind her. Diego finally let go of Suze, pushing her further into the room. "And you, you've been nothing but trouble since you tried to escape," he addressed her. Suze slowly turned around to face him. "Come to think of it, I don't know why I didn't kill you then. Ahh, yes, I remember now," Diego pulled his gun out. "It was out of respect for," The cold metal touched her cheek, causing Suze to flinch. He ran it along the side of her face, "your decorative qualities. You're not much to talk to, but you're quite stimulating to look at."

Suze just stared at him. Diego put his gun away, and pulled her closer to him. She wanted so much to just punch him, but she knew that if she did, he would most likely shoot her. He reached a hand out, sliding one of her straps of her dress off her shoulder, then, with his other hand, he reached behind her and began unzipping the dress.

"You're a pig," Suze managed to get out.

Diego just laughed. "Look at you." He gripped her arms tighter. "You think I'm going to rape you? You expect it, don't you?" Then, surprisingly, Diego put her strap back up and pulled the zipper up. "Sorry, that's not how I operate, darling."

Suze couldn't stop the relief from washing over her face. "But you didn't know that when we came into the room, did you?" Diego continued, "You didn't protest, didn't try to run away. You figured 'why not, whatever it takes to stay alive.' You'd do anything to survive, don't you? No matter who gets left behind."

Suze stared into Diego's evil, smiling eyes. "That is not true," she whispered.

Diego's eyebrows just rose, doubting her.

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"Okay, aren't you supposed to, um, do something with your breathing, like panting or something?" Ruth tried to help CeeCee calm down and not go into labor.

CeeCee was leaning forward, her hand on her belly. "It's okay, they're easing up," she replied, her breathing a little bit calmer now.

--

"Jess?" Kara called from her spot on the floor. "Is Tasha breathing?"

Jess looked over at Tasha's unconscious form. "Yes," she answered the nurse.

"Is it strong?" Kara asked again. "Is it regular?"

"I don't know," Jess went to check out Tasha's breathing, but she stopped when she felt an automatic weapon against her. She glared at the man. He wasn't allowing her to move. Jess looked apologetically at Kara. "I can't tell."

CeeCee gasped, and leaned forward again, "Ow." Ruth immediately tended to her.

"CeeCee, you might need water," Jess told her. "You could just be dehydrated." She looked back at the man with the gun, "Can I get her some—" She stopped and closed her eyes in frustration when the man just pointed his gun at her.

Dr Krantz turned around. "It's not complicated. We need some water."

"We already tried that," the man responded, "It didn't work."

Just then, Two brought Paul, Doug, and Nicholas back into the room. All of the hostages turned to look, surprised that Doug was being brought out of that room. Paul and Nicholas maneuvered Doug to a clear spot on the floor, and gave him a soft pillow to lay his injured head on. Doug was in so much pain that he didn't even notice his wife lying on the couch when they passed.

"We're going to make you comfortable, okay, Doug," Nicholas reassured, pulling a blanket over him. He looked up at Jess and Dr Krantz. "How's Tasha?"

"She's either passed out or asleep," Jess answered.

"CeeCee is having pains," Ruth called out to Nicholas.

"Labor?" Nicholas questioned, fixing the blanket.

"I don't know," CeeCee gasped.

Nicholas started to get up to check CeeCee out. "Nobody move," Two stopped him.

"Your boss is off with Susannah. You think he's going to stick with the plan," Dr Krantz said. Two walked over to him. "You're all going to get the death penalty, while your fearless leader is off somewhere partying." Two was getting angry. "Now why don't you save the good mother to be's life? You may get some leniency." The man behind Cyrus made a move to hit Cyrus in the back with his gun.

"Hold it," Two said. Dr Krantz just looked over his shoulder calmly. She looked like she was going to give in.

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"You know, I don't care how bad the press is, I'm not risking the hostages," Jake walked up to Mayor Stevenson.

"Then, why have the SWAT team here ready to storm the building?" Elliot retorted, "And what makes you think this isn't a robbery gone wrong?"

"They have made no demands, alright?" Jake expressed, "If they were in it for the money, they would have negotiated for the hostages long ago. What do you want me to do with the SWAT team? You want me to send them home? We have to be ready for whenever the opportunity presents itself."

"You're in way over your head, Manning," Elliot replied. "Just for the record, if this goes badly, I'm not the only one who's going to get screwed. You can kiss your career goodbye—"

"Well, right now, I'm worried about hostages, mayor," Jake interrupted, "My career can wait."

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Diego leaned in closer to her. "Self-preservation is the most basic and entertaining of instincts." He grinned at her.

"You don't know anything about me," Suze hissed at him. She stared at him with cold, hateful eyes, and crossed her arms over her chest.

Diego's grin disappeared, and his eyes became hooded. "I'd lose that tone if I were you. You don't want something to 'accidentally' happen to you...or to that boyfriend of yours," he threatened.

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Rob came around a corner stealthily, gun drawn. He quickly walked to an office door. There should be an open access port to the air duct system in here, he thought to himself. Rob opened the door slowly and kept his gun drawn just in case there were some men with hostages in there. He got inside, saw that the room was empty, and closed the door behind him.

He caught sight of the air duct on the wall, and walked over to it. Looking back down, Rob took a deep breath, but when he look down, he saw something on the carpet by the couch. He moved closer, and knelt down to get a closer look. It was spots of blood. "Somebody got worked over pretty good," Rob said to himself, "They were in this room. Shit, they could come back any time."

He has to get into the air duct now.

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Before Two could make a decision, Diego came back into the lobby, pushing Suze. He stopped Nicholas from going over to check on CeeCee. "Let me make this clear," Diego announced to everybody, "I get to decide who lives or dies. You people are getting way to comfortable. It's time to change partners."

Diego pointed to Suze. "Susannah, you get to sit in angel corner for a while. Maybe your life will flash in front of your eyes and you'll reconsider your wicked ways." Suze went over and sat next to Ruth and CeeCee. Diego turned to Jess and Dr Krantz, "You two can provide our hot patient with aid and comfort. Dr Nicholas and hot headed young Paul can take a break over in the corner. Go!"

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Jake walked up to the mayor and the commissioner, carrying the phone. "The ring leader is prepared to release a pregnant hostage," he told them, after having got off phone with the leader.

The commissioner looked at him. "What about the gunshot victim, Tasha Mastriani?" he wondered.

"I'm sorry, Tom. I had to take what I could get," Jake answered.

"Now you're pandering to a felon," Elliot retorted, "What did you have to promise him?"

Jake hesitated for a minute, then responded with, "He's prepared to make a list of demands."

Elliot's eyes narrowed at the district attorney. "And we're supposed to comply?–"

"With all due respect, they release a hostage now it will be something of a miracle," Tom interrupted, "As police commissioner, I think we should let it play out."

"Yes," Jake agreed.

Not surprisingly, Elliot disagreed. "Here's a better idea: when they send out the hostage, you send in the SWAT team." He walked away after that.

Jake and Tom looked at each other, not sure if they should agree with the mayor or not.

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"Well, things are getting very interesting," Diego replied from in front of the reception desk. He began walking away from it. "I have an offer from Mr Manning. He thinks I should release," he looked down at CeeCee sitting on the floor, "sweet CeeCee here, simply because she's in labor, but wouldn't you know it, I forgot to tell him that young Douglas here has a serious head injury." Diego shook his head in sympathy, "Our friends are dropping like flies." He pointed his gun at Nicholas, who was standing up.

"If anybody should be released, it's Tasha," Nicholas said, "Her pulse is weak, she's unconscious, she's still critical."

"Tasha's not an option," Diego declined, "She's provided us with hours of entertainment, and, you know, to just simply send her away would just be rude. Besides, she's had a moment in the sun, surgery by proxy, come on. Let's give somebody else a turn, okay? CeeCee or Douglas? The mother to be or the devoted husband?"

"Oh, but wait," Diego continued, he began moving again, "before we do anything, there's something I've been meaning to do, something I've been too busy to take care of. What was it again?" He tapped the gun against his cheek, pretending to think about it. "Oh, yes," Diego lowered his gun to Cyrus' head, "kill Dr Cyrus Krantz."

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Rob crawled through air ducts. He stopped when he came to a turn off. He didn't know whether he should go straight or turn left. Either way could take him to the lobby or to some other place in the hotel. Rob finally decided to go left, hopefully it was the right way. He kept going until he came to a vent. He looked through it.

"Yes," Rob whispered to himself. He could see the lobby.

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Jake and Tom approached the mayor, determinedly. "We can't send a pregnant woman into the middle of a gun battle," Jake tried to reason with him, "There is no way you are storming that hotel."

"You'll be catching them off guard," Elliot continued to disagree. He turned to an officer, "Brief the SWAT team. Get a clear shot when that door opens to let a hostage out, you tell them to take it." Back to the D.A., "When these people start dying, they're going to realize that no amount of cash and jewels is worth their lives."

"This isn't about cash and jewels!" Jake snapped, "This guy has an agenda, and I have a very strong feeling we're going to find out what that is once the vault is open! Right now, the hostages are relatively safe, but they're not going to be unless you do something stupid to get them killed!"

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One of the men brought Dr Krantz into of one of the offices. "Face the wall. Put your hands up," he ordered Cyrus. He kept his gun trained on him.

"Even in third-world countries, you get a cigarette and a meeting with a priest before they execute you," Dr Krantz replied, holding a hand to his injured ribs.

"You had all night to say your prayers," the man told him.

"So, what are you going to do?" Cyrus questioned the man, who was aiming the gun, "Blindfold me, shoot me in the back, I'm going to turn around and look at you before you kill me?"

"You're choice."

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Rob looked down at the sound of the ring leader's voice.

"I'm on the horns of a dilemma: a young, virtuous, attractive mother to be with her whole life in front of her or a young, handsome man with a bad headache," Diego said, "Who goes free?" He pointed his gun at Nicholas, "You decide."

Kara stood up from her spot on the floor. "No, you can't ask him to do that. He's a doctor, he can't choose between patients."

Diego looked at her. "Oh, you don't want me to shoot your boyfriend just as he's about to have some real fun." He turned back to Nicholas. "Make a decision. Who leaves our little family?"

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