A Day in the Life-Chapter 9
I'm thinking either two or three more chapters based on my outline but I think I might add a little to the end. We'll see. Thanks for reading and hopefully reviewing. I still don't own Flashpoint.
Snake and Darius nervously yelled at each other and at Lou as the sound of the gunshot rang through the hospital. Lou smiled as he heard the sound and realized the implications. Though to an untrained ear it was as loud and devastating as a true gunshot, Lou knew the sound well. It was an ongoing joke that he was "Less Lethal Lou" and he knew the sound of a rubber bullet being fired. Sam and Jules had found the third subject and Lou saw a potential end in sight. He took a breath to check himself, it could still be hours before this situation was resolved and he couldn't let himself rush things.
"It was J-Dog, he finished the job." Snake said firmly, compensating for his lack of confidence.
"It was the cops, it was the cops." Darius mumbled nervously.
"Shut up! It was J-Dog!" Snake yelled as he stood again and tried to force himself to look calm. Snake glared at Lou as he stepped forward. "It was J-Dog." He said firmly towards Lou. It wasn't a question but the inflection made it seem as though it was.
"I can't tell you that for sure, Snake." Lou said gently. "I'm here with you, I'm in the dark here, just like you." Snake seemed to nod with understanding as the room fell into silence again. Snake sat down on one of the chairs in the waiting room and seemed to be thinking as Darius stayed close to Lou.
"It was J-Dog. He's gonna be back in a few minutes and then we're getting out of here. We gave them hostages so they'll get us that truck." He said softly, almost to himself. Lou decided not to say anything and the room fell back into silence. He looked out the corner of his eye as he saw Spike poke his head back into the room. He moved quickly but he thought that Spike now had a vest on, a good sign. He took another breath to calm himself as the phone rang. Snake walked over slowly. "What?" He asked coldly. In the dead silence of the empty room Lou was able to hear Greg on the other end of the line.
"I just wanted to let you know that I'm still working on getting you a truck." Greg said calmly. "How's everyone doing in there?"
"Everyone's fine." Snake said with a bit of a catch in his voice. He glanced at the clock on the wall. "You have J-Dog, don't you?" He asked softly. Greg hesitated for an instant before responding.
"You mean Jamal? He's okay, he's out here with us. Am I talking to Robert or Darius?" Greg asked gently.
"Just get the fucking truck!" Snake yelled into the phone.
"I know you're angry Robert and I know that this isn't how you wanted things to go today. What do you say you and Darius put down the guns and walk out here? We'll figure out the rest later. Right now I just want to make sure everyone goes home safe tonight." Greg pushed gently as he waited for the response over the phone.
"I need time to think." Robert said. His inflection was unemotional and his face was difficult to read.
"Okay, Robert. Just pick up the phone if you want to talk. I'll call when we get the truck for you." Greg finished as the dial tone came back to the phone. He spoke into the radio. "Options guys, I don't like the way this is going." Greg looked at his watch, it had been a solid two hours since they'd arrived on the scene and he knew that the subjects were coming down from an adrenaline high and were going to be coming to terms with their new reality.
"They're saying to come out." Robert said to Darius and Lou in a cold tone.
"We should do it man." Darius said nervously as he stood up and started slowly walking to the door.
"No, what the fuck?" Robert grabbed the back of Darius's shirt and pulled him away from the doors. "We are not walking out of here. We do not surrender. South Street is not a place for weaklings, we stand and fight." He said strongly as he looked at Darius with resentment. They were standing a few feet away and arguing within, at least Lou hoped, Spike's earshot. He needed them to know that Darius was trying to cooperate. As Robert yelled at Darius Lou glanced at Ed and saw his head roll a bit. He let out a low groan and Lou quickly turned towards the boys.
"Ed?" Lou asked in a whisper. Ed opened his eyes but squinted them closed again in the bright light. He looked like he was going to say something but Lou cut him off. "Don't." He whispered with urgency. "They think you're still out. Things are escalating, I turned the younger one. Don't move." He whispered urgently as the boys returned their attention to Lou.
"What are the chances of them giving me the truck?" Robert asked angrily. Lou thought for a minute. Don't lie but don't shatter hope. He tried to remember all the times that Greg had taught them about negotiating.
"You've cooperated, that's a really good thing." He started. "I'm not out there and I don't know exactly what's going on but if my boss says he's getting you a truck then he's trying to get you a truck." Lou treaded carefully, knowing that things were going to come to a head soon and he wanted to keep things calm. Lou's affirmations didn't seem to calm him much as he'd hoped but he wasn't escalating. Robert sat down in a chair and seemed to think for a minute before standing up.
"I'm waiting for the truck and if they don't give it to me I'm going to shoot my way out of here." He said in an unemotional voice. Lou shook his head.
"That's not a good idea Robert, you're out gunned beyond those doors." Lou said gently.
"Then I'm waiting for the truck!" He yelled as he stood and walked to the other side of the room. Darius knelt down by Lou and put his gun in Lou's belt, readjusting his sweatshirt so that it covered it. He got up and walked over to Robert.
"That's not happening Snake and you know it." He said softly. Robert turned to him angrily.
"I knew it was a bad idea to bring you. Well you knew the stakes, blood in..." Robert raised his gun and aimed it at Darius's chest.
"Now! now!" Lou yelled out as he got himself up and ran towards Darius.
"...blood out." He said coldly as he pulled the trigger. Lou ran and tacked Darius as the bullet flew towards him. As they fell to the ground he heard another shot go off. Snake fell to the ground near them, his eyes still open as blood seeped from the hole in his head. He heard Spike somewhere over his shoulder.
"Subject secured." Jules put Robert in riot cuffs and checked his pulse as Spike came over to Lou and Darius. He quickly got a knife out and cut the cuffs holding Lou as he rolled himself off Darius.
"No, no, no!" Lou said angrily as he realized he was covered in blood and looked down at the crumpled boy below him. "Get medics." He yelled as he found the wound in Darius's left shoulder. "I've got you Darius, it's gonna be okay." He whispered as he pressed hard on the bleeding wound. He kept his eyes glued to Darius's as they slipped closed. He heard Spike talking to him but didn't register the words until he felt himself being pulled away by both shoulders. He looked up and saw Spike on one side, Greg on the other as they spoke to him.
"Let the doctors work, Lou." Greg said as he knelt down and got on eye level with him. "You okay?" Greg asked as he looked Lou over. One of his shoulders was sagging and his head was bleeding badly. Lou didn't respond to the questions, he kept his eyes on Darius as the doctors worked and got him positioned on a backboard and took him into the ER. As the doors closed Lou felt as if he broke out of a trance. The first thing he noticed was an unbelievable pain in his shoulder. He looked at it through teary eyes and saw that it was dislocated. Greg was talking to him, calling over a doctor, but Lou didn't notice. He looked over to where Ed was sitting and saw doctors and Jules surrounding him. As his gaze swept the room he saw Spike pushing an SIU officer away.
"You okay, buddy?" He asked urgently as he got on his knees by Lou.
"Yeah," He mumbled as he felt overwhelmingly dizzy. He put his good arm to his head and felt the bloody bumps.
"We're gonna get you checked out, Lou." Greg said as he made room for a doctor. "Spike, go with SIU now and get back here quicker." Greg whispered as he pulled Spike away.
"Copy." He said bitterly as he walked up the officer and handed him his gun. Lou took a breath and saw Greg's face return to his eyes before passing out.
A bit of a cliffhanger but I'll finish it up tonight. Now it's laundry time. Tell me what you think?
