Chapter 28
"What's going on?"
"Some lunatic snuck a gun into Med and he's holding the maternity ward hostage. Apparently some sort of custody dispute between the mom and the husband. I got to..I got to go." Jay was frantic, patting down his pants trying to think of what he needed.
"Jay, calm down for a bit."
"I need to get there right away," Jay continued, ignoring Erin's advice to take a breath. "Will's on a shift right now." Will was inside and if Jay knew his brother, he knew that Will would do something idiotic, trying to be a hero like the time when he disarmed a bomb.
"Okay. Is there anything I can do? Call Natalie or something?"
Jay shook his head, trying to think of what he needed before he left. His gun, his badge. He listed in his head. "No, Natalie is…..shit." He cursed, closing his eyes.
"What? What's wrong?"
"Natalie is working today too. Great," Jay groaned. Now he was even more worried about Will. Especially since the gunman was in the maternity ward where Natalie worked. He just hoped that Will kept his head out of whatever was going on. He had a lot to lose now, his fiancé, his future step-son. Step-son. "Shit," Jay cursed again, scratching his forehead. "Owen."
"What about him?"
"Natalie's mom is out of town so Will was supposed to go pick him up from daycare. Someone has to go pick him up."
"I can go," Erin offered, wanting to help.
Jay sighed. "You can't. The daycare won't release him to anyone that's not on the list. I…I have to go pick him up."
"Hey," Erin called, approaching Jay to hold him and calm him down. "Take a breath." Jay exhaled. "Okay, now go and pick up Owen from the daycare and bring him here. I may not be able to pick him up but I can watch and take care of him while you go down to Med. It's going to be okay."
"Erin, Owen may look nice and easy but he's at that age where he takes a lot of energy to take care of. I don't want you to exert yourself when you're still recovering."
Erin rolled her eyes. "Look at me," she stated, holding out her arms so Jay can look at her body. "I'm practically healed already and it's just for a couple of hours. I'll be fine. Besides," she wrapped her arms around Jay again. "he's like family. I'll be fine." She gave him a quick kiss. "So hurry and go pick him up and bring him back here. The sooner you do that, the sooner you can get down to Med."
Jay nodded, giving Erin a quick kiss on the side of her head before leaving.
Just about ten minutes later, Jay returned with an adorable Owen in tow, carrying his little backpack on his back following Jay through the door. Erin stood up from her seat on the couch and walked over, crouching down so her hands were on her knees.
"Owen, this is my special friend Erin," Jay introduced, Erin waved smiling. Owen shyly offered out his hand for Erin to shake which Erin did happily.
"Hi Owen," Erin said, trying to sound welcoming as possible. He really was a cutie, giving Erin a shy smile. "Can I take your backpack for you?" He nodded, turning around so Erin can take his backpack off of him and place it on the couch.
"Owen," Jay kneeled down so he can look Owen in the face. "I have to go somewhere for a little bit but Erin here will take good care of you. Okay?"
"Where's my mommy and Will?" Owen questioned, Jay and Erin exchanging looks with each other.
Erin groaned a bit as she crouched further down to join Jay at Owen's eye-level. "Your mommy and Will are a little bit busy right now and Jay here is going to go and get them. In the meantime, we can play and watch television. Just until they get back. Is that okay?"
"Okay," Owen agreed, voice small and timid.
"Alright," Erin cheered, trying to sound as happy and reassuring as she can. "We're going to have so much fun! Are you excited?" Owen nodded, looking a little bit more comfortable than he did a moment ago. Erin gestured with her eyes to Jay that it was now okay for him to leave, knowing that he was dying to get down to the hospital right away.
Jay kissed the top of Owen's head. "Alright buddy. I'll be back. Have fun with Aunty Erin okay? Bye." Owen waved his little hand and walked over to take a seat on the couch. Jay turned to Erin. "You have no idea how much this means to me," he said, holding her face. "Thank you."
Erin nodded. "No thanks needed," she held his arms before stepping away quickly to grab something. She walked back over, holding his badge and gun and handing them over to him. He nodded his head appreciatively, clipping his badge and placing his gun on the holster. "Be careful okay?" Jay leaned in for a quick kiss, agreeing.
"Owen! Be good for Erin okay?" he called over to Owen before turning back to Erin. "I love you."
"Love you too," she returned, heart filled with worry as Jay walked out the door. It was a strange feeling, being here but not being able to have Jay's back yet. She just hoped that everyone can make their way back home.
"Serg," Jay joined the team gathering outside of the hospital. The scene was chaotic, different tactical teams and departments surrounding the hospital along with several media vans. There was even a helicopter flying overhead, spotlight on, trying to get the inside scoop of what was taking place in Chicago Med.
"Halstead," Voight turned to Jay. "You're officially back on the job for right now. We need all the hands we can get." Jay nodded, knowing that he would have forced his way back even if Voight didn't reinstate him anyway. That was his brother inside. That was Owen's mother inside. He wasn't going to let anything happen to his family.
"Brief me," Jay requested. "What's going on inside?"
"Justin Daly stormed into Chicago Med about an hour ago. His wife is inside and just gave birth. But he started waving a gun around, demanding to walk out with his baby or he'd start shooting," Adam explained. "Typical Sunday in Chicago, you know?"
"Voight," they all turned at the new voice. "We're going to take the lead on this," the S.W.A.T leader demanded. "We have the best hostage negotiator on stand-by and as soon as the perp makes contact, we'll try to talk him down."
Voight shook his head. "No offense. Morelli was it?" the man nodded, "But this isn't a typical hostage situation here. That son of a bitch in there isn't going to be demanding a getaway car and unmarked bills so he can retire on some beach in Bora Bora." Jay stood, crossed arms, watching Voight and Morelli argued over who would take the lead. "He's holding up the damn maternity ward because he wants to walk out with a baby," Voight continued, hands stuck in his vest. "So we can waste time here in this pissing contest over who gets the credit or we can actually focus on how to stop that guy from harming any innocent people, including newborn babies, in there. Your choice." Morelli reluctantly nodded, agreeing to Voight's offer of working together. "Good. Now what do we know so far?" he asked, turning over to Kim and Kevin who came back from meeting with the other teams.
"The hospital security cameras from the entrance showed him entering the hospital alone and there's no indication of any partner so he's likely working alone. Tact team on the ground got the other floors on lockdown but the 3rd floor where the maternity ward is open. The incoming patients and buses are being redirected over to Mercy Hospital." Kim briefed the team.
"Do we have eyes on the inside?"
Kevin shook his head. "No, he shot out the security cameras in both the department and the nursery. But the last image of him had him in the baby nursery where all the newborns are kept. The department schedule list has 7 nurses and 4 doctors on shift. Most of the patients from the floor have been evacuated, including the mother of the child that he's claiming to be the father of."
The tense atmosphere was interrupted by the ringing of Jay's phone, Jay frowning when he saw Natalie's name on the caller I.D. "Hold on a sec guy. Natalie's calling me and she's inside," he informed the group before answering. "Natalie?"
"Jay!" her voice was quiet but Jay could hear the pure panic and fear in it.
"Natalie, are you inside? Are you okay?"
"Yeah," she replied, still whispering. "Me and a couple of people are hiding in the supply closet. I couldn't reach Will and I didn't know who else to call."
"Okay Natalie," Jay spoke into the phone, "I need you to tell me what's going on inside."
"A man barged into the department and he started waving a gun around and he wanted to kidnap a newborn baby but a nurse hit the alarm before he could so he grabbed a couple of nurses and locked him and the nurses in the nursery."
"Okay, you're in the closet right now? You're okay?"
"Yeah. I'm fine."
"Sit tight Natalie okay. We're going to get everyone out safely. We just need to get eyes on the inside and we'll get you guys out."
"You don't have eyes on the inside?"
"No, he shot out the cameras but we're working on it okay? Don't worry." Jay said, trying to comfort his brother's fiancé, relived that she was okay. He just needed to get a hold of Will and let him know that Natalie was alright. Jay was hoping that Will had either gotten out of the hospital or he was in some other floor, safe and locked down.
"Jay," Natalie broke his thoughts. "There's a small window in the closet. I can be the eyes."
"No," Jay refused her offer quickly. "It's too dangerous." He turned to the team. "Natalie's hiding in the supply closet with a couple of other people. She said there's a window in the closet and she can see outside."
"Great, ask her to do it," Morelli instructed.
"She's my brother's fiancé and she has a child. I'm not going to put her or anyone else in that closet in danger," Jay shot back.
"Jay," Natalie spoke to him through the phone. "Something's going on outside."
"What's going on?"
"I'm not sure. There was a loud crash right now and I hear new voices," Natalie said. "Hey, I'm going to look real quick." The line went quiet as Jay assumed Natalie was trying to sneak a peek outside the small window to see what was going on outside. He heard some shuffling then Natalie quickly picking the phone back up. "Oh my god!" her voice had reached a new level of fear. "It's Will. He's here and the guy has him at gunpoint!"
"So are you hungry Owen?" Erin asked, sitting the seat next to Owen on the couch. It had been a bit awkward since Jay left them alone and Erin learned quickly that Owen wasn't much of a talker, his eyes had been glued to the television since he arrived. But food always seemed like a good ice breaker, especially when it came to children.
"A little," Owen replied, looking away from the television screen for the first time since Jay left.
"Okay." Erin stood up and walked over to the kitchen. She glanced around at the options they had, trying to find the most kid-friendly ones. Not that she was trying to bribe Owen to like her but she figured it couldn't hurt to grease his little palms a bit. "So Owen what do you feel like having?" She walked back over to him and held up his choices. "Mac and cheese or grilled cheese?"
"Mac and cheese!" Owen replied quickly, smiling happily for the first time.
"Good choice." Erin returned his smile. "It's my favorite food."
"Mine too."
Erin gave him an impressed look, holding up her hand to give him a high five. "Alright! Let me go get it ready for you."
"Can I watch?"
Erin smiled. "Of course." She held out her hand and Owen took it, getting up from the couch so they could start their dinner in the kitchen. Erin lifted him up and helped him get seated in a stool by the counter and she took out the pot and ingredients needed. She boiled the water for the macaroni and started heating up the milk for the cheese sauce. She kept an eye on Owen as she busied herself in the kitchen. "You want some cheese to snack on while you wait?" She placed small pieces of cheese in front of him and he happily nibbled on them.
"More," Owen asked, after quickly finishing off all the cheese. "Please?" he added, pouting cutely and Erin couldn't resist. A fond smile came over Erin' face as he already went to work on the new portion Erin gave him, he really was too adorable. He probably had his mom and Will wrapped around his little fingers. She had only been watching for less than an hour and she was already a sucker for him.
"You like cheese huh?" Erin ruffled his soft hair. Owen nodded, still focused on eating his snack. Erin just chuckled, resumed making his dinner.
"Are you Uncle Jay's girlfriend?" His question startled her and she paused her stirring the sauce. She glanced over at him and he was waiting for her answer with his big eyes. She wiped her hand on the tea towel and walked back over to him, leaning her elbows on the counter.
"Yeah, I am." The corner of her lips turned up.
"He's really nice," Owen said almost off-handedly, still munching on the cheese bits. "He buys me toys." Erin laughed at his comment. Kids, they were always so honest.
"Yeah, he buys me things too," Erin returned. "Really pretty things." Her hands automatically went to her ears where the earrings that Jay had gotten her for Christmas was hanging. "He's pretty great isn't he?"
"Serg I need to get in there. That's my brother in there and he's in trouble." Jay's eyes were steely and determined. After Natalie had relayed that Will somehow was inside the nursery, Jay's heart dropped. He knew that something like this would happen. He knew Will would do something idiotic like barge his way into where the guy holding the gun was, trying to be some hero to Natalie.
"Hold on a minute. We're not just gonna go barge in just yet. We'll let the hostage negotiator make contact and then we'll go from there." Jay was impatient, especially when someone he loved was in trouble but he just kept quiet, knowing they had a protocol to follow.
"Voight." They all turned at the new voice coming in.
"You're the hostage negotiator?" The new man nodded.
"Jenkins," the man introduced himself.
"Okay, make the first contact." Voight directed.
"Justin Daly. My name is James Jenkins and I'm here to help you get what you want," the negotiator spoke through the mic as the team gathered around the phone to listen in. "We want the people inside and the babies to be safe. So why don't you tell me what you want and we can get it for you."
There was no answer at first and Jay wasn't sure if this Justin was even in any state to be negotiated with. This wasn't just a random bank robbery situation where the guy wanted money, he wanted a baby. There was no negotiation with that.
"Justin? Are you there? You got to talk to me buddy."
Finally a reply came from the other side. "I want my baby. I want to walk out of the hospital with my son."
"Your son born just a couple of hours ago Justin. Even if we wanted to, it's not safe for him to leave the hospital just yet."
"I'm walking out of here with him. That's my son and no one is taking him away from me." The man sounded desperate and erratic. "Especially not that bitch!"
"Ex-wife," Kim mouthed to Jenkins, filling him in. "Name's Susan Daly."
"Susan just wants her baby to be safe," Jenkins tried. "She doesn't want to keep him away from you."
A cold laugh came over the speakers. "Yeah she does. But I'm not going to let her take my son. Especially so she and that bastard can raise him. I'm leaving with my son so you get me a safe way out of here or I start shooting people."
"You don't want to do that Justin," Jenkins replied. "You know you don't want to hurt innocent people inside."
"I don't give a fuck about anybody else," Justin yelled. "Either get me and my son out of here safely or I swear to god, I'll start killing babies one by one until they're all dead. Don't call me back until you have a way out." With that he hung up, nothing but a dial tone left on the speakers.
"Here we go," Erin placed a bowl of mac and cheese in front of Owen. "I made it extra cheesy for you since you love cheese so much."
"Thank you," Owen dug in, his fork picking up pieces of macaroni and putting them in his mouth. "Yummy!" he hummed, swaying happily side to side in his chair. Erin giggled, loving his reaction. Who didn't love mac and cheese? Simple, cheesy, delicious and hard to screw up. She ruffled his hair fondly and walked over to the fridge to get him a glass of milk.
"Here you go buddy." Owen took a large gulp of the milk, leaving a milk mustache on his face. Erin reached over to wipe it away from his mouth. "You like it?" Owen nodded, enthusiastically. "Good."
She let him continue eating and she stepped over to the side, using her iPad to get an update on the situation. As much as she tried not to worry, she was anxious at what was going on. She had been trying to hide it, trying to look as normal as she could, not wanting to worry or tip off Owen that something was going on. As much as she had been around children, especially over the past year working at SVU, one thing she had learned was just how perceptive children can be. They just seemed to be attuned to the emotions around them, even if the adults had tried to hide them so she knew she had to remain as calm as she could for Owen's sake.
She grunted in frustration inside as there were no new updates about the situation other than who was evil enough to take babies as hostages. She tempered down her frustrations and closed her iPad, turning back over to Owen with a smile glued to her face. He was still eating happily, unaware of everything that was going on. She envied the innocence of childhood. "More milk?" she asked as Owen finished the last of his milk and he nodded, holding out his glass. Erin refilled his glass and got a bowl of food for herself and she sat down next to him on the counter. She started eating but not really tasting the food, worry and anxiety filling her to really enjoy her favorite meal. But Owen seemed to be enjoying his food plenty and he seemed happy. That was all that mattered right now.
"Justin Daly, 34 years old," Kevin read from the file that they had just received about the man inside. "He was in the Army up until 3 months ago then he was honorably discharged."
"A military man, honorably discharged yet 3 months later, he's pulling a gun on newborn babies? What are we missing?" Olinsky questioned.
"Maybe this," Jay spoke up. "His wife filed for divorce a month ago, claiming irreconcilable differences. Didn't he say that she had a new boyfriend? Seems pretty quick for a new boyfriend to come into the picture, especially when she was 7 months pregnant. Doesn't it?"
"Sounds like she was having an affair to me," Adam concluded. "Would explain why he's insisting that he's the father. Maybe the kid's not even his." Jay agreed, nodding.
"Holding up babies? That's a whole new level of unhinged," Jay voiced. "Plus he's an army man, who knows his mental state or if he has PTSD. That's a whole new variable. One that's unpredictable. He's not going to listen to reason and he's not going to work with the negotiator. We have to get inside and stop him before he really lost it and start shooting up the nursery."
Voight stood quiet, thinking things over. "Alright Morelli," he turned to the S.W.A.T leader. "Let's get inside."
"Here's the blueprint of the third floor," Antonio laid out the large paper on the desk. "The nursery is a whole separate room and it's completely see-through."
"You guys know Choi," Jay pointed to Ethan with his thumb as the two walked over to the group. "He was in the Army and he works inside the hospital so he knows the lay out better. I figured he can be a big help."
"Thank you," Voight said.
"Of course, anything I can do to help." Ethan offered. "Those are my friends in there. Anything to get everyone out safely."
"We're looking for the best route to get him off guard," Antonio explained. "We know the nursery is mostly made of glass so new parents can look at the babies."
Ethan nodded, crossing his arms. "Yeah, there's a glass wall that's separating the nursery from the rest of the maternity department." He looked at the blueprint, eyes studying the layout. "You said he's in the nursery?"
"Yeah, Natalie said he holed himself up in the nursery with a couple of nurses."
"If it was up to me, then I'd approach him from behind this wall here," Choi pointed to a spot on the blueprint. "Enter from the south stairwell and enter the corridor here. That's just several feet away from the nursery. It won't take you right in front of the nursery but it's the closest you'll get if you want the element of surprise."
Voight thought over Ethan's plan, hands tucked into his vest. "Alright," he finally spoke. "Tonio, Halstead and Atwater, I want you three on this with the S.W.A.T team. Vest up." The three men nodded, heading over to the armor van. "Halstead," Voight called, causing Jay to pause in his step. "I want you to take the lead on this. But it's your blood that's in there. I need to know if you can handle it."
"Oh yeah," Jay replied, staring straight into Voight's eyes to let him know how determined he was. "I got this." Voight remained silent, just held Jay's eyes before finally jutting his lips and gesturing Jay to go.
"You want a little bit more or are you full?" Owen certainly seemed to enjoy his dinner, judging by the way he practically licked his bowl clean. It seemed as though he finally had his fill, shaking his head at Erin's offer. So Erin just grabbed his bowl and placed it in the sink. "Alright," she turned back to him. "Want to go watch some t.v?"
"Yeah!" Erin helped him from the stool and walked with him back to the couch, both of them plopping down on it. "Okay, let's see what's on." She surfed the channels, looking for some shows that he could watch but it was getting late and there wasn't much option. Finally she landed on the football game that she and Jay were planning to watch. Football. Sports. That was kid friendly enough, she decided. "Have you watched a football game before?"
"No." Erin was surprised, thinking that he might have seen a game or two before with Will. But Jay was the sports enthusiast in the family. "Will said football is dumb and that baseball is better."
"Okay," she chuckled, rolling her eyes at Will's opinion. "Then this is the perfect time to introduce you to the awesomeness that is football." She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, bringing him closer to her. "You see the best part of football is that it's a team sports. And you have to work together with your team to beat the other team."
Owen looked interested enough that Erin continued. "You see that man right there? With the mean looking mustache?" Owen nodded, looking at who Erin pointed out. "That's Aaron Rodgers. He's the bad guy here because he's the quarterback of the Packers and we don't like the Packers." Erin made a 'blech' face and turned her thumb down. "Boo Packers!"
"Boo Packers!" Owen repeated, mimicking Erin and turning his thumb down too. "Rogers bad!"
"Yeah! That's right. Rogers bad," Erin chuckled. "You're so smart." She ruffled his hair affectionately, earning a blinding smile from him. "And you see the other team? They are the Seahawks."
"What are seahawks?"
"Well, seahawks are a type of birds and we like them here."
"Go birds!"
Erin laughed. "Yeah go birds!" She hugged him tighter. "Alright let's watch this thing."
"Okay we're coming in now so sit tight and Natalie, from here on out don't call anymore. If anything else go down, you text and keep the phone on silence. And remember, keep quiet until an officer comes and clear you guys. Don't leave the closet and don't let anyone else inside with you leave either." Jay hung up the phone and put in the pocket in front of his vest. "Let's go."
"Okay," Voight spoke to the group mixed with Intelligence members and the tact team. "Halstead is the lead on this. Keep the comm lines open so just in case Daly makes contact again with the negotiator, we can fill you in. Alright, let's go!"
Jay held his rifle tightly in his hands and took a deep breath. He was the leader of the team so he had the most on his shoulder, not to mention that was Will in there with the gunman. He couldn't mess up. Will had a lot to lose. He had a lot to lose. An image of Erin flashed through his mind, her smiling face reminding him of just what he had to fight for. "Follow my lead," he directed the group and they made their way inside the hospital, boots shuffling on the ground, guns ready.
"Approaching the south stairwell now," Halstead spoke through the mic, communicating with the team on the ground. "Clear."
"Alright," Voight's voice returned from the other end. "Daly isn't answering any call. He cut himself off. It's up to you guys now."
"Got it." Jay held up two fingers and waved it, signaling that they were moving forward. He continued up the stairs as quietly as he could, his boots going up each steps as slow as quiet as they could. He held his gun out, ready to shoot if needed. Finally they reached the third floor where the maternity ward was and he held out a fist, signaling his team to pause while he peeked out the door of the stairwell and cleared the corridor.
After clearing the corridor and making sure there was no one there, he stepped out and followed the path down to where the nursery was. He heard vague voices coming from the nursery and as he got closer and closer, the louder the voices became until the muffled noises from before became clearer. He immediately recognized one of the voices. Will.
"It's not too late," he heard Will say. "Just walk out of here. You haven't hurt anyone yet."
"I told you I'm not leaving without my son. You stand in my way and I'm going to shoot."
"Then go ahead," Jay cursed to himself after hearing Will's words. "I mean why haven't you left yet? I can't stop you. I don't have a gun or any means of protecting myself. None of the nurses you're holding back here do either. Who's going to stop you? The newborn babies behind you? So why haven't you left yet?"
"Don't tempt me man," Daly shouted and Jay's heart leapt, hearing Daly cock his gun. But he signaled his team to stand down. He poked his head around the corner and saw Daly across the room a few feet away, holding his gun out, pointing it at Will who had his back to the glass.
"Let these people go man," Will tried again, holding up his hands. "These nurses, they don't deserve this man. It's not too late. Do the right thing here."
Daly laughed. "The right thing?" he scoffed. "I did the right thing for years and look where it got me. My wife screwing some other guy while I was overseas fighting for my country. I lost everything, trying to do the right thing."
"I get it. It sucks," Will returned. "You don't deserve that. But you doing this? It's not right and you know that."
"All I know is that you shouldn't have come here," Daly waved his gun around some more. "That was your mistake. What the hell were you trying to do anyway? Play hero?"
Will cleared his throat. "I thought…I thought my fiancé was here but she obviously got out already."
"Fiancé," Daly spat, disdain obvious at the word. "You risked your life for a woman? You're stupid."
"No offense but I'm not the one holding a gun in the nursery." Will retorted. Jay groaned, closing his eyes. He knew Will's big mouth would get him in trouble one day. If Daly didn't kill him, Jay knew he would. Who else other than Will would think it was a good idea to insult a guy who had a gun pointed in their face?
"You think you're funny huh?" Daly shouted. "Let's see if you're still laughing in a couple of years when that bitch that you risked your life for leave you for someone else and try to take your kid from you. Then let's see who's laughing then."
"Is that what happened to you? Your wife cheated on you while you were deployed and had a kid with that guy?"
"That's my kid! My son! Not that son of a bitch's." Daly sounded enraged.
"Okay, okay," Will said, trying to appease him and diffuse the situation. "It's your son. I'm sorry man. You didn't deserve that happening to you."
Daly scoffed. "What the fuck would you know? Look at you. Pretty boy doctor. Probably haven't lifted a finger a day in your life."
"He doesn't but I do." Daly grabbed Will at the sudden voice, holding Will by the neck and the gun pointed at his temple.
"Who the fuck is out there? Show yourself or I shoot him!" Daly shouted, eyes frantically searching for the newcomer. "Show yourself!"
Jay signaled the team to stand down and he slowly came around the wall with his hands up, slowly showing himself to Daly.
"Who the fuck are you!? How did you get in here?"
"My name is Jay Halstead and I'm with Chicago P.D." He heard Voight's shouts of what the hell he was doing over the intercom but Jay ignored him. Jay knew he was taking a risk doing this but there was something—a part of Daly that wasn't all gone—that he heard when he and Will were talking. A reachable part of him that Jay could relate to. And Jay knew that if anyone can talk Daly down and end the whole thing peacefully, it was him.
"I told the cops to stand down or I start shooting and they send you in?! Who else is in here with you?!"
"No one man," Jay replied, walking closer inch by inch. "I'm alone."
"I don't believe you!"
"I swear!" Jay promised. "I'm alone. Okay. I came alone because that's my brother you're holding at gunpoint there."
"Halstead, talk him down if you can but don't hesitate to take the shot if he steps out of line." Voight's harsh voice came through Jay's ears but Jay ignored it again. He had more important task to focus on.
"Why don't you let him and everyone go? And I can get you out of here safely." He spoke to Daly.
"I'm not leaving here without my son!" Daly yelled. "Now toss your weapon over! Do it!" Jay complied, putting the safety back on and slid his rifle over to the side, where neither he or Daly could get to it.
"I don't want to hurt you or get you hurt man," Jay tried again. "I just want to get everyone out safe, including you. So why don't you let everyone go and you can have me."
Daly laughed. "What? Your life isn't more valuable than these people?"
"I'm an Army man just like you," Jay said. "I was a Ranger. I was trained to protect. And I know what you're going through right now."
"Oh really? You do?" Daly mocked Jay. "So your so-called faithful wife had you believing that you were going to be a father only to pull out the rug from under you when you came home? You come home and there's nothing waiting for you but divorce papers and a new man she's fucking sitting in your chair, sleeping in your bed? And the son that you were going to raise, the one you thought of while you were trying to stay alive while bullets were flying over you? That son that you thought was your blood and DNA, now she tells you that it's not yours. You had that happen to you?"
"No. It didn't. But I came home and I found out that my mom was sick. That there was nothing more the doctors can do for her. You said your son was your motivation to stay alive overseas? My mom was mine. So no, I don't know exactly what you're going through but I know enough."
Jay felt safe to walk even closer so he did just that, the sliding doors opened so he can enter the nursery and stood directly in front of Daly. "It's hard as hell and some days you don't even feel like getting up and facing the day. I know. I understand," Jay began. "You're angry all the time because you feel like you lost precious time, time you should've had!"
"I should've been here," Daly started, voice breaking. "I should've been here. If I was then she wouldn't have left me. And there would be no doubt that it's my son."
"It's not too late," Jay reasoned. "If he is your son, it's not too late for you to give this up and you can be in his life. You don't want to do this man."
"He is my son!" Daly screamed, his hold on Will tightening. Jay chanced a quick glance at Will who was getting redder by the second, fear clearly written on his face. Jay hoped that Will could understand what Jay was trying to tell him with his eyes—that there was no way in hell that Jay would let Will get hurt.
"Okay okay," Jay agreed, just wanting to calm the man down. If Daly wanted to live in the delusional fantasy that he was definitely the father then Jay would play along. "You're the father. That's your son in there. You know what that means right?"
"What?"
Jay pointed his finger at the bassinet that was holding the baby behind them. "That as of today, it's your responsibility to protect that boy as much as you can. It's your job man. His life comes first before anything!"
"I know that! I'd give up my life for his!"
"Look at what you're doing right now though Justin!" Jay waved his hand around. "This isn't putting your son first. This isn't protecting him. You want to take him and leave? You want to shoot me and my brother and run? Okay you might get away with your son but as soon as you step out of the hospital, there's a whole squad of teams waiting with their guns for you and they're not going to hesitate to shoot. Your son is going to get caught in the cross fire then. Is that what you want?" Daly didn't reply but Jay could see that his words got to Daly. "You don't want that. You don't want to put your son in danger right?"
Daly finally released his hold on Will. "Will," Jay called, getting Will's attention. "Get out of here!" Will looked reluctant and he stayed put. "Go!" Jay shouted. He just needed to get Will away from the room while Daly was letting him go. The guy was unstable and Jay wasn't sure how long he had before Daly changed his mind again and made promise on his threat to shoot. "Go! Get the fuck out of here!"
Finally Will listened and slowly started walking, his face screaming that he didn't want to leave Jay. "Go," Jay mouthed again, urging Will to make a quick exit. The sooner Will left and got to safety, the sooner Jay could get Daly under custody. Will paused, wanting to stay and say something but Jay had enough and he pushed Will out the door. "I'll be fine, just leave!" With that, Will finally made his exit and Jay knew that the team would be waiting around the corner to get Will to safety. Now Jay could fully focus on bringing Daly under control.
"Okay," Jay resumed speaking to Daly. "We're almost there. Now just pass me the gun and we can walk out of here. Both of us, alive." Daly didn't comply but his eyes were filled with tears, an internal battle clearly brewing with Daly on whether he could surrender or not. "Do it Daly. Do it for your son!" That seemed to be the motivation Daly needed and he slowly began to crouch down. "Okay, just kick your gun to me." Jay instructed.
Daly was almost on his knees, just about to place the gun on the ground and kick it over to Jay when suddenly the red dot sight flashed—a definite sign of a sniper rifle. Daly caught sight of it from the reflection and he panicked, suddenly picking his gun back up, ready to shoot his way out.
It happened so fast. Too fast for his team that waiting behind the wall to make it in time and take actions.
Jay knew he only had one chance—a quick blink of an eye—to catch Daly off guard and stop him before he made his way over to one of the nurses that he was keeping hostage and use her as a body shield from the sniper. So Jay acted fast, taking the small window of opportunity where Daly had his eyes away from him and rushed forward as fast as he could and tackled Daly. The sudden move caught Daly off guard but not enough to release his hold on his gun. But both of them were on the ground now, fighting for dominance as Daly was fighting to get a shot off while Jay fought to get Daly to drop his gun.
Jay grunted as Daly got a few blow into his stomach but Jay held him off, straddling him to get Daly under control. Jay reached for Daly's hand next, trying to hit his wrist so Daly would release the gun but Daly held on, kneeing Jay in the groin. The pain weakened Jay's position and Daly took the opportunity to flip them over, now Jay was on the bottom while Daly had the upper hand. Jay dodged the punches that were coming his way and he reached his hand up to grab hold of Daly's neck and began choking him so he would lose consciousness. When he began to feel Daly lose his strength, Jay flipped them over again and this time, he successfully knocked the gun away from Daly, the gun sliding a few feet away from them. "Stand down!" Jay ordered but Daly didn't listen, using the last burst of strength he had to punch Jay clear across the face, knocking Jay off balance. Jay stumbled to the ground next to Daly and Daly pushed Jay fully off of him, using the chance to scramble and head towards the gun that was laying on the ground. Jay recovered quickly and got on his knees and followed suit. They both raced toward the gun, both stumbling and unbalanced just trying to go as fast as they could. Jay leapt forward toward the gun, seeing Daly do the same from his periphery and both of their hands reached for the weapon that was up for grabs.
Then three shots rang out.
And all that came over Jay's radio was Voight's shouts.
"Shots fired! Shots fired! Breach! Breach!"
A sudden feeling of dread came over Erin and she felt a chill ran up her spine. There was this feeling in her gut that something had gone wrong, even if she didn't know what. She tried to remain calm, not wanting to scare Owen. But she needed an update. She needed answers.
"You want some water Owen?" He nodded. "Okay sit here and watch the game. I'll go get you a glass." She got up from the couch and made her into the kitchen where her iPad was. She went on the internet, hoping for an update and see if they had the gunman under control. But she almost lost her mind when she saw the update of shots being fired inside and somehow she just knew that Jay was inside the hospital where the shots were fired.
She knew she needed to stay calm, just keep pretending that nothing was wrong, for Owen's sakes but she was having a hard time breathing. She was dying to call someone—Jay, Kim, anyone on her team—so she can get a real update and see who was inside. She almost hit dial several times but stopped herself, knowing that no matter what was happening, her team was too busy to be answering her call. And the last thing she wanted to do was distract them or even worse, give them away to the gunman at a pivotal time. So she swallowed her anxiety and the dreadful feeling she had in her heart and focused on what she needed to do—take care of Owen just like she promised Jay.
Even as thirty minutes flew by since she had read the update about shots fired, not even a little bit of that anxious feelings in her stomach lessened. Instead it had heightened even more, hearing radio silence from Jay. She should've gotten a call by now from Jay if he had gotten out safely, even if he had a protocol to follow. Half an hour was plenty of time before he could sneak away and just give her a heads up that he was okay. And the fact that he hadn't made her want to run out the door and head to the hospital so she could see what was going on for herself. She didn't do well with staying behind and waiting around while people she loved were putting their lives at risk.
"Look Erin, the birds score!" Owen cheered as the Seahawks scored a touchdown. "Go birds!"
Erin forced a smile on her face so Owen wouldn't get an idea that his mom and his soon to be stepfather were in danger. "Yeah go birds!" She knew her voice sounded flat but thankfully Owen didn't pick up on it. Instead he giggled, bumping his small fists and he returned his focus on the game, clearly becoming a fan of football that day. But not even Owen's enthusiasm and the Packers losing distracted her from what was going on, her eyes more focused on her phone than the television screen.
Finally, her phone rang and she quickly grabbed it in her hand. "I'll be back," she told Owen and she went to the kitchen to answer the call, thinking it was Jay finally reaching out to her to let her know that he was fine.
But she didn't see Jay's name and the picture of them flashed on the screen like she thought—like she hoped. Her heart dropped as Adam's name came on the screen instead and tears began to well up in her eyes.
There was only one reason why it wasn't Jay calling her. There was only one reason why it was someone else from her team giving her the call—the dreaded notification call. Her lips quivered as her trembling fingers hit the answer button and she shakily brought the phone up to her ear, trying to brace herself for the worst.
"Hello?"