CHAPTER FOUR
Tuesday 21 July, 7:10am
It was chaotic in the West-King-Stetson household. The boys were fighting over the toy in the Cracklin' Critters breakfast cereal; Dotty was planning her day, preparing for 'Grandma's hot date' this evening - as Philip had described it. It wasn't even seven-thirty yet and Amanda had already received a couple of phone calls. The first was from Billy at IFF to tell her the briefing had been moved to eight-thirty and the second was from Mrs. Jackman, asking if Amanda could give her daughter, Hannah, a lift to soccer camp along with Philip and Jamie. By seven ten, they were all behind schedule.
"Have you seen my lipstick, Amanda?" asked Dotty.
"No, Mother."
"Oh, well, I'm sure it was in my bag last night and now I can't find it."
Amanda sighed. "Is it really important, Mother?"
"No, not really."
"Mom, tell Jamie it's my turn for the space creature!" cried Philip.
Before she could reply, Jamie responded. "It is not! You had the last one, Philip, remember?"
"No."
"You did too. You must remember! You took it for that boat ride in Rock Creek Park, you know in that paper boat thing you made? It sank!"
The expression on Philip's face indicated that he did remember the occasion. "Yeah, so that means I should get this one, to replace the one that sank," he said, using logic as only a fourteen year-old can.
"That's not fair, that's-"
"Fellas!" Amanda yelled, instantly getting their full attention. "If you carry on like this, you'll be having Bran Oaties in the future." The boys stopped arguing immediately and silently looked up at their mom.
"Sorry, Mom," they said in unison, guilty expressions on their faces as they looked at their mom's frazzled expression. They knew she missed Lee - so did they. She'd been shorter with them lately, and their grandma had asked them to give her a break. For the last few days they had been trying to be on their best behavior, but this morning they'd forgotten.
"You can have it, Philip," said Jamie, in a conciliatory tone. "Seeing as how the last one, er,…escaped."
"Thanks, Jamie, but it's okay. You can have it. It is your turn."
Amanda began to relax. "That's better."
Suddenly, Dotty called out, "Found it! Would you believe it? It was right here in my purse, just where I thought it should be. That purse is like a black hole if you ask me. Come on now, boys. Time to go. Don't want you to be late for soccer camp. Do you have everything you need? Are your bags packed? Don't forget, we have to pick up Hannah."
"Yes, Grandma," said Philip. "You can sit next to her Jamie." Jamie's face reddened. "You know you like her."
"Do not."
"Do too!"
Before the arguments could progress any further, Dotty pointed to the door, "Car! Now!"
The boys both shut up and walked out to the car, giving each other black looks as they got in the back seat.
~~SMK~~
Tuesday 21 July, 8:25am
Billy was pouring his second cup of coffee when Amanda walked into the bullpen.
"Morning, Billy." Amanda smiled at her boss.
"Good morning, Amanda. How are you today? Coffee?"
"I'm fine, sir. Thank you." She took a mug from his hand. "Is Francine in yet?"
"Yes, she's just going over the logs from last night. Go ahead into my office, Amanda. I'll go round her up and we'll get underway."
~~SMK~~
Francine walked into Billy's office and sat next to Amanda in front of Billy's desk. "Morning, Amanda."
"Morning Francine."
"Well, Billy," asked Francine, "shall I go through the plan for today?" Billy indicated she should proceed. "The Congressman is due at the clinic this afternoon at five, so we're going over this morning to ensure that our guys have the security plan fully implemented. Davies is our lead guy and he's been there since six this morning. They've been setting up the checks on all employees, clients and visitors arriving there today. His team is making sure no one else gets in or out."
"And was there anything on the overnight log?" the Section Chief asked.
"Yes. It seems that late last night, representatives of the Pro-Choice lobby started to arrive in large numbers - there to support the Congressman apparently. The cops had set up the security fences already, so their arrival wasn't a problem. The trouble only started after large numbers of Pro-Life people arrived."
"What trouble, Francine?" Amanda questioned.
"Well, there was a lot of shouting and a few minor scuffles, but the cops managed to keep them under control."
"And how are things now?" Billy interjected.
"Tense at the moment, but under control. Davies and his guys are patrolling the crowds, looking for familiar faces based on the information we gleaned yesterday. The Metro cops have crowd control. The biggest problem we have is the guy in charge over there."
Amanda looked puzzled. "Why's that?"
"Cooper," Billy said.
"Cooper?" asked Amanda.
"Donald Cooper is a lieutenant over at Special Tactics Branch. He always makes a point not be helpful when we're involved."
"Yeah, right," laughed Francine. "He's totally obstructive. Just because he never made it through Station One."
"What?" queried Amanda. "He tried out for the Agency?"
"Yes," informed Francine. "We rejected him. His attitude was appalling. Thought he knew everything. His behavior since then has proven our point. He's a pain in the-"
"Fran-cine," interrupted Billy.
"Sounds like you have some history there, Francine," Amanda observed.
"Hmph."
"Ladies, we seem to be drifting off the point." Billy brought the briefing back to order. "Francine, did you get anything new from the daughter?"
Amanda looked curiously at Francine. "I called her at the clinic this morning," Francine enlightened her partner. "She's still refusing to listen to us. She insists she's not going to be intimidated and that it's business as usual." Amanda nodded silently.
"What about her father?" questioned Billy. "Did you get anything?"
"Well, I got a date," replied Francine.
"About the clinic, Francine," said her long-suffering boss.
"We did try to convince him to cancel. To get his daughter out of there," said Amanda.
Francine laughed. "You should have seen him, Billy. He's so proud of Catherine. They're probably both nuts. What did he say, Amanda?"
"'No one is going to tell me or my daughter what we can or cannot do.'" Amanda shook her head. "I don't think he appreciates the scale of the problem. He refuses to be intimidated."
"You've got to give him credit for sticking to his guns, I guess," commented Francine.
"Hmm," returned their boss.
"I don't think anyone has ever made the Congressman do anything in his entire life," Amanda replied. "He seems determined to be his own man, no matter what the consequences."
"And he didn't understand what would happen if there was an actual explosion? Why we would ask him to stay away while this threat was a strong possibility?"
"He wasn't listening, Billy," said Francine. "Don't think we didn't try, but when we went back, he hadn't moved an inch. He's either a brave guy or very stupid and I'm not sure which."
"So, how's the Congressman getting in and out of the location?"
Francine and Amanda filled Billy in on the routes that had been agreed upon with the Congressman's personal security detail the day before, together with the contingency plans, should things go wrong.
"Okay. So we work around him. And Cooper if it comes to that. Get out there and make sure nothing goes wrong. There have been several threats to Congressman Wile's life already. There is not going to be an attack on our watch. If Cooper causes any trouble, let me know. I'll tell him who's in charge." Billy had a serious look on his face.
"Yes, sir," agreed Amanda.
"We'll get right on it, Billy."
As they left the office, Francine spoke to Amanda. "You know, I hope the Congressman doesn't get blown up today."
"What!?" enquired Amanda.
"Well," continued Francine, "I wouldn't want to blow two classy dates in two days. I have a reputation to maintain."
Amanda opened her mouth for a retort, but she couldn't find anything to say that could top that. She closed her mouth again.
~~SMK~~
Tuesday 21 July, 8:45am
The seedy hotel room was sparsely furnished with twin beds, a table, and a threadbare armchair. Ford sat on the bed cleaning his gun as Stark paced up and down the small room.
"You not finished that yet?" Stark said angrily to his partner.
"No!" Ford shot back. "Why don't you get some coffee? Or some tranquilizers," he finished under his breath.
"I don't need coffee. I just wanna get on with this. We need to get in during the morning shift-change before they tighten security."
"He's due to be there at five, right?" Ford asked.
"Five, yeah. But we need to get in at 10:45, the regular delivery time. Then we leave the bomb and get the hell outta there."
"Won't the increased security mean they've stopped all deliveries?" asked Ford.
"Normally, yeah. But 'Congressional Coolers' has high-level security clearance. They deliver to the Capitol, the Offices, even the Supreme Court. They won't stop us."
"I don't know how you got us in."
"The head guy at the cooler service owes me big-time. I called in his marker," Stark said, icily.
"That must be some marker."
"Damn straight. He took the special bottle in last week. Now we go in and place the explosives and the timer. Then we just have to put the bottle on the cooler and get out. They'll never trace it to us. By the time it goes off, we'll be on the way to Phoenix, then, over the border into Mexico."
"So it's hasta la vista, Congressman Wile, huh?" Ford laughed.
"Exactly. Now, you ready?"
~~SMK~~
Tuesday 21 July, 10:20am
Despite the chaotic morning in the West-King-Stetson house, Dotty made it to Emelio's right on time.
"Agnes!" said Dotty as she saw her neighbor sitting in Emelio's.
"Dotty! How are Amanda and the boys?"
"They're fine. What's with all the commotion?"
"Oh, it's the new clinic next door. The Family Center."
"Well," said Dotty, "there certainly is a lot of activity outside. I had a hard time finding somewhere to park. I thought I was going to be late."
"Oh, I know what you mean. We never had this trouble when all we had next door was the coffee shop."
"No, and do you remember their blueberry muffins? Like homemade…well, almost. How's Ralph doing? How's his foot feeling now?"
"It's getting better; the cast's coming off on Tuesday."
"How did he manage to fall over the ladder like that?"
Agnes turned a little pink in the face. "Oh, well, I was up on the ladder, you know, cleaning the windows and he didn't see the ladder."
"I thought Bob cleaned your windows?" I'll bet she was snooping again.
"Er…yes, well, ordinarily he does, yes. But he-"
"And the bump on Ralph's head. Did that happen at the same time?"
"What? Oh, well, when he tripped on the ladder, it caused me to drop the…er, sponge I had in my hand." I knew I should've put the strap to the binoculars around my neck. But surely Dotty doesn't know about them?
"Ralph got a bruise like that from a sponge? Amazing. Who would've thought," responded Dotty, feigning innocence. Washing her windows? Knocked out by a sponge? I don't think so. She was snooping, I'm sure of it.
"Ladies," said Mr. Emelio, the proprietor of the salon. He was a larger-than-life figure in his traditional orange suit and black bow tie. For a hair styling guru, his own hair was non-existent. His head was as shiny as a billiard ball. "Please excuse me for interrupting."
Agnes breathed an indiscernible sigh of relief. "Oh, are you ready for me?" asked Dotty.
Who is? thought Agnes.
"Yes," said Mr. Emelio. "I'll get Katy to wash your hair. You'll like her, she's new. She's been with us a little over a week."
~~SMK~~
Tuesday 21 July, 10:40am
Stark and Ford were sat in the 'Congressional Coolers' truck two streets from the clinic. Stark looked at his watch. "Five minutes, Ford. Let's get it on." The two men exchanged sinister glances, then Ford started up the truck. Stark reached into the backpack in his lap and pressed a switch. The big red LED timer read 6:20:00 and immediately the numbers began to count backwards. He closed the bag. Once again, he checked that the safety was released on his sidearm.
Outside the clinic, the crowds were chanting and yelling, each group trying to drown out the noise of the other. There was a stronger police presence at the barriers than the previous day and it was obvious tensions were high. Dead on 10:45, the truck pulled up outside the front entrance to the clinic. Before getting out of the truck, they both put on their backpacks, and descended from the cab. As planned, they opened up the side of the truck and lugged several bottles of water onto the dolly. As they turned towards the front steps of the clinic, all hell broke loose.
The barrier between the opposing groups was breached as angry protestors surged forwards. As they approached the other group, they returned the advance. The police tried to intervene and split up the groups but the numbers were overwhelming. From the top of the steps, Agent Davies scanned the crowds. He'd considered that a diversion might be used to breach security and wasn't totally surprised when something happened. He was surprised, however, at how quickly the police lost control.
His eyes swept the crowd once again and suddenly he locked eyes with a familiar face. He'd seen that face at the morning briefing. "Stark!" he exclaimed. As the crowd on the sidewalk surged again, the eye contact was broken and he lost track of his assailant. As Davies ran down the steps in pursuit, he radioed his men. "Stark is here! I lost him, but he's here somewhere. We need back-up here, now!"
Stark, followed closely by Ford, forced his way through hordes of people, some yelling, some pushing and shoving and a few attempting to throw punches amidst the crowds. Staying focused on his task Davies moved to the position he'd last seen Stark. He turned in a full three-sixty, desperately seeking his quarry who was wearing a blue 'Congressional Coolers' jumpsuit. He had to find him again. Lives depended on it. Then he saw him, the back of Stark's head bobbing amongst the crowd, seemingly oblivious to the scuffles around him, moving towards the clinic steps.
At that moment, police reinforcements arrived, together with Agency back up. The police took up station blocking the entrance to the clinic and Stark saw his plan was thwarted. Ford saw the cops and yanked on Stark's backpack, grabbing his attention. He yelled, "We're not gonna make it. We have to get outta here!"
Stark nodded. Pointing up the street away from the chaos, he shouted, "That way!"
Davies was catching up as he saw Stark and Ford clear the rioting crowd and run down the street. As he continued his pursuit, Stark stopped running and turned. Raising his gun, he fired at his pursuer, then Stark turned again and ran for the nearest cover, dragging Ford behind him. Davies fell to the ground as his legs gave way from under him. He was aware of severe pain as he collapsed. Someone in the crowd screamed and Davies passed out.
~~SMK~~
Tuesday 21 July, 10:50am
The salon was filled with gossip as the stylists went about their business, talking to their clients. In the center of the melee was Mr. Emelio. He was directing operations, preparing his latest client for another stunning masterpiece, when the double doors from the street burst open and two men ran in. They had guns in their hands and carried backpacks. As they ran inside, all the faces in the salon turned to look at the source of the disturbance. All except Dotty, who had done her usual trick of falling asleep under the dryer. Everyone else in the salon froze as though playing the children's game Statues. Stark forced the six customers and five staff members into a corner and held them at gunpoint.
Ford walked over to Dotty. "Hey!" There was no response. He poked Dotty with the nose of his pistol. "Hey!! Sleeping beauty!"
"What?" said a sleepy Dotty. "Am I done?" Looking into the mirror in front of her, she saw a man holding a gun on a woman under a dryer. For a second, it didn't register that it was her. Gradually, she tore her gaze from the mirror and looked down to the actual gun, pointed at her chest. "What the-? What's going on?"
"Get over there!" Ford twitched his hand to his left, indicating Dotty should go join the rest of the shop's newly formed hostage association. When she didn't move quickly enough for him, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of the chair, pushing her violently across the room.
The other hostages were not taking their ordeal very well. The new assistant, Katy, was sobbing uncontrollably; others were whimpering or had stunned expressions. Dotty could see fear reflected in their eyes. Suddenly angry, she turned back to her assailant. "What's the meaning of this? What's going on? If my hair's ruined because of this…this…" she searched for a word, "this…hair-brained scheme, then I'll, I'll-"
"Shut up, Lady, why don't you!" yelled Stark. He turned to the other hostages. "Listen to me! We represent 'Rights of the Unborn.'" He searched for something suitably hostage-y to say. "We're here to stop the murders done in the name of choice."
"Er…excuse me…" interrupted Dotty. Stark glared back at her. "In case you haven't noticed, this is a hair salon!" A couple of hostages laughed nervously.
"Quiet!!" ordered Stark.
Dotty was not. She continued, "Well, I just wondered what you thought you were doing? What you hoped to achieve, by holding up a hair salon? I mean, if you were called 'Rights of the Unpermed' then maybe I'd understand, but…" By this time, Stark had had enough of Dotty. He pointed his 9mm into her face. At this, Dotty fell silent. Briefly. Then, looking her attacker directly in the eye, and said, "Young man. It is very rude to-"
Stark started to pull back the trigger on his gun, all the while keeping it in Dotty's face. "So help me, I'll-"
Ford intervened, putting a hand on his forearm. "Keep it calm, Stark. We can't afford any more slip-ups." He turned to Dotty. "You'd better shut up before you get into more trouble."
Dotty said nothing but nodded and threw up her hands in surrender. She turned to her fellow hostages and spoke quietly. "I see good manners aren't considered important in hostage-taking circles." A couple of the other hostages smiled, half-heartedly, impressed at her attitude.
"Okay," said Stark, addressing the hostages. "As you can see, you have become involved in our little… er, conflict, here and you are now our hostages. If you sit down and…" he looked pointedly at Dotty, "shut up, this whole thing will go much more easily. You should be out of here and back with your families in no time."
Dotty opened her mouth as though to say something, then closed it again as Ford approached them with a roll of duct tape. He bound the hands of each hostage as they sat on the floor.
~~SMK~~
Tuesday 21 July, 11:10pm
Amanda looked around as the back door to the surveillance truck opened and Francine clambered in. Amanda, who had taken that position, while Francine went to talk to the officer on scene, removed the headphones she'd been wearing to listen to the radio traffic. So far, the captors had refused to respond to the negotiator, either by telephone or the police bullhorn and the Metro ERT were running out of options.
"So, do we know why they're holding the hair salon rather than the clinic?" Amanda asked Francine.
"Well," Francine began, "I spoke to the cops on scene at the time. According to them, these wiseguys were trying to enter the clinic just as the two sides were getting nasty. They got blocked and ran. Seems Davies recognized one of the guys from Augie's pictures and set off after him. Once they got clear of the crowd, one of them turned and fired."
"Did you get to talk to Davies?"
"Yeah, they were just putting him in the ambulance."
"Oh, my gosh, is he okay?"
"He will be. The NEST guys are on standby over at Parker General. The bullet lodged in his thigh but missed the bone. I spoke to him before they left and he said he only saw two guys and that they headed toward the hair salon next door."
"Emelio's," said Amanda.
"That's right. Seems a strange place to go. The nearest cover I suppose."
"Poor Mr. Emelio."
"What?"
"Well, it's not the first time his salon's been attacked. Lee and I were here a couple years ago and there was this big fight and the place was trashed. My mother slept right through it. She was under the dryer." Suddenly, Amanda turned pale as she remembered her mother's plans for the day. She looked at her watch. "Oh, no."
"Amanda?" asked Francine. "Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"More like a nightmare. I think Mother could still be in there." She pointed to the salon.
Francine was beginning to understand why Amanda's face had turned white. "What? Your mother? Why?"
Amanda gave Francine a look of contempt. In an uncharacteristically sarcastic voice, Amanda said, "She's buying groceries." Francine looked confused. "She's getting her hair done, what do you think?"
"So let's get this straight. Your mother is inside Emelio's, where two armed gunmen are currently holding the customers hostage? Now I see where you get it from. Does your family come with a psycho-magnet, or is it a skill you develop as time goes on?"
"Fran-cine," Amanda said, glaring at her current partner, though mentally acknowledging a certain amount of truth in the remark.
"So," asked Francine, "is the police negotiator getting anywhere? I heard him using the bullhorn."
Amanda shook her head. "No. They wouldn't answer the phone so he reverted to the bullhorn in the hope that that would get a response."
"And?"
"Nothing. For now we all just sit and wait."
~~SMK~~
Tuesday 21 July, 1:45pm
More than two hours later, the hostages at Emelio's had quieted. The sobbing had subsided, leaving a generally subdued atmosphere as the customers and employees sat on the floor, leaning against the outside wall of Emelio's office. Ford sat on a chair in front of them, glaring from face to face whenever anyone moved. Meanwhile Stark paced back and forth by the door to the street.
Suddenly, Dotty spoke up. "Er, excuse me?"
Ford rolled his eyes before asking, "What?"
"Well, we've been sitting here for a long time now and, er, well, I suspect that, well, if we're going to be here much longer, then you are going to have to do something about bathroom breaks. Otherwise, things could start to get a little…difficult."
"God, woman! Don't you ever shut up?"
Dotty knew it was a rhetorical question, but couldn't help saying in reply, albeit quietly, "Well, not as a rule, no." One of the hostages laughed nervously at the comment and Dotty reached over to her to touch her shoulder with her taped hands. "Don't you worry, Katy. We'll be fine. These people will have to give up, eventually."
Ford jumped to his feet and yelled, "Agghhhh!!!" He picked up the chair he'd been sitting on and threw it at the mirrors over the sinks to the side of him. Bottles of various solutions and other hair-styling paraphernalia fell to the floor.
As the mirror shattered into thousands of tiny fragments, Dotty leaned over to Katy conspiratorially. "See, dear, that's seven years of bad luck he's just got himself, right there."
Katy couldn't help but smile at the feisty woman sitting beside her. She'd been terrified at first, but Dotty's calm demeanor had helped her get herself under control. "I'm glad you're here," she said, with half a smile.
"Well, I'm not," returned Dotty, with a wink. "I don't think they're too thrilled to have me here either." She nodded to their captors. Dotty leaned toward Katy. Though her hands were tied, there was enough leeway that she could raise them over Katy's head, enveloping her in her arms, offering comfort. Dotty rested her chin on the top of Katy's head. "Don't worry, we'll get out of this all right. I'm sure the authorities are doing all they can." Silence returned to the hostages.
~~SMK~~
Tuesday 21 July, 1:55pm
In the surveillance truck, Francine was bored and Amanda had started biting her fingernails. Despite several attempts, the hostage negotiator could not make contact with those inside the salon.
"What are we going to do, Francine?"
Francine looked across to Amanda. "Do? What can we do? At least, not while Metro retains jurisdiction."
"But my mother," Amanda's spoke nervously.
Francine reached out to Amanda, placing a comforting hand on Amanda's shoulder. "It'll be all right, you know."
"Will it?"
"Sure it will."
"You don't know that, Francine."
Francine nodded her agreement. "Yes, you're right. I don't know that. But we've been in worse scrapes than this before, haven't we? And we're still here."
"Yes, Francine. But this time Lee's not here to save the day and we don't even have any chocolate." Amanda and Francine shared a half-hearted chuckle.
"Well, at least in the back of this truck we're not running out of air, right?" Suddenly, Francine jumped up. "Right!"
Taken aback by her partner's sudden movement. "Right, what?"
"Right, this. We've been waiting and waiting for Metro to do something, right?" Amanda nodded. "Well I reckon it's time the Agency took charge of this operation."
"But Francine, we don't have jurisdiction here."
"You stay here. If anything happens, call me on the car phone. I'll be back as soon as I can. Trust me."
Amanda looked puzzled. "Where are you going?"
I'm going to call in a few debts."
"Francine?"
"More than that you don't need to know Amanda. See ya later."
"Bye," replied a confused Amanda to a closing surveillance truck door.
~~SMK~~
Tuesday 21 July, 3:05pm
Emelio's was silent. Even Stark had stopped pacing to sit in a chair he'd pulled to the door, watching the activity outside the salon. Suddenly, the silence was shattered by the telephone ringing again. Everyone jumped. Ford looked at Stark who didn't move. "Ignore it!" hissed Stark. The caller was persistent, however. As the ringing continued, the hostages were becoming edgy and the whimpering noises were getting louder. Katy had started to cry again.
Releasing her hold on Katy, Dotty stood up. "Oh, this is just ridiculous!" she exclaimed. She picked up the telephone on the nearby desk. "Hello?" Stark was immediately at her side with the gun back in her face. Dotty wasn't speaking and took the phone away from her ear just long enough to push away the muzzle of the gun away from her, then she listened. She held the receiver toward him. "It's for you." Stark just looked blankly at her. Unfazed, Dotty put the phone back to her ear. "I'm sorry, my captors can't come to the phone at the moment. This is Dotty West, one of the hostages, can I help you?"
This woke Stark from his reverie. "Give me that!" he yelled, snatching the phone from Dotty's hand. Before speaking into the phone, Stark looked at Ford. "Lock her in that storeroom. Now!" he ordered. Then he turned his attention to the phone. "What?"
Ford pushed Dotty out of the salon into the corridor that housed the storeroom, guiding her with his gun like a cattle prod. As the door slammed shut, and Ford turned the key, he heard Dotty exclaim, "Well, really!"
As Ford stood outside of the storeroom door, Stark joined him.
"What did they want?" asked Ford, referring to this latest call.
"Same thing. Exchange the hostages for our escape."
"So," said Ford. "What did you say?"
"I told 'em not to hold their breath."
"What are we gonna do, Stark?"
"Hell, I don't know. I didn't exactly plan for taking hostages in a hair salon did I? All we had to do was sneak in, plant the bomb and get out of town before anyone was any wiser. Now we're stuck in here. It's the last time I take a job from those anti-abortion people. They told me it would be a simple job."
"Simple?" asked Ford. "This has been anything but."
"Yeah," agreed Stark. "I can't believe the same people who're funding our operation prevented us from carrying it out."
"Well, it wasn't just them."
"No, but talk about unprofessional. When I get outta here, I'm going to have to have a little talk with our employers. Tell them our rates have gone up."
"What about the bomb?"
"That still goes off, we can't stop it now, so we have to get out of here. We can leave that behind. How long have we got?"
"About two hours."
"Right, then I think we need to start upping the ante. Let's get back in there." Stark indicated the salon and they returned to the hostage-filled room.
~~SMK~~
Tuesday 21 July, 3:30pm
The car's brakes squealed as the Agency car pulled alongside the surveillance truck. Billy got out with Francine in tow. In his hand he held authorization papers. He was determined to take charge of the operation. Francine grabbed Amanda from the surveillance truck, while Billy headed straight for the Mobile Command Center. Running to try to catch up with their Section Chief, Francine told the puzzled Amanda, "Come on. I'll explain later." They followed Billy as he strode purposefully into the trailer serving as a temporary HQ.
Billy ignored the protests of the guarding officers as he strode across the trailer. The Metro Lieutenant was already on his feet and met Billy half way. Billy stood nose to nose with Cooper. "I'm taking control and I'm doing it now." Billy spoke with a quiet tone of authority as he shoved the papers into Cooper's face.
Cooper was having none of it. "You're taking what? I don't think so. This is a Special Tactics Operation. There's a hostage situation and we don't need the Agency involved. You don't have the authority."
Francine and Amanda entered the room. Billy acknowledged their presence and returned his gaze to Cooper. "You don't think I have authority?" Cooper shook his head. "These papers are signed by the Chief of Police. You might want to take a look at them." He threw them at Cooper and they bounced off his chest to the floor. "A Congressman's life has been threatened, there's rioting in the streets, one of my officers has been shot and a group of innocents has been taken hostage. All part of your operation. I'm taking control before you screw anything else up."
"This is a hostage situation," interrupted Cooper, arrogantly. "It's a police matter and I have the situation under control."
"Man, you don't have control. Don't you see that?"
"Just get outta here, Melrose, and you'll see that the situation is safe in my capable hands." Cooper grinned.
"Your capable what!? So when do they get here?" Billy asked.
The grin dropped from Cooper's face. "Oh, that's funny, Melrose. You doing turns at the Comedy Club these days? You're a natural."
"Why you…" Billy grabbed Cooper's lapels.
Cooper raised his hands, "Touchy guy!" He laughed.
Billy forced himself to regain control and let go of the man. There was no way he would be shown up by this idiot. In a deliberate tone, Billy said, "I am taking over this operation. I'm doing it now and I'm doing it fast. Get your men out of here."
"Oh, I'm quaking in my boots, Melrose. You think you can threaten me?"
"I don't need to threaten you, Cooper. You are an embarrassment to the uniform. You've done nothing since this thing started."
"We put a negotiator on it, but these wiseguys won't talk. So we wait."
"Wait? Wait!!? That's your big master plan?"
"They'll have to come out eventually."
"Yeah, but how many hostages have to die before that happens?"
"No one's gonna die, Melrose, there'd be no point."
Billy's blood pressure shot through the roof. "Great!" he bellowed. "So now you're doing psychology 101? Do you really think these guys are thinking rationally? They've already sent one bomb and are now threatening the lives of innocent bystanders! Their plan's gone wrong and you think they'll be acting reasonably? If they were going to be reasonable, they'd have turned themselves in by now. They want to escape. They've already shot one of my guys and there's no reason to think they'll have any qualms about killing a hostage or two in the process."
Amanda and Francine flinched at Billy's tirade. Even Cooper had blanched a little. He knew he was running out of options, but he wasn't going to give Billy Melrose the satisfaction of admitting it.
Cooper indicated the women standing behind Billy. "And these are the agents you've got lined up to solve this problem?" said Cooper sarcastically. "A housewife and a whore?"
"Why you-" Francine stepped forward but Amanda put her hand on her shoulder and Francine stopped.
"That's Agent Desmond to you." Billy was angry. "She's a better agent than you could ever hope to be."
"I'll never understand how I got involved with you," muttered Francine.
"Cos I'm a passionate guy, Franny," he mocked.
Billy saw red. "You're not the only one who's passionate. Only my passion is for the job." He emphasized this point by poking Cooper in the chest before turning away and staring out of the window.
"You and your damned Agency!" Cooper yelled. "You think you're sooo smart. You flounce in here, taking all the glory and screw everyone else. You don't give a damn about loyalty." By now he had lost Billy's attention so he turned to look at Francine.
She replied harshly, "Cooper, you are the screw up. Why do you think the Agency didn't want you? Cos you wouldn't know loyalty if it smacked you over the head. You bailed during that operation. You left your guys hanging in the breeze and saved your own ass. We don't operate that way and that's why I reported you. You're a liability. If you didn't have connections you'd have been booted from more than just the Agency training program. You'd be out of all law enforcement agencies in the United States. You'd be lucky to be allowed to clean the Police social club."
"I have this job on merit and I-"
Billy turned back from the window and calmly interrupted, "You have this job because you're brother's the Mayor. Don't kid yourself it's anything else."
Cooper changed the subject. "Why do you even care, Melrose? What's so special about this case?" His face was red as he spoke.
Billy spoke quietly and deliberately. "I care when any life is threatened, Cooper. Which is more than I can say for you. But this time, one of my agent's family is at risk and I assure you that we will get her out safely. Whatever it takes."
Cooper was stunned momentarily. "You what? You're taking over because of family obligations?" He raised his eyebrows, "You couldn't make this stuff up!"
"Mr. Cooper," Amanda stepped forward and tried to diffuse the tension in the room. "My mother is one of the hostages."
Cooper started to laugh. "Nice one, Billy. Way to be objective there, huh? You want to handle this operation, my operation, because the housewife's mother's a hostage?"
"Cooper." It was Francine's turn to step forward and she glared, unblinking at the man who had briefly played an intimate role in her life. "This is Agent Stetson. She's a professional. She could take you down with one hand behind her back…both hands," she growled. "We are going to ensure that nothing happens to her mother." In a quieter voice, she continued, "I cannot, however, make the same guarantees for you." She paused. "Remember Alexandria?"
Subconsciously, Cooper's hands moved to protect a vulnerable part of his anatomy as the memories of his last run-in with Francine came flooding back. He took a step back and sat down in the chair, defeated.
Billy leaned over the desk next to Cooper's chair. "Now these agents," he paused, "my agents," he indicated the two women, "are going to run this operation. You can step down or I can push you out. It's in your interest to settle for the former. That way, you might keep your job a little longer."
Francine laughed. "Yeah, not to mention part of your anatomy you seem quite attached to."
Cooper glared from Billy to Francine and back. He stood up. "Take it!" He threw the file he was holding onto the desk. "It's all yours. You can handle the whole damn thing. I could care less. I was right about you Agency people. You're all psychos." Cooper grabbed up some files from the desk and exited the temporary office.
~~SMK~~SMK~~SMK~~