By
Tru False
Danny looked over at the hostages from his position with Redd. Women…men…one elderly lady who made him think of his grandmother… There was just no way. He couldn't go in for this.
"Redd," he started, unsure of how to say it, "we can't…I mean, we just…we can't. I can't," he finished lamely.
"Listen to me Danny," Redd ordered, his eyes firm, "you have to. You've never been to jail before, but I have. I'm talkin' jail, just regular county-shit—and it was bad. They catch us here, with these Feds and a dead guy on our hands, and we are screwed. You understand that? We're talkin' Federal Pen now for sure. I'm not goin' in there—that's all there is to it."
Danny didn't speak.
"I can't do this by myself Danny," He continued, keeping his voice low, "If I could—believe me—I would. But there's too many of 'em. Even if I turn 'em all around, as soon as one or two hit the ground, the rest are gonna realize what's goin' on…they're gonna freak out and rush me."
Again Danny didn't respond. The image Redd had conjured in his mind made him sick.
"Think of Lonnie," Redd tried, "even if—and that's a big if—he gets off light on account of his age, what's he gonna do without you around? Huh? For forty or fifty fuckin' years. Think about that."
It did cause a pang of guilt to rise up inside him, but still Danny just couldn't see…all those people. There was no way. He tried a different tact.
"Redd, listen…even if we could do it, they'd still catch us. Think about it. There's gotta be security tapes running right now. And—"
Redd cut in over him. "You're right about that. That's good thinkin'…we'll need to take those out first." He paused. "You think of any more stuff like that?"
Danny just blinked and shook his head—not because he couldn't think of more ways that they might be caught—but because he just couldn't believe this was happening.
Redd turned and walked off towards the hostages, apparently to interrogate the manager as to the location of the security tapes.
Danny closed his eyes for a second. Christ—this was just unreal. He couldn't let this happen. He couldn't have all these people on his conscience. He looked at them again…there were enough that even with both he and Redd executing people, they could still be rushed. That meant that Lonnie would also have to…
Danny came around to a harsh reality then. Redd was crazy and clearly determined. He would try it anyway, even without their help. Danny just knew it. In fact, he might even turn on them if they didn't agree to help. Another nauseous feeling came over him. Danny realized was going to have to take Redd out before any of that could happen—it was the only answer.
He began to work through how he could do it. The first scenario ended with he and Redd facing off with shotguns pointed at each other. That was no good. The next scenario ended with Redd holding Lonnie hostage against him. That was definitely no good.
"He says the tapes are in the back office," Redd called back to him. "Where are his keys?"
"Counter," Danny replied.
Keys…that gave Danny an idea. The Feds. He could cut the Feds loose, and they could help him. They could stop this.
Danny hesitated for a moment, but as soon as Redd took the keys off the counter and started down the hallway to the back office, he knew it was his only chance. He rushed towards the counter himself and grabbed both sets of handcuff keys.
"Stay here and watch them," he barked over his shoulder to Lonnie, who was looking quizzically at him. He hurried over to the entry area.
He couldn't believe what he was actually about to do.
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Terry had seen Redd and Danny collaborating off to the side. Redd had gotten very serious suddenly, as if he had come to some kind of decision. The whole thing made her nervous.
"Don," she called out through her gag. He was going to have to stop hiding from her now. He did, and she nodded towards the main counter. He turned back toward it as best he could without disturbing Charlie, but from his position it was difficult to see much. Redd had left Danny and was now talking to the manager; Danny was starting off into the distance…Don couldn't see what Terry was getting at. He turned back to her.
"Something's up?" he questioned quietly.
She nodded.
He bit his lower lip in thought, then turned back again trying to see something. A few moments later, he turned back to her and shrugged his shoulders. She shrugged back.
At least he was alert now.
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Don tensed as Danny suddenly appeared beside him, coming around to a squat about three feet in front of him. He seemed to hesitate for a moment, looking past Don back toward the main counter.
"What's going on?" Don asked.
"It's Redd," Danny started, and turned toward Terry to see if she was listening too. She was. "He's got this idea…"
"What?" Don asked.
"…He wants to kill everyone." It was obviously difficult for Danny to even say it. "Says we can just walk out of here then—no witnesses."
Don's heart started beating faster. "Danny, that's crazy. You'll never get away with it. And when they do find you, it's going to be so much worse for you…and your brother."
"I know," Danny replied quietly.
Don held his gaze, not sure what he was thinking.
Danny opened his hand and Don saw both sets of their handcuff keys. His heart leapt.
"That's good Danny. That's smart. It's the best thing you could do. We'll help you—we'll take care of you and your brother."
Danny still hesitated for a moment.
"Danny—it's the right thing."
As he said it, a movement beyond Danny caught Don's eye…something outside. Red and blue flashing lights. And then more. And then more.
Danny turned, following Don's line of sight. "Oh Jesus," he breathed. "Thank God. Thank you God." He started to rise up. "Redd!" he called back. "Redd—it's no good. The cops are here already!"
"Danny!" Don said frantically. "Danny, wait. Uncuff us—we can still help you."
But Danny had already started back towards Redd.
Don stared off into the distance for a moment, his mind struggling to process what had just happened. He had been so close! He should have done something…lunged forward and tackled Danny…taken the keys by force. It would have hurt Charlie, but it would have been worth it. It had just all happened so fast.
He looked down at Charlie, who had fallen unconscious again despite his best efforts to keep him talking, and felt guilt choke him. He had failed. You didn't get chances like that…that had been it, he had had it in the palm of his hand, and he had blown it.
He forced himself to look at Terry, afraid of what he might see in her eyes—but of course, there was only sympathy there. She knew what it would cost him.
Don turned away and dropped his head in despair. He didn't know how much more of this he could take.
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"The cops…aw, Hell," Redd said as Danny led him back towards the entryway to see for himself. "I knew it," he continued, "We should have thought of this earlier. Now what are we gonna do? We're screwed."
Danny and Redd both reached the doors at the same time and looked out into the parking lot to find it filled with police cars and men in riot gear erecting barricades. Without even looking back, Danny pointed behind himself at the main counter.
"Stay over there!" he ordered…sure enough, Lonnie turned around mid-step and headed back to his abandoned post.
The phone rang a moment later.
"You should answer it," Don offered, though he sounded tired, resigned.
"When we wanna know what you think, we'll tell you," Redd replied angrily.
"Danny," Don tried again, this time with a little more conviction, "It'll be whoever's in charge out there. You should answer it."
"Maybe he's right, Redd," Danny ventured.
"Aw, Christ…not this shit again. Danny, you can't trust him. Whatever he says, I say we do the opposite," Redd proposed.
"Danny, listen to me," Don cut in, a sense of progress slowly renewing him, "If you don't answer, they're not going to know what's going on in here. Now, they might keep trying for a long time, but eventually, they're going to just come in here with tear gas and guns, and this thing is gonna get ugly for you." And us, Don added silently. Charlie couldn't take being gassed on top of everything else, of that he was sure.
"If they come in here, we'll be ready for them," Redd promised, pumping his shotgun for emphasis.
"Says the man in the bulletproof vest," replied Don.
At that, Danny turned back to look at Don.
Don held his eyes, imploring him to see reason. "Talk to them," he said firmly.
Danny looked at Redd. "I think he's right." He took off towards the main counter to find the phone.
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Redd walked towards Don and Charlie and squatted down a safe distance away. He locked his eyes on the Fed, but the guy wouldn't look at him…just kept staring at his brother.
Redd hated him. He hated everything about him. He hated what he stood for. He hated how he looked at him, condescending and unafraid. He hated that he had a brother he cared about—a brother who had caused Redd a good amount of pain earlier. He hated that he thought he was better than them, that he was gonna outsmart them and win in the end. He hated him so much he wanted to hurt him, and to keep hurting him until he begged for mercy.
"You wanna be careful, pipin' up all the time. We don't need your advice." Redd started, sounding dangerous.
True to his strategy, Don ignored him completely.
"You think this is gonna work, huh? That you're gonna turn my partner around to thinkin' your way? Well, you're wrong about that. One, 'cause he's smarter than that, and two, 'cause I won't let him even if he tries. So you can forget it—and from now on, you can keep your smart mouth shut, you hear?"
Still Don didn't respond, didn't look up. Redd chewed his bottom lip for a moment, then smiled slyly.
"You know, I just realized somethin'. Lookin' at the two of you cuffed together…it gives a whole new meanin' to the term 'dead weight', don't it?"
That did it. Don looked up at him then with pure hatred in his eyes. Redd captured that hatred and matched it with his own. He loved the surge of adrenaline that rose up inside of him…like a challenge that had been made and accepted. He smiled and went back to look out the front doors, thoroughly pleased with himself.