Chapter 4
He almost didn't remember to maintain cover, almost stood up and saluted when he heard the Chief's voice crackle over the radio.
Sure, a hostage situation was big.
That's why a Captain was OIC at the scene, along with the shift's Watch Commander. But he didn't expect to hear from the Chief until tomorrow, after it was all over.
Yet Captain Davis kept his cool and maintained his cover while the Chief told him that an FBI unit was on the way, and they had a request from Director Merrick himself for interdepartmental cooperation. He tensed as he 10-4'd the Chief. They knew there were hostages in there, the responding officer had seen a group near the back of the store before he managed to get himself shot. But LAPD Hostage Negotiation and SWAT were on the way. They could handle it. No need for FBI.
Who the hell was in there?
He was still wondering when a wild-eyed Agent in a FBI flak jacket actually tried to deck one of the patrolmen working the perimeter. He started to motion to his men to let the Agent through when gunfire erupted in the store, and everybody hit the ground again, backed a little further into their cover.
Except the FBI Agent, who ran in a crouch through the parking lot and skidded to a stop practically on top of Captain Davis. "You're the OIC? Tell me what's going on!"
Great. Just what he needed in the middle of a hostage crisis. A pissing contest with an Agent he never asked for, who obviously felt the need to take over the scene. Davis bristled. He'd told the Chief he would cooperate, not that he would roll over and play dead.
"The situation is under control, Agent. When my negotiator gets here we'll try again to establish communication."
"Again? What do you mean, 'again'? And you call a hailstorm of gunfire inside the store a situation under control? Dammit, we have hostages in there!"
"I realize that, Agent. I want this to end as much as you do. I've already got a man down."
The FBI agent ran a hand through his hair and dropped his head for a moment. When he looked back, he seemed a lot calmer. "Look. I'm sorry. Your perp — or perps — they're letting the hostages make phone calls out, to say good-bye." The Captain's disbelief was reflected on his face. "I know, sounds crazy. I couldn't believe it either," the Agent continued. "My brother is one of the hostages. He called me."
"Damn." Captain Davis found his immediate dislike of the Agent disappearing in sympathy. "Your Director called my Chief, asked for cooperation, I knew something was up…"
The Agent seemed surprised. "Merrick called you guys already?"
"Must be pretty concerned with his Agents' personal lives…"
A snort. "Don't kid yourself. Charlie's not just my brother. He does some consulting work for us — the NSA, too, sometimes. I'm just the beneficiary of Merrick considering him a valuable asset."
Captain Davis gave a low whistle and noticed more movement at the perimeter. "They with you?"
Don looked up to see Megan, David and Colby trying to get through the line. "Yeah. That's my team." He looked back at the Captain and offered his hand. "Don Eppes."
"Captain Brad Davis." He waved the rest of the team through the line. Don waited until they were grouped behind the car to ask again. "You've tried to establish communication?"
The LAPD officer nodded. "Right after I arrived, we telephoned the store. Man answered, asked us politely what we wanted. So I told him. Politely. Let the hostages go. He just laughed at me and hung up. Must have disabled the phone, then. All we get now is a busy signal."
"He didn't ask for anything?"
"This is Agent Reeves. Our profiler."
Captain Davis nodded at her. "No. Nothing. I don't know what all the shooting was just about." He glanced at the store, then back at the agents. "Looks like he shot the lights out. Wonder why he didn't just turn 'em off?"
Don looked at his three team members. "How did you guys figure out what was going on?" He glanced apologetically at Megan. "I don't remember giving you many details."
"I'm a profiler, Don," she answered. "I called dispatch, found out there was a hostage situation at the address you gave me, added in your frantic summons…"
"Some math we don't need the Whiz Kid for," Colby finished, then heard his own words and reddened.
Don tried to smile at him. "He called me. From inside." He quickly caught the team up on the hostage phone calls.
David looked at Megan. "What kind of perp would do that?"
She shrugged. "He could have some genuine feelings of compassion. He could just want people to think that he does." She frowned.
"What?" Don was watching her carefully.
"If it's the first, that could work for us. The negotiator might be able to reach him, he might develop a connection to the hostages and become reluctant to hurt them."
Captain Davis asked, because he wasn't sure Agent Eppes could. "And if it's the second?"
She looked at her team leader. "He'll get tired of the game. Stress will push him over the edge. There's no predicting what he'll do, or when he'll do it." She spoke almost apologetically. "There's too much we don't know. We don't even know if he's working alone."
"He's the one answering the phone, making decisions," Colby pointed out. "So even if he has partners, he's the one calling the shots."
Don, still looking at Megan, slumped against the car. "So you're telling me," he started slowly, "you're telling me that Charlie is being held hostage by at least one person, and he's either a nice guy having a bad day, or a psychopath who could completely lose control at any second, with no warning?"
Megan nodded silently.
Don tilted his head back until he hit the metal panel. He wasn't really talking to any of them when he said, "So why am I thinking the answer is behind door number 2?"
