The dramatic swings in tone and mood made her feel slightly crazy and she felt her entire body tremble as bit as she nodded and brought the phone to her ear. "Hello," she managed.

"Phyllis?"

It was a voice she didn't recognize and she felt her heart sink a bit. Even though the number hadn't been his, she'd been hoping to hear Nick's voice, the sound of it something she could hold onto, his comforting tone something she put her hope in. "Yes," she replied. "It's me. I'm here."

"This is Commander Von Lutken." He looked back towards the Sergeant and nodded, affirming that he'd made contact. "I'm glad to hear your voice. We're all happy to hear you're okay. Can you do me a favor?"

She looked up towards Cameron. His eyes widened in curiosity. "I'll try," she said.

"Put me on speaker. I want to make sure we're all having the same conversation, okay?"

Phyllis lowered the phone and turned slightly to face him. "He wants me to put it on speaker."

Cameron nodded.

"Alright." Her throat was so dry she thought sure her voice would simply die out soon. "You're on speaker now. Go ahead."

"That's good. Cameron? Can you hear me?"

She could almost see the thoughts as they ran through his head. It was as if he knew this was a pivotal moment. As if somehow this one instance would impact him forever.

"I hear you," Cameron said with an almost emotionless tenor. "But don't think you're gonna manipulate me into letting her go. I came here to do something tonight and this time I'm not gonna mess it up. I have a plan and I'm gonna see it through. You people messed with my mind last time and it isn't gonna happen this time."

The Commander turned back, his eyes meeting Sergeant Brunson's. Brunson shrugged, not entirely sure to what Cameron was referring. His life had been a series of unfortunate circumstances lately, but there was no way to know exactly which incident the police department was being blamed for.

"Whatever it is that you think we did," Von Lutken said cautiously, "I'm sure we can make it right."

"See, that right there!" He was on his feet again, the manic anger returning. "You still won't take any kind of responsibility for what you did. You lied to me. All of you did. You convinced me that if I just told you the truth that everything would be okay, that you would make sure I would come out of all of it unscathed. Does this look like okay to you? Because it sure as hell doesn't to me!"

"Alright. Listen. Listen. Whoever told you those things wasn't fair to you. They shouldn't have made you promises that they didn't have the authority to keep. That won't happen here. Not tonight. Not this time. This time I'm the one in charge. You're talking to the only person that has the authority to make any promises here and if I make you a promise, you can bank on the fact that I can make it happen. Whatever promises I make to you are promises that I'll keep." He paused, listening as Cameron's breathing settled a bit. "So why don't we talk about that. Why don't you tell me what I could do to get you out of there?"

"This isn't about you," Cameron huffed. "Even if you could give it all back, the things I lost weren't just things. They weren't just items that you can buy and replace. That asshole Newman didn't just take my house from me. He took …"

"He knows that. He admitted it. If you turn on the television, you'll see. He's on live television telling the whole word what he did. He's admitting what he took from you." Von Lutken waiting, hoping against all hope that something he said would make a difference.

"It's just empty words. It's just posturing for the cameras. They're good at that, putting on a show for the press. Saving face is what they do best … He doesn't mean anything he says."

"Why don't you ask him yourself? The two of you can talk it out. You can work things through. All he wants is to make this right."

"You want me to talk to him? I'll talk to him. There's plenty I'd like to say, but I'm not sure I'm in much of a mood for listening." Cameron watched the varied emotions that flashed in Phyllis' eyes. The mere mention of Nick brought simultaneous comfort and concern. "Put him on," he said succinctly. "Let me explain the situation to him … in small words that he can understand."

Von Lutcken sighed, disheartened to know that his speech had done little to deescalate the situation. His eyes scanned the area for Nick. "Where is he?" he hissed to Sergeant Brunson. "Where's Newman?"

"He was right over there." Brunson whispered as he stepped further out towards the periphery of the crowd. "I don't know where he would have …" His voice stopped as he glanced towards the now hanging caution tape. "Damnit!"

The phone now felt impossibly heavy in his hand as he looked back towards the house. Cameron and Nick would be talking sooner than he thought, but it very possibly could be face to face.

Nick stood inside the garage as his heart pounded. He stared up the steps. Once he made the decision, once he opened the door, there would be no going back. His mind replayed the words of the Sergeant. Was he really doing the right thing? Were his actions making things more dangerous for her? Could he live with himself if he simply stood by and watched while other people took action? What if something happened to her? He'd always wonder if things could have been different. Those questions would haunt him for the rest of his life.

No. He whispered out loud as his breath now made a small white cloud in front of him. He had to do this. He had put her in this position. It was up to him to get her out. He drew in a deep breath, climbed the steps, and silently pushed open the door.

"Where the hell is your son?" Sergeant Brunson bellowed as he stepped over to Victor.

"What are you talking about?"

"Your son," Brunson bellowed again. "We can't find him and I can't help but think that genetics may have led him to believe that the police might not be the best qualified to handle a situation like this. I happen to know that you have a fondness for walking in the middle of investigations." His eyes studied Victor's face.

"I have a fondness for handling things if you must know. You'll recall that the last hostage situation I handled ended with both women being released unharmed and pretty damn quickly. My son though … he's not interested in taking matters into his own hands. He told me that himself. He's perfectly willing to sit back and let you people do your work … even if it does take you until the New Year to do it."

"So then where is he? I'd like to hear that from him." Von Lutken stepped up and gestured to the crowd which still was eerily devoid of Nick. "He's completely gone, Mr. Newman. You'll excuse me if I don't believe he went for a coffee run."

Victor felt his throat thicken a bit as his own eyes searched the darkened street. "I'm sure he …." His eyes focused on the house, the hanging crime scene tape now catching attention as well. "You damn well better have a plan now," he growled. "If you think I'm going to let my son take the fall for your incompetence, you're out of your mind."