Disclaimer: See ch. 1
Spoilers: Through 14
A/N: Thanks so much to everyone who's been reading and reviewing! I know I said I'd have this up by Wed., who knew Thanksgiving could be so much work! And, FYI, what little I know about hostage negotiations comes from the show Criminal Minds, so I'm sure there are many, many mistakes. Forgive me. Anyway, happy belated Thanksgiving! Enjoy!
I saw Les's thumb move to the end key on his phone before he sent it to join mine.
"What…"
"Rangeman," he whispered. "Shh."
Sneaky, sneaky. I hadn't even noticed him reach for his phone. This meant that Ranger was likely out there already, pissed as hell, I was sure. And a pissed Ranger was a deadly Ranger. These stupid bank robbers had a big, scary, gun-toting surprise coming their way.
Even as I was thinking this, the bank's landline phone rang out in the silence. The robbers exchanged nervous glances, then the tall one—the one who appeared to be in charge—ran his eyes over the group. His gaze landed on me and held.
"You," he said gruffly, "answer it."
My mouth opened and closed a few times, and I'm pretty sure I let out a squeal as I asked, "M-me?"
"Do I look like I'm fucking around?"
That he did not.
I stood slowly, hands out in front of me like they taught you in the movies.
Just before I turned to grab the phone, my eyes caught on Mortars. He was pissed. Shit, you'd think he'd be over it by now. I mean, his boss was dead. Can't be pistol whipped by a dead guy for ratting on him. I'm pretty sure Trotter was about six feet from caring right now.
I pried my gaze from Mortars's and forced my fingers to pick up the phone.
"H-hello?"
"This is Manuel Vargas with…with um…Who am I speaking to?"
"Stephanie Plum," I answered. Manuel Vargas? Why did that sound familiar?
"Shit, bombshell? It's Manny. You okay?"
Of course. Manny. So, Rangeman was handling the negotiations? I thought the FBI or the CIA or one of those three letter organizations usually stepped in to do that sort of thing.
"I'm fine. Um…everyone's fine so far."
"Speak up so we can hear you," one of the robbers yelled.
"Tell him I want to speak to him," Manny said in my ear.
"He wants to talk to you," I told the tall robber. "Or umm, whichever one of you three is in charge."
"Good," Manny told me. "Good work, Steph. There are three perps," I heard him tell someone.
"You do the talking," Tall guy said. "Tell them we want a bullet-proof car and free passage across state lines."
Oh, what an idiot. Even I knew you were supposed to ask for a helicopter.
I relayed the requests to Manny.
"Tell him I can't get him anything until I know I can trust him. It's give and take here; he gives me something, I give him something. I want to help him, but I can't do that without his cooperation."
"He wants to know what you'll give him in return," I told the robber.
"Fuck," I heard Manny mutter.
"Fuck," Lester echoed quietly.
"I'll give him your head on a fucking platter if you don't smarten up, missy."
"Babe?" An all too familiar voice said quietly over the line.
I sucked in a sharp breath. "Yeah?"
"Tell him to send out a hostage. Any hostage will do, but it would be best to start with anyone who's sick or injured."
"Everyone's fine," I told him quietly.
"Kids, then. Are there any kids?"
"Two," I whispered.
"Okay, tell him to let the kids go. Then we can discuss what he gets."
I took a deep breath, feeling just a little bit stronger knowing that Ranger was so nearby, his breathing soft in my ear, even if it was just over the phone line.
"They want you to send out the kids," I said. "As a gesture of good faith. You do that and they'll discuss your requests."
The robbers looked at each other, silent communication passing amongst the three. Then they moved to the center of the room, a powwow of sorts, keeping their guns aimed at the nearest hostages.
"Mortars is here," I whispered to Ranger.
"He's one of the robbers?"
"No, he's a hostage."
I'm not sure, but I think Ranger swore under his breath.
"Only you, babe."
He was silent for a few moments, then, "Santos is with you, right?"
"Yeah."
"Stick close to him. I don't think Mortars will try anything now but…"
"Okay."
"Santos still got his weapons?"
I nodded. "Yes."
"Good. Tell him to keep frosty and watch for a signal."
"Huh?"
Ranger laughed softly. "He'll know what it means."
I focused my attention back on the robbers as they turned from their huddle and the tall one regarded me.
"We'll send the kids out," he said. "But we want some cold beers, it's fucking hot in here. Cans. And they'd better still be sealed when they get in here. No funny business, you hear me?"
I relayed the message to Ranger and reluctantly hung up.
Ten minutes later, a woman near the door let out an eight year old girl and her four year old brother, the only kids present. The littlest robber held a gun on the woman's husband as she went outside to retrieve the beers, then scurried back in, locking the door behind her.
I had relayed Ranger's message to Les and he had nodded and reached back to touch the butt of his gun, as if reassuring himself that it was still there.
"What did he mean, keep frosty?" I asked quietly.
"Alert. He wants me to keep alert." He glanced around at the hostages, then over at the robbers, well into their first six-pack. "No chance I'm letting my guard down in here anyway."
The phone rang.
The tall guy nodded at me and I stood to answer the phone.
"Yo."
"Hey, bomber, everyone still okay?"
Manny again. I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed.
"We're good. You get the kids?"
"Got 'em. Listen, I really need to speak with one of the robbers, build up a rapport. They'll never trust me to get them what they want if I don't talk to them."
"What do I do?" I asked Manny.
"Ask them what kind of car they want, then act dumb. Act like you know nothing about cars. One of them will get frustrated and come talk to me himself."
Sounded a little sketchy, but I was willing to try.
"They want to thank you for sending out the kids," I told the bad guys. "That was a great choice."
"Good, bombshell, good work," Manny said.
"They want to know what kind of car you want."
There was another short huddle, then the guys looked back at me.
"Four door, sedan, V-8 engine, automatic, black," the tall guy told me.
"Umm," I said into the phone. "Four doors, something about tomato juice, and black. They want black."
The fat guy rolled his eyes, while the little guy stepped forward and raised his gun. The tall guy moved towards me.
"Cut the funny business and tell him what I said."
"I did," I said in my best spoiled Burg girl voice.
"You gotta be kiddin' me," the guy said, taking the last few steps towards me and reaching out a hand. I flinched away from his hand, but he simply took the phone from me and put it up to his ear.
"Four door, sedan, V-8 engine, automatic, black," he repeated to Manny. He was quiet for a moment, then a smile broke out beneath his black ski mask. "Yeah, I guess a Mercedes Benz S600 will do."
I slid down the wall behind me and plopped my ass on the floor. This hostage negotiation stuff was very tiring.
"You okay?" Les asked me.
"Hunky dory," I mumbled.
The tall guy was still on the phone with Manny.
"…and then you'll get me my car?"
I'm pretty sure he didn't like the answer to that because his face turned red and he clenched the phone so hard in his fist that I was sure it was going to break.
"I'm done with the fucking games. You get me my car or they start coming out in body bags. In fact…" he raised his gun, aimed it at a guy in a charcoal business suit and fired.
The guy grabbed him shoulder and screamed in pain.
Damnit, I thought. If you really had to shoot a hostage, why the hell couldn't it have been Edwin Mortars.
Tall robber guy smiled an evil, knowing smile at the guy he'd shot, then put the phone back in the cradle with utter precision.
"We have to do something," I whispered to Lester.
He nodded slowly. "I'm sure Ranger has a plan. They heard that shot. I'm surprised they aren't in here with the smoke bombs yet."
"But…"
Sure enough, the phone rang.
"Answer it," tall guy demanded, pointing at me.
"Yeah."
"Heard the shot, everyone okay?" Manny asked me.
"No. Guy was shot in the shoulder."
There was some talking in the background, then Manny came back on the line.
"Request that he send out the injured party."
"I'm not so sure how receptive he's gonna be at this point," I said, glancing over at the robbers, now congregating just out of view of the windows.
"Try anyway."
I made my request and cringed as the little robber raised his gun and shot the old security guard in response.
"They better give us that goddamned car or we start shooting to kill."
"You get that," I asked Manny.
"Sure did. We're coming in, bombshell. Tell Lester to be ready."
Just as I was about to hang up, he called my name.
"Wait, Steph, Ranger wants to talk to you."
I glanced over at the robbers. They were pretty occupied watching their victims bleed out.
"Babe?"
"I'm here."
"Listen to me, I need you to do what I tell you and don't ask questions, okay?"
"Umm, okay." He sounded really serious.
"I need you to give one of your earrings to Santos."
My hand went involuntarily to the lobe of my ear, to the opal earrings my dad had given me on my eighteenth birthday.
"What? Why?"
"I'll explain later. Just do it, please. And tell Lester to remember Moscow."
"Okay."
"What the hell are you chatting about?" The little robber guy yelled. "They gonna give us our car?"
"Tell him yes," Ranger said. "Tell him it'll be out front in ten."
I gave the robbers the message.
"We want the doors and trunk open and all the cops need to back off," the tall one told me.
I told Ranger, then hung up and slid down next to Lester once more.
"Here," I told him, quickly taking one earring out of my ear and handing it to him.
He looked at me as if I'd lost it. What the hell could I tell him, I didn't know what was going on either.
I shrugged. "Ranger's orders. He says to remember Moscow."
Lester's eyes widened in a way that told me he did indeed remember Moscow. He took the earring from me, removed the diamond stud from his left ear, and slid mine into its place. Then he reached behind him, not taking his eyes off the robbers, and took the gun out of his belt. He pulled me towards him, until we were touching, hip to hip, and I felt warm steel slide against my back.
"Wha…"
"Shh. Just remember, only shoot the bad guys." He winked at me.
Ten minutes later, the phone rang and Manny told me that the car was outside.
The tall guy narrowed his eyes at me when I relayed the information.
"Get over here," he growled. "You're coming with us. Insurance policy."
Fuck.
I was about to take a step forward when Lester stood up beside me and grinned at the robbers lazily.
"Shit, I ain't never been a hostage before," he drawled. "Wish I could be the one to go. My cop brother-in-law be freakin' out."
The fat guy elbowed the tall guy in the ribs and muttered something under his breath.
"Cop, you say?" The tall guy asked.
"Hell, yeah," Lester said with a grin. "I'm real close to my sister, see. Her hubby hates it when I'm in trouble, freaks my sis out, you know?"
"Oh, we know," the little guy smirked.
"So, your sister and her husband, they'd do anything to get you back?" The tall guy asked, smacking the little guy on the back of the head.
"Well, you know, my brother-in-law could prolly do without me, but then he'd be in the doghouse, so…"
The fat guy grabbed Lester's arm and pulled him towards the door.
"It's your lucky day, big guy. You're comin' with us."
"Freakin' awesome," Les gasped. He winked at me once right before the robbers opened the door and shoved him out before them.
"Wonder what the hell happened in Moscow," I muttered to myself as I watched them all walk through the door.
There was a lot of shouting from outside. I heard "keep back," a few times, and "hold your fire," a time or two. There were no gunshots. Then, a car started, tires squealed, and I was sure Lester and the robbers were gone. I hoped to hell Ranger had a plan.
Cops and men in black swarmed the building, guns out and ready, urging hostages to exit the building and hurry to the line of armored cars set up across the street.
I was reaching down for my bag when I felt the sizzle, then lights out.
I woke up with a headache and for the first time ever after being zapped, I knew exactly what had happened. Edwin Mortars.
I groaned and rolled over, surprised to find that I was completely unbound.
"Bout time you woke up."
I spun towards the voice, and almost ended up falling off the bed I'd been placed on.
He was sitting in a chair in the corner, looking tired and resigned. His skin was waxy, his green eyes sunken. He stood and moved towards me.
"How the hell did you get me out with all those cops there?" I asked, trying to distract him, trying to buy time for Ranger to find me.
"I was just trying to make a withdrawal," he said, as if to himself, ignoring me completely. "I just wanted to get my money and get the hell out of town. Then you had to show up."
He paced back and forth at the foot of the bed, glancing at me occasionally, muttering to himself like a madman. I supposed he was.
I took the time to gather all the information I could. He was thin, as if he hadn't eaten in a few days. He was limping a bit, as if his left leg had been injured. He was armed. There was at least one gun that I could see. I couldn't tell if he had a knife or not. I really hoped that I wasn't about to find out.
"A fucking stick-up. I mean, really. How fucking ironic, huh?"
He glanced back at me. His eyes narrowed and darkened and he moved towards me.
"Why don't you just let me go, and you can go through with your plan and get out of town," I told him.
"I can't do that. I can't let this opportunity pass. He ruined my life," he ground out from between clenched teeth. "First he made me flip on my boss. I could have been fucking killed. Then he kills Trotter and breaks up the company. That was my life, you understand me? My life. What the hell am I supposed to do now?"
Not kill me, I wanted to say.
"You could let me go and get out of town," I repeated. "Start over. There are so many things you could do."
"And I will," he replied with a sick smile. "But first I'm going to ruin his life like he ruined mine."
"You won't get away with it," I said, and felt like every damsel in distress in every movie ever. "You'll be looking over your shoulder for the rest of your life. He won't let you go unpunished."
"I'm better than him," Mortars laughed. "He never found me, did he?"
He hadn't, I reminded myself. But that certainly didn't make this piece of crap any better than my Batman.
"Now, lay back and relax," he told me, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a knife. "This might take a while. I want to make sure the image of you carved up on that bed never leaves his mind."
Oh, God. Ranger, if there was ever a time to come busting down the door, it would be now.
Mortars's arm drew back and came slashing down, tearing my shirt right down the middle. Oh, hell, no. That was one of my favorite shirts. No more Ms.-Nice-Plum.
I kicked off and flipped over the other side of the bed, moving quickly as far from Mortars and his wicked knife as I could. He feinted one way and then dove the other, the knife nicked my arm and I swung around and kicked him in the back of the knee. I'm pretty sure it was completely by luck, but he went down with a huff. I dove for the door, but he was on me in a minute, arm around my neck, knife pressed into my bare stomach.
"One move and I cut you, you hear me?"
I nodded silently. Come on, Ranger, any day now.
Mortars threw me back on the bed and pulled out two lengths of rope as if from thin air. He tied my wrists together and anchored them on the headboard. He used the other length to bind my legs. Well, I thought with some derision, at least I knew he wasn't planning on raping me.
He stood back up to survey his handiwork. A vile, sickening smile broke out over his face as he leaned down and whispered in my ear.
"Scream all you want, we're alone here. No one will hear you."
The knife came down in an arc and gasped for breath as fire seared down my arm. I would not scream, would not cry. I would not let him see the fear and the pain.
He scored a line across my stomach and I winced and scrunched my eyes shut to hold in the tears. Come on, Batman, time to rescue me.
Hot tears and hotter blood seeped from me, staining my skin, staining the bed beneath me. The knife flicked over my wrist and across my cheek and I realized with a certainty that would not be denied that this was the time Ranger would be too late. There was no coming back from this one.
A/N: Hehehe evil cliffie. Thanks so much for reading and I'd love to hear what you thought. I'll try to have my next chapter of Between the Lines (the robbery from Ranger's POV) up soon.
If you're into Bones and haven't checked out my new story yet, go do it now! LOL But really, I'd love to hear what you thought of that as well.
