Forty minutes later Danny stood in front of his daughter's school and slowly climbed the stairs to the entrance door. His arms spread slightly, he avoided any hasty movement to make it clear that he didn't pose a threat. He had to admit that he felt naked without his weapon and badge, but most of all he missed the comforting weight of his Kevlar vest. The wires on his chest itched slightly but then again he appreciated the feeling; after all they were the only contact to his team, giving him the slim assurance that everything would be fine in the end.
Danny reached the top of the stairs and was standing directly in front of the entrance door. Taking a deep breath, he carefully laid his hand on the knob and pulled the door open. Feeling Steve's eyes on his back, he turned around to let his gaze travel across the crowd of people and squad cars until he found the tall figure of his partner. They locked eyes for a moment as Danny smiled slightly before finally slipping into the building.
His breath caught when his gaze fell on an explosive device attached to the doorframe, but Danny had no time to take a closer look or think about it as a strong voice came out of the first room to his left. "Come in here, slow and carefully. No hasty movements and let me see your hands."
Doing what he was told, Danny cautiously entered the room. It was a normal classroom just like any other room in the building, except that all of the tables and chairs were piled up against one wall. All the blinds were lowered and Hank Philips was standing as far away from the windows as possible; behind him on the floor were two large traveling bags. He was wearing a heavy jacket and Danny wondered how he could stand the heat in such a piece of clothing. Philips held some sheets of paper and a weapon in his hand, probably a SIG Sauer P228 if Danny would have to guess.
Swiftly looking around, Danny quickly assessed the situation and the condition of the hostages. The children and their parents were sitting on the floor, most of the adults had put their arms around one or more children, offering comfort and protection not only to their own child but also to their friends whose parents weren't here with them. They all looked scared but obviously no one was injured; two or three of the girls were crying silently but altogether the situation seemed to be under control.
Recognizing some familiar faces, Danny quickly smiled and winked at Kylie, one of Grace's best friends. Kylie's face lit up for a second before she snuggled back into her mother's lap. Danny couldn't help the small shiver that ran down his spine at the thought that only fate had prevented Grace and Rachel from being here today.
Once more he took in the sight of the people in front of him, quickly counting their number. He frowned slightly but had no time to count again when Hank Philips raised his voice. "Would you mind telling me your name?" he asked politely, a little smile playing around his lips.
Danny cleared his throat before he answered. "Danny Williams," he said, unaware of the reaction his answer would cause.
Hank's eyes grew wide as he looked at Danny for a long moment. "Ah," he finally said as his smile brightened. Waving the papers in his hands, he asked, "It's Detective Williams, isn't it? I wondered if you would show up sooner or later."
Shit, that's not good! Danny thought, the bad feeling increasing as he heard Steve's worried voice over his hopefully well-hidden earpiece.
"How does he know that you are a detective? Damn, I knew that was a bad idea to let you go in alone."
"So, why did you come, detective? As far as I am aware your daughter isn't here today, is she?" The smile had left his face and Philip's voice was suddenly cold and sharp. "And don't lie to me, I'm not stupid!"
Slowly raising his hands in a defensive gesture, Danny said calmly, "I'm here to talk to you. No need to get angry, okay? You are right, my daughter isn't here today, but all of her friends are." He carefully pointed at the children, always bearing in mind not to make any hasty movements that could possibly alarm the other man. "Why don't you allow the children to go now that I'm here?"
Hank asked quietly, narrowing his eyes, "So, I guess the other parents won't come?" He looked at Danny and after a while he pursed his lips pensively. "That's what I thought – but it doesn't matter, I think I already have everyone I was looking for." He slowly nodded in satisfaction as he browsed the papers in his hands.
Danny's earpiece crackled slightly and once again he could hear Steve's voice, the worry now even more evident than before. "What does he mean he has everyone he was looking for? Danny, is everything alright?"
"Hank?" Danny spoke not only to the man in front of him but also to his team outside the building. They had worked out a simple code earlier and by using Hank's first name Danny told them that everything was alright at the moment. "Hank, just let the children go, okay? You don't need them; you still have me and the other parents. Please, let them go."
Hank Philips took his time to consider the request and Danny needed all his willpower to keep his mouth shut while he waited impatiently for an answer. After almost two minutes of silence, only disturbed by the muted sobs of one of the girls, Philips finally said, "Alright, Detective. The children can go."
"The children are all here. Good job, Danny!" Steve's voice held the same amount of emotion that Danny was feeling, he breathed a sigh of relief; the first part of his mission had been successful. It had been a tearful parting on both sides, the children had been reluctant to leave their parents and it had been hard for the adults to let their little ones go, even if they knew it was the best for them. But after a few minutes of bidding farewell all the children had left the building just as Hank Philips had promised.
Without the occasional sobs of the girls it was now unnaturally silent in the classroom and Danny couldn't help the bad feeling that was welling up inside him. Letting his gaze travel over the other people in the room, he once more counted their number. He squinted his eyes as he counted again. Shouldn't there be 18 parents? The uneasiness increased, something was not right, he was suddenly very sure of that.
Trying to swallow past the lump that had formed in his throat, Danny said. "Now, Hank, why don't you tell me what you want. Why are you doing all this?" He wondered shortly how his voice still sounded calm and considerate. Danny hesitated briefly before he added gently, "Is this about your family? About your daughter?"
Hank's whole posture became rigid and Danny saw his hands start to tremble slightly. But after a few seconds Philips clenched his fist around his weapon, the papers in his other hand rustled as he crumpled them forcefully. Lifting his eyes, he stared at Danny for a moment before he whispered hoarsely, "What do you know about my daughter?"
"I know that she died in an accident not long ago, and I'm really sorry for your loss. I can't imagine how it must feel to lose a child." Danny's heart beat painfully in his chest, if only the thought of losing Grace caused so much pain, he really couldn't imagine what Hank Philips must feel.
Hank's eyes rested on Danny though Danny could tell that Philips probably didn't see him at all. His gaze was numb and glassy as he seemed to be caught in some mournful reverie. For the blink of an eye Danny saw his chance to overwhelm the older man and he tensed, ready to snatch the weapon from Hank's hand.
But before he could even move a muscle the moment was gone when Philips shook his head slightly; Danny almost shivered from the sudden adrenaline rush in his blood. "No more talking right now, detective!" Hank said nonchalantly, taking a step back from Danny.
Philips flattened the sheets of paper in his hand and Danny could see that it was a list of names and addresses. Noticing Danny's look, Hank smiled wryly and said, "Computers are one of the best inventions of our time, don't you think? Everything you need is just a few clicks away." Browsing the list for a specific name, he read out, "Grace Williams. Parents Rachel Edwards, homemaker…" Danny snorted inwardly when he thought of all the people that Rachel and Stan hired to keep their house and garden neat and clean. "… remarried to Stan Edwards, real estate broker, and Daniel Williams, police detective, special task force 'Hawaii Five-0'."
"That's how he knows who you are. Shit, that's not good, Danny!" Steve's tone didn't help to decrease Danny's own bad feeling and for the first time he wished that he didn't have that damn earpiece. It was really difficult to concentrate with Steve's voice in his head, he barely suppressed a sigh when his partner continued. "Listen, Danny. The kids said Philips has a gun but they didn't see any other weapon. Just cough once if you can confirm that."
Danny cleared his throat and coughed once before he said, "Okay, great, so you know everything about us." He nodded toward the other parents in the room. "Now what?"
"I said no more talking!" Hank narrowed his eyes. "Let me show you something. But first I think I need someone else…" With another look at his list Philips looked at the waiting people and asked, "Miranda Lombardi?" His eyes came to rest on a petite, blonde woman who earlier had her arms wrapped protectively around two girls. "That's you, isn't it?" The woman swallowed heavily, but didn't answer the question.
"Miranda?" Hank said impatiently as he stretched out his hand toward her. "I know that's your name so would you join us, please?"
Danny looked at the young woman, he remembered her from one of the parent evenings he had visited but he didn't know anything else about her. Miranda stood up slowly, taking a few hesitant steps in Danny's direction. He noticed that she shivered slightly. Their gazes met as Danny gave her a reassuring smile. "What do you want from me?" she asked Philips, her voice trembling with fear.
She looked so frightened that Danny couldn't help but approached laying his right arm around her shoulder in a futile attempt at comfort. "Hey, it's alright," he said soothingly. "Everything will be fine, okay?"
Hank Philips sneered at Danny's gesture but instead of intervening he said loudly, "Okay, same game as before, you know the rules." He looked at the group of people and waited until everyone nodded then he turned around and opened one of the bags that sat on the floor. Reaching inside, he took out a small package with some wires that looked very similar to the explosive device Danny had found near the entrance. He set it down on the floor next to the door and adjusted something that looked like a small camera. Danny frowned, trying to identify what it was when Hank stepped back and allowed him to have a better look at it.
"So, that's how all of your explosive devices work? Motion sensors? But the one at the entrance door didn't have one, otherwise I couldn't have passed," Danny said curiously, partly for the sake of giving more information to his waiting team and partly because he really wanted to know how big the chances were of being blown up accidentally by one of the devices.
Hank Philips raised an eyebrow as he pulled a small black device with some buttons out of his jacket. Waving it around, he said dismissively, "Ever heard of remote controls, Detective?" He threw Danny a strange look and his voice became icy. "Now stop asking all those questions! I said I want to show you something but until then… JUST SHUT UP!"
Danny almost flinched at that sudden outburst, raising his left hand while his right arm was still protectively wrapped around Miranda's trembling body, he said pacifying over the static crackle from his earpiece, "Hey, calm down, okay? I'm just curious…" Seeing the expression on Hank's face, he reluctantly closed his mouth and decided that for once it might be wiser to keep silent.
"All devices may be fitted with motion sensors. Copy that! Thanks, Danny. But be careful, don't make him angry. Just don't talk too much." It was very hard not to react in any way to Steve's comments in his ear but Danny managed to keep a straight face. He guessed that in other circumstances Steve would probably enjoy it immensely that Danny wasn't able to answer, but now was not the time to think about that.
Danny carefully watched how Hank Philips took some deep breaths, obviously trying to brace himself. When he spoke again his behavior and his voice were back to their former politeness. "May I ask you to accompany me to the next room?" he said, pointing first at Danny and Miranda and then at the door.
The knot in Danny's stomach tightened again as he noticed the change in the other man. These mood swings were not good, he needed to be extra careful not to trigger some unpredictable reaction in the future.
"Step out into the corridor and wait right next to the door on the left," Hank said, following Danny and Miranda out of the room. Miranda was no longer trembling but Danny could tell that she still was more than frightened. She stayed close to him as he tried to give her as much comfort as possible, his arm still around her shoulder. They did as Hank told them and waited in the corridor until he had pressed some buttons on the small remote control in his hand, stowed it away in his pocket and joined them. Philips approached them, changing his weapon from one hand to the other. He finally took off his heavy jacket and hung it up neatly on one of the coat hooks on the wall. Danny couldn't believe his eyes when he looked at the other man and noticed his new appearance. He heard Miranda gasp next to him and before he could stop himself he blurted out, "Oh, come on, seriously? An explosive belt, like a freaking suicide bomber? You must be kidding!"
Hank Philips whirled around and before Danny could even blink, the older man backhanded him square in the face with his gun. Miranda screamed, terrified when Danny stumbled against her and breathed out a hoarse groan.
"Danny? What happened? You okay?" Steve's anxious voice was barely audible over the ringing in his ears.
"That was for disobeying my instructions, Detective!" Hank's tone was low and cold and Danny had no more doubt that he was really unpredictable and dangerous. "I said no more talking, is that clear?"
Nodding slowly, Danny said carefully through the pain in his head, "Crystal clear." He hoped that with those words Steve would also get the message that he was more or less okay. Danny raised his hand to touch his cheekbone; at the moment the whole left side of his face was just thankfully numb but he was sure that the pain would set in before long. He already felt his eye swelling shut and he had to blink a few times to get rid of the dots dancing in his vision. Letting his hand drop again, he looked at it; well, at least there was no blood, he thought sarcastically.
"Man, for heaven's sake, just shut your mouth for once. Do you hear me, Danny?" Danny had never thought that one day he would appreciate the advice of his partner but he had to admit that at the moment Steve really seemed to be the more rational one. "We are trying to find a way past the motion sensors, just hold on, okay?"
Miranda sobbed silently and Danny could feel that she was trembling again. He was surprised to find that he still held her close, gently stroking her arm to calm her.
As if nothing had happened Hank said politely, "Please, go ahead." He pointed at the door in front of them, giving Danny an encouraging nod. Danny stepped forward as he laid his hand on the knob. As soon as he had opened the door he noticed a coppery smell that immediately told him what they would find even before he saw the body on the floor. The man was lying on his stomach and even if Danny could not see his face he was sure that he was far beyond any help considering the amount of blood in the room.
Danny heard a sharp intake of breath next to him as Miranda turned around, hiding her face in his shoulder. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, murmuring soothingly. Danny opened his mouth but even that simple motion sent a spike of pain through his skull and reminded him, just in time, that it was better to remain silent; snapping his mouth shut, Danny stared at Philips.
Obviously unimpressed by Danny's glare Hank Philips closed the door behind him, pointed his weapon at the two people in front of him and said friendly, "Miranda, please come here."
Danny felt the young woman stiffen, she was openly sobbing now, but she didn't move away from him.
"I said, come here!" Hank's voice had changed and was again holding that same icy tone from before. Reluctantly Danny released Miranda from his embrace as she finally obeyed Hank's order. She had almost reached him when Hank pulled a large butterfly knife out of his pocket. Flipping it open with a smooth turn of his wrist, he looked pensively at it for a moment.
Seeing the glint of madness in Philips' eyes, Danny could literally feel his heart stop beating for a mere second. Blood rushed in his ears as he also made as step forward; he suddenly knew what was going to happen. Despite the weapon in Hank's hand he tried to step in front of Miranda to shield her from the other man. But he had underestimated Hank's speed and ferocity, once more Danny felt the SIG Sauer connect with his face, more violent than the last time. His head snapped sideways as white-hot pain shot through his head and neck. The world was spinning as he staggered into the wall behind him, his vision blurred as he tried desperately to remain upright, feeling his knees buckle.
The next thing Danny knew was that he was sitting on the floor, his back against the wall and his legs in an awkward angle underneath him. He didn't know how long he had been out or what sound had woken him, the soft moaning, the static crackle over his earpiece and the frantic voice of his partner who shouted his name over and over again, or the rattling noise from somewhere next to him.
Trying his best to ignore the voice in his ear for the moment, he just concentrated on the other sounds. The moaning had stopped and Danny noticed embarrassingly that it was probably him who had made the pitiful sound. He opened his eyes – or well, at least he opened the right eye because the left one was now swollen almost completely shut, only opening it to a mere slit. He blinked a few times, waiting for the room to stop spinning around him and his vision to clear. Swallowing against the nausea daring to overwhelm him, he licked his lips but the metallic taste of blood didn't exactly help to ease his stomach. He swallowed again forcefully, turning his attention to his surroundings, Danny just wished that Steve would stop shouting. His headache was bad enough even without someone yelling constantly in his ear.
Supporting himself on the wall Danny stood up slowly; his head pounding, the left side of his face hurting like hell. Blood trickled down his chin, he supposed from a split lip, raising his right arm Danny pressed the sleeve of his shirt against his mouth. Looking around, his gaze fell on Hank Philips who sat lazily on one of the tables staring at the blood-covered butterfly knife in his hand.
Danny noticed that the room was now deadly silent, all former noises had ceased, the rattling had stopped and even Steve was blissfully quiet for once. A sudden dread washing over him, Danny would have liked to do nothing more than just close his eyes so that he wouldn't have to see what was in front of him. Still leaning against the wall he swallowed heavily against the nausea and clenched his teeth as his gaze traveled reluctantly to the floor. His face contorted in grief and horror when he saw Miranda lying there, her lifeless eyes staring at the ceiling, her hands raised to her neck in a desperate attempt to stop the bleeding. Danny saw that she hadn't stood the slightest chance. Her throat had been cut with one horrible blow, leaving her to die within minutes.
Blinking away the tears that had filled his eyes, Danny took a deep breath as he turned toward Philips, saying through his clenched teeth, "Why?"
"Uh, uh, remember our agreement, Detective?" Hank interrupted him in a friendly tone. However it could not override the dangerous glint in his eyes. "No talking!"
"Danny, thank God, are you okay?" Steve's voice was back in his head, Danny noticed the worry that was now mixed with a small hint of relief.
Danny coughed, grimacing at the pain spiking through his head. He just hoped that the sound reassured his partner enough to remain silent; he simply didn't have the nerve to listen to Steve's babbling right now. Staring at Hank Philips, he considered his options. He flinched slightly when Hank suddenly asked, "Do you know how my daughter died?"
Danny managed with some difficulty not to roll his eyes; obviously he was now allowed to speak. He had no real wish to make small talk with a crazy murderer but Philips was the one with the weapons and it seemed to be a pretty good idea not to anger him any further so Danny tried very much to keep his voice calm and polite. "It was a car accident, wasn't it?"
"A car accident, yes!" Hank laughed joylessly. "It was just a slight collision, nothing deadly, just a stupid little accident. But the window on the driver's side broke, one piece of glass slicing her neck." He looked at Danny with burning eyes. "She bled to death in her car. And her mother – my ex-wife," he almost spit out the last word, "was sitting right next to her and did nothing to help her. Nothing!"
Rage suddenly bubbled up in Danny. He didn't care any longer if he was allowed to speak or not as he said furiously, "That is a terrible way to lose a child, but that doesn't give you the right to come here and start slaughtering innocent people! Why did you choose him?" Danny pointed at the dead bodies. "Why Miranda?" He swallowed heavily at the sight of the young woman who had been alive and standing next to him only a few minutes ago. Averting his eyes from the horrible scene, looking back at Hank but the man was now obviously far beyond any reasonable conversation.
"My daughter died because my ex-wife took her from me! She divorced me and took my children!" Hank yelled. He got up from the table, taking a few steps in Danny's direction. "All this would never have happened if she had stayed with me!"
The pain in Danny's head had reduced to an uncomfortable dull throbbing. He cautiously pushed himself away from the wall when he noticed Hank had left his place on the table. Whatever the man was up to next, Danny felt safer if he had some space to react.
"Why did she leave me?" Hank yelled even louder than before.
Watching the other man closely, taking in the weapons, the explosive belt, the lunatic expression on his face, Danny was sure that he could come up with maybe one or two reasons why a woman would rather choose not to live with this man any longer. But he knew that was probably not what Hank would like to hear so he swallowed his sarcastic comment and instead said without really thinking, "Well, you might be asking the wrong guy. I'm not the best at giving advice when it comes to marriage."
Philips narrowed his eyes as he said slowly, his tone reduced to a normal volume, "You are not better than them, Detective." He threw a quick glance at the two dead bodies on the floor before his eyes settled back on Danny. "You see, that is why I chose them. And why I'm glad that you decided to join our little party, you were the last one on my list." Making a dismissive gesture, he snorted. "All the other parents were of no interest to me, all these happily married couples..."
Danny needed a moment to process what he had just heard, the headache didn't exactly help in trying to think straight. He blinked confusedly, then frowned, asking disgustedly, "That's why you killed them? Because they were divorced?" It never occurred to Danny that he was perhaps in even greater danger than he thought.
Coming closer, Hank said coldly, "Yes!"
"Yes?" Danny's jaw dropped as he stared at Hank. "That's it? You slit the throats of innocent people because your wife left you?" He shook his head in disbelief and before he realized it he asked, "You are absolutely crazy, you know that, right?" He was aware that this was probably not the smartest thing he could have said but at least this time Danny saw the strike coming.
At the same time he heard Steve shouting over his earpiece "DANNY, don't!" he raised his arm, turning his body just enough to avoid a third hit to his face. The blow struck Danny painfully across the upper back and he staggered slightly from the force of the impact.
"Hey man, just stop hitting me, okay?" Danny groaned angrily, stretching his shoulder. "That will lead to nothing."
Hank watched Danny closely, his eyes twinkled with hatred behind his glasses. "You are right, no more hitting. I have other plans for you." He cocked his head at the sound of a distant rumble from somewhere outside the building. "You are coming with me, Detective, you're my ticket out of here." Pointing his weapon at Danny, Hank said politely with a nod toward the door, "After you."
"Where are we going?" Danny asked, his mind racing to find a way out of this mess. He had a bad feeling that Hank was not planning to just set him free once they left the building. Instead of answering Hank Philips roughly pressed the weapon against Danny's spine and pushed him forward. Danny sighed, this was definitely not how he had fancied his day.
His earpiece crackled again and he blinked against the headache that Steve's voice caused, "Danny? Listen, we're coming in soon. We've probably found a way to deactivate the motion sensors."
Danny sighed again, biting his tongue in frustration, Probably? He thought sarcastically. Great, now I have the choice between getting my throat cut or getting blown up.
Looking around cautiously, he tried to figure where Hank would be going. Most of the time when he picked up Grace from school he waited outside but he had been inside the building a few times before so he had a rough idea of where they were going.
"Oh, and Danny… could you just try to not anger him any more? Please?" Danny swallowed. Oh man, he must have been in deeper trouble than he thought because he had never actually heard Steve begging for something before. Well, too bad, because Danny was sure that his next action wouldn't exactly help keep Hank's emotions in check, but he needed to let Steve know where they were going, so Danny did what he was best at… he talked.
"So, you're trying to slip through the back-door?" He asked, preparing for another blow that surprisingly enough never came. Danny shrugged and continued, "From what I see you have two possible escape routes… you could either leave through the gym or the gardens." A nudge to his shoulder made him turn left at the end of the corridor. "Ok, the gym it is, that's what I thought." Danny turned his head just enough so that he could watch Hank.
"Well, Detective, if you're trying to upset me, I can tell you it's not working. As I already said, I have plans for you…" Hank's tone was still polite but was now also laced with anger and impatience. "You will get your fair share soon enough."
(tbc)