11:40 a.m.
Spike's voice came over the headset. "We've got eyes Boss! We were able to wire the fiber optic camera through the ceiling air vent. It should be coming to you now."
"Good work guys. Let's see how Nathan's doing in there." Parker opened the laptop and watched the feed coming through from inside the lecture hall. Nathan paced from one end of the classroom to the other.
Ed stood next to Parker looking at the screen. "Looks like he has maybe 50 students in there with him. We need to try and get some of them out."
"I'm going to call Nathan again, maybe he'll talk this time." Parker opened his phone and dialed again.
"I told you, you have until noon to get Anna in here!" Nathan yelled over the phone.
Parker countered in a slow and deliberate tone, "Nathan, I want to help you, but I've talked with my superiors and that just won't be possible until you release some of your hostages. Once you do, we can discuss you talking with Anna. Nathan, would you be willing to do that for me?"
"I NEED to talk with Anna!" Nathan roared.
Parker and Ed watched the laptop as Nathan continued pacing. Suddenly he stopped in front of a student who was looking down at something. He dropped the phone to his side, but didn't hang up the phone. Parker and Ed listened closely.
"What is this?" Nathan demanded. He grabbed something out of the girl's hand. "I told you to put your phones on the floor!"
Nathan took the gun out of his back waistband and pointed it briefly at the girl's head before aiming it towards the ceiling and firing a round.
Silence filled Nathan's end of the line.
"Nathan! Nathan, are you still there?" Parker pressed.
"I'm thinking!" Nathan shouted back. "I'll give you half the hostages. I'll let them go, but then Anna comes in here."
"So much for a show of good faith," Ed said. "He's agreed to release half of the hostages, but now we have an active shooter on our hands. He's escalating, Boss."