I forgot to say this in the first chapter, but this story is set in between Aisle 13 and One Wrong Move. Also, thank you so much for the reviews! I tried to get back to everyone, but if I didn't you're all awesome!

It had been a long day for his team and a long day for him, but for Sergeant Greg Parker, the work was not over yet. He supposed he could go home and relax, but he knew the moment he got home he'd have the day's events playing over and over in his head. He might as well work on the paperwork if he was going to be thinking about it either way.

And there was a lot of paperwork. It always seemed that way when the SIU was involved, when there was a life lost.

He didn't want to sound callous about the death of another human being, of a confused man who believed he was protecting his country by aiming the barrel of his gun out of the fifth story window in his assisted living apartment. He wasn't callous at all about the events that had transpired. It was why they kept replaying in his head, why the words he had used kept replaying in his head.

So after the members of his team had long departed, he forced himself to remain seated at the table, reading through the brief and getting a head start on the paperwork. Going home would mean going home to the silence, where his mistakes of the day and past transgressions could not be forgotten though mindless work and the steady hum of the SRU.

It was just after eleven when the members of team four were called out on the first hot call of the night. Hostage situation with multiple subjects at a grocery store down the street. Although the other team had mostly left him alone, he was glad for the silence that their departure left him with. The only other person occupying the SRU office was Winnie, who acknowledged him when she entered, but since had simply been working through possible calls. Her voice rang out with the all the information she had on the call as team four drove to the scene.

Greg tried to block this out at first, before he opted that letting himself become distracted was not the worst situation he could think of. He listened to the 911 call from next to Winnie's desk.

"They're in the store. I don't know how many, a lot. They have guns and masks and they look serious." The man's breathing could be heard heavily on the recording. The attendant asked for his identification and location. "Jerry. My name's Jerry. I'm a manager at the store on the corner of Providence and-"

There was a rustling sound, a curse or two, and a crash before the call was terminated.

Greg listened to the team's response, holding any critique or compliment back before he decided it really was time for him to go home. The hot call sounded like the average heist gone wrong. He moved to the locker rooms when he assured himself that team four's day was going to be nothing like his own.

He moved slower than usual, not because he was stiff or sore, but because he focused on the tasks in front of him. He folded his uniform neatly, took a moment to take off his shoes. It was deliberate and slow, the opposite of the team earlier.

Greg had only seen them get through a debrief and change that fast a number of times. The combination of multiple calls, multiple casualties, and the stormy weather made them ready to get out of here. He did understand that. Part of him wanted to do the exact same. The larger part trod through the routine with an unnecessary calmness.

By the time he made his way back out of Winnie's desk, she looked more intense than usual. This set off warning bells in Greg's head. He tried to rationalize that it might be just as bad of a day for team four as it was for them. Still, he paused by her desk.

"The subject is asking for you," Winnie said in a steady voice when Greg placed his hands on the counter. His brow immediately furrowed. "They're saying they'll only talk to you."

"The team have an ID on the subjects yet?"

Greg immediately went through people that would hold hostages but want to talk to him, and only him. The list wasn't long. Winnie shook her head.

"Tell team four I'm on my way."

His change back into uniform took a fraction of the time it had taken him to get into his civilian clothes. It always seemed easier to make that transition. He got in the standard black SUV, sirens on, and headed toward the shop without questioning further who the subjects could be. Those questions were left for the drive itself, which was slightly longer than he had estimated based on the proximity, but still took little time with the lack of traffic and the sirens.

He could see the store from afar easier tonight than most days. The front was still lit up, having never closed. Uniforms and team four occupied the parking lot, whose flashing lights insured that he did not miss the place. He pulled up and got out of the car. No visibility from the front windows, the hostages were probably alongside the red wall, which had no access from the front.

He walked over to the Sergeant Randy Goebel. He stood outside the team's van, talking to the tactical specialist. Greg walked over and extended his hand. "Heard someone wanted to talk to me," he said in way of introductions. The list of names Greg had tallied in his head was short, but none were appealing.

"Subject said he'd talk to a Sergeant Greg Parker only before hanging up. We're working on getting eyes in on the place, but options aren't looking great right now. No ID on any of the subjects yet, or how many. We've got one shot fired, but no way of knowing if any of the hostages are injured. If they don't talk to you we might have to go in blind."

Goebel didn't look pleased at this idea, but neither did Greg. The risks that put their men, as well as the hostages, were great. It definitely was not the ideal situation, but the subjects had chosen a good building to hold people in. Few windows, lack of entry points. Greg skimmed the blue prints and saw that while there was a back door, they'd be just as visible from there as the main entrance.

Time was key here, and they needed to get a hold of the situation before it escalated. "Permission to call in?" Greg asked Goebel. It was his scene, and he had the right to deny or allow him intervening. The other sergeant nodded his approval.

With that Greg headed to the van, entering and seeing anther constable that he really should know the name of, but he was a rookie and the name escaped him. Greg offered a smile before pulling on a com system. Sergeant Goebel had followed him in. "11:17 p.m. Sergeant Gregory Parker arrives on scene," the rookie read into the auto-transcriptor. Greg pressed the button enabling him to call the store. "Begins negotiations," the rookie continued.

The phone rang. There was a moment just long enough that any nonprofessional would be concerned that the subjects would not answer at all. The ringing stopped and there was shuffling sound on the other side after a few seconds. Greg took this as someone picking up the phone.

"My name is Sergeant Greg Parker with the Strategic Response Unit. I heard you asked to speak with me."

He waited for a response.

"He'll be doing all the negotiations from now on," a voice replied and then another shuffling sound.

"Boss?" This was a new voice, one that Greg was very familiar with.

"Ed? Is that you?" He waited for the confirmation before any emotion took root. Even when it came with Ed's affirmative, he quickly pushed it aside. This was the time to be professional.

"I've been taken hostage by four teenagers," Ed began when there was commotion on the other side. Greg turned with his com off to Goebel.

"Where are we with a visual? I've got a man in there."

Goebel didn't pretend to act offended by the suggestion that they should be further along than they were. "I'll go check on it."

Ed's voice came back and Greg turned all his focus back to him.

"They don't want me to give descriptions of them. They say that if you don't have a car in the ten minutes, they are going to kill someone."

He could hear the impatience in Ed's voice. It was slight, so that anyone who did not know Ed would not have been able to detect it. He also sounded stressed. This worried Greg.

"Can you tell me how many hostages there are?"

"Five, me included. Boss." There was a pause. "Sam's here too."

That explained the tension in Ed's voice. He was worried for another member of his team. "Anyone injured?"

"Sam was shot. It's serious."

Greg swore under his breath, standing up in the van. "Can you get one of the subjects on the line?"

He heard Ed talking, not to him, but he kept the phone near his mouth so that Greg could hear everything he said. "My boss said he would really like to talk to you to get the specifics of your demands."

There was another shuffling.

"What do you need?" the same voice before snapped. He sounded hostile.

"We're working on the car right now. May I ask who I'm talking to?" Greg tried to pretend this was like any other hostage situation. Goebel was on standby incase Greg needed to step down. Still, they asked for him, probably because they knew he was connected, or because Ed had said something to make them believe he was the guy to talk to.

"You don't need to know. You need to get me that car."

"We're working on that. As a sign of good faith, why don't you release the injured hostage. He needs medical attention and you don't want him to die."

"You don't know what I want. You know him too? Tha' why your guy called him Sam? Why don't you call him by his name?"

"You're right. I do know Sam, and I'm really worried about him. We working on the car right now, but we'd be more inclined to help if we knew that everybody was okay in there. Can you do that for me?"

"He's not dead yet. He's gonna make it 'nother ten minutes, when the car should be here."

"It might take us longer than that. We're working as hard as we can."

"Work faster than."

Greg sighed. This was not what he wished for when he wanted a distraction from the events earlier in the day. He didn't want a worse event to overshadow them. He tried to stay in the mask of negotiator, care for everybody's lives in there, not just his men's. It took more effort to than it ought to. "Can you tell me if all the other hostages are alright?"

"They're fine. We're all fine."

"I'm going to be honest with you. Our goal is to get everybody out of there safe, your team included. We can't do that if you're not talking to me. Can you tell me your name?"

There was a pause. If Ed was right, and he probably was judging by how young the voice sounded, this was a teenager he was dealing with. Not a seasoned criminal.

"Tyler," the boy said. "But I'm not giving you a last name."

They were at least making some progress. "I bet your family's going to be worried about you, Tyler. Just like Sam's family is worried about him right now."

Sam's mom and dad might not know of the situation yet, but his family-Ed, Greg- they were worried about him. For the first time, Greg thought of the rest of the team. Of Jules, Spike, Lou, Wordy. He knew they would be worried about both of their coworkers inside the building.

He could hear heavy breathing on the other side. Clearly what he said made something of an impact. "Look, I'm letting his buddy help him. He'll be fine if you get me that car."

"How can you be sure, Tyler? There could be internal damage. What kind of gun do you have?"

"Stop asking me questions and get me the damn car!"

The phone buzzed after the teen hung up. Greg shook his head in frustration.

"We've got eyes in," one of the members of team four said. Greg straightened immediately and looked to the laptop placed next to the auto-transcriptor. Grainy images of the subjects and hostages came into view. There was a larger man next to a small girl, both looked to be employees judging by what Greg could make of their clothes. Next to them was an older man resting against the shelves. He probably needed medical attention as well, though Greg did not see any blood.

Three of the subjects were armed, wearing ski masks to cover their faces. One stood by the phone, presumably Tyler. Another paced back in forth in between Tyler and the hostages. The third armed subject had his shaky hands pointed to the hostages. Greg hoped he wouldn't accidently pull the trigger. All three carried handguns, but the image wasn't clear enough to determine anything but that.

The fourth subject did not have a gun in his hands, but that would have been impossible since both of his hands were being used at the moment. He was kneeling next to a prone form with blond hair. Greg had to assume it was Sam. The subject had pulled off his mask and seemed to have used it to staunch the blood flow. Ed was on the other side, his bald head making him the most distinguishable one there. He had blood all over his shirt and he was bent over Sam as well.

The image did not give him much confidence. He reached over to dial the phone once again. Based on how much blood he could see, Sam couldn't play the waiting game. He watched Tyler look to the phone on the computer. It was ringing. He saw Ed saying something. Tyler said something to him then Ed was standing up. The subject who had been pacing pointed his gun at him and followed him as Ed moved over to the corded phone.

"Hey, Boss. They want me to let you know how serious they are," Ed said.

"Can they hear me on the other side?"

"That's a negative."

"I've got a visual, snake cam through a vent in the ceiling. Any idea what these guys want? Is it personal?"

"They want a car, a nice car. Expensive."

Greg could see how Tyler, and everyone else, seemed to be listening in on Ed's words. He was trying to be discrete as he explained their intent. "So a robbery gone bad? What about the one with Sam? Is he armed?"

"Not a threat, Boss."

Ed had to do some explaining for that comment. Tyler seemed very interested in the conversation. Ed gave off an explanation for the response. "My boss is saying that he can't get the car that fast. You know Sam's not going to make it that long. Let him get help so you don't have his death on your conscience. You know they are working as fast as they can," Ed was still talking to Tyler.

Although it was nice to see Ed working on the teen when Greg couldn't, he hoped he was using his words to scare Tyler. At the same time Greg feared that it was a message to him as well, that they needed to go tactical.

The information that there were only three subjects to worry about now helped some. That subject also was the only unarmed one. Tactically it had minimal advantage, but Ed trusted that kid with Sam's life, so he must have done something.

"They say you have another ten minutes to get them a car, but that's all," Ed finally said into the phone.

"Suggestions?"

Ed knew the subjects better than him or anyone else on the outside.

"Words can only go so far."

It was his permission to go tactical, that he knew what the risks were and he would still chose that. Ed was bias, of course, as was he. It was up to Sergeant Goebel to make the ultimate decision, but he was listening in and he heard the same things Greg did.

"And don't get one of those cars with any distracting lights. We can make our own if we have the time," Ed said after a moment.

There was more conversation on the other end. Greg couldn't make it all out this time since Ed had moved the phone down.

"What have we got, Goebel? Any chance of a stealth approach yet?" Greg asked.

"Not yet. We can go with a flash-bang and CS gas, but it's still risky with the layout and three armed subjects so close to the hostages," Goebel responded over the com system. "Sounds like Ed can make a distraction of his own somehow," he offered.

Ed was back on the line. "Any progress on the car yet?"

Greg figured he meant progress with the plan. "You're too close to the subjects. An entry plan isn't going to work yet. You think we can get these kids to let you go? Or at least get away from the hostages?"

"Maybe one."

"Good. If you hear a siren, send one of them away and make your distraction, we're going to do a forced entry. Until then, work on calming the other subjects. Can I talk to Tyler again?"

There was movement and muffled conversation for a moment. Greg took this to take a breath and think through what they knew about Tyler. Still not very much, no last name, no motive, no background. While team four worked on tactical, Greg prayed that Tyler would have a change of heart, that his words, which had failed earlier today, could make an impact.

"What do you want? You have my demands."

"Like I said, we are working on that car. We're doing everything we can to help you and your friends. How long have you guys known each other?"

"Since we were 14, had the same class together."

"That must a been a few years. I still talk to one of my friends when I was a kid, his name's Danny. We knew each other real well back then. You know your buddies well?"

"Yeah, we're tight."

"Good, that's good. It's nice to have someone to talk to. Sometimes it doesn't even matter how long you know a person. I've known Sam for about two years or so, but I trust him with my life."

Greg left the statement open ended to see where Tyler would take it.

"Yeah, well, sometimes you hav' to do wha' you hav' to do," was his response.

"I understand that, Tyler. I understand having to do something you don't want to do and I know you didn't want to do this today," Greg said, not sure if the last clause was entirely true. It sounded so from Tyler's last words, but the teen had been switching around more than he could keep track of.

"I didn't want to. We had to. No choice. Just like you got no choice but to get us that car, or your friend here dies."

Just as Greg had thought of the switching personalities, they were back again. He could feel the malice in the last sentence. He knew the chances of him getting the hostages out fast enough for Sam were slim to none. He bit his bottom lip, wishing there were some magic words he could say to get this kid to believe him. He kept trying, knowing that Goebel was working the alternative as they spoke.

"Why did you need to rob the store, Tyler? What happened?"

At the very least Tyler could be semi-distracted before they forced entry. If his focus was on the phone, it wouldn't be on the entrances.

"It doesn't really matter now, does it? We didn't get the money. The manager doesn't even have access anymore."

"Are you in some kind of trouble? We can help you. I want to help you, Tyler. I want you to let me help you."

"You don't want that. You want your buddies out 'f here safe. I get it, but I gotta protect my own too, y' know."

Goebel entered the truck. "We've got the entry teams in position. Ready to send off the warning siren."

Part of Greg wanted to sigh in relief that they were going with immediate entry, that they were going to get to Sam before he bled out and to Ed before anything else could go wrong. Then again, the chances of something going wrong only increased with the forced entry. Ed said he could get one away and provide a distraction of his own, but he didn't know if that was going to be enough. Anyone could still get caught in the crosshairs.

"Tyler, one of our squad cars needs to leave. They need to go check on another scene. We know you're not going to hurt anyone else, so they aren't needed anymore. You're going to hear sirens in a moment, okay?"

Thanks again for the reviews! Please continue doing so, it inspires me to write more! =) I also realize I didn't capitalize Team Four and Team One. Imagine I did. At least its consistent? Sorry!