Ricky was reaching for Marissa as he charged forward clearly planning to make her his hostage again. Marissa however tumbled away from his grasp as Kendal dragged them back. So instead he grabbed the next nearest victim, Miranda…
Miranda screamed on the top of her lungs as Ricky scooped her up into his arms and held the scalpel to the throat.
"Let her go!" cried Erica.
Kendal made a move to try and grab her from his arms…
"I will cut her, so you all back up." said Ricky coldly. "I don't make idle threats."
Marissa scrambled to her feet with Kendal and AJ's help.
"Ricky, you want me to stay, I'll stay; just let Miranda go!" she begged
"No, I've got her, so I'll keep her. She's better leverage anyway… if only she would shut the hell up!"
Miranda was wailing with fear, tears streaming down her cheek. Ricky's threats only made it worse.
"She's just a child." begged Erica.
"No, now she's a hostage." said Ricky. "Okay folks, we are all going to step quietly back into that room and we are going to wait until my business is concluded… back up!"
"Mommy." whimpered AJ, fear in his eyes.
Marissa pulled AJ close to her side.
"It's going to be okay." she whispered as they all shuffled slowly back into Bianca's hospital room.
The three women and AJ lined the wall beside Jackson as Ricky followed them in.
"Doctor, stop what you are doing right now and join the others please." said Ricky, his voice once again calm although he had to raise his voice to be heard over Miranda's cries.
Griffin was poised ready to inject the stimulant into Bianca's arm. All he had to do was press the plunger… did he dare?
Ricky must have seen the hesitation in his eyes.
"I said stop." said Ricky a little more harshly, "Or you will be responsible for the unsightly scar that will permanently disfigure this little girls' cheek." He was holding the scalpel very close to the struggling child's face. "Step away from the bed and join the others, doctor."
Griffin sighed. Extracting the needle and putting it back on the tray.
"Slowly does it." warned Ricky. "We don't want any nasty accidents now do we?"
Griffin raised his hands to show they were empty and slowly walk to stand between Erica and Kendal.
"Good, good." said Ricky, the confidence returning to his voice. "Now back on your knees in front of the door all of you! And you hold still… and SHUT UP!" His last words were aimed at a petrified Miranda, her voice now almost horse from her terrible screams. She couldn't stop her wailing but her struggles came to a standstill at his harsh tone.
The group reluctantly moved back to the doorway.
"Jack as well!" said Ricky, after a moment.
"He shouldn't be moved." warned Griffin.
"You should have thought of that before your stupid stunt. I don't trust any of you now. So move him."
"But he had nothing to do with it!" protested Erica.
"I wasn't asking I was telling." said Ricky holding the blade close to Miranda's tear stained cheek once more.
"I'll move." said Jackson. "But if you harm one hair of that girls head…"
"Like this you mean?" said Ricky using the scalpel to cut a curl from Miranda's pigtails. "I don't like empty threats, so you had better remember that when talking to me." He turned to Griffin. "Move him!"
Griffin leant his shoulder to the effort of helping Jackson to his feet so that he could move the few uncomfortable steps to the door.
"Why are you doing this?" asked Marissa as she encouraged AJ to follow her to the doorway. "Why do you want me?"
"Because you, and your little girlfriend here, are the key to making me and my friends very rich." said Ricky, confident he was back in total control. "Now everyone get on your knees, face the front and put your hands on your heads."
The group slowly obeyed.
"So this is all about money?" Erica asked as she sank to her knees.
"Of course it's about money." said Ricky, but his eyes turned to Kendal. "Although I would be lying if I said there wasn't a little something more in it for me."
"You're a pig." snapped Kendal.
Ricky only smirked at her retort.
"That's enough talking." He said. "You all face front and put your hands on your heads."
Suddenly there was burst of '9 to 5' from Kendal's phone in Ricky's pocket.
Ricky sighed.
"It would seem that the chief is checking up on us."
He put the phone to his ear, his eyes never leaving the hostages.
"Chief Hubbard. I trust you are calling to say you have succeeded in fulfilling my demands."
"My team reported the sound of a gunshot. I want to know if anyone was hurt."
"Only Erica's pride." said Ricky with a grin.
"We cannot negotiate unless there is trust on both sides."
Ricky snorted.
"I don't trust you chief and you sure as hell don't trust me. So who are you kidding?"
"I can hear crying." said Jesse concern in his voice, he clearly wasn't happy at having to play along with Ricky's games.
"Oh that would be dear sweet Miranda. She is a little traumatised by the fact that I have a scalpel pressed against her neck."
"You are threatening a child?"
"I don't make threats. The next person that even suggests that… I will cut her." said Ricky and it was clear this was not a joke, he was serious. "Now Chief, I hope you are beginning to understand that I am in complete control."
"Of course."
"Good. Then you will listen this time when I tell you not to call me until you have succeeded in completing my demands and then, only when I can see everything lined up neatly under the window... But I add another demand to my list. Your men are obviously too close for my liking if they heard the shot. I want every uniformed officer outside. There is not to be a police officer within ten feet of the hospital."
"I can do that." said Jesse slowly. "But we have set up our operations base in the lobby so it might take some time."
"Excellent. You have twenty minutes. I am glad we are beginning to understand each other…" said Ricky coolly, "And remember it has to be a 1968 Camaro, preferably in Midnight Blue…"
With that Ricky hung up.
"Now we wait…"
…