Disclaimer: Chuck Norris, Aaron Norris, CBS and others own the characters of "Walker Texas Ranger". Any new characters and story lines that come into play are of my own creation and no copyright infringement is intended. This is a fan fiction intended for entertainment purposes only and I am not making any money from it.

Chapter 2: Negotiator

The rookie was getting restless and Lucy could tell that by the way the two bodybuilders were glancing at him. She knew the leader had noticed but he didn't seem concerned about it. She might be able to turn the rookie against the others. If, she could get close to him, but they kept away from the hostages.

She heard someone cough and turned to look. The red haired woman was wearing knee-high boots, a skirt, a nice blouse and a blazer that designated her as an employee of the bank. Her nametag said Ana.

Ana looked at her and then looked away. Lucy wasn't surprised; she tended to have that affect on people.

She looked around at the other civilians, committing each one to memory. She knew that several of them probably had to use the bathroom. She wondered if she could use that to her advantage to get the gunmen in the right positions to be taken out.

The phone had been ringing every fifteen minutes and she wondered why the leader hadn't answered it and given any demands. Something wasn't right about this hostage situation but she didn't have time to figure out what was causing her gut to twitch. She had to ensure the safety of the hostages first before anything else, even though finding out what the hostage takers truly wanted might be useful.

The cameras were still rolling and the cops outside must have tapped into the feed. She wondered if someone had recognized her and had called her partner. She had not been in Dallas long, but she seemed to have already made an impression. They had been watching everything that was happening inside the bank and it was bothering her that these goons weren't concerned about it.

Bodybuilder number one had started toward the group of hostages, right in her path. She casually checked on the others and frowned. None of them was in the places that they needed to be.

The leader of the group headed to a door to the back of the bank and disappeared behind it. She knew that the door lead to the offices of the bank and wondered why the leader was going there and not into the vault.

She kept one watchful eye on that door and the other between the other three hostage takers, but it didn't seem to matter since none of them moved. It was a few moments later that the rookie started to pace.

She wondered what they were doing in the bank if it wasn't about stealing the money.

Walker looked around knowing that every cop was on high alert. Civilians were in danger and so was one of their own. True, she was a new addition to DPD but she seemed to have already made an impact.

"Where is the hostage negotiator?" Trivette asked.

"She's having a baby," the Lieutenant answered. "Don't ask about the other hostage negotiator. He's in Hawaii on his honeymoon," he added and wasn't surprised at the frown to appear on the Ranger's face.

"Right," Trivette said, knowing what was coming.

"I've had training in hostage negotiations but I've never had to use it," Lt. Nelson said.

"I've had some experience with hostage negotiations," Walker said.

"Yeah, burst in, take out the bad guys and save the hostages," his partner replied.

"Captain, we have to do something. The longer we wait the itchier the trigger fingers will be on those gunmen or on the SWAT," Sun said his gaze sweeping the roof lines of the nearby buildings.

Walker believed that Detective Sun knew the SWAT team members wouldn't try anything without a direct order but he could sense everyone's anxiety.

Trivette looked at the Captain. "We should try to call and speak to the leader."

"We've been trying that but no one has answered."

"Let me try. I'll get him to talk," Walker replied fiercely to the Sergeant. "Give me the bullhorn."

Walker took the bullhorn that the Sergeant held out to him and turned it on. He focused it at the bank and brought it to his lips. "This is Ranger Walker. I'm going to call you on the phone and I hope that you answer it. For your sake." He handed the bullhorn back to the Sergeant as the Lieutenant handed him the phone that was already calling the bank.

Someone answered and before Walker could speak, the leader did. "I will make the demands when I am ready to and not a minute before. I wouldn't try to enter the bank because as you've undoubtedly seen, I have many hostages and I won't hesitate to kill them."

Walker held the phone even after he heard the click of the disconnected call. The man didn't have a distinguishing accent and sounded completely calm.

"What did he say?" Asked Sun, wishing he could read the Ranger's mind.

"He won't make his demands," he replied with a frown. "Trivette, call Sydney and Gage. Have them do a search of any hostage situations like this one."

"You got it." Trivette pulled out his cell and stepped away to call the other half of their team.

Sun looked at Walker. "You think they've done this before?"

"Maybe."

Walker thought that the leader of the hostage takers had the confidence gained by experience.

Trivette closed his cell phone and walked up to his partner. "What are you thinking, Walker?"

"This isn't a typical bank robbery or hostage situation. We will have to think of someway to get those hostages out of there safely other than with normal negotiations."

"How are we going to do that?" Trivette asked.

"Have faith in our woman on the inside," Walker replied.

Trivette checked his phone for the tenth time in the last thirty minutes. The situation had everyone on edge. He didn't know what his partner was planning or if he even had a plan.

His cell rang and he didn't have to look to see who was calling. He didn't speak but listened to the other half of their team as they told him that they didn't find anything. The frown on his face deepened. He hung up and turned toward the group who had been waiting eagerly. "That was Sydney and Gage. They got zip on anything similar to this situation. They are still checking just in case they missed something but if we don't have the identity of at least one of them, they won't find anything."

"There has to be something we can do. We have to find out what they want," Sun said his gaze turning toward the bank.

It didn't take a well-trained Ranger to know that the detective was concerned about the hostages and his partner. It seemed to Trivette that they had two choices. One choice was to burst into the bank, guns blazing and take out the bad guys but with the real possibility that harm could come to the hostages. The second choice was to wait it out and see if the bad guys would reveal what they really wanted. Either way, he didn't care for the odds.

Walker stood in front of Sun. "They are pros and they want something, but they won't reveal what it is until they are ready. We have to have patience."

"We have to have patience?" Sun pointed at the bank. "I know my partner. She's not going to wait much longer. She knows that the longer the wait, the greater the chance that they will start killing hostages."

"I know," Walker replied.

Trivette noticed Walker tense slightly and he knew that his partner was deeply concerned about the situation. He looked at the bank and prayed that this Detective Silver would be able to do something to help them in this situation.