Danny noticed that the precinct had RMP units blocking all traffic in the area as well as a car in front and behind the home. Sharp shooters were behind both vehicles ready to breach the home. Danny looked for and found the commanding officer. "Excuse me, Captain Michielson?"
"Yes, and you are?"
"Detective Danny Reagan from the 5 4. This is the home of my partner, Detective Maria Baez. We think the perp may be in the house, he's someone she testified against twelve years ago. He was recently released and stalked the detective and her daughter. He was arrested and put back in jail. He was on his way to court when he escaped. Maria is still a few minutes out. Can you give me an update?"
"We haven't seen any movement in the home, there's no sound, either. We're about to launch a drone to drop a microphone down the chimney and using our technology, we can screen out noises like a furnace or other appliances and try to hear any conversations that may be going on in the home."
"Sounds good. I have a key to the home. I'd like to go inside; I know the layout, see what's really going on in there. Do you have a way of tracking me inside the house?"
"Yeah, there's really smart tech in TARU, let me call him over." Captain Michielson turned to one of his subordinates and requested Shadow, aka Thomas O'Rourke, to come over. Jamie and Eddie joined in the conference and a plan was developed and agreed to. Danny would put on a special vest from ESU and try to approach the back door. An ESU officer and Eddie would back him up from the back yard. While this was happening, other ESU officers would approach both sides of the house and eventually the front as well. Danny approached the back door, unlocked it and stepped inside.
Outside, Maria arrived and was directed to the ESU van for an update. Jamie had seen Maria drive up and was waiting outside the command van. "Jamie, where's Danny? What's going on?"
"Come inside where we can talk." They stepped inside and Jamie introduced her to the captain.
"Danny has just entered the home using the back door. His phone is connected to the ESU line so we can hear whatever is going on but we're on mute so he can't hear anything said here. We've given Danny a tracking device and we've created a floor plan of your home so we can watch him move around." They saw the dot on the screen as he moved through the kitchen.
"No one is in the kitchen, can't see anyone in the living room, either. Proceeding to the baby's room," said Danny very softly. He moved silently around the corner and noticed the nanny sitting on the floor with Elena in her lap. She didn't see Danny in time to warn him. Suddenly, there were sounds of a scuffle and then two gunshots. Maria tried to run out of the ESU Control van, but Jamie held her back.
"We need to hear what's going on. Just wait a moment," said Jamie.
"What if he killed him?" Maria cried.
"Maybe it was Danny who shot him, just wait a moment…" Just then, there was a moan and someone laughing.
"Idiot cop, did you really think you could sneak in here and I wouldn't know it?" Sam kicked Danny in his side and more blood appeared below his vest. "Wonder how long it will take for you to bleed out, cop. You know I don't care if the three of you live or die. I just want that bitch cop that got me sent upstate." Sam turned to the nanny who was trying to get Elena to be quiet. "If you don't shut that brat up, I'll take care of her." He turned toward the nanny and aimed the gun at them.
"If you fire that gun one more time, you won't have time to move before fifty of the best sharpshooters in the state will take you out before you can turn around." Danny was trying to sit up, but blood began flowing under his vest. He moaned loudly hoping that ESU was ready to breach the home. Sam looked around and pulled a lamp from the living room into the nursery. He pulled the wires from the lamp and handed the cord to the nanny telling her to bind his hands together. "Look I'm not gonna try anything here, you don't need to tie me up. I can barely move since you shot me. Let the girl and the baby go and maybe I can talk them into letting Maria come in here."
In the control center, they tried to come up with a plan. After a very heated discussion, they decided to let Maria go into the house, making sure she was wired so the ESU team could hear everything. Jamie and Eddie would dress in EMT uniforms to assess Danny's condition but also to try and take down the perp. "Maria, I'd like you to call the nanny's phone, see if Sam lets her answer," said Captain Michielson. They waited while Maria dialed the number. The nanny heard her phone ring but was afraid to answer it.
Sam grabbed the nanny and pulled the phone out of her pocket, then threw her back on the floor. Elena began to whimper, and Danny tried talking to the baby. "Hey, you, it looks like your boss is calling," said Sam. He leaned over and took the baby out of the nanny's arms. Sam handed the phone to Danny then put the muzzle of the gun up against the skull of the baby. Danny had all he could do to remain still.
"Hey, partner, how are you doing?"
"We heard shots, is anyone hurt?"
"Yeah, Sam jumped me from behind and managed to put two slugs into me. Elena is fine, so far." Danny put the phone down as he appeared to pass out. Sam kicked the phone toward the nanny and told her to pick it up. Annie did so and said hello.
"Talk to her, I want her in here so I can settle this." The nanny just sat there too afraid to move. "Did you hear me, tell her to get her ass in here, now!" Sam waved the gun in the direction of the baby; the nanny spoke to Maria.
"Tengo miedo, él sigue agitando el arma."
(I'm so scared, he keeps waving that gun around)
Maria replied, "Entiendo. Necesito algunas respuestas. ¿Están todos en una habitación?"
(I understand. I need some answers. Are you all in one room?)
"Si, la guarderia."
(Yes, the nursery.)
"Respira hondo, ¿Danny está bien?"
(Take a deep breath. Is Danny okay?)
"No, está sangrando debajo del chaleco. Parece estar debilitándose."
(No, he's bleeding under the vest. He seems to be getting weaker.)
"Está bien, entraré tan pronto como el capitán me dé permiso. Necesito que Danny reciba ayuda y sacarte a ti y a Elena de allí. Tenemos paramédicos aquí, pero necesito convencer a Sam para que los deje entrar y sacar a Danny. Dame unos minutos. Déjame hablar con Sam, por favor."
(Okay, I'm coming in as soon as the captain gives permission. I need to get Danny some help and get you and Elena out of there. We have paramedics here, but I need to convince Sam to let them come in and take Danny out. Give me a few minutes. Let me talk to Sam, please.)
The nanny handed the phone to Sam, "she wants to talk to you, sir."
"Sam, I'll come into the house but before I can do that, I need to get Danny some help. EMT's are here, they'll come in with me and someone will escort the nanny and baby outside. You don't need them. If you hurt them, things won't go well for you. If Danny dies, you'll get a death sentence. He's a Fed as am I."
"But the kid ain't.."
"Sam, if you hurt my daughter, you'll go out in a body bag. You're smarter than that. And if you kill me or Danny or anyone else, I will haunt you for all time. She paused for a moment.
"It's gonna take a few minutes for the EMT's to get what they need to help Danny. We'll call you on the loudspeaker when I start walking toward the house. Now, there will be two people walking with me, but they'll stop when I'm about ten feet from the house."
"Make it quick, my trigger finger is getting itchy." Sam disconnected the call and threw the phone back at the nanny then handed her Elena. He began pacing into and out of the nursery, looking out of the windows around the house. He was scared by the number of vehicles and officers outside but there had to be a way to get his revenge and still get away.
Danny opened his eyes just a bit and looked around. He motioned to the nanny to move closer and whispered to her, "I'm okay but don't let him know. What you see is fake blood. What's going on?"
She moved closer to Danny as if to comfort him. She pulled a blanket off the bed and used it to cover him. "What did you and Maria talk about - I don't speak very much Spanish," he whispered.
"Detective, please stay with us. Maria is going to come into the house and bring people to help you. She wants to get Elena and I out, but I don't know if that will happen. Please, she needs you very much. Sometimes she talks to me about your work and how much she trusts you. And the baby adores you. She's going to need a strong man in her life. Please, hang on!"
Sam wandered into the nursery and the nanny scurried back to where she had been sitting. "What were you doing?"
"I was just telling him that Maria will be coming and will bring help for him. He's very important in her life."
Sam heard someone on the loudspeaker. He looked out the window and saw Maria walking toward the home along with two ESU officers. "Maria is about to head this way," he said to the nanny. He grabbed the nanny's arm and pulled her up to stand next to him. Elena was left, sitting on the floor. "You're gonna stand in front of me. I'm gonna put my arm around your neck and the gun to your head. Do anything and I'll blow your brains out. Comprende?"
The nanny nodded and Sam pulled her into the kitchen. He looked out the window and saw Maria walking towards him still with an officer on either side. Two other people, a man and a woman, were standing next to the man in charge waiting for word for them to help the patient. Maria was nervous but confident that she could get Danny to safety along with the nanny and Elena. Then, she would deal with this idiot. She thought about the change she had made to her will, asking that if she should die, Daniel F. Reagan would become the guardian of her daughter. She slowly counted to one hundred once, twice, three times and she finally made it to a spot in the yard ten feet from the back door. She saw the nanny being held by Sam, the gun to her head. Maria knew but Sam was unaware that several sharpshooters were at the front of the home, their armament fixed on the perp's skull.
While Danny had been lying on the floor Elena began to crawl towards him. He covered her as best he could with the blanket hoping that if she was not in Sam's sight, he wouldn't try to kill her. Maria stopped ten feet from the door. Her guards had their weapons trained on him waiting for an excuse to blow him away. Maria looked around to see that everyone was in place. She called out, "Sam, where's the baby?"
"Back in the bedroom. All I want is you."
"Now I thought we had a deal; you would let the nanny and baby leave and I would come inside."
"Do you really think I'm stupid? No way I could control both this bitch and the kid, too. Now, get your butt in here and I'll let this gringa go. Do it before I count to three or she dies. One, two…"
"Alright, stop. You have to let the EMT's in to take care of Danny; they can take the baby with them, and it will just be you and me."
"Do you really think I give a damn whether a cop lives or dies?"
"He's a federal agent. If he dies, you get the needle and I'll be there to watch."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, so you keep telling me." Sam removed his arm from the neck of his hostage and stepped back, out of sight of the team waiting out front. "Okay, call the medics but I doubt they can save him." Maria turned to the guard on her right and asked him to call the captain and ask for the medical team. Jamie and Eddie, wearing medical uniforms trotted across the back yard but stopped halfway there. They were waiting for the nanny to be released. Their bags contained microphones so the hostage team would know what was happening in the home. Sam motioned to the nanny, "Okay, bitch, go, run away," and the nanny ran for the guards. One ran with her to safety while the second man kept his gun on the perp. The medical team resumed moving toward the home once the young woman was safe with the HNT group. "Okay, Detective, c'mon up here." Maria walked toward the house, but Sam stopped her on the stairs and checked her pockets for any weapons. He pulled a pistol from her coat pocket and used it to pistol whip her. "Guess you thought you'd get the jump on me. I wasn't born yesterday, idiot!" Sam then dragged Maria inside and put the gun to her head. He waved the medical team in and then closed and locked the door. He jammed a chair under the door handle making entry even more difficult.
While Jamie and Eddie waited to be sent in, they received some quick instructions in taking vital signs, starting an IV and keeping the patient from going into shock. They also worked on a few specific words that would sound ominous, but their real meaning would indicate Danny's true condition. If Danny was not injured, Jamie would call and request that the priest be sent in. But if he was injured and needed real medical assistance he would ask for assistance from the commissioner. Maria moved toward the room where Danny was on the floor, but Sam pulled her back, put his arm around her neck and the gun to her head. "I can only die once so it doesn't make much difference if you die, he dies or you both die!"
"Okay, I've got a pulse of seventy, respiration at 10, BP is 90 over 50. Call that in, please, Janko?" asked Jamie. Eddie picked up her comm unit and reported the vitals. They were given instructions to start an IV in each arm and to get him to the ambulance STAT. As Jamie began the IV set up, he saw his brother start to twitch every time Jamie touched him. Jamie looked into Danny's eyes and realized he was awake! Jamie was able to determine that Danny had not been really injured; he looked at Eddie and told her to request a priest be summoned.
Frank had come on the scene but was unable to do anything except wait for the situation to play out. Both medical bags contained a small pistol. They were useless at any distance but with the perp being only six feet away, they could take him out easily. Eddie reached into her medical bag and pulled out her device, hid it in the palm of her hand and Jamie did the same.
"Ma'am," Jamie said to Maria, "he's going fast. If you have any last words for your partner, you might want to come down here and whisper in his ear. I'm not sure he can hear you but…"
Maria pulled away from Sam and knelt next to Danny's head. "If you ever get up from this floor," she whispered, "you had better run as fast as you can, Danny Boy. I will catch you and when I do, we're going to have a long chat. You ever scare me like this again and I'll…" Jamie and Eddie pulled out their weapons and knocked Sam down; his gun flew across the room. Jamie restrained him while Eddie pulled out her cuffs and applied them to his wrists. Jamie called out the code for a suspect in custody, situation under control on his radio. Then he added that Danny was fine so that Frank could stop worrying. Maria helped Danny sit up and Elena crawled into his lap. Maria hugged him as the tears rolled down his cheeks and he embraced Elena. Members of the ESU team swarmed over the house, removing the perp. After sweeping through the home and not finding anyone else in the building, the real paramedics came in to assess the hostages.
"But where did all the blood come from?" Maria asked.
"One of the guys in HNT did some work on a movie and helped the special effects guys put little bags filled with fake blood on the inside of the vest. So, every time Sam kicked me or hit me, more red stuff came out. He did shoot at me which made even more fake blood come out but I'm fine. I promise." All the strange people coming and going had been scaring Elena and she crawled off Danny's lap into a far corner of the bedroom. Maria picked her up and cuddled with her, but she only wanted Danny, crying out, "da-da, da-da."
The captain updated Frank regarding the status of the hostages. The nanny was fine, physically but was struggling to regain control of her emotions; she might need to see a therapist. Danny and Maria were also checked out. Danny had a large bruise from the one bullet that hit his vest. Maria had the more serious injury, and it was strongly suggested that she be taken, forthwith, to the nearest medical facility. Danny stood there not sure what he should do. There were reports each of them had to write but he felt he should be at the hospital with his partner. Frank walked into the house and took charge. Jamie and Eddie would return to their precinct to write up the incident regarding their actions. He asked Danny to pack a bag for the baby for the next twenty-four hours. Maria would be taken by the paramedics to the nearest medical facility and Danny would meet her there for his examination. Then, while waiting for Maria, he could work on his report. Frank spent several minutes trying to soothe the baby and asked about the condition of the nanny. She came back into the house having been released by the medical team. She helped Danny finish gathering things for Elena.
"I'm sorry but I don't even know your name, miss?" asked Danny.
"My name is Anita Carmelita de Guzman, but you can call me Annie. Is Ms. Baez injured?"
"Sam, the bad guy, hit her with a pistol so she's on her way to be checked out." Just then Frank walked up to Danny.
"Is this the nanny?" asked Frank.
"Yes, Dad, this is Anita, but Maria has been calling her Annie. Annie, this is my father, Frank Reagan, who is also the police commissioner."
"What is to happen now? What about Elena?" the nanny asked.
"Well, if you don't mind, I would like to take you and the baby someplace safe and where you will both be protected. We have a room set up for the baby complete with a crib, changing table and a bed for you if you'd like to rest. There's also an en suite for you to use. We have a few toys for her but if you know her favorites, you might want to pack them up. You've had quite an experience today. You won't be alone, my father is there and if you need someone to talk to, he's a great listener. He always has advice to offer and sometimes it's pretty good advice. There will be police there for the foreseeable future."
"I wouldn't want to be a bother; the baby and I can stay here…"
"First, it would be a pleasure to have you and the baby stay with us. Maria may rest easier knowing that both of you will be protected. And it may also convince my son to get the care he needs at the hospital. Why don't you pack a few things for yourself as well. Then, if you could put food, formula, toys, and clothes for Elena in a bag; we won't have to guess what she needs. We can stop by the hospital and check in on Maria, if you like. And of course, you can call your family so they know you are safe."
"Thank you, sir. It will take me a few moments to get things together." Annie turned and went to her room to gather her things. Frank took Danny out the front door where his ride was waiting to take him to the hospital. When Annie came back, she pulled out several jars of baby food, the open container of powdered formula, several bottles and spoons for the baby as well as her favorite toys. Frank called Sean to update him regarding his father and to ask him to go to the family home and bring the highchair upstairs, clean it and put it in the kitchen so that it would be there for dinner tonight.