AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm back! I'll return to posting one chapter a week until December.
Also, thank you Anonymous Guest for the review!
Chapter 159: The Negotiation.
"Two days and one appalling night, during which his nerves had been stretched to their limit."
-SelkieShore, A Hero Comes Home
After Debbie and Lucy had returned to the barn, the others remained outside, trying to think of a way to save the last remaining hostage.
-"There seems to be only one way out of this," Walker said. "We do what the kidnapper asked, and drop the charges against Banks Anya."
-"Are you sure there's no other way?" officer Dusty asked. "These people are a threat to society, I don't want them to get away with this."
-"Sometimes, letting the kidnappers go free is the only way to rescue the hostages," Beaumont said. "If they can be arrested too, that's good, but Mr Cane's life is the most important thing now."
-"Besides, they could still be prosecuted afterwards," Hazel C said.
-"Lying to the kidnappers would only put Mr Cane at risk, as well as possible future hostages."
-"It wouldn't be a lie. The kidnapper asked for specific charges to be dropped; we don't know the details because of the paperwork. He didn't say anything about OTHER charges."
Beaumont thought it over for a few moments, and looked at his crew, as everyone processed Hazel C's suggestion.
-"So, am I still needed here, or..." the judge said.
-"As a matter of fact, yes," Beaumont said. "We'll contact the kidnappers again, and you will tell them that the charges mentioned won't be pressed."
-"I can't do that, it's the police who is supposed to do that."
-"That is true, but the kidnapper specifically asked for you. It'll carry more weight if you relay the message."
The judge sighed.
-"If I do that, THEN can I go back to court?"
-"Yes."
-"Let's get this over with, then."
The video connection with the kidnappers was re-established. The camera remained focused on the kidnapper, but in the background, it was possible to see shrimp littering the floor; Anya was trying to remove the last few pieces still stuck in her hair.
-"What now?"
-"We've agreed to your demands," the judge said.
-"You have?" The kidnapper's expression changed from annoyance to cheerfulness. "No fare evasion charges then?"
-"Was all this madness over something so silly as fare evasion?" the judge mumbled, horrified that such a victimless crime had escalated into a kidnapping. "No fare evasion charges."
-"No murder charges?"
-"Wait, nobody said anything about any murder!"
-"That's because I didn't kill anyone!" Anya said.
-"You didn't?" The other kidnapper seemed momentarily surprised. "Oh right, of course not." He turned back to the camera. "Still, though, no murder charges?"
-"We can't charge people over something that didn't happen." The judge was losing patience, and had to restrain himself not to start shouting at the kidnappers.
-"So we're clear, then?"
-"Yes?" The judge was unsure exactly what the question meant.
-"Perfect!" The kidnapper muted the music, then turned to the farmer. "So, cowman..."
-"Why are you calling me 'cowman'?" the farmer asked. "There are no cows at this farm."
-"Quit it, cowman, that's a formal warning. You're free to go."
-"I'm what?"
-"You're free to go. Now hurry up and leave before I change my mind."
The farmer could not understand why the kidnapper was suddenly ready to let him go; nevertheless, he did run out of the building, leaving only the two kidnappers inside.
Banks Anya remained sitting in the chair. This turn of events had left her very surprised, but she also seemed pleased.
-"When you said you would help me get away with my crimes, I really didn't expect this," she finally said. "What you did was beyond crazy. I've never seen anyone act so recklessly before. But, somehow, it actually worked out in the end. Thank you."
-"Hey, no problem." The second kidnapper finally gave Anya her phone back, putting it in her pocket. "We'll go into town and get some shrimp to celebrate."
-"Why are you so obsessed with shrimp?"
-"I'll explain on the way."
They both walked out of the house, holding hands. As they saw saw the crowd gathered outside, however, the man frowned.
-"You lot are still here?" the man said. "You can go now, it's over, the hostages are safe."
-"We're not quite done yet, there are a few more things we need to take care of," Beaumont said.
-"Do it, then. Now, if you don't mind, I'll go drive my friend into town..."
-"No you won't," officer Dusty said. "You're under arrest."
-"What's this? You said all charges were dropped!"
-"You misunderstood," Dusty explained. "You're not getting charged for the fare evasion, attempted arson, or whatever happened on that train. But the deal didn't say anything about OTHER crimes. Therefore, you are under arrest for kidnapping, attempted murder, stealing the police car, obstruction of justice, and probably other stuff too, we'll figure it out back at the station."
Before the kidnapper had the opportunity to react, he was handcuffed.
-"Also murder," Lucy said. "He killed Duster."
-"I'm sorry," officer Dusty said. "While that was really evil, there's nothing illegal about killing a dog."
-"There should be!"
-"I'm afraid there's nothing I can do about that at the moment." He turned back to the man he had just arrested. "Anyway, what IS your name? I need it for the paperwork."
-"I plead the Fifth," the kidnapper said, causing the judge to cringe.
-"This is England, there is no Fifth Amendment here," Dusty said. "Whatever, we'll sort that out at the station too."
Officer Dusty lowered him into the back seat of the police car, then turned back Anya.
-"You're under arrest too."
-"Hey, I didn't do anything! It was all him!"
-"You can still be charged as an accessory."
-"You great big jerk! Go away and come back later, you moron!"
Despite her insults, officer Dusty pulled out another pair of handcuffs, only to realize that this was unnecessary, as she already had some around her writs. She soon found herself sitting inside the police car alongside the other kidnapper.
-"A minute ago, you were thanking me for my help, and now you're ready to throw me to the wolves," the latter said. "Typical."
After hearing all the noise, Debbie and Lucy went outside to see what was happening. Upon seeing the kidnappers in the police car, Debbie felt relieved, and turned to Beaumont and his team.
-"I just want to thank you all for saving my daughter," she said. "And saving him too, I guess," she added, referring to her husband.
-"No problem," Beaumont said. "It's what we do."
Lucy timidly shook hands with everyone; Debbie did so afterwards.
The farmer's reaction was very different. He went and hugged every member of Beaumont's team uncomfortably tightly, plus Dusty and Hazel C.
-"I really appreciate what you did for me and Lucy!" he then said excitedly. "Even if you couldn't stop the music." He reached into his pocket and pulled out several cards, handing them over to everyone. "You're all invited to my Christmas party!"
Debbie facepalmed, embarrassed at the man she had married. Lucy merely shook her head.
-"Dad, Christmas is months away."
-"So what? No harm in planning ahead!"
-"You've already invited over 50 people, including some complete strangers."
-"Uh, we appreciate the invitation," Beaumont said, "but I don't know if we'll be able to make it. Our jobs as negotiators comes with an unpredictable schedule."
-"Oh, it's fine," the farmer said. "But if you're in the country when the time comes, don't hesitate to drop by!"
Beaumont and his team packed up their equipment and carried it back to their van. Walker stopped in front of officer Dusty, handing him a pen.
-"May we have your email address, so we could send you our final report once we have finished it?"
Officer Dusty wrote down the address on the back side of the invitation to the Christmas party, and handed it back to her.
-"Thank you. We'll be in touch."
After all the equipment was packed, the four professionals got ready to leave. At the last moment, Zara whispered something in Dusty's ear.
-"You'll probably want to investigate the wife, to see if she did hire the kidnappers."
He nodded; after a final handshake, she joined the rest of the team inside the van, and they drove off. Hazel C then departed in her own vehicle.
-"Hey!" the judge shouted. "Won't anyone give me a ride back to court?"
-"Uh, I suppose I could," officer Dusty said, sitting down in the driver's seat of the police car. "But you'll have to sit in the back with the criminals."
The judge grimaced in disgust, but he was left with no choice but to accept the offer. Soon, the last few people had left, with only the farmer, Lucy and Debbie remaining (and also Tabitha the cat, who had slept throughout the entire incident).
With the vehicles gone, the farmer and his wife were finally able to see the extent of the damage to the garden. It was worse than they had expected: everything was destroyed. They would have no option but to start over. Not today, though: after everything they had just been through, they just wanted to rest.
-"Shall we go back inside?"
All three did so. Debbie, who had not been inside the farm house since the flood, was left horrified when she saw the damage.
-"Oh! What a bloody mess!"
-"Bloody is right..." Lucy said, looking at Duster's lifeless body on the remains of the carpet.