“He’s shooting at your people because he thinks they’re assaulting the house, Martin. You’re violating my agreement with him.”
“This scene now belongs to me. You handed off control.”
“Pull back your people, Martin. Just relax. Nothing is going on in there.”
Talley keyed the P.A. mike again.
“Dennis, take it easy in there. Please. Just pick up the phone.”
“Hicks!”
Hicks leaned into the car past Talley and jerked the mike plug from its jack.
Talley’s head was throbbing. He felt caught in a vise.
“Let me talk to him, Captain. Order your people to stand down, and let me talk to him. If it’s too far gone you can breach, but right now let me try. Tell her, Maddox.”
Martin glared at Maddox, who nodded at her. He looked embarrassed.
“He’s right, Captain. Let’s not get too aggressive here. If Talley made a deal, we have to honor it or this guy isn’t going to trust me any further than a cat can shit a walnut.”
Martin glared at him so hard that she seemed to be trying to cook him with her eyes. She glanced at Hicks, then bit out the words.
“Pull back.”
Hicks, looking uncomfortable, plugged the P.A. plug back into its jack, then mumbled orders into his tactical mike.
Talley turned back to the house.
“Pick up the phone, Dennis. We made a screwup out here, but we are not coming into that house. Check it out. The perimeter is pulling back. Check it out and talk to me.”
Talley held the cell phone to his ear, counting the rings. It rang fourteen times, fifteen …
Finally, Rooney answered, screaming.
“You fuck! You fuckin’ lied to me! I’ve got a fuckin’ gun to this kid’s head right here! We’ve got these people! We’ll fuckin’ kill’m, you fuck!”
Talley spoke over him, his voice loud and forceful so that Rooney would hear him, but not strident. It was important to appear in control even when you weren’t.
“They’re pulling back. They are pulling back, Dennis. Look. You see the officers pulling back?”
The sounds of movement came over the phone. Talley guessed that Rooney had a cordless and was watching the tactical team at the rear of the property.
“Yeah. I guess. They’re going back over the wall.”
“I didn’t lie to you, Dennis. It’s over now, okay? Don’t hurt anyone.”
“We’ll burn this fuckin’ place down, you try to come in here. We’ve got gasoline all good to go, Talley. You try to come in and this place is going to burn.”
Talley locked eyes with Maddox. Rooney booby-trapping the house with gasoline was a bad turn; if he was creating a situation dangerous to the hostages, it could justify a preemptive breach of the house.
“Don’t do anything to endanger yourself or those children, Dennis. For your own sake and for the sake of the innocents in there. This kind of thing can create problems.”
“Then stay on the other side of that wall. You assholes try to come get us and this place is gonna burn.”
Talley muted the phone while Dennis answered to warn Maddox about the gasoline. Maddox relayed the information to the tactical team. If Rooney was telling the truth about the gasoline, firing tear gas or flash-bang grenades into the house could ignite an inferno.
“No one is coming in. We screwed up, is all. Some new guys came out and we got our wires crossed, but I didn’t lie to you. I wouldn’t do that.”
“You fuckin’ well did screw up, dude! Jesus!”
The tension lessened in Rooney’s voice, and, with it, Talley felt the vise ease its grip. If Rooney was talking, he wouldn’t shoot.
“What’s the status in there, Dennis? You didn’t hurt anyone, did you?”
“Not yet.”
“Those shots you fired, they were out of the house?”
“I’m not saying I fired anything. You’re saying that, not me. I know you’re recording this.”
“No one needs a doctor?”
“You’re gonna need a doctor, you try this shit again.”
Talley took a deep breath. It was done; they were past the crisis. Talley glanced at Martin. She looked irritated, but attentive.
Talley muted the receiver again.
“He’s calming down. I think now would be a good time for the handoff.”
Martin glanced at Maddox.
“You ready?”
“I’m ready.”
Martin nodded at Talley.
“Go.”
Talley uncovered his phone.
“Dennis, have you been thinking about what we talked about earlier?”
“I got a lot on my mind.”
“I’m sure. It was good advice, what I said.”
“Whatever.”
Talley lowered his voice, trying to sound like what he was about to say was just between them, guy to guy.
“Can I tell you something of a personal nature?”
“What?”
“I gotta piss real bad.”
Rooney laughed. Just like that, and Talley knew that the handoff would work. He made his voice relaxed, putting a friendly spin on it, indicating that everything that was about to happen was the most natural thing in the world and beyond all objection. Rooney was just as relieved to be past this hump as Talley.
“Dennis, I’m going to take a break out here. You see all the new people we have?”
“You got a thousand guys out there. Of course I see’m.”
“I’m going to put an officer named Will Maddox on the line. You scared me so bad that I’ve gotta go clean my shorts, you know? So Maddox will be here on the line if you want to talk or if you need anything.”
“You’re a funny guy, Talley.”
“Here he is, Dennis. You stay cool in there.”
“I’m cool.”
Talley handed the phone to Maddox, who introduced himself with a warm, mellow voice.
“Hey, Dennis. You should’ve seen ol’ Jeff out here. I think he crapped his pants.”
Talley didn’t listen to any more. The rest of it would be up to Maddox. He slumped down onto the street and leaned against the car, feeling drained.
He glanced at Martin, and found her watching him. She duck-walked over, and hunkered on the pavement beside him, then searched his eyes for a moment as if she were trying to find the right words. Her face softened.
“You were right. I got in a hurry and screwed up.”
Talley admired her for saying it.
“We survived.”
“So far.”
THOMAS
After the screaming, after those frantic moments when Thomas thought that Dennis would shoot him in the head as he was threatening, Jennifer glared at him and said one word.
“Don’t.”
No one heard but Thomas; Dennis was pacing and talking to himself, Kevin following Dennis with his eyes the way a nervous dog will watch its master. They were in the office, the TV on, just now reporting that shots had been fired in the house. Dennis stopped to watch, suddenly laughing.
“Jesus, but that was close. Jesus Christ.”
Kevin crossed his arms, rocking nervously.
“What are we going to do? We can’t get away now. They’re all around the house. They’re even in the neighbor’s yard.”
Dennis’s face darkened, and he snapped.
“I don’t know, Kevin. I don’t know. We’ll figure out something.”
“We should give up.”
“Shut up!”
Thomas rubbed his neck, thinking he might yak. Dennis had carried him down to the office by the neck, an arm hooked around his throat in a headlock, squeezing so hard that Thomas couldn’t breathe. Jennifer came over and knelt by him, making as if to help him, but pinching his arm, instead, her whisper angry and frightened.
“You see? You see? You almost got caught!”
She went to their father.
Mars returned from elsewhere in the house, his arms filled with big white candles. Without saying a word, he lit one, dripped wax on the television, seated the base in the wax. He moved to the bookcase, did it again. Dennis and Kevin were coming apart, but Thomas thought that Mars looked content.
Dennis finally noticed.