There was only one bar of reception showing on her display, and it was flashing. She nearly choked on her words, unwanted emotion rising. “I’m still here, Jeb. I’m still in Gilchrist.”
“No, Bee. Everybody got out. They let everyone go.”
Saying it was like confessing that she was in trouble, and she did not want to confess anything to him. “We didn’t make it,” she said.
“We? Who’s we?”
She faced the rest to include them in the conversation. “My literary agent,” she told them.
“The people I was staying with at the inn,” she said into the phone. “We’re at a golf course — a country club.”
“A country club? Don’t you know what’s happened?”
“We know, Jeb. There’s a TV here.”
“Okay. And you’re okay?”
“We walked all night.”
“Okay. How do we get you out of there?”
“I don’t know,” she said, emotion rising again.
“Okay. This isn’t good. Who have you talked to? Have you talked to anybody?”
“No one. No one knows we’re here. It needs to stay that way, Jeb.”
“Okay.” The negotiating side of him had kicked in. “The Unabomer book I did with what’s-his-name at the FBI, the special agent in charge of something. Ginnie!” He was calling his assistant. “What’s that noise, Bee?”
Her phone was beeping. “Shit. My battery.”
“Get me a land line number there. Is there a phone? I’ll have somebody from the FBI call you back in ten minutes.”
This was what Jeb did best: reassurance, hand-holding. Rebecca sent Coe to the reception desk for the phone number.
“Bee — I don’t know what to say. You’re okay there? These people you’re with?”
“Yes,” she said.
“And you did meet with Trait?”
“I met with him.”
“This is very big. Hugely big, if we can get you out of there.”
Coe had the number and Rebecca repeated it to Jeb. The line went dead before he could respond. She was left holding a dead telephone, yet something made her pretend he was still on the line for the sake of the others. “Okay. I’ll be waiting. Right. Okay.”
She collapsed the phone and dropped it into her bag. The others waited.
“Let’s keep that main line open,” she said. “The FBI will be calling in a couple of minutes.”
Smiles, a surge of relief and hope — exactly what she had wanted.
Coe said, with awe, “The FBI?”
“Oh, thank God!” Darla exhaled.
Kells came down off the hall step, moving slowly to the hearth. He had everyone’s attention. “They won’t be able to do anything,” he said.
Something popped in the fire. Fern’s anxiety was beginning to show. “Why would you say a thing like that?”
Terry said, “Yeah, what do you know?”
Kells said, “We’re on the wrong side of the fence here.”
His manner put everyone off. He was squandering their hope. Rebecca stepped up for the others. “Look, I’ve met many of these agents. I’ve seen them in action. You’d be amazed by what they can do.”
“They’ve already been outmaneuvered. Trait is a terrorist now, and even if the U.S. negotiated with terrorists — which it does not — there is no need for Trait to negotiate anything because he is in total control of this situation. He has taken the entire country hostage with one bold stroke.”
“He’s impressed!” said Terry.
The telephone rang on the reception desk. Rebecca answered it as the others — except for Kells, who remained at the fire — gathered near.
The voice said, “Is this Rebecca Loden?”
It was a male voice. Rebecca was cautious. “Who is this?”
“My name is Sam Raleigh, I’m with the FBI.”
Rebecca turned and nodded to the others. “Yes,” she said. “This is Rebecca Loden.”
“The author?”
“Yes.”
“Sony — I was just handed this phone number. Can you tell me where are you, Ms. Loden?”
“At the country club. The golf course in town.”
“In Gilchrist, Vermont.”
“That’s right. There are eleven of us, we walked here. We were all staying at the Gilchrist Country Inn. We were watching the riot on TV, and then they started to take over the town. We packed up and walked here.” Strange pride in recounting this now.
“To a golf course?”
“It’s new, it’s not on the map. We’re guessing the prisoners don’t know about it yet.”
“I see,” he said, obviously surprised. “That’s good.”
“Are you in charge?”
“I am a crisis negotiator, I am assigned to this case.”
She said, “So there are negotiations?”
“No. Not yet.”
The others saw the answer in her face. Terry pushed through to the desk. “Tell him we want out,” he said.
“What was that?” said Raleigh.
Rebecca turned away from Terry. “Can you help us?”
“Do you have a radio or television there?”
“Yes,” she said. “We just watched Trait. We heard what he said.”
“They’ve closed off all the roads. I don’t know if you know. We learned from some of the released hostages this morning, they were collecting all the weapons they could find in town.”
Rebecca repeated to the rest: “They’ve taken all the weapons.”
Quiet alarm. Even Kells turned his head at that one.
Raleigh said, “Do you have any weapons?”
“Yes — one.” She wasn’t sure about Kells’s gun yet.
“One. Okay. Any climbing gear perhaps?”
“Not really.”
“I was just wondering if you were thinking about trying to escape. The snow right now would make for a treacherous ascent. Are you reasonably comfortable where you are?”
“For now.”
“Because it sounds like you’re in a pretty secure situation there. Probably the best position you could be in, considering the circumstances. I want to advise you strongly against attempting any escape at this time. The thing you most want to avoid is antagonizing the prisoners in any way. I’m sure you understand why...”
“The ricin.”
“Yes. We are taking this threat very, very seriously. There are thousands of lives at stake, apart from your own. You’ve got a good-sized group there. How many men?”
He was taking notes, which for some reason comforted her. “Five men, five women. A seventeen-year-old boy.”
“Okay. Let me work out a few things here. My advice to you right now is to sit tight—”
“For how long?”
“Hard to say just now.”
“What about a rescue attempt?”
“Impossible, given the current weather conditions and the fact that any incursion on our part would be perceived as a hostile action.”
“You could do something. There’s only a fraction of the prisoners left. You can sneak in some sort of Delta Team squad to take them out.”
“It is much too early to decide anything, but even if we wanted to consider that, there is a constitutional problem here. Something called the Posse Comitatus Act forbids the use of armed force against U.S. citizens by federal troops, except by a special act of Congress.”
“These aren’t citizens,” said Rebecca. “They’re criminals. Terrorists.”
“Yes, but unfortunately it seems the town incorporated the prisoners into the population a few years ago, for tax reasons. They are legal residents of Gilchrist.”
She was exasperated. “So? What about the penitentiary? That’s federal property.”
“The president could issue a proclamation to disperse, but the only people occupying that facility now are basically dead men. Trait is right: There is no cure.” Raleigh took a breath. “I have to do a difficult thing here, Ms. Loden. I have to ask you and your friends to wait. I understand how you must feel. But let me marshal resources here on my end. It might take a little time, but know that you have the full resources of the FBI and the U.S. government on your side. We will find a way to get you out, if you folks can just bear with us. I will call you back as soon as I can.”