Chapter
11
Howie
almost had a heart attack when his phone rang. He let out a small yelp, and
scrambled to keep from dropping it. Kevin and Nick leapt to their feet in
alarm. Howie fumbled with the phone for a moment, trying to get a look at the
caller ID
“Answer
it, dumbass!” Nick shouted.
“Give
him a second. He’s trying to see what number comes up,” Kevin reprimanded.
Nick
muttered something under his breath and kicked a rock. It did nothing to vent
his anger. An officer standing near them heard the commotion, and walked
quickly over to them.
“What
is it?”
“We
think whoever is inside there might be calling on this phone.”
“It’s
A.J.’s number,” Howie said, his breath catching in
his throat.
“Than
answer it!” Nick cried, resisting the urge to strangle him.
Howie
did.
“Hello?”
“We’re
not giving up the hostages, so you might as well quit trying.”
Howie’s
face went white. The cop reached over and grabbed it away from him before he
could answer. He was annoyed, but thankful, because he wasn’t sure if he could
have spoken to him if he tried.
“Who
is this?” he demanded.
“That’s
not important. What is important is that I am holding five people hostage in
here, and unless we get what we want they are all going to wind up dead.”
“Ok,
lets stay calm here. Our priority here is the safety of the hostages. Are all
of them all right? Do any of them need medical attention?”
“It
doesn’t matter. No one’s getting it, because no one is coming in here.”
“What
is it you want?”
“Sixty
grand and a way out of the country. Add ten thousand for every person I have to
kill because you couldn’t get your shit together.”
“That’s
a tall order.”
“Take
it or leave it.”
“What
happens if we leave it?”
“Well,
you may be able to take us out, but I can promise you that there will be five
others laid out right behind us. And I don’t think you want that. Face it, we
don’t have many options here, so if we go out, we’re going to take as many
people as we can with us, understand?”
“Can
you identify the hostages?”
“Two
men, three women.”
“Do
any of them need medical attention?” the officer repeated.
“One.
But forget trying to send someone in. That’s against the rules.”
“Who
is injured?”
Howie,
Nick, and Kevin froze at this question.
“Can
I talk to one of the hostages?”
“No.”
“You’re
asking us for an awful lot. It would be a nice gesture if we could talk to one
of the hostages. Perhaps the owner of the phone?”
“Let
me talk to him,” Howie said urgently. The officer waved him away sharply.
“I
want to talk to him damnit! It’s my fucking phone you’re using.”
“Can
we speak to a hostage?” he repeated. “A token of goodwill on your part? It
might make it easier to meet your demands if you are willing to cooperate.”
“Fine.”
“Give
me the damn phone,” Howie hissed.
The
cop shit him a killer look, but handed him the phone. “Find out as much information
as you can, understand?”
“Yes,”
Howie growled, snatching the phone away from him.
“Hello?”
he said anxiously. “A.J.?”
“Howie?”
a familiar voice came over the line.
“Oh
thank God.” Howie felt like crying, he was so happy to hear his friend’s voice.
“Are y’all ok? What’s going on in there?”
“Easy
D. Brian and I are ok.” Howie sighed in relief. A.J. sounded as if he were a
thousand miles away, rather than just a few feet.
“We’ve
got problems though. A girl in here got shot, and she needs help. Brian’s under
orders to keep her alive, but right now it doesn’t look too good.”
A.J.
did a masterful job of keeping the tremor out of his voice, but Howie had known
him for too long. He could tell when his friend was scared, and right now he
was terrified.
“What
does it look like in there?”
“They’re
keeping us all…” He was cut off suddenly, and Howie could hear a scuffle going
on over possession of the phone.
“No!”
Howie yelped. “A.J., are you there?”
The
cop seized the phone, wrestling it out of Howie’s panicked hands.
“A.J.!”
Kevin
reacted swiftly, stepping in between the two of them. He clamped his hands down
onto Howie’s shoulder, pushing him away from the others.
“Howie!”
he bellowed, shaking him. He put his face directly his. “It’s going to be ok.
They are going to be all right!”
Howie
stared up at him for a moment, and then shoved Kevin’s arms away.
“Damn
it,” he swore. He walked a few feet away, resting his elbow in one hand while
putting the other up to his face. Kevin started towards him, but then thought
better of it. Howie was ok. He was not happy, but he was ok.
Nick
stared back and forth between them and the cop.
“Will
somebody please tell me what the hell is going on!” he yelled finally.
***
