Chapter 19 #2
Sandra feared he had lost his touch with reality. Something had shifted his mentality. Had it been shooting Edward? For another reason? He just didn’t sound like the man she spoke to earlier in the day. “I understand. Your message needs to get out. Just send Abram through the front gate.”
“He’s coming out.” With that, Ryan hung up.
As she set her headset on the hook, she noticed Kreiger was back in the vehicle. She’d been so focused on Ryan she hadn’t noticed he’d returned. Even the smell of cigarettes on his clothing hadn’t announced him.
Gibson got up and wrote on the markerboard.
Requesting press conference inside for TV, live broadcast
Kreiger flailed an arm toward the board. “There is no way we’re bringing in the press. No way. Not with an active shooter on scene.”
The volume of his voice raised Sandra’s hackles, and she wasn’t easily provoked. Somehow Kreiger found a way through her armor with little effort. She talked herself down before speaking. “You know how this works. We make him think he’s getting what he wants, he complies—”
“Then we screw him over and everyone inside is dead,” Kreiger said, laying out the worst outcome.
“Ideally not.” She met his gaze, hoping it would bring back their conversation from a moment ago.
“I’ve got a bad feeling… Here.” He smacked his chest.
“Well, there’s no way we can send members of the real press in there,” Neal began. “We could send in undercover ERT officers.”
“Nope.” Kreiger shook his head. “I’m not risking things taking a sideways turn. Even if it doesn’t turn into a firefight, this guy could wind up with more hostages. If this guy wants the interview so badly, he comes outside for it.”
Sandra imagined the plan forming in the lieutenant’s mind. Snipers would be positioned and on standby to take the shot. Before she or anyone else could weigh in on what Kreiger said, Neal’s phone rang.
“And what’s he doing for us?” Kreiger countered just as Gibson finished writing another note.
Agreed to release Abram Duke
“Lieutenant Coleman,” Neal answered. “Ah, Officer Moore. Putting you on speaker.”
“Hello, everyone. I just spoke with Ryan’s boss at the pub. There are some things you should know.” As she laid them out, the team looked at each other.
Moore’s update confirmed Sandra’s recent observations about Ryan.
He was out of touch. Now, she could speculate more easily as to why things had changed.
Was he drinking? Possibly dealing with auditory hallucinations?
“Officer Moore, this is Special Agent Vos. Your findings are more relevant than you might have imagined. Thank you.”
“Just doing my job, ma’am. Anything else, Lieutenant Coleman?”
“We’ll have some other stops for you soon. Secretaries who work, or have worked, at Hanson Property Development. The minute I have details, I’ll pass them along to you.” Neal shot Gibson a look, and Sandra remembered he was supposed to be finding out more information on them a while ago.
“I’ll be ready when you are, sir.” With that, she was gone.
“I have the feeling our hostage taker has been drinking in there.” Sandra didn’t wait a second to share her thoughts. Negotiation was a team effort. “He is all over the spectrum of emotions, something we mentioned before. A chemical imbalance caused by the alcohol wouldn’t be helping things.”
“And he might be off his meds,” Monica put in.
“And that,” Sandra agreed.
“Add to that, now he’s shot someone,” Monica said. “That can’t help things either. It could make him more desperate.”
Sandra nodded. “Whatever is all at play, his switch from wanting us to discover the truth to suddenly wanting to disclose it himself in a public arena is drastic. It’s like he’s trying to speed things along by attempting to control the situation.”
“Liquid courage and delusions. Not good territory,” Kreiger said. “He carried through on the threat against Edward Hanson by shooting the guy. But is that where it stops?”
It took Sandra less than a second to get his reference to the X scrawled over his face in that newspaper article.
Kreiger continued. “I’m probably not the only person in this vehicle who isn’t shocked by this turn of events.
I know you want more time to talk him down, Vos, but I’m not so confident this ends well.
I’m going to get a jump on things, make sure snipers are lined up, see if I can get some ERT officers to volunteer to go undercover as reporters.
If he actually follows through and releases the security guard, you tell him what the arrangements will be.
Outside, on our turf.” With that Kreiger stormed out of the vehicle, slamming the door behind him so hard it rocked the vehicle.
No one said anything in his wake. They probably all saw his side.
Sandra did. But she also had compassion for Ryan Crawford.
His life had been one hardship after another, only to find out how he’d been lied to all his life.
Anyone in his position would struggle to keep their sanity and sobriety.
Convincing him to surrender was going to be a challenge despite all her experience.