Chapter 40 #2
Brayden was staring at Ryan’s profile and started wheezing. He batted Ryan away as he tried to tighten his hold on him.
“Oh, my, is he all right?” Emilia asked, continuing to put on an admirable performance.
“He’s fine. He’s just having a—”
“He won’t be fine unless he gets his puffer, Ryan,” Sandra cut through. “You can prove yourself the better person here.”
Seconds ticked off before Ryan reached into a pocket. “I’m just getting his puffer.” He kept his movements slow and came out with the inhaler and handed it to Brayden.
During the exchange, Brayden drew away from Ryan, putting several feet between them. The distance would allow space for him to be snatched away by an officer.
“Stop right there!” Ryan pulled a gun.
Several officers did the same. All but Sandra. She kept hers holstered.
Time passed slowly as she stood there peering into Ryan’s eyes. Just by holding the space, she hoped to calm his nerves, let him feel safe. His shoulders loosened.
“Everyone, stand down,” she called out.
To their credit, the undercover officers never broke form.
“What you just did right now, Ryan, was a kind thing. Noble,” Sandra told him.
“He wasn’t supposed to run off,” he sneered, glancing over at the boy.
He was being seen into the back of an ambulance.
“Well, now he’s getting the help he needs,” Sandra told him. “You’re here to break the mold.”
“What do you mean?”
Sandra was approaching this entirely from Ryan’s perspective. It was the only way to succeed at negotiation. “You’re Timothy Hanson’s child.”
“What of it?” His tone became defensive and on edge.
“That makes you a Hanson.”
Ryan shook his head. “I’m nothing like them.”
“You possess many admirable qualities.” Sandra spoke while keeping a close eye on the gun in his hand.
“That I got from my mother.”
“I can understand that. Mothers are gifts to cherish.” Thoughts of Margo crept in. It was crazy to think that just last month Sandra was preparing herself to say goodbye. “You loved your mother very much. I can tell. Is that right?”
“That’s right.”
His agreement confirmed he felt understood. “Ashley Hanson and Martha Carmichael might be good mothers too. Do you know much about them?”
Ryan shook his head. His hand holding the gun wavered.
“Their children could have inherited some positive traits from them like you did from your mother. Unless Ashley and Martha are, or were, rapists or killers too…”
Ryan shrugged.
Sandra continued. “I doubt they are or were. They probably did their best to raise their children and protect them from harm. Just like your mother, Ryan. And Edward isn’t only his father’s son.
He’s his mother’s too. See, it’s like Ms. Rose said, you can choose what you want to be in this life, Ryan. You, no one else.”
“Yes. My decision. No one else’s,” he parroted and paced in a circle, the gun now up toward his forehead.
“Ryan, you’re scaring me. Could you lower your gun, please?”
He took it off his temple, letting his arm fall to his side with it.
“You got your story out, and the world knows the truth now,” Sandra said. “You accomplished what you came to do today. You must be proud of yourself.”
Ryan scratched his cheek and nodded.
“You’re safe. No one is going to hurt you.” Again, as she voiced this promise, she cringed inside. She was certain several officers had their fingers hovering over their triggers. “Would you be willing to peacefully surrender now?”
Time felt like it stalled.
“Yes, I will.”
“Let me talk you through this, then, okay? I will need you to hand over the two guns first. You’ll slowly put them on the ground and step back five feet with your fingers laced above your head. Do you understand?”
“Yes.” Ryan did just as Sandra told him, pulling the second weapon from behind his back.
When he was in position, ERT officers swooped in to apprehend him.
“Good job, Vos,” the undercover cop playing the reporter told her.
“You lied to me!” Ryan screamed, and Sandra spun. He’d lunged forward with such strength that he shook the officers’ hold on him.
They raised their guns on him, ready to fire the moment they got a clear shot.
“No!” Sandra sprinted toward Ryan and pushed him to the ground.
He writhed beneath her.
“Don’t move. I can’t protect you if you do.” Her words came out measured and calm while her heart beat wildly. Please, please, stay put…
“But all of this… was a lie.” Tears were running down Ryan’s cheeks, and Sandra ached on his behalf.
“Not all of it. The truth always has a way of coming out. And you’ve set something into motion, Ryan. Your mother will get the justice she deserves.” It wasn’t a promise she was entitled to make, but it felt like it was the right thing to say.
“Come on, get to your feet.” The two officers had put their weapons away and moved in to haul Ryan up.
He didn’t take his eyes off her until he was loaded into the back of a cruiser.
Sandra walked back to the command vehicle, ready to put today behind her.
As if that was even possible. Every crisis negotiation she worked became a part of her.
While this one had taken a ruse and had her playing a part, she could live with that.
Just as the Hansons would live another day.
Edward included, too, hopefully. But the one thing she couldn’t shake was the injustice done to a boy and his mother. Someone deserved to pay for that.
“That’s one in the books,” Donny said when she walked back into the command center.
“That it is.” She could breathe much easier now that the remaining hostages were being extricated and Ryan was in custody. “Anyone get an update on Edward Hanson?”
“I called the hospital. He’s in surgery, but the doctors were optimistic going in,” Gibson told her.
“That’s good news at least.”
Neal came in and addressed the team. “Great job, everyone.”
“Hey, that’s my line.” Kreiger followed up behind him, practically pushing Neal farther into the vehicle.
“Before we get to patting ourselves on the back, I wanted to just give an update for those who are curious among us.” Neal looked at her while he spoke.
“I heard from Officer Moore during the whole reporter ruse. She and Officer Green searched Timothy Hanson’s office and collected several NDAs, including ones for Rhonda Stein and Sabrina Brown.
But there wasn’t one for Susan Crawford. ”
Sandra wasn’t even surprised by that and shared why with the team. “I think it’s fair to say all of us think Timothy Hanson had her killed. It wouldn’t make any sense for him to hold on to an NDA with her. It would just be something that would raise questions.”
“There is that,” Neal agreed. “But Officer Moore made a noteworthy discovery. Something that we suspected.”
As Sandra listened to Neal tell them about Dale Kramer’s NDA and its survival clause, she shook her head.
“We can use it to make him talk. Suggest that Timothy intimidated him, possibly forced him to do things. If Kramer did do this, he also might not know that NDAs don’t hold up if a crime has been committed. ”
“Even still. I say, good luck ever getting that man to talk,” Neal said.
“We’ll need to make sure that Detective Birch hears about Kramer’s NDA,” Sandra pointed out.
“He will soon, if he hasn’t already. I asked that Moore make the call to let him know.” Neal turned toward the team and said, “Get ready to head out.”
She pushed her laptop into her messenger bag and left the command vehicle.
She called Eric on the way to her car. It seemed like everyone else was fine to put Crawford’s accident behind them.
After all, the incident was over, the hostages either safe or receiving treatment and the hostage taker in custody. Their jobs here were done.
“Detective Birch,” Eric answered.
“It’s me. It’s over. Ryan surrendered.”
“That’s great news, Sandra.”
“But I’m curious how you’ve made out on your end…”
“I’ve hit a bit of a wall.” He filled her in on his visit to Travel Safe.
She supposed it was illogical to think Eric would resolve all of this in one day, though he was off to a strong start. “That sounds promising.”
“I’ll try to stay positive.”
She detected the sour note of melancholy to his voice. “Well, you’re not alone tonight. Remember, it’s dinner at Davenport Manor and we can talk.”
“I’ll freshen up and be right over.”
After Eric was gone, Sandra got on the road with the goal of heading home to do the same herself. She just had one stop first—the Washington Field Office to swap the federal sedan for her own vehicle.