CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
Alison opened up a new tab in her browser and searched for the login page for her security system at her house.
"Where is he?" Derek asked.
"He wants to leave the city, but he also wants me," Alison said as she logged in.
"He needs somewhere secluded where no one will think of looking, somewhere he can hide out after scaring me away, and if I return home for some reason before they leave, then it’s an added bonus for him.
He already got into my house once without tripping the alarm; he can do it again. "
"He can wipe all of that," Derek pointed out.
"He can, but he doesn’t have his processing power anymore now that we have the basement. Still, if he’s gone in, he’ll have overridden the alarm, and he’ll use the cameras to watch for anyone approaching. I need a tech guy!"
Derek gestured, and one of the techs ran over.
"This is the gate camera," Alison told the tech. "It’s pointed at the road. If he’s inside, he’ll be watching the feed.
He won't need to override it or wipe anything; he’ll only want to watch the feed for any cop cars approaching so he can get out of there.
All I need is for you to slip in unnoticed and do whatever programming thing it is you need to do to run this feed on a loop to anyone watching the camera while we use it. Can that be done?"
"Yeah, it can," the tech said. "Just give me a few minutes."
The tech ran back to his desk and returned with a USB stick.
He plugged it into her laptop, opened a few folders, and then opened the command prompt and entered some commands.
Code flew up the screen so fast that it was unreadable.
Then, some other commands and more code ran.
The tech sat back in the chair and waited.
Everyone waited with him with bated breath, quiet enough to hear a pin drop. Finally, he opened a new window, and the image from the camera was duplicated, sitting side by side in the window.
"This should be it," the tech said. "The one on the left is what anyone watching the feed will see. The one on the right is the actual live feed. This should work."
"It should work?" Alison asked.
"I just need to check that when we move the cameras, it only moves on the right. If not, then we might tip him off."
"Do it," Alison said.
The tech placed the cursor on the feed on the right, held down the mouse button, then dragged a millimeter to the right. The camera feed on the right shifted, but the one of the left didn’t.
"Okay, we’re good," he said.
"Can you turn the camera to face the house?" Alison asked. "I know we might be made if he sees the camera moving from the house, but this is our best shot of confirming where he is."
The tech nodded and moved the camera again, shifting it as slowly as possible until it was pointed directly at the house. It was empty—no one visible in any windows.
Alison sighed. "He won't risk going in front of a window unless he needs to.
"There," Derek said, pointing to the screen. "There was a shadow. Look! Right there again. Someone’s in there?"
"That’s where he’s hiding out," Alison said.
"Okay, we go now, we move on foot when we get near, and we take him out if we get a shot," Derek said. "Let’s go!"
***
Alison marched with Derek through the bushes and trees as they approached the house from the front, the side with the large windows that looked down on the city of Oakland.
She only hoped they were quick enough to get there before they had left.
If everyone were in place, then most of the house would be surrounded, and there would be no escape.
If he was still in there.
And there was the small problem of the hostage inside.
"This is it," Derek told her. "This is as far as we go for now."
They stopped behind a cluster of three trees. Alison looked to her left and right to see agents twenty feet or so away. Everyone was armed, including Alison, who had her gun strapped to her in the holster her father had given her. It was tucked just inside her jacket within easy reach.
Derek took out his radio and messaged the other agents surrounding the house. "Are you all in position?"
"I’m in position," the reply came.
"In position."
"Ten seconds from position."
"In position. Eyes on the house."
"No movement within. The house might be evacuated."
"Everyone hold your positions," Derek said into the radio. "I speak to him in ten."
Derek pulled on the strap that was slung over his torso and pulled the loudspeaker from his back to his front, taking the device in hand. He held it up to his mouth, waited five more seconds, and then spoke into it.
"Keith Malone!" he stated. "We know you are in there.
My name is Special Agent Sullivan. We have the house surrounded.
Throw out any weapons and come out with your hands up.
If you have any hostages in the building, let them walk out the front door.
If you do not comply with these commands, we will use force. "
Derek fell silent, the only sound the wind rustling through the leaves of the tree beside them.
No sound from the house. No sign of anyone inside. The seconds ticked by agonizingly—it became more and more likely they had escaped before they got there.
Then a shadow inside, and Keith appeared at the large windows, holding a gun to Vanessa's head. They were forty yards from the house, but it was obvious how terrified Vanessa was. Keith stood there, not saying a word, but the intent was clear.
Derek spoke into his radio. "Does anyone have a shot?"
"Negative," the reply came. "The shot can be taken, but we risk collateral damage."
"We can't risk her," Alison said to Derek.
"Don't shoot unless you have a direct shot and the hostage is clear," Derek said.
"Understood."
"This is your last chance," Derek said into the loudspeaker. "Drop the weapon, let the hostage go, and come out with your hands up."
Keith didn't move an inch. The gun was still pressed to Vanessa’s head, one arm wrapped around her body to hold her. It was obvious he wouldn’t comply with any of the orders.
Alison couldn’t risk the hostage, so there was only one thing to do, even if it was the stupidest thing she’d ever done. She took the phone from her pocket and stepped out of the tree line.
"What are you doing?" Derek hissed.
Alison unlocked the phone and dialed Vanessa’s number. She held up the phone for Keith to see, then placed it to her ear.
There was movement from the window, and Vanessa took out her phone and answered it. She put it on speakerphone and held it out so Keith could hear and talk.
"It’s me you want," Alison said to Keith. I’m proposing a deal. My life for hers."
"Do you really think you can trick me into that?" he asked.
"We both know that the only way out of this for you is to surrender and give up the hostage, or kill her and then be shot. I know you’re not surrendering, and I can't be responsible for another death. If you let her go, I’ll step inside with you.
You can kill me and then die. That’s all you’ve been thinking about in the last few hours, isn’t it?
It’s why you came to my home. You want me dead, and this is your last shot at it. "
"What are you doing?" Derek hissed.
Alison held the mute button. "I trust you, Derek. As soon as you can, you make your move, and I’ll keep him occupied."
Alison let go of the mute button and walked toward the house.
"The door to the left of the windows. You're left, I'm right.
Unlock it now, and I'll come in. You have the gun, Keith. Vanessa walks out of the same door, and I’m your hostage.
Then, we can negotiate from there if you choose not to kill me. "
"You know I want to kill you, so why risk it?" he asked.
"The human psyche," Alison said. "You either live or die today, and when faced with that, no matter the cost, most people want to live. I give you a better bargaining chip. If you hurt me, you’re as good as dead, and I know you don't want that."
"What’s to stop me keeping both of you?" he asked.
Alison was almost at the door, and her heart pounded so hard that it hurt her chest. She was walking toward death, and everything within her told her to turn around and run.
"You can try, but you can only shoot us one at a time. We’ll fight. Better to let her go, Keith."
Alison knocked on the door.
She counted to five in her head as nothing happened, then the door swung open. She couldn’t see them, but she still stepped inside. She was met by Keith, holding Vanessa. It was the part that counted the most. He was away from the window, temporarily out of view, and she prayed Derek was acting.
Keith stepped forward with Vanessa, then pointed the gun at Alison, pushing Vanessa past her and toward the door.
"Get out of here," he said, almost sounding relieved. He grabbed Alison and pointed the gun at her head, dragging her back in front of the window.
"Don't do anything stupid!" the voice from the loudspeaker said.
Alison wanted to smile. The voice wasn’t Derek’s, which meant he wasn't down at the trees anymore.
She and Keith watched as Vanessa ran toward the trees and safety.
It was just the two of them, alone in the house. Or so Keith thought. Alison continued to pray that there was one more there to spoil the party.
"So, it comes down to this," Keith said. "You said I didn't want to die, but you were wrong. All I want is to kill you for what you did to my mother. I’d gladly die for that. So, do you have any last words before I kill you in front of them all and then martyr myself? How about an apology?"
"Your mother was right about you," Alison said.
"What?" Keith stammered.
"When I interviewed her, she told me how disappointed she was in you, and I can see why," she lied.
"Stop it!"
"She knew you couldn’t take care of yourself without her, and she was right," Alison taunted. "She was happy to get away from you."
"You’re a lying—"
His grip loosened with the shock of the words running through him, and she took her chance, hoping it would be enough. Alison ducked first, then pushed him back and herself forward, trying to reach for her gun.
She wasn’t quick enough to draw her weapon before one, two, three, four shots rang out. The large window shattered into a thousand pieces, and Keith fell through the open hole. He hit the ground with a thud, rolling away from the house.
Derek stood just inside the living room, his gun pointed, a wisp of smoke ascending from the barrel.
It was over