Chapter 19
Hope hangs up with Sylvie for the second time, calls the commander nearest to the building to warn them about the hostages’
movement, and turns to Bo, who’s been quietly listening in. This whole situation is so rudimentary, so far from what she’s
used to. There is no Negotiation Operations Center, which they refer to as the NOC. There is no technology to assist them
in getting eyes on the suspect or hostages. No negotiation team to serve in different capacities, to add ideas, to confer
with. Bo can’t even properly listen in on what’s being said. It’s probably what he’s used to. Like they did in the old days.
“He’s taking them to the bathroom,” she reports. “It’s out in the vestibule area, so he’s removing the barricade and walking
them out to it. The guys close to the building will be monitoring it.”
Bo’s eyes widen at the mention of Tommy removing the barricade. “Getting rid of that barricade,” he says. “That’s progress.”
She thinks this over. “Not really,” she admits. “He’s just going to use Nadine’s keys to lock them back in once they get back
to the room. That was the agreement.”
“But with the barricade out of the way, we can use drones and have better visibility through the glass if we need to go in.”
“Not yet,” Hope says, her voice clipped, anxious at the suggestion of going in this soon. They’ve barely gotten started. She knows that words are every bit as powerful as tactical force. But that power takes time to build. “I don’t want anyone going in yet.”
“To be sure,” Bo says. When he smiles at her, his bushy eyebrows nearly graze his cheeks. “We’re nowhere near the trigger
point.”
Relief floods Hope’s body. When Hank told her Bo was former FBI, she hadn’t bothered to ask what he had done for them. She
didn’t know if he’d been on the tactical side or the talking side of a negotiation. Though they are there for the same outcome—resolution—the
two sides often approach things differently.
Bo lifts the binoculars to his eyes as if from this distance he’ll be able to see what’s happening inside the vestibule. He
watches the building for a while, then speaks to her. “I see movement. Can’t count heads from here, but it looks like they’re
all walking as a group.” He heaves a sigh, and she can’t tell if it’s from weariness or sincere worry. “So far, so good,”
he adds.
“Yes,” she agrees. “So far, so good.” Now, she thinks, just to keep it that way.