Hostage - Страница 41

Thomas went back to the desk.

DENNIS

The back of the house exploded with noise and light as if the Marines were hitting the beach. Dennis saw cops at the wall, lit by the glare from their lights, but they didn't rush the house.

Dennis thought, What the fuck?

Talley's voice echoed from the backyard.

'It's time to talk, Dennis. Me and you. Face-to-face. I want you to come out, just you, I'll meet you and we'll talk.'

Kevin scrambled into the kitchen on all fours, fast, like a cartoon.

'What are they doing? What's going on?'

Dennis didn't know. He was confused and suspicious, and then suddenly very afraid.

'Mars! Those fuckers are trying to blindside us! See what they're doing in front!'

Dennis grabbed the girl from Mars, who lurched to his feet and went down the hall.

THOMAS

The black leather case was a soft black leather folder about the size of a compact disk. The candlelight behind the desk was too dim to see into the drawer, so Thomas turned on his flashlight, cupping the lens to hide most of the light.

The case was in the top drawer.

It opened like a book. Each side had pockets to hold disks. Two disks were in the right pockets, labeled just as Chief Talley had described, disk one and disk two. Thomas was closing the drawer when he heard footsteps coming fast down the hall.

Thomas wanted to run, but it was too late.

The footsteps came fast!

They were coming to the office!

They were at the door!

Thomas turned off his flashlight and ducked under the desk. He pulled himself into a tight ball, hugging his knees, and he tried not to breathe.

Someone was in the room.

His father's desk was a great oak monster, heavy and ancient and as big as a boat (his dad jokingly called it the Lexington, after the aircraft carrier). It sat on curvy legs that left a small gap between the desk and the floor. Thomas saw feet. He thought it was Mars, but he couldn't be sure.

The feet went to the window.

Thomas heard the shutters snap open. Light from outside poured into the room. The shutters snapped closed.

The feet stayed at the shutters. Thomas imagined he must be peeking through the cracks.

Dennis shouted from the back of the house.

'What in hell's going on out there?'

It was Mars in the room. He stood at the shutters without moving.

'Goddamnit, Mars!'

The feet stepped away from the window, but Mars didn't leave. The feet turned toward the desk. Thomas tried to squeeze himself smaller. He hugged his legs so tight that his arms hurt.

The feet took a step toward the desk.

'Mars! What the fuck are they doin'?'

The feet walked to the end of the desk. Thomas tried to close his eyes; he tried to look away, but he couldn't. He watched the feet as if they were snakes.

'Mars!'

The feet turned and left. Thomas followed them with his ears, down the hall, away, gone.

Thomas scrambled from under the desk and went to the door. He peeked down the hall, then ran across to the den.

He heard Chief Talley talking over the public address system as he pushed into the wine cellar, climbed the racks, and found the safety of the crawl space.

TALLEY

Talley knew that Rooney and the others would be panicked. They would believe that Talley had launched a breach and Dennis or one of the others would probably run to the front of the house to see what the Sheriffs were doing. Talley had to keep their attention focused here at the back of the house. On him.

'Is he still in the kitchen?'

Hobbs was peering through the night-vision scope.

'Yeah, him and the girl. He's trying to see us, but he can't see past the lights. The big one went down the hall. I don't see the brother.'

Talley keyed the portable P.A.

'We are not breaching the house, Dennis. We need to talk. Me and you. Face-to-face. I'm coming out to the pool.'

Martin and Hicks hustled toward him through the shadows. Martin wasn't happy.

'What face-to-face? We didn't discuss that.'

'I'm going out.'

Talley dropped the P.A. and heaved himself over the wall before she could say anything more. He wanted to draw Rooney's attention away from the front of the house even if it meant offering himself up to do it.

Martin's voice followed him over the wall.

'Damnit, Talley, all you'll do is make yourself a target.'

Talley walked to the edge of the pool and raised his voice.

'I'm unarmed. I'm not going to strip for you this time, so take my word for it. I'm unarmed, and I'm coming alone.'

Talley held his hands out from his sides, open palms forward, and walked toward the house along the side of the pool. A dark raft floated effortlessly on the water. A towel was spread on the deck, the radio that had played earlier silent, its batteries dead.

He reached the end of the pool nearest the house and stopped. A flashlight lay on the kitchen floor, its beam cutting a white slash that bounced off the counters. Talley raised his hands higher. Again, the bright lights behind him cast his shadow toward the house. It looked like a crucifix.

'Come out, Dennis. Talk to me.'

Dennis shouted from the house, his voice muffled through the closed French doors.

'You're fucking crazy!'

'No, Dennis. I'm tired.'

Talley walked closer.

'No one's going to hurt you. Not unless you hurt those kids.'

Talley stopped outside the French doors. He could see Dennis and Jennifer plainly now. Dennis held the girl with one hand, a pistol with the other. A shadow moved to Talley's left, deep in the family room, and Talley saw a slender figure. Kevin. He looked like a child. On the other side of the kitchen, opposite the family room, a hall disappeared into the house. Talley saw a flickering glow from a door. A large shape blocked the light, growing in the shadows. That would be Krupchek. Talley felt a well of relief; wherever the boy was, they didn't have him. He had to keep them focused. He spread his hands wider. He went closer.

'I'm standing here, Dennis. I'm looking at you. Come out and let's talk.'

Talley heard them talking, Dennis calling Kevin into the kitchen. Krupchek stood at the mouth of the hall now, floating in the darkness. He held something in his hands, a flashlight, a gun, Talley couldn't tell.

Dennis got to his feet and came to the French doors. He looked out past Talley, then tried to see the sides of the house, probably thinking he would be rushed if he opened the doors. Talley spoke calmly.

'No one here but me, Dennis. You have my word.'

Dennis placed his gun on the floor, then pushed open the door and stepped out. Talley knew that people always looked heavier in pictures, but Rooney was shorter and thinner than Talley would have guessed from the videotape, and younger.

Talley smiled, but Rooney didn't smile back.

'How ya doin', Dennis?'

'Had better days.'

'This has been a long one, I'll hand you that.'

Dennis tipped his head toward the far wall.

'You got a sniper out there, gonna shoot me?'

'If you tried to grab me, they probably would. Otherwise, no. We could have shot you from the wall if we wanted to do that.'

Dennis seemed to accept that.

'Can I come out there, closer to you?'

'Sure. It's all right.'

Dennis stepped away from the door and joined Talley out by the foot of the pool. Dennis took a deep breath, looking up at the stars as he let it out.

'Good to be outside.'

'I guess.'

Talley said, 'I'm going to lower my arms, okay?'

'Sure.'

Talley could see Kevin still with the girl in the kitchen and Krupchek still in the hall. The boy was inside somewhere, getting the disks. Talley hoped it wouldn't take long.

Talley said, 'We've been at this a long time now. What are you waiting for?'

'Would you be in a hurry to go to prison for the rest of your life?'

'I'd be doing everything I can to get the best deal possible. I'd let these people go, I'd cooperate, I'd let a lawyer do my talking. I'd be smart enough to realize that I'm surrounded by police officers and I'm not getting out of here except through their good graces.'

'I want that helicopter.'

Talley shook his head.

'It's what I said before, where's it going to land? I can't give you a helicopter. That's not going to happen.'

'Then a car. I want a car to take me to Mexico, a car and an escort and a free pass south of the border.'

'We've been through that.'

Rooney seemed to be working himself up to something. He waved his arm in a flash of anger.

'Then what fuckin' good are you?'

'I'm trying to save your life.'

Dennis glanced back into the house. Talley watched him, thinking that Rooney showed the day's strain. Finally, Rooney faced him again and lowered his voice still more.

'Are you a rich man?'

Talley didn't answer. He didn't know where Rooney was taking this. He had learned to let them get wherever they were going on their own.

Rooney patted his pocket.

'Can I reach in here, show you something?'

Talley nodded.

Rooney stepped closer. Talley couldn't make out what Rooney took from his pocket at first, but then he saw that it was money. Rooney seemed to be trying to shield it so that only Talley could see.

'That's fifty one-hundred-dollar bills, Chief. Five thousand dollars. I got a whole suitcase of this stuff in the house.'

Rooney pushed the bills back into his pocket.

'How much would it be worth to you, getting me out of here? A hundred thousand dollars? You could drive me down to Mexico, just me and you, no one the wiser, just tell the others that was the deal we made without mentioning any money. I wouldn't tell. They got money in this house, Chief. More money than you've ever seen in your life. We could carve it up.'