by Laura Acton
Speaking quietly so his voice wouldn’t carry to the subject on the floor above, Jon said, “Bram and Loki secure your anchor to the main beams here. Dan and I will make our way out and then find our own sites.”
Bram spoke in hushed tones, “If all four men fall or jump at once, we won’t be able to hold them. I suggest we set anchors at the corners and along the way in two places. That should handle their combined weight.”
“Agreed,” Jon replied.
Choosing beams on both sides of the hostages, the guys set to work. They donned harnesses, connected safety lines, then attached the ropes to one of the vertical supports. Loki and Bram secured their corners of the net on a horizontal girder.
Jon and Dan also secured additional rappelling lines so Bram and Loki could act as their belayers, giving them an extra safety measure as they walked out on the beams. After he set the corner anchor, Loki took hold of Dan’s secondary line while Bram grabbed Jon’s.
Dan and Jon began to make their way across the beam. Stopping a quarter of the way out, they squatted down to fasten the netting. A stiff breeze kicked up, and both grabbed the truss to prevent themselves from falling. Loki and Bram increased their holds on the belay ropes, preventing Dan or Jon from plummeting too far if a sudden gust knocked them off balance.
Jon breathed deeply as he peered at Dan who was eight feet away. Dan returned the gaze which said ‘too close.’ Both stood and balanced, one foot in front of the other until arriving at the three preselected points along the beam’s length. Crouching each time, they secured the anchors. Once finished, Dan and Jon made it to the end of the girders to rig the last connection for the safety net. Then they fastened their primary lines around vertical trusses.
Bram and Loki tied off their secondary lines to vertical stanchions which would ensure if either Jon or Dan fell they wouldn’t fall far. Then each man gripped the net and waited.
Dan glanced at the steel beam on which he stood, feeling uneasy. Where the horizontal joined with vertical, Dan noted several empty holes. Only one rivet every third or fourth spot. Knowing nothing about construction methods, Dan had no idea if that was right or not, but he believed if there were openings there should be bolts in them.
He put that out of his mind as the guys all focused on Nick’s voice above and the four hostages. They had no visual on Darrius from any of their positions. So, the only indication they would have of him firing would be the sound.
Fourth Floor of Blackbird Industries – 1:30 p.m.
Ray and Nick exited and took a few steps to the west. Nick waited for Lexa to find a position before he made his presence known. Their subject, Darrius Hawks, was busy yelling at the Colly brothers. Nick listened for a way to connect with the man.
Lexa went the opposite direction and chose a location to the southwest which gave her an unimpeded view of the subject. “Zulu One in position. I have the solution.”
Nick commenced negotiations. “Hello, I’m Nick Pastore with the Tactical Response Force. We appear to be having an issue. I’d like to help if I can.”
Darrius whipped his head behind him, keeping his gun pointed at the brothers. He wavered with the ever-present dizziness he lived with since his fall. “They can’t be allowed to continue. I must stop them before anyone dies. I have nothing left of my life. At least in prison, I’ll have a roof and food.”
“Would you be willing to tell me your name?” Nick tried to build a rapport without letting on he knew a great deal about the man.
“Darrius Hawks.”
Encouraged that the subject engaged with him, Nick asked, “Can you tell me what you think they did?”
Darrius put one hand to his head as it pounded fiercely. He rubbed his right eye where the intense pain always began. “They destroyed my life. There isn’t a day that I live that I’m not in pain and dizzy. I can’t work. These sleazeballs lied to the WCB, and now I don’t even receive the benefits I deserve and need to live. I’ve lost my house, my car, and I had to sell my parrot to buy food. He was my companion for ten years, raised him from a baby, but I couldn’t feed him anymore or provide a home. All because of them.”
“Darrius, can you please lower the weapon so we can talk? I don’t want anyone to be hurt.”
Shaking his head but only a bit, so his vertigo didn’t become worse, Darrius said, “No, I can’t. They mustn’t be allowed to wreck anyone else’s life.”
“Tell me, how do you think they ruined your life? What happened?”
Darrius kept the gun aimed at the Collys as he explained, “I was employed by them a year ago. I was a good worker, but I became aware of their illegal actions. They took shortcuts on construction. That’s gonna get someone killed one day. The building I worked on … they insisted we only put in half of the called for rivets. They said everything was safe with that many and claimed building codes are overkill.
“They bought off the city’s building inspector. I know because I complained to the inspector about the shoddy work and he told me nothing was wrong with the quality. I talked to some of my coworkers, and all were too afraid to say anything, they had families to feed. I didn’t. Just Paulie.”
“Paulie?”
Pain began to increase, and Darrius could tell this was going to be a severe migraine. “Paulie is … was my beautiful Macaw. I sold him to the owner of the Jamaican Parrot Café so he would have a home. I hated to let Paulie go, but I couldn’t have him starving and no roof over his head.”
To Nick, the man appeared concerned about the welfare of a longtime pet. Not a sign of a cold-blooded killer.
“A year ago today, I went to work as usual. At lunch, I concentrated so hard on taking photos of the inferior construction that I didn’t hear them.” He waved the gun at the four brothers. “They grabbed me from behind. While three held me, one poured a full can of beer down my throat.
“They said everyone would believe I drank on the job when my body was discovered. After they forced me to swallow the beer, they released my safety line and pushed me off the building. They thought I would die in the fall. I didn’t, but with the pain I live with daily, some days I wish I had died.” Darrius winced as his head pounded.
Jay Colly yelled, “You liar! You were a piss poor employee. Everyone knew it. Yes, we came up to the fourth floor, but we found you drinking beer. We fired you on the spot because that’s a safety policy violation. You fell because you were drunk and didn’t secure your own line.”
“Mr. Colly, please be quiet,” Nick stated.
Rhea Colly held onto his brother. He shook like a leaf, scared to death of heights, which is why he only worked in the office. Rhea whispered, “Shut up, Jay, let the cops do their job. No one will ever believe Darrius. The WCB ruled in our favor already.”
Darrius turned back to the Colly brothers and shouted, “I’m not a liar! If my phone hadn’t been demolished, I could prove it. I had the pictures of the missing rivets and the below standard steel you used. I took photos of all the corners you cut to save a buck. Hell, I bet this building is no different.”
Third Floor of Blackbird Industries – 2:00 p.m.
Dan called out, “Boss, the beam I’m standing on appears to be missing a ton of rivets.”
Jon, Bram, and Loki all examined the trusses where they stood.
Loki said, “Whoa! This is so not good, Boss. I’m no construction expert but if more than half of the rivet holes are empty ... that’s gotta be bad.”
Jon and Bram reported the same.
Dan, Jon, Loki, and Bram gaped at one another. This call just became more complicated. Darrius was claiming the Collys attempted to murder him, and there might be a public threat if the buildings were not up to code. They hoped Nick talked Darrius into giving up.
Four Falling Birds
15
December 15
Fourth Floor of Blackbird Industries – 2:05 p.m.
Lexa glanced down and examined where she stood. “Boss, I read building codes when I began remodeling. Again, no
expert here, but I tend to believe Darrius. Something looks off to me.”
Nick listened to his team. “Darrius, I’d like to help. You don’t sound like a man who would commit murder. You cared about Paulie enough to ensure you found him a good home. If you put the firearm down and allow the Colly brothers to come off that beam, I promise you I will contact someone who will thoroughly investigate your allegations.”
“You believe me?” Darrius’ migraine surged.
“I won’t lie to you Darrius. I’m not qualified to make a judgment. But my team has told me they see a lot of empty rivet holes. I can assure you it will be scrutinized. All of it. I only need you to put down the weapon.”
Darrius lowered the gun and held it limply in his hand, partly because of his migraine and for some reason he trusted Nick. “Alright, as long as they are stopped. This was my last resort because no one believed me.”
Nick advanced with Ray. He took the pistol while Ray cuffed the subject. “This is procedure,” Nick reassured Darrius.
Darrius nodded and became dizzy. He swayed and started to collapse. Nick and Ray caught him. “Are you okay?”
“Not really. Dizzy, terrible migraine.”
“Tia, we need EMS here. Ray, help Mr. Hawks to ground level and when the medics arrive have them check him over.”
Darrius held Nick’s eyes. “Thanks for listening to me. You are going to save more lives than just theirs. These buildings are disasters waiting to happen.”
As Ray helped Darrius to the elevator, Lexa strode to the hostages. “You can come off the beam now.”
Excited to move off the truss, Rhea rushed forward, and his foot slipped. He reached out and snagged Jay. As they both began to fall, Jay’s arms flailed, and his hand latched onto Robin’s forearm. When Robin started downward, he seized Merlin’s shirt. Screams emitted from all four Colly brothers as they plummeted.
Third Floor of Blackbird Industries – 2:10 p.m.
The guys all braced for impact as four men fell. Unaware a net was below them, the Collys believed their lives would end in the same manner as they tried to kill Darrius.
Rhea, Robin, Merlin, and Jay hit the safety netting en masse with enormous force causing most of the anchors to disengage and fly off. The brothers bounced several times before coming to rest in the webbing on the side being held by Bram and Jon. The men of Alpha Team strained to maintain their grip on the net—their combined strength was the only thing keeping the four Collys from certain death.
Bram called out, “Crawl over here. Do it fast. We can only hold you for so long.”
Merlin scrambled as fast as he could to the edge. He scrabbled over his brother Rhea in his haste. Like Rhea, Merlin was deathly afraid of heights. Merlin kicked Robin in the face in his panic to reach the floorboards. Right behind him was Robin and Jay brought up the rear as three brothers clambered to the flooring. Rhea remained frozen in place by his terror, his eyes riveted to the ground. His brothers had left him to fend for himself.
“Move!” Jon shouted at the immobile man.
Loki had a visual of the man’s pale face. “He’s scared to death.”
Bram checked the corner anchor near him. It appeared secure. “He’s closest to me. I’ll go help him.”
Jon shook his head. “There’s no one to hold your belay line. Let me go.” Suddenly the anchor at Jon’s corner popped off, and the only thing keeping the man in the net was Jon’s solid grip on it.
“Guess that decides it, huh?” Dan said as he held tight. “Just make sure your line is tied tight, Bram. No flying today. That’s for the birds.”
Bram chuckled slightly as he ensured his line was appropriately secured. Then he fastened another one to use on the fear paralyzed man.
Nick requested, “Status?”
Jon stated, “Three of four safe. Bram is going to assist the scared one.”
“We’ll be there in a moment,” Nick said as worry for his guys increased.
Bram glanced at the three brothers. “What’s his name?”
Pale and shaken, Jay said, “Rhea. He’s terrified of heights.”
“Rhea, I’m coming to you, and we’re going to do this together.” Bram placed his boots with care on the skinny metal path, making his way closer to where the frightened man lay. Rhea didn’t acknowledge Bram in any way. His eyes remained fixed on the ground.
When Bram neared Rhea, he squatted and gradually crept to the man, careful not to bounce for two reasons. One it would be harder for his teammates to maintain their grip, and two, it might further alarm Rhea. When he reached the man, Bram said, “I’m going to attach a line around your chest.” Proceeding to accomplish the task, Bram encouraged in a soft fatherly voice, “Now, Rhea, I need you to stay with me.”
Jon, Dan, and Loki continued to strain with the weight, but they held tight while Bram coaxed Rhea to the edge. Perspiration drenched the guys’ shirts and dripped from their foreheads by the time Bram managed to move Rhea close enough to the flooring that Jay and Robin could drag their brother to safety.
As Bram was about to pull himself onto the boards, his corner anchor disengaged. His stomach rose to his throat as he began to fall. Instinctually he firmed his grasp on the webbing. Despite knowing the team held him and his line was tied off, thoughts of leaving all his girls flashed through his head instantly.
A split second later, his attention was drawn to an awful sound. The loud screeching groan of metal rent the air. One moment Jon stood on a solid surface, the next there was nothing but air under him as the beam gave way. Jon plunged down gripping the net.
Dan’s and Loki’s arms jerked as both Jon’s and Bram’s weight jolted them when the length met its end. Jon and Bram swung wildly in mid-air, both ramming into second-floor steel crossbeams. The two men held on with all their might. Jon’s primary safety line dangled below him, having been severed from the vertical beam when the horizontal one collapsed. Luckily, both of their secondary ropes were still firmly attached to the other girder.
“Hang on!” Turning to Loki, Dan said, “I’m coming in.” With one hand Dan held the netting, and with the other, he undid his primary line. He shuffled carefully and as rapidly as he could without losing his balance across the truss as the same grinding noises emitted beneath him.
“Hurry, Dan! I don’t think it’s gonna hold much longer,” Loki urged as he struggled to maintain his grip. He winced when Jon hit a beam again.
Just as Dan’s foot hit the wooden boards, the steel girder he had been on screeched, twisted, and crashed to the ground. Dan blew out a shaky breath. “Too damn close.”
Quickly, Loki and Dan went to where Bram’s and Jon’s rappelling lines were attached. They left them tied but began to pull the ropes up using a hand over hand method. Loki grasped Bram’s line while Dan pulled on Jon’s.
Bram helped Loki by climbing up the rope as Loki pulled. He knew Loki was stronger than his lithe body made him appear, but Bram was no lightweight due to his size. He reached the relative safety of the floor if anything about this structure could be considered safe after what just happened.
Once Bram was on the boards, Loki released a breath and his hold on the back of Bram’s vest. He helped Bram to stand and move away from the edge. Loki’s arms felt like rubber now. “Dan, you need help with Jon?”
Bram’s energy was spent but moved forward to help pull Jon up. “Let me give you a hand there.” He placed his hands on the line.
Dan appreciated Bram’s assistance. Jon dangled further down than Bram had, and Dan’s muscles were getting a hellacious workout. The pressure on his chest where he took the bullet two days ago was painful. When Jon’s hand reached out and seized the crossbeam, Dan bent down and gripped the back of Jon’s vest like Loki had done with Bram. Between him and Bram, Jon was hauled up onto the wooden floor.
Wanting to take a knee and rest, Dan forced himself to rise and straighten out, clamping his stoic mask in place to hide his muscle fatigue and pain. He needed to make sure the others wer
e okay first. Jon appeared a bit shaken, and Loki definitely was. He glimpsed Bram peek down and frown.
Jon took several deep breaths as he peered up at Dan and Bram. Finally getting his breathing under control, Jon said, “One hell of a ride. Thanks.” He rubbed his shoulder which rammed into a girder on one of his swings.
Dan offered a hand to Jon as he said, “None needed. Glad you hung on. You hit the beam. Shoulder alright?”
“Yeah, a touch sore.” Jon stood and turned cold eyes on the Colly brothers. “I think what Darrius had to say was the truth. Damn good thing that didn’t give way when you fell into the net, or you’d all be dead.”
Nick finally reached the guys after having to wait for the slow elevator and scanned his men. Only Dan didn’t appear fazed by the events. Though, Nick recognized it was likely one of his soldier masks. Little splatters of crimson on the wood caught his attention. “Jon, you need to be seen by EMS.”
“I’m okay. No need.”
Dan noticed the blood as soon as Nick spoke. He pulled out a bandage and reached out for Jon’s arm. “I think the cut on your arm says there is a need. Boss, I’ll make sure he gets looked at.”
Glancing down at his arm, Jon saw a gash. “Well, hell! Looks like the anchor got me.” Jon watched as Dan wrapped the bandage around it. He didn’t feel a thing. Adrenaline was a wonderful thing—until it wore off.
Bram shook his head. “Nah, I’ll take Jon. No sense you going to a hospital, if you aren’t hurt, Dan. We all understand they aren’t your favorite places to be.” Bram grinned at Loki. “Thanks, buddy. You’re stronger than you look.”
Loki preened. “Not needed. This body is a lean, mean, Italian Stallion.”
Nick smiled. “Let’s wrap things up here before any more of this building decides to come down.”
Six, “Copy that,” rang out.
As Jon, Bram, Nick, and the brothers started for the elevator, Lexa said, “I’ll give you guys a hand with this.” She set her Remi down and helped Loki and Dan gather the lines and pack the gear. Lexa kept an eye on both of them, looking for any indication either was hurt. Not seeing anything, she began to relax.