Silence.
The silence wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. What he hoped was happening was that some of the men were trying to talk some sense into Jacob. Annalise had suspected some in-fighting, and Evan definitely wanted to exploit that. He was hoping that hunger was what would ultimately drive a wedge between Jacob and his followers.
His phone rang. Annalise was on a video call. He answered it. He’d only had a quick glimpse of her before, but now he was rendered speechless as he drank in the sight of her.
Her blond hair was longer than it had been the last time he’d seen her, but her eyes were just as green. His chest tightened as he saw her red, swollen lower lip.
She wore a pink blouse that looked rumpled, but he couldn’t dwell on how she looked. Instead, he focused on her surroundings.
Behind her was a plain white wall that gave no clue as to exactly where she and the children were in the room. Thankfully she’d already told him they were seated against the south wall in the classroom. The school faced north.
“Evan...” she said softly, and her eyes filled with tears.
“What happened to your lip?” he asked as a small knot of anger tightened his chest.
She shook her head. “It was the price I paid for getting Belinda help. It’s no big deal.”
It was a very big deal to him. It let him know that Jacob not only had the ability to kill when he thought necessary, but he’d also rough up the hostages as he saw fit. “Are you sure you’re safe to talk?”
She nodded. “For now it’s okay. They’re all in another room, and I can hear them arguing. Some of the men want to give up. They’re hungry and afraid.”
“That’s a good thing,” he replied. “How are you and the girls doing?”
“We’re all hungry and tired of being here, but we’re hanging in.”
He could see the deep exhaustion in her eyes, and he ached for her and the children he knew she was comforting to the best of her ability. “I’m doing everything possible on my end.”
She smiled. “I know. It gives me great comfort to know that the best hostage negotiator in the world is on the case.”
He’d believed he’d moved on from her, from what had been them, but that smile of hers shot a rivulet of unexpected heat through him. God, he wanted her, he wanted all of them out of there.
“I just want you to stay safe until I get you out of there,” he said. “Whatever you do, don’t get caught with the phone, Annalise. Jacob will get more and more desperate and angry as he continues to lose control of everything.”
“We’re being smart,” she replied. “Sadie has been helping me by acting as a lookout so I can get the phone off and on the charger. Right now I can still hear the men yelling and arguing with each other. I just... I just needed to see your face.”
“It’s good to see you, too.” He swallowed against a rise of emotions and reminded himself that emotions had no place in this environment.
“I like the beard. It looks good on you,” she commented.
“Thanks.”
Her smile was so soft, he wanted to reach right through the phone and pull her into his arms. But just that quickly her features registered alarm, and her face disappeared and the line disconnected. Damn. His heart thundered loudly in his ears. He hoped she hadn’t just got caught.
He drew a deep breath and turned to look at the scene behind him, where news trucks had begun to gather the evening before. This morning more had joined the rigs already parked. It was not only local reporters; national news organizations had also arrived.
Rowan had been busy with the ever-growing crowd, and so far had done a terrific job of using some of the local police to keep the press far away from the immediate scene.
She’d even set up a podium so that throughout the day Chief Cummings could do news updates. Hopefully that would keep him busy and feeling important while Evan did all the hard negotiating behind the scenes and not get any of the credit for the eventual release of the hostages. Not that he cared about credit...he just cared about the ultimate results.
“Nick—” he turned to the man who had just approached “—why don’t you get Davis and Daniel and meet me at the mobile van,” he said. “I need some updates.” He also needed to refocus on the task at hand and not on his past with Annalise.
Within minutes the four men were huddled by the side of the mobile van. “Daniel, tell me what’s going on at the compound where these people live.” The agent was not only a skilled sniper, he’d also been working with the local police and Hendrick per Evan’s instructions.
“According to what Hendrick could find out, there’s only one way in and one way out of the place. The entire compound is surrounded by a high fence and guarded, but we now have a heavy presence at the gates. We’re checking out any vehicles that go in and come out. If any of these scumbags manage to get out of here, they won’t be able to go home to roost.”
“Good. Anything to report, Davis?”
Davis frowned. He’d been working with the local police to make sure the back of the building was being guarded, and that men were on call for a potential entry into the school.
“The men are complaining about working so many hours, but I think the gunfire out the back windows when you tried to get to the van woke them up as to just how serious the situation is,” he said.
“As if armed men holding five hostages wasn’t serious enough?” Evan replied with disgust.
“With all the action happening at the front of the building, I think they forgot that they needed to stay on their toes. Besides, I have a feeling the toughest crime scene those men have seen is in a convenience store where a lollipop was stolen,” Davis said with equal disgust.
“Chief Cummings is constantly crowing about how good his men are,” Daniel said.
“Let’s hope his men are good,” Evan said. “We need them to be good. What about the interviews, Nick. How are they coming?”
“We’ve now interviewed all the teachers who work here, but none of them had any information about what’s going on. I know Hendrick is checking into their backgrounds. We’re also working off the list Regina Sandhurst gave us of the other staff and delivery services, and will be conducting interviews with them throughout the afternoon. I also spoke to Director Pembrook earlier,” Nick continued. “She didn’t want to bother you, but she told me to tell you to take your time and don’t feel pressured by either the locals or the news reports.”
“Hell, you all know me well enough to know I don’t give a damn about what any of the reporters say about me,” Evan replied. “And Chief Cummings isn’t about to push me to do anything I’m not ready to do.”
“You know we all trust your judgment,” Nick replied. “We’re all behind you.”
Evan clapped him on the back. “Thanks, man. Let’s all check back in with each other in about two hours. I know we’re all tired, but stay on your toes. I intend to start really putting on some pressure, and you all know that things can change in the blink of an eye.”
Evan returned to his position at the patrol car, his head swirling with thoughts and information. Under different circumstances, he would have seriously considered telling Daniel to get into position and shoot Jacob.
There was really only one reason holding him back from doing that, and that was Annalise’s assessment that Jacob’s wife was even more evil than her husband. If Jacob was taken out by a sniper’s bullet, he worried about what Gretchen might do. So, right now killing Jacob wasn’t an option.
This would also usually be the time he’d tell the people inside that he needed proof that the hostages were still alive.
But the last thing he wanted was for Jacob to drag Annalise and the girls up to a window knowing that she was hiding her phone. Besides, he knew the hostages were still alive thanks to Annalise keeping him informed.
He raised the bullhorn. “Br
otherhood of Jacob members, if you tell me what you want and why you are in the school, we might be able to work something out. We need to have an open dialogue.”
There was no response from Jacob. Evan waited fifteen minutes and then delivered the same message. Again there was no reply.
Evan hoped Jacob’s men were becoming mutinous. He hoped like hell that hunger, discomfort and isolation were making the men rebellious against the leader who had put them in this situation in the first place. And for what? What on earth had drawn them to the school building where there was nothing but a closet full of snack food?
The school office had no money. They still hadn’t asked for any kind of a ransom. They’d made no contact with Regina Sandhurst, so what in the hell were they doing here? What had been their initial plan?
Damn it, what had they been looking for when they’d barged into the school with guns blazing? It was the one question, despite all the resources at his fingertips, he’d been unable to answer.
He raised the bullhorn to his mouth once again. “Jacob Noble, tell me what you and your men want. Why are you inside the school and what is it you were after? Talk to me about your mission. Help me understand.”
There was still no response. This had now become an ominous silence. He had a gut feeling this hostage situation was coming to a head. He also had a bad feeling because he couldn’t see exactly how it would end.
* * *
HENDRICK HAD A bad feeling. This whole standoff situation at the school was going on for too long, and according to Evan, there had been absolutely no give at all from the hostage takers. The man in charge was not having any real dialogue with Evan.
Unfortunately, Hendrick hadn’t been able to figure out what the group had wanted when they’d stormed the school. He’d searched every avenue he had to try to find the answer without any success.
Even though he had 100 percent faith in Evan, Hendrick knew the man had been thrown for a loop when he’d learned Annalise Taylor was one of the hostages.
Hendrick remembered just how crazy Evan had been over her. He’d talked about her all the time while the two had been dating. Hendrick also remembered how utterly devastated his friend had been when Annalise had left Knoxville to go teach at a private college in Missouri.
He couldn’t imagine what kind of conflict had to be swirling inside Evan’s head knowing that she was one of the hostages in the school. He’d always suspected Evan hadn’t really gotten over her.
Even though the minute she’d left town he had stopped talking about her, Hendrick believed Evan had brooded about her far more often than he’d ever admit.
None of your business, he told himself. Still, their love for each other had seemed so strong, so real to Hendrick.
He was definitely a skeptic when it came to love. He was smart enough to know that his mother’s abandonment and the lack of love earlier in his life had certainly fed into his beliefs. He rarely dated, preferring time on a computer to putting himself out into the dating scene.
At least his computers never rejected him. The computers understood his quirkiness and his need to sometimes control his environment.
He frowned. The last thing he needed to be thinking about was his own particular list of dysfunctions. He reminded himself that his only job here was to provide support and research that might give Evan more tools in his toolbox.
To that end Hendrick had been digging up anything and everything he could about Jacob Noble and his group of followers. He now leaned back in his chair and scrubbed at his burning, tired eyes with his fists.
He’d managed to chase down all the financials of the Brotherhood of Jacob and everything appeared aboveboard, but in digging into Jacob Noble’s personal finances, he was running into some interesting discrepancies.
Jacob Noble and his followers might lead a simple, back to the earth kind of lifestyle on the compound, but Jacob and his wife owned some property in the Caymen Islands, and Hendrick suspected they were also hiding a sizable amount of funds there.
Hendrick was still trying to confirm it. He’d given this information to Evan in their last face-to-face, and he hoped like hell his friend could use it to finally bring this all to an end. Surely Jacob’s followers would be interested to hear that their leader wasn’t being aboveboard with them and instead was lining his own pockets.
One thing Hendrick knew for sure—if Evan wasn’t successful in getting Annalise out of that building alive and well, then Evan would never, ever be the same again.
* * *
AS THE DAY wore on, Evan was on the bullhorn every fifteen minutes trying to get a dialogue going with Jacob. The only communication happening was the cult leader screaming and cursing and shooting at him.
There was no question Evan was getting frustrated. Jacob was forcing his hand by not being willing to communicate in a meaningful way.
It was as if the man was so far gone in his own head and into his need for control, he didn’t recognize that he and his followers were in a lose-lose situation. They had no food and no way out. So, how long would it take for them to finally break? Were they going to break, or was Evan going to have to go in forcefully when and if he had an opportunity that would hopefully not endanger the hostages.
The weather had gotten cooler and the sky overhead had become cloudy and gray, reflecting Evan’s current mood. Thankfully Rowan had kept Chief Cummings busy giving regular updates to the press. It was obvious the chief was loving the limelight and his time in front of the cameras. That worked just fine with Evan.
It was late afternoon when he decided to use another tactic. “If any of you men want to just walk out of there, all you have to do is put your weapons down and come out the front door with your hands up over your head.”
If what Annalise had told him about the in-fighting was true, then hopefully he could turn a couple of the men inside and get them to walk out. Eventually, surely that would make Jacob surrender the hostages and come out before anyone else got hurt.
“We will not fire on you if you put your hands up and come out peacefully,” he said.
“It would be nice if they’d all just walk out of there,” Nick said. “I can’t believe that none of the men inside have grown weary of this whole thing.”
“If we can get a couple of them to surrender, then I’m hoping Jacob will give up, too,” Evan replied. “He’s definitely in a delusional state of mind if he thinks he’s going to outlast us or that I’m going to provide an armored van and just let them all drive away from this.”
“At least if one man walks out maybe he’d be able to give us some information, like how many men are really in there and what in the hell they were after when they forced their way into the school,” Nick replied.
Davis appeared at Evan’s side. “Just wanted to let you know Regina Sandhurst is back on scene. Right now she’s over by the food truck.”
“Thanks. I think I’ll go check in with her.” Evan headed toward the food truck in the distance.
“Agent Duran,” Regina greeted him with a grim smile. “Any progress being made?”
“Unfortunately not much. I was wondering if any of the hostage takers have contacted you yet to pay a ransom? We were wondering if that’s a possible motive.”
“Nobody has contacted me,” she replied. “I almost wish somebody had so we’d know that was what they’re after.”
“It was just a long shot,” Evan replied in frustration.
“You know I’ll do anything I can to help bring this all to an end,” she said. “I just feel so helpless, and I fear this bad publicity is going to affect the donations that keep the school running.”
“Hopefully that won’t happen,” Evan replied. She obviously didn’t realize that she sounded a little cold worrying about donations while there were lives on the line.
“You’ll keep me updated on any information you get? I want to kn
ow absolutely everything that’s going on,” she replied. “I don’t want to get my information from that pompous ass we call a police chief.”
“I’ll be sure and keep you informed,” he replied, although he didn’t remark about her assessment of Chief Cummings.
The two spoke for a few more minutes and then Evan returned to his position. The breeze had picked up a bit and tossed around the leaves on the nearby trees.
Under different circumstances the scene before them would have been quite pretty and peaceful. The two blond brick buildings sat on manicured, lush green grass with the tall, mature trees and bushes adding to the attractive landscape.
But there was nothing pretty about the scene as far as Evan was concerned. He saw each tree trunk as a potential place for a shooter from the school to hide behind. The colorful blowing leaves were nothing more than a distraction.
In all his years of hostage negotiation, he’d never had a hostage taker who didn’t want to talk about themselves and what they wanted. Most hostage takers couldn’t wait to tell the world what was going on in their life and what had brought them to the situation they were in.
Jacob was definitely an anomaly in that he had no apparent desire to talk about himself or what he and his followers were doing. His unwillingness to do so made Evan’s training pretty much go out the window in this situation.
He now groaned at the sight of Chief Cummings approaching with Rowan hurrying just behind him. “Agent Duran, a word,” the chief said.
“About what?” Evan asked.
“My men are tired, and I’m running out of funds for all the extra personnel we’re using. It’s past time to end all this.”
“We’re all tired,” Evan replied curtly. “I’m sure you can work something out with the local council concerning the funding for the extra personnel.”
“We need to coordinate going in with force and bringing this to an end right now,” Chief Cummings continued. “My men are all ready to go.”
“We’re not going in with force at this point,” Evan replied firmly. “I have information that the men inside are now arguing. I don’t think it will be long before some of the men walk out of there. We just need to sit tight and wait for that to happen.”
48 Hour Lockdown Page 7