“I disagree with you. My men and I are tired of sitting tight.” The man took a step closer to Evan. “This should have already been over. We have enough men to take the building by storm, and that’s what we need to do. Besides, having all these men here is leaving the streets of my city unsafe.”
“You have the right to reassign some of your men to wherever you need them. We’ve got this situation covered.” Evan drew in a deep breath as he felt his patience slipping and his anger with the man rising.
“The community is pressing me to act!” Chief Cummings exclaimed.
“I don’t give a damn what anyone says. I don’t take advice from a mob.”
Chief Cummings’s nose flared in obvious frustration. “You don’t care about the local attention because once this is all done and over, you all will just pack your bags and leave. My men and I have to still live and work here.”
“I’ll take the next presser on your behalf,” Rowan said, and stepped between the two men. “Chief Cummings, I’ll make sure they know how much we appreciate your support and how helpful you and your officers have been.”
The chief grunted, but he didn’t step back from Evan. “I still think you’re making a big mistake not ending this right now.”
“Why in the hell would I risk the hostages’ lives by going in with force? Have you forgotten that there are four children inside the building? Right now they’re alive, and I want to make sure I keep them that way.” Evan’s anger rose higher as he glared at the man before him. “Eventually fatigue and hunger will drive them out, and we won’t need to use force.”
Rowan placed her hand on the chief’s shoulder. “Come on, Chief, let’s go over the progress so far. I’m sure reporters are eager to hear from you again.”
God bless Rowan, for if Evan had to continue to face off with the man, he might have wound up punching him in his pugnacious face. Thankfully, as it was, the potential of getting in front of the cameras again and his reputation lifted by Rowan’s words of praise appealed to him more than standing his ground with Evan.
“That man is a complete and total joke,” Nick said once Rowan and the chief walked away. “He’s also a big jerk.”
“He’s definitely getting on my last nerve,” Evan replied. “I’m just not ready to do something drastic right now to bring this to an end. We’ve only been working this for the last twenty-four hours.”
“You’re definitely right that holding out is the way to go, especially with the kids in there.”
Evan nodded. “I really believe at this point it’s just a matter of us outwaiting them.”
He stared at the school building. At least for now the hostages were alive. He could only hope they remained that way and he was making the right choice.
Chapter Five
“Mr. Jacob, could we have something else to eat?” Sadie asked.
Jacob was once again in his position in a chair to the side of the window. He turned to look at Sadie. “There’s nothing left,” he replied. “And I don’t want any of you whining or crying that you’re hungry. I don’t like whiners almost as much as I hate screamers.”
Annalise tightened her arm around Sadie. “What does the Brotherhood of Jacob do?” Annalise asked. “Why did you form this group in the first place?” She held her breath, wondering what his response would be to her questions and if somehow she might be able to make sense of what was going on.
“Society has got no place for people like me. I’ve got no formal education, and I grew up dirt-poor with a mother who screamed at me and beat me half to death every other day of my life.”
“I’m sorry you had to endure that,” Annalise said.
He frowned. “Everyone today is out for themselves, and nobody is tending to the poor and hungry. We’ve got homeless and starving people on the streets of our cities, and nobody is interested in helping them. The Brotherhood of Jacob brought together people who want to help.”
“So what does the Brotherhood of Jacob do to help?” Annalise asked. Any information she could glean might help Evan.
“We grow vegetables and take boxes to the homeless on the streets. We also sell them and send money to charities we deem are appropriate.” A scowl stretched across his forehead. “Nobody ever gave me a helping hand. Now I’ve got the power in the Brotherhood of Jacob, and I decide who we help and when.”
“So what about your wife? I guess she has the same views you do?”
An unexpected grin lifted his lips. “Gretchen hates almost everyone but me. She grew up in the foster care system where she was abused nearly every single day of her life. She learned young that nobody was on her side. But she’s found her place with me and within the arms of the Brotherhood.”
“So how does being here in the school help anyone?”
Before he could reply, Gretchen walked in. “Everything okay in here?” she asked with a smile at Jacob.
“Yeah, except the teacher has a lot of questions,” he replied.
Gretchen turned and stared at Annalise and then looked back at her husband. “Let me know if you need me to shut her up. I’ll be glad to knock her teeth in.”
Jacob laughed. “That’s my girl...always willing to go the extra mile for her man.”
My God, who were these people? Annalise wondered when Gretchen had left the room again. What had life done to them to twist them so badly?
Despite Jacob’s brief laughter, there was no question there was a new tension in the man in charge. He’d screamed at his men throughout the day, and even as he now sat silently at the window she could feel a deranged kind of tension radiating from him.
She was concerned for the girls, who were lethargic and sleeping too much of the time. Now, knowing there was no more food for them made her even more worried.
How long could this go on? How long would these men go without food and being exhausted? What was the endgame? Was Jacob crazy enough to commit mass murder and then kill himself? Far too often these kinds of situations ended that way.
No, she had to stop thinking so negatively. She shouldn’t go to such dark places in her mind. Surely after all this time, one way or another, these precious girls would be saved. She would do all she could to make sure of it. She had to keep believing that. She absolutely couldn’t lose all hope.
Dusk had fallen once again, and Jacob stood and stretched. Annalise’s heart beat a little bit faster in anticipation of him leaving the room.
She quickly closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep. Her heart still thudded rapidly in her chest. The minute she heard his heavy footsteps leaving the room, she sprang into action.
She rushed to her phone, grabbed it and returned to her position. With Jacob still gone, she hit the button that brought up Evan’s ruggedly handsome face on the screen. “Evan,” she whispered, for a moment overcome with so many emotions she could say nothing more.
“Annalise, are you and the kids still okay?”
She nodded. “We’re okay, but the snack food is gone.”
“I know it’s tough, but that’s a good thing. It will make the men more apt to walk out of there. I’m sorry that you and the kids have to do without until that happens.”
She nodded again, knowing there was nothing that could be done to change the situation right now. “Talk to me, Evan. I need to have something else in my mind besides fear.” She quickly glanced to the doorway and then relaxed as she heard Jacob yelling someplace else in the building.
His smile was soft. “We had a lot of good times together,” he said.
“Yes, we did.” How she wished she could have those wonderful times again with him. “I’ve thought about those good times a lot during the past three years.”
“Yeah, me, too,” he replied.
“I wish—”
“You all stop your bitching and stick with me.” Jacob’s voice boomed from just outside the door
way.
Annalise hung up and hid the phone beneath her thigh, then closed her eyes and once again pretended to be asleep. She sensed him staring at her for a couple of long moments and then heard his heavy footsteps as he walked across the room. The chair near the window creaked beneath his weight.
As the night wore on, he left the room one more time and she managed to get her phone back on the charger. Finally she fell into an exhausted sleep without dreams.
When she awakened again, it was morning. Once the girls were up, Jacob escorted them to the bathroom. “Listen, girls,” Annalise said. “There is no more food for anybody. Drink as much water as you can since that is all you’re getting.” They drank using their hands as cups.
“Can’t we get out of here?” Tanya asked. “I want to be back in my own room.”
“Me, too.” Emily broke down in tears. “I’m tired of being here. I’m so tired of being scared.”
Annalise hugged the little girl close and then released her. “We need to stay strong. You all know by now that Jacob doesn’t like crying. I know it’s hard, but we’ve all got to keep our emotions in check until somebody gets us out of here.”
It was going to be a difficult day. The girls were fussy, and Annalise did her best to give them a pep talk, not only to keep them strong, but also to keep them alive.
When they returned to the classroom, the girls once again took their positions against the wall, but Annalise remained standing.
“Jacob, I want the girls to sit at the desks and work today,” she said.
One of his bushy black eyebrows shot up. “Who made you boss today?” he sputtered with a laugh of disbelief. “I don’t give a damn what you want.”
A faint fear trembled through her as she faced off with her captor. “I know you’re calling the shots, Jacob, but I have to think about the well-being of my students. It would be better for their mental health to focus on some work.”
“I think it’s best if you shut up and sit down,” he replied.
Annalise remained standing. “The girls need to do something besides just sit against the wall for another day.” It suddenly seemed vitally important that she stand her ground.
He gazed at her for a long moment. She boldly maintained eye contact with him. He finally looked away and frowned. “Can they work and be quiet? I don’t want any damned noise.”
“They can be very quiet,” Annalise replied. She quickly turned to the girls. “Go to your computers,” she said.
Thankfully they all moved quietly, eagerly to their desks. Jacob watched them. “Hey, Sadie, a little bird told me you’re the smartest girl in this room.”
“I am smart,” Sadie replied. There was no pride in her voice, rather it was just a statement of fact.
“I heard you really know your way around computers,” he said.
“Sometimes I think I might be smarter in computer arts than Miss Annalise,” Sadie replied with pride, and flashed a small smile to her teacher.
“Yep, that’s what the little bird told me,” Jacob said.
“What’s the name of your little bird?” Annalise asked. Had somebody on the inside told him how smart Sadie was? Was there somebody else involved in all this? Who from inside the school would have anything to do with this madness?
“The name is none of your business,” he snapped. “I gave into them working at their desks, now stop asking me questions.”
“Why don’t you all build your own web page,” Annalise said to the girls. “I want it to be a happy page with links to your favorite foods and animals and anything else that you love.”
As the girls got to work, Annalise sat at her desk. Even though she knew in the grand scheme of things nothing had really changed, this felt like another success to her.
She wondered if Jacob had really had inside information on how bright Sadie was, or if he’d merely picked her out because she’d interacted with him and the other girls hadn’t.
She didn’t know, and at the moment it didn’t matter. All that really mattered was that the girls were engaged in their work instead of sitting against a wall with nothing to think about but their own fear. At least now, hopefully, they were thinking about their skills and creativity.
As the girls continued to work, she heard Evan on the bullhorn. He was attempting to build a relationship with Jacob, but the cult leader was having nothing to do with it. He would curse and demand Evan move the police presence away. He would then fire his gun out the window.
Meanwhile, as the girls worked, Gretchen walked between the desks, apparently checking to make sure the girls did nothing to contact anyone from the outside world. She occasionally asked questions to different girls, and it was obvious when they answered that the students were all terrified of her.
By noon Evan wasn’t talking to Jacob anymore, but rather directed his comments to the men in the building. He told them that he understood and supported their mission of feeding the hungry and that he wanted a peaceful resolve to all of this.
Annalise knew Evan was using all the tools in his box to get to the men with Jacob. Unfortunately some of the attributes that make him a great hostage negotiator were also the traits that had eventually torn apart their relationship.
He’d been controlling and often emotionally unavailable to her during the time they had been together. She’d loved him desperately...still had deep feelings for him, but she hadn’t been able to live with his control of her. She believed he’d seen her as too weak and too inadequate to run her own life. Not that any of that mattered now.
The standoff continued. Annalise knew at some point Evan was going to have to make a decision as far as ending this. If they used force to enter the building, she prayed that Jacob and his men would just put their hands up and surrender.
But there was no way to predict exactly what Jacob might do. There was no question that he appeared to grow more and more angry and agitated and quick to fire his gun as the minutes ticked by.
The girls seemed to have grown accustomed to Jacob firing his gun. When it happened, they no longer screamed or cried.
Jacob left the room often, and she could hear him yelling at his men. She had a feeling Evan’s tactics were definitely getting to them.
She was more than ready to get out of here with her students. She just didn’t know if Jacob and his deranged wife, Gretchen, would allow this to come to a peaceful end.
* * *
ANOTHER DAY WAS slowly drawing to an end. Evan was not only frustrated, but also his throat was sore and slightly husky from all the talking he’d done that day.
He lifted the bullhorn to his mouth once again. “Jacob, how about you let me come in there and have a one-on-one conversation with you. I’ll come in unarmed and we can talk face-to-face.”
“Just you?” Jacob yelled back.
Hope filled Evan. “Just me,” he replied. If he could get inside and talk to the man face-to-face, he was sure he could convince Jacob to give up.
“Step out where I can see you,” Jacob said.
This certainly wouldn’t be the first time Evan had entered a building to talk to a hostage taker, but he’d never gone in to speak to one who was so volatile and unpredictable. He stepped out from behind the patrol car and walked forward.
He took only a couple of steps when Jacob told him to halt.
“I’m going to lay down my gun,” Evan said. With one hand up in the air, he used his other hand to unfasten the shoulder holster holding his gun. When he was finished, he laid it on the ground in front of him and then raised both hands above his head. “I’m unarmed and I’m coming in.”
He took two steps forward and was about to take another when Jacob fired. Thankfully, the bullets kicked up the ground to the left and didn’t hit him. Evan cursed, grabbed his gun and then scurried back behind the patrol car.
Jacob laughed. “Sorry, I changed my
mind. I got nothing to say to you.”
“Are you okay?” Nick asked Evan once he was back to safety.
“I’m fine.” He released a deep breath. “If he’d wanted to kill me, he could have. I was an easy target.”
“He’s crazy,” Nick replied.
“Crazy like a fox.”
“Too bad Dr. Larsen couldn’t identify what the trigger was for all this,” Nick said.
Dr. Melinda Larsen was a criminal profiler. She was an attractive woman who was a specialist in reading body language for the FBI. Evan had contacted her to get a more thorough profile on Jacob Noble.
Her assessment was that Jacob was a narcissist who thrived on chaos. One of his teachings was that in the coming years food sources would dry up and only the wealthy would be able to feed themselves, thus building an “us versus them” mind-set in his followers.
He had set himself up as a godlike leader who would keep his followers safe and fed as things crumbled in society.
According to the information Hendrick had been able to give Dr. Larsen, she also believed Jacob used a combination of fear and unpredictability to control cult members.
It had been that unpredictability that he’d just shown, only in this case it was to prove to his followers that he was still in control and could make the FBI jump.
He raised the bullhorn. “I’m talking to the men inside the school. You have no way out of here. Jacob has led you into a corner where there is no escape. It’s time to give up. This is a dead end, and if you don’t surrender, then this will not end well.”
He paused a moment and then spoke again. “At least let the hostages go.”
The sun was dipping lower in the horizon, casting everything in shadows. He started to raise the bullhorn once again but paused as a tall man stood in the entrance of the school.
“Everyone hold your fire...hold your fire,” he yelled to his men.
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