“I’m afraid that’s not possible, Jimmy. You and your friends are accused of some very serious crimes. We can’t just let them go. That‘s not how the justice system works,” Keats explained.
“I’m not giving in, Keats. If you want these kids, you will let Belmar go.” He furiously hung up the phone. Why did the police have to be so difficult. As far as he was concerned, the plan was quite simple. However, the police never just let things go.
Heading back towards the gym, he knew that he had to make the police squirm.
Entering the room, he again aimed at a banner and fired a round. A few yelps and cries flew through the crowd. The girls were all crying while the boys tried to keep calm.
However, everyone in the room was terrified. The students and staff were cowering, afraid that the noises that were just made would earn another round of tie-ups.
“So, Miss Johnson. It appears that your father’s police friends are just as stubborn as he is. They just want me to give up? Ha! Anyhow, I think they might be a little frazzled right now. They might think someone is hurt!” He held his stomach as he rolled in crazed laughter. “I love to play with their heads. They’ve spent years trying to play with mine!”
“Why? I don’t understand?” Melissa gasped between sobs. “Why do you want to hurt people?”
“None of you seem to understand! I’m not trying to hurt people! They just get in my way! Now, I’m going to get what I want! I’m using you as a trade! You for my friends!” He began to feel the anger rise up in him. Glancing at Alec, he nodded at him and Jimmy turned and walked out of the room. He couldn’t let his temper ruin his plan. If his plan was ruined, the entire gang would end up behind bars.
Officer Keats hung up his phone and shook his head. “The guy’s smart. He’s not going to give in easily.”
Just then, another round of shots was heard coming from the school. The crowd on the lawn gasped and began to cry. Everyone’s heart was in their throats. Their children were in that school.
“I can’t even get how many men are in there with the students. This guy, Jimmy, is careful with what he says. Somehow, I don’t think he’s shooting people in there. I think he’s trying to scare us into agreeing to his terms.” Keats brushed his hair back and sighed. “This may take awhile.”
“We need to tell the crowd something. They’re hysterical. If they think that their children are dying in there, it could cause a riot out here,” another officer stated.
“I’ll explain what I can to them. I’ve done enough negotiations to know that if they really want something, they’re not going to start killing people right away.” Keats turned and walked toward the crowd.
Many of the parents were on their knees praying and weeping. Others were pacing frantically. As they saw the officer approach them, they all froze in horror.
“Hey folks, I just wanted to talk to you a little bit about the situation that’s happening in the school. I’ve been in contact with one of the fugitives. He calls himself Jimmy and is demanding the release of the men that were arrested here in town a few days ago. I know we’ve heard shots fired in there, but I’d like to assure you that he’s trying to scare us. I’ve worked in hostage negotiations for years, and if the captor really wants what he’s asking for, he won’t kill people right away.” Keats paused and took in the stares of those in the crowd.
“You’re telling us to calm down when our children are possibly dying in there?
We’ve heard a gun go off a few times now! How do you know that he’s not killing the children?” a desperate mother screamed.
“I’m just telling you what I have experienced. The captor is trying to get what he wants. It’s your choice as to what to believe, but I’m confident that the students are safe right now,” Keats replied. He spun around and quickly walked back to where the other officers were assembled. Dealing with the families and community was always the most frustrating part.
“Keats, do you really think that they’re okay in there?” Johnson stepped out of his cruiser and asked. “Sheriff, I’ve seen many of these situations. I really believe that if they’re desperate enough to hold up a school, they really want what they’re demanding. They’re not going to start off with violence. I’m going to tell you the truth. The more frustrated he gets, the more likely that someone could be hurt. I’m just hoping we can get it worked out before that happens.” Keats rested a soothing hand on Johnson’s shoulder. Sheriff Johnson took a deep breath and returned to his cruiser. He just hoped that the captor would let Melissa call him again.
The news reporter
“Breaking news.” Jamestown High School has been taken over by at least three men. The men are requesting the release of Jack Belmar, the fugitive caught in the town after a police chase early Wednesday morning. Belmar has had multiple warrants out for his arrest here in Texas, along with Oklahoma and Louisiana.
“Early Friday morning, it was said that the men broke into the school with high powered weapons and waited for the students and staff to arrive for the day. As the students arrived, they were forced into the gymnasium at the rear of the building.
“In the past few hours, there have been gunshots heard coming from the school. No one knows the situation inside the building right now.
“We will continue to cover the situation here in Jamestown as information becomes available. This is Rose Anderson for Seven News.”
The young reporter sighed as the cameras flipped off. She turned and looked at the building behind her. Rose had been covering the fugitives for a year now. She had never dreamed that they would take over a school.
“Hey, do you want to do another shot over by the police? Maybe we can get an interview with some of the officers who have been here today,” the scraggly cameraman asked.
“That sounds great. Why don’t you set up over by the cruisers and I’ll meet you there in a few minutes?” Rose attempted to smile at him.
As the crew began to move the equipment, Rose wandered around the police barrier. She could only imagine what those children were going through in that school.
Following the gang, she never thought that they would hold up a school. They seemed to go for robberies and shootouts. She sighed and turned back towards her crew.
If only she had the answers, things would be much easier to understand.
“Please, I want my dad to know I’m okay!” a young girl pleaded with Alec.
“No, I can’t allow it. If I allow you to do it, then everyone will want to. Now sit down and shut up!” He pointed the gun at her and she obeyed.
The atmosphere in the gym had become intense. The students were afraid and sat in all corners of the room trembling. Few dared to speak.
“Sir, I really need to go to the bathroom. I’m not feeling well.” Another young girl walked up and looked at him with soft gray eyes. “Miss, I can’t do anything about that at the moment. I’ll talk with Jimmy and maybe we can get some of us a bathroom break.” Alec immediately kicked himself. He had done it again. He had given someone Jimmy’s name.
“Jimmy? Who’s he?” she asked as she glanced around at the other men.
“None of your concern. Now sit down!” He pointed his gun at her and she returned to her spot. Alec felt like he was babysitting. Why wasn’t this plan working out like Jimmy told him it would? He hadn’t expected the students to question every movement they made. Jimmy needed to tell him what was next. Slowly making his way through the crowd, he spotted Jimmy on the stage tormenting the sheriff’s daughter again. Poor girl. He wished he could help her in some way. “What do you want, man? Can’t you see I have a conversation going on here?” Jimmy scowled at him. “Man, these kids are begging for the bathroom. Can we do something so that they stop bugging me? I’m tired of them whining!” Alec complained.
“I only hear one person whining, and it’s you! Use your brain and figure something out. Just don’t screw it up!” Jimmy snapped as he turned back to the girl.
That little weasel is on my last
nerve. Who made him the boss, anyway? Alec thought as he made his way back to is post. He’d let some of the kids go to the bathroom with an armed escort. He had to save his sanity. These kids were getting restless and he was the one who had to deal with them. Obviously, Jimmy was too busy torturing the sheriff’s daughter to think about the rest of the plan. He groaned as he made his way back to his post at the rear of the room. Desiree slipped back down next to Matt. After having a gun pointed at her head, she was feeling a little shaken. She and Matt had discussed trying to escape through a bathroom window. The girls’ bathroom had some side windows that she could climb out of if she stood on a toilet. However, when she went to talk to the gunman closest to them, he had said he would try and then pointed his gun at her and made her sit down. She somehow doubted that she would be able to work out their plan. “Des, that man almost shot you! What did you say?” Matt looked alarmed. Desiree looked like she was going to pass out from fright.
“I just told him I wasn’t feeling well. Now I feel terrible,” she said as she laid down on her backpack.
“Don’t worry, there has to be a way out of here.” Matt’s confidence was waning, but he wanted to make sure that those around them stayed positive.
Desiree noticed that the gunman was making his way towards the leader at the front of the gym. The next closest was quite a ways away, so she took that opportunity to pull out her phone and send a quick message to her mother.
Mom, no one hurt. Four men with guns. Trying to escape. she tapped in as quickly as she could. She noticed that the man was moving back in her direction as she punched the “send” key. Quickly shoving the phone back into her jacket pocket, she looked up just as he was above them.
“Hey, miss, I’ll take a few of you girls to the ladies’ room now. Hurry though, I don’t have all day!” the gunman stated as he stood over them.
Desiree jumped up immediately and followed. A few more of the girls came with them. The hallway outside the gym was quiet and deserted. The gunman held the firearm in front of him as he urged the girls to hurry.
Once in the girls room, Desiree signaled those who had come in with her to gather around. “Hey, I’m going to get out and get some help. I just need help getting up to that window. You must return to the gym with the guy to make sure he doesn’t suspect anything.”
“Why you? I want to go,” stated another of the girls.
“Let’s not argue. You know I’m Melissa’s best friend and know the sheriff well. The faster I can explain the situation to him, the better. Please help!” Desiree felt the frustration rise up in her. “Oh, okay. I’m the next one out though.” The girl pouted.
“Alright. I hope we’re all out before too much longer. Just boost me, please!”
Desiree positioned herself under the lowest window and had the four other girls help her up so that she could unlatch it. She had to bang at the screen a little before it loosened though.
“You girls okay in there?” the gunman bellowed from the door.
“Yeah, we’re fine. I’m just trying to get my tampon in the trash!” Desiree yelled.
The other girls giggled. They finally pushed her up and out the window. Sliding out the other side, Desiree dropped to the ground with a thud.
“I’m okay. Go back! I’ll get help!” She picked herself up off the ground and snuck around the school.
A crowd of people appeared as she rounded the school. A few gasped and pointed as they saw her run for the squad cars. She motioned to them to remain quiet.
“Mr. Johnson! It’s Desiree! Where are you?” She waved at the police as she ran into the groups of officers.
“Young lady, what’s going on?” a young woman officer asked.
“I just escaped the building. I’m trying to find Sheriff Johnson. I’m his daughter’s best friend,” she explained as quickly as she could.
Within a few moments, she was surrounded by a group of police officers, with Sheriff Johnson included. They were relieved to hear that no one had been hurt.
However, they feared the situation might change for the worse if they didn’t get the kids out of there soon.
Meanwhile in the Restroom
Alec began to pound on the restroom door with the butt of his gun. He was getting nervous and impatient with every single second it took for the girls to come out of there.
“Girls, we need to get going! There are more that need to use the bathroom!” Alec yelled into the girls’ room. He was getting frustrated with the fact that women took forever in the bathroom. Why did they need to primp so much? Four of the five girls he had ushered there came out.
“Where’s the other girl?” he asked.
“She’s feeling really sick. She said that she’s going to need a few more minutes.
I think she must have food poisoning,” one of the girls explained. Alec cursed in frustration. Why did he have to be so nice? He should have just made them all suffer in the gym. He kicked the doorframe and cursed a little more. “Man, I can’t wait while she stays in there all day! I guess I’ll just have to wait for her when I bring the next group. Back to the gym! Now!” he shouted as he herded the small group back to the gym using his gun.
As they headed back into the crowded gym, the girls went their separate ways.
They were all relieved that the gunman had accepted their explanation. He was dumber than he looked. They were afraid for a moment that he would go in and try to find the other girl, but he had given up easily.
He rounded up another small group of girls and took them to the restroom. The girls exiting the bathroom made no mention of the one he had left in there a short time before. If she was truly ill, he needed to get her back to Jimmy.
Alec took three more groups of girls before he finally stepped into the bathroom to look for the one who was supposedly ill. Looking up at the window near the stalls, his heart dropped. That’s when he realized with dread that she must have climbed out the broken window. Jimmy would be angry, but he had to tell him. Ushering the last girls back to the gym, he made his way up to the man who had planned the whole operation.
The police took Desiree down to the station where they could calm her down and get some more information about what was going on inside the building. She was shaken up. Her face was white and she couldn’t stop from shivering. The officer that accompanied her feared that she would go into shock.
“You did a brave thing, Desiree. Not many people would have thought about that.” The officer tried to sooth the young girl’s nerves. “Matt thought of it. I feel bad leaving him there.” A single tear coursed down her pale cheek.
“We’ll get them all out of there soon. We just need some more information so that we can get a plan set up.”
“Yeah.”
Desiree feared that by the time they got into that building, people would be dead.
She had watched the man who held Melissa hostage on the stage. He wasn’t paying attention to the way he was swinging his gun. Also, the way he kept laughing made her realize that something was a little off. He was crazy.
At the station, the officer was able to get details about where the men stood, how many there were, and how many were tied up. The officer now understood that there were multiple gunmen and that there were many lives at stake.
Sheriff Johnson watched as they took his daughter’s friend away. He knew that
Melissa was alive, but she had been tied up and knocked around quite a bit while they waited outside. He just wanted to rush in and rescue her. From the details Desiree offered, the SWAT Team was able to plan how to surround the school and take out the men if needed.
Suddenly, another shot rang out from the school. The recently soothed crowd began to fret again. No one knew how long it would be before someone really did get shot.
At that point, the SWAT Team prepared to go in and try and rescue the hostages.
The gunmen had turned down two more negotiations, and the longer the children were being held, the better the chance that something
would happen.
“Oh, Melissa! I think it’s time to talk to Daddy again. He must be very worried right now. Poor, stupid Alec. If he’d only used his head, I wouldn’t have had to kill him,” he said as he smirked at her.
At her feet lay the corpse of one of the gunmen. He had just discovered that one of the students had escaped through the bathroom window while he escorted the girls to the restroom. Inside, she celebrated the fact that one of them got out. However, she was also mortified with how easily the leader had killed his fellow captor.
He picked up the phone and hit redial. “Now, be a good girl. Take a lesson from your friend, Alec.” He pressed the phone to her ear.
“Daddy! Yeah, I’m okay… Yeah… Oh!… “ The phone was quickly yanked from her ear. “Sheriff Johnson! How good it is to speak with you again! You’re daughter is such a pleasure to deal with!… Oh, no worries, it was just one of my men… I’m sure you got some valuable information from her… Anyhow, I request the release of my friends again. For every ten minutes that I don’t get what I want, a hostage dies.” He ended the call and tossed Melissa’s phone back onto the stage.
“Hear that, sweetheart? I think I might need to push this one along a little. Who should be my first…” He glanced out over the crowd. “Oh, my buddy, Eric! Come here!” He motioned the boy to come up to the stage with is weapon. “So, if Miss Johnson’s daddy doesn’t make some magic here soon, then I think that you are going to visit my good friend Alec. Do you believe in god Eric? Do you? I suggest saying a prayer before shit pop off.”
Eric stared down at the dead man on the floor. He started to tremble.
Melissa began to cry again. She just hoped that the police would pull through for them in time.
“Now, no tears now! We will be celebrating in just a little bit! We will all be free!” The man smiled mockingly at her.
“Please don’t kill him!” Melissa cried.
Thrills: Vol.2 Page 9