by Kathryn Pana
‘Better that than in the morgue,’ Will replied.
‘Well, Captain, I have a feeling I will be back yet again.’
He got up and walked out, looking at Will as he went, who was stood by the door; he was only five-foot-eight and had a very slight frame so he was nothing compared to Will physically.
‘I am hoping it was a good shoot, Sergeant,’ the Captain said when Lieutenant Green was out of ear shot.
‘Yes, Captain, it was. I swear, ask Hargreaves, I didn’t want to shoot him but he gave me no choice.’
‘OK, get your reports done and I will deal with Green,’ he stood up. ‘So, out of curiosity what does he have against you?’
‘I slept with his wife a few years back.’
‘Falco, I might have known, no wonder he has been on this department’s ass for the last year or more.’
‘I didn’t know who she was, but they got divorced soon after, and me and his ex-wife are good friends now actually, but he still blames me.’
‘Well, I can understand that, but it gives me an idea, shut the door on your way out.’
***
Will had finished writing his reports for the morning when his phone rang.
‘Sergeant, I have someone down at the front desk wanting to speak with you.’
‘OK, I will come straight down.’
Will headed down the stairs and through the security door to the front desk.
‘They are just over there, Sergeant.’ he gestured to two women sat in the waiting area.
‘And they are?’ Will asked. ‘They asked for me?’
‘Well they actually asked for the tall, arrogant SWAT officer who shot the boyfriend,’ he smiled. ‘So, I figured that was you.’
‘Thanks a lot, but it could have been Tom, he’s tall.’
‘Never heard him called arrogant, though.’
‘Fair point.’. Will walked over to the two women sat down. As he got closer, Will recognised one of them as the woman from the clothing store that morning; She looked different but he wasn’t sure why. She was with another woman who was about five-foot-nine, with dark hair that was cut into a short bob, and she was broad and curvy, and looked very angry.
‘Is this him?’ she asked the smaller one.
She nodded, barely looking up, she seemed even more withdrawn than before. Almost scared.
‘I want an explanation,’ she said loudly and in a rather nasty tone.
‘About what?’ Will responded, arms folded standing tall.
‘You shot my niece’s boyfriend and had my niece arrested and I want an explanation right now.’
‘Well, your niece here committed criminal damage and her boyfriend had a gun.’
‘They had paintball guns and were protesting animal rights, what right do you have to shoot anyone in such a way, I will have your badge!’ she shouted at him.
Some other officers and civilians had stopped to watch as she got louder. The officers were not sure what Will would do, they knew he wasn’t good in confrontation and he didn’t take to anyone shouting at him.
‘Well now, let’s see here, your niece and her boyfriend walked into that clothing store of their own free will, no one forced them. They chose to commit criminal damage, because no matter how you want to dress it up, that is what it is. The owner of that store has the right not to have thousands of dollars’ worth of stock damaged.’
She went to speak but he put up his hand to stop her and continued.
‘Her boyfriend took a hand gun into that store and pointed it right at me. I asked him three times to put it down and he refused, so yes, I shot him. Which, by law as a SWAT officer, I am allowed to do if I believe people are at risk. The choices they made forced me to make the choice I did.’
‘His shoulder is destroyed, you could have killed him.’
‘No, I would not have killed him.’
‘Of course, you could have, you could have easily got it wrong and missed and killed him.’
‘If I had, in fact, wanted to kill him, then he would be dead, I work on SWAT and believe me, I never miss.’
The woman stood there, mouth open in stunned silence at his last remark. Will’s radio went.
‘Alpha Team leader, we have a hostage situation in an office building on 34th street.’
‘Show us as on route, control’ Will replied, he turned to the two women ‘Excuse me, I have a job to do, if you want to speak to a senior officer, I can send someone down.’
The older woman nodded and they stood there in silence as Will headed back upstairs.
***
‘Come on, guys, let’s go, we have a shout,’ Will said as he walked in the office
‘Sergeant Falco, I have you and two other teams attending this one, will meet you there,’ Lieutenant Planter said.
‘OK, Lieutenant,’ he looked over to Captain Bridge. ‘Captain, there are a couple of women who want to speak with you at the front desk,’
‘What about?’
‘They are apparently unhappy with me shooting that guy this morning, and Captain, good luck, you might need it.’ Will walked off smiling.
Chapter Ten
All the teams arrived at the location, it was a tall office block.
‘So, what we got, Lieutenant?’ asked Will as he got out of the car.
‘We have a disgruntled ex of an accountant, whose office is with a firm up on the fifteenth floor.’
‘Fifteenth floor?’ replied Will. ‘I hate these ones, no easy way in.’
‘No view from buildings around either, it’s all that reflective glass all the way up.’
‘Great, so what’s the plan, Lieutenant?’
‘We are waiting for CCTV and building plans, we had him on the phone but he is distraught and not being very co-operative.’
‘Who called it in?’
‘Well, an employee got out down the stairs and called us. She said he has shot at least three people and had another eight in a meeting room, including his ex-wife. Apparently, he caught her cheating with someone at work.’
‘So, he isn’t scared of using his gun.’
‘No, so get ready because as soon as we have the plans, we are going in.’
Two minutes later, they had the plans in front of them. Will got Tom to look as well and they went over different scenarios before they decided on how they would go in. Will’s team made their way up the stairs to the fifteenth floor, it was a long way, but the elevators had been disconnected. This was why Will kept his team so fit; stairways were part of the job on a very regular basis, especially in Manhattan. Will had a second unit coming up behind his, securing the stairwell and the third secured the lobby.
Will slowly opened the stairway door, he stayed low and looked in. He could see one person on the floor, unfortunately dead. He signalled to his team to go in on the left and right, and to stay low till they had swept the office. They went in as directed. They checked the whole office, they found another two dead. Will could hear voices coming from along a corridor; he signalled to his team to follow him and to clear each office as they went. Every room was clear with one left, the meeting room at the bottom. Will knew he had to make a decision and fast, he looked for another way in and got Tom to check the office next door. Tom entered but came out and signalled there was nothing. Will instructed Tom, Bennett and Palmer to hold outside the office and Harvey to go in with him; he didn’t want to overwhelm the suspect. He counted down in silence. Then he kicked open the door.
‘NYPD, put the gun down’
Right in front of him, there was a man with a gun which was pointing right at the woman he had right in front of him; she looked terrified. There was another eight people over in the corner, all looking scared.
‘Come any closer and I will shoot her!’ he screamed.
‘Put the gun down and we can all walk out of here, there is no need for anyone else to get hurt,’ Will said calmly.
‘I don’t think so,’ he said. ‘I already killed three, so don’t lie to me a
bout walking out. I know that they will shoot me as soon as I leave.’
‘If you put that down, I will make sure you walk out.’
‘No,’ he replied. ‘I came here because she left me for some guy who works here, so I came to talk to her and let her know that’s not very nice and they all tried to stop me.’
‘You need to put that down.’
‘No, I think I will kill her instead.’
His finger moved towards the trigger. A shot fired, the female screamed as the man fell to the floor.
‘Suspect down, we are all clear,’ Will said despondently into the radio.
Harvey put his hand on Will’s shoulder. ‘Nothing else you could have done, Sergeant.’
‘I know,’ said Will but it didn’t make it easier. No matter what people thought about him, he didn’t like having to kill anyone and in cases like this where it was clear they were mixed up and needed help, he hated it even more.
They headed back out into the main office and, with the rest of the team, headed back to the stairway. As they were leaving, officers and crime scene officers arrived to take control and help the hostages.
Will had been busy all day, he had barely had time to think about Kathy; however, now walking down those stairs, that was the only place his mind could go to. He knew the man that had her was more than capable of killing her. The cell phone would ring soon, and then he would know exactly what he was expected to do to get her back.
***
They got back to the office and Captain Bridge was talking to an officer that Will didn’t recognise. All his team were tired and it had been a busy day but they still had reports to write before they finished and Will still had a call to take. The team all sat at their desks, Tom got a coffee and so did Will.
‘Won’t be long now before he calls,’ Will said. ‘We have thirty minutes, so come to my office in about twenty-five.’
‘OK, will get started on my reports first.’
Will headed to his office and started writing his report. He was about half way through when Tom came in and shut the door.
‘Hey,’ he sat down. ‘So, what do you think he will say?’
‘To be honest, Tom, I don’t know,’ he sat back. ‘It could be literally anything, you know him, but I have a feeling it won’t be good for us, anyway.’
Just then, the phone went. Will got a pen and paper and answered the phone.
‘Sergeant, hope you have had a good day. Now I have been busy planning what you are to do next, so are you ready? Now, do listen carefully as I am not going to repeat these instructions.’ He paused before he continued. ‘At nine-thirty tomorrow morning, you are going to go, with ALL your team, minus one of course, and hold up the Westgate bank. You will not tell anyone inside the bank that you are the police, that would be too easy.’
Will stopped writing. ‘You want us to commit armed robbery for you?’ he questioned in disbelief.
‘Yes, exactly, Sergeant. But it is not just for me, it’s for your girlfriend here.’
Will sat back in his chair, he put his hand on his head. ‘What are we taking?’
‘All in good time, Sergeant, I will ring you on this number at nine-forty with further instructions. The security cameras are being monitored so I will be watching you from the time you enter, so no trying anything.’
‘And Officer Hill…?’
‘Why so formal, Sergeant? Kathy will be safe till then and I am taking such good care of her for you,’ he laughed. ‘But I assure you, tell anyone outside your team and she dies. They tell anyone: she dies. Fail to comply and SHE DIES.’
‘Let me talk to her,’ Will said insistently.
‘Hello, Sergeant, don’t do it. He is going to kill me, anyway,’ she pleaded, scared and tearful.
‘Don’t talk like that, trust me. I will find you, it will be OK, just stay strong.’
‘Now,’ his voice came back on. ‘Nine-thirty at the bank and don’t be late. I will call you at nine-forty. Bye for now.’ With that, he hung up.
Will put the phone down on the desk and they both looked at it in silence, not knowing what to say. Suddenly the door flew open, Tom and Will both jumped. It was Lieutenant Planter.
The Lieutenant was in his mid-forties. He was of Caribbean descent. He was five-foot-eleven with striking features. He had been on SWAT twenty years but not in New York; he transferred from Atlanta only a year ago, and he was still getting used to the way that Sergeant Falco did things. They had had many disagreements in the past and Will knew this would make things worse.
‘Easy guys, just me,’ said the Lieutenant. ‘The Captain needs to speak with you, Sergeant, as soon as possible.’
‘Yeah, sure, I will be in in a few minutes, just going over something with Hargreaves.’
‘OK, but don’t be too long,’ He left looking very suspicious at Will and Tom as he did so.
‘Shut the door again.’ Will said.
As Tom shut the door, he asked, ‘He really wants us to hold up a bank?’
‘Yes, to make us look bad, and to save him from having to do it and risk getting arrested. We have so much on him now, he can’t get caught now, can he?’
‘And we are going to do this?’ Tom asked, though he knew the answer, even if it’s not what he wanted to hear.
‘Yes, but we are going to do it our way, not his. He just doesn’t know it yet. We have to talk to the team and get them in on it, but we can’t do it here.’ He paused, thinking. ‘The diner, after shift. Everyone.’
With that, he got up and went into the Captain’s office.
‘You wanted me, Captain?’ Will said.
‘Yes, Sergeant, sit down.’
Will sat as instructed, it seemed serious.
‘I have been speaking to the Captain down in internal affairs. He has removed Green from the investigation of you and your team; however, he feels that your behaviour over recent months needs looking into and so is assigning someone else. I told him that he was looking in the wrong place for the leak, to which he agreed but he said he needs to follow up what Green started, grudge or not.’
‘So, what does that mean?’ Will asked.
‘Well, as long as you and your team are clean and you don’t have any bad shoots in that period, you are good.’
‘Then, we are good, Captain.’
‘OK, well it’s nearly end of shift, so get sorted and out of here, it’s been a hell of a couple of days.’
‘Yes, Captain, have we heard anything about Kathy, any clues to where she is? I mean, it’s been over 24 hours.’
‘Sadly not, Sergeant, they think he is holding her as an insurance policy while he pulls a job but we don’t know anymore, you know he hardly leaves a trail.’
‘I know, Captain, thanks.’
Will finished up and got changed before heading to the diner to meet the others.
Chapter Eleven
‘Are we just waiting on Bennett? Where is he?’
‘Just on the phone, Sergeant. He won’t be a minute,’ answered Harvey.
The diner was designed in a 60s style. There was a juke box at one end of the counter. The whole place was decorated in pink and chrome, with pictures of musicians from that era. They had gone all out to be as authentic as possible. Not usually the team’s choice in an after-work drink, but it had its advantages. It was close to work and it was busy, so had plenty of ambient noise. They couldn’t afford to be overheard. The waitress came over, all dressed up in a 60s outfit.
‘What can I get you gents?’
‘Five coffees, please,’ Tom answered.
‘OK, won’t be a minute,’ she replied.
As she went to get the drinks, she passed Bennett as he approached the table.
‘So, what’s going on and why the hell are we meeting here of all places?’ he gestured at the surroundings while he got comfortable.
‘Here we are, guys, and there’s the milk and sugar. If you need a refill, just give me a shout,’ the waitress said, putting everything out o
n the table.
‘OK, thanks very much,’ Will replied and waited till she was out of ear shot before he began.
***
After he explained the whole story to the team, from the kiss to the phone call, he said, ‘So to get her back alive, we have to do this as a team.’ He looked at them, hoping one of them would say something. There was shock and uncertainty in their faces. He didn’t know which way they would go.
‘And we are going to do this while on shift tomorrow? Is that right?’ Palmer questioned, quite shocked at the idea of doing something that would break the law.
‘Yes, we have to be there at nine-thirty,’ replied Tom, seeing that the events of the last few days were all getting a bit much for Will and the exhaustion could clearly be seen on his face.
‘We do this so he thinks he is getting his way, but we have ideas too. We need to be fully armed and suited up or he will get suspicious. We have to cover our SWAT badges or he will see them on camera. But we are figuring out a way to let the police know it is us inside.’
‘You mean the police will be called, on us, like a real hold up; we know the drill. They could come in and shoot us, right?’ asked Bennett.
‘He has to believe we are following what he wants us to do. But it will be fine, they won’t shoot us, and once they know it is us, they will back off and we can get Kathy back,’ Will continued. ‘They will be watching the bank, so we have to be careful what we do and say at all times. He won’t need much of an excuse to shoot her.’
Will was tired and he wanted to go home and plan exactly what they were going to do in the morning down to the last detail. He couldn’t make any mistakes this time. This man was not going to do this to him again; he should never have shown his feelings the way he did or where he did. All this was on him and so was whatever was going to happen next. He could only hope it would turn out all right.
Tom finished up ‘Remember, not a word to anyone, turn up for shift as normal, we will have everything sorted out and ready. This could easily be your worst day on SWAT. So, we need complete focus and trust from all of you. Get a good sleep and we will see you in the morning.’