Putting Everything on the Line

by Kathryn Pana

  ‘Yes, where is she?’ Will asked bluntly.

  ‘She is in an abandoned building at the end of the runway at JFK. Now I would set off real soon, if you can that is. I mean, it may take a while due to your current situation, but there are a few to get through. Oh, and Sergeant, just one more small thing before you go.’

  ‘‘What?’ Will responded, worryingly.

  ‘You broke our agreement, someone else answered the phone, so the lovely Kathy here has to pay the price. Good bye, Sergeant.’

  Before Will could say anything, he heard a gunshot, a loud thud and a car screeching away.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Will put the phone on the table, sat and looked at it in disbelief. Everything he had done and he had shot her anyway. His mind went back six years. Why did he think this time, the outcome would have been different? He should have known, the man wasn’t capable of doing anything that wasn’t pure evil, he shouldn’t have fallen for it, but this time was different for it wasn’t his mistake that had caused it to happen. Will stood up and threw the chair away from him and turned towards Detective Franks.

  ‘You!’ he pointed to Franks. ‘You did this. He shot her and all because you wouldn’t listen to me. You had to answer the phone, be the hero!’ He was angry and heading closer to him. ‘Why didn’t you just trust me and just listen?’

  Then, suddenly, a faint voice came onto the phone. Will stopped and picked up the cell phone, he couldn’t believe she was still alive.

  ‘Sergeant, if you can hear me, please find me, I need your help.’

  ‘Kathy, is that you? What did he do to you?’

  ‘I’m hit in the leg, it is bleeding so much, I can’t stop it,’ she replied in a faint voice, obviously in great pain and very scared.

  ‘Hold on, I’m going to come and get you, just stay awake. I am going to give the phone to the Captain, just keep talking.’

  Will passed the phone to the Captain, who was still shocked by what had played out in front of him. He thought on all his years on the force, he had seen it all but this was proof that he really hadn’t. Then Will turned to Detective Franks.

  ‘I have to go and find her. She will die if you don’t, take these off and let us go,’ he held out his hands.

  Detective Franks paused and looked at Will.

  ‘I can get officers there in a few minutes.’

  ‘And what if some of his crew are still there? You know we are the best to handle this’ Detective Franks considered for a moment. He knew he would get into trouble for this. He had no authorisation to let them go, but he also knew it was the right thing to do. He unlocked the handcuffs and followed Will out of the interview room and down the hall to where the others were being held.

  ‘Let them out and give them their weapons back’.

  The Duty Sergeant looked at him in a questioning disbelief but didn’t speak.

  ‘Just do it, Sergeant.’ Franks ordered.

  All the team were released and everyone watched in amazement at how quickly and efficiently they got ready and rearmed. In a matter of minutes, they were ready to go.

  ‘Give me the phone,’ ordered Will. ‘NOW!’

  The Duty Sergeant passed the phone and Will dialled.

  ‘I need two SWAT cars out front and ask Lieutenant Planter to meet us by the front doors,’ He hung up and turned to his team ‘Let’s go and find her and finish this. Hope you got your sunglasses, guys, because the press are going to go crazy when we walk out of those doors.’

  Will insisted that his team always carry sunglasses, because when the press were at an incident, the constant flashing of the cameras did nothing for their aim.

  Lieutenant Planter met them at the doors. There was a quick discussion of what would happen; Captain Bridge had followed to give the go ahead to the Lieutenant, and they headed out the large doors that fronted the station. Lieutenant Planter went out first. The team put on their sunglasses and followed. As expected, the press went crazy.

  ‘Sergeant, how are you and your team back on duty after holding up a bank?’ shouted one reporter.

  ‘What is it like to be a criminal?’ shouted another.

  ‘Attention everyone please’ shouted Lieutenant Planter ‘I am going to make a brief statement with regards to the incident this morning and then I will be taking your questions.’

  The press frenzy gathered around Lieutenant Planter, leaving Will and his team to walk down the steps and get into the waiting cars. One news crew spotted them and followed though and held the car door, stopping them from leaving.

  ‘How are you allowed to carry on like you did nothing? What right do you have to hold up a bank and then walk out of jail?’ said the reporter. ‘If that had been anyone else today, in that bank, you would have shot them, would you not?’

  ‘No comment,’ replied Will reaching for the door again. ‘Now excuse me, I have work to do.’

  ‘Work! What about those people who worked in the bank? What about them Sergeant?’ she continued insistently.

  ‘OK, I will say this as politely as I can,’ he paused, putting his hand on his gun. ‘Move or I will shoot you.’

  She stepped back in complete shock, letting go of the door and all she could do was watch as Will closed the door and drove away.

  ‘Did you get that?’ she asked the camera crew after a moment.

  ‘Yeah, sure did, he can’t say that to people, can he?’

  ‘No, he can’t, and we are going to make sure the world knows about what kind of people are paid to supposedly protect us.’

  Chapter Seventeen

  ‘Where are we going?’ Tom asked, driving the first car.

  ‘JFK.’ Will replied. ‘The abandoned buildings at the end of the main runway. Bennett, radio through and get an ambulance to meet us there.’

  ‘On it, Sergeant,’ Bennett replied.

  ‘There are several buildings down there. Any idea which one?’ Tom asked.

  ‘No. We search them all if we have to, till we find her.’

  ‘How do you know that’s where she is? You only have his say so,’ Tom asked. ‘And I don’t trust him’

  ‘Because if he wanted her dead, he would have shot her in the head, like he did last time. No, he wants her to live, just not be awake when we find her, which means she could have heard something.’

  Wills phone rang. It was the Captain with an update on Kathy.

  ‘Tell me,’ Will answered it bluntly.

  ‘The battery has gone on the cell. She has been shot in the leg, just above the knee. She is losing blood fast and is getting weak, but she is just holding on. You need to find her, fast.’ There was obvious anxiety in his voice.

  ‘We will, Captain’ He hung up and turned to Tom ‘Can’t this thing go any faster?’

  ‘Sure thing,’ Tom answered as he hit the gas pedal.

  ***

  When they got there, they stopped the cars and looked around. There was eight large buildings and time was running out. They didn’t have time to check them all.

  ‘What now?’ asked Bennett ‘Do we have time to check them all without back up here? That’s going to take too long, isn’t it?

  ‘Wait a minute. There has to be something we are missing. Look at them, do you see anything?’ Will asked.

  They all looked around at the buildings, but it was bright and sunny and hard to see anything. Just then Palmer shouted, ‘The one at the end, the door is slightly open, none of the others are.’ They started heading towards it, when the ambulance pulled up. Will stopped.

  ‘Wait here for the signal that we have her. We don’t know if there is anyone still here,’ he explained. Then ran to catch up with the others.

  They got to the building with the open door. It was a disused hanger. There was a dim light coming from inside and Will spotted fresh tyres tracks outside the doors. They stopped and Will looked inside. The hanger was vast and mainly dark, with just a dim light coming from the far end, but it appeared empty. They had gone. At the far end, w
here the light was coming from, there was some equipment and furniture. Will scanned the dimness, then he saw her lying on the floor by a chair. All he wanted to do was get in there and get to her, but he had to follow procedure to ensure it was as empty as it seemed.

  ‘We need to secure this place, fast,’ Will said to the others. ‘Tom and Bennett, you go in and to the right, Harvey and Palmer to the left, I will head for Kathy, she is on the floor at the back.’

  They entered one by one following the Sergeants instructions. Will walked over slowly, watching for any signs of someone still being there. As he got close, he saw there was a lot of blood. Then he thought he saw her move, he looked to his team, who confirmed it was all clear.

  ‘Get that ambulance in here!’ he signalled to Palmer, who had started back towards the door in search of lights. Will knelt by her to see if she was still alive, so scared he might be too late. His heart was racing. He had been here before, but this time, he was praying for a different outcome. He couldn’t handle that kind of emotional pain again. It had nearly destroyed him last time around.

  ‘Kathy, can you hear me? Please, answer me.’

  There was fear in his voice and he could feel the tears building up.

  ‘Sergeant,’ she spoke so softly he could hardly hear her. ‘The new diamond store.’

  He put his head closer ‘What?’

  ‘The new diamond store. That is what he is after and he is going there tonight. Go and get him for me?’ She was barely conscious now. Will sat on the floor and rested her head on him holding her hand, waiting for the ambulance to come in.

  ‘We will, sweetheart, we will. Now you rest, the ambulance is here and you are going to be just fine, I promise.’ Relief flowed over him. This time, he had got there in time.

  ***

  After the ambulance left, Will called Captain Bridge.

  ‘She is alive, well, just, anyway,’ he paused taking a deep breath. Now was not the time for all his built-up emotions to come out. ‘Can we get two armed officers to the hospital, at least till we get him?’

  ‘They are on their way now,’ replied the Captain.

  ‘Can we get someone to look through the blueprints that were taken, and check if one is a diamond store? Something Kathy said to me, it could be a new business, so can we check for that too?’

  ‘I will get them on it and tell them to call you with an address.’

  Will closed the phone and looked at Tom.

  ‘We need to secure this place for evidence to nail this guy,’ Will said as they started heading for the door.

  ‘The guys have done it already. There are four squad cars just arrived, as well as CSI, they will take over now. We can leave when you are ready. She will be OK, now we just have to go and get him.’

  Chapter Eighteen

  As they were heading towards the cars, Will’s phone rang. It hadn’t taken long to find the store. New diamond stores didn’t open up very often, even in Manhattan. Will knew most of them with all his years on SWAT; someone had tried to rob the majority of them at some point.

  ‘What’s the address?’ he questioned. ‘OK, call the store, tell them we are en-route. Don’t broadcast anything on the radio, he could have a scanner. Phone Detective Franks and get him to meet us there.’ He hung up.

  ‘Where is it?’ asked Tom.

  ‘Broadway,’ replied Will. ‘I know the place, I got some earrings from there last month.’

  ‘Not saying a word to that, man,’ Tom commented, smiling.

  ‘Yeah, that would be good right now.’ Will replied.

  ***

  They parked away from the store, their large black SUVs didn’t exactly blend into normal traffic, and he would spot them before he got close. They walked down the street, watching carefully as they went, trying to hide amongst the crowds that were rushing about. Will knew there was a chance that he may already be watching the store. He had often, over the years, watched from somewhere close while his team pulled a job, or before they went in so they knew the police didn’t know his plans. Luckily, today, he wasn’t.

  Detective Franks was already inside. He had started to brief the staff and was waiting for Will to arrive, to finish that as he only knew part of the facts.

  ‘It seems his aim is to come after you are closed. He knows you have a top-quality security system in place, which is why he had the blueprints stolen. He also wants to fly under the radar on this because I think it could be his last job as we are getting close; now, I need to have a good look around,’ Will said to the manager. ‘And don’t leave anything out. The rest of you,’ he said to his team, ‘stay in the back, we can’t afford to be seen.’

  The store was quite large, three walls covered with glass display cabinets, in front of which were three counters with glass tops and fronts. The windows had no displays and had metal shutters on the outside for security when the store was closed. There were three back rooms, a small staff room with kitchen with no security, the manager’s office and safe room where the most valuable pieces were kept; both rooms were secure and had cameras. Will knew the best way in was through the staff room so would prepare his team for that option. After the tour, he went back to where the team were waiting.

  ‘Right, here is what we do. Franks, you are going to leave with a bag like a customer. He is going to be watching this place any time soon. You will go to the bar opposite and sit in the window. My team are going to stay inside, back here till closing, then behind the side counters. The staff and manager will leave and lock up as normal. The manager will come and join you in the bar, Detective. We need him later to reopen the door and lock up when we are finished.’

  ‘Do we know what time they are coming?’ Harvey asked.

  ‘No, sadly. Kathy only overheard it was tonight. We could be here for a while, so one of the staff will go out and get us some water and maybe even some biscuits.’ He allowed himself a smile. ‘When he does show, we put the lights on. That’s your signal to come in, Detective, with some officers and arrest them.’

  ‘Where will they be positioned?’ asked Franks.

  ‘A few streets away. When you get to the bar, phone for what you need. NO radios and speak with an officer you trust; we know this guy has someone in the PD on pay roll and I don’t want this to be screwed up.’ He took a deep breath. ‘Any questions? Because now is the time to ask.’

  ‘Are you sure he will be here and not just leave it to his men?’ Bennett asked. ‘Because after today, I really want to get this bastard.’

  ‘Don’t we all, but I am very sure he will as this is a big job and he thinks we are still looking for Kathy and trying to figure it all out. He doesn’t know we know what he is after, so to him, he is safe, and that to him is as good as an invitation. He hates the fact he has had to sit on the side-lines for so long and just watch as his men pulled jobs and often screwed up. If this is his last big score, he won’t want to miss it.’

  ‘How many men will he have with him?’ Tom queried

  ‘Don’t know. His known jobs have had between five and ten men,’ Will replied.

  ‘Have you heard how Kathy is yet?’ Tom responded.

  ‘No,’ Will hesitated and looked at his phone. ‘Waiting for the call, she has armed officers with her, and we will be kept up to date if anything happens.’

  ***

  The store was closed and the team were sat in the dark. It was getting late and nothing was happening. Tom was sitting next to Will behind the right-side counter.

  ‘So, what’s going to happen now?’ Tom asked quietly.

  ‘With what?’ Will reacted harshly, frustrated and tired by the whole day and now the long wait.

  ‘With you and Kathy.’

  ‘What do you mean? Nothing. Nothing can happen,’ Will said insistently.

  ‘Will, it is not like before all this happened. Everyone knows now, even the Captain. You can’t exactly ignore it all, can you?’

  ‘No, but we can move on from it and still work together. Tom, yo
u know nothing can happen while we are on the same team. No matter how I feel about her, we will find a way to get past it.’

  ‘But can’t she change teams or something? I mean, after all this, it is obvious there is something worth pursuing.’

  ‘I won’t force her to do that, it’s not fair. It could jeopardise her future in the unit and there is no way that the Captain would let me take over another team.’

  ‘Well, I think you need to discuss it with her at the very least, when this is all over. I mean, I would say she feels the same for you as you do for her.’

  ‘What makes you say that?’ Will turned to face Tom, curious by his comment.

  ‘The way she looks at you whenever she gets the chance, and the fact she never slapped you when you kissed her,’ he said, smiling.

  ‘Right, Tom, that’s your opinion, and maybe if she had slapped me, none of this would have happened.’

  ‘Has a woman ever slapped you for kissing her?’ Tom asked.

  ‘No. Why?’

  ‘Just wondered,’ Tom laughed, then looked at Will and changed his tone. ‘You know you will find someone who will like you for who you are and not just what you got. Right, man?’

  ‘Yeah, and maybe one day she will just walk into my life,’ Will said dismissively.

  ‘Maybe she already has.’

  Just then, a noise came from one of the back rooms.

  ‘It’s them, get ready.’ Will whispered to Tom and signalled to the others behind the opposite counter. Torch lights came into the store from the back, six in all. Then the lights suddenly came on.

  ‘Freeze, don’t move or I will shoot you. You are all under arrest,’ Will ordered.

  Chapter Nineteen

  ‘Put your hands on your head and lay face down on the floor,’ Will ordered.