“He doesn’t want to talk to you motherfuckers!” Gino screamed into the phone.
Joe didn’t react. “Gino, we just want to make sure everyone gets out safely and unharmed. Tell me what I can do for you right now to make you more comfortable.”
Dominic nodded his approval. Joe was good.
The problem was a lot of the usual tactics didn’t work with inmates in these sorts of desperate situations. These types of prisoners had very little to lose.
Negotiators were stalling for time, waiting for the tactical team to come up with a viable assault strategy and to practice it enough to be able to pull it off blindfolded. Alternatively, they’d settle in for the long haul. Talk them down for weeks until the prisoners gave up all hope of freedom and surrendered.
Obviously, the helicopter was never going to happen unless they used it as bait to get these fellas out into the open.
Milo’s constant knife sharpening made Dominic anxious for the safety of everyone in that kitchen. The man had raped, murdered, and dismembered six people in rapid succession ten years ago showing little or no remorse when he’d been caught. Since being incarcerated he’d been a model prisoner, but who knew what cravings lurked in the mind of this sort of sadistic killer? Dominic was waiting on psych reports.
Video of how the situation had unfolded suggested the three men hadn’t planned the event beforehand. Gino and Frank had exchanged a look when the rival gangs started fighting and headed into the kitchen. Milo seemed to simply tag along.
The talk continued, but that was good news. As long as hostage-takers were talking, they weren’t hurting hostages.
Dominic rolled his sore shoulder. Although his body still hurt, and his face looked like he’d taken a beating, he was getting better.
A tap on the glass had him looking up. Charlotte. Dominic checked his watch. Midnight already. It was time to rotate shifts. He muted the mic and told Joe to tell the hostage-takers he was going off shift in a few minutes but that other people were going to be here if they had anything at all they needed to make them more comfortable.
Dominic glanced at Ava who was staring at the TV screen with a look of intense concentration. She’d spent the last few hours poring over documents in the corner of the room. He wondered if she’d come up with any suspects for the serial killer stalking FBI agents, or if Rooney had got anything out of the waitress.
Ava caught him looking at her. Dark shadows painted the hollows beneath her eyes. He wondered if she was hungry. Neither of them had eaten since breakfast.
“Time to go,” he mouthed.
She nodded and began quietly gathering her stuff together. Technically she didn’t have to be here but at least this way he could keep an eye on her the way Van would have wanted him to, and she could work the case without getting into any more trouble. Plus, if she helped figure out who the killer was, she could get back into the Bureau’s good books.
They stepped into the adjoining room to update Charlotte and Eban on the situation before they started their shift. Despite the initial promises from the Incident Commander they were still in the main prison building. The guy said maybe tomorrow, but Dominic knew better than to hold his breath or get hung up on stuff he couldn’t control. That way lay lunacy.
“We’ve set up two beds with a makeshift curtain between them for some privacy.” Charlotte told him. “Took the plastic off the mattresses ourselves. I persuaded one of the local agents to drive me to Walmart and picked up some cheap bedding. Who knows how long we’ll be here. Eban and I also ordered Chinese food and left some for you guys in the fridge there.”
“Appreciate it, Char.” Dominic edged her and Eban over to one side of the room to talk privately. “It’s quiet in there right now. Joe is doing a great job calming them down and beginning to win their trust. I’m trying to get Milo on the phone, but he doesn’t want to talk and doesn’t seem to have any demands. I think the other two had considered this breakout plan in the past and they are as surprised as anyone to have ended up with Milo for company.”
Which made for a volatile situation. Milo was a serial murderer and there was no telling what he might do. “Have someone in the room assigned to watching Milo at all times. I’ll talk to the IC before I grab some food and sleep.”
“Think they’d want to talk to a woman?” Charlotte asked.
Dominic pressed his lips together, considering. “I think at this stage Eban should try to keep the continuity Joe had going. Keep reassuring them we want to help them, want a peaceful resolution and don’t want anyone to get hurt. They keep asking for a chopper. See if you can get Milo to agree not to hurt anyone and then we can start to talk about a chopper.”
“Might be the best way of getting them out of there,” Charlotte agreed.
“But not until we have Milo saying he won’t hurt the hostages,” Dominic emphasized.
“Got it, Dom,” Eban assured him. “You two go get some rest.”
Dominic let out a long breath. He was so keyed up but knew that he needed rest to stay sharp. “I’ll see you at eight.”
He stopped briefly to talk to the tactical commander in the hallway. HRT had a team in place should they need to move fast, another team resting and a third team practicing an assault.
The hostage-takers had stored water in containers and had enough food to last for weeks in those big refrigerators. Dominic had a horrible feeling that these prisoners had so little to lose—especially Milo—that the tactical response might be the only way to end this thing.
He hoped not. The chances of hostages dying in those circumstances increased greatly.