A Silent Terror (21 page)

He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to find Dallas Montgomery standing there. Relief shuddered through him. Backup.

Another trained hostage negotiator who could be his secondary, help him out if he needed it.

The phone still rang. Soon it would trip to voice mail. Then he saw Marianna pulled away from the window. His heart nearly stopped when she disappeared from view. Part of him waited for the sound of the gunshot. He was almost surprised when a voice barked in his ear.

“What?”

Ethan’s personal cell buzzed on his hip. He ignored it. “Hey, man.

My name’s Ethan and I’m with the police force here. I’ve been called in to help with this situation, to see that we can resolve it without anyone getting hurt. Can you help me out?”

Establish contact, offer assistance. The basics of crisis negotiation training.

The phone clicked off.

Ethan growled in frustration. If the man wouldn’t talk, Ethan couldn’t do his job. And the tactical team made up of SWAT members would have to move in. Which meant Marianna and everyone in the building would be in extreme danger.

One thing Ethan knew he had on his side was time. As long as no one was getting hurt, things could end peacefully.

“Call him back.” Dallas started setting up behind him. He’d keep track of the conversation – assuming one happened – and any details he could pick up, offering advice to Ethan as he handled the man.

Dialing the number, Ethan prayed for the man to pick up again. It kept ringing. Then Marianna appeared back in the window, seated once again.

The phone finally clicked. “I’m not talking. Don’t call back.”

“Wait!”

A sigh. “I’m rather busy. Not in the mood for a chat. Ciao.”

Click.

Restraining the desire to hurl the phone to the asphalt below, Ethan gripped it until his knuckles turned white.

Dallas shook his head. The big Texan had worry stamped all over his features. “Nothing you can do if he won’t talk, Ethan.”

Think, think, Ethan.

“He’s educated. Cultured.”

Dallas nodded. “Ciao?”

Ethan’s personal phone vibrated that he had a message. Rubbing his forehead, he paced. At the next vibration he snapped the phone out of its case and almost tossed it. Instead, something made him click to see who the message was from.

He didn’t recognize the number, but he pressed the button to read it anyway, his mind not on the device in his hands but on how to get the man on the phone and keep him there.

Then the message caught his full attention. And sent fear shuddering through him.

A message from Marianna. Somehow, she’d managed to text him.

Probably from a student’s phone. He didn’t bother questioning how – he was just grateful. But if he responded, would the thing make a noise? He couldn’t take a chance, could only hope for periodic updates.

He turned back to Dallas and waved his phone. “I’ve got contact. One of the students managed a text.”

Alarm made Dallas’s eyes go wide. “Oh, man, I hope he doesn’t catch on to that.”

“Yeah. He’s got a bomb. We need a bomb squad ASAP.”

Dallas immediately got on the radio, calling for the evacuation of the team that had entered the building. They would let the SWAT team go in and remove as many of the hostages that they could reach without the gunman knowing they were in there.

What was this guy thinking? What was he doing? What did he want?

And why wouldn’t he talk?

Josh had pushed Marianna away, so she slipped back into her seat, thinking, taking in every detail she could process. She stared at the television. Desperately thinking, praying.

Her cell phone must have rung again, because the gunman pulled it up and pushed a button. Refusing to talk again, Marianna feared.

Then he was in her face once again. “Where’s that box you keep for that kid Josh?”

“What?”

He gave her a shake and her neck whiplashed back, then forward.

She winced. Wanting to shut her eyes and turn from the foul breath on her face, she instead forced herself to watch his lips carefully. “Pay close attention, teacher. Where’s the box?”

“That box? This is about that box? I don’t have it.” There was no way she was going to tell him that box was just down the hall in another teacher’s classroom. Where another teacher had a roomful of students.

A scream of frustration erupted from him, and Marianna cringed,

this time unable to keep her eyes trained on him. He shoved her aside once more, and she fell on the heating/ air-conditioning unit under the window. When she looked out, she had the view she’d seen thousands of times over the last few years. Only this time, the entire front part of the building was cordoned off, emergency vehicles surrounding it.

She thought she saw a news camera, various staff members being held back.

And Ethan standing behind a police car was looking up with an expression she’d never seen on his face before.

Sheer terror.

Ethan pushed the raging fear down. Shoved aside the visions of the gun going off and Marianna…

No, he had to focus, to do his job. Pray as if he’d never prayed before. She’d appeared for an instant. He’d seen her come flying against the window. She must have made the guy mad, and if he refused to answer the cell one more time, things were going to have to change. His commander would pull rank and force an entrance.

Ethan didn’t want to see that. There had to be a better way. Dallas clapped his shoulder, pulled the blueprints over and pointed out entry points. Kevin, head of campus security, came over. “Can I help in any way?”

Dallas showed him the blueprints. “We’ve got guys stationed here and here with rifles ready to take him out as soon as we get the word, but he’s staying out of the line of fire. As long as everyone else stays in their classrooms, they should be fine. There’s no way for him to enter the way they’ re set up. Our problem is getting into the room this guy’ s in. Only one entryway. A very small window opening. Not advantageous for us, for sure.”

“You’ll have to wait him out.” Kevin shook his head.

“And we can’t get the camera in because of the bomb threat.” Ethan said.

“Bomb squad’s on the way. SWAT team just arrived.”

Ethan rubbed a hand over his jaw and glanced back up at the window, pulled out the official cell and dialed Marianna’s number again.

Marianna watched the intruder alternate between swearing and pacing. Then he pulled her phone from his pocket and slapped it to his ear. “Not talking.” He hung up and looked at Marianna. “You’re lying.”

She swallowed hard. Lord, Jesus, what do I do?

Slowly, with even, measured steps, he walked over to stand in front of her. “You’re lying, and if you don’t start talking, I’m going to start shooting.” He moved the gun around, “Now, who do you want to be first?”

Victoria cringed. Marianna wanted to scream. Josh just watched with a confused expression on his face. Peter still had his head down, and Christopher kept his face buried in Victoria’s arms.

Marianna lifted her chin. “I might have an idea where it could possibly be. If you’ll let them go, I’ll tell you.”

He laughed. “You’re not in a bargaining position.”

“But we have to move. If you would just let them go and keep me, it’ll be a lot simpler.”

He studied her, then cursed when the phone rang again. But he picked it up, and listened and then said, “Yeah, I want something. I want a million bucks and to live in the Hamptons, but it’s not happening right now.”

A pause.

“I tell you what – I’ll let all the kids go. Every last one of them. Get everyone out of the building. Except this room.”

Another pause.

“I don’t care about those kids. I don’t want to hurt them. I just need – ” he snapped his mouth shut, then continued “ – get ’em out, but if I see one uniform in here, I’ll start sending out bodies – or just blow the place up.”

Hope blossomed in her chest. Why the sudden turnabout? Had she managed to convince him? She looked over at Victoria to see if the girl had caught any of the conversation. She had her eyes on Marianna.

Marianna gave her a slight shrug and shook her head. No more texting. Not yet.

What did he need with Josh’s box? And how did he even know about it? What had Josh put in there that would cause someone to take an entire building hostage?

Ten minutes later, to her relief, through the slim side window next to her door, Marianna could see the students and teachers filing past.

The gunman simply watched the commotion from his perch on her stool, his little bomb sitting on the smaller desk situated in front of the whiteboard.

Victoria shifted restlessly. Peter still had his head down, refusing to look up. Marianna worried about the long-term effects this would have on him. He was such a sensitive boy. But she couldn’t think about that now. She had to stay calm and cool, think about what she could do to help the authorities get them out of this.

The gunman stood. She tensed. He moved the pistol her way. She flinched. “Now it’s our turn. Get those kids out of here.”

Ethan watched the steady stream of students and staff flow from the building and be pulled behind the police line into the safe zone.

The SWAT team kept it efficient as several others entered the building and swept the rooms they could get to without being seen from the gunman’s room. As the newly released hostages entered the zone, officers patted down each person and checked IDs. Couldn’t be too careful. The principal had been called up to identify each and every person exiting the building as an added precaution.

Two students followed who made Ethan’s breath hitch in his throat. He recognized them as students from Marianna’s classroom.

He spoke into his radio. “Hey, what’s the classroom looking like?” “He had the teacher pull the blinds.”

Ethan sent up a swift prayer. Every hostage situation had its own dynamics, but this…this one was driving him nuts; it was so totally off the charts in the crisis negotiation arena. The process wasn’t working; following procedure was netting him zilch. He was going to have to go with his gut.

“Chief, I suggest sending the bomb squad in there. I only received one text message, and the guy won’t stay on the phone. This feels…weird. This isn’t a normal hostage situation. Something tells me this guy hadn’t planned on a bunch of people being here today.” He shook his head, praying he was making the right decision. He looked his chief in the eye. “Send the team in. Now.”

The man stared at Ethan for a brief moment, searching for something and seeming to find it. He nodded and trotted off. Ethan spun on his heel and approached the student he thought was named Peter and signed, “Can you tell me anything about Marianna?”

The boy covered his head and shook. Ethan backed away, sorrow filling him. How had these kids lives been changed? How much damage would this do to them? Fury filled him and he vowed to get this guy.

A hand touched his arm. A dark-headed girl signed, “I’m Victoria.

I was in the classroom with Ms. Santino. She told the man she’d show him where something he was looking for was. And she’d show him how to get out of the building if he’d let us go. He did, and I saw him pull her out of the classroom.”

Ethan’s earpiece crackled; then a voice said, “Classroom is empty.

Bomb squad’s working on the bomb. Guy’ s got the teacher and is on the run!”

Ethan swung back toward the girl. “Do you know where she would take him?”

Victoria shrugged, worry pulling her brows toward the bridge of her nose. “No. There’s no way out except this door and the one on the other end. Oh, and the one door upstairs.”

Ethan envisioned where he had men stationed. All those doors were covered. If the guy so much as stuck his head out, a sniper would put a bullet in it.

He looked around, then back at the building. All students and staff were accounted for – except Marianna and the gunman.

Marianna stumbled along after her captor. She debated taking him down to Cleo’s classroom but knew as soon as she gave him what he wanted, she was dead.

Quickly, she’d said, “I don’t have what you’re looking for. But I might be able to help you find it. There are a couple of places it could be.”

“Shut up,” he’d snarled. But Marianna persisted.

“I’ll help you search the entire building, plus I know another way out, a way past the police. I promise.” Another question struck her.

Why did he have a bomb with him if he’d thought the building would be empty?

Cold chills broke out over her flesh as she answered her own question. Because if he didn’t find what he was looking for, he would blow the place up and leave absolutely no trace of it, just in case it was here and he didn’t find it. Which meant he couldn’t take a chance on someone seeing it.

“I don’t have time to search this building. As soon as they realize we’re not in that classroom, they’ re going to swarm this place.” His gaze narrowed, “Now find it so I can get out of here.”

Her heart fluttered in fear. She started to speak when he flinched.

She wondered what he had heard. He grabbed her arm. “Someone’s coming.” He pulled her around, his blue eyes glittering down into hers, his mouth tight as he demanded, “Get me out of here or I’ll blow you away right now…and anyone else I come across, got it?”

“Yes.” She shook. He was serious. He wouldn’t have any reservations about shooting her. But he needed her right now. She took a deep breath. “Follow me.”

“What a waste of…” he muttered. “I can’t believe this has…all this trouble for a stupid box that’s possibly not even here.”

Marianna watched his face, his lips move, the shape of his jaw, the outline of his lips, the slight tilt to his head. And blinked. Could it be? No, no way.

But she knew it was. A deaf person was very aware of body language, and his just shouted his identity.

Shock and disbelief racked her.

She knew him. Knew who this man holding the gun was.

Her mind sputtered, stalled. How? Why?

Her danger meter just rang off the charts. If caught, this man had a lot to lose. And Marianna knew he had no intention of being caught.