| Subject: Sometimes the Dragons Are Real, Chapters 13 & 14 |
Author:
Jaron
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Date Posted: 16:33:14 12/13/01 Thu
In reply to:
Jaron
's message, "Sometimes the Dragons Are Real" on 18:37:45 12/12/01 Wed
Sometimes the Dragons Are Real, Chapter 13
The Chief of Police of the small city in which Rene and Grace lived paced back and
forth behind the line of police cars parked across from the bank. He was feeling
seriously inadequate in his job. Things had always been quiet here in his city and he
was at a loss as to how to “fix” this situation. An instructor in one of his many law
enforcement classes had once told him that you never say no to a hostage taker. He
was trying to remember what else that long ago class on hostage negotiation had
taught him. He remembered only that he had a problem with knowledge retention.
“Hey, Chief!” one of his men shouted at him to get his attention. “The FBI guys are
here!”
“Well, let them through, Jake!!” he yelled back. Mentally sighing in relief, Chief
Cowan exhaled deeply and walked over to greet the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team. His
first thought as he looked this team over was that he was very glad that he wasn’t a
hostage taker. His second thought was that he didn’t know that the FBI allowed so
much hair on any of its agents. Also, the old guy getting out from behind the wheel
of that monster black Suburban looked too old to be on anybody’s team. He looked
like a reject from the sixties or seventies.
The leader was a tall man, about six feet, he thought, and had the long hair on the
top of his head pulled back in a ponytail. Nope, he thought to himself, I have never
seen any FBI guys like these. Or FBI girls, he corrected himself as he watched the tall
blond climb out of the back seat. She, like the others, was dressed in black combat
gear from head to foot, which included thigh holsters filled with .45 automatics as
well as small, deadly-looking machine guns. Somehow, he didn’t think negotiation
was their thing.
The leader walked up to him, introduced himself as Special Agent Michaels and
started asking questions, and Chief Cowan looked into Michael’s eyes and shuddered
because all he saw in those blank green eyes was death. He decided that Michael
would get every ounce of his cooperation. He would do anything to keep those eyes
on his side.
“My men will provide backup and will bring the hostages out when it is all over,”
Michael told the Chief. “Keep your people and everyone else strictly out of our way. I
wouldn’t want anyone getting hurt when this goes down. Do you understand me?”
He stared at the Chief and watched the man struggle for control. Michael thought
that this man was probably good at his job normally, but he was no good in a hostage
situation and he knew enough to stay out of it and let the specialists handle things.
“You have my complete cooperation, Agent Michaels.” For some reason, the Chief felt
like he should salute, but instead he turned from Michael and started to give orders to
his men. Michael’s hand on his shoulder stopped him. “Yes?”
“I was told that they released someone earlier today. May I speak with this person?’
Michael asked.
“Yes, that would be Elaine,” Chief Cowan answered. “We tried to get her to go home,
but she said she couldn’t leave until she knew everyone was safe and out of there.
Come with me.” He led Michael over to an ambulance and opened the back door.
“Did they hurt her?” Michael asked quickly, a chill going through him.
“No, Elaine is in her eighth month of pregnancy and the EMTs thought it best if she
laid down and rested. Those madmen in there made her sit on that hard marble floor
for hours before she was released. She said her back was killing her.” He held the
door open for Michael so he could climb in and talk to Elaine.
“Hi, Elaine,” Michael said quietly. “How are you feeling?” He looked at the swell of her
belly and closed his eyes, remembering how Simone had looked in her eighth month.
Then he remember Nikita’s blue eyes staring into his and he remembered to FOCUS.
“I’m feeling okay,” Elaine said as she watched this quiet man in black staring at her
midsection. She moved her hands protectively over her stomach and felt her baby
shift position. For a reason that she could not recall later, she took his hand and put
in on her stomach so he could feel her baby kick. He smiled and blinked back a
glistening in his eyes, before looking at her face and whispering, “Thank you.”
“You have children?” she asked, wondering why he seemed so very sad.
“Yes, a son. He’s seven.” Michael took a deep breath and started to ask a question,
but it didn’t make it out of his mouth.
“Mrs. King is inside the bank with her son. He’s seven also. I was sitting near them
and I kept noticing that she was holding him tightly to her. I think she was trying to
hide his face trom the leader, Nick. He kept pacing back and forth in front of us, as if
he enjoyed pointing his gun at us. I think it was an Uzi. Little Rene kept watching the
man, staring at him really, as if he wanted to kill him. Mrs. King seemed terrified for
her son.” She stopped talking and looked into Michael’s eyes. “What are you
thinking. You look as if you were a thousand miles away.”
“I was just thinking of my son, of what I would do if he were in so much danger. And
also what a brave little boy Mrs. King’s son is.” Michael smiled at her again and began
asking Elaine the location of the hostages inside the bank. He had a floorplan of the
bank and he began filling in details as she answered his questions. At last he was
finished. He had as much information as he was going to get from Elaine. He
squeezed her hand as he got up to leave and thanked her for her help. He started to
step out of the ambulance when Elaine grabbed on to his hand.
“I know,” she said.
“What?” Michael stiffened in her grasp. What did she know?
“I know what you would do if it was your son in there. You would do just what you
are about to do now. You would go in there and get him out,” she said simply.
“Wait, what is your name?” He told her. “Michael, Michaela, Michel, Michelle. I
haven’t decided on a name for my baby yet, but I think I like your name. I have
always wanted a child of mine named after a hero. And here I have one standing
beside me holding my hand. Do you mind if I name my baby after you? ”
Michael struggled to maintain his control. He coughed, but the huskiness remained
in his voice as he replied. “It would be an honor, but you don’t have to do that. I’m
no hero.”
“Well, get used to the title, because in my heart, I know that you are a hero, a knight
in shining armor.” She looked at the combat gear he wore and laughed, “Well, at least
you are, at the moment, my favorite man in black!”
They both laughed as he climbed out of the ambulance and went to prepare for
battle.
Sometimes the Dragons Are Real, Chapter 14
Up and down, up and down, gun pointed at a face, click. Up and down, up and down,
pointed at a heart, click. Laughing, Nick continued terrifying us. The last click came
as he pointed his gun at me and pulled the trigger. As before, there was a click
because he was tormenting us by pulling the trigger on his gun with the safety
engaged. He was a very funny guy, at least he thought he was. He thought that he
was enormously funny. One person sitting on that marble floor didn’t think he was
funny at all and he launched himself from my arms and tried to tackle Nick. Rene hit
Nick at knee-height, remembering his football moves and lowering his shoulder to
dive into the hit. I screamed his name and grabbed for him too late. He had always
been fast and graceful on the field whenever he played football or soccer.
“You leave my mom alone,” he yelled.
Nick staggered under Rene’s assault, but did not fall. He took a few steps back and
swung his right knee in Rene’s direction and his knee cap caught Rene high on the
cheekbone and knocked him backwards into my arms.
“You stupid little bastard,” Nick shouted, “What did you think you would accomplish
with that little display?” He laughed derisively and brought his gun up and pointed it
at Rene.
I swung Rene and my body around so that I was shielding Rene and turning my back
to Nick at the same time. “Noooo, please” I begged, hoping against hope that he
would not take his frustration out on Rene and me. I looked over my shoulder to see
what he intended to do.
“Hey, Nick,” the third man called out from the front door. “It looks like they are
going to come through with the armored car. It’s out front.”
Nick turned from us and walked toward the man. No one had mentioned his name
yet. I looked at him with grateful eyes, smiled and mouthed ‘Thank you’ at him for
distracting Nick and saving Rene’s life. His eyes remained a study in coldness, but he
acknowledged my thanks with an almost imperceptible nod of his head.
I relaxed and turned Rene in my arms to see what damage had been done. The skin
was not broken, but the bruise was already forming and the swelling had started.
David pulled his the handkerchief from his pocket and poured into it the ice that had
not melted from the drinks that Elaine had brought in with the food. Several of the
others poured their ice into David’s handkerchief and soon I was holding the
improvised icepack to Rene’s cheek.
David patted Rene’s shoulder and said, “Young man, I think you are going to have a
beaut of a shiner as your mark of bravery. And that was a very brave thing to do,
Rene, but please don’t try it again. These men are very tense and the next time, they
might not stop with just hurting you.”
“If my Daddy was here, Nick over there would be dead meat. He doesn’t scare me!”
Rene stared at the three men who were huddled at the front door looking out.
Suddenly, everyone tensed and drew closer together. Nick had turned and was
headed back towards us. He unhesitantly stomped over to Rene and I and stopped.
He glared down at us and swiftly bent down and grabbed a fist full of Rene’s T-shirt.
Effortlessly, he pulled Rene out of my arms and held him up in the air. When I started
to get up and pull Rene back from him, he shoved me back hard. David grabbed my
arm and told me to cool down, that I would only suceed in getting myself hurt and
that wouldn’t help anyone. I sat back down and watched.
Rene’s feet dangled in the air as he brought his fists up and began banging away at
Nick’s arms.
“Let me go, let me go!!” he screamed. Nick jerked Rene’s head close to his mouth
and whispered something roughly to Rene. Whatever it was caused Rene to cease all
movement. I watched in horror as Nick grinned at Rene as he talked back to Nick.
“I’ll be quiet, but it’s only because you said you would hurt my Mom. But it doesn’t
matter because you are going to be dead soon.” Rene said quietly as his green eyes
seemed to pierce into Nick’s own eyes.
Nick gave an exaggerated shiver, and said to Rene, “OOOOO, now I am really scared.”
All Rene did was smile at Nick.
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