Convergence - The Last Science #2.1 - In Plain Sight

B2: Chapter 10 - Allies of Coincidence - I

  "Turn back, Agent Ashe."

  ...I really hate being famous. "I just want to talk."

  The voice that answered sounded as nervous as he felt, but Jeremy refused to turn around. "I don't want to shoot you."

  "And I don't wanna get shot, so how about we figure this shit out?" Jeremy took another step forward. "I'm unarmed."

  "I— I saw." Even stammering. Fuck, this guy is either high as a kite or scared as a little kid. Either way, dangerous to have a gun. "I still can't let you in."

  "No one else is with me." Jeremy tried to dredge up his hostage negotiation training. Keep him calm, don't make any sudden moves, try to build rapport. Easy. "What's your name?"

  "I don't think I should tell you that."

  Jeremy smiled. "Smart. Well, you already know my name, so I can just skip that part." He glanced over his shoulder briefly, making sure the police weren't moving.

  "What are you doing?" the voice asked.

  Jeremy snapped back to his original position and froze. "I was just making sure my friends back there don't do anything stupid." In his ear, quiet radio reports gave him an update on the incoming SWAT teams and the building in general. No change, but there was no way out of the bar. They'd even checked for sewer exits, legitimate or secret.

  "O-okay."

  "We're pretty confused though. You guys haven't asked for anything. That's kind of the next step here."

  "I don't know how these things are supposed to go." Everything about this voice sounded a bit off to Jeremy. It wasn't angry, or bitter, or even crazy. Scared, for sure, but it didn't fit any of the other usual profiles he'd expect for a hostage-taker. The fuck is their agenda?

  "Well, you started off right. Got your building, secured it and the people inside, no weak spots. You did good there."

  "Thanks?"

  Jeremy was confusing him in the right way. Complimenting them would both serve to build up their relationship, and make them think they really were secure. It was true they hadn't missed an entrance, but it wasn't exactly hard for SWAT to make their own.

  He took another step forward, and to his relief the voice didn't react. "But you're supposed to go to step two now, where you tell us your demands. If we don't know what you want, how are we gonna make this all go away for you?"

  "I'm... not really in charge here."

  Jeremy smiled again. "Well you're doin' a great job so far. But the guy in charge didn't tell you what he wants?"

  "No, he did, but I can't tell you that."

  This bullshit is getting old. Jeremy took another step forward. "Nothing at all?"

  "Well, he's gonna want us to be let go. Just go without being charged or anything."

  Don't ever say no in a negotiation. Don't say yes either, but you can't just shoot them down. One more step forward. Jeremy was almost at the door. "If nothing bad has happened in that building, then we might be able to work that into a deal. But you gotta be straight with me."

  "Can you do that?"

  "I outrank all the shit behind me. You've seen me on TV, right?" Might as well use this bullshit fame for something. I doubt he knows a damn thing about police hierarchy. "I'm a federal agent. That means I'm above the state level. I can make a lot of things go away in a deal, but only if you can give me something in return."

  "I don't know... I don't think I was even supposed to talk to you."

  "Talking's the best way out of this, trust me." Jeremy took another step. He could probably grab the door if he reached out for it, but he could also get a pile of bullets in his chest. Not the time to see if this damn vest works... "But you guys gotta be communicating back. I'm unarmed, and you outnumber me almost ten to one. If you let me in, we can start talking and find a way out of this mess."

  "...I should ask them first. We're doing something important here. We can't just stop."

  And make me start this whole shit over again? Fuck that. "You can't do that though."

  "I can't?"

  Start bullshitting like you've never bullshitted before. "You guys don't have enough people. If you leave the door, my friends back there will try to break in. They've got tons of firepower itching to go. Military surplus shit. I don't want that, and you don't want that either. But if you just pop it open a crack and keep your guns locked and loaded, they can't move a muscle, because we all just want to go home without getting shot. Just like they're doing now, right?" Jeremy shrugged. "What am I gonna do on my own in there?"

  "...I'm opening the door. Make sure they don't move."

  "You got it. I'm reaching for my radio button, okay?"

  "Okay. Go slowly."

  Jeremy reached up to the button on his earpiece and tapped it. "I'm going in now. Stand by."

  "Solid copy, standing by. Over."

  The door slid open, just wide enough for Jeremy to squeeze in. The bright spotlights made it almost impossible to see anything inside beyond their view. All he could make out was the tip of the pistol owned by the voice he'd been making friends with, just barely sticking out into the light. Not taking a single chance.

  The pistol waved a little, prompting him forward. Jeremy took a few steps inside, hand still raised in surrender. As soon as he'd entered, the door slammed shut and the room plunged into black.

  Well, I made it in. Now what the fuck do I do?