The megaphone was heavy in her hands. They’d been at it for most of the day. Ericka’s throat was dry, and she longed for water. She tried once more.
“Doug West, come out with your hands up. The place is surrounded.”
It sounded cliché even to her ears, but it was true. FBI and local police had surrounded the house with officers, SWAT, and snipers. The gentleman in question had kidnapped a little girl from the local park. She’d been missing for five days before a neighbor spotted her in Doug’s back yard playing on the swingset.
Ericka and Bill had been called in as the closest agents with any hostage negotiation experience. So far it wasn’t going too well. Bill had had a panic attack due to the nature of the case and was hiding in the command center and she wasn’t getting anywhere.
She lowered the megaphone and spoke to one of the local officers in the command center. “You have to have something on this guy. More than just that he kidnapped the girl. He let her outside to play, and he has a swingset in his back yard. I need background!”
“Here, miss. This is all we can find.”
It was a newspaper article. Ericka skimmed the first couple of paragraphs.
Mr. West had lost his wife and child in a mall shooting. They had been hit by stray bullets from a man who was angry about losing his job. There had been no rhyme or reason.
“Now this helps.” She looked around the command trailer. “Try to get Doug on the phone.”
The officer called the house, once, twice, three times, before Mr. West answered.
“What do you want?” His voice was gruff, irritated.
“Mr. West, my name is Ericka Stone. I’m an agent with the FBI. I want to help you.”
There was maniacal laughter. “Help me! No one can help me. Unless you have a time machine.”
“Mr. West, I know about Megan and Miley. I know what happened to them.”
Silence.
“The man who killed your wife and child is in custody and on trial for several counts of murder.”
Silence.
“I also know you don’t want to be that man. You want your child in your arms to love her, which is why you took April. She is the same age and favors Miley. Am I right?”
A sob came through the line.
“Now, Mr. West, I do not condone what you’ve done, but I understand your desire to get your family back.”
“You do?”
“I do. And I want to help you. I want to help you make Megan and Miley proud. So here is what I’m going to do. I’m going to walk to the door unarmed. You’re going to bring April to the door, and I’m going to let her go with the officers that are waiting, and then I’m going to escort you out.”
“I don’t know,” he hedged uncertainty coloring his voice.
“Would you like some time to think about it? I know that you don’t want to hurt April, but I’m sure she’s scared. Think about how Miley would have felt if someone took her from you and Megan at the park.”
The crying on the other end of the line was very real. Ericka couldn’t fight the sympathy she felt for this gentleman despite his actions.
“All right. Come to the door.” The phone line went dead in her hands.
She replaced the receiver, drew in a deep breath, and took a step.
The lead officer in charge tried to step in front of her. “I can’t let you do this. He could shoot you through the door.”
“Then I guess he’ll have to shoot me through the door.”
Bill looked at her with tears coating his eyes as she removed her gun and laid it on a table. She exited the trailer. Arms above her head, she approached the front of the house. Guns were cocked behind her. She could feel them pointed in her direction or slightly to the left of her.
She kept moving forward.
When she arrived, Mr. West opened the door and allowed April through.
Ericka did a once over quickly. The girl looked unharmed.
She took her arm and pointed. “Do you see that officer?”
April nodded, tears coating her baby blue eyes.
“I want you to run to him, okay?”
She didn’t hesitate but ran straight toward the uniformed officer. When the officer released her, April ran for her mother. Out of the corner of her eye, Ericka could just make out April’s mother embracing the tiny girl.
“Now your turn, Doug.”
He held out his empty hands and walked out the door.
“I have to handcuff you now.”
“I know.” Doug lowered his head as camera flashes began to bombard them.
The officers should have kept the press at bay. They shouldn’t be so close, but they were.
Ericka hid her face as well. She didn’t want to be in the papers. It was bad for her job.
Doug was taken by the local authorities and put in the back seat of an unmarked police car. People might try to take him out before he made it to the station, so it was for his safety.
Ericka returned to the trailer and grabbed her holster and gun. The lead officer, whose name she still couldn’t remember, looked at her with utter contempt.
She’d done his job for him; why was he so upset?
****
“Of all the foolish, reckless, actions! What got into you! He could have killed you.”
“Thank you for the vote of confidence, Captain Miller.”
“I do not want sarcasm from you.”
“Sorry.” She wasn’t sorry. She’d saved a little girl and she’d kept a man from dying when he’d just wanted to get his family back.
But she wouldn’t be sharing this with Captain Miller; he seemed angry enough.
He sighed. “You’re a good agent. Normally, you have sense and compassion, two things that often don’t go together. But you seem to be neglecting your common sense lately. This makes the second time you’ve rushed into a situation that could have gotten you killed.”
It was actually way more than two times, but he didn’t want sarcasm, so she didn’t share that fact.
“I want you to take a few days off.”
“Of course.” She turned to leave the office.
“And, Stone?”
“Yes, sir?”
“When you come back, do so with a different perspective. I can’t keep covering when you tick someone off.”
“Obviously.”
Then she was in the main room with the other officers. Several of them looked at her but quickly diverted their gaze. No doubt they were having a good snicker at her expense.
She grabbed her purse and headed for the door. A break wouldn’t be a bad thing if she had friends. It was hard to have friends when your job was your life.
The drive home was quiet. She didn’t even turn on the radio. Once inside she threw her purse on a small table at the door, kicked off her shoes, and walked to the kitchen. She popped some popcorn and went to the living room where she plopped on the couch. Maybe while she was off, she would mow the yard, maybe plant some flowers.
Maybe she’d find some place to volunteer her time, like a soup kitchen.
Her eyes grew heavy, and she fell asleep on the couch. When she awoke it was morning and her alarm was going off.
She groaned and stretched her arms over her head. It was Sunday. At least she could go to church today, that would be a way to be around people.
The ceremony for the new building was happening. They might even have a dinner afterwards. She would stay for the whole thing.
Eventually she had to make some friends. Maybe this was just what she needed.