Constant Fear

CHAPTER 38

Jake navigated back through the tunnels and returned to the janitor’s closet, where he could get a cell phone signal again. He checked his watch. The countdown on Fausto’s deadline continued to tick away.

Jake made the call. Images of death came at him like wraiths in the dark.

Ellie answered on the first ring. “Jake, where are you?”

Jake noticed an edge to Ellie’s voice, a tone he had never heard her use.

“I’m in the school. Listen, Ellie, there are at least six kids who have been taken hostage. I can confirm four of the hostage takers are dead, but I don’t know how many are left. One called himself Fausto. They may be from Mexico, I’m really not sure.”

“Jake, you need to get out of there. You need to get out of there now.”

Jake’s pulse spiked. “There’s a deadline on their lives, Ellie,” he snapped. “We’ve got less than an hour to rescue them before they start killing hostages.”

“Jake, you should have told me.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“They don’t want you anywhere near that school.”

“Who are ‘they’?”

“They’ve been to your house. They know what you do. What you believe. They think you’re unstable.”

“You should have told me.” He understood. “We don’t have time to bullshit about what I believe, Ellie.”

In the background, Jake heard a gruff voice say, “Is that him?”

“Yes,” Jake heard Ellie answer.

A moment later, the gruff voice barked into Jake’s ear, “Listen to me, Jake. This is Special Agent Leo Haggar, with the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team. I’m ordering you to evacuate the premises immediately.”

Jake’s inner dialogue was rambling, but he silenced the noises in his head. His mind could work that way. Brain waves like an earthquake one second, flatlining like a corpse’s the next. It was the same mind control trick he used to shake off a home run and strike out the next batter. It was imperative he sound calm and composed. He already had a three-ball count against him. They knew he was a prepper. They would be biased. He was the only inside man, and they wouldn’t use him as an asset.

“Agent Haggar, there is a hostage situation here at the school,” Jake said.

“No shit, Detective,” Haggar said.

Jake ignored the rebuke. “My son and his friends. Six kids. Four armed men are dead. I engaged with one myself. He’s in the second-floor boys’ bathroom of the Society Building. The other three were dead when I found them. I believe all of the kids are being held in the Feldman Auditorium on the first floor of the Academy Building.”

“You ‘engaged’?”

“I shot him.”

“Shit,” Haggar muttered. “And how do you know the other information?”

“I have access to the underground-tunnel system at the school. I overheard conversation from a pit underneath the stage. That’s where I also found three additional dead guys.”

“You killed them?”

“No, somebody else did.”

“Who did?” Haggar asked.

“Look, I don’t know. I don’t know how many hostage takers there are, or what they’re armed with. But I think it has something to do with missing money. A lot of money. Two hundred million, I heard one of them say. I told Ellie they might be Mexican, or South American, but I don’t know. One of them is called Fausto.”

“That’s all really helpful information, Mr. Dent. Now you need to get out of there right away and let us do our job.”

“Aren’t you hearing me?” Jake said. “There’s a deadline. One hour.”

“Yeah? And now you listen to me. You might be doing a lot more damage than you realize.”

“The bomb,” Jake said. He needed something to build up his damaged credibility, and this was it.

“What bomb?” Haggar asked.

“You know. A radioactive bomb of some sort. It’s all bullshit. It’s a lie. It’s a trick. They’re trying to buy more time.”

“Yeah, and how do you know that?”

“I heard him say it.”

“From under the stage,” Haggar said.

“That’s right,” Jake answered.

“You know what I heard?” Haggar growled. “I heard you think the world is coming to an end. I heard that you store food somewhere, and lots of it, and guns, too, and you’re just waiting for the day when all hell breaks loose.”

“That has nothing to do with this,” Jake said.

“How do I know that you’re not just looking for any excuse to make that day happen sooner rather than later? You already shot one guy, you said. Hell, maybe you’re tired of shooting things with four legs.”

“I’m not crazy, if that’s what you’re saying,” Jake said. “I don’t want to hunt people.”

“I’m not saying anything except you have to vacate the premises.”

“They won’t negotiate. They know you won’t honor any exchange for immunity.”

“Please, Jake,” Haggar said. “Let us do our job and you do yours by getting the hell out of there.”

“I’m not going anywhere until I know you’re coming in.”

Haggar went silent. It lasted long enough for Jake to think the phone connection had dropped.

“Okay,” Haggar said at last. “Okay. We’re going to take your word for it. We’ll go in hard and fast. But you get out of there first.”

“You got my word.”

“What are you wearing? We need to make sure my teams know you’re not a threat.”

“I’ve got on full-camouflage gear, and my face and hands are camo as well.” Jake also gave Haggar his size and weight measurements. He said he would exit by the Society Building.

“Easy enough. I’ll mobilize our teams and we’ll try to establish communications with the terrorists.”

“I don’t think these are terrorists,” Jake said.

Haggar didn’t respond to that.

“One of them is Fausto,” Jake reminded him. “I think he’s their leader.”

“Right. Fausto.”

“There’s a deadline,” Jake added. “Less than an hour now. You’ve got to go quick.”

“Not a lot of time for us to work with, but we’ll get it done. Thanks for your service here, Jake. I mean it. Now, please, for the sake of your son and the other kids, get out.”

“Okay,” Jake said. “I’m leaving now.”

“Good. The school is surrounded by police, SWAT, and FBI. You see somebody with a gun or a badge-I want you to turn yourself in to them. Understood?”

“Understood,” Jake said.

“We’re on this, Jake,” Haggar said. “We’re going to trust you. Now you’ve got to trust us. You got it. Right?”

“Got it,” Jake said. “Don’t let my son or any of his friends die.”

“We’re going to do everything we can. But you’re the danger to them right now. Just turn yourself in.”

“I’m on my way,” Jake said, and he ended the call.

From his belt buckle, Jake unclipped his Bearcat handheld. He powered on the device and navigated to the stored frequency for the Winston PD.

The chatter was consistent and sounded a lot like air traffic control managing a busy airport.

“Team One checking in. No change.”

“Sniper Team Three. No change.”

“Same here. This is Orange Team Two. We got the back of the Academy Building.”

“SWAT Team One. All clear by the library.”

This was all interesting and entirely expected. But Jake was waiting for word about him to come through the command vehicle. Jake had read enough police procedures involving crisis situations to know that a Mobile Command Post would coordinate all field-unit activities. These specialized vehicles contained a complement of radio and telephone communications equipment, as well as advanced audio and video surveillance technology. Haggar would relay Jake’s description to the MCP, and they, in turn, would communicate it out to the field. But Jake wanted to hear something else.

“Mission command reporting a white male dressed in camouflage gear, face and hands camouflaged as well, expected to leave Pepperell Academy near the Society Building any moment. The subject is six-two, about two hundred pounds. Do not engage. If any units see him exit, try to detain, but he’s not necessarily a threat.”

“Any change in the plan? This is SWAT Team Four asking.”

“Negative. Situation is unchanged. Hold positions and maintain surveillance. That’s the order.”

“Hold positions.”

Jake lowered the volume on his scanner. There was nothing else for him to glean. Things were status quo. No change in the plan. Of course. Jake didn’t doubt that for a minute. Haggar didn’t believe him, or wouldn’t trust him. It was as simple as that. The implications hit Jake hard. The FBI was going to try to negotiate with a bunch of killers who intended to string them along for at least an hour. At least until Fausto’s deadline, until his son and his friends were dead.

Jake tried to put himself in Haggar’s shoes. Would he have done anything different? Not a chance in France. Haggar had been right to try and draw Jake out of the school. Making entry was the biggest risk during any hostage crisis. The bad guys could take cover, and shoot from the shadows. Out in the open, it was much easier and safer to engage and separate the hostiles from the friendly. Haggar had done what he could to get Jake to stand down. But it wasn’t going to be enough.

Jake headed back for the tunnels, when his cell phone rang. He checked the number and saw it was Ellie.

“I’m heading out,” Jake said.

“They’re not coming,” Ellie whispered.

“Say that again.”

“Nobody is going to come into the school. They’re not willing to believe you. Haggar won’t take the chance. They’re going to try to negotiate.”

“What about you?” Jake said.

“I’m calling, aren’t I?”

“I’m not crazy, Ellie,” Jake said.

“I know.”

“They’re going to kill them all, my son included.”

“I know. Sweetheart, I know. I believe you. I do. I just wish you had told me. You can trust me, Jake. All the way.”

Jake was overcome with emotion, but forced his mind to clear. He remembered something, something he had forgotten to tell Haggar. Something important.

“Do some digging on someone named Javier,” Jake said, recalling what Fausto had said onstage. “He may have a connection to the school or the money. I don’t know. They did something to him. Something with a drill.”

“Who are these people?” Ellie asked.

“All I know is that they’re killers and they’re brutal.”

“Jake, please, please be careful.”

“Thank you, Ellie. Thank you for not lying to me.”

“What do you mean?”

“I listened to the scanners. I knew they weren’t coming in. You didn’t have to tell me, but I’m glad you did.”

After a pause, Ellie blurted out, “I love you, Jake.”

Jake kissed his fingers and put them gently to the phone. “I’ll tell you how I feel when I see you,” Jake said, and ended the call.

No time for good-byes. According to Jake’s stopwatch, Andy and his friends now had less than forty-five minutes to live.