First Response

WANDSWORTH (3.55 p.m.)

Inspector Edwards wanted a cigarette but even though the shopping centre had been evacuated he figured the NO SMOKING signs still applied. He looked longingly at his cigarettes and lighter, sitting on the counter of the sports shop they had commandeered as a forward base.

‘I know how you feel,’ said Sergeant Clarke, catching his look.

‘I suppose we could pop out for a quick one,’ said Edwards. ‘It’s not as if there’s much happening. Mick and Paul can hold the fort.’ Mick Hecquet and Paul Savage were the other two members of the negotiating team, but they had done nothing except keep watch since they had arrived.

‘Just a quick one, then,’ said Clarke, picking up his pack of Rothmans.

‘Sir, there’s somebody coming out,’ said Hecquet.

The two armed officers had their rifles up at their shoulders.

Edwards and Clarke rushed over to the entrance and peered cautiously out. There was a woman walking purposefully towards them, pushing a double buggy with two toddlers in it. One was munching a slice of pizza.

‘Armed police, hands in the air,’ shouted one of the armed officers.

‘Fuck off, I’m coming through!’ yelled the woman, increasing her pace.

Edwards stepped out of the shop.

‘Stop where you are and raise your hands!’ roared the second armed officer, a woman with short blonde hair. Both officers were dressed in black with Kevlar vests and helmets.

‘What — are you shooting fucking housewives now?’ shouted the woman.

Edwards knew it was standard operating procedure to stop and search everyone leaving a hostage situation, but even a quick glance showed him that the woman wasn’t carrying any explosives. ‘It’s okay, guys, let her through,’ he said.

The two armed officers lowered their weapons.

Edwards ushered the woman into the sports shop. ‘Are you okay?’ he asked her.

‘Of course I’m not fucking okay. I’ve been held hostage by a fucking suicide bomber! Would you be okay?’

‘Why did he let you go?’

‘He didn’t say. He got a phone call and then he said me and the kids could go.’

‘A phone call? On the shop phone?’

The woman shook her head. ‘He had a mobile in his bumbag. That thing around his waist. He answered the call and then he said we could go.’

‘And, just to confirm, how many hostages are still in there?’

‘The poor girl he’s handcuffed to. Another shop assistant. And three customers. He’s keeping them in the changing rooms.’

‘What’s your name, madam?’

‘Stella. Stella Duffy.’

‘What we’re going to do, Stella, is get you to a safe place and have a chat with you about what’s happened.’ He waved over a female officer. ‘Can you take Mrs Duffy out to the Joint Emergency Services Control Centre, please?’

‘Will do, sir.’

‘He says you’re not to talk to him,’ said Mrs Duffy.

‘Who? Sami?’

‘He just said that if you try to talk to him again, everyone will die. He says you’re not to go anywhere near him. He said I was to tell you that and to make sure you understand.’

‘How does he seem?’ asked Sergeant Clarke.

‘What do you mean, how does he seem? He’s threatening to blow himself up, how do you think that seems? He’s a fucking nutter, that’s what he is. Now who do I see about compensation? Criminal Injuries and all that. I need compensating for what me and the little ones have been through.’

‘This lady will deal with all that,’ said Edwards.

The officer took the woman and her children away. ‘What do you think, Chris?’ asked Edwards.

‘It’s not usually how it works, is it? We offer them something and ask for something in return. He sent out the kids for no good reason — he already had the food and the bucket.’ The sergeant grinned. ‘Maybe he just got fed up with her. You saw how mouthy she was.’

‘Or maybe he didn’t want the kids in the firing line. But when we spoke to him, he didn’t seem to care much.’ Edwards took out his mobile. ‘I’ll give GT Ops a call and let them know what’s happening.’

‘And what do we do?’ asked the sergeant.

‘You heard what she said. He doesn’t want to talk so we just wait and see if he changes his mind. At least we got three of the hostages out.’