Tuesday, September 05, 2006

The Negotiator, Standoff 1



The door ominously opened as Chris Sabian climbed up the final flight of stairs, the seasoned negotiator staring at the balding middle-aged man in the doorway.

"You OK?" Chris offered.

"Do I look OK? I got a gun pointed to the back of my head," Rudy muttered matter-of-factly. "Nice fucking pants," he added.

"Hey shut up Mr Blackwell, get over here." Danny Roman dragged the reluctant hostage over, levelling his pistol at Chris over Rudy's head. "You working?"

"Sort of. I was negotiating a truce between my wife and daughter." Chris' eyes never left Danny's.

"That might prove to be easy by comparison."

"Wouldn't surprise me in the least," Chris replied lightly.

"So you shut off the heat already," Danny continued.

"You know how this works."

"Yeah, I do." Danny's reply was curt. "Next time you wanna bluff, make sure you charge your cell phone."

"Alright, you wanna tell me what I'm doing up here?"

"I just wanted to tell you face-to-face that I'm not crazy. I'm just doing this to prove my innocence."

"I believe you, Danny." Chris' eyes were roving around the office. "Anything I can do to help you get out-"

"Don't fucking patronize me, man!" Danny raised his voice. "I know you don't think I'm innocent, so don't tell 'I wanna do everything to help you to get outta here'. Don't talk to me like I'm some second-rate HT."

Chris' tone was conciliatory. "Alright, you're right. I'm sorry. My mistake."

"Yeah, you are sorry." A pause, and then Danny pushed Rudy towards the door. "Get outta here. Lock the door. Call me when you wanna talk."

"No Danny, Danny-" Rudy had just reached the door when Chris held up his hands. "I'm ready to talk."

Miffed, Rudy shrugged his jacket back over his shoulders as Danny dragged him back again. "You're right," Chris began. "I don't know if you're innocent of not. You could have done everything they said you've done. You could have killed that cop. I don't know, and I don't care."

"There are ways to prove your innocence, but this is hardly one of them." A nod to the room behind, "And now you've got hostages."

"So let me tell you this: You hurt one of them, you're gonna burn up whatever currency that's left to deal to me. They're all I care about. You leaving here walking is a distant second."

"Now do I make myself clear?"

"Good." Danny half-smiled. "Now we're getting somewhere."

"Good, now answer my question. What am I doing up here?"

Danny's words were intoned, methodical. "Before Nate was killed, he told me the men involved in the fraud are from my precinct. Guys I know." Chris nodded in response. "Guys I might call friends."

"And?" Chris prompted.

"And you're not." Danny's voice took on an ironic tone. "When your friends betray you, sometimes the only people you can trust are strangers."

Chris' eye caught a flutter of movement at the far end of the office. Danny turned around, eyes squinted to catch any sign of trouble. Then as Niebaum dived down, Danny's eyes widened.

They were coming in.