Exit Strategy. Jen J. Danna

Sutton.”

      “Angelo Carboni.”

      “Janina Lee.”

      “Elizabeth Sharp.”

      “Charles Willan.”

      “Jamal Bowen.”

      “Andy McLaughlin.”

      “Carlos Rodriguez.”

      Everyone was physically well; though to Gemma’s ear, most of them sounded terrified. Willan’s voice, in particular, had a tremor that telegraphed he’d been in the room when the hostage taker had predicted his oncoming death.

      They needed to get him out of there, but were torn because of the injured in the room.

      “What about Greenfield?” Garcia asked. “Mr. Rodriguez, can you tell me about Mr. Greenfield?”

      “He’s unconscious. He has a head wound that bled a lot, but is slowing down now.”

      “Is that his only injury?”

      “Yes. He was hit—”

      “That’s enough for now.” The suspect’s voice cut off Rodriguez’s response. “Now it’s time for you to do something for me. Don’t screw me over, Garcia.”

      “We’re negotiating in good faith. I’ll get back to you when I’ve talked to the mayor.” Garcia ended the call and took off his headset. “Finally some progress, though I’m sure you all noticed he didn’t want us finding out the extent of Greenfield’s injuries. Now we need to get the mayor back here. We have no choice but to get them talking.”

      “You aren’t actually thinking of sending him in, are you?” Gemma asked.

      “Not a chance in hell. He’d never make it out alive. The suspect said he wanted the mayor. So that’s what he’s going to get, but we’re controlling how he’s getting him. It’s already bad enough we’re going to have to hand the phone to someone with no training and a frayed temper. And all we’ll be able to do is sit back and pray he doesn’t get all the hostages killed.”

      CHAPTER 7

      The mayor returned in a whirlwind of sound and fury, followed by two scurrying aides. He made eye contact with Garcia as soon as he strode into the building and held it as he stalked toward the vault.

      “Uh-oh,” McFarland muttered sotto voce. “He’s pissed.”

      “Because that’s just what we need,” Garcia murmured. He pushed back his chair and stood respectfully to face Rowland. “Mr. Mayor.”

      “I’m not used to being summoned like a schoolboy, Garcia.” Rowland’s voice whipped like a lash. “I was trying to help my staff get a head count on who’s missing.”

      “We have that information.” Garcia pushed his pad of paper across the table toward the mayor. “Right now, you can help us more here.”

      Rowland picked up the pad of paper and scanned the list. His face darkened as his eyes traveled down the names. “I don’t know who Sharp and Rodriguez are, but the rest are definitely mine or Charles’s staff.”

      “Let’s confirm who those two are,” Gemma said.

      “On it.” McFarland bent over his keyboard again, his fingers flying.

      “What do you need me for?” Rowland demanded.

      “The hostage taker wants to talk to you.”

      Rowland lost some of his ruddy color. “To me? Is this part of your theory that he wants me to suffer?”

      “Possibly.”

      “I thought you were trying to convince him you couldn’t find me.”

      “That was before he found Mr. Greenfield hiding in your photocopy room and attacked him. We’re not sure how badly he’s hurt, but we do know he has a head injury. And we don’t want to cross the line of losing the first hostage.”

      “Of course, we don’t want anyone to die.” Rowland’s tone carried the sting of insult that someone would even consider he might think otherwise.

      “True. However, in hostage negotiations, there is a clear line of demarcation before and after the first loss of life,” Garcia explained. “Before that happens, the suspect is often more careful, more circumspect, because he has less to lose. He hasn’t done anything that serious yet. After a hostage dies, the risk to the other hostages greatly increases, as the suspect knows a long jail sentence awaits him. Or he often feels he personally is an even greater target, so he has nothing to lose in taking other hostages with him. If Greenfield dies, we’ll have a very different situation on our hands, so we want to do everything in our power to keep that from happening.”

      “What do you want me to do?”

      “The suspect himself must have something he wants from you or something he feels you need to atone for. First and foremost, you need to focus on listening to him rather than talking yourself. He’s fixated on you for some reason, and we need to know why. We also need to know if you can identify him. In most hostage situations, we either know who the suspect is or we know right off the bat what they want. This man is a black box. Any information you can provide us or can coax out of him is valuable.”

      Rowland pushed past Garcia and stepped toward the table, his hand outstretched, reaching for a headset.

      Garcia grabbed his arm, and then pulled back quickly at the mayor’s venomous glare. “Sir, slow down. If we rush into this, we’ll do irreparable damage. A few more minutes won’t make a difference.”

      “What else do I need? We’re wasting time and my staff must be terrified in there. More so, now that they know this guy won’t hesitate to hurt them.”

      “We may only have one shot at this, so I just need to make sure you’re going in with the right mind-set. If you project an attitude of control and power, his response will be to push back to show he’s in charge, likely to the detriment of the hostages. You need to step back from the persona of mayor for this call. You have to let him think he’s in charge, even if he’s not. You need to listen to what he needs and show him you understand. That builds a connection and will give you influence over him, though he won’t realize it. Be genuine with him, and, most important, no matter what he says, you need to keep your temper under control.”

      “What do I do if he wants something?”

      “The only way he gets something is by giving something in return. From our perspective, we want to discuss releasing the first hostage. And because of his injury, it needs to be Greenfield. If he does that in good faith, then we’ll agree to give him something within reason in return.”

      Garcia glanced at Gemma, who read his tacit order loud and clear. She picked up her notes and pen and stood, offering Rowland her chair. Taking off her headphones and leaving them on the table, she went out into the main room, grabbed a spare chair, and pushed it into the vault, setting up a station for herself at the end of the table between Rowland and Taylor.

      Garcia sat down and pulled his pad of paper and pen into position before him. “I’ll start the call. I know already we’re going to hit a major bump right away because he’s going to want to see you in person, and that simply isn’t going to happen.”

      “If Charles’s life is at stake—”

      “It will be more at stake if you’re standing there. If he wants to kill the first deputy mayor to make a point to you, what better way than right in front of you? This is us compromising—putting you in touch with him in a safe manner. He can’t harm you over the phone line. Yes, he has hostages, but we won’t be adding to the list of victims by sending in anyone but the A-Team. If you don’t agree with me, we’ll get the chief on the phone, and he’ll back me up.”

      Rowland sat back heavily in the chair, reluctance coming off him in waves. “He