Undercover Jeopardy. Kathleen Tailer

Чтение книги онлайн.

       FOUR

      Daniel watched the confrontation and felt his adrenaline surge as his protective instincts kicked in. Even if it cost him his life, he would not stand by and watch Bethany get hurt. He didn’t know if the bodybuilder robber would actually shoot her or not, but he couldn’t wait and find out. Daniel didn’t like the way the man was holding his rifle. He stood and moved toward them. “Hey now.”

      In one fleeting second, all of the bigger man’s anger focused on Daniel. He took several steps toward him and raised the butt of his weapon as if preparing to hit Daniel across the face. “You stay back, do you hear me?”

      Daniel put his hands up and retreated a few steps. He had accomplished his objective—he had distracted him and gotten him to move away from Bethany. “Yeah, I hear you.”

      The bodybuilder loomed threateningly over him, and Daniel could see the red in his eyes and smell garlic on his breath even through the mask. “Sit back down! Now! Or I’ll make sure you never stand up again!”

      Daniel obeyed, his hands still up in front of him. He didn’t know what to expect and wouldn’t have been surprised if the robber had bashed him with the rifle just for good measure. The man was so angry his hands were shaking. It had to be the stress. This heist was taking longer than any of them had probably expected, and the threat of capture had to be looming in all of their minds. Daniel wondered if they were criminals by trade or if this was a one-time deal.

      The phone broke the silence once again with a steady ring.

      Bethany held back and didn’t move. She simply looked at the big man, apparently waiting for permission before answering the phone or doing anything else. Daniel didn’t blame her. The robber was an incredibly large man with heavily developed muscles and a threatening presence. He would be a dangerous foe in any situation, and in his current stance of agitation, it wasn’t worth challenging him without a very good reason.

      The phone stopped ringing, then started again after about thirty seconds or so. No one else said a word. The air felt heavy. Even the other hostages were smart enough to stay quiet and subdued.

      Finally, the bodybuilder relented. He motioned with his weapon toward the phone, then started pacing in front of the hostages, glaring at them as he did so. “Fine, answer the stupid phone and do whatever you want to do with J.P., but I’m not taking the blame. When the boss finds out, it’ll be you who answers to him. Not me.”

      Bethany nodded and swung her rifle behind her, then walked over and quickly picked up the receiver. “Yeah?”

      She was silent as she listened, then turned and looked into the other robber’s eyes as she spoke. “Look, we’ve got a man down. He’s been shot, and he needs a doctor. I want you to send in someone to get him. One man and a stretcher. That’s it.”

      She listened again and then stood straighter as her eyes narrowed. “No, I’m not letting a hostage take him outside. You’re going to send in one EMT with a stretcher on wheels and he’s going to come in and get the guy, and then he’s going to turn around and leave. If he’s armed, I’ll kill him. If he does anything foolish, I’ll kill him. Got it?”

      She listened some more and then slammed down the phone and turned to the bodybuilder. “Okay, they’re sending in a guy with a stretcher. Can you let him in the front door?”

      The big robber blew out a breath, then nodded. “Yeah, I guess. The boss is going to blow a gasket over this. Cover me while I work.”

      J.P. groaned loudly. “Don’t hand me over to them.” He tried to sit up again but failed miserably. “I’ll get you back, Hailey. I promise you that.”

      Daniel was surprised that the wounded man said Bethany’s undercover name out loud. Hailey must be what Bethany was calling herself these days. He could tell it was a major breach of etiquette for the robbers to mention names because even the bodybuilder balked at his words.

      “Shut up, man. Just close your mouth and keep it closed.”

      Daniel watched as the bodybuilder slung his rifle behind him and went to the front door and undid some wires, apparently disarming the bomb temporarily so the doors could be opened. Then he released the cables that were holding the door shut and opened one of them. A man dressed as an emergency tech pushed in a yellow stretcher on wheels, noticed the man lying on the floor and rushed to his side, but Bethany frisked him before she let him get close to the wounded man, and she searched the bags he brought in, presumably for any weapons or other suspicious devices. Meanwhile, the bodybuilder robber stayed near the front door and pulled his gun back around to the front and held it ready, his eyes following the EMT’s every movement.

      When the EMT approached him, J.P. started thrashing his arms around, trying to keep the EMT away from him. Bethany pointed her weapon at Daniel and motioned toward the fallen man. “Hey, hero. Help him get that man on the stretcher. Now.”

      Daniel nodded and moved quickly to help the EMT, glad that Bethany had allowed him to help. He glanced at the rest of the hostages as he did so, but although a few were watching the scene unfold, most were turned away and trying to stay as uninvolved as possible. It was probably wise of them not to challenge the robbers like he had, but doing nothing went against his basic ideals, and he knew Bethany was a cop, which gave him the advantage. He was also driven to help resolve this problem and was grateful to play even a small part in the resolution. He grabbed and secured the injured man’s hands and helped lift him to the stretcher, being careful of the man’s wound as he did so. Then he continued holding the man steady as the EMT strapped him to the gurney. Once the injured man couldn’t pull away or fight any longer, the EMT checked his wound and re-bandaged it, then started an IV.

      “Is he going to live?” Bethany asked.

      “Looks like it,” the EMT answered. “You called us just in time. He’s lost a lot of blood and is in shock, but the hospital is close. I think he’ll make it.”

      Bethany nodded, but kept her gun trained on the tech even as he spoke to her. She even kept it on him as he turned and pushed the gurney back out through the front door. Once he was gone, the bodybuilder lost no time in rewiring the door and securing the door handles with the cables.

      “Why don’t you let the women go?” Daniel asked quietly. “You’ll still have plenty of hostages...”

      Bethany swung around and pointed her weapon right at Daniel’s chest. “Shut up.” She motioned toward the line of hostages. “Sit back down and keep quiet.”

      He put up his hands again but didn’t obey. “Look, you just did something decent. Don’t stop now. Let the women go. You’ll still have all of the men...”

      The bodybuilder advanced quicker than Daniel had expected and loomed above him, his weapon once again pulled back like a club. “She told you to sit down and shut up. I’ve had enough of you and your mouth. Do you hear me? Do as she says, buddy, or I’ll make you comply. Got it?”

      Daniel backed down and sat on the floor again, but he kept his eyes on Bethany. She had done the right thing by getting the injured man СКАЧАТЬ