“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.
CHAPTER 39
Jake made another phone call before he descended back into darkness. He needed to speak with Lance.
“Jake! Jake, is that you?”
“Listen, Lance, I don’t have a lot of time. You’ve got to try and convince Haggar I’m not crazy.”
“What?”
“No time to explain. He’ll know what it’s about. Just tell him I’m not nuts. It’s going to go down in here pretty soon, and I’d rather not go at it alone. Tell them to engage. If they hold back, all these kids are going to die, and that includes my son.”
“Andy? Where is Andy? I’m really lost here. You’re not making any sense.”
“And another thing,” Jake said, not wasting a second on backstory. Lance would figure it out eventually. “This is all about money. A lot of money.”
“What?”
“Andy and his friends were involved in something. There was a theft. I told Ellie about someone named Javier. Does that mean anything to you? Javier?”
“No,” Lance said, but then stuttered, “I-I-don’t know. I’d have to think. I’m rattled.”
“All right. You do that and tell Ellie what you come up with.”
“What are you doing, Jake?”
“I’m doing what I do best. Surviving, big brother. I’m just surviving.” Jake ended the call so he could return to the catacombs.
The call to Lance took another five minutes off the clock. Forty to go.
Jake went as quickly as he could, but not recklessly fast. The tunnels were full of obstacles that could cause serious injury from a full-speed impact. While any second could be Andy’s last, Jake also believed that Fausto would honor his own deadline. Why, exactly, he couldn’t say. It was a gut feeling. Fausto sounded sadistically playful in the conversations Jake had overheard, as if he would relish each minute as it ticked off the clock. The fear of death for him would be as intoxicating as any drug.