Linda Kay Silva - Delta Stevens 3 - Weathering the Storm (36 page)

Delta shrugged. Tony was looking better all the time. “We’re not the least bit sidelined, Carducci. As a matter-of-fact, we’re right in the thick of it.”

“How? We’re way out here in the boonies.”

Staring across an open field directly behind Keats Street, Delta studied the layout of a beat she was all-too familiar with. “If they’re on Keats, they’ll take the back side of the driveway out and cross here.” Pointing to the field, Delta watched Tony stare hard at the direction her finger was pointing.

“Why here?”

A frown suddenly appeared on Delta’s face.

“What is it?”

“I don’t know.” Delta closed her eyes and listened to herself think for a moment. “It’s too pat—too easy. These guys aren’t going to be brought down that easily. So far, their plans have been professional and elaborate. T h e r e ’s something missing. T h e r e ’s something we’ve missed.” Staring out over the field, Delta traced over every possible escape route open to the suspects. Something was up; with the perimeter, the houses, the feds, something was wrong and Delta couldn’t put her finger on it. What she did know was that these guys weren’t simply going to hand themselves over. No, they had something going for them and she hoped the feds knew what it was.

“These guys are going to jail for the rest of their lives,” Delta offered. “If they know the feds are on to them, then they’ve got an awful lot of shit riding on their shoulders.”

“You don’t think we have the advantage of a surprise attack?”

“Hell no. After reading in the newspapers that a cop saved the kids, after realizing that their pals Dice and Martinez were never coming back, they have to know how close we are. And that’s what bothers me about this whole thing. They know we’re right behind them, so....”

Tony nodded. “They’ve either gotten sloppy—”

“Or the feds have done the one thing a cop should never do.”

“Try to outguess the suspect?”

Delta shook her head. “Nope. Underestimated them. Our bad boys have a card up their sleeve, Carducci. I can feel it.”

“You really think so?”

“Yep. And let’s hope the feds know which card it is.”

Delta and Tony continued to cruise the established perimeter for the next two hours, waiting for even the tiniest signal that would alert them to trouble. At the two-hour mark, Delta looked at her watch and sighed.

“Maybe it won’t go down tonight,” Tony offered.

Delta shook her head. “It has to. They’ve pulled too many cops off their regular beats for this. No, tonight is definitely the night.” Tony turned the patrol car up a street paralleling Hemingway. As he turned, Delta’s beeper went off.

“What the hell was that?”

“My pager. Pull over to that phone booth over there.”

As the car sided up to the curb, Delta hopped out and quickly phoned Connie.

“What’s up?”

“Del, remember my friend on the force in the reservation?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“I just received a fax from him. There’s a possibility your suspects have a little girl with them.”

Immediately, a hot flash waved over Delta. There could be no doubt about it, this was the suspects’ ace. Nodding, Delta pulled her notepad and pen from her pocket. “I’m listening.”

“My buddy said she was taken more than two weeks ago and he said he’s positive it was our guys who got her.”

“She isn’t one of the kids I pulled from the house?”

“Nope. This girl is still at large, but she was snatched the same way. It makes sense that they keep one alive.”

“For a hostage.”

“That and the fact that they’re still in the process of filming.”

Delta remembered back to the motel. Hadn’t Rubin mentioned something about finishing up their next project? “You think she’s with them now?”

“Without a doubt. She’s their ticket to freedom. If we back them into a corner...well, they’ve already proven that killing kids isn’t a problem for them.”

“Do you think the feds know?”

“I spoke with Agent Garvey a few minutes ago to feel his position out. The feds think they’ve got them on the run.”

“So, they’re not aware of the possibility of a hostage?”

“I don’t think so. If they were, they’d have a top negotiator out here.”

Delta thought back to the commendation Captain Henry had received for talking down a hostage-taker. “Are there any SWAT members assigned to this?” Delta waited while Connie did whatever she was doing with Eddie.

“Not that I can tell.”

“The captain’s out here. You think he’s their negotiator?”

“Could be. I think you should advise him of the situation. I know we’ll have a great deal to answer for later on, but a child’s life, Del—”

“Is worth it. I’ll see what I can do. Keep your ear to the radio, Chief. And, thanks.”

“Be careful, Storm.”

“Will do.”

Returning to the car, Delta filled Tony in on her conversation with Connie.

When she was finished, Tony pulled the car back onto the street. “So, you gonna tell the feds?”

Delta nodded. She didn’t see that she had any other choice. If the feds knew and weren’t telling anyone, they were risking a child’s life. If they didn’t know, they needed to so they could modify their plan of attack. “A hostage sets up a completely different set of strategies, Carducci. The way I see this, the feds don’t know. If they did, the SWAT guys would be crawling all over the place.” Putting the mike to her lips, Delta quietly said into the still radio, “This is S1012, be advised there’s a possible 2-0-7 involved and we have a potential hostage situation.” Delta waited for the captain’s voice to come booming over. She didn’t have to wait long.

“S1012, this is your captain,” he said very loudly. “Go to one-eight immediately.”

Flipping the dial, Delta waited for Captain Henry to bark at her some more.

“What in the blazes are you talking about, Stevens?”

“Captain, I’ve just received word that they may still have one of the kids with them. They might have the little girl with them to use as a shield.”

“Where did you get this information, Stevens? According to Detective LaFrenz, there’s no indication that there’s a child in that house.”

“I just spoke with one of the reservation cops, sir, and he believes the girl is still with them.” Delta waited for a response.

“Stevens, why is it you seem to have information no one else is privy to?”

“It just makes sense, sir. They still need a kid to finish their current filming. Also, as a hostage negotiator, you, yourself must know that a hostage situation paints a completely different picture. I’d bet a month’s salary she’s in there and they’re going to use her as a shield until they can get to LAX”

“Hold on.”

Delta waited what felt like hours. When he finally came back on air, his tone was decidedly calmer. “I don’t know who your source is, Stevens, but Agent LaFrenz assured me that there is no child in that house. You saved all the kids we have on file.”

“Files are often incomplete, Captain. What if I’m right?”

“Then some agent’s head in the Bureau is going to roll. Over and out.”

“Captain?”

“What now?”

Delta could hear him sighing loudly. “For the record, I’m not wrong.”

“Let’s hope you are, Stevens. Out.”

Delta glanced over at Tony and shrugged. Captain Henry would never understand women’s intuition anymore than he’d understand her gut’s innate ability to “know” things. It was this knowing that made her feel Elson’s disturbing presence whenever he was near. It was this uncanny knowing that gave her the edge over a man sent to murder her in that warehouse. And it was this knowing which Delta felt earlier, a trickle of adrenaline, a twitch of doubt that made her know why the suspects appeared cornered, but weren’t. With a hostage, it was the suspects who called all the shots. All of them. The feds hadn’t done their homework properly in the first place and this was where it had gotten them.

“Now what?” Tony asked.

Delta shrugged. “Now we do just what the captain said. We hope.”

“But the captain—”

“Has to play by their rules. This is the feds’s game and he knows it. He’s not even back-up quarterback on this one.”

Tony shook his head. “I’m think I’m beginning to get it.”

Delta turned to him. “Get what?”

“Why you break the rules. Sitting around waiting for some idiot to

get done scratching his butt while he thinks about what to do is making me crazy.”

Delta couldn’t help but smile. “That’s slightly oversimplified, but you’re pretty close. We’re just going to have to sit back and see how this one turns out.”

“So that’s it? We’re really going to just sit here?”

Delta shrugged and stared out the window. “I’m afraid so. We sit and wait and hope no one blows a hole through an innocent little girl.”

“I’d rather have a root canal without novocaine.”

Delta nodded and felt her stomach come to life. “Me, too.”

It took less than half-an-hour for the radio to jump to life after Delta had spoken to the captain.

“This is C1919.” It was Captain Henry. “All units be advised we have a hostage situation. I repeat, we have a hostage situation. Allow the white van access to the freeway and any other on-ramps. There are no plates on the van, but it does have a peace sign in the back right window. I repeat—all perimeter units are to allow van freeway access. Do not attempt to stop the unit. Do not attempt to follow.”

Delta turned to Tony and smiled. “He believed me.”

“That means a lot to you, doesn’t it?”

“No. What’s important is saving that little girl’s life. ”

“And you think we can do that?”

Delta slowly turned toward Tony. “I think we have to.”

“Which means we’re in?”

Delta shook her head as a slight grin curled on her lips. “I’ve either taught you really well, or I’ve failed miserably. I can’t decide which.”

“You taught me to get the job done. We’ve got a kid’s life in our hands and someone is telling us to let her be taken by people we know will kill her the moment they get to their destination.”

“So just what is it you think we should do, Carducci?” Delta suppressed a grin. He really had learned something from her after all.

“Well, escorting these shitbags to the airport isn’t an option. I’m not stupid, Delta. I know that if push comes to shove, you’ll shove right back. Don’t do anything differently because you have a rookie for a partner. Do what you would normally do.”

A short grin appeared on his face. She had done a lot of questionable things in her career, but saving Tony Carducci’s career wasn’t one of them. “No, Carducci, you’re not stupid, but you just might be as crazy as I am.”

Tony’s grin matched Delta’s. “Then tell me, Oh, Legend, what’s up that sleeve of yours.”

“You sure you’re willing to risk it? We blow it and your career is history.” Tony shrugged. “Maybe, but I’d have some great stories to tell my grandkids.”

Tony Carducci had come a long way. And whether they made it out of this one without being demoted, or worse, she knew that she had taught him one very important lesson: do what was best.

“First, we have to cover our asses.” Turning the radio back to channel one-eight, Delta then pulled the shotgun from its nest. “When the captain wants to know why we disobeyed his directive, we’ll say we forgot to turn the radio back to open air after we talked to him.”

Tony’s eyes twinkled. “God, you’re good.”

“It’s not great, but it’ll have to do. Now, my guess is that they’ll come busting out of the south driveway and onto the field as they make their way to the freeway. They’ve got to be heading for the airport, and it’s possible they’ve already asked for a plane or a chopper.”

“If they get to the airport—”

“She’s dead. They’ll believe they’re close to freedom and view her as additional baggage. It happens all the time in hostage situations.”

“Then why are they allowing them access to the airport?”

Delta shrugged. “I haven’t a clue.”

“Then we’re on our own.”

“Exactly.” Delta lightly touched Tony’s arm. “It’s not too late to back out.”

Tony smiled broadly. “Not a chance. I didn’t become a cop to watch crimes. I became a cop to prevent them. I’m willing if you are. It’s time, Teacher, to show me what it’s really like out here on a beat with you. Put your chalk down and show me why there are stories miles high about the Incredible Delta Stevens.”

Pulling away from his riveting gaze, Delta shook her head. “You’re insane.”

“Yes, but so are you, so we’re even. What’s the plan?”

Before Delta could answer, a loud sound of something breaking reverberated through the night air, slicing the silence like a well-sharpened blade. Turning to see what it was, Delta saw a white van crash through wooden gates from one of the Keats Street houses, and screech down Stein Street.