Appeal to his humanity.
I have to quash an eye roll at the absurd assumption that he has any humanity. They have no idea who they’re dealing with.
If they did a fancy psychological profile of Carnauba wax, it was deeply flawed. In a rush or driven by laziness, they must have used AI to generate it.
Reed responds flatly, “I’m not trying to impress you. All I want is to bring this to a peaceful end. Nobody else needs to die today. We’ll let you walk free if you release the hostages. You aren’t gonna get a better deal than that. It’s the best-case scenario for you. And I think you know that. So what do you say?”
“Listen to me very carefully, Special Agent Reed Hayes,” he seethes into the phone, injecting pure evil into each syllable. “I want our precious Lila standing in front of me. And I want you by her side. If you want to save these people, that is the only way. Nothing else is acceptable. If I have to repeat myself again, you’ll be picking up pieces of your friends off my lawn for months.”
He isn’t budging. Negotiating with this man is pointless.
Nonetheless, I give it another try. “If you want us there, I need to know the condition of the hostages first. You aren’t the only one who has terms. Are they alive? Are any of them hurt? We need proof.”
There’s a smacking sound in the background, and a female voice cries out in pain.
“Tell your friend how the hostages are doing,” he demands.
Kenzie’s voice comes on the line, sounding pathetically frail. “Lila, are you coming? He’s gonna kill us if you don’t.”
I scrunch up my facial features, gnashing my teeth and forcing my eyes shut. I hate how I’m wondering if it’s only an act.
“Kenzie, can you tell us how many hostages he has?”
“Um, well, there’s me,” she quavers.Shocking. She put herself first.“Looks like they tied up twenty SWAT guys and two other people.”
They?
Shoot. Jabali isn’t the only one in that room with the hostages.
If I ask her how many people he has with him, he’ll probably yank the phone away from her.
Instead, I return to my checklist. “Is anyone wounded?”
“One of the FBI guys hasn’t woken up from the gas yet, but I think he’s breathing.”
My stomach pitches and rolls. “He gassed them?”
Some of Kenzie’s patented crappy attitude returns. “Well, how else do you think he knocked out that many SWAT guys at once? Duh.”
SSA Chase presses the mute button, then jabs her finger in Reed’s direction. “Donotrespond to that. That’s an order.” To me, she commands, “Ask him again to let the agents and the doctor go.”
I unmute the call, licking my lips nervously. How do I leap from a snippy, belittling comment to asking him to send out his bargaining chips?Especially when he’s already refused.
Buying some time to figure that out, I offer a slow recap. “Okay, good. I’m glad nobody is hurt. That’s good to hear. We won’t need to worry about getting a paramedic up there. That’s easier for all of us. And we also know what he wants from us. So we’re making good progress.”
Bianca’s expression conveys approval of my approach, and she nods to encourage me to keep going. On the other end of the spectrum, SSA Chase has me glad I don’t have testicles. They’d have shriveled inside me by now.
I lower my stare to the speaker, where the view is easier to take. “Jabali, if Reed and I go inside your house, will you gas us too?”
He answers without hesitation. “No. I don’t want you unconscious, sweet girl. You’re much more fun awake.”
I mute the call and announce, “He won’t gas us. I believe him.”
Reed fumes like a ferocious lion, but I ignore him and return to my task.
“Do you promise to let everyone go when we get there?”
“Everyone?Hmm.” He makes a clicking sound, like he’s smacking his lips in contemplation.
