We show up to a shit show. Blockade with people running all over the damn place.

“Plenty of people here. Why the hell did they call for us?” I say to myself probably a little too loud.

That’s when I see it. The waste of space that somehow made it all the way to detective through sheer luck itself.

“Hanes!” He cries, clumsily making his way through the sea of officers.

“Hey Bill. What am I doing here?”

“Well… uh… we have a hostage situation in the bank and we need all hands on deck.”

Figures he would call for the entire city's worth of resources.

“Fine. What do you want me to do?”

“Well uh…” He answers, darting his eyes back and forth at the scene.

“How about you tell me what the demands are.”

“You see I don’t know what they are yet.”

“Who the fuck is the negotiator.”

“Well. I don’t have one yet. I was hoping you could help.”

“Why is there no negotiator Bill?”

“I… I just didn’t assign one.”

“Fucking hell. Fine! What do you have so far?”

“Ok. So it seems like three suspects came into the bank at 0900 hours armed. Silent alarm was triggered at 9:03.”

“Are you telling me that they’ve been in there for almost an hour and you haven’t assigned someone to be their point of contact?”

“Uh.. Ya.”

Told you. Waste of space.

“Get me a vest.”

“Are you sure you want to go in?” Ashe asks concerned.

“Don’t really have much of a choice. Our top negotiator retired a couple months ago.”

“Ya but you aren’t exactly the most mild mannered person.”

“Kid. I’ve got this.” I say looking at her deep in the eyes.

“Ok.” She says assuredly.

I get myself strapped up in a vest and make my way to the door. A quiet air follows at my back as I step slowly close to the barricaded doors.

“Anyone home?”

All of a sudden two heads pop up from the sides of the doors and I have barrels aimed at my face.

“How’s it going?”

“Who the fuck are you?” Screams the masked gun on the right.

“I don’t know about you. But I’ve done a couple of these before. And they don’t usually involve some negotiations.”

“Then why did they send an asshole like you?”

“They just wanted to have someone who could relate to you.”

The prick on the left takes a shot a couple feet in front of me. The bullet ricochets into the side of a building at my back. No one seems to have been hit. I hear the commotion start behind me as all officers I can see take aim.

“Gun’s down everyone.” I say waving my arms to them. “ We’re just talking.”

“This isn’t some joke asshole!” He yells over the echo bullets sound.

“No shit. You just fired at a detective. You know you could get in trouble for that?”

“Keep talking and it won't be a warning shot.

“Keep shooting and you won’t get to spend any of that cash you’re trying to walk out with. How about we calm down. I come in and we talk this out?”

The two idiots look at each other for approval before a voice comes from deeper in the room.

“Let him in.”

“Boss?” The right idiot asks with his tail between his legs.

No question as to who wears the pants in that relationship. They move the bench they used to block the door just enough so I can squeeze through. The moment I cross the threshold I feel the idiot on the right press the barrel right up against my ear. On the floor I can see 6 people all tied together up against the service counter bound and gagged. One kid, one woman and 4 men. I don’t see any of the bank staff. Maybe they are locked up in the back.

“Search him.” Says the big man calling the shots.

I can tell by the way they clumsily fondle me that these guys are in way over their head.

“Nothing.” Says the idiot to the left.

“Who are you?” The big man says with authority.

“The negotiator.”

“Not why you are here. Your name.”

“Oh. It’s Hanes.”

“Hanes what?”

“Hanes is actually a last name. You see, in the army we used to use last names so we kind of do that at the department too.”

“You are here to hear our demands, mister Hanes?”

“Technically detective but ya. That’s why I’m here.”

“We want food. Pizza . and an armored vehicle with safe passage out of the city.”

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“Not really the order I would’ve put it in but I can see what I can do.”

“If you do not get these within the next thirty minutes we will start killing hostages.”

This guy is really down to business.

“Ok. Well an armored car might take some time but I know a great pizza place that I can probably get them to deliver in about 45 minutes.”

“30 minutes. Or people will die.”

“Listen. Your trigger happy idiot of a partner here already shot at a detective. Do you really think you’re going to get those demands?”

The dumbasses take a glance at each other.

“Can we just shoot this asshole?” Says dummy on the right pressing his barrel in my ear.

“Mind sticking that thing in my temple? Kind of hard to talk to your boss when you are blocking my ear.” I turned to the boss. “ Anyone can see here that shit went sideways on a small job and you guys are in way over your head. Now you can make demands and I can try and negotiate them down or I can help you out of this.”

After a brief pause, the three stooges looking at each other. Moe looks back at me and says.

“What do you have in mind?”

“First off you have way too many hostages. I’m not seeing any staff so you have at least 3 of them hiding somewhere. No wonder the silent alarm got tripped.”

“Nice try detective, but we are not giving up our hostages.”

“Not all. Just bring it down to a more manageable amount. One goes through the registers, One keeps lookout and one keeps an eye on the hostages. Problem is that you’ve got hostages in more than one spot doing who knows what.”

“Go get the others.” Moes says to Larry.

All the while Curley bruising the side of my face with with stupid barrel shaking.

“We are willing to give up some hostages.”

“Ok that’s a good start. I’d say to get rid of the wild cards. Kids, women. Anyone who might get in the way.”

“This seems fishy boss.” Curly says yet again pushing his gun deeper in my skull.

“Look if you want to get out of here you're probably going to want to listen.” I say from the corner of my eye. “Kids and women cause disturbances. They cry, they scream, the little ones shit themselves. Trust me you don’t want them.”

“Ok. we will let them go. But if we don’t get a vehicle in 30 minutes we kill someone.”

Larry comes back with 2 men tied together at the hands to join them to the other hostages.

There’s a pretty bad gash on the right cheek of what I can assume is the manager.

“Cool. Which one are you killing?”

“What?”

“Well you haven’t taken anyone out yet and you want to make sure they know who’s serious. So who’s it going to be?”

They bob their heads back and forth trying to find an answer in each other's eyes.

“If you guys want to get out of this you’ve got to start thinking a couple steps ahead. You off some low life like that guy in the back, no wedding ring, poorly dressed, sure they’ll know you mean business but that doesn’t exactly send a message.”

“Well maybe we should keep the kid then boss.” Says Curly to the big guy.

“Listen. You kill a kid or a woman. You won’t get out of this building alive. They will sacrifice anything to bring you down after that.”

An air of thought fills the room. Moe looks me up and down trying to size me up.

“You really a cop?” He asks.

“Ya. but I’ve probably done worse shit than all of you combined.”

“They let anyone in.” He says with a small smirk coming from the left of his mouth.

“You have an army history. They don’t ask questions.”

“So detective… Hanes I believe it was. What would you do in this situation?”

“To be honest I don’t think I would have fucked up this bad but seeing as though we are here, I’d simplify.”

“Simplify?”

“Ya you know, work your way down to one or two key hostages and plan a distraction so you can get out scot free going the other way.”

“And why would we reduce our hostages so much.”

“Because they aren’t breaking down that door if there’s even one person left in here. These cops are all about collateral damage and PR bullshit. They fucking comb their hair before making their way over here.”

“You are one of them are you not?”

“Me? No. I’m that luckily dying breed who kicks your teeth in for information. These assholes outside don’t know shit about how dark the real world gets.”

“What do you know about the real world?”

“I know I wish I wasn’t in it. Every night I think about taking myself out. I just like the pizza too much.”

Almost a full smile there. Looks like they have a sense of humor. Even curly has pulled back a little from bruising the side of my face with his unsteady hands.

“I know you don’t want to trust me and honestly I don’t look like the friendliest guy you’ll meet on the street but how about I throw this idea your way. You guys let go of everyone except the manager.”

“He’s fooling you boss!” Yells curly once again pressing that fucking barrel so far in my skull I can taste it.

“That hardly seems like a good plan, Detective. Why would we do such a thing?”

“Before jackass number one over here interrupted me I was going to say. Keep the manager. And me. What’s better leverage than a cop?”

“An interesting proposition.”

“Here’s how I’m thinking we do it. I escort the hostages back to the barricade. That way they don’t open fire on you. Same time I will let them know your demands. After I do, I come back and we prepare the escape plan.”

“And how will I know that you aren’t going to leave with them?”

“How about this? I cross that mark that your trigger happy nut job made on the ground, You kill me.”

A smile cracks at the side of his mouth.

“You really do want to die don’t you?” He asks, cocking his chin up into the air.

“Do we have a deal?”

The unease in the room is palpable. The quickened shallow breaths of the hostages beat like a ticking clock.

“Ok. But one step passed the mark. I kill him.” He says pointing to the bank manager.

The man starts to shake and stares at me with an abandoned puppy's eyes. I try to give a subtle comforting nod for reassurance.

“Deal. Let’s get this over with.”

The stooges clumsily strap the hostages in a single file and lead them to the barricaded doors.

I follow closely behind as we inch our way into the piercing midday sun.

“Coming out!” I call out hoping Bill won’t jump the gun.

The glimmer of a dozen barrels pointing at us causes heavy unrest within the hostages. Not a word is said on either end. The marching of a half dozen footsteps echo through the streets.

“Just keep your hands up and walk slowly.” I say reassuringly.

“Hanes!” Bill screams out making some of the hostages nearly shit themselves.

“Yes Bill?” I answer fighting desperately not to roll my eyes.

“What’s going on?”

“I’m bringing out hostages.”

“Ok. Is that all of them?”

“Do you really think the bank robbers would just give up all of their bargaining chips?”

Fucking genius.

“Ya I guess not.”

We make it to my threshold. I plant my feet firmly on the ice-slicked pavement and take a look at Ashe. The change in her eyes from relief to despair the moment I stop nearly makes my heart beat again.

“What are the demands?” She cries out with a worried tone.

“They want an armored truck within thirty minutes or they will start killing hostages.”

“Ok come back and we can work out a plan.” She says with an ever breaking tone.

Never understood how she could read me so well.

“Can’t kid. I’m one of the hostages now.”

“What?” She spits out ever so desperately.

“It was a trade. Them for me.”

“Stop kidding Scott. Just come over right now.”

“Can’t. I take one more step and the hostage inside dies.”

Her glossed eyes freezing at the corners bring out her sharp blue stare.

“Don’t worry. I’m ok with this.”

“But I’m not!” She screams slamming her palm against the hood.

“Haley!” I explode. My voice rings through the bitter cold air which snaps the commotion brewing. She stiffens her lower lip trying to hide the trembling. “You are the only one left who has my back.”

I turn away so that I can feel the warm embrace of the sun peering through the frigid day.

Every step I make back to the armored doors I feel her slip away. I just have one thought.

“Please figure it out.”