“I’ll assemble my team,” Jim announced. “We’ll move in within the hour.”
Jim ran a private investigations shop. But his staff worked around the law more often than not. They called themselves the Equalizers. In sharp contrast, the Colby Agency maintained a stellar reputation, going to great lengths to cooperate fully with law enforcement. Victoria and Jim didn’t see eye to eye on the way business was to be conducted.
“No.”
The single syllable echoed in the silence that followed. Only two men on this planet had the guts to stare Victoria’s son in the eye and tell him no: Lucas Camp and the one who’d just said the word—Ian Michaels. This was about to get hairy.
“If we’re not going in,” Jim growled, his gaze narrowing with the rage climbing inside him, “then what are you suggesting we do?”
“We do nothing,” Ian said flatly, “until we know what the terms of this takeover are. Any step we take might be the wrong one. We wait for the man in charge to make his demands.”
Jim walked two steps away, his hands planted on his hips, apparently to regain some measure of control. Or maybe to mentally pull together an entrance strategy.
Lucas took a breath. “Jim,” he said as calmly and quietly as could be expected under the circumstances, “Ian has a valid point. We have to think tactically here. Allowing an emotional reaction could cause more harm than good.”
Jim glared at his stepfather, then at Ian. “Reacting is not my specialty. This calls for action. Now.” He said the last with a pointed stare at Ian. “Waiting will only allow the intruders to gain a stronger foothold.”
Ian’s grim expression remained in place as he held the other man’s lethal glare. “I am Victoria’s second-in-command. I am and will continue to be in charge. We will proceed with caution.”
Jim reclaimed the steps he’d taken, putting him toe-to-toe with Ian. “Victoria is my mother. We’ll do things my way. No negotiations.”
Slade shared a look with Lucas. The circumstances were sensitive to say the least. Both men were strong-willed and each had a legitimate point. But, as a staff member of the Colby Agency, Slade’s alliance had to be with Ian. Jim was operating solely on emotion. Bad business at a moment like this.
Lucas stepped between the two men, forcing both to take a much-needed step back. “Everyone in this room has a vested interest in how this turns out.” He glanced at Jim, then at Ian. “We will all remain calm and we will lay out a proper strategy. There will be no going in blind or taking unnecessary risks before we have a single detail to go on.”
Slade relaxed marginally. If anyone could control this out-of-control moment, Lucas could.
The chirp of a cell phone shattered the tense silence.
Ian reached into the pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out his cell. “Michaels.”
A muscle throbbed in Jim’s hard-set jaw. Lucas stared hopefully at Ian. Slade waited, also hoping that this would be some kind of news. A first move.
Time was slipping by. Every second that lapsed could be one that may have been pivotal to saving one or more lives. The lives of people Slade knew and cared for deeply. Whatever happened, in all probability the Colby Agency would never be the same.
“Yes,” Ian said, “I understand.” He drew the phone from his ear and touched the screen. “As requested, you are on speakerphone.”
Adrenaline moved through Slade’s veins.
“Fourteen staff members as well as Victoria Colby-Camp are now my hostages,” the male voice announced. “All communications inside the building, including the Internet, cell phones and landlines, have been disabled. The building is stalled in lockdown mode and under my control. No one gets in or out. If anyone tries, the hostages will die. If the authorities, local or federal, are contacted, the hostages will die.”
No one made a sound or even breathed. The distant hum of conversation and coffee mugs sliding across tables and counters from below were the only sounds.
“Are you prepared to issue your demands for the release of the hostages?” Ian inquired with amazing calm and self-assurance.
Jim looked away, the fury now visibly pulsing across his brow.
“There are only two.”
Only two. Great, Slade mused.
All four men waited for the harsh nightmare to become a stone-cold reality.
“Former District Attorney Timothy Gordon will be brought, by whatever means necessary, to the front entrance of the building. This demand is nonnegotiable.”
Now Slade got the picture. This wasn’t about the Colby Agency at all. It was about one of Chicago’s most prestigious political figures.
“Is it your intent to exchange the hostages for Gordon?” Ian asked, his tone still incredibly calm.
“I have two demands, Mr. Michaels,” the man said, his voice equally calm and absolutely firm. “When you have met this first demand, we will discuss the status of the hostages as well as the next step.”
“This is Lucas Camp,” the oldest of those gathered in the storeroom asserted. “Before we go any further, we will need proof of life. And a detailed listing of the physical condition of all hostages.”
The caller made a sound, not really a laugh but something on that order. “We have three injuries, none life-threatening. But, Mr. Camp, if you’re asking about the condition of your wife, she is indeed among the injured.”
Jim swore loudly. Ian and Lucas shot him a glare. Slade moved to Jim’s side, placed a hand on his arm and urged him with his eyes to stay calm. The slightest wrong move or comment could set off a chain reaction no one wanted.
“Under the circumstances,” Ian offered, “we must demand that you release the injured hostages before we proceed with negotiations.”
The sound that echoed in the air was an outright laugh this time. “Mr. Michaels, this is a one-way negotiation. You will bring Gordon to the front entrance. As I’ve already explained, we will discuss the release of the hostages at that point and not a moment sooner.”
“You,” Jim warned, stepping forward, “have made a grave mistake. Release the hostages now and we’ll forget this ever happened. Refuse and you have my word that your life will never again be your own.”
“You have sixty seconds to agree to this demand.”
Shock throbbed in the silence that followed.
“If you do not agree to this demand in the next fifty-five seconds,” the voice demanded when no one responded, “one of the hostages will die.”
“This is—” Ian began.
“Fifty seconds,” the man on the phone interrupted. “Another hostage will die with each minute that passes after that.”
More of that choking silence.
“Forty seconds, gentlemen. Perhaps I’ll start with one of the females.” There was a muffled sound followed by the caller shouting to one of his cohorts, “Bring me the deaf woman. I doubt anyone will really miss her.”
Slade held his breath. Dear God…
“We will do everything in our power,” Ian said, shattering the tension, “to meet your demand.”
“Not good enough, Michaels,” the voice warned. “Thirty seconds.”
“How long do we have to bring Gordon to you?” Jim roared.
Ian looked from Lucas to Jim as if he wanted