Gods and Monsters

IX

Outside, armed response were going ballistic. The gunshot had them in a frenzy and Smiley had had enough. His team were entering. A large map of the street was laid across a car bonnet with Smiley standing over it, surrounded by numerous other armed officers. "Right lads, I want three teams on the perimeter. Alpha team make initial entry through the front door, with Bravo-" Smiley said before being cut off by Charlie.

"What's going on here? I thought we agreed on no raid until I had time for my plan."

"Look, son, the situations changed. I'm not sure if you heard the gunshot but that could be a hostage dead or dying, and I'm not going to sit around and let that happen. You had your chance, now we've got ours."

Charlie thought about this for a minute as he knew the risks with armed response were too high, plus he had his own reasons for wanting to get into the house. "Captain," He called to Smiley, forcing him to turn back around. "Mind the bird." And with that, he was rushing back towards the house.

"Mind the...? Hey! Charlie get your arse back here right now!"

But it was too late. Charlie had bounded his way up the path and was now at the door once again. He rang the doorbell before placing his hands in the air as a sign of surrender. This time, Sean Harwood opened the door with the gun in his hand. Unlike his brother, Sean did look like that type of person. His blonde hair was still short, but messy, like a hedgehog, and his eyes had a look of uncontrollable anger.

"What do you want, cop?

"I want to help you. Armed response is planning a raid of the building. I don't want that, and I imagine neither do you. Let one of the hostages go and take me instead. I'm more valuable, better leverage, and it should stop the raid."

"Yeah? And why shouldn't I just have you in here with the other two?" Sean replied while anxiously tapping the gun against his leg.

"Three hostages? Please, you wouldn't be able to manage; too many people to keep an eye on. You know my offer is the best choice."

Sean wiped his sweaty brow with his hairy arm. He was clearly the less composed brother and Charlie knew he could take advantage of this.

"Andy! Bring the whiny one out here!"

Andy emerged from the dining room before stomping over to the male homeowner, grabbing him hard by the collar and dragging him over to the door. The old man looked back at his wife but was quickly shoved out the door, falling onto the neatly cut grass, as Charlie was pulled inside and pushed onto the floral sofa opposite the lady who still remained as a hostage. Charlie smiled at the old lady who did her best to reciprocate with a positive look as the two brothers left the room. He looked at the TV and was relieved to find that the gun shot they had all heard outside had only caused material damage.

"Hi, my name is Charlie Quinn," He whispered across the lounge. "I work with the police and I'm going to get you out of here. Give me a few minutes and when I give you the signal, play along."

The lady looked slightly confused but nodded, too terrified to even whisper. The clock ticked by and Charlie was relieved to find that his entry had halted, if not stopped, any attempt at a raid. He waited a few more minutes until the brothers re-entered the room.

"Excuse me, I think you gentlemen may have a problem." Charlie said to the two brothers as they paced the room together.

"What did you say?" Andy replied, worried that a raid could now be imminent.

"The lady opposite me seems to be suffering. She's struggling for breath and from the way she's clutching her chest, well it could be something quite serious." Charlie looked across at the lady hoping that she had recognised her cue. As the two brothers turned to observe her, it appeared she did as she quickly clutched her chest and began panting heavily. "I imagine that you might also have a bit of a headache, vision problems and you're feeling fatigued?"