Collide

Chapter Two

"That's a lovely way to start your vacation, Joe," Henry said, looking in the direction of the big and white house, that has a home to senator's Wellington parents, and where a crazy guy now held hostage the six-year-old senator child and his elderly mom.

Kidnapping, crisis and hostage situations, that was my specialty. And the reason for Henry decides to ruin my days off, things were getting ugly fast.


"I told you, you release my father from jail right now, or I'll press this button and everything is going boom." The hijacker's voice came out from the little cellphone I was holding.

Dammit, I knew that I shouldn't have heard Henry's pleas to help him today. I pushed the button to talk on the cellphone. "I know you must miss him, James, I'm doing anything I can right now, but you have to help me and release the girl, ok? Give me something to work on, man."

The cellphone went mute for a couple of seconds.

"Ok." He said, sounding breathless.

"You're doing great, man. Send her to me, okay?"

"I'm keeping the mom until you release him."

"Just send her to me, and we can talk later."

"Okay. I don't want anyone near the house. She'll walk to you if you guys get close: boom."

Henry shook his head.

"This guy is a pain in the ass." My partner said.

"You own me one, Henry. I should be in my plane to Portland right now as we speak."

"I own you a lot more, Joe."

The door opened just enough to let the little girl out. But she feazed, she was too scared.

"She is scared, James, let me approach just enough to make her listen to me, ok?"

"I told you not to get near here, or this bomb will explode."

"We got visual on the suspect, Agent Henderson, he is wearing the bomb in a vest." One of the two snipers in place informed me by radio. "Oh. Wait. We lost him again."

"That's fine, call me as soon as he reappears on the window"

"Roger that."

"What the hell. How he got access to this kind of bomb."

"That's something you'll have to discover on your own, man."

"Ok. You can come, no weapons, hands up and alone." James finally decided. I gave my pistol to Henry and rushed to the front of the house. I raised my hand above my head and walked slowly in the direction of the front door. The girl was standing there, crying, with her eyes shut tight.

"That is the far you can be" A violent warning came from the inside of the house. And I stopped.

"Bea, everything is fine now, okay?"

The girl did not answer.

"I'm here to save you, to take you to your mom, open your eyes, sweetie."

She was trembling, but slowly her eyes opened.

"Good. See this uniform? I'm here to help. You can trust me, now come here, it will only take a few steps."

The girl nodded and stepped forward.

"You are doing great, you can do this, just a little more," I said, a seconds later she was crying in my arms.

I left the girl with the paramedics and return to the spot by Henry.

"Good job, Joe. The mother picked the phone, and PD is bringing her here as you asked Joe." Susan informed me.

"How long?"

"About 15 minutes max." She answered before rushing back to the police wagon.

"Talk to me, James." I called him again over the phone "You know we have other ways of helping your father, why the senator family?"

"Pa is a good man, Joe, he doesn't deserve to die. And he will, because of this son of a bitch."

I frowned and looked up at Henry.

"Senator Wellington is responsible for the death penalty law installed three years ago," Henry explained to me.

"I bet he is, James, everyone can make a bad call, but it's not too late for you, you can make it right, for yourself, and for your mother, you don't want to leave her alone, do you? Don't you think she suffered enough?"

"The girl. Is... is she alright?"James asked over the phone, and I raised my eyebrows.

Got ya.

"I don't know, James, I can't lie to you, she is in the ambulance right now," I said. And heard he sigh on the other side of the line.

"I didn't know she was going to be here; you know. I would never hurt a child, It's just... I can lose another one."

I already had his info, two dead brothers in the mafia war, and his father was in jail charged for murder.

"You are a good man, James, let's end this, this is not the right way for you to save your father. She is just a defenseless old lady, just like your mother. Tell me about her."

"My mother?" He asked.

"Yes, your mother, she is coming here right now, and she is very worried about you, she seemed like a very nice person."

James started to cry.

"You shouldn't have called her." He said, sounding nervous.

"We didn't James. The press is here, you made me call it. She heard in the news." I lied before things got out of control.

"She is." The replied, and I breathed out, relieved. "A nice person I mean. She doesn't deserve this. I'm the one who screwed this up, man, I'm..."

"Just like the old lady in there, James. She is not responsible for what her fucked-up son did wrong."

The phone went mute again.

"We have eyes on him." I heard through the radio again.

"Wait," I ordered.

"Joe, we have to take him down."

"Wait," I said again, looking in the front door direction.

The door opened, and James walked out, with his hands up."

"Go. Go. Go. Go." I screamed over the radio. And watched as SWAT and bomb squad finished the job, arresting the suspect.

People around me applauded, as I turned back and walked to my car. I would finally go home after two years in the FBI, no way I would miss that.