CHAPTER EIGHT

4:18 P.M.

Kurt picked up the phone that Kyuhyun had left on the table, and to his ultimate surprise, Kaelyn was still on the line.

“You just don’t give up, do you?” He asked her.

“I don’t,” Kaelyn confirmed. “I told you I wanted to help you, and I meant it. And thank you, Kurt, for allowing me to speak to the hostage.”

“What did you tell him?”  

Kaelyn knew he was testing her, wanting to confirm if what she said was indeed what Kyuhyun had told him. She was confident that Kyuhyun had obeyed her instructions to the letter, but she avoided the question all the same. “What did he tell you?”

Kurt fell for it. “He said you told him to obey me.”

Kaelyn relaxed. “That’s exactly what I told him,” she confirmed. “Remember I said you had the power? I told him that he needs to obey you. You’re in power.”

Kurt puffed his chest up at her words, obviously proud of himself. “That’s good.”

“I want to ask for another favour, Kurt.”

Now he was upset. “Another favour? I give you an inch and you demand a foot? Who the hell do you think you are?”

“Calm down, Kurt,” Kaelyn soothed.

“I won’t calm down!”

“Kurt, listen to me. Listen to me,” Kaelyn pleaded. “It’s past 4 p.m. You’re tired and hungry, so are those guys. Let me get you some food.”

“No!”

“C’mon Kurt. You know you’re hungry. You need some food.”

“I don’t care if they’re hungry! They can starve for all I care!”

“I wasn’t talking about them, Kurt. I was talking about you. Let me get you some food, alright?”

Kurt was silent, contemplating her request.

“Fine. Bring me fish and chips.”

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

4:26 P.M.

Phil, Lance and Sam looked at her as if she’d lost her mind, but Kaelyn didn’t care.

“Sam, get me eleven orders of fish and chips, will you?” she asked the detective.

“Have you lost your mind?”

Kaelyn met Lance’s eye. “No, I haven’t.” She noticed Sam was still in his seat. “Now, detective. Please.” He scrambled out of the room, nearly tripping over a chair in the process.

“Then what happens after we get his takeout?” Lance questioned. “How are you going to get it to him?”

"I'm going in," Kaelyn announced.

"Are you mad?"

"Wearing that?!"

"Guys, I'm the best chance we've got," she told them, matter-of-factly.

"Out of the question," Mack growled over the commset. "You look like you're on the way to the goddamned beach!"

Kaelyn sighed, rubbing her temples once more. Normally, she wouldn’t volunteer for the job; she knew Lance and Phil were more appropriately attired for the delivery.

But something in Kyuhyun’s voice had prompted her action. She’d heard how terrified he was, and it hurt her to know that the usually calm and mischievous boy was in such danger. Until she heard his voice, she managed to treat the ten of them as hostages, nameless faces she was tasked to save.

The moment she heard his greeting, they had ceased to be nameless faces. They were her friends. And in that moment, she felt helpless and useless. She knew she had to do something. The standoff was nearing seven hours, and she could see Kurt becoming exhausted. Soon, he would be tired of waiting and he would simply start shooting.

She couldn’t let that happen. Not to her friends. Not to these people she knew by name. They weren’t just a case number, a report to be written. They were sons, brothers. Her brothers. She couldn’t let them down.

“Look guys,” she opened her eyes, addressing Phil and Lance but knowing the rest were listening intently. “We all know I’m the most appropriate for the delivery.”

“Kurt is on the edge, and we know fatigue is setting in. Sooner or later, either he or the hostages are going to get tired of waiting, and one or all of them will do something that we’ll regret. We need to move in now.”

“But it doesn’t have to be you!” Ed protested.

“It does, Ed, and you know it.” Kaelyn replied. “He trusts me to some degree. He might even open the door while I’m standing outside. You reckon he’ll do the same for Lance and Phil?”

The men were quiet.

She turned to Phil, knowing the final decision rested with him. "C'mon Phil. You know this is the only way."

Phil studied her for a long time. "Step outside, Kae," Phil instructed.

The pair left the control room, with Lance looking on curiously, and everyone wondering what their esteemed leader wanted to say to the good doctor that couldn't be said in front of them. They were a team, and they hardly kept secrets from each other. In a job like theirs, having secrets from each other could mean the difference between life and death in the field. They knew each other inside out and they depended on that knowledge to keep each other alive.

Once outside, Phil immediately turned to Kaelyn. "What's this really about, Kae?"

She gave him an innocent look. "This is about saving lives. It's what we do, remember?"

"Don't lie to me, Kae. I saw your reaction when Maumood told us who was inside that room."

Kaelyn knew nothing went unnoticed with Phil. She should have anticipated this. Sighing, she said, "I know them."

"The hostages?"

Kaelyn nodded reluctantly. "They're... they're my friends."

"You know it's against protocol," Phil said. "I can't let you in."

"Oh c'mon Phil!" Kaelyn cried. "I’m the only chance we’ve got. I’ve established a rapport with Kurt. He’ll talk to me, buy us more time. He might even give me his gun voluntarily.”

Phil pinched the bridge of his nose, knowing she was right. On an official level, he should order her out of that area and tell her to wait beyond the cordon line. But his intuition was screaming at him to let her go in.

Then there was the problem of her attire. Kaelyn wasn’t just a team member he was responsible for, she was a friend, and he didn’t like the idea of sending her into the line of fire without any protection. But Kaelyn was damned good at her job, and her presence inside that room would give the situation some measure of predictability, which was what they needed.

"You have your gun?"

Kaelyn nodded eagerly, seeing that he was caving to her suggestion.

"Take my spare," Phil instructed. "I don't want you inside there without any heat. And wire up."

"Done." Kaelyn met Phil's gaze. "I can do this. Trust me."

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *