dumped it in Cat’s bowl. It looked and smelled disgusting, so she got a fork and separated the gelatinous fish into chunks, making it look a little more appealing. Cat didn’t care one way or the other and dug in with his usual appetite as soon as she placed the bowl on the floor. Julie got a glass of ice water and went into the living room, making sure all the curtains were closed as she went. She picked up the remote and clicked on the TV.
“ We’re live at the scene. We don’t have anything new to report, but if you’re just joining us, two firefighters have been taken hostage and are being held inside the house behind me. ”
Julie whirled around and stared at the familiar blond reporter as she stood across the street from a small brown house that was bathed in spotlights. Police cars, fire trucks, ambulances and armored vehicles filled the rest of the screen. The woman continued, “ SWAT is on standby, but the resident has said if anyone approaches the house, he has booby-trapped all of the entrances and has several bombs he will set off. The police are waiting for the hostage negotiation team to arrive. The names of the firefighters have not been released. We’ll pass on any more information as soon as we get it. And now back to your regular programming. ”
Rusty.
They hadn’t mentioned his name, but Julie just knew he was one of them. She stared at her cell phone as if challenging it to ring. She wanted to be there, even though she knew there was absolutely nothing she could do. Apparently, there was nothing anyone could do. Except wait.
Julie’s gaze flickered around the room. There was no way she would be able to sit and pretend to watch some silly sitcom when there were lives at risk. Not just any lives, but two firefighters who had gone there to put out a fire, not be taken captive by a psycho.
She needed to know more, and she couldn’t wait for that ditsy reporter to come back and toss pieces of information out between commercials. Julie went into the bedroom and hurriedly changed into jeans, heavy socks and a thick sweater. She pulled on her coat and checked the pockets for gloves, then added a scarf and a wool stocking cap. Without bothering to turn off the TV or the lights, she locked the back door and waited impatiently for the garage door to open. Within minutes, she had parked several blocks from the hostage house, behind the dozens of emergency vehicles and local news vans.
A group of cops stood off to one side, and she made her way through the crowd of reporters and onlookers to reach them. She saw that Sam was one of them, which didn’t necessarily mean Rusty was one of the hostages. He could be here just because he was on-shift.
“Hey Julie,” Don greeted her. “Did they call you already?”
“No, I just heard it on TV. What happened?”
Don shook his head. “No one knows what’s going on inside, but apparently, this guy called in a fire report and when the truck arrived, he let them in, then … well, it gets sort of hazy from there. We just know that he’s holding them and threatening to blow up the whole neighborhood. We’ve evacuated all the houses in a three block radius just in case that nutcase really does have a bomb.”
“So who went in?”
“Oh, you mean the hostages?” When she nodded, he continued, “Some rookie named Jason Lewis and Sam’s brother Rusty.”
Rusty. She sighed. Oh, and Jason, she quickly added. She had met him on a job a couple of weeks ago, and he had impressed her with his enthusiasm. But she couldn’t keep from thinking it was a good thing that Rusty, a seasoned veteran, was there with Jason. She didn’t know Rusty all that well, but she sensed that if anyone could talk his way out of a bad situation, it would be him.
Rusty hadn’t seen it coming. As usual, he had entered the house in full gear and carrying a hatchet. The man had been standing on the front porch, looking nervous and upset, all perfectly normal
“ We’re live at the scene. We don’t have anything new to report, but if you’re just joining us, two firefighters have been taken hostage and are being held inside the house behind me. ”
Julie whirled around and stared at the familiar blond reporter as she stood across the street from a small brown house that was bathed in spotlights. Police cars, fire trucks, ambulances and armored vehicles filled the rest of the screen. The woman continued, “ SWAT is on standby, but the resident has said if anyone approaches the house, he has booby-trapped all of the entrances and has several bombs he will set off. The police are waiting for the hostage negotiation team to arrive. The names of the firefighters have not been released. We’ll pass on any more information as soon as we get it. And now back to your regular programming. ”
Rusty.
They hadn’t mentioned his name, but Julie just knew he was one of them. She stared at her cell phone as if challenging it to ring. She wanted to be there, even though she knew there was absolutely nothing she could do. Apparently, there was nothing anyone could do. Except wait.
Julie’s gaze flickered around the room. There was no way she would be able to sit and pretend to watch some silly sitcom when there were lives at risk. Not just any lives, but two firefighters who had gone there to put out a fire, not be taken captive by a psycho.
She needed to know more, and she couldn’t wait for that ditsy reporter to come back and toss pieces of information out between commercials. Julie went into the bedroom and hurriedly changed into jeans, heavy socks and a thick sweater. She pulled on her coat and checked the pockets for gloves, then added a scarf and a wool stocking cap. Without bothering to turn off the TV or the lights, she locked the back door and waited impatiently for the garage door to open. Within minutes, she had parked several blocks from the hostage house, behind the dozens of emergency vehicles and local news vans.
A group of cops stood off to one side, and she made her way through the crowd of reporters and onlookers to reach them. She saw that Sam was one of them, which didn’t necessarily mean Rusty was one of the hostages. He could be here just because he was on-shift.
“Hey Julie,” Don greeted her. “Did they call you already?”
“No, I just heard it on TV. What happened?”
Don shook his head. “No one knows what’s going on inside, but apparently, this guy called in a fire report and when the truck arrived, he let them in, then … well, it gets sort of hazy from there. We just know that he’s holding them and threatening to blow up the whole neighborhood. We’ve evacuated all the houses in a three block radius just in case that nutcase really does have a bomb.”
“So who went in?”
“Oh, you mean the hostages?” When she nodded, he continued, “Some rookie named Jason Lewis and Sam’s brother Rusty.”
Rusty. She sighed. Oh, and Jason, she quickly added. She had met him on a job a couple of weeks ago, and he had impressed her with his enthusiasm. But she couldn’t keep from thinking it was a good thing that Rusty, a seasoned veteran, was there with Jason. She didn’t know Rusty all that well, but she sensed that if anyone could talk his way out of a bad situation, it would be him.
Rusty hadn’t seen it coming. As usual, he had entered the house in full gear and carrying a hatchet. The man had been standing on the front porch, looking nervous and upset, all perfectly normal
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