Hostage

'Don't shoot him! Don't shoot!'

Talley shifted his aim between the two men, making himself as small as possible behind the Mustang man. Insects spiraled in from the night, hungry for the light.

Talley shouted, 'Where's my family?'

They sucked air like freight engines. No one was shooting, but if one person fired, everyone would fire. They each had something the other wanted. Talley knew it. He knew that Howell knew it. It was the only thing holding them back.

Howell abruptly released his gun, letting it swing free on his finger.

'Just take it easy. Take it easy. We're here to do business.'

'Where are they?'

'Do you have the disks?'

Talley shifted his aim to the man with the big head. He felt as if he was at the day-care center again, held hostage by men with guns.

'You know I have the disks, you sonofabitch. Where's my family?'

Howell slowly stood, hands out, letting his gun hang.

'Let's just take it easy. They're all right. Can I take a phone from my pocket?'

'They were supposed to be here.'

'Let me get the phone. You can talk to them, see they're okay.'

Talley shifted his aim from the big-headed man to Howell, then back again. Howell took out a cell phone and pressed in a number. Someone on the other end answered, and Howell told them to put the woman on. He held out the phone.

'Here. Talk to her. She's all right.'

Talley jammed his gun under the Mustang man's jaw, and warned him not to move. Howell brought the phone over, holding it with two fingers like a teacup. Talley took it with his free hand, and Howell stepped back.

'Jane?'

'Jeff! We're -'

The line went dead.

'SHIT!'

Howell shrugged, reasonably.

'You see? They're alive. Whether they stay that way depends on you.'

Talley tossed the phone back to Howell, then took out a single disk. This was where everything could go bad. This was where he took his biggest chance, and risked everything.

'One disk. You'll get the other when I have my girls. Not talk to them on the phone, but have them. I get my girls, you get the disks. You don't like it, tough. You kill me, everyone still goes to jail.'

He tossed the disk onto the bed.

Talley could read that Howell wasn't happy with just the one disk, but Talley was counting on that. He wanted Howell off-balance and worried. It was a negotiation. Talley knew that Howell would be weighing his options just as Talley weighed his; Howell would be wondering if Talley had the second disk with him, thinking that if Talley had both disks, Howell could simply shoot him and take the disks and this would be over. But Howell couldn't be sure. If he killed Talley, and Talley didn't have both disks, then Howell would be fucked. So Howell wouldn't shoot him. Not yet. And that gave Talley a chance to jam him into revealing Amanda and Jane.

Talley watched the tension play over Howell's face. Talley offered nothing.

Howell picked up the disk.

'I have to see if it's real.'

'It's real.'

'I have to make sure.'

An IBM ThinkPad with a Zip drive attached was set up on the nightstand. Howell sat on the edge of the bed as he opened the disk, then grunted at the contents.

'All right. This is one of them. Where's the other?'

'First my girls. I see my girls, you get the disks. That's the way it works.'

Sweat leaked from Talley's hair and ran down his neck. It felt like crawling ants. Howell would either take the chance or he wouldn't. Neither of them had any other choice. It had all come down to which one would break first.

It was a face-off.

Talley waited as Howell considered his options. Talley already knew what he would decide. Talley had left Howell no other choice. Howell picked up his phone.

GLEN HOWELL

Talley wasn't acting like a has-been cop who had been broken by the job and come to nowhereland to hide; he was carrying on like a full-blown SWAT tactical street-monster. But Talley was also scared. Howell knew that he had to use that fear; he had to make Talley so frightened of losing his wife and daughter that he stopped thinking. Howell figured that Talley had the second disk on him, but the only way he could find out was to kill him. If he killed Talley, and Talley didn't have the disk, Howell would be fucked. Sonny Benza's message was clear; Benza would kill him.

The phone at the other end rang once before Marion Clewes answered.

'Yes?'

Howell spoke clearly, never taking his eyes from Talley. He wanted Talley to know that Glen Howell held the lives of his wife and child in his hands.

'Bring them. Stop the car outside the room, but don't get out. I want to show him that they're all right.'

'Okey-doke.'

Howell watched Talley closely, and noticed that Talley tensed when Howell told Clewes to stay in the car. Talley didn't like that, but tried not to show it. Howell felt encouraged. He felt as if he had played a winning card.

'Don't hang up. It's very important that you stay on the line. I'll want to talk to you again.'

'All right.'

Howell lowered the phone. Clewes was parked behind a Mobil station down the street. He would be here in seconds.

'Okay, Talley, they're on the way.'