Hostage

'Well, Dennis, I need to know whether or not anyone in there needs a doctor. There was an awful lot of shooting.'

'We're cool.'

'We can send in a doctor, if you need it.'

'I said we're cool. Aren't you listening?'

Rooney's voice was strained and emotional. Talley expected that.

'Everyone out here is concerned about who's in there with you, Dennis, and how they're doing. Do you have some people in there with you?'

Rooney didn't answer. Talley could hear breathing, then a muffled sound as if Rooney had covered the phone. He would be thinking it through. Talley knew that thinking things through logically would be hard for Rooney during these next few minutes. Rooney would be pumping on adrenaline, frantic, and scared. Finally, he came back on the line.

'I got this family. That isn't kidnapping, is it? I mean, they were already here. We didn't grab'm and take'm someplace.'

Rooney's answer was a good sign; by showing concern for the future, he revealed that he did not want to die and feared the consequences of his actions.

'Can you identify them for me, Dennis?'

'You don't need to know that. I've told you enough.'

Talley let that slide. The Sheriff's negotiator could press for their names later.

'Okay, you're not going to tell me their names right now. I hear that. Will you at least tell me how they're doing?'

'They're fine.'

'How about your two friends? You don't have a man dying on you, do you?'

'They're fine.'

Talley had gotten Rooney to admit that all three gunmen were in the house. He muted the phone and turned to Jorgenson.

'All three subjects are in the house. Tell Larry to call off the house-to-house.'

'Rog.'

Jorgenson radioed his call as Talley returned to Rooney.

Overhead, a second helicopter joined the first and positioned itself in a hover. Another news crew.

Talley said, 'Okay, Dennis, I want to explain your situation.'

Rooney interupted him.

'You been asking me questions, now I've got a question. I didn't shoot that Chinaman. He pulled a gun and we were wrestling and his own gun went off. That Chinaman shot himself.'

'I understand, Dennis. There'll probably be a security camera. We'll be able to see what happened.'

'The gun just went off, is what I'm saying. It went off and we ran and that's what happened.'

'Okay.'

'So what I want to know is, that Chinaman, is he okay?'

'Mr. Kim didn't make it, Dennis. He died.'

Rooney didn't respond, but Talley knew that images of shooting his way out and possibly even of suicide would be kaleidoscoping through his head. Talley had to give him a vent for the pressure.

'I won't lie to you, Dennis; you guys are in trouble. But if what you said about the struggle is true, that could be a mitigating circumstance. Don't make things worse than they already are. We can still work our way out of this.'

Kim having pulled a gun would mitigate nothing. Under California law, any death occurring during the commission of a felony was murder, but Talley needed to give Rooney some measure of hope. It did.

Rooney said, 'What about the police officer? He went for his gun, too.'

'He's still alive. You caught a break there, Dennis.'

'Don't you forget I've got these people in here. Don't you guys try to rush the house.'

Some of the edge had gone from Rooney's voice.

'Dennis, I'm going to ask you right now to let those people go.'

'No way.'

'You're ahead of the game as long as they're not hurt. The police officer is alive. You said Mr. Kim pulled a gun on you. Just let those people walk out.'

'Fuck that. They're the only thing keeping you from blowing us away. You'll kill us for shooting that cop.'

'I know you're feeling that way right now, Dennis, but I'm going to give you my word about something. We're not going to storm the house. We're not coming in there by force, okay?'

'You'd better not.'

'We're not. But I want you to know what you're facing out here. I'm not telling you to threaten you. I'm telling you to be straight up. We have officers surrounding the house, and this neighborhood is locked down. You can't escape, Dennis; that just isn't going to happen. The reason I'm out here talking to you is that I want to get out of this thing without you or the people in that house getting hurt. That's my goal here. Do you understand that?'

'I understand.'

'The best thing you can do to help yourself is to let those people go, Dennis. Let them go, then surrender, everything nice and peaceful and orderly. If you're cooperative now, it will look better for the judge later. Do you see that?'

Rooney didn't respond, which Talley took as a positive sign. Rooney wasn't arguing. He was thinking. Talley decided to terminate the contact and let Rooney consider his options.

'I don't know about you, Dennis, but I could use a break. You think about what I said. I'll call back in twenty minutes. If you want to talk before that, just shout, and I'll phone you again.'

Talley closed the phone. His hands were shaking so badly that he dropped it. He took another deep breath and then another, but they didn't help to steady him.