Hostage

Kevin remembered a story from elementary school that explained how coastal Africans caught the tiny monkeys that lived at the edge of the water. The Africans would bore a hole in a coconut just big enough so that the monkey could squeeze its hand inside. They would put a peanut touched with honey into the coconut. The monkey would reach inside to grab the peanut, only with the peanut in its hand and its hand balled into a fist, the monkey's hand would no longer fit through the hole. As long as it held onto the peanut, the monkey couldn't take its hand out of the coconut. These monkeys wanted the honey-coated peanuts so badly that they would not let go even as the monkey-hunters walked up to cover them with nets. Dennis was the monkey in this house, surrounded by police but unwilling to let go of his peanut.

Kevin stumbled into the little bathroom off the entry and splashed his face with water. His lip and eye were swelling from the beating Dennis had given him. He washed out his mouth, then washed his face, rubbing the water through his hair and around his neck. After the shootings, the fear, the running, the nightmare terror of the day, he finally knew what he had to do, and why: He was not willing to die with his brother; no matter their childhood, no matter Dennis taking the old man's belt for him, no matter the horrors they had endured. Dennis was willing to die for money he couldn't have, and Kevin refused to die with him. He would take the girl and her brother, and the three of them would get the hell out of here. Let Dennis and Mars do what they want.

Kevin dried his face, then went back to the den to see if Dennis was still there. Kevin expected that Dennis and Mars would try to stop him from leaving. He knew that they could, so he wanted to get the kids out of the house without being seen. Dennis's feet sprouted up over the end of the couch, still flat on his back. Kevin peeked into the office, checking for Mars, but Mars wasn't there. Kevin thought that he might be back in the family room by the French doors, but suddenly he had the prickly feeling that Mars was watching him on the monitors. Kevin slipped past the den back along the hall to the master bedroom. If Mars was in the security room, he was going to tell Mars that Dennis wanted him to watch the front of the house again, but the master bedroom was empty and so were the closets and security room. Kevin stared at the monitors, seeing the police outside, seeing his brother in the den and the girl in her room, but he didn't see Mars. He thought maybe he should break the monitors or figure out a way to turn off the security system, but if he moved quickly enough it wouldn't matter; once he had the kids, they would be out of the house in seconds or they wouldn't be out at all.

Kevin hurried back through the house to the entry, and then up the stairs. He knocked twice softly on the girl's door, pulled the nail from the door, and let himself inside. The girl was curled into a ball on her bed, her eyes open, the lights full on. She swung her feet out and stood as the door opened.

'What do you want?'

'Shh. Keep your voice down.'

Kevin was scared. Here he was a grown man, and he felt like a child whenever he crossed wills with his brother. Sometimes he felt such a strong mix of fear and a desperate need to please Dennis that he couldn't move.

'We're going to get out of here.'

She seemed confused, her eyes flicking to the door, then back to him.

'Where are you taking me?'

'Not with them. I don't mean with Dennis and Mars. I'm taking you and your brother. We're going to leave them here.'

The marks on his face registered with her for the first time, and Kevin felt himself flush.

'What happened to you?'

'Don't worry about it. Dennis isn't going to give up. He's going to stay here no matter what, but we're not.'

'They're letting us leave?'

'Mars and Dennis don't know I'm doing this. They would stop us, so we have to be careful, but we're getting out of here and they can do what they want.'

Uncertainty played across her face. She glanced at the door again.

Kevin said, 'Do you want to go or not? I'm offering you a way out of here.'

'I can't go without Thomas.'

'I know that. All three of us will go, but we have to be careful and move fast. Now do you want to go or not?'

'I want to go!'

'Stay here and pretend like nothing's happening. I'll get Thomas and come back for you. When the three of us are together, we'll go straight downstairs and out the front door. Do you have a white pillowcase?'

'We're going to walk out the door? Just like that?'

'Yes! We need a white flag or something so the cops don't shoot us.'

He could tell she was scared, but excited, too, anxious to get out of the house.

'All right, okay. I have a pillowcase.'

'Get it while I'm getting your brother. When I get back, don't say a word. Just follow me and try to be quiet, but be ready to move. We're going to walk fast.'

She nodded, her head bouncing.

'I will.'