High Noon

it goes. It’s overkill. Seventeen’s our count. A lot of people for you to deal with, and a lot to take down. Now, if you were to let the women out—”
    “Come on, Phoebe. That’s a lame pass.”
    “It might seem like a lame pass to you, but I’ve got to do my job here. I guess we both know it’s time for me to ask how everyone’s doing in there.”
    She rubbed the back of her neck as they took each other through the dance—requests and refusals for food, water, medical attention.
    And the clock ticked off another hour.

31
    Duncan stood outside with Phin, a few feet away from the rest of the family. “They’re okay. Nobody’s been hurt. She keeps him talking, keeps working him around. I swear to God, I don’t know how she does it.”
    “It’s been nearly four hours now.”
    “I know.” He could see the snipers from where he stood, see them on rooftops, in windows, doorways. What if they opened up? What if Ma or Loo got in the way of a bullet?
    The idea of it had him lowering to a crouch on legs that had gone to water. “If it was money—God, why isn’t it about money? I’d—”
    “I know.” Phin hunkered down beside him. “I know, Dunc.”
    “Phoebe, she…She keeps bringing him back to the hostages. Asking how they’re doing, talking to him about letting some of them go. She asked if we could have their names, but he doesn’t know, doesn’t care. I don’t know if that’s good or bad. I just don’t know.”
    “It’s taking too long.”
    “I don’t know that either.” He laid a hand over Phin’s, linked their fingers. “Take care of the family. You take care of the family, and I’ll go back in, see if there’s anything else I can find out, anything I can do.”
     
    Despite the air-conditioning, the air in the boutique hung hot and thick. The door opened and closed countless times as cops pushed in and out, so the steamy heat crawled in and set up shop. Sweat gleamed on Phoebe’s skin as she studied the situation board, read over her own notes, made more. In a desperate attempt to keep some part of her cool, she’d snagged a tortoiseshell clip from a display to yank her hair up.
    She chugged down water as she stared at the red X’s marked on the layout of the jewelry store. Kill marks, she thought. Move him to any of those locations, and Tactical had the green light.
    “We’ve had experts move in at the rear door,” Harrison told her. “Examine the rig there. They think they can defuse it and circumvent the alarm.”
    “But they don’t know.”
    “They’re pretty damn sure.”
    “Because they’re getting impatient. You know as well as I do everyone’s wanting to move, to act. That’s the danger of long negotiations. I need more time. He’s going to have to move those people soon. Bladders only hold so long, and that’s our best option.”
    “Sergeant Meeks wants to know how his boy’s doing. You can’t blame him.”
    “He won’t tell me.” Phoebe swiped one of the baby wipes Liz had passed her over her face to mop up the sweat. “Tell him I’ll try to find out next round.”
    “If you don’t move him within the next hour, I’m going to let the bomb squad take that rig. He’s not coming out alive, you know that. Bringing him down’s the only way to minimize casualties.”
    “I’ll move him, damn it. It may take a little longer, but I’ll move him.”
    “It takes much longer, you’ll make a mistake. That’s why you work in teams, Phoebe. As long as it’s only you and him, you’re going to tire out and make a mistake.”
    “He wants me to make a mistake. And the theme of this party is he doesn’t get what he wants. He’s not ready to end it yet, because he wants something from me first. And until he is ready, those people are as safe as we can make them. I’ll know when he’s ready.”
    Harrison walked out as Duncan walked in. Phoebe lifted her eyebrows as she spotted the bags of takeout.
    “Figured food would come in handy.”
    Even the thought of eating made her nauseous, but eating was necessary, and might keep her from making that mistake. “You’re my hero.”
    He set the bags down, where they were attacked by cops, then moved to her. “Whose turn is it to call?”
    “I’m letting him make the move.”
    “Okay.” He rubbed her shoulders. “I talked to your mom. Everyone’s all right there, some worried about you. This, ah, siege is all over the news.”
    “That’s one of the things he wants I couldn’t stop.” She