State of Siege - Tom Clancy [68]
New York, New York Saturday, 11:57 p.m.
Georgiev was carrying the panicked girl back to her seat when Barbara Mathis went down. Downer, who had fired the shot, was running from the top of the gallery. Barone was also running over. It was he who had shouted for Barbara to stop. Heedless of her own safety, one of the Asian delegates" wives had gotten up from the table and was walking over to Barbara. She was smart. She didn't run. She also stopped with her back to the door; she didn't intend to run. The Bulgarian didn't order the woman back. She set her purse down, knelt beside the girl, and carefully plucked the blood-soaked gown from around the wound. The bullet had struck the teenage girl in the left side. Blood was oozing from the small opening. The girl wasn't moving. The flesh of her slender arms was pale.
Georgiev continued"toward the circular table. He wondered if that whole thing had been planned: One girl runs screaming to get everyone's attention while another girl runs in the opposite direction and tries to get out. If so, it was a clever, dangerous maneuver. Georgiev admired courage. But just like some of the girls who used to work for him in Cambodia some of whom were no older than this girl-she had acted disobediently. And she had been punished.
Unfortunately, the lesson was probably lost on the other hostages. They were already getting surprisingly bold. Some were pushed by fear, others by outrage over what had happened to the girl and the delegates. A mob mentality, even among hostages, had a way of shutting down reason. If they turned on him, he'd have to shoot them. Shooting them would rob him of his leverage, and the sound of gunfire and cries would embolden security forces to move in. Of course, he would shoot them if he had to. All he really needed to get out of this were the children. Even one child would do, if it came to that.
Suddenly, two other delegates stood up. That was the problem with giving one person some extra leash. Everyone assumed they had it, too. Georgiev dropped the stunned Laura into her seat, where she sat sobbing. He ordered the other delegates to sit down. He didn't want too many people on their feet or someone else might be tempted to run.
"But that girl is hurt!" one of the delegates said. "She needs help."
Georgiev raised his gun. "I haven't selected the next one to die. Don't make my choice easy."
The men sat down. The one who'd spoken looked like he wanted to say something else; his wife urged him to be silent. The other one looked sadly toward Barbara.
To their right, Contini's wife was sobbing hysterically. One of the other wives was hugging her tight to keep her from wailing. Vandal brought the music teacher back and ordered her to sit as well. Ms. Dorn said that she was responsible for Barbara and insisted that she be allowed to take care of her. Vandal pushed her back down. She started to get back up. Angrily, Georgiev swung toward the woman. He pointed his gun at her head and walked forward. Vandal backed away.
"One more word from you or anyone else and they will die," he said through his teeth. "One more word." Georgiev watched as the woman's nose flared and eyes widened, just like the whores in Cambodia. But she was silent. Reluctantly, she sat down and turned her attention to the girl who'd tried to run.
Vandal lingered a moment longer and then returneea1 to his post. Downer reached Georgiev's side at the sai: time as Barone. Barone got very close to the Australian. "Are you insane?" Barone snarled. "I had to do it!" he snapped.
"Had to?" he said, careful to keep his voice low. "We were going to try not to hurt the children."
"The mission would have been in jeopardy if she'd gotten away," Downer said.
"You heard me yelling, saw me running toward her," Barone said. "I would have gotten to her before she reached the outer door." "Maybe yes, maybe no," Georgiev said. "The important thing is, she didn't get away. Now, go back to your posts, both of you. We'll care for her here as best we can," Georgiev said. Barone