Takeover - Lisa Black [97]
Cavanaugh leaned over the communication set just as Bobby, on the monitor, swept up the phone receiver. The robber’s first words came as something of a surprise.
“Tell me again what you have in mind,” he asked.
Patrick noticed the slight breath of relief Cavanaugh let out before going back into the dance.
“If I produce your brother—so that you can see him and talk to him, long enough and close enough to satisfy you that he is your brother, Eric Moyers, then you and Lucas put down your guns and come out. You will not be harmed by the officers.”
“That sounds like weasel words. Who will we be harmed by, then?”
“No one. No harm will come to you from anyone, as long as you put down your weapons and come out, leaving those people safe. We’re not interested in shooting you, Bobby, or hurting you or Lucas. We just want to get those bank employees back to their families and all these police officers back to their families.”
Patrick thought he laid the family emphasis on a bit thickly, but it kept Bobby talking.
“One condition,” he said. “We don’t serve any time. Lucas and me, we’ve already seen the inside of prison for longer than we ever cared to.”
Jason shifted in his chair and muttered to himself. “This part is always sticky.”
“That’s not really up to me, Bobby, but I’m not going to lie to you and tell you that you can both walk off free after this has ended. You know that’s not how it works. But if you give up peacefully, without hurting anyone else, it will count in your favor with the courts.”
“Meaning we’ll go to jail and you’ll throw away the key.”
This could lead to several more hours of negotiation. Hostage takers never wanted to go to jail, but all knew that they would. Just like escaping with the money—the trick was to keep them talking until they accepted the reality of the situation. It had to be so tempting to lie to them, Patrick thought, to tell them anything they’d like to hear just to end this. But unless they were completely insane, they’d know you were lying, and further discussions would be pointless.
However, that they were even considering jail time represented a huge concession. The brother card might actually work.
“I don’t know what kind of sentence the judge will require, Bobby. As I said, that’s not up to me. But I know what kind of sentence you’ll get if anyone else dies today, and you won’t like it better.” Cavanaugh spoke almost gently. He did not wish to threaten, his voice said. Merely inform.
They waited while Bobby went back to Lucas for another conference.
“I still can’t believe Lucas would do this,” Jason grumbled.
“I wouldn’t have either,” Patrick said, “but his sister said that Lucas learned loyalty from his mother—she’d put up with anything to keep her husband, her loved ones. Maybe he’ll act out that lesson. Or maybe it’s like you said,” he added to Cavanaugh, “an out, a way for him to give up and still save face.”
Jason did not seem reassured. “But Lucas has been the leader all this time. He’s called all the shots.”
“Or he’s just the spokesman,” Cavanaugh pointed out. “Like me.”
“He insisted on staying to get the money shipment. Bobby didn’t want to.”
Patrick’s head swam with the what-ifs and maybes. He got into other people’s heads all day long, trying to understand what skeletons they didn’t want the cops to dig up—how they broke into the apartment, why they murdered their wife. But never for so many hours at one stretch. Besides, none of their speculation seemed to help; they still wound up simply watching what the robbers did and then reacting as best they could.
“Okay.” Bobby’s voice startled them all. “We can deal on this. But we have some conditions.”
“Let’s talk about them.”
“I’m putting Lucas back on. He’s better at this.”
The two robbers changed places, careful as always not to be in sniper range at the same time.
“I don’t believe you, Chris,” he said without preamble. “I think you’re lying—”
“I’m not.”
“—but I know how important family is to Bobby.