The Big Thaw - Donald Harstad [126]
“Sally get an ETA for the reinforcements, would you?” Hester pulled her service weapon, and checked the chamber. A Glock 9 mm. “I think we should act as soon as possible.”
The phone rang. Sally put it on speaker. It was Gabriel.
“So,” he said, “now you know how it’s going to go. We won’t hurt anyone unless it’s absolutely necessary. We will proceed according to our plan, and you can just watch.” I could tell he was grinning.
Before Volont could answer him, I just said, “Well, okey-dokey.”
There was a brief pause. “Who was that?”
“Houseman,” I said. “Hello again.”
“Ah, my favorite deputy! Haven’t seen you since you snooped around Borglan’s. I’m honored.”
“Thanks.” The fuzziness in my photos must have been Gabriel hightailing it out of there. Confirmation of my paranoia…
“I fear this won’t look good on your record, Deputy.” He had to be still grinning. “What brings you here?”
“I’m here to arrest you for murder.”
“Ah. A sad business. But business can be risky, sometimes. Let me speak with Super Agent Volont.”
“I’m here,” said Volont.
“I know you’re there, you sad bastard. I just hope you can remember what I’m going to tell you. Are you listening?”
Silence.
“I know you are. So. We will leave the boat, first. Well, most of us. One or two of us will stay behind. For a while. Long enough to ensure you don’t do something silly when the rest leave the bank.” He paused. “Are you getting this?”
Volont wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of an answer. “I am,” I said.
“Well, I don’t give a fuck about you. You’re just a deputy in Nowhere County. Agent Volont’s the one who’s important here. Aren’t you?”
Believe it or not, Volont sort of brightened up at that. “I’ve taken down all you’ve said.”
“Then pay even closer attention to this. We are in constant communication between each other. If my men from the bank, or from the boat, are followed, the boat goes down. With all the passengers.”
“Got it,” said Volont.
“Good day,” said Gabriel, and the conversation was over.
“And who the fuck was that?” asked James, of boat security.
We kind of told him.
Our radios came to life again.
“CP, Alpha Foot’s over by the boat, now. We’re in a good position for the van.”
“CP, Alpha One has a clear shot at the pilothouse, if you need it. We and the top of the boat are in lighter fog…”
They sounded very professional. Well, they should have. They were. And that got me thinking about professional versus amateur. Us versus them, as it were. We were pros. Even us deputies from “Nowhere County.” I have to admit, that pissed me off. Besides, there were about a half-dozen deputies from “Nowhere County” on the way. Along with several state troopers and a state TAC team. And a federal TAC unit in a Huey Resources. A bunch of ’em.
“Hey?” I interrupted at least two conversations. “Listen up. We’re pros, right?”
“We don’t need a pep talk,” snapped Art.
“Just think about it for a second. Who are these people Gabriel is using for his troops? Think about it.”
“So?” Art was having none of this.
“He’s got one guy in the bank who knows explosives, right?”
“At least one,” said George.
“I’d bet one,” I said. “Maybe two on the boat, but for sure one. That’s three sharp dudes out of fifteen. Who are the rest of them? Amateurs he’s picked up. Nobodies, not when it comes to this stuff.”
“They seem to be doing pretty well so far,” said George.
“But they haven’t encountered any resistance. All the real troops we have are being held on a tight leash. Gabriel counts on that. He knows nobody wants a hostage hurt, so he’s betting one hundred percent that he gets a cakewalk, courtesy of us. Right?”
“But, Carl,” said Hester, “he’s right. We can’t risk a hostage. Especially with Gabriel on the boat. He will do the deed, and we know that.”
“Think this way. He’s got, what, three guns, two or three drivers at the bank, right? That’s six of them, with five questionables, against four to six really professional, really capable FBI TAC team members.” I looked around. “So, we got ’em outclassed at the bank. Just tell our people