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“Appreciated, but it’s not money. Go, give Peabody a shoulder. I need to focus on getting Feeney out of there alive. Roarke. Wait.” She scooped a hand through her hair. “Find which cube is Halloway’s. He’s got a data unit in there. Shut it down. Don’t touch it, don’t get any closer to it than necessary. Just shut it down.”
Inside Feeney’s office, Halloway screamed into the ’link. Rusty knifes were slicing their way through
his brain. He could feel it bleeding. “You want to talk to me? Then turn the temp down in this furnace. You keep trying to fry me out, I drop this useless old E-fart. I’m not talking to you, asshole. Put Dallas back on. Put that goddamn lying bitch back on. You got ten seconds!”
At the signal, she sprang to the ’link. “I’m here Halloway.”
“Didn’t I order you to turn the heat down in here? Didn’t I give you a direct order?”
“Yes, sir. I followed that order.”
“Don’t you lie to me. You want me to start on his hands.” Halloway pressed his weapon down hard on the back of Feeney’s hand. “I give it a good strong jolt, he won’t be jerking off with this hand anymore.”
“I’ll have it turned down farther. Halloway, just listen to me. Look at Feeney. He’s not sweating. You can do a temp check. The room’s down to sixty-five.”
“That’s bullshit! I’m burning up in here.”
“Because you’re sick. You’ve got some kind of virus, like an infection. You’ve got a bad headache, haven’t you, Halloway? And you’ve got a nosebleed. It’s the infection that’s making you feel this way, the infection that’s hurting you. You need medical. Let us get you some help, and we’ll straighten all this out.”
“Why don’t you come in, bitch?” His mouth twisted. “Come on in and you’ll see how fast we straighten this out.”
“I can come in. I can bring you some medicine.”
“Fuck you.”
“I come in, Halloway, and don’t deliver. You’d have two hostages. You’re in control. You’re in charge. You know Feeney’s a friend of mine. I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize his welfare. I can bring you in medication for your headache, and whatever else you want.”
“Fuck you,” he said again, and broke transmission.
“Bartering another hostage isn’t the way to deal in this situation.” The negotiator shoved himself between Eve and the ’link. “We don’t need any sacrificing, we don’t need any hotshots.”
“Normally I’d agree with you, but the man holding the cards in there isn’t going to listen to the usual lines. First, he’s a cop and he knows the routine. Second, he’s suffering from some sort of neurological disorder that’s affecting his behavior, his judgment, his actions.”
“I’m in charge of this negotiation.”
“This isn’t a pissing contest, damn it. I don’t want your job. I want to see both of those cops come out of there in one piece. Commander, I’m sorry, I don’t have time to explain it all. Halloway’s physical and mental conditions are deteriorating. I don’t know how much longer he’s got before he loses it completely. But when he does, he’s going to take Feeney with him.”
“Sharpshooters are in position. They can take him out using an on-screen visual.”
“One stun and he’s dead. That’s what happened with Cogburn. Halloway’s still a badge, Commander. And what he’s done, what he’s doing is not within his control. I want the chance to take him alive.”
“You go in,” the negotiator said, “and three cops die.”
“Or live. I can tranq him. He’s in serious pain. If the meds are there, he’ll want them. Commander, Feeney trained me, he brought me up. I need to go in.”
Whitney stared into her eyes. “Talk him into it. Make it fast.”
It took her precious moments of bargaining, but she fell into the rhythm of groveling. That, she realized, was what he needed. Not just to be acknowledged as being in charge, but to be shown absolute subservience.
“He could very well fire on you the minute you’re in the door.” Roarke spoke softly as she waited for the MTs to prepare the medications and pressure syringes.
“He could.”
“But you go in without a vest, without a weapon.”
“That was the deal. I know what I’m doing.”
“You know what you have to do. There’s a subtle and dangerous difference. Eve.” He laid a hand on her arm. It took everything inside him not to yank her clear of the room. Get her away. “I know what he means to you. Remember what you mean to me.”
