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The phone rang again, and Len turned to the employee and waved his gun at him. The ringing stopped, and then the phone clicked as he put it back down.
“There were four that didn’t have a license on them,” Chuck said.
“Fine, get them, we are going to move them.”
“Move them?”
“Yeah, we’re going to move them.”
A muscle in Greg’s jaw ticked against his cheek a couple of times, and a few lines crossed his brow momentarily before his face calmed back to nothingness. What was going through his mind?
Chuck pulled the gun out of his waistband where he’d stored it while getting ID’s and went to gather the woman and two men who were on the other side of the café. “Get up,” he told them. “Leave your stuff there.”
They got to their feet, and he told them to move toward the back of the business.
“Sit them there, and go find something from the back to tie them up with.”
Chuck nodded and disappeared into the back for a moment as the three people he’d collected sat around a small table. I glanced at Greg; he was still on his knees, hands still laced behind his head. Why was he still sitting like that? Why didn’t he turn back around?
The bullhorn from outside filled the room again. “This is Sergeant Wilkins again. We really would like to settle this peacefully, but we can’t do that if you don’t speak with us. We need to know if everyone is alright in there. We heard that last gunshot. Please answer the phone so that we can discuss options and make sure everyone is alright.”
The phone began to ring, and Len glanced at the employee. The phone stopped ringing and clicked as Chuck returned. “I found duct tape,” he announced, and I swear I heard Greg scoff.
“Fine, bind their wrists, feet, and mouths, and put them in the bathroom,” Len stated.
“You want me to take him too?” he asked Len as he pointed at Greg.
“Yeah, but get those three done first. He might give you trouble.”
As Chuck disappeared into the bathroom with one person at a time, Len walked around the room and looked carefully at all the people, especially the men. Finally, he stood in front of one of the employees and nodded.
Chuck finished with the three people and came back to get Greg. As he got to his feet, he stared at me hard, and then he was turned and marched to the bathroom. I sure hope no one else needed to use the bathroom. From where I was seated, I could see the people gagged and bound on the floor. Gross.
Chuck returned a moment later, and the phone rang again. This time Len walked toward the phone. The phone rang three times, and then he picked it up.
He didn’t say anything at first, and I wondered what they were saying. “No one is injured,” he stated gruffly. “Yes, I’m telling you the truth. Here.” He must have grabbed the employee. “Tell them that everyone is okay.”
The employee’s voice cracked as he spoke. “No one’s injured.”
“The gunfire was warning shots,” Len stated as shuffling was heard behind me.
He grew quiet again, and a few of us traded looks. Two people were staring at him and then the door, probably wondering if they could make it there and unlock it before they were noticed or shot.
“Give us five minutes, and we’ll give ourselves up,” Len stated gruffly and then hung up the phone abruptly. I glanced at the pregnant woman and the nurse in surprise. They were going to give themselves up? I hadn’t expected that. Did he realize there was no way out of this? If he did, why did he put those four people in the bathroom?
Len called Chuck behind the counter, and the two of them whispered for a few moments. Chuck came back around the counter, and so did the employee that had been answering the phone. Len went to another employee, a slightly older man who I knew from my visits was the manager and told him to get up.
He pointed the gun at him and told him to walk into the back. What the hell was he doing? Was he going to hurt the guy?
Chuck paced around the room and came to stand in front of me. “After we give ourselves up, will you come to see me in jail and write my story?”
“Um, sure. I can do that.”
He looked excited for a second, but that disappeared quickly as he stared at the front door and realized that he was about to be arrested.
The phone rang a minute later, and Chuck went around to answer it. “Yeah, give us one minute, and we’ll give ourselves up.” He hung up the phone without waiting for a reply.
I heard footsteps behind the counter as if Len and the employee had come back, but they didn’t come to this side of the counter.
