Mimi, Peg, Sam and Captain Jim made their way back to the command center where F.B.I. agents were interviewing Mimi. They wanted to clear her to join the hostage negotiating team as well as to learn more about her husband and his latest state of mind about the M-Mtek’ shutdown or anything else that was bothering him.
Sam convinced the captain to let him stop by his SUV and get a winter jacket he kept in it for special occasions that forced him out into the cold. It was pushing 6 o’clock and he was going to need it by the outdoor barriers during the next negotiation cycle. He looked down at his socks and wished he also carried a normal spare pair in the truck.
Agent Ramos emerged from the interview room to inform the quartet group that it looked like it was going to be ok for Mimi to help out with the negotiations. He also told them that Ishaan said in a call that some of the hostages needed to use the bathroom. Other than that, everyone was all right with them, so far.
Agent Dean expressed his concern that Bernie didn’t seem to be in a hurry about all this commotion, adding that maybe if he talks to his wife that’ll change. Also, his wife had contacted their pharmacy and with the F.B.I.‘s intervention had delivered a one month supply of Bernie’s meds just in case her husband changed his mind about them. Maybe they could be used as a peace pipe in the negotiations, even if he never takes them.
As he spoke to the group, Agent Dean was waved to by a fellow agent who announced they were given the go-ahead to allow the bathroom break. Agent Dean excused himself saying that he needed to huddle with the team to work out the details for a bathroom run that wouldn’t interfere with the negotiation process.
After Dean left, Sam looked at Peggy and said, “This is turning into a real FUBAR deal. Bernie has them worried, I can tell that,” to which Captain Jim nodded his head in agreement.
Mimi came out of the briefing room to join them and said, “Well, I got my F.B.I. badge. Apparently I’m not a terrorist, either. They’re going to let me join the negotiating team. Wait until I tell that to my family.”
Smiling, Peg noted, “Well, I’m glad you’re getting some of you taxes back from the federal government. Do you have Bernie’s pills?”
“Nope, they kept them. Probably don’t trust me with anti-depressants. They probably shouldn’t, given my current condition,” Mimi said. “I heard they’re organizing a pee break for the girls. Hope they don’t do something stupid.”
Sam heard Agent Dean calling out from the huddle room, “Sam, Jim, could you come in here. We need you for something.”
Excusing themselves from the company of Peg and Mimi, they both joined Agent Dean in the huddle room. He closed the door behind them and introducing them to the group.
Dean looked at Sam and opened with, “Sam, the boys are picking up a couple of things regarding Bernie’s behavior that might be important to us talking him out of the place. Very briefly, we think he has the M-Mtek network at least partially up and running. Here’s the kicker. we’re almost sure he has booby-trapped a bunch of key locations in the facility with bombs like he used to blow up his car in the parking lot.”
“We’re speculating he has them all remotely controlled either using network signaling or separate devices like cell phones or other radio devices,” Dean went on saying. “It would be logical that he include the third floor conference room if he were doing this.”
Agent Dean asked Sam, “Is he capable of doing this? Both the network stuff and the bomb stuff?”
Looking down at his red socks, then back up at the group, Sam answered, “Bernie knows the entire corporate network better than anyone else. That’s why they let him run it out of our location. Maybe this isn’t important, but one of his hobbies was launching those play rockets. He even belongs to a club that used to meet in open areas for launching parties.”
Agent Ramos thanked Sam and told everyone in the huddle room, “Well, you heard that. Act accordingly. We have a bathroom break to negotiate. This must be why this guy’s been telling us not to do anything stupid.” And, with that order, Sam, Jim and he left to join Mimi and Peg out in the waiting area.
“Peg, Mimi. Follow us down to the negotiating area in back of the plant,” Agent Dean requested. “There’s some people with Bernie who need to relieve themselves and I’ve got to make it happen without incident.”
Together, they plodded through the night’s cold air toward the rear parking lot.
At the hostage negotiating compound, Agent Ramos informed Peg and Mimi that the head sets he gave them were for listening only. He told them they would need to stay in the trailer while Sam and he went to the barricades to make contact with Bernie.
He and Sam then donned their head sets and went down to the barricade wall where Agent Ramos asked Sam what he thought about calling on Ishaan’s cell phone rather than the 888 number.
Sam replied that for some reason he felt that Ishaan’s phone would be better, but wasn’t sure exactly why.
Agent Dean agreed and dialed the number that the F.B.I. had captured when the last call was made from the conference room. It rang until it flipped over to voice mail into which Agent Ramos left this message: “Ishaan, if you answer this get Bernie on and tell him we’re ready to get the bathroom break on the road. Just call back using this number.”
“FUBAR,” Agent Dean said under his breath. He placed a second call directly using Bernie’s personal number when he got a call waiting signal from Ishaan’s number. He answered it to hear Bernie’s voice say, “What the hell took you so long? I got a kid in here who was ready to take her piss in the corner of the room. This is worse that the military - hurry up and wait. So, what do you want us to do?”
“OK, quickly. I want to first make sure the group will have a safe trip to the bathrooms. Can you assure me that they will?” Dean asked.
“Why, what are you all worried about?” Bernie snapped back.
“We just don’t want them getting harmed in any way. They don’t have anything to do with this deal, with the shutdown,” Dean told Bernie. “Better yet, why don’t you just let the young ladies go and they can use our bathrooms we have out here.”
Bernie began showing signs of irritation with Agent Ramos. He asked to speak with Sam. Agent Dean motioned to turn on the transmit in Sam’s headset and told Bernie he was on the air.
“Frickin’ A! Tell that bozo you’re with to stop reading prepared scripts. I’m willing to get these girls to the john and he should be grateful I’ll do that,” he scolded Sam.
Sam said, “Ok, Bernie. But we have to come to some kind of resolution to this sooner or later. Hang in there and I’ll try to get Agent Ramos to give you the signal for the bathroom run.”
Sam called over to Agent Dean and said, “Let’s get the girls off to the bathroom.”
Agent Ramos put the order out on a secure channel to the operations team that in two minutes the three female hostages would be leaving the conference room to take a rest room break. He ordered them to wait at least 15 minutes for a confirmation that they had returned safely to the conference room.
He then spoke to Bernie, “In two minutes you can let the girls go to the bathroom. Fifteen minutes after that, we will expect them safely back in the room. I want to keep the phone circuit open all during that time. Got that?”
“Yeah, I got it.” Bernie said. “What a pain in the ass you feds are.”
Through the open circuit they could hear Bernie tell the girls that in two minutes they were going to be cleared to use the bathroom. He also told them that he had to stay in the room with Mr. Gilbert and the other two guys. He loudly warned them that they had to stay in the hall and not go beyond the bathrooms or in the opposite direction past the conference room door.
Sam could faintly hear Ishaan tell them to listen to Mr. Soloff because he was running the show for now. Sam also thought he heard Bernie tell him “who asked you.”
Agent Ramos came back on the line and said, “Ok. Bernie. It’s 5:45 PM. You’re good to go. We want them back by 6 PM. And don’t forget to give them decanters for water if you need it.”
The muffled voices of the three girls disappeared as they left the room to the hallway and on to the bathroom. Sam could hear one of the guys say “Well, I guess it’s still ladies first. So much for equal rights.”
While they were waiting on the girls, Sam asked Bernie if he wanted to talk with Mimi on the cell line. Bernie said, “Yeah, I guess so. Did she say she knew all along something was up with me?”
“To be honest, yes she did,” Sam replied. “She said you weren’t acting yourself when you stopped by the house. Other than that, Peg would know more than I. She’s been with her since about one o’clock.”
“Since when did I ever act myself, Sam?” Bernie admonished. “Hold up on that one, Sam. I’m hearing noises from the rooftop.”
“Where the hell are those girls? Mikal, go find out what they’re doing. It’s almost fifteen minutes now,” Sam and Dean heard in their head sets. “Hurry up, just bang on the door and tell them to get back here ASAP.”
Ishaan spoke up, “I’ll go. Don’t send the kid,” to which Bernie responded, “Nope. I’m sending the kid. I don’t trust you.”
Mikal opened the door and turned right toward the bathrooms. Bernie and the hostages could hear him banging on the bathroom door and yelling that Mr. Soloff wanted them back in the conference room.
Then silence.
When Mikal reappeared in the doorway he had a frightened look on his face. “Mr. Soloff, they’re not in there.” Mikal sheepishly announced. “You better have someone check it out. I’m afraid to go in there.”
Bernie let out an angry, blood-curdling roar. He yelled into his phone, “You sons of bitches. What have you done? The girls aren’t in the bathroom. Tell me the truth or you won’t like the consequences. Make it quick. No bullshit.”
Sam appeared shocked as he stared at Agent Ramos who was talking off air with another agent at the command center. He went back to his headset to tell Bernie, “Ok, you wanted it straight. They’ve been rescued by our special hostage operations unit.”
“You rat, you. I told you guys to not use the word “hostage,” Bernie belted back.
Madman
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American Shutdown by Benjamin F. Campanelli
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