Free Betrayal by Tim Tigner Page B

scream but that would just make her boss’s point. She slipped into negotiations mode instead. “Forget about politics for a minute. What if they were your kids? What if that was Bobby and Becky up there? Can you honestly tell me that you would want Ralph as your point man?”
    Jack shrugged. “Ralph has four times your experience, Cassi.”
    “Yeah, and despite that he’s got triple my failure rate.”
    “I gave the case to Ralph. I can’t take it away now—especially in order to give it to you. Go get some rest. By the time you wake up, everything will be fine.”
    Cassi knew that Jack was doing his best to be objective and kind. She could also sense that his magnanimity was wearing thin. She knew she should back off now and do as he asked, but the image of two little caskets pushed her on. She decided to try a different tack. “How about a deal then? I get this negotiation; Ralph gets the promotion. Just let me save those kids.”
    She saw surprise cross Jack’s face and a flash of something else, but he just shook his head. “The job is neither yours to barter, nor mine to give away.”
    Cassi shot her last arrow. “Women have a thirty-percent advantage over men in negotiations where child hostages are involved. You’ve got a female negotiator on the scene asking to do the job. If you say no and this goes south, some ambitious reporter is going to dig that statistic up. Your judgment will be called into question, both in private with the parents of those children, and in public as the mayor conducts damage control.”  
    Jack gave her a long icy stare. Cassi understood in that moment that she had done their relationship irreparable damage. But for better or worse, she was too spent emotionally to care.
    Finally he said, “Don’t fuck up.”
    ~ ~ ~
    As the other agents disappeared down the stairs, Cassi looked at the photos ripped from the children’s locker doors. The hostages’ real names were Masha and Zeke, not even close to the Sara and Sammy she had guessed. She hoped that was not a bad omen. With two of her kids hanging in the balance and her own unborn child along for the ride, this was going to be the most important negotiation of her life.
    Cassi took a visual sweep of the empty brick hallway and then brought her focus to rest on the metal door. She closed her eyes, let out a slow breath, and willed her mind to drift down through the clouds into The Zone. The Zone was a mental room with a chessboard floor and black walls. This was where she studied her opponent and calculated her moves. Once in The Zone she blocked out every sound, every smell, every extraneous tick and tock. She only allowed the players in The Zone—just she, the perp, and the hostages. The hostages. She hated to see those two small pieces on the board. It took a real sonofabitch to use children as pawns.  
    Back in the real world Cassi pressed herself against the brick wall of the corridor. She spoke loudly enough to be heard through the metal door but in a tone that was still conversational and polite. “Good morning. It’s just the negotiator, as you requested. Everyone else is gone. I’ve got two cups of coffee here, in case you would like one. My name’s Cassandra by the way, Cassi for short. What can I call you?”
    “What you can call me is a fucking helicopter if you don’t want to lose these two kids.”
    He was talking, Cassi thought. That was a good sign. She began her mental tally of notes. The man had gone straight to his central demand and his ultimate threat. That meant he was both impatient and scared. Both could work in her favor if she played them right. Both could get everyone killed if she played them wrong. In either case, his condition was not conducive to the standard tire-him-out routine.
    Her first objective was to establish herself as his friend. The constant repetition of his name would work wonders in that area, but she sensed that he would not be inclined to give it. Perhaps she could guess.