Chapter 34

   “Let’s blow the sucker,” Cal said to Norm.

There was a little too much eagerness, in Calvin’s voice, for Norm’s tastes. Norm pocketed the small breeching charge and then gently pushed the door open, “it ain’t locked.”

Danni rolled her eyes at the two guys in front of her and then pushed her way past, “we’re on the clock here guys.” She made her way into what was a very small lobby and quickly looked it over with the sight of her gun. Then she approached the inner door and it was also opened, “somebody beat us too it.”

Norm noticed the security pads next to the doors and recognized what the scanners were for, “I think I can guess who.” He moved to the front of the line and put Danni right behind him. Calvin was next with Garcia, Leslie, and finally Tony bringing up the rear. Norm noticed Danni getting very nervous so he nodded to her. Her nervousness had not vanished but she did nod back. Norm kicked the door wide and rushed in.

The man that Norm expected to find was standing between rows of cubicles. Norm kept his weapon trained on the guy and yelled, “Grayson Wallace Smokes! On behalf of the Colonial Government you are under arrest.”

“Why, Agent Scoggins,” the crusty looking old man snatched April up above the cubicle partition so that Norm could see her. The man had a shotgun shoved right between her shoulder blades. “Don’t come any closer or I’ll have to shoot this little girl.”

April was very nervous, well, more like terrified and she yelped, “he just wants the monthly reports. Let him have them. I haven’t even finished them yet.”

Calvin, who was taking cover behind a desk lowered his weapon slightly and replied, “you too?”

Norm ignored Cal and kept, cautiously, stepping closer to Smokes. He told the man as he eased his way forward, “you not going to shoot that little girl Grayson. I know who she is man. She’s your daughter. You might be a lot of things but, I don’t think you’ll kill your own child.”

April suddenly lost her fear. She looked back at this man, “is that true?”

“Trust me,” Smokes told the girl, “I’d rather have this shotgun pointed at your mother right now.”

Leslie was sliding around Norm and swinging out wide of him. She was getting a side shot, clear of April. She had had her shotgun slightly lowered until Smokes furiously shouted, “all of you stop right now or so help me!”

Leslie came to a halt, now with the bead of the shotgun on Smokes, “I’ve got a shot. Let me take the bastard.”

“Hold your fire,” Norm told the girl and then ordered everyone else, “hold your spots.” Then he lowered his weapon and said in a calm voice, “all right Smokes. You win. Get your reports.”

“Oh no,” Smokes replied, “you and your people get out of here. Go get in your cars and leave. When I have what I want, and I’m clear of here, then I’ll let April go.”

The group of heavily armed men that rushed in and took up positions on the other end of the room had something to say about that. There were multiple calls for everyone else to drop their weapons. Naturally, those shouts were matched from the far side, until one man casually walked out in the line of fire. He calmly said, “Norm, how you been?”

Norm was behind pathetic cover, still standing, and still with his weapon down by his side. He was afraid to raise it and start a fire fight with a group of obvious mercenary thugs who were much better armed than his own side. The thugs were also, obviously, looking for an excuse to fire since one of them singled out Leslie for his buddies. Leslie already had that guy singled out and told him across the room, “oh, so you want a rematch. I’m game big boy.”

“Cannon,” Norm told the guy in the middle of the room, “tell your people to back off. We’re handling this situation.”

“No can do Norm,” Trucks replied, “this is private property and I got jurisdiction here.”

Now another man walked into the room and stood beside Trucks, “you people are trespassing. My name is Bircham and I’m a senior partner here. I suggest you all leave now.”

Norm responded to that, even if he was unsure of the legality of this situation, “afraid we can’t do that. This is a law enforcement matter so tell your mercenaries to stand the hell down.”

“Looks like we got us a stand off Norm,” Trucks replied. He snapped his fingers at one of his men who promptly vanished. A second later the guy came back with yet another thug. They were both dragging Amy along with them. One man put a gun to Amy’s head and pulled the hammer back. Then Trucks turned back and said, “your call Norm.”

Barbara and Jake came strolling in the door and, in a very casual manner, they walked right past everyone until they were face to face with Bircham and Trucks. Barbara corrected Trucks by saying, “no Cannon. It’s my call. Now let my agent go or this is going to get really nasty, really quick.”

Trucks actually smiled. What was even stranger, at least to Jake, was that it looked very genuine and even more eager, “Barbara, I was hoping you might show up.”

Jake nudged Barbara and asked, “who the hell is this guy?”

Trucks had a similar question but, he actually had an idea, “you must be the new Treaty guy they stuck Barbara with. I heard about you.”
“Not enough I bet,” Jake replied.

Bircham was becoming impatient, “Trucks! Take care of this now. Get these people out of here.”

Jake shook his head like he thought the guy was an idiot, “before you do that Trucks. I might suggest you make sure that this clod here can make your next payroll, first.”

Trucks dropped his smile, “what the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Jake pointed to Bircham, “I don’t think Mister PBS here has all the cash he thinks he has.” Jake looked the businessman in the eye, “you better call your bank and check your balance. You might be bouncing one or two checks over the next few days.”
Bircham sneered, “you have no idea what you’re talking about. You just wait till I call the governor. Crass will sack you two for pulling a stunt like this.”

“Oh,” Barbara replied crossing her arms, “I think I can handle her and, besides that, I don’t think she’ll be that interested in getting to chummy with you anytime soon.”

From the cubicle, Grayson yelled out, “hey I still got a hostage here!”

Jake and Barbara both yelled in unison, “shut up!”

Then Jake went on with, “we had a nice little talk with your primary investor.” Jake looked to Trucks but pointed at Bircham, “seems like his big money is all in Deutsch marks, only problem is, they didn’t want word getting out. Well, I happen to know this reporter and…”

Bircham growled, “you’re bluffing.”

Barbara told him, “check the news. The Wehrmacht are all headed back for their barracks.”

Jake added, “and I’d check your primary accounts while you’re at it. You might find them just a little dry.”

It no longer seemed to matter what Bircham thought. Trucks spent a moment examining the eyes of both Barbara and Jake. He looked at Barbara’s far more. Then he holstered his weapon, whistled to his men, and they all began walking for the door. When Bircham tried to grab his arm, Trucks easily pushed the man away and told him, “you get any more money then let me know.”

When the mercenaries cleared the room, Amy wasted no time running for her own lines. She was hopping up and down, in a nervous like fashion, and quickly asked, “ok? Who’s got the handcuff keys?” When nobody answered she growled, “oh you have got to be fucking kidding me!”

From his cubicle, Grayson Smokes called out, “does anybody even care that I have a hostage here?”
Jake pulled out his weapon and pointed right at the man’s head, “you can put the shotgun down, or I will shoot between the eyes. Is that clear?”

Smokes replied defiantly, “and my finger could twitch and she’ll be dead.”

Without skipping a beat, or, lowering his weapon, Jake replied, “and I will still blow your fucking head off.”
Smokes put the shotgun down and raised his hands high in the air. Tony quickly rushed over and pulled April away from him. He ushered her out the door with Calvin, Amy, and Garcia in tow.

Norm then asked Smokes and Bircham, “so what do you want to do with these two?”

“They’re adults,” Jake replied. “I figure we just let them work this out between themselves. Come on everybody,” he nodded to the rest of his people, “let’s get out of here.”

Now it was Bircham’s time to begin whining, “you can’t leave me here with this man, alone!”

Jake noticed that Smokes was already eyeing his shotgun, even if he had not reached for it yet. Jake decided to even the odds a little. He pulled a pistol out of his belt and tossed it down on the floor at Bircham’s feet, “I took that off your guy outside. It’ll be awhile before he can use it again, not sure how long it takes for a broke finger to set just right but, sorry, can’t do anything else for you. You know? This is private property and all.”

As they walked down towards the elevators, Norm had to ask, “you think them two are really going to kill each other?”

“Them two would be lucky,” Jake replied, “if they could hit the side of a bar…” The hallway filled with the sounds of gunfire coming from the inside of the PBS office. The elevator also dinged and Jake stepped aside for Barbara. She did not look very happy so he asked, “what’s wrong with you?”

She snorted out, “nothing.”