(written for the official Standoff forum.. you all should drop by. Go to the FOX Standoff page, click messageboard)
Friday Night At The CNU
(FRIDAY JUNE 8, 2007, 20:23 HOURS)
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
"Is that what I think it is?"
"Nooo... Not now. We didn't hear that. Don't stop."
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
"You hear that?"
"Wish I didn't."
"Mine as well. Great."
"Guess it's good we both took our car. You go ahead, I'll pay up and get there in a bit."
"Thanks. I don't want Cheryl to get... you know, weird."
"Yeah, let Matt and Emily catch flack for a while."
BZZZT! BZZZT! BZZZT!
"I'm sorry honey, my pager is going off."
"You go and save lives. I'll get a cab home."
"I'm really sorry about this."
"Shhh, don't worry sweetheart, I know it comes with the job. I'll just pick up another stunningly beautiful woman."
"Dirtbag."
"Love you too. Take care."
"See you tonight."
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
"No. No no no. Fuck."
"Hey, it's me. I'm afraid a job's come up... so tonight is not going to work out."
"I'm very sorry... it could take all night... please don't count on it, you have to get up early."
"Okay. Have fun in Tonga... yeah, I'll see you in two weeks... You, too."
(FRIDAY JUNE 8, 2007, 20:56 HOURS)
"Hey Emily. Crappy timing, huh?" Lia greeted when Emily climbed into the command truck.
"You can say that again. You look great by the way, did you have plans?"
"I was having dinner with a hot guy," Lia grinned, raising her eyebrows meaningfully. Emily knew about her and Duff. "Shame we didn't get to dessert, that place does amazing tiramisu."
"At least he understands, right?" Emily nodded.
"Yeah, no drama about priorities."
Matt came up behind the women, handing Emily her vest and strapping on his own. He grinned when Cheryl came out of the back room. She was wearing a deep red evening dress.
"Whoa boss, new uniform?"
"I was at a play," Cheryl answered with a sigh. "Is everybody here? Lia, you linked up yet?"
"HRT is just assembling, and I will be... now."
They heard Frank's voice issue commands just outside the truck. He sounded short-fused.
"Uh oh... incoming..." Lia said under her breath. The others looked to the door to find one very displeased HRT commander in the doorway.
"Let's skip the talking and make this whackjob be sorry he ever got out of bed today," was his greeting.
"Interrupt something?" Matt couldn't help himself.
"No, I was sitting at home staring at my pager, just like you and Lehman," Frank shot back.
"All right people, I know nobody likes getting their plans interrupted, but we have innocent people to get out of there," Cheryl said.
The team quitened down.
"Info so far?"
"LAPD was chasing the HT after he knocked over a liquor store, he then crashed his car into this liquor store," Emily read of her notepad. She'd been talking to the cops. "Where he took hostage the shopkeeper and a customer."
"Must have picked this one because it's familiar ground," Matt added. "He's robbed it a couple of months ago."
"Yes, and apparently he was erratic at the earlier robbery, probably drunk. Has a handgun, no clear description. No shots fired so far," Emily said.
"Okay. Lia?"
"LAPD will transfer the HT's files, I'll have them in a minute. Shopkeeper is Jose Lopez, don't know about the customer yet."
"Frank?"
"Car is blocking the front way in, lots of broken glass. He's holed up behind the counter with the hostages, no line of sight on him. I've got some snipers in place and we are looking at the back door. Breach that way will probably work."
"No grenades with all that glass around," Cheryl said.
"There's that. I can get you camera feed in there in five minutes."
"Good. Do it," she turned from Frank to Matt and Emily. "Make the call."
"Wait guys, got his files," Lia said before they all left. "Josh Reed, 27, two strikes for armed robbery, history of alcohol abuse."
"Oh great. A desperate alcoholic with nothing left to lose."
"Have fun on the phone!" Frank tossed over his shoulder before he closed the door.
(FRIDAY JUNE 8, 2007, 23:17 HOURS)
"Are we gonna wait around until this moron sobers up or at we gonna end this?" Frank said over the radio.
"Maybe we stop talking to him, he sleeps it off," Duff suggested with a grin in his voice. "Or maybe we keep talking him to sleep."
Cheryl cut them off.
"In case you forgot, I got my evening ruined as well. HT is too close to the hostages for my comfort. Negotiation gets some more time."
"We could just leave him there and go home," Duff mused.
"Yeah, let him drink his stupid self to death," Frank agreed.
"I suppose the hostages could just walk out once he was drunk enough," Emily spoke up. She could see Duff's head go up in surprise at her reaction.
"Aren't you supposed to be telling us this dude's sob story?"
"Do you particularly want to hear it?" she teased. "It's my friday night too, you know."
She was having a hard time feeling empathy for this HT. Matt has been talking to the guy for hours now without progress, and was obviously getting frustrated.
"Emily, that's not fair. How can we be the mean guys if you're not gonna defend the HT?"
"Cut the chatter," Frank broke in. "There's movement."
"Whoa, Cheryl, are you looking at the feed?" Emily came in. "The shopkeeper gave him a bottle, he's drinking."
"I see it. Lia, can you find out what that is?"
"See what I can do."
"I didn't see anyone move, so it will have been within arms reach. Might have been under the counter," Emily added.
"What kind of HT starts drinking during a hostage situation?" Lia wondered.
(FRIDAY JUNE 8, 2007, 23:24 HOURS)
"Okay guys, I matched the bottle shape to Hill's Absinth. Czech import, illegal, 70 percent alcohol," Lia spoke up.
"Absinth? Isn't that stuff supposed to make you hallucinate?" Duff wondered.
"Apparently that's mostly legend, there's no proof of it," Lia said.
"Well if he believes it..." Emily mused.
"If he's drinking that stuff this could become a suicide by alcohol," Cheryl said. "How is Matt doing?"
Matt spoke up himself. "I'm about done with this guy. He's talking in circles."
"Okay, HRT get ready for a stealth entry. Unless he ups the ante we'll give him five minutes for the alcohol to slow him down further. Matt, when we go in I need him on the phone and distracted."
"Copy that."
(FRIDAY JUNE 8, 2007, 23:29 HOURS)
"In position for entry."
"He's drinking fast, and there's real danger of alcohol poisoning with a drink that strong."
"What do we care if he kills himself?"
"I want to get this guy in a jail cell, not an ambulance where he can try more stupid stuff," Cheryl said. "Matt, make the call."
"Copy that. Calling."
"Frank, on my word."
HRT moved into position, moving slow and steady from the back door, until Duff and a second sniper were positioned just out of sight of the HT. Frank and Davis moved around until they were standing next to the counter, out of sight to those sitting on the ground behind it. They needed a three second window, enough time to overwhelm the HT before he had time to aim and shoot a hostage.
"Shhtoopid ashhole!" they heard the HT drunkenly bellow, presumably into the phone. "CAR! Wha-whasso hard ab't getting ma CAR!"
"Go, Frank, NOW," Cheryl's voice sounded in his ear and it was two steps to the counter and into full sight, rifle pointed at the HTs chest.
"FBI. Drop your weapon."
He heared faint footsteps to his right and knew that Duff had moved in as secondary shot
Both hostages looked slightly the worse for wear after a four hour siege, but seemed unhurt. He saw them freeze from the corner of his eyes, but his full focus was on the drunk idiot of a HT.
The drunk idiot in question opened his mouth to let out a stream of slurred abuse, both at the phone still in his hand and the HRT men streaming into position.
"Drop – your – weapon." Frank repeated. He was itching to shoot the guy. He couldn't think of a terribly compelling reason not to. Well okay, maybe that every second this dimwit spent in ER and away from a jail cell was one too many. Plus, there'd be some more paperwork for Cheryl to hound him about.
"If I were you I'd do what he says," Duff said to the HT from his crouched position. "He had to cancel a date because of this stunt. Man's in the mood to shoot someone."
"Did I say I had to cancel a date?"
"You didn't have to!" Duff shot back. While they bantered, Hastings crouched just out of the HT's line of sight and gestured to the nearest hostage to quietly move out of the narrow space and into safety. The HT didn't seem to notice. His eyes were glazing over at Frank's speculation that since Cheryl also had a date interrupted, she probably wouldn't care if he shot the HT and might even waive the paperwork.
In the command truck, Cheryl shook her head in horrified amusement.
Emily quietly led the first hostage out of the building and toward the command truck, where two agents specialised in after-crisis care waited with coffee.
The HT finally caught on when the second hostage was about to shuffle out from behind the counter. Frank leant forward, bringing the muzzle of his rifle to within a foot of the HT's forehead.
"Your finger so much as twitches," he said quietly, all traces of banter gone, "and so does mine."
(FRIDAY JUNE 8, 2007, 23:36 HOURS)
"Subject in custody," Duff said over the radio. The HRT team began to disperse, and Frank walked out the front door, half supporting, half propelling the HT.
"That's it," Matt said to Cheryl. "Next time we get a drunk, I'm not even bothering with a call. We'll just send HRT straight in. I've heard enough alcoholic circle talk tonight to last me a lifetime."
Cheryl didn't acknowledge him. She understood the frustration, but that didn't mean that the negotiation stage had been pointless. She stifled a yawn as she signed the necessary release paperwork for closing the crisis situation. "Play will be over by now," she said wistfully.
"Restaurant kitchen will be closed," Lia sighed, signing out the sattelite connection. "And I was so looking forward to the tiramisu..."
Emily met Matt's eyes and said nothing. Their date could be resumed. The bed was still there.
"So, we packing up?" Duff stuck his head in the door opening. "HT's on this way to a nice suite with a view."
"Good work," Cheryl said, looking at her watch and filling in the time on the last form.
Frank arrived, and Cheryl looked up to address the entire team.
"Nice work, people. Now go home, pick up where you left off. I'm going to headquarters to drop this off," she gestured at the forms in front of her, "and do the same."
"Out of your way," Frank dismissed the idea. "I'll do it."
"But your da-"
Frank gave Lia look, and she closed her mouth and turned back to her laptop screen to shut down the computer.
"Appreciate it," Cheryl filled the silence by handing over the paperwork. "We deserve points for being the most stylish unit, but I'd like to get into some more comfortable shoes now."
"I'll stay to sign off the gear," Duff said to Frank. "It's Kelly's turn, but his kid is sick."
"Right – forms, gear - that wraps it," Cheryl decided. "Support can take care of the rest. Have a good weekend, see you on monday."
The team got out of the command truck so it could be prepared for driving. Matt and Emily looked at each other and started walking toward Matt's car.
"Good night guys."
"We're gonne get back to um, staring at our pagers!" Matt tossed over his shoulder. They could hear Emily's hissed "Matt!" before the the door slammed shut.
Cheryl disappeared into her car with a "Have a good weekend" and Frank grunted something and walked off to his car, paperwork in hand.
Lia looked at Duff and pulled an 'oops!' face. He grinned at her as they walked to the main HRT car and he started to sign the weapons off on a list.
"Don't mind him. He just doesn't like admitting to actually having a private life."
"I think it's kinda sweet," Lia decided. Duff looked at her in surprise. It wasn't the word he'd expected to hear, especially after the look Frank had given her earlier. Lia was unquenchable though, just one of the things he liked about her. "Well, he must be really crazy about her."
"I guess."
"You guess? Don't guys talk about this stuff at all?"
Duff shrugged. "Not really. I know she's a paramedic, he met her on a job, though I don't remember her. And apparently she goes on holiday for two weeks tomorrow morning."
"Aww… if he wasn't such a bear today I might feel sorry for him."
Duff smiled as he reached for the next rifle, checking it over.
"Two weeks..." Lia mused.
"Two weeks of brassed-off Frank. That's gonna be fun," Duff said distractedly. All around them the field agents from Support were removing police tape, and LAPD cops were re-establishing the flow of traffic.
"He could call her now, right? It's not that late."
"Cancel the date and then call for a sleep-over? Not Frank."
"Well, maybe she wants to see him as well."
"Don't find out if you don't call. Unless..."
They shared a look, and a single thought.
"I don't have her number."
Duff grinned.
"He probably has it on a contact list somewhere."
"The one on file?"
"Nah, the unofficial one. We keep on in our lockers, 'case something happens. She's probably on his by now."
"Well, I was thinking of dropping by the office tomorrow morning anyway, I forgot to bring some coding. There's this application I'm adapting for broad-spectrum searches..."
They understood each other.
"You're such a work-aholic, needing to drop by the office at midnight to pick up work," Duff chided with a grin.
(SATURDAY JUNE 9, 2007, 00:11 HOURS)
Lia watched in fascination as Duff opened Frank's locker and rummaged in the manilla folder.
"Score – here it is."
Lia offered him her phone, but Duff refused.
"Uh-uh. You call. This is gonna sound so wrong coming from a guy."
She couldn't deny that, so Lia put the cellphone to speaker and dailed.
"Kauri."
"Hello Kauri, it's Lia... you don't know me, but I'm a colleague of Frank."
"Is everything okay?"
Lia belatedly realised that this could be taken as a bad news call, especially by someone who dealt with casualties all day.
"Everything is okay, don't worry. We just kind of... wanted to let you know know something."
"Um, okay." She sounded confused. Duff made an impatient gesture, and Lia rolled her eyes at him.
"We know Frank cancelled a date with you because of the job tonight... he was in a bear of a mood. Said he wouldn't see you again for a while?"
"Yeah, I'm leaving for home for two weeks."
"Ahh... okay. Well he didn't want to call you anymore, said it was too late now, but... I just wanted to let you know the job is over and he's going home now."
"Hmm, okay. And you telling me this... why?"
Lia looked at Duff, not sure how to answer.
"Cause we don't wanna have Grizzly around the place for two weeks," Duff inserted himself into the conversation.
"Ah, team members..." she mused. "Right... so this is a call to... Oh, you guys better hope he doesn't find out about this," she chuckled.
"It's not like that," Lia said quickly, knowing the other woman was right. Frank would not be happy. "He just said that it was too late to see you now, and we thought you should be the judge of that."
"...nice save. Goodnight guys!" The line disconnected.
"You think she'll go?" Duff asked.
"No idea. Guess you'll find out on monday."
(SATURDAY JUNE 9, 2007, 00:12 HOURS)
She flopped down on the bed and kicked off her shoes
"Ahhh... thank God that's over."
"Is it bad that I wanted to pass him over to HRT within twenty minutes?"
He dropped himself next to her on the mattress and pulled her in for a kiss.
"Mmmm... I think it's good that you resisted the urge."
"Even though we wasted an evening?"
"You don't know how it would have gone... maybe he would have shot if he'd been pushed earlier. Maybe the delay saved two lives."
"I guess so. Now, where were we...?"
(SATURDAY JUNE 9, 2007, 00:14 HOURS)
"Pup pup!"
She closed her arms about the wiggling puppy.
"Hey sweetheart," he said from behind the historic detective he read for light fare. "Aww, pup-pup missed you."
"Hey honey." She went over to kiss him. "Mmmm. Did you enjoy the play?"
"Not so much without you there... you don't want to leave the shoes there."
"Oops. Is he going to grow out of the shoe-hoarding stage you think?"
"If he does, it's probably just because he's started to hoard something else. Like underwear."
"How did we end up with a dragon pup?" The animal in question whimpered pityfully and gave her a tentative tail-wag. "Ohh yes you're cute, and you know it, little monster."
"You might want to change out of that dress before it gets puppified, sweetheart."
(SATURDAY JUNE 9, 2007, 00:37 HOURS)
He smiled at seeing her dark spiral curls spread out over his pillow. She had never used his key before. He leant down to press a kiss to the point of her shoulder blade. She stirred.
"...that tickles..."
"I know. I reserve the right to tickle a woman if I unexpectedly find her in my bed."
"Mmm.. happens often...?"
"Not as often as I'd like." He shed his clothes and got under the blanket. "Sorry about the date."
"'s okay... jus' didn't like not seeing you... before I... go..."
He was glad he hadn't been the only one, but didn't know how to say it. He spooned up against her body and whispered in her ear:
"You're cute when you're half asleep."
"You're cute when I'm half asleep too..."
He chuckled. She turned over and draped herself over his side.
"How was the job?"
"Don't ask."
"Too late..."
"HT was living proof that alcohol kills off brain cells."
She was silent for a while, and he thought she'd drifted off when she turned her face into his neck and let out a slow sigh.
"I'm gonna miss you..."
"At least you get to miss me from a tropical island," he murmured against her forehead. Her face scrunched up a bit at the touch of his goatee, but she didn't answer, definitely asleep now. "...I'm gonna miss you too."
(SATURDAY JUNE 9, 2007, 00:46 HOURS)
"Mmmm, this is sooo nice..." She licked his fingers.
He leaned in for a lingering kiss.
"Hmm, yes it is."
"Are you sure don't want some?" she asked, face flushed.
"No no, I'm having too much fun watching you eat it."
"Wouldn't have been this nice at the restaurant."
"Absolutely." He pulled her closer to lick a stray morsel off the swell of her left breast. "From now on we'll always eat dessert at home."
Feedback always welcome :-)