Page 92 of Every Last One
“I am.” She let go of the straps on the backpack, preferring her hands free if they were needed.
Willis unlocked the door with a code, and the three of them stepped into the hallway. It was shadowed like the stairwell with only emergency lighting in effect. Maybe she had made a huge mistake coming here, deciding to face Mindy Ashmore in person. Had she let her past successes with in-person negotiations affect her decision?
Willis led the way down the hall, with Kemp walking behind her. Both were wearing helmets with a flashlight attached to them. Ahead of her, Willis’s beam cut across the darkened hallways, giving Sandra an eerie feeling.
She remembered where the boardroom was located from the blueprints she’d peeked at before entry, and she stayed in step with Willis. He stopped walking three doors down and motioned for her to tuck against the wall.
“You know what you’re supposed to do?”
“Yes.”
“Amuse me.”
“Announce myself, knock on the door, step off to the side, and go in when it feels safe.”
“Yes. Now, go.”
Sandra wondered if they were just planning to take Mindy down with force. And if so, why had they bothered letting her haul the money up the stairs? She walked toward the boardroom, noting there were a few windows facing the hallway too. The blinds in them were closed.
This is it…
“FBI Special Agent Sandra Vos,” she called out. “Mindy, I’m here with your money.” She reached out and knocked on the door. Stepped off to the side.
Willis nodded at her, the beam from his headlamp moving with his head arching from the floor to the ceiling and back.
The door opened slowly, and Pamela put her head through. “Come in.” Her voice was tiny and scared.
Sandra resisted the urge to look back at Willis. “Pamela, I have the cash for Mindy.”
“Bring it to me,” Mindy called out from inside the room.
Sandra subtly shook her head, the motion for Willis, though he would have heard everything.
“I’m coming in, Mindy.”
She stepped into the room. Mindy was standing in a corner holding a gun on the doorway. Her hair was standing up and frizzy around her face. Her skin was pale against her brown hair. Sandra scanned the faces of the hostages. There was one she hadn’t expected to see and was now happy that she hadn’t called her sister. Janie DeSilva.
The fate of everyone here was in Sandra’s hands. What happened in the next few seconds would decide life and death.
Pamela was quick to move behind her and lock the door again.
“Unload the money on the table,” Mindy told her without moving from her position.
“It’s all here.” Sandra slowly took the backpack and unzipped it.
“No funny business or I will shoot her.” In a flash, Mindy had moved behind Pamela and was holding a gun to her head.
“If you don’t trust me, you can get the money out,” Sandra told her. If Mindy took her up on the offer, it would allow Sandra time to assume control of the room. She could overpower Mindy and take her gun. That was her Rambo ex-boyfriend talking in her head.
“I trust you.” Mindy strengthened her grip on Pamela, now wrapping an arm around her collarbone.
Sandra slowly unloaded the stacks of cash onto the table. “You can count it.”
Mindy shook her head. “Again, not necessary. I trust you.”
If she wasn’t going to let her guard down for a second, it was going to be harder to assume control physically. “All right. And I came in here trusting your word. The deal was the cash, and you would surrender peacefully and let these people go.” Sandra barely took her gaze off Mindy.
“You’re not going to let me just walk out of here. Why should I let you?”
