The Serial Negotiator

CRIME CONTINUES (1)

Chapter 3: The Crime Continues

After both of them received their calls they headed out together. Unsurprisingly they both ended up on another crime scene.

“Another job…” Bella said with annoyance in her voice. She didn’t want to be bothered with work again so soon. It’s only been several days after the last time.

“Bella, this time you shouldn’t go in with the criminal.” Chase said worried for the Negotiator.

“Don’t call me that here. And don’t tell me how to do my job. You just do yours.” Bella disliked anyone telling her what to do. So Chase’s worry for her was unwelcomed.

The police officer didn’t say anything else and headed in the police vehicle to understand the situation.

“It’s great you’re here sir!” One of the police officers exclaimed after noticing his superior.

“What’s the situation?” Chase asked heading straight for a quick rundown of the situation instead of filling the time with empty words.

“Hostage is being held against her will for 35 minutes already. We have confirmed she is still alive but…” The officer hesitated to speak his next words.

“Who reported the scene?” Chase asked looking at the apartment building.

“The victim herself sir. We received the call 15 minutes ago, it might have angered the criminal as well.” The officer didn’t seem to be completely okay judging by the look in his eyes. He wasn’t saying everything he needed to.

“15 minutes ago?! What kind of police officers are we?!” Chase was angry at the slow response time of his team.

“…” The officer had nothing to say in his defense. He knew that such slow response time could have cost the life of the victim. But there was nothing to be done at this point.

“What’s the connection between the suspect and the victim?” Chase didn’t dwell too long and jumped to the next most important question that needs clearing up.

“They are recently divorced sir.” The officer answered.

“Does he have demands?” Chase continued to ask the more important question. Noticing his officer wasn’t responding normally he continued “Are you alright officer?”

“Yes, sir! Forgive my absentmindedness. The suspect doesn’t have any demands as of yet.” The officer got back to his senses and answered accordingly.

“I need a report on the suspect. Everything you can tell me about him.” Chase was a methodical man, he wanted to know all the facts before rushing headfirst into a dangerous situation.

“Yes sir!” The officer quickly brought out all available information on the suspect (age, gender, nationality, workplace, previous criminal behavior)

The Negotiator however quickly snatched those same documents that weren’t handed towards her.

“What are you doing Bella?” Chase asked looking at the younger woman’s focused expression.

“Hm…” She quickly read through the document and handed it back to Chase. “Is that everything?” She asked the officer that gave the report.

“Yes, that is all.” The officer said with hesitation in his voice.

“It’s not everything.” Bella insisted looking directly at the officer. As if being seen through, he began sweating profusely.

“That is all we have available as information miss Negotiator.” The officer said still holding his ground.

“Listen to me officer Hayman, if you have any more information on the suspect you should come out with it now. I am not a patient person.” The negotiator had taken full control of the entirety of the situation long ago.

“You know my name?” The officer got surprised that his name was known. He was comparably new to the team and only had began work with them a week ago. He hadn’t even met the negotiator in person before. Only heard about her by his collogues.

“Bella, what are you doing?” Chase asked looking at the woman that was basically interrogating his teammate.

“Don’t you dare call me ‘Bella’ on a scene ever again. Focus on what’s at hand!” The negotiator was left with no patience listening to such nonsense from both police officers. “Don’t you see, he’s hiding something?”

The officer that had went silent several moments ago looked about to break down under the sheer pressure of the woman’s gaze towards him. “…” Breathing heavily he was unsure of what his next words should be.

“Officer Hayman, I will ask you one last time before I consult someone else… What else do we know about the criminal?” Bella asked again but there was no answer from the man in question.

“He doesn’t know anything more. You’re pushing him too much.” Chase answered looking at his distressed teammate.

“He’s worried because he knows something more. Whatever it is… I will find out soon enough.” The Negotiator said after walking out of the police vehicle.

 “Get in touch with the criminal.” Chase quickly regained his composure and ordered.

“We can’t sir.” Another officer by the name of Jeremiah answered.

“What?” Chase asked in surprise at the answer.

“He doesn’t want to talk. He has no demands. He’s simply holding his wife hostage inside.” Jeremiah explained.

“Then we will enter forcefully.” Chase said looking at the situation currently there was no other option.

“We cannot sir.” Jeremiah continued to explain. “We have not confirmed him possessing any weapons being under the influence any substance. We cannot enter without a cause sir.”

“Is that why your reaction was so slow?” Chase asked finally understanding the situation completely. They were in a stand still. This was private property and it hasn’t been confirmed that the man is attempting to cause bodily harm to his wife. There wasn’t anything they could do without a cause.

“Dammit!” Chase cursed even though it wasn’t like him. This was no joke, regardless of them being unable to do anything, they have no way to tell if the suspect is still okay and for how long that will be.

“What are our options?” Chase asked looking at the other officers, they didn’t seem to have a ready answer.

“All we can do is wait to receive the ‘okay’ from the higher ups… sir.” Jeremiah said looking at his superior.

It was a helpless situation. Neither of them could act carelessly unless they want to face consequences later on for defying their duties.

At this point truthfully all either one of them could do, is wait for further orders. No one liked the situation they were in but they couldn’t do anything to change it. It was the reality of their jobs.

“Excuse me sir… Where is the Negotiator? She was here a moment ago but I don’t see here anymore.” Another officer by the name of Lia asked, looking around but being unable to see the person in question.

“The negotiator?” Chase went outside to look for her but didn’t see her anywhere. “Where did she go…” he murmured to himself.

“Maybe she left, sir.” Jeremiah said after catching up to his superior.

“…” Somehow Chase didn’t have the same assumption. If she was gone, she was definitely up to something. Then he suddenly remembered what she said before leaving ‘…whatever it is, I will find out soon enough.’ Chase thought to himself. He didn’t want to think about it, but it was obvious what she had done.

*

Inside the apartment building…

It was a rather old apartment building and not many people lived there still. Walking up the stairs Bella was listening carefully to any sounds she could pick up on the way there. She didn’t hear anyone in the neighboring apartments. It was a ruckus coming from the one on the highest floor.

She quickly assumed there was no one else there but it came as a surprise. Finally getting to the top floor and standing in front of the door that she heard sobbing from, she stood there and listened in.

“It’s all your fault… I didn’t want any of this to happen. The f*****g police are here.” It was a man’s voice. The suspect was talking to his ex-wife rather calmly.

“They will finally lock you up for good this time.” The woman answered rather calmly.

“Why! Why did you do this to me?” The suspect was distressed, he wasn’t in his right mind at all.

“Dear… you should have asked that question long ago. It’s too late now.” The woman answered in kind.

“YOU f*****g b***h!” The man screamed at his ex-wife.

The conversation was truly bizarre. Against all expectations, instead of the man completely scaring his wife and holding her against her will. It seemed like the wife was the one that was in control.

“I can’t even go outside now… they’ll arrest me because of you!” He yelled, he seemed to be on the verge of breaking down. Listening to the outside commotion, he felt with every fiber of his being it was all over.

“You’ll just have to wait for the Negotiator to come and end you.” The woman said with a smile on her face.

“The who?” The man wasn’t sure what his ex-wife was talking about.

“Deals with criminals in hostage situations like these. Maybe you won’t see the light of say.” The woman continued to speak such awfully grim words to her ex-husband. As if in attempt to further drive him mad.

“No… no…” The man wasn’t taking any of this too well. His mind was already blank because of the sheer stress he was receiving. He knew that if he had to put his word against his wife’s, it would end in her favor. He felt so helpless knowing that even though he’s the victim here, in the end he will be blamed for a crime he didn’t commit.

The Negotiator standing outside and listening to this short exchange between the two people helped her to develop a better grasp of the situation at hand. She smiled and freely entered the room without a care.

“Hello.” Bella said calmly and both the man and woman that were standing there were stunned for a moment.

Until the woman realized the situation and yelled “Help me please! You must be a police woman right?!” Saying it in a pained voice and pretending to cry.

“She’s lying!” The man yelled but he was distressed, couldn’t articulate his words properly. It all sounded like he was the abuser in the situation.

“I know that… No need to pretend anymore ma’am.” The negotiator said looking delighted to be there.

“What are you saying? Please help me! Ask for back up!” The woman continued to stand her ground while the man was left with nothing else to say. He thought it was time to just give up and accept his fate no matter what that might be.

“I told you to shut it.” The negotiator was becoming steadily annoyed by such a pathetic scene unfolding before her.

“What?” The woman was shocked at such a sudden change in attitude. “But you are a policewoman! You should help me!” She continued.

“Do I look like a policewoman, you imbecile?” The negotiator asked with clear contempt in her voice.

“You- you’re not?!” The woman didn’t know what to do. Now thinking back on it she imagined how everything she had just said could have been overheard by others.

“Yes I am not.” Bella said calmly finally thinking she’s gotten through to the woman.

“Then who the Hell are you?!” The woman was becoming nervous by the thought of being found out so easily.

“I’m surprised you don’t know about me… I’m a bit offended even.” Bella said in a sweet tone.

“Who?!” The woman on the other hand was under immense pressure. Thinking about how easily her plan will crumble down with just one wrong word from her was stressing.

“You just threatened your husband by using my good name, yet you don’t even know that much about me?” Bella asked looking disappointed at the woman. It looked like she was playing mind games with her. Leaning at the wall and crossing her hands she stood there in silence awaiting a response.

“You’re the serial negotiator?!” The woman finally realized who she was and exclaimed in utter surprise. She wasn’t expecting to see such a young woman with such a childish aura surrounding her.

“How fast you catch on! I should probably reward you for that.” Bella said in a playful tone while uncrossing her arms and moving closer to the woman in question.

Meanwhile the man was no longer listening to the conversation and took no part in it. He was already completely lost in thoughts being arrested and sentenced for no reason. Having his entire life completely ruined in the blink of an eye. He couldn’t bring himself to speak a single word.

The two women continued their conversation on their own time. Neither was in a particular hurry but it was getting heated up with each word either of them said.

“You kill criminals right? My ex-husband here was holding me hostage and threatened me!” The woman said in hopes of still being able to fool someone.

“Me? Kill? Now when have I ever done that?” The negotiator simply asked while taking another step closer to the distressed woman.

“You do! I’ve heard about you from Luke! I know you do!” The woman said in her defense. She didn’t know enough about the negotiator to be completely sure. However she had heard several rumors concerning such a person.

“You’ve misunderstood massively…” The negotiator said taking yet another step closer to the woman.

As the distance between them had shrunk, the woman’s heart was beating faster. “What have I misunderstood?” She was no longer as confident in her plans as she was before.

“I don’t kill criminals… They kill themselves.” The negotiator said in an icy cold voice. The temperature in the room seemed to have dropped several degrees at that moment.

“T-then! My ex-husband! He’s a criminal and needs to be punished!” The woman was already having trouble with following the flow of the conversation. Her mind was constantly wandering off to ‘what if’ this or that happens.

“Oh really… that poor soul that can’t even speak?” Bella said in a mocking tone. Looking at the man that seemed ready to cry at any moment. It was laughable to call him a criminal.

“He’s pretending!” The woman tried to stand her ground but she already knew it was too late. Seeing the negotiator’s reaction made it far too clear there was no point in expecting any good development.

“I see, I see, you think I’m very dumb, is that it?” Bella didn’t seem to be happy having her intelligence questioned in such a ridiculous way.

“I…” The woman was uncertain if anything she had previously prepared as an argument would be enough. There was no telling how much the woman in front of her knew and how much she was willing to tell to other police officers.

“Don’t keep so quiet. We still have time to talk. The other policemen won’t be here anytime soon. I made sure of that.” The negotiator said looking interested in continuing this conversation.

“You…” The woman already knew she wouldn’t get away with lying so easily. “Listen… I have money, if you want I can give you as much as you desire.”

“That so? And what would you like in return ma’am?” The negotiator asked looking bored out of her mind.

“Imprison my husband or do to him like you’ve done onto so many criminals before.” The woman said gaining a bit of confidence thinking that her plan might still work albeit in a different way than expected to.

“Well, I’ve never really thought of myself as a good person in the first place.” Bella said looking at the man that was just staring blankly into nothingness. "Unfortunately you will have to walk out of here alive to be able to explain yourself..."