Robert Browne: Kiss Her Goodbye

S.A.R.A.

Gunderson was its founding father.

The group’s recent stockpiling activities had put them squarely on Donovan’s radar screen. Yet despite his insistence that they be taken seriously, both the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security considered a ragtag band of malcontents hardly worth their time. They were too busy scooping up olive-skinned bogeymen and carting them off to Guantanamo for a round of zap my privates.

Donovan knew different. With all the weaponry Gunderson had accumulated, the guy was capable of doing just about anything.

But a bank job?

A.J. was right. It didn’t make much sense. Unless, of course, Gunderson was vying for more attention. Something he seemed to crave.

“Home stretch,” A.J. said. “Twenty seconds to spare.”

Shooting through an intersection, they made yet another quick turn that had Donovan gripping the armrest. Why A.J. never took the straightforward route was beyond him. With a sigh of resignation, he dropped the crossword to the seat next to him. No way he’d finish it now.

Up ahead loomed the forty-story building that housed Northland First amp; Trust, the carnival already in motion. Patrol cars formed a barrier near the bank’s front doors. The street had been blocked off; a throng of rubberneckers had lined up behind long wooden sawhorses, anxiously awaiting the big showdown. News vans struggled to find a place to perch that was within camera range. A SWAT van sat at an angle several yards behind the patrol cars. Standard procedure meant a platoon of sharpshooters already occupied various sweet spots in neighboring buildings.

Gunderson or not, Donovan didn’t envy whoever was inside that bank.

Waxman and the local SWAT commander were waiting for them as they pulled up next to the van. Donovan swung his door open, climbed out. “Sing to me, Sidney.”

Waxman and Donovan had come up together through the ranks of the ATF, and Donovan had long considered him his best friend.

He was also a damn fine agent.

“It’s him, Jack. Gunderson, the missus, and two shooters in ski masks. Video feed was cut right after they made entry, so we’re flying blind.”

A.J. joined them as they crossed toward the barrier of patrol cars. “He make contact?”

Waxman shook his head. “Not a word.”

Donovan shifted his attention to the SWAT commander-a barrel-chested guy with a neatly trimmed mustache. “What about hostages?”

“We’re estimating as many as thirty. What’s this asshole’s story, anyway?”

“Just another pretty boy looking for attention,” A.J. said.

Donovan gestured toward the bank. “Any way out besides the front doors?”

“Not without a sledgehammer and a whole lot of elbow grease. We’ve shut down the elevators and sealed off the lobby. There’s a fire door in back, but it doesn’t connect directly to the bank. He’s boxed himself in.”

“Trust me,” Donovan said. “He went in, he’s figured a way out.” Gunderson always had an angle. The trick, of course, was figuring out what it was before he had a chance to use it.

They crouched low as they reached the patrol cars, taking position behind them. A.J. aimed a pair of field glasses at the front doors.

Like those in the windows, the blinds were drawn shut.

“Visibility stinks,” he said. “Shooters don’t have a prayer.”

Donovan pulled his cell phone from a pocket of his flak jacket. “Let’s see if he’s in a talkative mood.”

He punched in the number for dispatch and had the operator patch him through to the bank. He had never considered himself much of a negotiator. Found it difficult to buddy up to these scumballs. But if it meant getting the hostages out of there alive, it was worth a shot. Maybe he’d get lucky and Gunderson would tip his hand.

He thought about that a moment and almost laughed out loud.

What’s an eight-letter word for fat chance?

Kinlaw was pissed. Three years wearing the uniform, busting his ass on the streets, taking shit from civilians who considered him barely a step above Hitler’s Schutzstaffel, and here he was pulling duty at the rear of the crime scene. You’d think the dues he’d paid, he’d at least get a front-row seat.

But no. The supervising officer had decided Kinlaw and a handful of his fellow uniforms were best put to use at the back side of the bank building, just in case the suspects got clever.

The way Kinlaw saw it, they’d have to be friggin’ geniuses, considering there was only a single fire door and no ground-floor windows back here, and the building was made of solid concrete and steel. But who knows, maybe they’d launch hang gliders off the fortieth floor and make their getaway at three hundred feet above street level.

Uh-huh. Sure.

Just once in his life, Kinlaw wanted to be out where the action was. Maybe even get in a shot or two when the fireworks started. Assuming there’d be any fireworks.

Instead he’d have to stand here like an idiot for God knows how long, feeling like the designated driver while everyone else partied hardy. Sometimes he wanted to take this badge of his and…

Shit.

Some bozo in a van was trying to edge past the barrier at the top of the block. Big Channel Four news wagon that wasn’t even supposed to be back here. Kinlaw sighed and trudged up the street toward it. All his time on the force and he was nothing but a glorified Wait a minute-what’s this?

He nearly stopped short when he saw the driver, a hot-looking babe in a tight-fitting wife-beater tank top. Hard to tell through the windshield, but it looked like she wasn’t wearing a bra.

And what a set of rockets she had.

Kinlaw threw his hands up to stop her. “Excuse me, ma’am. You can’t be back here.”

The news van squeaked to a halt and Kinlaw approached the babe’s window, waiting for her to roll it down.

Damn, she was hot. Steaming, in fact. Short-cropped, blond hair, body of a goddess, cute little radio-com headset that made her look sexy as hell.

And those tits. Ouch.

She eyed him quizzically. “I’m sorry. What was that?”

“This is a restricted area,” Kinlaw said. “Pull to the side and cut your engine.”

“But I’ve got a story to-”

“Trust me, you’re not gonna find it back here.”

“But I’m late and everything’s blocked out front and my producer’ll kill me if I don’t get something on tape before the noon broadcast.” Her face flushed as she said it, a twinge of desperation in her voice.

Ahh, Kinlaw thought. A woman in distress.

He smiled. It was a smile he normally reserved for off-duty hours, the smile he took with him to the dance clubs and used as often as he could to charm his way into the sack.

He took a casual glance at her tits again, noting that her nipples were diamond hard. Then he said, “Tell you what. Pull to the side and cut your engine.”

“But-”

Kinlaw silenced her with a firm but patient wave of the hand, making sure to infuse his words with just the proper amount of charm. “I’ll make a call,” he continued, “and see if we can get you some kind of exclusive.”

Kinlaw knew there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell of that ever happening, but he could make the promise now and apologize later over dinner and drinks. And dessert, of course.

She looked at him. “Really?”

Kinlaw nodded and relief shone in her eyes.

“Thank you. Thank you so much.”

“My pleasure, ma’am. Protect and serve. That’s what I’m here for.” He extended a hand. “Name’s Randy, by the way.”

She shook the hand, holding it a split second longer than necessary. “Tina,” she said, her eyes telling him she was definitely interested.