Easy Prey

"I think we got a problem," the negotiator said to Rose Marie.

Del, standing next to Lucas, said, "More than one. Look at this."

Jael Corbeau, trailed by three unhappy cops, was marching down the street toward them. A cop at the perimeter moved to stop her, but she pointed at Lucas, and Lucas said, "Aw, jeez," and waved her through.

"That's him?" she asked. She was dressed in black from head to foot: a black woolen coat, black slacks, black boots, and small black pearls at her ears. She was luminous.

"That's him. He's a guy from Burnt River named"

"Scott. Yeah, the guys told me. Martin Scott. So how're you go

The negotiator said, "Listen, he's go

"I don't think he's suicidal," Lucas said. "He's just nuts. He tried to cover his tracks on a couple of these things I don't think he wanted to be caught."

"Yeah, well, maybe. On the other hand, he may pop that woman," the negotiator said.

Rose Marie said, "What do we do?"

"Figure out some way to start him toward the airport? Maybe snipe him?" Lucas suggested.

She looked at Lester. "Where's that Iowa kid?" The Iowa kid was the department sniper.

"He's on his way."

"So let's set him up. If he gets a clear shot" She looked at the negotiator. "We need some more time. Ask him how he wants to get to the airport, what will keep him safe."

"Aw, man," Lucas said.

"What?"

"I don't know. Look at this bullshit." He waved at the TV trucks; there were eight or nine of them. Four helicopters orbited overhead.

"Well, that's what it is," Rose Marie said. She looked at the negotiator. "Ask him how he wants to do it."

As the negotiator was talking, the mayor arrived. He looked at the gas station, then at Lucas. "How're you go

An armored car.

"Aw, man," Lucas said.

"Will you shut up?" Rose Marie said.

"Can I talk to that guy? For just a minute?"

The negotiator looked at Lucas and said, "We have established an element of trust between us."

"Oh, bullshit, he sounds like he's making the moves before we are," Lucas said. "You trust him, he doesn't trust you. Let me talk to him."

Rose Marie looked at the mayor, who shrugged. "I'm no expert," he said.

"Go ahead," said Rose Marie.

Lucas took the phone. "This is Lucas Davenport. I'm the guy who chased you with the Porsche, and I want you to know you messed up a perfectly good paint job."

"Tough shit. What do you want?"

"I want to come up to the gas station door and talk to you, away from this crowd. You're up there in a bulletproof booth, I can't hurt you, you can't hurt me, and you got the hostages. I just want to talk to you away from this crowd."

"About what?"

"About TV."

"What?"

"About all this TV. Give me two minutes. I won't come inside, I'll just stick my head in the door."

After a moment: "If this is a trick, I'll kill this lady."

"This is no trick. I'm just tired of all the bullshit," Lucas said.

He walked up to the station with his hands open, held at armpit level, stopped at the door, pushed it slowly open, then leaned inside.

"How are ya?"

"What, you're doing a Henry Fonda impression?"

"No. I just don't want anybody to get killed. Especially me."

"What do you want?"

"To work a couple of things out with you. First of all, you don't want to go to Cuba. You know what they do to you in Cuba? They put you in prison. Forever. The last guy who hijacked a plane down there hasn't been seen since 1972. They might be Commies, but they don't like criminals. They'll stick you into a wet drippy dungeon with a bunch of rats, and you'll wind up looking like the Count of Monte Cristo. Stillwater prison is a goddamned garden spot next to anything you'll get in Cuba."

"Maybe I'll take that chance," Scott said. Being the hard man, Lucas thought. Lucas could see him clearly through the glass: a thatch of straw-colored hair, a heavy, ruddy face, plastic-framed glasses, and the Coke coveralls.

"Look, you see all those cameras out there? What if I walk one of those cameras up here and let you make a statement to the world about what you were doing for Alie'e. Then we cut out all this Cuba bullshit and killing i

"What cha

Lucas thought, Gotcha, and said, "Any cha

"No, no. None of that Fox bullshit. Cha

"Yup."

"Lets talk to somebody from Cha

Lucas walked back to the line.

"What's going on?" Rose Marie asked.

"We're talking," Lucas said. "I gotta go get some movie people."

He felt like he was plodding through knee-deep mud. He spotted Ginger House from Cha

She trotted across the police line with the cameraman in tow, and other reporters began screaming in the background. Lucas said, "You will now owe me more than you can ever possibly repay."

"What?" She was a nice-looking redhead with freckles on her narrow nose.

"We're go

"Is it dangerous?" she asked. She sounded reluctant.

"No, I don't think"

"You know what's dangerous, Ginger?" the cameraman asked. "What's dangerous is, if you turn this down, I swear to God I'll go back to the truck, get out my gun, and shoot you in the forehead. Every goddamn person in the world is go

"Or I'll be dead," she said.

"Hell, you're a second-string reporter in Mi

She thought about it for a second, then said, "Okay." As they walked up to the gas station, she said to Lucas, "I don't have to blow you or anything for doing this?"

"Well, yeah, thatis part of the deal," Lucas said.

"Maybe I'll just describe what I would have done, and you can handle it yourself," she said, trying for a sweet smile; but she was shaking. "What do I say to him?"

"Fall back on your clichйs," Lucas said.

Lucas pushed the door open, said, "This is Ginger House, from Cha

"Better not be a trick," Scott said. "We got a TV, and it's tuned to Cha

"I'm too nervous for any tricks," Ginger said, and her voice carried conviction. She stepped through the door, and then turned to face the camera, with Scott looming behind her through the bulletproof glass. The cameraman refocused on her; he whispered, "You're live."

Ginger said, "This is Ginger House. We're standing in an Amoco station off I-35W in Mi