Chapter 184

"What are we doing sitting here?" The Brit asked.

"I can not see anything else we can do. The cops have the place surrounded and they are isolating the shooter. I suppose when they feel the time is right they will go in." I said.

"I want to do down there. Surely the Sheriff will allow us to help," The Brit said.

"If you want to go down there, I will go with you, but they are going to ignore us. We are going to stand there in the cold with no coffee." I suggested.

"Yeah, we are just citizens to these people," he agreed. "Besides which the Sheriff just might shoot us. Anybody with a gun is going to be a target."

"That's true, however there might be something I could do," I suggested.

"Oh and what could you do that I couldn't," He asked.

"Well he might see some skinny ass teacher type as harmless. You know lower his guard a little," I suggested.

"Are you thinking a box opener?" The Brit asked.

"And the Derringer, just in case I got the chance to use it," I said.

"You know they won't let you go in there," The Brit said.

"Yes I do know that," I agreed. "I also know that I don't know anyone in there personally, except that dippy dance teacher."

"Well then lets go before they decide to go in without us." The Brit said.

"We can try, but I have no faith that we can find a way inside," I said,.

"Yeah, I agree. They will all be trying to do it right and we won't be considered the right way. Best I can figure from the our spy Marsha they can't decide what to do. There are about twenty kids in the room and he had a lot of fire power. He pretty much says, he will kill them all if anyone shows up.

"What does he want?" I asked.

"He knows he is not getting out," The Brit said,

"Ask him how he wants it to end. Promise to make it happen just like he wants and then make arrangements for me to carry something he wants in to him." I suggested to Marsha.

"You are assuming we are in contract with him. I am in the crowd being briefed, but I don't know if they are in contract with him." Marsha said.

"Fuck it, let's be a TV Station." I said. " Marsha, where is he in the building?"

She waited a second and came back to me. "He is barricaded in the cafeteria," she said.

"The Sheriff will have all the entrances and exits covered. Plus a full contingent of men in the halls cutting off the perpetrator." I said to the Brit.

"Then we aren't going in are we?" he said.

"It's like you said before, without their cooperation, we aren't going anywhere. Shit you have no idea how I hate to do this," I said.

I used the super secret number to call. "Agent Mission," the voice came over the phone.

"Mission this is Porter, you know what's going on in Southern Warren County consolidated school. I have a plan for you that might solve your problem."

"Are you at the school yet," she said.

"No, but I'm five miles out and moving that way," I said.

"Meet me in the parking lot," she said.

"You've got it," I replied and motioned The Brit toward the school. "You want to stay away from Agent Mission," I said to Brit. "She will want to pigeon hole you,"

When we arrived in the parking lot by the cafeteria it was filled with police type cars. Of course there were news crews as well. The standoff had been going on a few minutes so lines were being drawn in the flour of the cafeteria.

The Sheriff and the asst director of the State Bureau Of Investigation were strutting around trying to pose for pictures while at the same time looking for a scape goat. I met Mission in the parking lot and offered myself up as a scape goat.

"Sylvia, I am sure you can shut that guy down with no more loss of innocent life, but the people in charge are more worried about how it looks than ending it," Mission said when she walked up to me.

"In that case why did you bother to meet with me?" I asked.

"Do you have any ideas I can take credit for and pass on," she said smiling.

"Do you have a communications line into the space he occupies?" I asked.

"We do, but he isn't answering us," she said.

"They all want to be understood. Tell him you have a TV reporter who wants to talk to him. She will bring in a tape machine and let him tell his story. Explain to the Sheriff he might get something he can use. Don't bother telling him that if I get the chance he won't be coming out. I won't be in there to take him prisoner." I said.

"The Sheriff and the Bureau Chief won't go for that." Memory said.

"Then don't tell them," I suggested. I looked at her hard got very quiet and then said. "I can end this now."

Memory looked back at me and said, "I know." She walked away and left me standing in the parking lot. The Brit was standing beside me at least. It wasn't five minute later when we heard the gunfire. I looked at The Brit, then I kicked the tire on the Brit's SUV.

"Tell me something Sylvia?" he asked. "Is there some kind of universal perversion that requires the people in charge to be complete idiots?"