State of Affairs

by Marie Force

  “Ezra, are you there?”

  “I’m here. How do I know you aren’t going to fuck me over?”

  “Because I gave you my word. Are you willing to give me yours? Will you release Gigi’s family?”

  “I… Okay.”

  Sam released the deep breath she’d been holding and turned to Dorsey. “Can you conference someone in on your phone?”

  He took the phone from her. “What’s the number?”

  Sam found Dani’s number in her contacts and recited it. “Don’t put it through yet.” She took back the phone from Dorsey. “Ezra, we’re ready to get Gigi on this call. All you have to do to talk to her is let them go. Just send them out. She’s waiting to talk to you.”

  “She really is? You’re not just saying that?”

  “I swear on the lives of my husband and children that she’ll talk to you after you release her family members. I can’t think of any other guarantee I can give you that would mean more to me than that.”

  After a long moment of silence, a flurry of activity in the doorway preceded two women and two young boys emerging from the house.

  “Hold your fire,” Sam called to the line of officers who had guns trained on the house.

  Fairfax County police officers rushed forward to meet them, guiding them toward the driveway and away from the activity on the lawn.

  “Put through the conference call,” she said to Dorsey.

  When he hesitated, she gave him a withering look. “Do it!”

  He made the call to Dani’s phone.

  She answered on the first ring.

  “Ezra,” Sam said, “Gigi is on the line.”

  “Ezra,” Gigi said, her voice soft.

  “Gigi,” he said, “I’m so sorry I hurt you.” He was almost inaudible over the sound of his sobs. “I love you so much. I never meant for any of this to happen.”

  “You need to get some help.”

  “I need you.”

  “I can’t do this anymore, Ezra.”

  “No, don’t say that. You don’t mean that.”

  Captain Bruce, back from checking on the former hostages, leaned across Dorsey to speak to Sam. “How long is this going to go on?”

  Sam held up a finger to hopefully shut him up. Gigi knew what needed to be done, and Sam wanted to give her the chance to talk him out before SWAT went in after him.

  “Ezra, I want you to do something for me,” Gigi said.

  “Anything. I’ll do anything for you.”

  “I want you to surrender to the police and let them help you. Will you do that for me?”

  “I can’t do that. They’ll lock me up, and I’ll never see you again.”

  “You’ll see me again, but only if you do the right thing. Put down your weapon, raise your hands over your head and walk out of there. No one will hurt you if you do the right thing. Will you do that for me, Ezra? Please?”

  “I’ll really see you again if I do that?”

  “You will. I promise.”

  “Gigi…”

  “It’ll be okay. You just have to do what I said.”

  Gigi’s voice had become softer as she got tired. Sam hoped Ezra would surrender sooner rather than later.

  “I have to go now,” Gigi said. “The doctor is here, and he wants to talk to me.”

  “Gigi, don’t go.”

  “I have to, and you do too. You need to surrender, Ezra. Please do that for me.”

  “Gigi…” Ezra broke down into sobs that Gigi didn’t hear because she’d ended the call. She’d done what she could.

  “Ezra,” Sam said. “You got to talk to Gigi like you wanted. Now you need to leave your weapon in the house and come out with your hands above your head, like Gigi said. No one wants to hurt you. Come out, and we’ll make sure you get the help you need.”

  “You’ll throw me in jail.”

  “We’ll get you help and figure out what you need.”

  “I don’t believe you. You’re Gigi’s friend.”

  “I’ve kept my word to you so far. Why would I start lying to you now?” Her cell phone was ringing relentlessly, but Sam ignored it to stay focused on Ezra and bringing this unfortunate incident to a successful conclusion. Success in this case meant no one got hurt. “Ezra, are you there?”

  “I’m here.”

  “Come on out, and let’s figure this out together.”

  “You’re the new first lady. What do you care about me?”

  “I’m still a lieutenant with the Metro PD, and I will be until I retire. I care about you and about Gigi. You’ve been important to her for a long time, so that means you’re important to me too.”

  A sob came through the line. “I love her so much.”

  “I know, Ezra. She knows that too. She knows this isn’t you and that what happened to her isn’t you.”

  “It’s not me. I’d never hurt her. I’d die before I hurt her.”

  “She doesn’t want you to die, Ezra. That wouldn’t help her.”

  “I want to die because I hurt her.”

  Captain Bruce leaned in to whisper to Sam, “You’ve got thirty seconds. I’m sending my people in whether you’re done chatting or not.”

  She again held up her hand to hold him off. “Ezra, are you coming out?”

  Bruce scowled at her.

  Sam didn’t care if he was pissed. She cared about getting Ezra out of there safely so Gigi wouldn’t have to live with his death on her conscience for the rest of her life. None of this was her fault, but she knew Gigi, and despite what Ezra had done, Sam was certain her detective would never get over it if this incident ended with his death.

  They waited another ten minutes in tense silence.

  Sam knew Bruce and his team wouldn’t wait forever for Ezra to come out on his own. She was about to ask him again if he’d come out when the front door opened, and he appeared with his hands raised above his head. “Hold your fire,” she said, in case anyone decided to get trigger happy.

  Sam stepped around the barrier the police had erected.

  “Lieutenant!” Bruce said. “Come back.”

  Since he wasn’t her commander, she ignored him and walked toward the sidewalk, wanting Ezra to see her there waiting for him. Maybe if she was in the middle of things, none of the other cops would be tempted to shoot. She kept her hands in front of her so he could see she wasn’t pointing a weapon at him. As she got closer to the house, his gaze locked in on her.

  He took a step out of the house.

  “I’m here, Ezra. It’s okay to come out. Just keep your hands where we can see them.”

  He was crying uncontrollably as he came toward her. Right away, Sam could see he was an exceptionally handsome young man with dark hair and eyes, a chiseled jaw and muscular build.

  Sam held out a hand to him, and when he was close enough, he took hold of her hand.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, shaking with sobs. “I’m so sorry.”

  “I know, Ezra.” She signaled to Captain Bruce. “The captain is going to cuff you and take you into custody. I’m going to keep in touch and make sure you’re given a full mental health evaluation and that you have legal representation. All right?”

  He nodded.

  Bruce and Dorsey approached them. Dorsey recited the Miranda rights and cuffed Ezra.

  “It’s going to be okay, Ezra,” Sam said. “Do you have an attorney I can call for you?”

  Shaking his head, he said, “No.”

  “I’ve got someone I can call. His name is Devon Sinclair. Wait for him to get there before you talk to anyone. I’ll check on you tomorrow.”

  “Thank you. I… Please tell Gigi… Tell her I love her, and I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

  “I’ll tell her.”

  A uniformed officer led him toward a patrol car.

  “That was well done, Lieutenant,” Bruce said, sounding somewhat begrudging.

  “You’ll make sure he gets the consult, right? By all accounts, his recent behavior is wildly out of chara
cter.”

  “I’ll take care of it.”

  Sam extended her hand. “Thank you.”

  He shook her hand. “You’re really going to keep the job?”

  “That’s the plan.”

  “Well, I wish you luck with that.”

  “Do you really?”

  He laughed. “Yes, I do. I have four daughters. It’d be nice for them to see you hold on to your career while serving as first lady too.”

  “In that case, thank you for the good wishes.”

  “I was sorry to hear about your dad’s passing. I knew him years ago when we were both in Patrol. And I was also sorry to hear where the investigation led.”

  “Thank you, Captain. I’m going to go call my detective and let her know we were able to resolve this peacefully.”

  “Here’s my card if you need anything.”

  Sam took it from him. “Thanks.” As she walked away, she placed a call to Dani.

  “What’s happening?” Dani asked, sounding stressed.

  “He’s surrendered to Fairfax County police. The captain in charge promised a full psych eval.”

  “I guess that’s good news.”

  “Best possible outcome, all things considered. How’s Gigi?”

  “Better since she could talk to her mom and sister.”

  “Let her know Ezra said how sorry he is that all of this happened and he loves her very much. It was important to him that I tell her that, so I’m keeping my promise.”

  “I’ll let her know.”

  “You should go home and get some rest, Dani.”

  “That’s the plan. Green is coming back in an hour and planning to stay with her.”

  “What’s up there?”

  “I’m not really sure, to be honest. He’s been here all day and seems… How shall I say it? Devoted.”

  “I picked up on that vibe earlier. Doesn’t he have a girlfriend?”

  “Far as I know.”

  “Very interesting.”

  “Indeed.”

  “I know I speak for Gigi when I tell you how much we appreciate you being personally involved in this.”

  “Of course I am. She’s one of mine, and so are you.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I’ll be by to see Gigi tomorrow.”

  “See you then.”

  Sam ended that call and checked her phone to see she had ten missed calls from an unavailable number. Crap. She took a minute to check on Gigi’s mother, sister and nephews, who were being checked out by EMS.

  “Thank you so much, Lieutenant,” Mrs. Dominguez said, her face awash in tears. “My Gigi… She speaks so highly of you.”

  “I’m so glad you and your family are safe.”

  Chapter Twelve

  The minute she was able to, Sam called Nick. It rang a bunch of times before his voice mail picked up. She ended that call and tried Terry.

  He answered on the third ring. “Sam, er, Mrs. Cappuano.”

  “Sam is fine. Is Nick there?”

  “Hang on.”

  “Samantha.”

  “I tried to call your phone, but it went to voice mail.”

  “Because I’m not allowed to use that phone anymore. It’s not secure.”

  “Oh. Sorry.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “I got called into a situation with Gigi’s ex in Fairfax. He took her mother, sister and nephews hostage. I didn’t have time to wait for a detail. Thankfully, I was able to talk him out with no one getting hurt.”

  When he had nothing to say to that, Sam realized he was seriously pissed, which had a twinge of anxiety zinging through her. She hated when he was upset with her, but she wasn’t about to apologize for doing her job and saving lives in the process.

  “How are things there?” she asked.

  “Tense. I’m waiting for a call from the Iranian president, and we’re hearing that someone from the party posted a photo of me there with the kids. From what I hear, Twitter is on fire about me having time for birthday parties when the secretary of State is being held hostage by the Iranians, with the hashtag illegitimatePOTUS trending.”

  She leaned against her car and expelled a deep breath. “Shit. I’m sorry. One of those fucking idiot parents must’ve posted it.”

  “And took great pleasure in doing it.”

  “I knew we should’ve confiscated their phones, but everyone said they’d want pictures of their kids, so I was overruled.”

  “Next time, we will, or they don’t get in.”

  “I’m sorry that happened and that you were worried about me.”

  “We need to talk.”

  Her stomach began to ache at the way he said that. “Okay…”

  “I have to go. They’ve got the Iranian president on the line.”

  “When will I see you?”

  “No idea. I’ll call you when I can.”

  The line went dead before she could reply. Again, he hadn’t said goodbye or told her he loved her or asked her to be careful. “Shit, fuck, damn, hell.”

  Gonzo approached her. “That was exceptionally well done, Sam.”

  “Thanks, but apparently, I’m in big trouble for leaving without a detail.” Knowing Nick was pissed with her ruined the high that came from successfully resolving the hostage situation. “Go on home to your wife and do the paperwork tomorrow.”

  He flashed her a dirty grin. “Don’t mind if I do.”

  Sam got back in her car and took a call from Captain Malone on Bluetooth.

  “What’s going on in Fairfax?”

  Sam updated him on the resolution of the situation with Ezra Smith.

  “Well, that’s a relief. Your husband is looking for you.”

  “I got that memo. I just talked to him.”

  “He’s very upset that you left home without a detail.”

  “I didn’t have time for them to figure that out when I had Gigi’s ex holding her family hostage. This is exactly why I can’t be expected to have a detail when I’m working. Who has the time for it?”

  “He told me there’s a meeting to discuss your work situation on Tuesday. I heard something else that’ll interest you.”

  “What’s that?”

  “The mayor called the chief to request a meeting with you.”

  “What? With me? What the hell does she want?”

  “She wouldn’t say. Just asked him to make you available to her in the next couple of days.”

  “Like I don’t have enough going on.”

  “She said she understands you’re very busy, but she’d like to see you nonetheless, and since you technically work for the woman, I’d see to that sooner rather than later. I emailed you the info about who you need to call to set it up.”

  “I’ll get right on that,” Sam said, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

  “See that you do. The chief wants her taken care of so she’s not up in his grill.”

  “I hear you. I’ll do it, even if I don’t want to.”

  “Such is life, Lieutenant. Full of things we don’t want to do but have to do.”

  “You’re actually telling me that after what’s just happened to me?”

  His ringing laughter pissed her off even more than she already was. Why in the hell was the mayor asking for a meeting with her? “The mayor isn’t going to ask for my badge, is she? Because she’ll have to fight me for it.”

  “I don’t think that’s it. She was vague with the chief, but she didn’t say anything about asking for your badge or you no longer working for the District.”

  “She’d better not say anything like that.” The very thought of it was enough to make Sam sick. “I’m coming in on Monday, and I’m reopening Calvin Worthington’s case. I have a Secret Service meeting at La Casa Blanca on Tuesday and the funeral for Nelson on Thursday. Other than that, I’ll be at work. I’ll take annual leave for the funeral and the meeting and anything else that comes up respective to the new situation.”

  “Do what you need to do, Lieutenant. I’m
fairly confident we owe you thousands of hours in overtime that you’ll never get paid for.”

  “Tens of thousands.”

  “We’re going to need to work out some sort of formal arrangement that allows you to successfully juggle your various duties in a way that works for everyone.”

  “Ugh. That is my word of the day. I’ve said it a hundred times today.”

  “One hell of a holiday weekend, huh?”

  “You said it, Captain.”

  “Make sure you file a report on what went down in Fairfax.”

  “I’ll get right on that too.” She hated doing reports almost as much as she hated being the subject of meetings at City Hall and the White House. “Talk to you Monday, if not before.”

  “I’ll look forward to that.”

  Sam laughed as she slapped the phone closed. Would they require her to have a different phone too? Crap, she hoped not. Her phone rang again with a call from her partner. “What’s up?”

  “That’s what I was going to ask you. Everyone is looking for you.”

  “So I heard. I just helped to defuse a hostage situation in Fairfax. Gigi’s ex took her mother, sister and nephews hostage. He asked for me, so I went. I guess that’s now a federal offense.”

  “I think it’s more that you went without a detail.”

  “I didn’t want to wait for them! People’s lives were at stake, lives that matter a great deal to one of my detectives. Would you want me to dick around if your family was being held?”

  “No, I wouldn’t.”

  “There you have it. I did my job, and now everyone’s in my face about it.”

  “Including your husband?”

  “Beginning with him.”

  “What’d he say?”

  “That we need to talk. Nothing good ever comes from an appointment to talk.”

  “I think you guys will figure this out. It might take some time, but you’ll get there. Concessions will need to be made on both sides. You’re going to have to compromise, Sam.”

  “I’m willing to compromise, but how far will I have to go?”

  “You’re going to have to let them protect you.”

  “I don’t care about that, but I’m not going to wait around for them when there’re lives at stake. That’s my line in the sand.”