He muted the phone and got on the radio. “Chief, Ravak has positioned his daughter in front of him. Hold.”
Now, to Ravak, “Let me come in and talk to you face to face.” Dawson kept his voice low. “Just me. No weapons. We can work this out.”
“Dawson, negative.” Chief Blackburn’s voice cut through the radio. “Do not approach the residence.”
But Ravak was already responding. “You think I’m stupid, Detective? You think I don’t know about your SWAT team setting up behind the trees? About the snipers finding their angles?”
A gunshot split the morning air. Dawson dropped behind the cruiser as the bullets sparked off the hood.
“Next one won’t be a warning,” Ravak called.
Dawson’s radio exploded with chatter. “Shots fired, shots fired. All units maintain cover.”
“SWAT, what’s your ETA?” Chief Blackburn’s voice was tight.
“Ten minutes to full deployment.”
Ten minutes.
Dawson pressed his back against the cruiser. Closed his eyes. Ten minutes for Ravak to work himself into whatever lather meant a grand finale.
And his daughter caught in the middle.
Ten minutes too long.
“Detective.” Ravak’s voice carried clearly across the frozen yard. “You know what I’m thinking right now?”
“Tell me.”
“I’m thinking about all the years I’ve spent building my empire. All the merchandise I’ve moved, all the business I’ve conducted. And how you people want to destroy all of it because you don’t understand how the world really works.”
Dawson’s stomach turned. Time. He needed to buy time. “How does it really work, Ravak?”
Merchandise. The man was talking about human beings like they were cargo. “The world works fine without people like you exploiting it.”
“People like me make the world work. We provide services. We fulfill needs. We understand that everything has a price, including loyalty.”
“Does that price include your daughter?”
Silence.
“Let her go, Ravak. Keep her out of this.”
The pause stretched long enough that Dawson could hear his own heartbeat. Then, “She’s mine. And what’s mine stays with me. Forever.”
Oh, and right then, a stone fell through him, landed. Something…wait…
The radio in Dawson’s ear crackled. “SWAT is five minutes out.”
Five minutes.
Dawson lifted his binoculars. Studied the house again. The front window was empty now. No shadows. No movement. Ravak had moved deeper into the residence, taking his daughter with him.
Away from the windows. Away from potential sniper angles. Into whatever room he’d chosen for his final stand.
“Chief.” Dawson kept his voice low. “We need to go now. He’s positioning for something, and it’s not surrender.”
“SWAT will handle entry. Stay put, keep him talking.”
