MAX SAW it first. Rapped the table to get our attention. A trailer running at the bottom of one of the soap operas. HOSTAGE SITUATION IN RIVERDALE SCHOOL… ARMED TERRORISTS SEIZE ST. IGNATIUS…POLICE AND FBI ON THE SCENE…STAY TUNED.
"No way," the Prof said.
But I knew.
The soap opera played on. At two-fifteen, they broke in for a live report. Guy in a trench coat, hand-held microphone, sound truck behind him.
"We have no details yet. Apparently, an armed team of terrorists has captured the school. The doors and exits are blocked. The terrorists arrived in a rental truck and entered the school disguised in some way. The police were alerted by a phone call from inside. There was machine-gun fire. If the camera will just pan over…you can see the truck on the edge of the school yard. This is as close as the police will allow us to go. We understand there has been a telephone hookup to the terrorists, and the Hostage Negotiation Team is in place."
The anchorman from "Live at Five" cut in. I guess they told him to report to work early. Wesley would have been pleased. And the anchorman asked the right question. "Tom, you say shots were fired. Were they fired by the terrorists?"
"We just don't know. The police have a tight ring around the school."
"Tell us something about the school."
"St. Ignatius is an exclusive private school here in Riverdale. One of the oldest prep schools in the area. Grades nine through twelve. Some of the most prominent families in the city send their children here."
I clicked on the radio. They had a crew at the scene too. The reporter said something about a media demand, whatever that meant.
Back to the TV. The field reporter was on camera. "It seems that the terrorists have herded the children into the gymnasium. One of them just broke a window. We can see somebody attaching a bullhorn of some kind. I think they're going to make their demands…"
A cop's voice. "You! Inside! What do you want? You can't get out!"
The bullhorn fired back. A measured, unexcited voice. A machine talking through a machine. "I want a helicopter to take us to the airport. I want a fucking 747 to take us to Cuba. You got that, pigs?"
"Crazy bastard thinks it's 1969," the Prof said.
"Let the kids go!" the cop shouted back. "Let the kids go and we'll get you the plane."
"Dumb-ass motherfucker forgot the ransom." The Prof shook his head sadly.
The camera held steady on the school. The field reporter read from a list of famous people whose kids were inside. Tomorrow's judges, politicians, mobsters. The seeds Wesley wanted to burn out of the ground.
"You! Inside!" The cop on the bullhorn again. "We've got the plane for you! Waiting at the airport! Let the hostages go and we'll send in some police officers to take their place! Unarmed!"
The monster's voice cracked back. "Bring more cops! You need more cops! Lots of cops!"
"Oh shit!" the Prof muttered, no questions left.
Camera panned to the SWAT team. Riflemen with scopes. Cops in riot gear- helmets with faceplates, flak jackets, pump shotguns. A cauldron coming to a boil.
The announcer's professional voice came through, just the trace of a tremble inside.
"There's a man on the roof! Get the camera on him."
A man standing there in jungle fatigues, field cap hiding his eyes, gloves on his hands.
The rented truck exploded. A greenish cloud filled the screen. Bursts of machine-gun fire ripped. Screams and shouts from everywhere. The announcer held his ground.
"The unknown man on the roof has apparently detonated the explosion in the terrorists' truck here on the ground…the crowd is taking cover. A squad of policemen has gone around to the back of the school to try and gain access to the roof. The darkness you see on your screen isn't your picture…apparently some type of gas has been released from the truck…we're about five hundred yards from the scene…the gas is lifting…we don't know how many terrorists are left inside."
The camera focused on the lone madman.
"The man on the roof is lighting something. It looks like a torch. He's holding it high above his head…he…oh my God…he looks like some bizarre Statue of Liberty…he's…"
The dynamite exploded in Wesley's hand and the screen went blank.