InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Closing the Case ❯ Chapter 12 ( Chapter 12 )

Closing the Case

Chapter 12

"And we're live in three, two…" The camera man counted down with him fingers, counting the final 'One. Action!' by just mouthing them.

"This is Kouga Prince, live from the Eye in the Sky over Future Pride Preparatory Elementary School, where a man is having a stand off with police. We have confirmed that the man is holding a young girl, presumably a student at the school, hostage at knife point. The police have blocked off the area and barricaded all the side streets. I have also heard reports that the S.W.A.T. team is on its way. More on this story as it unfolds. Back to you, Walter."

"And we're out." The camera man cut the take and lowered his camera. "Good job, Kouga."

"Yeah," The reporter answered distractedly. He turned in his seat and looked out the open helicopter door. The Pack News helicopter was circling the scene below. Red and blue lights spun on a dozen patrol cars. Some were parked in the street, others were parked in the grass, and a few were positioned to keep a white van from escaping. The police had formed a loose circle around the man, but left enough space so he would not feel crowded. From his bird's eye view, Kouga could see more patrol cars blocking off the streets farther down and children being herded into busses on the other side of the school, lest a gun battle break out. "Get a shot of this."

&&&

Inuyasha swore darkly under his breath. This was not good. Rin hung from the man's arms like a rag doll as he yelled at them and swung the knife around wildly. Miroku had called everything in, even S.W.A.T., a police helicopter and at least three News helicopters circled over head, but the worst part by far was the fact that the man seemed unwilling to negotiate, even with Miroku doing the talking.

"Sir, we would be happy to meet your demand, but first we need you to show us the girl is in no danger. If you could just put the knife on the ground,  we can talk about something we can do for you." Miroku spoke smoothly into the megaphone.

"Go fuck yourselves!" The man yelled back. Miroku frowned and looked over at Inuyasha.

"This isn't working. What do you want to do next?" Miroku's eyes shifted over his partner's shoulder, "On second thought, I'll go check on the S.W.A.T. You can stay and avoid the blood spray." Lifting an eyebrow, Inuyasha turned around. His brother was just stepping out of his car, glaring submission into anyone who got in his way. Inuyasha grimaced.

Sesshoumaru was Inuyasha's senior by five year, but his fine-featured face made the distance seem much less. He had a long, unhurried gait and, unlike many lawyers, he kept his hair extraordinarily long, longer than Inuyasha's. His expression was, at best, described as static; he rarely smiled or frowned, making it very hard for anyone to know what he was thinking. What many people did not know was that a frightful temper was held behind his stagnate mask. All this made him a terrible opponent both in and out of the courtroom.

"Inuyasha, you will tell this Sesshoumaru what is going on. Now."

"What the fuck does it look like? I'm trying to save my niece's life."

"By sitting on your ass?"

"Would you like me to shoot wildly and risk Rin's life?" he snapped back. "Look Sesshoumaru, just sit down and let me do my job. I don't strut around the courthouse ordering you around," Inuyasha huffed and turned back to the scene. Nothing had changed.

"Tell him I'll pay whatever amount of money he wants. A ticket to anywhere he wants. Whatever it takes." Inuyasha looked over his shoulder at his brother, sighed, and picked up the mega phone. He doubted it would do any good but anything was worth a shot and it would get his brother off his back.

"Sir, I'm standing here with the girl's father. He's prepared to offer you any amount of money you want, a ticket to any place you'd like, and meet any other demands you have. All he wants is the safe return of his little girl."

"You can tell that hack lawyer to take his blood money and shove it up his ass. No amount of money can replace what I lost! How does it feel, you bastards? To watch something so innocent and so precious being ripped away from you while no one raises a hand to stop it." He pressed the knife more firmly to the girl's throat, and Rin squeaked. Inuyasha sighed and put the megaphone down.

"We'll let him cool off. Don't worry Sessh, S.W.A.T. is suiting up now."

"Inuyasha!" Shippou ran up to them, a file held tight in his hand. "You need to see this." Inuyasha took the file and flipped it open. It was the one they had been looking at earlier at the house.

"What about it?"

"Look here." Shippou pointed to Kagura's report on Kikyou's fiancé, "He blamed the loss of his fiancée on everyone involved. By the end of the session he was swearing revenge."

"A lot of people do that. What makes him so special?" Sesshoumaru asked coldly, though his eyes never left the man with the knife.

"Here's his picture." Shippou held up a picture of the same man who was holding Rin hostage. Only in the picture his hair was well kept, his suit was clean and perfectly tailored, and his arms were wrapped around the waist of a beautiful, happy young woman in an expensive dress. They looked the picture of the perfect couple, without a care in the world. "This is him and Kikyou a few days before she disappeared."

"So what he wants is to hurt us the same way he believes we hurt him," Miroku concluded as he walked up with the S.W.A.T. team captain, Bankotsu.

"Detective." Bankotsu saluted, "What is the situation?" Miroku looked at Inuyasha and something unspoken passed between them.

"Small girl is being held hostage, so use snipers. We don't want to push this guy anymore then we have to, he's not very stable. Let's try to bring him in alive. But if he puts the girl in emanate danger, take the shot."

"Yes, sir."  Bankotsu saluted again and returned to his seven man team.

"Now what?" Sesshoumaru pressed.

"We wait."

&&&

"This is Kouga Prince with the Eye in the Sky for Pack News. We are now an hour and a half into the stand off at Future Pride Elementary School. It seems the city's finest have made little progress with the armed man, who is still holding the girl hostage. It has come to this reporter's attention that the hostage is actually Rin West," A small picture of Rin appeared near Kouga's head. Kagome's heart seized and she clutched Kirara a little tighter. "The daughter of Sesshoumaru West and his late wife, Katherine, and niece to Detective Inuyasha West. It is still unclear what this man wants from the police and negotiations seem to be staled. The S.W.A.T. team has arrived, but they have not yet moved in on the man. Perhaps our police are, for once, erring on the side of caution. Back to you, Walter."

"Miss Kagome, what's going to happen to that little girl?" Kirara looked up at her with wide eyes.

"It's okay, Kirara. Inuyasha, Miroku, and your dad will make sure she will be ok. I promise." I hope. She added to herself, Oh Inuyasha, be safe.

&&&

Bankotsu left the detectives to… whatever it was detectives did in these situations. He really did not know or care, his job was to do by force what they could not do through negotiations. Banishing the detectives from his mind, he focused on the task at hand; how to safely rescue the little girl.

Bankotsu surveyed his team as they finished gearing up outside the S.W.A.T. truck. They had named their truck Ginkotsu. It was practically a tank. Inside they kept rifles, hand guns, and ammunition for all calibers. There was also Kevlar vests, helmets, and riot shields - in case they were ever needed.

The first one to spot his return was Jakotsu, a slip of a man with dark hair he kept in a messy knot. Jakotsu was not the kind of man one normally thought of when it came to a job like S.W.A.T. This was not to say his job performance was lacking in any way, it was just a bit odd to know he was also a gourmet chef and the groups fashion critic.

Standing next to Jakotsu was Kyoukotsu. Kyoukotsu was a giant among men - literally. At six foot seven and 370 lbs he looked more like a line backer than a cop - but when he put some one on the ground, they generally stayed there.

Sitting on the steps of the S.W.A.T. truck, his legs swinging below him as he gave their gas masks a final check was Mukotsu. Short, round, and bulbous-eyed he was a stark contrast to the other members of the team. To his credit, however, he was a chemical genius. His basement at home looked like a laboratory, and more then once had brought in some of his experiments to show off. However, his small stature more often then not resigned him to maintenance.

Renkotsu leaned against the side of the truck next to Mukotsu. He was tall, lean, and bald. He always kept his face and head clean shaven because he claimed the hair was a distraction and always got in his eyes when he worked. He often worked with Mukotsu in maintaining the guns. Currently he was giving all of their weapons a last check to make sure they were functioning properly.

Suikotsu, who was also an EMT, was sitting inside the truck checking their first aid kit. He had thick black hair that he kept in a neat ponytail and gentle blue eyes. They had often told him he had a split personality, because despite his generally kind disposition, he became very aggressive and passionate once he suited up - especially when children were involved.

"Alright men," Bankotsu began. All six men looked up from their tasks at the sound of his voice. "Here's the situation: A knife welding perp is holding a six year old girl hostage. Negotiations aren't working. I've been informed that this man has already killed several other children and injured two others. The boys are not willing to take any chances by having us rush him. I'm going up to the roof to set up a sniper shot. The rest of you need to spread out amongst the other uniforms and be ready to move in as soon as the man is neutralized. Is everyone clear?"

"Yes, Sir!" The group stood at attention and gave him a salute. Satisfied, Bankotsu retrieved his sniper rifle from the back of the truck. After reassurance from Renkotsu that it had been cleaned and sited recently, he shouldered it and went back the way he had come.

&&&

Rin whimpered in Naraku's arms as he continued to shout at her uncle. He had seemed like such a nice man, he even knew the code word that only she and daddy knew. Now he was talking about killing her if anyone came too close. All she wanted was to be in her daddy's arms, where it was safe and warm and nothing could hurt her.

"Stop crying! You have no reason to cry!" The man shouted down at her.

"I'm scared! I want my daddy! Why are you doing this?" She squirmed a little but the knife to her throat stopped her.

"Because your father and uncle are bad men. They have to be punished."

"No, Daddy and Uncle Inuyasha stop bad men! They put them where they can't hurt anyone ever again." She pleaded.

"Lies. They lied to you. They let good people die and bad people walk free! But don't worry, they won't lie to you for much longer." The knife in his hand twisted around and he raised it over his head. A loud bang rang through the air and Rin screamed.

&&&

Inuyasha and Miroku stood trying to decide their next move. Negotiating had gotten them nowhere and all attempts to get closer had only put Rin in more danger. Sesshoumaru looked terrible. He was sitting on the passenger's seat of a patrol car, turned sideways, with his feet on the ground. His elbows were resting on his knees and the signs of worry and fatigue were becoming apparent, at least to those who knew him.

"Shit!" Shippou's voice called out, and they all looked up. Naraku was raising the knife. Inuyasha and Miroku both went for their guns. Suddenly everything seemed to be moving in slow motion.

Atop the school, Bankotsu saw the target raise the knife into the air. The edge of his vision blurred, and he brought the sniper rifle into his shoulder and the scope to his eye. The man's head came into view in his cross hairs. He shifted his view to the left to bring the man's shoulder into his sights. As the man raised his hand, Bankotsu followed the upswing from shoulder to elbow and from elbow to hand. The knife gleamed menacingly in the sunlight as it paused at the height of its arc.

"That's it…" Bankotsu whispered to no one, "Just hold it right there…" He let out his breath and held it, not daring to breathe it least it throw off the shot. He squeezed the trigger. The shot echoed.

Naraku dropped Rin and clutched his injured hand involuntarily. The knife fell to the grass, the blade flashing threateningly in the sun. Rin scrambled away, trying to put as much space between the man and herself as fast a possible. Inuyasha, Miroku, Shippou, and the remaining six members of the S.W.A.T. team rushed forward with their guns raised. Shippou grabbed Rin and retreated as soon as she reached them. The rest stopped only a few feet from Naraku, all guns trained on him

"Put your hands behind your head and get on the ground!" Miroku ordered. Naraku ignored them, still clutching his hand and staggering around. "Get on the ground!" Miroku repeated. Naraku started laughing even as he stumbled and fell into the dirt. Inuyasha holstered his gun and pulled out his hand cuffs. Naraku continued to laugh as he held him down and secured his hands into the cuffs.

"You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to talk to a lawyer and have him or her present during your questioning. If you can not afford a lawyer, one will be appointed to represent you, if you wish. Do you understand each of these rights as I have explained them to you?"

"Fuck you!"

"I'll accept that as a yes," Inuyasha bit back, pulled Naraku up by his arms and began leading him towards the patrol cars. Naraku, however, decided it was time to fight. He twisted and thrashed in Inuyasha's grasp, and it took all both Inuyasha and Miroku had to force him into the back of the squad car.

The reporters and camera men, which had been held back by the police, swarmed in, all jockeying for a front row picture of the man now locked in custody. Inuyasha hit the hood to signal the two uniforms to take the guy away, and the car pulled off. Other teams were getting into their respective vehicles and leaving, now that the excitement was over.

Inuyasha turned to find his niece crying into her father's arms. Sesshoumaru cradled his daughter, rocking her gently. They were seated in the back of an ambulance while one of the paramedics checked Rin for injuries.

"Rin?" She turned to look at him with wide, blood-shot eyes. She raised her arms to him and he lifted her up, but a scowl still marred his face. "Rin, what have I told you about talking to strangers? What were you thinking?"

"But, Uncle Inuyasha, he knew the pass code."

"He did?" Inuyasha sat down next to his brother.

"Uh huh. He said that daddy wanted me." She rubbed her eyes with her tiny fists, "And when I asked him what the code was he said 'Demon Lord Fluffy', that's our code." Inuyasha looked up at his brother with a questioning eyebrow, but decided discretion was the better part of valor, for the moment.

"Alright Rin, from now on, don't go with anyone you don't know. Do you understand?" She nodded. Inuyasha handed her back to Sesshoumaru. "Sessh, you think you can get me a warrant for this guy's home?"

"I'll have it signed within the hour."

"Don't rush. I don't want any loopholes for this guy to slip through. Besides, I've only slept one out of the last 48 hours. I'm going home and I'm going to bed."