The First Negotiation I

Astrid Wang

T + 2 minutes

HQ of DCPD

Astrid Wang, Chief of Dovefeather City Police Department, received the emergency signal from Pacifica Academy two minutes into the attack. She ordered her officers to tap into the Pacifica Police Department's cameras, but the connection was cut before any useful intel could be obtained. Landline stopped working either.

"Squad Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie, surround the school and prepare for hostage rescue. DO NOT ENGAGE. Squad Delta, try satellite communications with PAPD." Chief Wang barked the orders. "I want visuals on the perimeters of Pacifica Academy. Send drones into the campus to obtain more intel."

"Satellite phone connected successfully, but nobody is picking up," one of the communicators reported.

"Keep calling. Contact the service providers to check tower statuses around Pacifica. Report the situation back to us, but make sure they don't head there alone."

Chief Wang sat back onto her chair and took a huge gulp of the iced coke on her table. She felt the frozen sweetness tumble down her throat, and in just a few seconds, the exploding energy of sugar high hit her brain.

Today would be another sleepless night.

During the seventeen years of her service to the nation, she had witnessed all sorts of crimes. Thanks to the nation's ubiquitous moral maintenance, most of the crimes were petty and non-violent, usually just vandalism or fake ID or driving under influence. However, what most citizens did not know was that there was a sizable amount of crimes too gruesome and too atrocious to be displayed to their delicate minds.

Yes. The society was perfectly moral. But it was only perfectly moral because Chief Astrid Wang and countless other police officers battled the immoral outliers.

Each system would have its bug. Even with the youth moral formation curriculum, the Counselors at school, and the controversial CTS agents lurking in the shadows of daily life, it was inevitable that some minds were beyond their reach. These immoral minds would turn to crime.

Wang felt no sympathy for them. Society had long progressed beyond the dark ages of crime induced by poverty. In this nation where every citizen enjoyed guaranteed housing, healthcare, food, and even a basic government-issued car, there really was no excuse for crime except moral corruption.

Wang's job was simple. To catch them. The goal of the police force was simply to apprehend and contain. Period. Whatever trial, rehabilitation, or punishment that came after was beyond her. She couldn't input her opinions even if she wanted to. The Constitution explicitly stated the separation of power.

But with all her experience of the past seventeen years, she had never witnessed anything as abominable as going after an entire high school.

The phone in the control room rang. The operator spoke a few words and handed it to Wang.

"Hello Madam Wang. My name is Xavier. I am the head of this operation."

The room immediately silenced. Criminals had proactively reached out to police before, typically to negotiate for protection or extraction. A few officers pounced into action and scribbled on their notepads. Everyone's eyes stared at Astrid Wang, who stared into the phone. The voice of the caller was surprisingly calm and warm.

"Please excuse my intrusion into your emergency meeting," the voice continued. "But go to website ip 192.39.48.210. I'm sure this will draw your interest."

Chief Wang hit the mute button. The haughty tone, the feigned politeness, the bizarre request, all these were a taunt from the attackers. Had it been anyone less experienced sitting in the seat of Astrid Wang, they would have lost their temper, and along with it the ability for rational judgement. However, Wang sat still. With her seventeen years of experience in the force, she knew that whenever criminals tried to taunt her, they were laying a trap, and she had to be extra careful. She delegated a few intelligence officers to listen along the call, and she unmuted the phone.

"Alright we are on the site. It's a livestream. What do you want?"

"My announcement for the school will be broadcasted live here in 15 minutes."

15 minutes. 15 minutes were considered a huge amount of time in hostage situations like this. Every minute delayed meant dozens more hostages and killings.

"And how am I supposed to just wait fifteen minutes and do nothing? My SWAT teams are ready to bust in the school at my order. Give me a reason why I shouldn't just do that."

"I promise you we have not inflicted serious injuries or death. If you don't believe me, let your drones fly around here and check the perimeter. People are running to the lockdown rooms, and if there were unmoving heat signatures, they would be newly dropped bodies. You can see that there are no casualties among school personnels."

Wang pressed the mute button again and looked at the drone operators. They returned her an affirmative nod.

"But if your task forces enter," Xavier continued, "it could no longer be guaranteed. Even if we try to avoid casualties, our crossfire is likely to involve innocent bystanders."

Xavier's politeness was upsetting Wang. All these years dealing with the dark smudges of Dovefeather City, Wang had been hardened both outside and inside. She preferred a tough fistfight over cunning diplomacy. However, Wang quickly regained control over her emotions. Just because she preferred to fight head-on didn't mean she was a bad tactician. She had outsmarted some of the most deceitful criminals and thwarted some of the most elaborate plots, notably performing a delicate yet ruthless negotiation against the perpetrators of the Veritas Theater Attack. That made her a hero of the nation, made even more impressive by the fact that at that time, she had been a young officer with only two years of service.

Xavier would just be another one of those egomaniacs. Wang would bring him to justice. But the fact that Xavier had picked Pacifica Academy made him deserving of special treatment. Amidst her adrenaline and anger, and hidden behind the uneasiness that creeped in Wang's mind, there was even a bit of pity for Xavier. Had you chosen anywhere else to attack, I will only apprehend you as a police officer. But you have chosen Pacifica. You are going against me, personally.

"Madam, our drone spotted a young man in black tactical uniform in the headmaster's office. He is on his phone. Lip reads are in a match with the call content. We believe we have found Mr. Xavier."

"Do we have a clear shot?" Wang turned to that drone operator.

"Yes ma'am. No hostages around him."

Before Wang could give the next command to the drone operator, Xavier's voice came out of the phone again.

"Madam Wang, I believe by this point your drones have already spotted me. The caller at the headmaster's office is indeed me. Don't bother scanning my facial data."

To corroborate Xavier's point, Wang's secretary shook his head at the big red "no match in database" on his facial detection software.

"Before you make the mistake of shooting me," Xavier continued speaking, undisturbed by the muted silence on the police end of the phone. "Be reminded that the headmaster and key faculty members are all under watch by my team. Moreover, my members had infiltrated three separate lockdown rooms before the operation began, and I doubt that the virtuous Pacifica students would think of clearing the lockdown room before locking themselves in. The moment you pull your trigger, we will pull ours."

"Damn it," Wang cursed under her breath. These shooters had quite some leverage. The police could not risk infiltrating the campus. Xavier's shooters seemed to be well trained. If any officer was spotted, there would be huge casualties.

"What do you want?" Wang tried to get more information.

"You will see very soon." Then the line went dead.

I had already told you what Xavier then broadcasted to the police officers. It's the same announcement he broadcasted across the Pacifica Campus. He said that there were no casualties and everyone should convene at the Free Speech Square to discuss the important matter.

Now before you make any judgements against Astrid Wang, I must remind you once again that she was the best of the best. She had gone toe to toe with the most twisted criminals (to the standards of our world) and came out on top. She had a near perfect track record with her hostage rescues. Right now the police refrained from engagement not because of foolishness, but because of Wang's cautiousness.

Wang could see that Xavier was stalling for time, It had been twenty minutes into the attack already, and Xavier's gang had had opportunities to take more hostages and increase bargaining power on their side. An outright infiltration would be infeasible, but the police ought to do something to interrupt Xavier's plan, anything but giving Xavier the free time to wait for the convention at Free Speech Square. They needed something unexpected to disrupt his pace.

Both Wang and Xavier understood that this was a game of intimidation. Neither side could pull the trigger first. The police could not engage because the entire Pacifica Academy fell hostage to Xavier. However, Wang saw that Xavier went through seemingly unnecessary work to avoid casualty. Even if he wanted to keep the students all alive, why did he choose not to kill any security officers? He also repeatedly emphasized the fact that he did not injure or kill, both to the police and to the Pacifica students and faculties. It seemed as if he needed some kind of trust from the students. This shackled Xavier so strongly that he risked the efficiency of his operation and potentially the lives of his team.

No matter the reason, Wang understood that Xavier could not pull the trigger on students as easily as he'd like others to feel. This would be an important bargaining chip in the hands of the police. In this standoff, the police had less cards than usual, but it was never about how many cards you held, but the hands you played. Wang had found the first entry point into Xavier's mind, and she was ready to fracture his psychological palace.