Hostaged Love by Ashon Thadon (reading list .txt) 📕

“Just talk to me.”

Lawrence Townsend, police negotiator, walked farther into the McDonald’s establishment and scanned the area. He saw people lined up against one side of the wall, some sitting and some standing in the table and booth section. The workers that handled the back of the restaurant such as grilling, taking orders for the drive through, and preparing the food were all lined up in front of the register counter like a barricade. Townsend looked past them and saw the true culprit. Nineteen year old Jermaine Deeds was behind the counter holding a Taurus 9. Millimeter pistol to an eighteen year old girl’s head. The girl’s name was Latoya Reynolds and according to what Townsend was told; Latoya was supposed to be the love of Jermaine’s life.

“I don’t need to talk to you,” Jermaine said, saliva spewing from his mouth. “This is between me and her. I’m not going nowhere…”He moved the pistol from LaToya’s head and started waving it around. “Stop moving! If one of you bitches moves another inch, I’m going to start blasting.”

The barricade in front of him tensed up and Townsend heard the gasps from the customers that were still up against the wall.

“Nobody needs to get hurt today,” Townsend said. “We don’t need any casualties, do we, Jermaine?”

“The name is Jae Hood,” Jermaine said his moniker. “And I don’t talk to police. The minute you and your pig friends get out of here, me and my girl are getting out of here and getting married.”

“Baby, please…” Latoya pleaded.

“Shut up,” Jermaine ordered putting the barrel back against her head. “You are the reason we in this mess. If you had just let me talk to you, this wouldn’t have had to happen.”

Latoya’s eyes started tearing. She knew Jermaine was a bad boy and that she shouldn’t have been with him but at first she loved the thug ways he possessed. Latoya used to love the fear Jermaine made other people have. Jermaine didn’t care about anything and would spoil her rotten from the money he got from his drug sales. Latoya used to love the fast life and fast money and Jermaine’s hot temper. And she couldn’t forget his love making. But all that changed when he became jealous because one of her school mates was talking to her afterschool when Jermaine showed up to pick her up. All the guy was doing was telling her about the assignment they had to do but they were a little too close for Jermaine’s liking and Jermaine went up and started beating the poor guy down. Latoya had to literally pull him off of her classmate before the police came. After that, Jermaine still took her home but Latoya saw the monster in him that she didn’t want anymore. Even when Jermaine tried to make love to her that night, promising her he was going to marry her and they were going to live happily ever after, she knew she couldn’t be with him anymore.

After that day, she tried to avoid him. She didn’t want to outright tell him it was over because she didn’t know how he would react. Jermaine finally got tired of Latoya ducking her and came to her job and when he couldn’t talk to her, he took the place hostage.

“You don’t want it to end like this,” Townsend was saying. “You say you love her, you want to be with her. Take that gun away from her. Because if you pull that trigger even by mistake, your life with her is over. Your life is over.”

“Shut up, man,” Jermaine said, a tear coming down his eye. “You don’t know shit about our love. She thought she could walk away from me, Jae Hood. Not happening. I fucking love her.”

Jermaine pulled Latoya closer to him. The jolt made the crowd around Townsend gasps harder thinking he was about to shoot.

“Then prove it,” Townsend said. “Let these people go. They don’t understand your love. They don’t need to be here.”

Jermaine looked around the room from his position. The barricade of workers in front of him all stood still, scared if they moved, they would catch a bullet in the back.

Townsend took another step.

“Please, baby, I do whatever you want,” Latoya cried. “I’m sorry I let you down. We can go get married.”

“See, Jae, she loves you,” Townsend said. “Now let these people go.”

“Fuck that,” Jermaine stated. “They ain’t going nowhere until you motherfuckers clear out from outside and we get out of here.”

“Is this love, Jae?” Townsend asked. “Man to man. Is this how you show love? You making the love of your life a hostage. Is that how you show you love someone?”

“I said back the fuck off and let me out of here,” Jermaine demanded.

“Look I can’t do anything for you unless you help me out,” Townsend offered. “Let these people go. You don’t want to be a murderer today. And you would have to be. Too many to control. I’m staying. Just let them go.”

Jermaine thought about it.

“Okay. Those motherfuckers over there can go but these…”he pointed his gun at the human barricade, making them flinch. “…these people stay.”

“Okay, that’s a start,” Townsend. “Okay, people line up and walk slowly out the restaurant.”

Townsend walked back slowly to the McDonald’s entrance and opened the door as the people from the wall started slowly getting up and walking out.

“People leaving!” he yelled and backed away from the door as people hurried out.

‘I want to go, too,” one of the workers of the barricade said.

“Don’t fucking move, Fredrick,” Jermaine barked. “You’ll be the first one I blast. I can’t stand your bitch ass anyway. Always staring in my girl’s face.

“Look, Jae, you doing well,” Townsend said. “We making progress.”

“I don’t want to hear that shit, man!” Jermaine said. “I want out. Me and my lady and no funny shit.”

“Ok, ok, we going to work on making that happen,” Townsend said. “Now we still want this to end peacefully and no bloodshed.”

“I’m tired of your bullshit,” Jermaine said the muzzle of the gun back at Latoya’s head. “Either we leaving here through the front door or through heaven’s door.”

“You don’t want to do that,” Townsend said. “You told me you loved her. Love doesn’t kill.”

“It will today, if you don’t let me out of here!” Jermaine yelled.

Latoya was crying and pleading for Jermaine to let her go. She started reminding him of her little sister she had to take care of and her mother that was getting sick.

“Shut up! Shut up!” Jermaine ordered. “You belong to me. I’m your only family.

“I don’t want to die,” another lady worker of the barricade started to cry.

“Nobody’s going to die today,” Townsend assured. “Okay, nobody going to die, right, Jermaine?”

“Shut up! Shut up! I can’t think.” Townsend knew Jermaine was about to lose it and that meant causalities.

“Hey, Jae, can I tell you a story?” Townsend asked all of a sudden.

“Negro, this ain’t bedtime, fuck a story,” Jermaine said getting frustrated. “I want out!”

“Okay, let me tell my story,” Townsend said. “Once I’m finished, I’ll personally escort you out.”

“Hurry the fuck up, man,” Jermaine replied.

“Okay,” Townsend began. ‘It started off just like this…”

Publication Date: 02-01-2014

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