“Have a seat, Officer Juliano,” Edgar said.

Nic pulled out a chair. “I feel like I’ve been called to the principal’s office.”

Edgar leaned forward and said, “You see the look on my face.”

“It’s a very serious look.”

“Multiply that by ten, and that’s what the chief looked like this morning when he called me into his office. He told me that he got a call from some politician who said it was a matter of national security that we extend every courtesy to a ‘representative’ who would be stopping by the scene.”

Nic raised his eyebrows. “We thinking CIA? From the politician’s office? Or what?”

Edgar shrugged. “I don’t know. But it obviously means that this thing is a lot more than a couple of whack jobs with their daddy’s shotguns.”

“Still no word from inside?”

“Nothing since the phone call where they told us that they had explosives and assault rifles and hostages.”

“But have we verified any of that?” Nic said. “Maybe I should walk up to the door and try to make contact. I could determine the condition of the hostages and what the bad guys are actually packing.”

Taz laughed. “Your brilliant plan is to go knock? First of all, that’s dumb. We’ll use the thermal cams and—”

“That’s a no-go,” Edgar said. “The walls of the GoBox facility are resistant to thermal imaging.”

“Well that’s just great. But either way, we can’t waltz up there and say hola. In case you’ve forgotten, you haven’t passed your hostage negotiations training yet,” Taz said.

“No, mother, I haven’t forgotten. I would just ask if they want pizza or something and do a quick recon.”

“They only want to speak to the FBI,” Edgar said. “They were quite clear on that. The negotiator is on his way, and if they call before that, I’ll handle the communications.”

Nic raised his hands. “You’re the man.”

Edgar leaned back in his seat and gave a sideways glance to Taz. He said, “Sergeant Ortiz …”

Taz sighed and said, “Listen, Nic, I know you don’t like to talk about your family life and the world you grew up in, but your expertise and firsthand knowledge here could help save lives.”

Nic said, “You’re thinking that this robbery could be connected with organized crime. The Mafia. Someone like my father.”

“Any intel would help,” Edgar said.

“It’s fairly new, but I’ve heard rumblings,” Nic said. “I don’t actually have any information though. By the time anything would have trickled down from my father’s table to me about GoBox, I was already doing my second tour in Iraq, diffusing IEDs for a living. I’d help if I could.”

“What about your Uncle Romeo?” Taz said.

Nic growled and shook his head. “You know he’s still pissed at me.”

Taz rolled his eyes. “Then get him un-pissed. Butter him up. You’re good at that.”

“I’ll text him. Anything else I should know?”

“Your ex-love is running point on this for the city council,” Edgar said.