Taz narrowed his eyes, but Nic said, “He’s right, brother. I’ve seen it done like that before. I’ve just never heard anyone explain it.”

“If anyone has a revolver,” Burke said, “I’d be happy to demonstrate. Grandpa, you probably carry an old six shooter?”

Burke expected another look of anger and defiance, requiring another in-depth explanation. But instead, Taz chuckled and said, “You’re okay, kid. Bit of an acquired taste, but they say the same thing about me. And I know I’m awesome.”

ASAC Carter had sat back and observed the exchange without a word until he asked, “How did you learn about Russian roulette, Officer Juliano?”

Nic rolled a piece of hard candy around his mouth and shrugged. “Another life. A long time ago.”

Burke wondered about that comment. A criminal past? A wild youth? Struggles with depression? He filed the data away for further analysis.

Plus, he was still dumbfounded by Sgt. Ortiz’s sudden change of demeanor. How could a blatant insult have such a disarming effect? People were so confusing and unpredictable.

Burke continued, “This group will not harm a hostage prior to achieving their objective because they know your policy of breaching if a hostage’s life is in imminent danger.”

“So they’re stalling for time, and they don’t want us to breach,” Nic said.

“Correct. They’re obviously highly motivated, well-trained, and very deliberate with their actions. Every move they’ve made has been calculated to achieve a specific objective.”

“Which is?”

“We don’t currently have enough data points to make even an educated guess, but they are obviously after something. Something very valuable. And I find it highly improbable that such men would go to this level of planning without incorporating some means to facilitate their escape.”

“This place is buttoned-up tight,” Taz said. “No way are they getting past us.”

“It’s definitely not my intention to insult you or your team’s capabilities, but until we know more, there’s no way we can predict their behavior. At this point, I’m expecting to be surprised, and you should do the same.”

“And how do you suggest we ‘expect’ to be surprised?” Nic asked.

“The obvious answer is to keep an open mind and analyze the situation as it unfolds. But know this: they wanted you here and they have no intentions of surrendering. If they stall for time again, you’ll face a difficult decision.”

Nic nodded. “Yeah, we’ll have a choice of either letting them keep doing whatever it is they’re doing in there, or we breach and put an end to it.”

Chief Edgar shook his head and growled deep in his throat. The reaction reminded Burke of an old man with a walker he had once seen staring at the long flight of concrete stairs leading up to the Las Vegas public library, the mannerisms of a person about to embark on a long journey that they know will be full of pain.

“We can’t breach without a damn good plan with zero chance of collateral damage or an immediate threat,” Edgar said. “They would crucify me if we went in there on hunches and conjecture.”