This time Hauldren laughed out loud and clapped Lance on the shoulder. "Looks like you finally met your match, kiddo," he said to her.

"Maybe," she replied with a noncommittal shrug before sliding her own weapon into its shoulder holster.

Hauldren then laid out a plan of entry. Natalie and Lance would negotiate a surrender with SWAT covering them from various positions around the parking lot and surrounding buildings. Once Devin was down, they could then get Sarah out of the room and to the safety of a waiting patrol car. With a curt nod, they headed across the parking lot.

"Let me handle it," Lance said softly.

"But Sarah —"

"Trust me. I have more experience."

"Sarah doesn't speak English," Natalie hissed.

"And you think you're the only one who speaks French, Noël?" he asked fluently.

Natalie harrumphed, but didn't reply.

When they reached the door, Lance drew his badge rather than his gun, and knocked on the door.

"Devin? It's Detective Arturo. I'm a friend of your grandfather's. Can I come in?"

"How do I know you're not lying?" a male voice called back.

"Mooney's never missed a single airing of The Price Is Right, has he."

They waited for a few seconds before hearing the chain-lock slide back and the door open a crack. Lance gestured for Natalie to stand down before showing his badge. When the door didn't open any farther, Lance nudged it open with his foot.

Sitting on the disheveled bed was a young man, no older than twenty-one. His wavy brown hair stuck up at odd angles as he stared blankly at the threadbare carpet. A Colt pistol, nearly identical to the one Lance carried, laid on he bed next to him.

"Dev?" Lance asked, slowly reaching for the gun. "I don't think you need this right now."

The young man shook his head. "I didn't mean to shoot him."

Lance frowned. "I'll pretend I didn't hear that. Now, where's Sarah?"

"Hiding," Devin said quietly as Lance tucked the second Colt into the back of his jeans. "When she heard your voice, she thought you were here to take her away again."

Natalie sized the opportunity to brush past Lance and Devin, calling for Sarah in French. Upon hearing her native language, the little girl peered around the door to the bathroom. Natalie rushed to her, speaking again in rapid-fire French about how she'd had been looking for her and how she was going to take her back to her parents. Sarah slowly opened the door the rest of the way as Natalie knelt down to her level. The little girl replied timidly in French that her parents were dead.

"Non, non, non, ma cheré," Natalie replied, holding her arms open. "Venez vous."