The Long Night

[james_baby87]

Post more soon

[JDS84]

Keep up the good work.

[webwarr]

Sorry I haven't been posting, but I have changed my name so
that I can change my e-mail address-this is so that my dad's
computer won't receive messages meant for me. I have also
been excited for several days about meeting a real neighborhood
police officer in my community. This female police officer is named
Dianne Ermeling and she is just like Hernandez in my story-she
is professional and commited to her job but also very friendly.

I will post more ASAP!
(P.S. the last few days I have also suffered somewhat with an
apparently sprained tailbone-considerable pain)

[Sweetchild2005]

Moooooreeee!!! This is good!

[webwarr]

...

[james_baby87]

Post more soon!

[Lee]

Gabriel sits in his patrol car, anxiously waiting. It is 3:51 AM and
every minute counts now. Jo Polniaczek is also affected by what
is going on-and she has a secret fear:that Roger Wilkins will take
revenge somehow for the death of his brother, Carl and that
such a plan for revenge might very well involve her dearest
friends at her beloved Eastland Academy. If she ever lost any one
of them, it would be the end of her world as she knew it.

GABRIEL
are you worried about Mrs. Garrett and the gang?

JO
Yeah. What if Roger Wilkins escapes from jail and goes after
them? What if Blair, Natalie, Tootie and Mrs. Garrett are killed?

GABRIEL
The odds of that happening are slim-we have Wilkins under tight
guard, for the very reason that you just stated. Even if he does
escape, we will find him and we will try to prevent a tragedy.

JO
You know something? When I got into that patrol car with you,
I never thought I would get to like cops. But you changed my mind
and showed me that you all do care. I look up to you now and I
know what I want to be after Eastland-an officer with the
Peekskill Police Department. I hope to be of great service to those
in need of a guardian angel and I hope to follow your example.

GABRIEL
I hope that you can follow your own path and I hope you have
true happiness in life. My true happiness is my wife and my
three children. Even if I could never be a police officer again,
I would still be a rich man because of the love that we share.

JO
What was the story behind you becoming a police officer?

GABRIEL
Well, let me start with the marriage of me and Ina-we were joined
in holy matrimony by a catholic priest on July 18, 1967 with Ina's
parents by our side. My parents were not there because they
lived in the Bronx and there were no commercial planes flying
from the U.S. to Vietnam then and there are none now. But both
of my parents supported me and Ina in spirit. Ina and I were and
are soul mates who will always be together.

JO
Are you still a catholic?

GABRIEL
Yes. That was one thing I did not fully abandon during my years
as a "hippie". At times I did question god, especially when it came
to the subject of the war and of killing the enemy, but I never
turned away from my catholic faith for long. I remained true to
everything my parents taught me and everything I learned in
the Marine Corps. I was a true and dedicated american.

JO
Tell me the rest of the story.

GABRIEL
Well, after I married Ina, we had our first child Maria, who was
born at a veterans hospital in Saigon, Vietnam. I stayed in the
Marine Corps until September 1971 when I left to start raising
my family. We lived for 15 months in Honolulu, Hawaii and then
in December 1972 we moved back to the Bronx so that we could
live closer to my mother and father. However, I soon began to
reget going back to the Bronx. Northfield was still a high-crime
and poverty-stricken neighborhood, and I felt my children needed
a place where they could play outside without fear.

JO
How did you get out?

GABRIEL
I was reading a regional newspaper and it said that the Peekskill
Police Department had a new chief-Nathaniel Green, and he was
looking for both men and women of all races to be Peekskil police
officers. So, in January 1974, I officially relocated to Peekskill, New
York with Ina, Maria and our 22-month old son Horge while we
waited for my application to the New York State Police Academy
in Albany to be accepted. I got accepted to the academy in April
1974 and immediately began training. It took six months, but I
finally completed training in October 1974. On October 16, 1974,
I began my proud service as a police officer for the city of Peekskill

JO
You said you had three children-who's the third?

GABRIEL
Linda-she was born in December 1978, and she is two years old.

JO
And Maria goes to Eastland with me and the girls.

GABRIEL
That is right, and she has told me about all of you.

It is now 3:58 AM and the radio suddenly flashes on

GABRIEL
Unit 20.

CAPT. DAVIS
We were sucessful in defusing the bomb, but we have another
tragedy on our hands. An officer has been taken hostage by
Roger Wilkins-Woodward. While we were busy with the bomb,
she went into the main jail area to check on Katherine Chandler-
she must not have had the keys fastened securely enough and
they fell out. All we know is Wilkins somehow got ahold of the
keys, opened the jail door, grabbed Woodward around the neck
and held her captive with her own gun. She tried to fight Wilkins
off but he threatened to kill her and I ordered her not to resist.

GABRIEL
Is she safe?

CAPT. DAVIS
No-Wilkins said if we followed him, he would kill her. We did not
want to place an officer in deliberate danger, so we backed off
and we are going to wait until a SWAT unit from the Westchester
County Sheriff's Department gets here and we form a plan.

GABRIEL
Is Wilkins still in the station?

CAPT. DAVIS
No, he left and said "Now I get to have some fun with some girls"

Gabriel and Jo sit in shock. It appears Jo's nightmare is about to
come true. Will her friends be saved or will they die?

[Lee]

GABRIEL
Captain, I know why Roger Wilkins has Woodward and why he is
going after the girls at Eastland-revenge.

CAPT. DAVIS
Revenge?

GABRIEL
For the death of his brother-Carl Wilkins. Carl had a shotgun and
he ambushed me and Jo in the park just off Sweet Valley Drive-
an affair that ended with an officer having to use deadly force-
that officer being me. Sadly, the suspect has expired.

CAPT. DAVIS
Well, Hernandez, that is unfortunately part of a police officer's job
at times. You have to keep it from affecting you.

GABRIEL
You're right, sir. It is just hard at times.

CAPT. DAVIS
I will send a van from the mortuary to the park to pick up
Carl Wilkins body. Head back to the station, I have a plan.

At around 4:20 AM, Gabriel and Jo return to the North Precinct
station and meet Captain Davis and three members of the
Westchester County Sheriff's SWAT Unit

SWAT Deputy #1(Sergeant Joseph Goldberg)
This is a layout of Eastland Academy. It is divided into eight dorm
complexes and there are two adjoining buildings-one is the school
proper including gymnasium and the other building houses the
cafeteria, student lounge, fitness center and indoor swimming
pool with sunroof. There is also an apartment directly above the
cafeteria where Mrs. Edna Garrett and four girls live-Blair Warner,
Joann Polniaczek, Natalie Green and Dorothy Ramsey. If Wilkins
wants to hit Eastland, odds are he will go there because miss
Polniaczek knows Hernandez. We are going to contact Mr. Ronald
Harris, headmaster at Eastland and tell him to secure all students
in their dorm complexes until the situation is resolved.

JO
Sergeant, if my friends are there, I want them moved to a better
location until we get Wilkins. He won't rest until he's had his
revenge. From I found out from Captain Davis, Wilkins and his
brother Carl both have lengthy records and both have histories
of violent and insane behavior. If that's the case, I don't want
my friends anywhere near Wilkins. Understood?

SGT. GOLDBERG
I already have men on that. The Westchester Sheriff's SWAT Unit
is very efficient and highy professional, young lady.

Little does Jo Polniaczek know that police are already too late...

[james_baby87]

MORE!!!

[Lee]

It is 4:43 AM and snow is falling on the campus of Eastland
Academy with the tempature falling to 8 degrees. No one in
this school is aware of the terrible events about to conspire.

The shadow of a man with a police-issue 38 S&W revolver is
directing a young brown-haired woman in a Peekskill police
officers uniform to march toward the front doors of a red brick
building that houses the Eastland cafeteria and three young
girls and their caretaker. Evil is on the mind of Roger Wilkins.

JESSICA
I hope you realize that my comrades in arms will come for me.

WILKINS
I know-that's why I have you with me as insurance.

JESSICA
Insurance of what, sir?

WILKINS
Insurance that Jo Polniaczek will come to me and I can complete
my revenge against the cop who murdered my brother.

JESSICA
You know and I know that it was not murder-your brother Carl
attempted to murder a police officer. Officer Hernandez shot
solely in defense of his life. If he could have found another way,
he would have. Gabriel Hernandez is not a man of violence.

WILKINS
I don't care one way or another-my brother is dead and I have
to honor my promise to him to avenge that death.

JESSICA
You are hopelessly outnumbered by some fine law enforcement
professionals. Do you really want more blood on your hands?

WILKINS
If I have to, I'll kill every last cop right in the spot I'm standing in.

Suddenly, one of the front doors to the building opens up and
a young african-american girl about age 12 steps into the night.

TOOTIE
Jo? Is that you-

Tootie stops short when she finds herself staring into the barrell
of a 38-caliber Smith & Wesson revolver. Fear grips her face.

[Lee]

WILKINS
Okay, little girl, here's what's gonna happen:you're gonna let me
inside, because I have a lady cop with me and I won't hesitate
to kill her and then kill you and your friends Blair, Natalie, Jo and
Mrs. Edna Garrett. So be a good little girl and open the door now!

TOOTIE
You won't get any argument from me, mister.

Tootie quickly pushes the door the rest of the way open and she,
Wilkins and Woodward make their way into the cafeteria building
and Wilkins shuts and locks the door behind them. At gunpoint,
he directs his two hostages to sit on a couch in the student
lounge while he sits in a chair directly across from them.

TOOTIE
What do you want with us, mister?

WILKINS
I'll tell you what I want with you-you're friends with Jo Polniaczek,
and I have a date with her-a deadly date. Before the night is
over, I will have my revenge against all of you.

TOOTIE
Why do you want to hurt us?

WILKINS
Because I'm Roger Wilkins, brother of Carl and I'm gonna kill a cop
named Gabriel Hernandez and all who are his friends.

JESSICA
You are going to have to kill me as well.

WILKINS
I intend to do just that, miss cop-as soon as everyone is here.

NATALIE
Tootie, you down here?...

13-year old Natalie Green stops in her tracks as she sees Roger
Wilkins with a .38 Smith & Wesson. Stunned with fear, she tries
to run but Wilkins fires a shot at her which hits a nearby wall.

WILKINS
Don't try that again, little girl or you'll be dead right now! Now get
over here and join your friends on that couch!

Natalie is afraid to refuse Roger Wilkins, so she follows orders
and joins Tootie and Woodward on the couch. Wilkins sits back
down in his chair with the gun and watches the trio closely.

WILKINS
All we have to do now is wait for Blair Warner, Jo Polniaczek,
Gabriel Hernandez and Mrs. Edna Garrett to complete the septet.

NATALIE
How are you gonna keep us from escaping?

WILKINS
Good question, miss Green. Officer Woodward, handcuffs please.

Woodward reluctantly gives Wilkins her handcuffs and the
criminal cuffs the female officers hands behind her, then picks
up some rope from a nearby table and proceeds to tie Natalie
and Tootie hand and foot with it.


Meanwhile, a unmarked van pulls up outside the cafeteria building
and eight sheriff's deputies dressed in green camoflague armed
with AK-47s jump out and advance toward the front doors.

[Lee]

It is 4:50 AM as the deputies approach the cafeteria building...


SWAT Deputy #2(Deputy Morris Williams)
Roger Wilkins! We know you are in this building. Surrender
yourself to us and you will not be hurt. Release your hostages!

No response.

WILLIAMS
Release your hostages at once! We are waiting for your answer.

Suddenly, a shot pierces the window next to the front doors

WILKINS
That's only a warning, cops! Stay back or get killed!

WILLIAMS
Why don't you just put the gun down and come out here and we'll
talk about it? Nobody wants this to end tragically.

WILKINS
Don't you try to sweet talk me, cop! I know how this game works,
you talk me out and I get slammed facedown to the pavement
with four AK-47s in my back and you all threatning to kill me!

WILLIAMS
Listen, we can't get in unless you let us in. Do you want a
hostage negotiator? If you do, just say the word and it's done.

WILKINS
Hostage negotiator?

WILLIAMS
Yes. I assume you have hostages, sir?

WILKINS
Hostages. Yeah, yeah, I got hostages! You want me to release
some of them. I might-except Polniaczek and the two cops.

WILLIAMS
I assume you mean Officer Woodward, whom you have, and
Officer Hernandez. We will contact the negotiator immediately.

WILKINS
All right. But I plan to kill the last three hostages, so don't stop me

WILLIAMS
If you kill police officers, expect to face death, either by us or by
our legal system. In the state of New York, murder of a police
officer is punishable by death by electrocution.

WILKINS
You mean the chair?

WILLIAMS
Exactly, sir.

WILKINS
Well, if I have to go to the chair, I'm taking a certain cop named
Gabriel Hernandez with me. You can bet your life on that.

WILLIAMS
Well, you can try to stop us, sir, but with all due respect, we will
try to stop you as well. We are brave knights of justice.

WILKINS
Well, let's do battle then.

Williams see a PPD patrol car carrying Hernandez, Davis and Jo
approach from a distance and he holds up his hand as a signal
to stay back. Williams then turns to Sergeant Joseph Goldberg
and signals him to meet the patrol car.

[Lee]

GABRIEL
Well?

SGT. GOLDBERG
He has made it clear that he intends to kill miss Polniacezk,
Woodward and you. He thinks we are going to pull out and
leave him alone to accomplish that goal, but he is dead wrong.

GABRIEL
Yes, Sergeant, he is completely wrong.

CAPT. DAVIS
I have contacted Mr. Ronald Harris and he has said he is going
to have all students not in the cafeteria building evacuated to
the Holiday Inn of Peekskill-here they come now.

Behind the patrol car, two Westchester County SWAT officers
and a peekskill police officer are ushering about 300 girls ages
11-18 into four large buses. One of them, a blond girl from
Dothan, Alabama named Cindy Webster suddenly runs to the
patrol car when she sees Jo sitting in it. Two more girls, black-
haired Nancy Olsen from Hartford, Connecticut and blond-haired
Sue Ann Weaver from Kansas City, Kansas follow suit as Officer
Jacob Thompson attempts to get the girls back toward the bus.

THOMPSON
Hey!

Jo runs out of the patrol car and intercepts the officer

JO
Hold it, officer! Those are some of my friends.

GABRIEL
She is right, Thompson. I know these girls from hearing about
them from Mrs. Garrett. These girls and another girl named Molly
Parker were roomates from 1979-80 with Natalie, Blair and
Tootie in dorm C, the door by the pear tree.

CINDY
Please, officers, tell us what this is all about. All I know is that
we're sleeping in dorm C when all of a sudden SWAT men
with assault rifles strapped across their backs burst into our
rooms and tell us we have to get out and go to the Holiday Inn.

SUE ANN
What is going on?

NANCY
We would like to know for the benefit of all the other girls.

GABRIEL
Should we, Captain?

CAPT. DAVIS
Hernandez, these girls are going to know about it sooner or
later-I'd just as soon it be from us, not second hand.

GABRIEL
Very well, sir. Girls, I regret to inform you that a man named
Roger Wilkins armed with a .38 revolver has taken control of
the cafeteria Building and has a police officer and three Eastland
students held hostage-Natalie Green, Dorothy Ramsey and-

NANCY
Blair Warner.

GABRIEL
How did you know?

NANCY
Those three and Jo are never apart and they weren't with us
when we were rounded up. I knew something was terribly wrong.

SUE ANN
Will they be alright? Tell us the truth!

GABRIEL
Honestly, I do not know, Sue Ann.

SUE ANN
Can't you just storm the place? I mean, you are police!

GABRIEL
That is only in the movies and on television. In real life, we are
public servants who have to be cautious and not deliberately
risk our lives. We will rescue them, but by the rules.

SUE ANN
Spit on the rules! Those are my friends in there! If you're not
gonna do it, I will! Point me in the direction of Roger Wilkins!

CAPT. DAVIS
You are going to stay away from that building, young lady-
now look, I realize you are angry, but you are not thinking
clearly and rationally. This needs to be handled by professionals,
not amateurs. I promise, we will make every effort to save them.

SUE ANN
You had better... or you have just found yourself a new enemy.

NANCY
Damn you, Sue Ann, let these police officers do their job, don't
spend your time threatning them. Get on one of those buses-now.

SUE ANN
Nancy...

NANCY
Sue Ann, I swear I will have them put you in jail for interfering
if you do not march to that bus double-time right now.

Still with an angry face, Sue Ann marches quickly to a bus just
50 feet away and pushes past school snob Margo Jones as she
enters the bus. Margo shoots Sue Ann an annoyed glare, but
Sue Ann shoots her back a glare of pure venom

SUE ANN
Six words, Jones:Keep your snot-nosed mouth shut.

MARGO
Well, I never!(sits down in her seat)

One by one, buses loaded with Eastland Girls depart for the
Holiday Inn located in downtown Peekskill while they will be
kept until the danger is passed. All girls except one...

[Lee]

Wednesday, January 21, 1981 5:10 AM

NANCY
Captain Davis, I would like to stay behind and help in any way
I can. I want to be here to support Jo and see this situation
through the end.

GABRIEL
I do not see any reason not to, Captain.

CAPT. DAVIS
Well, it's against my better judgement, but alright, Nancy:you
can stay and keep Jo company and offer moral support.

NANCY
Thank you, Captain Davis.

Jo steps out of the patrol car wearing a spare winter jacket
that Hernandez gave her and approaches Hernandez, Davis
and Headmaster Ronald Harris, who has just arrived.

JO
Mr. Harris, I have to tell you something:two weeks ago, I was
nearly kidnapped by a man with dark but graying hair and
a moustache. I think it was Roger Wilkins. Anyway, I was afraid that he
might try to come back and threaten me or perhaps the other girls. So
I secretly purchased a 38 caliber Smith & Wesson revolver and
I've been hiding it under my bed. Blair Warner is the only one
who knows I have it, no one elses knows-not even Mrs. Garrett.

MR. HARRIS
Well, young lady, this puts me in a difficult position. You know
that according to Eastland policy, firearms are considered
weapons and shall not be brought onto Eastland property-
why didn't you contact the police if you felt your life was in
danger from Roger Wilkins? That is what they are for.

JO
At the time, Mr. Harris, I frankly had a low opinion of police
officers. I thought they existed for no other reason but to
give aid to criminals, not to stop them. Officer Gabriel Hernandez
showed me differently. I am sorry that I thought I could meet
violence with violence. Thanks to Gabriel, I know the Peekskill
Police Department is the true protector of this city and this school.

MR. HARRIS
The fact remains that you had a weapon on school property in
direct violation of school rules. However, I feel that there are
mitigating circumstances in this case, but I am not sure how
the school board will feel. I will have to report this to them.

JO
I understand that very well, Mr. Harris. But now we have to worry
about how we are going to stop Wilkins and save my friends.

[Lee]

GABRIEL
There may be a way. Captain, I have a plan and before you say
no, hear me out:pull SWAT away from the cafeteria building and
let Jo give herself to Wilkins as a hostage. Let him have a car
and I will hide in the trunk with a shotgun. If I know a man like
Wilkins, he will take Jo somewhere wooded and kill her there-
and you and SWAT will be following us thanks to the radio I will
be carrying in the trunk so that you can follow our every move.

CAPT. DAVIS
It's a risky move, Hernandez.

GABRIEL
Yes, but it is the only way we can end this with Wilkins captured
and nobody harmed. I would not suggest this if I was not certain
it would work. If we play our cards right, I think we will win, sir.

CAPT. DAVIS
Okay. I still have reservations about this, but we will try it your
way. But, we better all remember something:it's not just a police
officer's life at stake, it's a civillians life as well. If we botch this
up, we could be taking some heavy heat from the mayor, the city
council, Miss Polniaczek's parents, Eastland Academy, maybe even
the district attorneys office. We would be considered criminals,
not police officers. And that is something we do not want.

JO
Captain Davis, I don't know about my parents, but if this plan
will help save my friends, I'm willing to take any and all risks.

CAPT. DAVIS
Very well, Miss Polniaczek. Then I am willing to carry this plan out.

5:25 AM
An unarmed and presumably alone Jo Polniaczek steps forward
slowly toward the front door of the Eastland cafeteria building.

JO
Wilkins! I'm out here, alone-no police!

WILKINS
Let me come outside so I'll believe it!

Holding the revolver, Wilkins steps outside and sees that the
parking lot area appears to be empty.

WILKINS
You're right, little lady-no sign of cops anywhere. But where's
Hernandez? I said I wanted him as well as you!

JO
He's gonna meet you at a point on Skyview Ridge Road just north
of Eastland. He will be un-armed and ready to surrender.

BLAIR
Hold it, mister! Drop the revolver and put your hands behind
your head!

Suddenly, Blair Warner, the wealthy friend of Jo Polniaczek,
moves forward toward Wilkins, holding a 38 caliber Smith &
Wesson revolver in her hands.

WILKINS
Who are you, little girl?

BLAIR
My name is Blair Warner and I will defend these girls. Now do as
I say-put the revolver down and put your hands behind your head.


Wilkins tosses his gun and begins wrestling with the young
blond woman for possession of her gun. Blair looks poised
to win the struggle, but then Wilkins violently jerks the gun
and fires a shot in the direction of Jo Polniaczek, striking her in
the shoulder. Jo falls in pain to the ground as Wilkins again fires
the gun, striking Blair in the abdomen. Sirens sound suddenly
as two PPD patrol cars and a SWAT van converge on the secne.


Hernandez jumps out from the lead patrol car and quickly has his shotgun aimed at Wilkins.

GABRIEL
Put the gun down, Wilkins. I do not wish to kill you like I
had to kill your brother Carl, but if you do not put it down, I
may not have any other alternative

Wilkins turns the gun in the policeman's direction and
starts to pull his trigger, but Hernandez has already fired-
his first shot finds its target in Wilkin's chest puncturing his
left lung. Wilkins begins to fall forward but stands halfway up
and begins to pull his trigger again. Hernandez fires a second
shot-which enters through the right side of Wilkin's chest and
pierces his heart. Wilkins looks at the policeman face to face

WILKINS
A pig... I've been killed by a... pig...

Roger Wilkins falls forward. After a single breath, he dies.