j.q. and the hostages watch tuck lampley on an overhead tv. jimmy palumbo is being interviewed. on screen, j.q. sees the massive police build-up, swallows. he looks at the clock. 5:05 pm. ten minutes and counting.
j.q. paces back and forth looking at the clock. his level of irritation is growing exponentially.
j.q. paces. everyone keeps looking at the clock. 5:12 pm. three minutes to go.
5:14 pm. all eyes on the clock. hostages tired, hot, emotionally spent. suddenly, a phone clangs. j.q. looks around, surprised. he sees a desk phone, picks it up. dead. he moves to another phone. nothing. but the mysterious phone continues to ring.
the hostages are glued to the tv, watching covering from the outside about what's happening on the inside.
the hostages attention has been so focused on the screen, none of them have realized that for john to be on tv, there has to be a camera inside the er. suddenly, it hits lester.