Janelle Stone had been held captive for nine days before the compound was stormed by the FBI and others. Unlike the Waco siege, where over 80 people were killed, the religious cult she was involved with hadn't grown to that size, so only a handful of lives were lost. Most of the casualties were cult members, though a few victims were also among the dead.
The surviving victims were recuperating in the hospital, but Janelle was different from the others—she wouldn’t be going home in the end. She was kept separate and led to believe she needed protection because a few cult members had supposedly evaded capture. That was the only reason she was guarded round the clock, or so she thought.
Boris and his colleagues, both local and from other jurisdictions, made sure the hospital staff knew Janelle's true situation. They were instructed not to reveal that she was actually in custody, not just a former hostage. Many of them recognized her from media images and past interviews. Janelle wasn’t exactly a household name in New Mexico, but if you gathered a random group of people, at least a few would have heard of her. Eventually, she would become a worldwide phenomenon—like an addiction people claimed they’d had enough of, yet couldn’t get enough of at the same time.
Boris had to plead with his boss for time off, which he had accumulated over the years. He preferred to remain single and wasn’t much of a traveler, so he had accrued quite a bit of time. Boris wanted to be ever-present in Janelle’s life until she was back in jail and see how long she would be “glad” to see him. His boss was reluctant at first, insisting Boris was too personally involved, especially since Janelle had killed his friend. His boss could see that Boris was a bit obsessed, and Boris himself admitted it. There was just something about Janelle Stone that stirred a deep sense of loathing in him, to the point of obsession. It mostly stemmed from her racism and defiant attitude. When Janelle pushed, Boris couldn’t resist pushing back, determined to set her straight and show her who was in charge.
The siege had been a terrifying experience. Boris had never encountered anything like it before—after all, he was just a probation officer. But when the siege took place, he and Rick quickly joined the local authorities, hoping to reclaim Janelle alive.
When attempts to surrender peacefully failed, tear gas was eventually thrown into the building, causing cult members and victims alike to flee the building.
Amid the clouds of smoke from the fire the cult members had set, Boris eventually spotted a coughing, gagging, and hysterical Janelle, stumbling around blindly and calling for help among the FBI agents and SWAT team running about.
"Help!" she cried in a raspy, barely audible voice.
At first, Boris didn’t recognize her; she had lost some weight. But when he did, he called out to her.
When she saw him, a relieved smile broke across her face. “Boy, am I ever glad to see you!” she exclaimed breathlessly.
Boris was glad too, but for more reasons than Janelle knew.
And then she collapsed to the ground.
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