Saving a Superhero

2: Cops+Robbers

My fear of the barrel was subsiding with the heat from the first shot. Every second the robber stood sweating took the relief away. He wasn't in enough of a hurry to yell at the teller to hurry. Until the cops showed up there was no need to waste a hostage.

I tried to wiggle away at first. Carefully so he wouldn't exactly notice what I was doing. Anything to get some distance between me and the gun.

One of the patrons sitting against the teller windows caught my eye. I must have had a crazy glint because he shook his head ever so slightly. Where I expected to find pure terror, at least equal to my own, I found only calm calculation. With a glance at Baldy, I confirmed that his eyes were still trapped by the picture window. My ears picked up the faint sound of sirens in the distance. Or it could have been my imagination. Anything to calm my fear.

But as soon as the cops arrived the robber would get sloppy. Sloppy with a gun to the head was never a good look for me.

I glanced back at the man on the ground. If anyone was going to help me out it would be him. Everyone else was either in shock or tears or both. I couldn't exactly blame them. My hands were starting to shake and, no matter how hard I tried to ignore it, there was a fog building in the back of my head that was threatening to spill over. I only had a minute or two until I succumbed to the pure terror.

The man tapped his belt with a single finger. The movement was subtle enough to not draw the attention of the man holding me hostage, but it was clear enough for me to figure out what the man was trying to tell me. Tucked into the side of his jeans was the familiar outline of a sidearm.

My eyes were drawn to the glint of a metal chain around his neck. It was the regulation chain that I had always associated with dog tags or a police badge. Whatever it was, it was going to save my life. Luck was on my side after all.

Until it wasn't.

The sirens grew louder until I was sure they weren't contained in my head. It made bent necks bob up to see how close the local police department was. Thank goodness someone behind the counter was smart enough to set off a silent alarm.

The sudden noise of a gunshot made me jump. It didn't feel any pain. Another shot in the ceiling. The robber's arm was shaking when he leveled the gun with the tellers. He gestured to a middle-aged lady I recognized vaguely from my other trips to the bank.

"Find the boy and bring me my money. Fast."

For emphasis, the gun resumed its position against me, this time wedge right under my bottom right rib. From the angle, I could only imagine it would pierce a few vital organs if his finger slipped on the trigger.

The only other teller on duty raised his hands instinctively.

Baldy pulled me closer, so his chapped lips were right against my ear. It sent another round of shivers down my spine.

"I see you looking at the man on the floor. Let's not make any rash decisions, Miss Rossel. And none of those party tricks of yours."

My heart sunk. Nova City was no coincidence. He knew who I was. At the very least he knew what I was. Despite the fact that no one was supposed to remember, he did.

"I wouldn't want to make a mess of you like I did with that little friend of yours."

Grace. He couldn't mean anyone else. Not after the phone call from Rory. I silently cursed at myself for not believing her.

The fog was encroaching on my vision now, threatening to suffocate me before his arm could. My knees were practically banging against each other, wobbling while they supported as much weight as they could.