Blond and balding, divorced and ready to give up on women, Eddie Cox closed his toolbox and walked out of the computer room of the small branch of Albion United Bank, swallowing the last of a tomato sandwich. He stopped abruptly, a shotgun pointed at his belly.
"Who are you?" asked the gunman, blue eyes looking coldly through eye slits in his hood.
"The computer guy," Eddie croaked. "I don't know the combination to the bank's safe."
"Of course you don't," snarled the gunman. "It's on a time lock due to release in twenty minutes."
Eddie thought it still required a combination to complete the unlocking process. Someone was playing games here. He looked across to another gunman, holding the branch manager Dottie Cooper against him, his hand down inside the 50-year old's dress, massaging a breast. Dottie looked at Eddie with appealing eyes, showing no sign of terror.
Appealing eyes? Eddie wasn't thick so he guessed correctly not to mention there was need for a combination. The game Dottie was playing was delay... the longer these robbers were in here the more time the cops would have to prepare for the inevitable break-out that could, of course, see the robbers each coming out with a hostage against them and demanding a clear get-away. All diversions could count against the robbers.
"Get your filthy hands off my fiancée you big ape," he called to the guy holding Dottie. Dottie's eyes bulged at the mention of the word 'fiancée'. She scarcely knew Eddie.
A woman shouted, "Leave him Hank and stay in position. He's attempting to goad you for some reason."
A quick look established where the woman was. Like the other two she wore a hood and Eddie could see she was covering several people with a handgun as they sat against the main counter, hands on their head.
Eddie thought at forty-two he was too young to die. But eyeing the pregnant woman customer who was sobbing decided he ought to do something. Only Dottie and he were still on their feet; when you're sitting on your bum there's not a lot you can do. Eddie had watched countless cop shows on TV and knew that the best way out of a tight spot when no back up was arriving was to create a diversion. He looked up into the twin barrels of a shotgun.
"You're quiet and that means you're thinking," said the wiry guy. "We don't like that. It suggests you mean trouble."
Eddie believed he had to move right now. The huge door of the safe was behind him in the wall in full view as if to say, "I'm impregnable; don't waste your time. But when the time lock clicked and the robbers realized there was another process to go in the unlocking, he realized Dottie could be in big trouble. Loot was on the minds of the robbers so his chance was to work on their greed.
"Is that the time clock releasing early?" Eddie yelled. As the guy in front of him lowered the shotgun and moved forward to take a look Eddie pushed him aside and ran into the foyer, intending to run into Dottie's office, slam the door shut, lock it and then phone the cops to say there were only three robbers, all of them armed. He reached Dottie's office door and swore, "Fucking bank security." The door was locked.
With relief he looked out the windows and could see armed cops including heavily kitted-out armed anti-terrorist squad guys behind vehicles at the ready. One appeared to be holding a rocket launcher.
"You fucking punk," yelled the big guy who'd been holding Dottie, holding his rifle by the barrel. "I'm gonna club your brains out."
He raised the rifle.
The sound of breaking glass followed by the hollow boom of a rifle shot outside rang out and the big guy straightened up, surprise in his eyes, as blood gushed from the side of his chest. Eddie darted forward and pulled the rifle free. When the guy with the shotgun came racing around the corner Eddie calmly shot him in the left shoulder and then as the victim clutched that shoulder Eddie fired again and the shot went through his right arm and into the right shoulder.
Eddie raced into the banking chamber where the hooded woman was yelling, "Ralph! Hank!"
"Drop your gun," Eddie yelled.
"Attempt to shoot me and these people die," said the woman, spinning around towards the screaming hostages, gun still pointing high. So Eddie put her down with a bullet into her left thigh and he raced forward and kicked her gun away.
"How many of them are there Dottie?"
"Just the three and the driver outside in their car but I saw the police get him. Good work Eddie. We must do something before the cops charge in shooting."
Eddie pulled out his phone and dialed the civil emergency number and said he was in a bank being held up and asked to speak to the officer in charge outside Albion United bank. The inevitable delay followed. Eddie told Dottie, "I'll talk to him and then get you to brief him. I'll probably know the cop any way because I do computer networking tasks for them at HQ. Everyone stand up and relax."
Suddenly a cop using a bullhorn shouted, "What's going on in there?"
Just at that moment Eddie was connected to the officer in charge of the field team.
The cop on the phone asked, "Are you in the bank?"
"Yep."
" Sergeant Meadows speaking. What's going on in there?"
"Hi Bruce. It's Eddie Cox. One of your guys shot the brute about to bash me. I seized his gun and shot the team leader, leaving only the woman. She threatened to shoot the hostages so I shot her through the thigh. The leader has both shoulders disabled. We need ambulances. What now Bruce?"
"Come to the entrance with Mrs Cooper and have her unlock the doors. Stay where I can see you. Then I want to see three weapons tossed out. Then I want to see the hostages come out in twos, half a minute apart and then Dottie and you walk out. I want everyone to come out hands on their heads. What's the screaming?"
"The woman robber. The big guy your guy shot looks dead and the leader I brought down is unconscious. Mrs Cooper and I are coming to the front doors now Bruce. Over and out."
The freed hostages including other bank workers were taken away on a bus. Dottie and Eddie were given coffee and a sandwich and spent the next couple of hours assisting the police with their crime scene investigation. They were told what they already knew, that they would be prime witnesses at the proceedings to have the felons convicted for their crimes.
The chief investigating officer said, "We would have preferred for the safe to have opened so that they were in unauthorized possession of bank money."
Dottie said, "Check in the inside pockets of the jacket of the dead guy and the wounded guy and the backpack worn by the woman receiving emergency treatment. They forced tellers to hand over several thousand dollars and there were plenty of independent witnesses to that."
The investigating officer smiled hugely and said to the leader about to be wheeled away, "Gotcha." He then asked the banking chamber manager for the address of the company taking the feed from the security cameras for safe storage and Dottie nodded her approval when the manager looked at her.
* * *
Later that day Eddie was working on the computer network at a school when the school principal arrived in the classroom computer suite with two visitors for Eddie accompanied by a TV crew and reporters. Dottie went straight up to Eddie and hugged and kissed him and said, "My hero." Ignoring the media she turned to her companion and said, "Eddie, this is my regional manager Mike Dutton who wishes to personally thank you for assisting to help maintain the Albion United Bank's proud record of maintaining its customers' money securely.
Eddie thought who else had assisted to bring down the robbers and then remembered if the police marksman hadn't shot the big guy through the throat he would have been brutally clubbed and possibly dead.
Mr Dutton shook Eddie's hand and turning to the media said, "You are a hero Eddie and the Albion United Bank thanks you for your extraordinary effort and valor."
"Okay and thanks," Eddie said. "Now could you lot clear off. The kids in this classroom are banking on me finding this computer connection fault so their computers are ready for them in the morning. Dottie, another of those sweet kisses before you go."
Dottie pecked him on the cheek and laughed at Eddie's scowl.
Eddie was in the shower and walked out dripping to answer his phone. He brightened when hearing Dottie's voice.
