While the two of them remained quiet in the room, a loud, violent noise outside distorted the relatively tranquil environment. Alex was not bothered at all, but Rachel immediately cocked her head in the direction of the crash and walked over to the door to investigate.
What came next was terribly alarming.
Loud report of heavy gunshots tore through the air, bringing with it a fresh wave of panic and all out terror. In response, the terrified screams of panicky customers and staff rang through out the building. It was a cacophony of different kinds of long, loud piercing cries that was immediately followed by clattering of feet and clamoring.
With raw fear in her eyes, Rachel came rushing in towards Alex and locked the door behind her firmly.
"Sir!! There's a robbery in progress!!" With bated breaths, she rushed her words trying to update him; "There's men out there with guns!! And they've completely taken over the bank!!" She was panting heavily as she spoke. Clearly it had been more than a minute since she the last time she had ran or even jogged!
"Please keep calm sir! Just follow me and you'll be fine!"
Was she kidding? Alex thought. Rachel telling him to be calm, when she was clearly the one who needed to be calm, was the funniest thing he had seen all day. But he got it. She represented the bank as a corporate body. So, in an unprecedented situation such as this, her first priority was to do her best to make sure the customer was safe.
If anything happened to him in her presence, he doubted she would go scot free. It really did not matter if it was not her fault or not.
Even though he really did not feel like it, Alex had to at least try to pretend like he was bothered. Following her lead, he walked behind her (for some reason she was crouching, maybe she thought it would minimize her chances of being hit by a stray bullet). Rachel led him to the well crafted, seven foot long, wooden cabinet on the wall opposite the door.
Then, planting her feet firmly on the ground, she brought out a special key, and inserted it through a secret hole. She proceeded to push a hidden button on the side and the cabinet instantly slid aside with a soft mechanical, whirring-like sound, revealing a secret passage way. Clearly, it had been specially created for this specific purpose- in case of emergencies.
With a proud look on her face, she assured him in between bated breaths and in hushed whispers;
"Don't worry sir! You're in safe hands! Please come with me!"
Alex wished she would quit trying to make him feel better. It sounded scripted, choreographed and generic. Like she was customer service or something.
In her haste, Rachel had wrongly assumed that the young, quiet customer behind her was scared. When in reality, her analysis was the furthest thing from what was going on in his mind.
Alex was annoyed. That was the flat truth. Not in the vengeful, wrathful way. It was more like irritation than actual anger. Out of the blue, Alex got the jump on her with his question;
"Wait a minute, do you think you could possibly continue with the deposit?"
Rachel spurred her head with a quickness, and stared at him like he was mad! The look she shot Alex made him question his own sanity. No words came out of her mouth, but her shocked expression screamed the question; 'ARE YOU INSANE?!!'
Alex genuinely did not care what she thought of him in that moment. He was here for one thing only, and no robbery operation was going to spoil his plans. He pressed on impatiently;
"Can you do it or not?"
Rachel had been entertaining the slight possibility that the young man had been joking, but that vanished immediately with his follow up question. The manager was now convinced that the customer with her was in fact mad!! No wonder he had been unresponsive to her advances earlier on! So he was a money loving sociopath?!
But of course, Rachel could not make her real thoughts known to him, not in her offcial capacity as the manager anyway. So, she pleaded with him one more time;
"Sir!! Please we need to leave right away!!"
Alex opened his mouth to say something, but a loud bang reverberated through the walls. That was all the reminder Rachel needed. Not bothering to check if Alex was on her tail, she dove right into the special tunnel head over heels. It was her ill luck that had saddled her with the worst kind of man during a robbery operation.
The man could perish with his money for all she cared. As she tore through the tunnel at hot speed, she saw that was not even considering what her report would be like before a review board. She knew that the robbers would have finished Alex by that time, leaving no witnesses to corroborate her selfish action to flee without a customer. That was comforting enough.
She turned out to be right on one count, the robbers did catch up with Alex.
It was not up to ten seconds after she had fled that the robbers barged right into the VIP room. Apparently, they were done plundering the small bills at the main counter, and were now ready for the huge bundles.
Almost at once, three hefty masked men took the door down like it was made of straw. They stormed right into the VIP room like it was their birthright. The ardent energy with which they came in was consistent with that of evil men on a mission.
Upon sighting Alex, they automatically encircled him in a trident-like formation, lifted their weapons and aimed it at him. Shouting at the top of their voices, they roared;
"GET DOWN!! I SAID GET DOWN YOU WACKO BEFORE I BLOW YOUR HEAD OFF!!"
The sight alone of three automatic rifles being pointed at him should have been enough to pulverize any atom of bravery in his mind. It was the stuff nightmares were made off. Three masked villians (who looked like they would clearly waste him) was terrifying enough. But Alex flipped the script.
"Gentlemen," he began in a somber tone, with a big smile, and with zero fear in his eyes!
"Could you please let me continue with my deposit?" He asked with all earnestness; "I really don't want to waste any time on something that's not my business..."
The robbers did not know quite how to respond. They were genuinely amused. All through the course of their long careers in this profession, the robbers had never quite encountered something like this. They were usually met with terror filled eyes and immediate coperation from their victims. Even the toughest corporate sharks melted in the face of the cold hard end of their guns.
So, Alex's address came to them as a major surprise. His earnestness could have easily gainsaid and swayed even demons. Not sure what to do, the other two on the flanks turned to their leader in the middle. The middle guy lifted two of his fingers and curled them sharply, indicating they stand down. They did.
To the other two, he declared; "I think he's a little soft in the head."
"What?" The both chorused in unison.
With his free hand, he lifted up his fore finger to the right side of his head, and twirled it in repeated circles; "I think he's loco."
The other two complied immediately and lowered their guns away from the mentally handicapped guy, and turned their greedy eyes towards the money. That single act would later prove to become the worst mistake of their lives.
Alex threw them off their game with his next move. He sighed in exhasperation, and struck out. He began with the robber closest to him. The poor criminals never even knew what hit them. With lightning speed, followed by a series of almost unnatural movements, Alex made ample use of his legs and took down their thighs with powerful kicks.
In the fraction of a minute, Alex had not only dismantled his enemies, he had also succeeded in disarming his enemies. The clueless robbers were left with mind numbing pain in their thighs, and the horror of having to see their guns in the hands of a 'mentally handicapped' person!
Outside, the accomplices of the robbers had heard the commotion and immediately rushed in.
"What the hell's going on here??!!"