The sight of their colleagues now defenseless and groaning on the floor, was all the answer they needed. It was truly not an encouraging sight for any of the robbers. Their eyes turned with hot vitriol to punish the person responsible for the vile affront.
It did not take a genius to see that open fire blindly in the VIP room was a really bad idea. Seeing that they were all in an enclosed space (that barely contained all seven men), it was evident that guns offered very little advantage . So, the intruders could not shoot. Filled with rage, they all charged at Alex, and attacked him with the ferocity of mad men trying to remove an obstacle. In their minds, Alex had willingly made himself a target by placing himself between they and their money, and they were more than ready to remove it.
But Alex turned out to be more than a menace. In fact, he proved to be a real plague. He busted out his martial art skills and took them by storm. The crude attack methods of the robbers could not withstand his precise skill. With not more than two strikes per man, Alex's attack focused on their vital pressure points, knocking them out at close quarters.
Even with a whole bunch of bodies lying around him, Alex's only thought was; How soon can my deposit be made?
The bank staff and the remaining customers who had witnessed the showdown were completely stunned. Half of them were not even completely sure what they had just seen. At the beginning, when they saw the robbers charge towards Alex, they had already concluded that he was dead meat. They even felt a little bit of pity for the young man who had demonstrated the courage that they all lacked.
But it had been over quickly. Way too quickly.
Seeing that their 'champion' had overcome, their astonishment quickly passed, and a wave of elation swept through out the banking hall. Those who had been crouched behind the counter stood up with unbelief in their eyes. Truly, Alex's showdown with the robbers had proven to be anti-climatic. Their shortlived reign of terror was over.
Their survivor's guilt washed away and they began to cheer. They all gave him a round of applause as they came close to congratulate the young man for deafeating the robbers. Someone shouted above the din;
"HE'S A SOLDIER!! I KNEW IT!!!"
Some voices in the background cheered ecstatically in acknowledgment. But it turned out they had been a little hasty with their celebration. It was not yet over. Their cheers of victory quickly turned sour in their mouths when the sound of a gunshot came out of nowhere.
Alex felt the full impact of the bullet. The collision between the powerful piece of metal and his thigh forced him to collapse immediately. Blood gushed out freely from the bullet wound, soaking up his breeches. He could not get back up even if he tried.
Seeing their 'saviour' getting struck down invoked a fresh storm of pandemonium in the banking hall. The shrieks that followed contrasted sharply with the the cheers of victory from just a few moments ago. The bank staff and customers instantly dived down to protect their heads.
While cowering in fear, they contemplated their fates and knew that they were done for this time. The regret bore down on them, diminishing (completely) every shred of hope they had left of getting out of here. One or two of the middle aged ones among them began to weep uncontrollably. There was no way the robbers would spare them now since they had all celebrated their defeat.
But their cowardice had completely robbed them of their investigative spirit. If they had been courageous enough to at least try to investigate the gunshot, they might have actually seen that Alex had not been shot shot by a robber, no, he had actually taken care of all of them. A new player had emerged, and it was actually a very familiar face.
Behind the smoking gun, holding the barrel firmly was none other than the bank manager herself!! Gun in hand, she was completely transformed! She was now in her element. With the patience of a snake in the grass, she had bidded her time carefully, and struck at the right moment. Clutching the gun, she walked over the bleeding body of the wonder kid she had gunned down, and headed straight for the cash.
"You clueless runt..." She began scornfully as she hastily stuffed wads of cash into the bags. "I guess I should thank you for teaching these knuckle heads a lesson for me! Karate boy got the moves huh?! I knew there was something off about you."
A few heads had popped up when they heard her voice. The poor staff were more confused than ever. They really had had a day. Rachel quickly took control of the scene. Glowering at them, she declared boldy;
"Anyone that moves is dead!! Trust me!!" She pointed her gun at Alex on the ground beside her; "UNLESS YOU WANT TO END UP LIKE HIM, STAY THE FUCK DOWN!!"
She roused her colleagues; "Sparko! Lebron! Get the fuck up and get this money in em' bags!!" A few of them growled as they struggled to get back up on their knees. "Get off your asses you lazy fucks the cops'll soon be here!"
Alex was in a bit of a fix. Not because he was particularly bothered by the plot twist, the fact was he could not care less about Rachel's part in the bank robbery. On a subconscious level, he was actually a bit relieved that he did not have to hear her singsong pretentious 'customer service voice' telling him to be calm.
But all that was secondary. At the point, he was actively trying to deal with the fact that his body was very much still mortal! Yes, he had regained a little of his godly powers from the crazy sex he had had. And of course his soul would not be completely annihilated (since a bullet could not kill his true essence) but he would physically die in his body and his be reincarnated in another vessel, and then he would have to start all over again with the infinite job of sleeping his way through a bunch of women just to get a fraction of his powers back. The mere thought of that alone was enough to send cold shivers through his spine.
He simply could not afford to die. The realization came a tad bit too late, but apparently, the little power he regained did not transcend to his current body as an immortal. He could actually die if he was mortally wounded!
If he was an unserious person, Alex would have probably laughed at the irony of it all! Only a few days ago, he had been pondering on what it meant to be truly human in this world. And now, because of a bag of money, here he was lying in a pool of his own blood and contemplating his own mortality after being betrayed by another human, he could not help but see the irony of it all. This was as human as he could get. Money and betrayal was a side of humanity he had come to understand clearly now.
So, even though he could still risk defeating the group, Alex simply laid there and stopped resisting. The money could wait, life could not- lesson number one!
For everyone in the bank, this particular page in this chapter of their lives looked like it was going to be over. No one, (not even Alex) knew just how many more undercover agents were present in the bank. So, none dared to play the hero again. They simply let Rachel do her thing. The sight of the manager with a gun in hand as she emptied the bank's coffers was not something people saw everyday. The other guys had quickly ran away before the police arrived, she was done and dusted with the crime.
But she was not yet done with Alex. Pointing the gun at him, she nudged him saying;
"You! You're coming with me. Get up! Let's go!"
Alex looked at her like she was the crazy one now. Was it possible that she had actually forgotten that she had just put a bullet in him? Sensing his train of thoughts, she replied indifferently;
"Oh come off it. It was just a flesh wound, I know you're not dead- at least not yet anyway." Naughtily, she teased him; "Come on, you didn't really think I was going to kill you did you? I've got plans for you big boy."