The teller who was servicing Shiller expertly dropped down behind the counter, and all other employees found the nearest cover and hid within two seconds, while the few customers who were conducting business also took up defensive postures as fast as they could.
This made Shiller, who sat stiffly in his chair, seem quite out of place.
It wasn't that Shiller didn't know how to hide; he really wanted to see who was robbing the bank.
As mentioned before, major cases in Gotham had become infrequent because the city's security forces were sufficient and there were cameras everywhere, making it difficult for criminals to escape after committing crimes, and most people didn't want to go to jail.
Moreover, from what Shiller had seen and experienced with bank robberies in Gotham during his time there, robbers typically wouldn't be so foolish as to burst in yelling, "This is a bank robbery."
Usually, they would disguise themselves as ordinary people, walk up to the teller or the front desk manager, and quietly tell them or pass them a note, demanding that they put all the money from the counter into a bag.
Some smaller crime groups would stop at this stage, and the tellers, for the sake of their own lives, wouldn't resist and would hand over the money that hadn't been deposited in the vault yet.
Some of the more formidable crime syndicates would target the cash vault, but they were generally highly professional, worked as a team, and had sophisticated techniques; the biggest issue was whether they could escape after the robbery.
In fact, in the past, not many who robbed banks in Gotham managed to escape; most weren't caught by police but were rather taken out by the Mob in a double-cross, and so over time, major crime groups that committed heists across the country blacklisted Gotham.
Robbing a bank isn't something done on a whim; even those who wanted to gamble wouldn't target ATMs instead of storming into a bank to commit robbery, especially since the security guards in Gotham's banks were armed.
While pondering, Shiller saw a nearby security guard draw his gun, but as a shadow flashed at the entrance, Shiller thought he saw a familiar figure.
"Don't shoot!!!" Shiller yelled.
Boom!!!!!!!!!!!!
The bank's main door exploded, and Shiller crouched behind his chair to block the dust with his arms. He slowly stood up, using the chair for support, and saw that the bank tellers and a security guard who had been knocked out by the blast were being dragged to the door and tied up by a group of people wearing masks.
Great, he knew this group of bank robbers wasn't that simple. Their purpose in yelling as they came in was to draw the security guard's fire, thereby detonating the explosives at the entrance and knocking everyone out.
As for why they didn't just kill everyone right away, they still needed these employees to open the bank's vault!
Shiller heard the sound of a helicopter's rotors. The Gotham Police Department had arrived.
Shiller crossed the chaotic lobby at the fastest speed and rushed into the stairwell leading to the second floor of the bank; there were no windows here, so the police outside wouldn't see him.
If any cop saw him and word got around Gotham by tomorrow that he was so desperate for money he was robbing a bank, it would create a huge scandal.
Damn, he'd been set up. Shiller sighed in his heart. This person chose this time to strike to frame me. Once he took the money, I would have to face Gordon's "I knew it" expression.
As for who this person was, first eliminate the wrong answer, Mad Laugh; he wasn't capable of such a technical job. The figure Shiller glimpsed near the door seemed to be the Joker.
But now there was no time. Shiller had two choices: stop the robbers from stealing the money or let the robbers finish the heist and run away quickly.
Don't ask him why he didn't just leave; since this person was targeting him, surely there was a fallback plan. If Gordon found any substantial evidence at the crime scene, he would have an even harder time clearing his name.
Shiller had to admit, the moment he realized he was short on cash, he had indeed considered a few criminal plans with limited legal challenges, including robbing a bank.
As long as no one was hurt, a well-prepared bank robbery was indeed the crime plan with the smallest investment and greatest return for those motivated by money; all other plans involving trafficking illegal goods required building a long-term business network, too much hassle.
Even in Gotham, where security had greatly improved, Shiller was confident he could pull off a bank heist that would leave only the bankers injured.
Gordon knew it, and the person who made the move also knew it; that's why he deliberately used the explosion to divert attention rather than just bring in a submachine gun to mow everyone down. It was to make a show that the robbers were leaving some leeway, so as to pin the blame on Shiller.
And the reason Shiller, the purported mastermind, happened to be at the bank during the crime was simple—he wanted to disguise himself as a victim to clear himself of suspicion as much as possible.
Shiller couldn't worry about whether the robbers were stealing money or not; he rushed up to the second floor, quickly discerned his direction, and dashed toward the end of a corridor. Climbing out of a window and standing on the balcony, he looked down to see that the surveillance room was indeed directly below.
At this time, the police had not yet deployed their forces, and there was no one at the back of the bank. Shiller jumped straight down, burst into the surveillance room, knocked out the security guard from behind, and deleted all of today's surveillance footage.
Seeing that there was nobody in the security room, Shiller knew the robbers were waiting for him to do this, because he was now tied to the robbers. If he wanted to clear himself of suspicion, the first thing he had to do was delete the surveillance.
After deleting the surveillance footage, Shiller located the broadcasting room, adjusted the equipment, and then, covering the microphone with his hand, deliberately lowered his voice and said, "Good afternoon, officers. I believe you've already seen the hostages I've placed at the entrance. I have no intention of hurting anyone; I just want to take the money and leave."
"Of course, if you're not willing to do a simple headcount, you'll find that there are more employees working here today than those you've seen. I swear, after I leave safely, you will see them, but if I'm not safe enough..."
"Cut the bullshit!" Gordon's gruff voice came through, "Who the hell are you working for? Are you crazy?!! Get out here now, or your boss is going to throw you and your family into a shredder!!"
Shiller pressed a hand to his forehead; Gotham Police sure had a unique way of handling cases.
He had to admit, though, that this approach was quite effective, especially against locals. It hadn't been long since the Gangster era, the mob bosses might have transformed but hadn't died - daring to do something like this without permission, one might steal the money but not live to spend it.
"Sorry, Officer," Shiller could only continue, "I'm from out of town, heard Gotham's economy wasn't too shabby, so I came to try my luck. It's my first time here, please bear with me."
Gordon kept cursing, but Shiller could tell this was his way of distracting the robbers, attempting to anger them. In reality, police forces were deploying, and snipers were finding the best positions to take their shots.
In the surveillance room, Shiller chatted idly with Gordon while pressing a button to switch the surveillance view to the vault door, only to discover these dimwitted robbers wearing hoods were using thermal cutting to open it.
In this day and age, still resorting to traditional cutting methods? Shiller suspected that the mastermind behind this was trying to drive him mad. Robbing a bank without using precision blasting was sheer heresy!
Indeed, for a long time, cutting had been the go-to method for opening bank vault doors, starting with cold cutting since hot cutting technology wasn't controlled enough back then, potentially igniting the money. Once hot cutting technology improved, it became the method of choice.
Using explosives was also considered at first, but at that time, demolition was even less controllable and could end up killing the perpetrators without even breaching the door.
But with the development of precision demolition techniques over the years, it has even become possible to accurately calculate the fall points of each projectile, with controlled explosive power, direction, and desired outcomes - this is how modern breaches should be done.
While Shiller looked on with contempt in his heart, he still had to keep an eye on the thermal cutter at work, to prevent these fools from burning the money. As for the mastermind, they had likely already hidden away, waiting for the last second to deliver a decisive blow.
Without hearing an explosion, Gordon knew the other party was definitely cutting the door, and the voice on the broadcast was merely to buy time. But that was fine; he would also play the waiting game, to see who would have the last laugh.
Despite Gordon's inaction, Shiller could tell by his expression that the snipers were in position and now searching for the best angle. They believed that the robbers guarding the hostages would definitely be on the second floor, as most of the remaining staff typically worked there.
In reality, Shiller also didn't know where the robbers guarding the hostages were, even suspecting there was no guard, as the five or six robbers who had appeared at the front gate were now squatting at the entrance to the vault door, seemingly believing their gaze could make the cutter work faster.
Shiller frequently switched the surveillance feed, trying to spot any fallbacks the mastermind might have left behind in the cameras, but it was indeed difficult to see clearly, and the adversary might as well be hiding somewhere, waiting to have the final say at the last second.
Shiller decided to help this group of robbers escape, because as long as they ran, the focus of the police would certainly be on chasing them, and no one would conduct a thorough search of the bank. This way, no matter what trace the mastermind left behind, no one would look closely, and Shiller would have enough time to erase it.
The problem was how to help these people escape. Shiller felt a headache coming on—those brought by the mastermind were clearly not professional robbers, possibly having only a few days of training or merely oral instructions. It was evident that each of their moves was clumsy and very tense, as if gambling.
Normal bank robbers would have all the steps memorized by heart before the heist, having rehearsed any possible contingency; so when they actually moved, they were calm and composed, not panic-stricken.
Shiller pulled up the surveillance view and found out that there were indeed no robbers on the second floor; rather, every office door had been locked from the outside, trapping the employees inside, desperately calling for help from the balconies.
Seeing this, Gordon called for fire engines, with their fall protection air cushions laid out on the ground, and as the bank building wasn't very tall, there was no danger jumping from the second floor.
Employees had started jumping down one after another, seeing that the hostages were about to escape, Shiller immediately said.
"That's very generous of you, Officer. I just hope at some point you'll discover that I've prepared a little surprise among the hostages. You'd better run fast at that time, otherwise the fate at the bank's entrance will be yours."
Gordon, with a walkie-talkie in hand, was startled and immediately yelled into the device, "Remove the air cushion! Tell those people not to jump! Take those who've already jumped down aside! Fast!!!"