Tick tock tick tock.
Amidst the silent storm of chaos in the bank, Aaron raised his head from the girl whose hair he was still holding in his hand. He glanced at the large clock above the entrance, which sounded abnormally loud amidst the tension and fear crackling through the air.
That damn clock. Can't I just shoot it? He contemplated for a moment before deciding against it. It was needed as part of their exit strategy.
No point in riling up the sheep, he thought with a snort of derision as he looked around at all the hostages hunched down with their hands on their heads. All except a fearful mother cradling her baby and trying to keep it quiet. His eyes rested on the mother and child for a moment, deciding to ignore them, before sliding back to the trembling woman beside him. He realised he had still yet to let go of her hair as he crouched next to her. For some reason he found her way of pretending to be invisible amusing. Smirking, he stood up and walked towards his partners in crime, sliding his gloved hand over the coffee brown hair as he left.
He looked around once more before signalling to his team their time was nearly up. The masked men put on a burst of speed packing as much as they could carry before lifting them up and assuming a tight formation bristling with guns poking outwards.
"Boss we're ready" stated one of the men.
"Split up, you three to the front and we'll take the back" replied a deep, silky voice then turned to the hostages.
"I'd like to thank everyone for their cooperation today. I have one last instruction for you all. Count 180 seconds after we leave, then you may leave safely. If I see anyone step out before then, I will shoot. You will be timed." he stated calmly whilst pointing at the big clock on the wall.
Zinnia could feel the tension in the air reaching it's peak as the end of this nightmare seemed to be within reach.
Just a little more, thank god!
She raised her head just a fraction and furtively swept her eyes around the room, some of the other hostages were also doing the same. The same fearful hope flickering in their eyes.
All of a sudden screaming sirens burst through the air and a blaring voice addressed those in the bank "You are surrounded, put down your weapons and release the hostages!"
Zinnia nearly screamed in frustration, not at all relieved with the unwanted police intervention. Oh come on! We were nearly out!
"What the hell happened? How are the cops here so fast?" questioned the boss.
His calm demeanor belied the rage currently coursing through his veins.
Everything had been timed perfectly, so how the hell did they…?
His eyes swept around the room as he pondered before zeroing in on the sweating bank manager trying to hide a nervous smirk.
"Ah, so it was you," he shook his head as he stalked over to the stupid man, "I did promise not to hurt anyone so long as my instructions were followed," seemingly indifferent to the fact that the police had surrounded them.
The manager looked around in desperation hoping the police would burst through the doors or another hostage would plead on his behalf, but the police were still outside repeating their instructions and the hostages looked at him with anger. He couldn't understand why, was it wrong to make these criminals pay? Nobody stood up for him, not even the in-house security guard who had long been relieved of his weapon and hog-tied.
"Were you hoping for a saviour?" laughed the boss, while his men rolled their eyes at the manager's stupidity. "Nobody is coming to save you, in fact everyone here probably wishes I had killed you earlier. If I had, we would be gone and you lot would be nearly half way out. Safe and sound. Do you understand now?" the boss tilted his head as he peered into the manager's eyes. His eyes curved as if he was smiling under his mask before he jerked his head towards the back. Two other masked men grabbed the pale and terrified manger and all three disappeared to the back.
Pop pop.
A few of the hostages screamed, startling the sleeping baby. Desperately the mother tried to calm her child, tears streaming down her face, while an older man next to her tried to shield them both.
Zinnia realised what was happening but her mind refused to accept it. Dazed she caught herself thinking about the sound she just heard, shouldn't it be more like a bang? In the first place, did they even…would they really… No, don't even think about it Zinnia!
Zinnia clasped her fingers tighter realising their situation had now taken a turn for the worst. Biting her lips, she tried to ignore the images her mind was throwing at her. Maybe they'd start pulling the hostages to the back one by one if the police didn't give in to their demands? She'd seen it in movies, the time intervals between the killing of hostages were usually short and already one person was definitely being carried out in a body bag. Who was going to be next? Her? The old man sitting across from her? What about that mother and baby? Zinnia couldn't help but feel her heart becoming heavier at the thought that another innocent life might be cut short right in front of her.
All of a sudden she regretted her timidity and wished she had lived life more vibrantly and true to herself. Tacky thoughts aside, something had to be done.
Zinnia took a shaky breath. Then as if possessed by either pure bravery or supreme lunacy, though there didn't seem to be much distinction between the two, Zinnia found herself rising on trembling legs, unsteady hands above her head and a traitorous tongue uttering:
"Ahem! Excuse me…boss? I think I might have a solution…"