Chapter 53 - Chapter 53 . At the Bank

Kevin was meeting with the senior executives at Williams Media. They were panicking because of all the pressure the Williams family was putting on them. But Kevin was confident that they could get through this.When Kevin told them that anyone who wasn't up for the fight could leave, they were impressed by his attitude."Alright, since no one has any objections, let's get to work!" Kevin turned to Ms. Wilson and said, "You're authorized to transfer any amount of funds necessary. Our first goal is to stabilize the stock market as much as possible."After he said this, Kevin got up and left. He went straight down to the parking garage and got in his Pagani roadster to drive to the downtown branch of Luxbank. When he got to the bank a while later, he was lucky to find some street parking. Kevin decided to leave the bracelet in his car before he walked inside.Because of the volatile stock market over the past few days, many people were worried about losing their life's savings, so there was a crowd in the bank trying to withdraw their money.Kevin went straight to the VIP area because he figured Officer Emmett would be waiting for him there, but before he got to the teller's window, he was stopped by a staff member."Hello, sir. How may I help you?" The woman said with a smile."I don't need any help, thanks," Kevin said. "I'm just looking for someone."Judging by Kevin's clothes, the woman immediately determined that he was just an ordinary customer and wasn't qualified to go to the VIP section."Sorry, sir. These windows are reserved for VIPs. No one else is allowed in here. If you're looking for someone, you can wait over there by the door," the woman said icily."I also have some business to take care of. Can I go ahead?" Kevin asked politely."Sir, you can go to the regular customer area to do your business," she said with a fake smile.Then the woman thought to herself, the customers in the VIP area are all worth over a million dollars. Kevin, who was wearing sloppy, ordinary clothes, probably didn't earn more than twenty thousand a year."I'd like to make a withdrawal," Kevin said helplessly. He was starting to get irritated."You can make a withdrawal from the ATM by the entrance," the woman said impatiently. She didn't want to waste any more time with Kevin.Kevin frowned. He thought that he was pretty handsome. How come he kept getting this kind of reaction from people?Then he took a deep breath and looked at her nametag. "I'll just stand here and wait, uh Ms. Gray. It shouldn't be long, okay?" "No sir. This is the VIP area. I'm afraid you're disturbing our customers," Ms. Gray said in disgust, "Please move along."Their conversation was starting to attract attention. The VIP customers were annoyed by his intrusion. How could a poor man like him dare to come into their private section?Kevin took another deep breath and said to her, "You're giving me no choice. I've decided that I'm going to withdraw all my money from your bank."I'm sorry, but you don't seem to understand. There's an ATM in the lobby," she said impatiently," If you don't leave this area immediately, I'll be forced to have you removed by security!"Ms. Gray, I'd like to withdraw two million dollars, in cash, immediately!" Kevin said as he took out his bank card and slapped it in her hand.The VIP onlookers started to whisper to each other. Did he really say he was withdrawing two million dollars? He's not fooling anyone. Just look at how he's dressed!She looked disdainfully at the bank card in her hand. There wasn't even a name on it.Just as she was about to throw the card out, the bank manager happened to walk by. When he saw the black card, he was so unnerved that his legs got weak."Ms. Gray, what's going on here?" The manager asked her abruptly."Mr. Johnson, this man has been causing trouble," she explained. Of course, she didn't forget to give Kevin a snooty look.Johnson was so angry that he muttered to himself, "We really have to do better training." He paused and then explained, "This is a black card. There isn't another one in all of Chicago!"The VIPs who were watching the scene were shocked. And the employee felt incredibly awkward."Sir, are you sure you aren't mistaken?" she asked hesitantly."Nonsense, Ms. Gray," Johnson said as he took back the card and walked over to Kevin. He held the card carefully, like it was a Fabergé egg."Sir, my name is Evan Johnson. I'm the manager of this branch. It would be our pleasure to serve you," he said apologetically, trying very hard not to let his voice quaver. In all his years working for the bank, he had never seen one of these cards."I don't need any help, thank you. I'm just making a withdrawal," Kevin said as he sneered at the rude employee. "Am I qualified to stand here now?"Sir, I'm so sorry!" Ms. Gray replied ever so politely.She was mortified. How could she have insulted a VIP customer?"Sir, please accept our apologies for this misunderstanding. If you need anything at all, please let me know," Johnson said with a big smile."I've already told Ms. Gray how much I'd like to withdraw," Kevin said nonchalantly, "I'm sure she can handle things now."Okay!" Johnson said amiably.Then he turned around and reprimanded her, "What are you standing here for? Take care of the transaction right away!"Yes, sir!" she said as she walked behind the counter."Sir, please come with me to wait in the private room," Johnson invited him.Their attitude had completely changed. And the VIPs who had witnessed this spectacle were speechless.When they got to the private room, Kevin sat down casually on the sofa and crossed his legs. Johnson smiled and walked over to the cappuccino machine and offered Kevin a coffee.A few minutes later, the embarrassed employee came into the room, struggling to carry a large canvas bank bag with both hands."Sir, the two million dollar withdrawal you requested," Ms. Gray said apprehensively.She could barely look Kevin in the eye, she was so embarrassed by how rudely she'd treated Kevin when he walked in."You know, I don't think I really need to carry around that much cash. How about if you take out five hundred dollars and put the rest back in the vault," Kevin said as he leisurely sipped his cappuccino."Yes, sir!" she replied. She knew that Kevin was just screwing with her, but she realized she deserved it. Ms. Gray would probably be a lot more polite to the bank customers in the future, VIPs or not.Kevin slowly walked out of the VIP room accompanied by Mr. Johnson and Ms. Gray. He stuffed the five hundred dollars in his pocket. As he stepped into the lobby, Officer Emmett walked over to him and asked, "Kevin, what are you doing here?"Didn't you want me to meet you here? I figured, as long as I'm at the bank, I might as well make a withdrawal," Kevin smiled.Officer Emmett nodded slightly, but then she noticed that Kevin was coming out of the VIP area."But what were you doing at the VIP window?" Officer Emmett asked as she looked him straight in the eyes.She was here to do some banking, too, but she had to do it at the ordinary window. Officer Emmett knew very well that the bank's VIP room was only accessible to millionaires."Maybe they let me use it because the regular lines were getting too long," Kevin suggested as he shrugged his shoulders. That seemed to make sense to Officer Emmett, so she decided to change the subject. "Kevin, please don't misunderstand Blair's actions. He didn't do any of that on purpose."Before she could finish, Kevin interrupted her, "I'm not here to talk about him. Let's find a place to sit down so you can explain to me what's going on with that bracelet."Suddenly, there was a scream from the lobby, "We're being robbed!"The bank's front door was kicked open by five men in black. One of them fired his gun at the ceiling and shouted, "Everyone, on the floor!"Put all your valuables on the floor in front of you and don't look up," one of the men snarled menacingly.The head bank robber shouted, "If you value your lives, you'll do as we say!"The shocked customers hit the floor and tried to follow the thieves' instructions.Officer Emmett was about to react, but saw that there were too many armed robbers and she didn't want any innocent people to get hurt."What a bunch of scum," she said to Kevin, "Robbing a bank in broad daylight."Well, if they came at night there'd be nothing to rob," Kevin replied with a smile."How can you joke at a time like this?" Officer Emmett grumbled."What else can we do?" Kevin pointed out with a smirk, "Should we go stop them?"No, if they're brazen enough to come here in the daytime, they're probably prepared for resistance. I'm guessing they're dangerous, and desperate," Officer Emmett commented as she maneuvered to scan the room while she was still lying on the floor. "There are too many innocent people here. We need to wait for a better opportunity."Kevin nodded in agreement when she said this. In fact, he wasn't sure he wanted to stop them because he was worried she'd draw him into another fight, like she did with the grave robbers over on Wacker Drive.Just then, the leader of the gang pointed a gun at the bank employees and snarled, "Go to the vault and bring back eight million dollars in unmarked bills. And don't try anything you'll regret."The bank manager, Mr. Johnson, pleaded with them, "We don't have that much money right now."The robber responded by shooting Johnson in the thigh.He fell to the ground, grabbing his leg in pain and letting out an agonizing wail."I won't say this again. Eight million in cash right now!" he yelled as he pointed his gun at Johnson's head.The customers and employees were frozen with fear."Too many customers have taken out their money the past few days. Plus a lot of companies have withdrawn their funds to put into the stock market. We really don't have eight million in the vault," Johnson said as he gritted his teeth in pain."One more word and you're a dead man!" the robber said as he spat on the floor.Just as he was about to pull the trigger, Officer Emmett stood up holding her badge in her hand."Chicago P D. You're all under arrest. Put down your weapons and place your hands on your heads."Kevin, who was still lying on the floor, looked up at Officer Emmett and shook his head in disbelief."What the hell is wrong with her? Didn't we agree to wait for a better chance?" Kevin thought to himself.All the men in black turned to look at Officer Emmett.The group's leader looked around the room and then looked back at her, "Sure, officer." Then he paused and said, "Wait a second. Why should we listen to you?""Oh my God, I thought she had better judgment than this. No backup and no gun. Why should they listen to you?" Kevin couldn't help but think.Just then, the brawny robber motioned to his accomplices, "You two go and tie her up and throw her into the car." He started walking towards Officer Emmett while he said this.As the two men moved in to tie her up, Officer Emmett spun around and made a savage side kick to the first one's gut. Then she spun in the other direction and threw a high snap kick to the other man's head.A gunshot rang out and dust floated down from the ceiling."You're as good at fighting as you are beautiful," the man smiled creepily and said, "Let's see which is faster, your foot or my gun. He pointed to all the people lying on the floor and threatened, "We've got five guns. How many of them do you think you can save?"You're a piece of crap!" Officer Emmett shouted angrily.Kevin realized that she'd stood up and drawn their attention to keep Johnson from getting shot in the head.But now the robber was threatening everyone in the room.Kevin jumped up and said to Officer Emmett, "Go and check his injuries. Leave these guys to me!"