nothing like that. I was just wondering what to call you.”
“You can call me Ricky and him Bobby,” the older of the two men said, sneering.
Joe recognized Ricky Bobby. “Yeah, I saw that movie.” Joe smiled. “The kids, Walker and Texas Ranger. Hilarious. Anchorman was my favorite though.”
The men’s weapons lowered just the slightest bit. Good. Just keep them thinking about Will Ferrell and movies. Based on their coloring and size, Joe guessed Ricky and Bobby to be brothers.
He turned casually in the opposite direction so he could see the other half of the bank as he crouched down to put his shoes back on.
There were the kids. Good. A little girl alternating between coloring and watching what was going on and a baby in her mom’s lap. Joe glanced at the mom’s face to see how she was holding up.
And found the angry eyes of Laura Birchwood.
Joe felt the air leave his lungs.
Man, she hadn’t changed at all in the six years since he’d seen her, well, except for the two kids part. She still had wavy brown hair and a face more interesting than it was traditionally pretty. But it was still the face he’d never been able to ever get out of his mind.
The pain that assaulted him at the knowledge that Laura had moved on so completely from him took him by surprise. She obviously had found herself a husband and had a couple of kids, given the cute little baby who bounced on her knees.
After what he’d said to her when their relationship ended, Joe couldn’t blame her for moving on. It still hurt like hell though.
Joe stood from putting on his boots and looked at the two men. He needed to focus.
“Ricky, Bobby, I want to help you guys. They sent me in here to figure out what we can do to work this out peaceful-like.” He carefully didn’t use the word cops in case that was some sort of trigger word for the two men “There’s nothing that has been done here yet that makes the situation terrible. You guys and I can walk out of here right now and everything can be made right.”
That wasn’t totally accurate. Ricky and Bobby would be doing some jail time for this little stunt. But it would be much worse if they killed someone. Joe didn’t really think they were just going to walk out with him, but it was worth a shot.
“No,” Ricky said. “They’ll shoot us as soon as we come out. Or at least arrest us.”
“Nobody wants to shoot you. I promise you that,” Joe quickly interjected. He needed to keep the level of paranoia as low as possible.
“Well, we’re not going out there. Not until we have what we need.” Bobby looked over at the bank manager.
Okay, so they did want something. Probably money. That was good, something Joe could work with, something he could talk to them about.
Something that provided him leverage.
“That sounds reasonable. Is what you need going to hurt anybody?”
If what they needed was to blow up a bank full of people while the press was watching to make some sort of political or religious statement, then it was going to be time for Joe to pull out the sunglasses to signal SWAT awfully quick. But Ricky and Bobby didn’t seem to be the political statement types.
“No,” Bobby said. “What we want is ours. We just want it back.”
To the side, Joe heard Laura’s baby start to cry. He needed to get her and the children out of here. Right now. He couldn’t stand the thought of Laura being hurt again. Or especially her innocent children.
Joe had hurt her enough once. Maybe he could begin to make that right by getting her and her family out of danger.
“Alright, I can do that. That’s why I was sent in here. To see what it is you need and help find a way to get it for you. That’s my only job here, figuring out a way this can end okay for everyone.”
Again, that wasn’t actually true, but the baby’s cries were getting louder. Ricky and Bobby both turned to glare at the child and Joe briefly thought of trying to take both of them down physically himself, but he decided not to risk it. Somebody might get hurt. Plus, it was too early in the negotiation process. If Joe broke their trust now, he would not get it back.
“She’s got to shut that kid up,” Bobby told Ricky.
“Listen, guys...” Joe took a small step closer so they would turn their attention—and weapons—back on him and away from Laura’s side of the room. “I think we can solve a couple of problems here with one action.”
“What are you talking about?” Bobby’s eyes narrowed.
“Like you said, that baby is a huge headache. Plus the people outside—” Joe again was careful not to call them law enforcement or police “—would take it as a sign of good faith if you let the kids and their mom go. Works for everyone. You get rid of a screaming baby, and the people outside know you’re reasonable. Win/win. You’ve still got plenty of people left in here for whatever you need to do.”
Bobby looked over at his older brother and Ricky finally nodded. Joe felt like a hundred-pound weight had been lifted off his chest. Now, no matter what happened, at least Laura and her kids would be safe.
Keeping his eyes on Ricky and Bobby, Joe motioned for Laura and the kids to come over.
“Get the manager to open the door again,” Ricky told him, so Joe turned to the man. The heavyset manager got to his feet and moved to the door.
Joe turned back to reassure Laura as best he could but found another woman taking the baby from her. Clutching the infant in one arm and holding the hand of the little girl in the other, she made her way to Joe.
“You’re their mom?” Joe asked. “I thought the other lady was holding the baby.”
“She was just helping me,” the woman whispered. “Thank you for getting us out.”
Joe squeezed her shoulder. “When the door opens, walk straight across the street. Don’t stop for anything.”
The woman nodded.
“Okay, are we ready?” he asked.
Joe turned to Ricky and Bobby and fought back a shudder when he saw that Bobby now had Laura held right in front of him in a choke hold, gun pointed at her temple.
“If anyone does anything I don’t like, I’ll put a bullet in her,” Bobby said.
Joe ground his teeth. It took quite a lot to get him to lose his cool, but he was finding that a gun to Laura’s temple did it very quickly. He forced the anger down. He needed to stay calm.
The manager opened the door and Joe watched as the woman sprinted across the street, the little girl doing her best to keep up. They were safe. He squeezed the shoulder of the bank manager as he relocked the door.
“Thank you for not trying to run,” Joe said in a low voice. The man could’ve taken off when the door was open. Could’ve saved himself at the cost of other lives. Joe
