A second season story.

No Phone Booth Required

by Lynn

"When I was a young boy I had my heroes like most boys; Superman, Spiderman, and Wonder Woman," he added to soft chuckles from the rows of graduates before him and their families seated behind them. "But my whole paradigm of what a hero is changed as I grew older and understood better the story my mother told and retold since I was a small child…"

Chapter One

The wind lightly lapped Lee Crane's dark wavy hair across his forehead as he drove his cherry red Shelby Cobra. It was a beautiful summer day in Santa Barbara, perfect for riding with the top down on his convertible and enjoying the sunshine he got so little of while submerged for weeks at a time. His sunglasses did little to hide the handsome lines of his face, indeed, it only added to the mystique as he sat at the light waiting for it to turn green. The quick revving of the car next to him instinctively drew his attention as he glanced over to find a beautiful brunette in a silver 280Z convertible. She blew a kiss and he managed to return a small smile before she waved as the light turned green. Lee cleared his throat and proceeded on his way; he had the next three days off and a list of chores to take care of before returning to work to prepare for Seaview's next voyage.

Unfortunately, there was very little time between voyages this time around. He had already dropped his uniforms at the cleaners, and was headed for the bank. Seaview had made port yesterday, and was scheduled to depart again in two weeks. It was a fast turnaround for the busy marine research submarine that doubled as a Reserve vessel for the United States Navy. A strange combination to be sure; made possible solely due to her owner and creator, Admiral Harriman Nelson. The retired admiral was a businessman as well as a military tactician, having secured partial funding for the research vessel and negotiating the military's right to invoke her services from time to time. It was a win-win situation, since SSRN Seaview was the most technically advanced submarine in the world.

Much of her technology was proprietary and patented by the genius admiral; a good deal was secret advanced electronics being tested on behalf of the Navy, but it was her windowed bow that set her apart; especially since Seaview's specs noted she was dive worthy to 3,500 feet. That was officially; off the records, her deep dive capability was an astounding 5,000 feet.

The quick turn-around of voyages didn't bother Lee; he loved the sea, and found his job as the captain of Seaview to be extremely satisfying.

He pulled into the crowded parking lot and sighed; he was sure to find a long line inside the bank, but his business couldn't wait. He found a parking spot and hopped out of the car wearing casual civvies; a white collared button up shirt that he bought off the racks, but was fitted perfectly for his wide shoulders and narrow hips; a pair of gently faded blue jeans, and leather slide-on deck shoes polished off his casual attire for the day. He kept his sunglasses lowered until he opened the glass doors, holding them open for an elderly couple slowly making their way into the bank.

"Thank you, young man," the silver-haired matron offered, as she walked on the arm of her husband.

"You're welcome," he replied with a polite smile, waiting patiently for the slower moving couple to clear the door before following them into the bank.

As expected, the bank was busy and the line indicated there would be a wait. Lee casually checked his watch and mentally shrugged, there wasn't anything to do but wait patiently. Fifteen minutes later he was beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel as the elderly couple in front of him made their way to the next available teller, leaving him next in line.

"Next please," he heard and smiled pleasantly as he approached the window. That was the last normal thing that happened that day, as the unmistakable sound of multiple guns cocking preceded orders spoken harshly.

"Hands up! No one moves and no one gets hurt!"

Lee turned instinctively upon hearing the sliding action of pistols as several muffled cries of shocked bank patrons was heard. He obeyed, raising his hands with the other bank patrons and noted four heavily armed men, wearing black ski masks.

"All right, everyone on the ground, face down," he further ordered, "you tellers, over here!" he shouted, herding the tellers to the other side of the counter with the rest of the customers in the lobby.

"Get the money, JD," the bank robber obviously in charge ordered, as his smaller framed accomplice went to work behind the counter opening drawers and laughing at the haul he was bringing in.

Lee followed the movements of the four bank robbers as best as he could, noting the one called JD behind the counter; another armed robber watching over the customers on the floor; one who was apparently the look-out by the door; and the leader, about ten feet away, almost directly in front of him.

"Hurry up, JD," the leader called, sweeping his gun across the room to discourage anyone's movement.

"It's like you said; like taking candy from a baby," JD said, giggling disturbingly as he moved from drawer to drawer.

"You there," the leader called, moving past Lee to someone behind him. "You're the bank manager?"

She nodded as he pulled her up by her elbow and pointed her toward the back.

"Open the vault," he ordered, holding a gym bag to presumably stash the money.

"It's locked," she countered.

"Don't lie to me!" he said, pushing her back against the wall and holding her neck menacingly in his hand.

Lee instinctively moved into action; moving from his prone position to his feet to intervene on behalf of the frightened woman. He was stopped cold, however, at the unmistakable feel of a rifle muzzle pressing against his back.

"Go ahead, be a hero," another gunman taunted. Lee had no choice and raised his hands, but kept his eyes locked on the branch manager as the leader released the hold on her throat and pushed her toward the vault.

"Now, open it. We cased this joint already, and we know that the vault stays open so you can put the cash drawers away at night," he yelled.

"Hurry, Jason," the look-out at the door said. "I think I hear sirens."

"Open the vault!" the leader yelled again, as she nervously, but obediently keyed in the access code.

"Back on the floor," the gunman behind Lee ordered.

He complied, but as soon as he was in position the gunman put his boot down on his jaw, pushing the side of his face into the tile floor. "Move and I'll kill you," he threatened, before yelling toward the vault. "Hurry Jason, I think I hear sirens too!"

The sounds of subdued sobs were heard in the background as the tension increased, irritating the gunman who pressed solidly on Lee's face as he yelled to customers and bank employees on the floor.

"Shut up! Just shut up!"

"Got it!" Jason said, exiting the vault. "Forget the drawers JD, let's go," he ordered.

"I've still got one more drawer…"

"Forget it, let's go."

Lee knew the next few minutes were critical. He offered no resistance, knowing full well that it was always better to allow the perpetrators to get away with the money than to risk a hostage situation.

"Everyone, stay down and you'll live to tell your grandkids about this," Jason, the leader, instructed stepping backwards towards the door.

Lee grunted as the gunman ground his foot in for good measure, before releasing his hold and taking a step back toward the door. He thought they would be free and clear in just a few minutes; and if everyone just kept their cool, the gunmen would be in the getaway vehicle and gone.

Jason watched out the window then turned toward his accomplices. "Okay, here comes Pete, get ready."

The gunmen backed themselves toward the glass doors as a blue passenger van pulled up to the curb.

Jason held the door open as his fellow bank robbers ran to the van's sliding side door and jumped in.

"Stay down and you'll live," Jason warned the bank patrons, before running for the van himself.

He barely cleared the bank door when the security guard ran for the front door in an effort to conduct a lockdown to prevent the bank robbers from coming back in, but Jason turned at the sound behind him and fired, dropping the guard to the floor in agony. Almost immediately, the driver of the van fell forward, the horn blaring as the weight of his body bore down heavily on the steering wheel. Jason reached over and pulled him back by the shoulder to see blood running from a bullet hole in Pete's head.

"Sniper! Everyone back inside!" he yelled.

# # # # #

Lee saw the security guard make his way to the door and knew it was a bad move. Jason wasn't even in the van when the bank security guard reached to pull the door closed. The subsequent bullet sent the guard flying back hard and writhing in pain as Lee crawled forward to pull him out of the line of fire, yelling over his shoulder above the screams of the frightened customers and bank employees.

"Everyone stay down!"

He barely made it to the guard, dragging him back only a few feet before Jason and the others filed back in.

"Nobody move!" Jason yelled again, as the nightmare took a serious turn for the worse.

Lee reached for his handkerchief to apply pressure to the guard's shoulder when one of the gunmen stopped him.

"Move one more time and you'll be wearing a brand-new hole in your head," he warned.

"He needs attention," Lee countered.

"Shut up!" Jason yelled over all the screams and confusion of the botched armed robbery. "Let me think!"

"They were on to us!" JD yelled frantically, moving from window to window and nearly bouncing off the walls in high, unchecked energy; frustrated that he couldn't see beyond the van parked out front.

"Someone must have hit the silent alarm," the gunman nearest Lee surmised.

"I know, I know," Jason said, rubbing his hand over his mouth in thought. "Get all those people up against that wall," he ordered, pointing to the far side of the lobby with his gun.

"I can't see anything with the van in the way," JD said in a near panic.

"Calm down. If we can't see out, then they can't see in," Jason reasoned, before turning his attention to Lee and the security guard. "You…Hero," he said, addressing Lee mockingly. "Get him over with the rest of them," he ordered.

Lee stood, the gunman nearest urging him to move slowly with his dark eyes shining through the ski mask still in place. The guard grunted uncomfortably as Lee picked him up by the shoulders and dragged him against the wall where he estimated at least twenty customers and bank employees were now sitting against the wall in various stages of distraught.

"Here," one of the women called, guiding Lee her way. "I'm a nurse."

"Shut up over there!"

Lee settled the security guard next to her and she went to work right away adding pressure to his wounded shoulder.

"Is everyone all right?" Lee whispered to less than confident affirming nods, before turning his attention back to the nurse. "How is he doing?"

She shrugged a shoulder in concern as she continued to apply pressure. "The bullet is lodged in his shoulder, he'll need medical attention soon, but the bleeding is slowing."

Lee nodded his understanding and then settled in against the wall to face the bank robbers, knowing that the volatile situation could get worse at any moment.

# # # # #

Jason paced the floor as the other three gunmen stood near, waiting to see what their leader came up with to get them out of the tight situation. He drew a hand across his mouth, becoming increasingly frustrated with the ski mask and pulled it off his head, revealing long brownish-blond hair that nearly reached his shoulders. He was of average height and build, and held a decisive in-control air about him.

"Your mask!" JD noticed in a fluster.

"Relax," he said, taking on a new air of confidence while using his gun to point toward the far wall. "These hostages are going to get us a free ride out of the country."

"Hostages?" JD repeated.

"Yep. Boys, we still got options," he said with a half-grin. "JD you take up look-out, but stay out of the sights of that sniper; Ted, I want you and Kyle to get the names of all our 'guests' over there."

"Okay, Jason," JD replied nervously, "but what about Pete?" he asked with a tilt of his head toward the van.

"There's nothing that can be done for Pete now. You just keep your heads and we'll be sitting pretty with the loot we got, and a lot more before this is through."

The three gunmen seemed to draw hope from their leader's plan and each in turn pulled off their own ski masks. JD was the youngest and barely out of his teens; the tall young man had sandy-blond hair worn in a crew cut and was awkwardly thin. Ted's dark hair was worn long, like Jason's, but he was heftier and of obvious sturdy stock. It was easy to see who the "muscle" in the group was, as Kyle, the last gunman, looked as though he spent a significant amount of time lifting weights. He was a head taller than Ted and sported brown hair worn feathered back. Both he and Ted were in their mid to late twenties and all three seemed to hang on Jason's every word. Jason was the oldest and carried a definite patriarchal-type influence over the younger men who accepted his orders with complete confidence, even though he was only ten years their senior.

"Empty their pockets," Jason continued, "and take their purses too; I don't want any more surprises from here on out."

"Right," they agreed, taking their orders without question as they went about their business.

# # # # #

"All right everyone, listen up!" Ted ordered, enjoying the power he was currently exerting over his charges, despite the fact that they were currently holed-up inside the bank with a sharp-shooter stationed somewhere outside searching for a target. "Pull out your driver's license and put your wallets and purses in here," he ordered, holding an empty waste basket he had grabbed from a nearby new accounts desk.

"Move nice and slow," Kyle added darkly, his angular face held sharply and more serious than Ted's, as he carefully scanned their movements.

They waited as the hostages complied, reaching into their wallets and purses for their driver's license and then waiting for the pair to collect them. Ted started at one end, while Kyle walked beside him with his rifle held ready for action.

# # # # #

Lee watched as the two gunmen started closest to the teller windows, monitoring their movements and watching their interactions with the hostages. The hostages, for the most part, were holding up pretty well, he had counted twenty-four, including himself. There were, however, a few who were barely holding it together; two women, a blonde bank teller with an especially poofy hair style that matched her "Dallas Cowboy cheerleader" looks, and a heavy-set, middle-aged woman who was especially concerned about her large over-sized handbag. The third was a man, also middle-aged with thick black-framed glasses and wearing a light grey business suit. He knew he'd have to watch them; things could very well spiral out of control fast if their nervousness turned to panic. The female bank employees were easy to spot, since none of them had their purses on hand, and the three male employees all wore a bank pin on their lapel. In all, he counted eleven employees, including the guard, who was trying his best to hold in his moans as the nurse attended him. That left thirteen customers, including himself. The branch was rather large, and he supposed they were lucky as many customers had cleared out before the bank robbers arrived. Still, twenty-four hostages were far too much leverage for the bank robbers, especially if one of them lost their cool; but his biggest concern was the four-year-old, sitting on his mother's lap with his head buried in her shoulder.