CHAPTER TWO

Dick surveyed his surroundings. He was in a dark stairwell with steps leading both up and down. He quietly descended the steps, and tried the door at the bottom cautiously. It wouldn't yield. He retraced his steps and ascended the other stairs. The door at the top opened easily and led onto a darkened windowless corridor leading off to his right, the security lighting giving it an eerie glow.

At this point he wasn't quite sure what he was going to do. He had no idea how many of the bank robbers there where, so a rescue attempt could prove fruitless. Maybe he could escape the bank and, well?

He moved slowly down the corridor towards another door at the end. This door opened easily and he found himself in a room full of dusty boxes and files lit by the red glow of the emergency lighting. There were windows opposite the door which had been blacked out with what looked like paint.

Dick made his way over to the windows, brushing away cobwebs as he went. He took his keys from his pocket and carefully scratched away a small hole in the black paint expecting to see out into the street. Instead he got a view of the inside of the main banking floor. He was unable to see the entire floor and he didn't want to scrape any more paint from the window in case someone spotted him.

He turned to scan the room again; there was no other door other than the one he had come in by. It looked as if he was trapped. That was one of the problems with really old buildings like this bank; they were continually remodelled inside creating all kinds of dead ends and hidden spaces. He peered through the hole in the painted glass again and he notice that the room had been created when a balcony that ran around the main floor of the bank had been filled in. That meant that there must be other 'rooms', so why was there not another door?

Below him he could see the hostages being lined up. They were pushed and jostled quite roughly into line. He could see Bruce. He was keeping his head down, probably so as not to be recognised by the gang.

- "Ok move!" One of the ski mask wearing thugs ordered as the hostages where herded through a door into a room.

"Hold it!" the thug raised is gun to prevent Bruce moving forward. "What do we have here? Well would you believe it, I know you. Its Bruce Wayne…..Hey look who we have here guys, the one and only Bruce Wayne. Hey Boss!"

"How interesting. Well I never. Now I'm sure we can use you to our advantage, keep the police at bay till we can sort things out. Just put him in with the others for now."

"Right you are Boss." Bruce was pushed roughly through the door.

- Dick sighed; Bruce had been recognised, not good. He had to get out somehow.

"Ok, think." He said to himself, "there must be a way out."

Looking up he realised that the ceiling was a suspended one with dusty dingy tiles. He stacked a couple of boxes up against the wall so he could reach the ceiling. Climbing up he gingerly lifted one of the tiles. Reaching over the partition wall he lifted a tile on the other side. Although dark he could make out another room, and there was a door on the opposite wall.

"Bingo!"

Dick lifted himself up using the partition wall and slid over, dropping carefully down. Once in the room it seemed darker, Dick reached for his keys again; he had a small L.E.D. torch attached to it. The room was empty, just dust and a few scraps of paper littering the floor. He hurried over to the door and tried the handle. Thankfully it yielded and he was able to slip through into yet another room. Dick passed through other similar rooms until he entered one with two doors, one opposite the painted out windows.

"Bingo!" he said under his breath as he tried the door and it opened onto another corridor running around the back of all the balcony rooms.

- Bruce sidled quietly to a corner of the room he and the other hostages had been herded into. Around him the others where beginning to altercate agitatedly. One woman began to panic and was calmed by another.

A stout man dressed in suit and tie, whom Bruce thought he recognised as a small business man he had had some prior dealings with shouted for attention and quiet.

"Look we are in a difficult situation here, but we need to keep calm and try and work out a plan of attack so to speak. We don't know how long we are likely to be here and what those thugs are planning."

Bruce dropped his head and smiled to himself. He knew there would be one bombastic 'I'm a leader' type. Still he realised he would have to remain silent, looking for all the world like the stupid playboy billionaire character he had carefully crafted for himself. Still it did not mean he wouldn't do anything at all, he would just have to be very subtle about it.

He hoped that Dick had managed to find a way out, or was at least still free somewhere in the building.

"If we are held here for over, lets say a couple of hours," The bombastic business man continued, "then we need to have a list of things ready to ask for, such as toilet breaks and food and drink etc. Maybe even a chance to call our families etc."

"Ok, maybe not a bad idea." Bruce thought to himself, "But if the gang is serious then maybe it could have an adverse effect demanding too much."

Bruce let his gaze wander around the room. It looked like a conference room, a long table running down the middle flanked by chairs. Despite the thug's assertion that it was windowless, there were two rows of glass bricks set high into the outside wall. The door they had been herded through was the only exit. On his first appraisal it did look as if it was going to be difficult to escape the situation. He knew he would have to remain in character, as Bruce Wayne, but if he could find a way, it would be difficult not to give his other side away.

- Dick fished his mobile phone fro his pocket and hit the speed dial for Alfred.

"Alfred." Dick almost breathed the words, "Alfred we have a problem. We are at the bank and it's been raided by armed thugs. Bruce is being held hostage with several other people. I managed to slip away but I don't seem too be able to find a clear way out."

"I have been watching on the news, and the bank is surrounded by armed police and S.W.A.T. teams." Alfred told him. "How many are there? I can pass the info on to the police."

Dick was amazed at how calm Alfred sounded.

"There are half a dozen raiders that I can see and about a dozen hostages. I am still going to see if there is a way out. Mind you maybe I can run some interference."

"You be careful young man." Alfred warned, knowing full well that Dick could be reckless at times.

"I will. Alfred can you get the plans for the building and send them to my phone?"

"Ok, I will send them as soon as possible. Just be careful."

Dick broke the connection. He had decided that it would be better to try and thwart the robbers rather than try and flee the bank. How he would do it was going to be another thing.