The atmosphere inside New Amsterdam Bank and Trust is almost unbearable. It was a normal day until the doctors appeared. Of course they weren't real doctors, they had guns, but they revealed that far too late for anyone to do anything about it.
Mr Davenport, the bank manager, was already in a bad mood. His last meeting should have been finished and then he would have been free to head off on his golfing weekend in California. Instead his client hadn't even bothered to turn up. It was a shame because he was rather a fan of Martha Rogers and hoped that in signing a loan she would also sign something personally for him.
"Everybody get down on the floor!" comes a shout from one of the robbers. All Davenport's fantasies disappear as he realises the reality of the situation. They're being robbed and he can't stop it.
"Move, move, move, move, move, move, move!" shouts another robber. Davenport reaches for the phone and then decides against it. The robbers would spot it for a start and he rather wanted to live long enough to take his well-earned holiday.
"Slide up your cell phones now! Hurry up now! Come on!" At least he didn't have a cell. His wife made him ditch the work phone after one too many late night work queries from Tokyo and he never took his personal cell on work days to stop his meetings being interrupted by his aging aunt asking about the stock market.
"Move away from your stations!" All the robbers were taking now, "You, bank manager, over here." Davenport edges away from his office and is immediately hurled against the main desk by one of the robbers. Yanking the manager's key from around his neck, the robber throws him to the ground and he almost falls on top of another hostage. He can only watch as the thieves head towards the back of the bank and someone else empties the cash drawers.
Everyone is lying on the floor by now and the three of the bank robbers circle their hostages. One of the phones ring and without flinching the leader stomps on it. "Anyone call the cops?" he shouts. There is a rustling as each hostage violently shakes their head. The fourth bank robber appears with one of the staff coming back from the restroom.
"All right, kiss the floor like the others. Come on! Get down!" She quivers as she lowers herself to the floor.
"Doctor Huxtable, let's go!"
"Alright, bank cameras are down. Memory drives destroyed." These people were professionals. They had code names and they knew all the measures to stop the cops getting information on what was happening inside the bank. Nevertheless they can hear the sirens and the lead bank robber peers out the door.
"Cops! Alright, doctors! We've trained for this! You know what to do! It looks like we're all going to get to know each other a lot better."
The bank falls silent. The hostage situation had suddenly become very real.