Standing at the jewellery counter waiting to be served was a young couple. At first glance they appeared to be waiting patiently but on closer inspection they were obviously nervous. The man was tapping his foot on the floor to the rhythm of an silent tune and the woman was fiddling with the ring on her left hand. The man being served was taking his time choosing a necklace for his girlfriend and several discarded trays were out on the counter. He finally chose a gold chain with a heart shaped sapphire pendant which he said matched her eyes.
The waiting man rolled his eyes and edged nearer the counter. Eventually the sales assistant turned to the couple and, apologizing for the wait, asked what he could get them.
They drew guns from their pockets and held them in front of their bodies, hiding them from the rest of the shoppers.
"Everything on the counter and more besides," the young man sneered, "and no alarms."
The sales assistant had already placed his foot on the silent alarm button under the counter but proceeded to place the requested jewellery into a bag. He handed it over without a word and let them walk away with it.
As soon as the silent alarm had sounded the elevators were shut down and security guards entered the stairwell on that floor and the one below. They didn't bother with the flight of stairs going up as there was only one more floor, then more stairs to the roof. Unless there was a helicopter on the roof, which they had ascertained there wasn't, there was no escape that way.
The young woman walked backwards towards the door waving her gun from side to side while the man walked after her, carrying the bag of jewellery in one hand and his gun in the other. As they entered the stairwell the waiting guard hesitated a second to make sure it wasn't innocent shoppers leaving the department; the hesitation cost him his life as the woman shot him in the chest. A second guard managed a shot which hit the thief in his shooting arm just as his finger was squeezing the trigger. The shot caught the guard in the leg and he let out a yell as he fell down a flight of stairs.
"Ruth, there are more guards below us!" shouted the male thief to his companion, "we'll have to go up." He slipped the bag into the crook of his left arm and held the wound on his right arm with his left hand; blood was seeping through, some dripping on the floor.
The young woman let him go ahead while she followed, shooting blindly down the stairs at the other guards who had come running at the sound of the shots. She managed to pick up her companion's dropped gun on the way past and tucked it into her pocket.
They reached the door to the top floor department and stormed through it. Handing the gun to her injured companion, Ruth pushed a heavy wooden cot in front of the door. Realising that if she could move it then so could the following guards, she filled it with anything she could find, making it as heavy as she could. Then she surrounded it with more cots and baby sized furniture.
With the door safely barricaded the woman turned to face the room ready to put up a fight if necessary. It wasn't. She was faced with about a dozen pregnant women and only a couple of men, all staring in horror at the bleeding man waving a gun at them.
She took the gun back and aimed it at the frightened shoppers who had instinctively grouped together.
"No one will get hurt if you do as I say," she told them. "Is anyone medically trained?" Nobody answered but several shook their heads. "Great," she said sarcastically, "someone get me bandages." No one moved and she lost her temper, her finger hovering dangerously over the trigger of the gun. "Now!"
A slim, dark haired pregnant woman moved cautiously towards a display of first aid boxes. Taking one off the shelf she held it up the show her.
"Bring it here," Ruth demanded, "and keep your hands where I can see them."
She slowly walked towards her captor, box held out in front of her in both hands, and stopped about six feet away.
"Open it."
She complied, taking out a bandage and unwrapping it. "Now, fix his arm and don't try anything or I'll shoot."
Kneeling on the floor in front of the injured man, the woman bandaged the wound tightly, needing three bandages before the blood stopped seeping through.
"You need urgent medical attention," she told him.
Ruth moved quickly towards them, "I didn't say you could speak. Return to your friend," she pushed her away from the man, causing her to stumble. Hand pressed protectively to her swollen stomach the woman returned to the group and sat down.
"Are you alright?" the woman next to her asked in a clipped English accent.
"I'm fine," whispered Beth, "don't worry, as soon as your husband realises something is wrong he'll contact Archangel. We'll be out of here before you know it."