Chapter 4

The atmosphere inside the bank was extremely tense. The hostages were constantly in fear of what Fritz would do to them. They were quiet now, but Sergie knew when his partner got bored he'd threaten the hostages. Fritz was good at this, and Sergie never discouraged him. It kept them from doing something stupid. The only hostages Sergie had to worry about were the three he had separated from the others. He leaned back in the chair and glanced at the two FBI agents. Don Eppes was walking a precarious tightrope. Sergie knew he wouldn't sit there quietly forever. Agent Lake was also a dangerous one. She watched everything and was a calming influence on her partner. While Sergie watched, Don leaned over to his brother and said something to make him smile. Sergie envied them their closeness, but he wasn't above exploiting that sentiment for his purposes. The papers that fell out of Charlie's wallet were sitting on the desk in front of him. He picked them up, and marveled at the complexity of the equations scrolled across the small pieces of paper. He placed them back on the desk when the phone rang. This time he decided to answer it.

"Hello."

"This is Captain Harris of the LAPD S.W.A T. Who am I speaking to?"

"It's not important," Sergie said, leaning back in the chair. "What is important is I hold ten hostages. Three are FBI."

"Are any of them hurt?" Captain Harris asked.

"Not too bad. They will remain unharmed as long as you do nothing to jeopardize their lives."

"There was a shot fired earlier."

"There was," Sergie said smiling. "It's nothing for you to worry about."

"When you have ten hostages and I hear gun fire I tend to worry."

"Then you'll just have to worry," Sergie laughed.

"Do you have demands?"

Sergie knew how to play the negotiating game. The first round would be a friendly talk, then they would ask for the release of the hostages. If he didn't comply they would turn off the power to the building. That was something he couldn't have them do.

"No demands; just a warning," Sergie said. "If you turn off the power to the building I will shoot one of the hostages."

"Threatening the lives of the hostages isn't a smart thing to do."

"It's not a threat," Sergie replied coldly. "It's a promise."

Captain Harris stared at the phone as the bank robber hung up on him. The conversation hadn't revealed anything about the bank robbers but they now knew there were ten hostages in the bank. It was a high number that he needed to reduce in case he had to send in an assault team. The turmoil on the street had quieted down. The spectators and reporters were corralled a block away in a safe zone. Earlier he'd been informed the buildings surrounding the bank had been evacuated. The mayor had also called for an update and his ears were still ringing from the berating he'd received. According to the mayor things weren't proceeding fast enough. To which he replied, do you want fast results or dead hostages? The mayor hadn't been amused.

An officer brought him a cup of coffee, which he accepted gratefully. As he was drinking it, he saw the young FBI agent hovering over the sound tech in the van. Agent Sinclair was worried about his friends, but he'd tried to remain detached as he made several suggestions that might help. The one they tried first had been a failure. They knew the bank had surveillance cameras; if they could tap into the signal they could watch what was going on. However the bank robbers had disabled the cameras. Captain Harris walked over to the van and stepped inside.

"They finally answered the phone," he said, taking a seat next to Sinclair.

"And?" David asked eagerly.

"No demands or anything, just a threat."

"Of what?"

"That if we turn off the power he will kill one of the hostages," Captain Harris answered.

"Do you believe him?"

"Actually, I do," the SWAT commander answered.

"What could they be doing that they don't want you to turn off the power?" the tech asked.

David wondered the same thing. The bank vault might have an electrical lock, but they'd already been in there almost three hours, which was plenty of time to empty the vault. David sat chewing his lower lip when it suddenly hit him.

"The computers!"

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Charlie sat next to Don and listened as his brother talked to Terry. The two of them were trying to figure out what the robbers were up to. It was obvious they weren't interested in the money in the vault. The computer was the key to this robbery. Charlie knew all too well what information was kept on bank computers. As his brother and Terry talked Charlie leaned his head back against the desk and closed his eyes. The smell of bleach, used to clean the floor, was making him nauseous. He was just glad he wasn't as dizzy as he was before.

"How you doing, Charlie?" Terry asked.

"I'm fine, Don," Charlie said, smiling. He knew Don was the one to get Terry to ask.

"Told you he wouldn't be fooled," Terry teased.

"Okay, so shoot me, I was worried," Don said in defeat. "At least you look like you have a bit of color back."

"I'm fine, really," Charlie said opening his eyes. "What do we do now?"

"We?" Don asked, raising his eyebrows at his brother.

"Figure of speech."

"For now we do nothing," Don said. "We just have to wait to see what the robbers will do."

When the phone rang earlier Don had been sure Sergie wouldn't pick it up. He'd ignored the four previous times it had rung. Sergie was an enigma. He wasn't behaving like a typical bank robber. Being surrounded by cops also didn't seem to bother him. Don watched him end the conversation with whoever was in charge outside. The look on Sergie's face was one of determination as he walked towards them. Fritz watched him as well and came when Sergie jerked his head for him to follow. Don looked up as they stopped in front of them.

"Charles Eppes," Sergie said. "Or should I call you Professor Eppes?"

Charlie's eyes opened and he stared at Sergie. Don didn't like where this was going, and moved to cover his little brother. Terry also could feel the tension, but didn't know what she could do to prevent trouble.

"What do you want?" Don asked.

"Nothing from you," Sergie said. "It's what I want from your brother."

"Charlie isn't doing anything for you."

Things happened so fast that Charlie didn't know what was going on. Sergie punched Don while Fritz grabbed Terry, by the hair, and pulled her head back. Charlie was torn between whom he should help first. Terry had a gun pointed at her head and Don was spitting blood out of his mouth.

"Agent Eppes, what am I going to do with you?" Sergie asked shaking his head. "You don't seem to know how to keep your mouth shut. Now, Professor, I need something from you?"

"What could I do for you?" Charlie asked suspiciously.

"Don't be so naïve," Sergie scolded. "My last computer specialist seems to have met with an accident."

"With a bullet from your gun," Don said sarcastically.

"Fritz," Sergie said turning to his partner.

Fritz smiled in pleasure as he pulled Terry's hair and cocked the gun.

"No!" Charlie yelled, standing up and trying to move to Terry.

"I don't think so," Sergie said, grabbing his arm.

"I'll help you," Charlie said, looking at Sergie. "On one condition. You let the hostages go."

"Are you making demands?" Sergie growled.

Charlie was taken by surprise as a fist slammed into his gut. He doubled over, and dropped to the floor, as the air whooshed out of him. As he gasped for breath he could hear Don calling his name. When he thought he would pass out from lack of oxygen his lungs finally gulped in the air they craved. As he lay on the floor Sergie grabbed his hair and pulled his head back.

"I'm the one who makes the demands, Professor Eppes," Sergie said in a deadly voice. "Is that understood?"

All Charlie could do was nod his head.