Part 7

The morning traffic of the city started to busy itself and could be heard from the street below through the hotel window. A siren, probably a fire engine, could be heard in the distance, the usual sounds of a city coming alive in the morning. Face stirred has he heard the noises thicken outside in the streets. The city was getting busy again. The sunshine was creeping through the small window, into the hotel room.

Face had deliberately kept the curtains to the room open. Hotel curtains can be so thick, they can provide instant darkness to a room and Face didn't want that. His eyes had been able to adjust so that he could still see movement in the room during the night, if there had been any. Fortunately, Greg had remained asleep on the bed all night, although he was starting to stir now. Face looked at his watch, it was nearly seven in the morning.

Face looked down at Amy, who still lay in his arms. She'd slept pretty well as far as he could tell. She hadn't moved much in the night. Her head was still on his shoulder and her right arm was traipsed across his body. Even though she was under the covers, her body was warm against his. He looked down at her and her eyes were still closed. 'She looks so pretty and peaceful' he secretly thought to himself but decided he should wake her. He gently moved his right arm, in which she laid and with his left hand gently stroked her hair, hoping not to alarm her.

"Amy, " Face whispered. "Sweetheart, you better wake up."

She started to move and groan, as someone does when being woken from sleep.

"What time is it?" She whispered back lazily.

"Its nearly seven o'clock"

It took Amy a few minutes to come back to her senses. She was initially surprised to find herself in bed with Face, albeit she was under the covers and he was not, he was lying on top of them. Then she realised the dangerous possibility of the situation they were in and woke up more quickly. She sat herself up on the bed, rubbing her eyes.

"Did you sleep?"

"Not really, just rested my eyes. I'll be all right."

"And what about him?" Amy looked in the direction Greg.

"Not a peep!" although groans could now be heard from him.

"I've gotta go to the bathroom, freshen up. If he wakes, just leave him, Face. OK?"

"OK."

Amy got out of the bed, slipped her boots back on and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Face could hear noises outside in the corridor of the hotel. He got up and put his ear to the door. He wondered if it was going to be an early start to their long day. The noises seemed to be of mainly hotel staff going about their daily duties. Face looked through the peephole in the hotel room door but he couldn't see a guard. However it was difficult to see if someone could be standing by the side, it really only gave the view right in front of the door. He tried the handle, still looking through the hole, the door was locked and sure enough someone stood in front of the door outside.

Greg sat up on his bed groaning, rubbing his jaw. Face smiled at him, cunningly.

"Morning! Sleep well?"

"You!" Greg got up from the bed and aggressively walked towards Face.

"Uh, uh, uh!" Face waved his finger in disapproval. "Let's try to be nice, huh? For Amy's sake."

Amy walked out of the bathroom, drying her face with a clean towel, to see Greg was up and not very happy.

"Face, leave it, please. Just sit back down." Amy gestured that Face should sit back on the bed. She didn't think she could cope with the two of them back at each other's throats. "Or go to the bathroom!"

"I don't want to leave you in this room alone with this creep!" Face gestured to Greg.

"Face, please, its not worth it."

"Well I suppose I need to freshen up too." Face said to do as Amy asked. "But will you be OK?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine! How long you going to be?" Amy replied and sat back on the bed.

"No long!" Face winked.

Amy didn't say one word to Greg, she couldn't think of anything she truly wanted to say that wouldn't upset her or the whole situation again, so she decided silence was probably the best policy. Greg however didn't want to sit in silence with her.

"Amy," he walked over to her and tried to stroke her face, the same cheek he'd slapped the night before, but she pulled away. "Please I don't know what came over me? Jealously I suppose."

"You have no right to be jealous Greg. You lost that right a long time ago! Now get away from me!" she replied angrily and tried to turn away from him.

"Please Amy, hear me out!" He tried again to touch her. He really thought he could make her warm to him again.

"No Greg, no, you've had all your chances now! Besides, what have you got to say? Face is right isn't he? Huh? It was you who placed that key in my apartment?"

But before he could think of an answer to give Amy, Face had returned from the bathroom, he'd deliberately been quick. Greg moved away from Amy reluctantly. Face glared at him as a warning, he didn't need to speak any words and sat himself beside her. He'd laid himself back on the bed, in the position he'd been in during the night, so he had full view of the room. Greg had placed himself in the chair at the dressing table. Both glared at one another as Amy sat back with Face. The three sat in silence in the room, waiting. Amy couldn't bear to look at Greg, so she closed her eyes and rested her head back on Face's shoulder but still couldn't stop her thoughts and feelings whizzing around her unsettled mind. Face checked his watch regularly; it was now getting closer to eight thirty. He continued to keep an eye on Greg.

The two men didn't have to put up with each other for much longer. The hotel room door opened, two gunmen entered, they were the same ones from the limo. One of them waved his gun particularly at Amy and Face. They both got off the bed and walked towards the gunmen.

"Time to go! Try anything funny and the girl dies!" The gunman growled, grabbing Amy roughly by the arm. His comments were particularly aimed at Face.

Face grabbed Amy by her hand and protectively held her tight to him as they walked out of the hotel room. Amy could feel the gun firmly digging in her back. The other gunman gestured to Greg to move. But his tone was not as aggressive. This confirmed to Amy that Greg really was in on this whole operation. She despised him now, more than ever. She wanted to tell him too, but with a gun in her back, she decided it would have to wait.

In the same fashion they came in, Face and Amy were ushered back out of the hotel, unnoticed by the hotel staff and back into the black limousine, where Johnson greeted them.

"Early bird, catches the worm, huh?" Face said sarcastically. "I didn't think banks opened until nine?"


XXXXXXX

BA sat in the driver's seat of the van and Murdock was now in his own seat, listening through headphones to Face's bug.

"Colonel, they're on the move!" Murdock confirmed.

"I see them!" BA confirmed as he watched Amy and Face be put into the limo, starting the ignition to the van.

"OK guys, you know what you have to do!" Hannibal said as he sat in the back of the van applying his makeup.


XXXXXXX

"Templeton Peck, so full of the wise cracks!" Johnson replied not amused to Face's comments. "We'll just drive about for a while, if we arrive early!"

"We could always stop for breakfast!" Face replied again in a sarcastic tone, he actually was feeling hungry.

With them all back firmly in the limo with the two gunmen, the driver pulled the limo out into the main stream of city traffic. To Amy, it felt like the next half hour or so dragged. They mainly sat in silence starring at the men opposite them, Johnson, Greg and a gunman. Face still had hold of her hand firmly, which she liked. She glared at Greg, her anger towards him swelling within her, but with a gun glaring at her, she didn't dare say a word. Greg smiled back at her but he got little response.

Eventually the limo pulled up outside a bank in the centre of the city. Amy and Face were ushered out of the limo by one of the gunmen. Johnson also got out.

"You two are coming with me". Johnson said firmly, proving that he had his own gun out inside his jacket. "Now walk!"

One of the gunmen followed them, leaving Greg and the other gunman in the limousine. The four of them walked into the bank, Amy and Face walked through the door first and as ushered, headed for the reception area.

"Hi, I would like to open my safety deposit box." Flashing his key, Johnson politely asked the bank clerk on the reception. Amy and Face noticed his completely different tone to the woman, as if he could actually be a pleasant guy.

"Yes, Sir. If you could just take a seat, someone is currently in the vault, but they should be out shortly and then you can go in."

Johnson was shown to a waiting area, where he sat with Amy, Face and his gunman. The gunman sat next to Amy with a gun, hidden by his jacket, firmly dug in her side. Face looked at his watch. They'd sat there nearly ten minutes; he could see Johnson was getting impatient.

"Sir, you can come through now." The receptionist informed Johnson, oblivious of this mans danger.

The four of them were chaperoned to the vault's entrance, unaware of the danger Face and Amy were in.

An old gentleman, quite portly, bent over a walking stick, appeared from a door, which leads to the vault. He was wearing a tatty old raincoat, he had a long grey beard and tatty long grey hair to match and on top of his head was a hat, the kind an old man would wear, equally as tatty. The old gentleman was speaking in an Irish accent to his young nephew, as far as they could tell from the conversation. The young nephew's face was hidden behind the old man, as he was bent over to the level of his uncle, hobbling along on his stick. The nephew was carrying a large sports bag. The accent was quite strong, so they couldn't quite make out what the old man was saying. There was something about him that Amy found familiar, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Oh T'ank you, T'ank you!" he said to Face as he held the door open for the old man, as they waited to enter the vault. Face distinctly got a wink from the old man. "T'ank you very much for all your sweet assistance." He turned his attention to the bank clerk and then to his nephew, "come along Neville." And then, the elderly gentleman and his strange nephew casually walked out of the bank.

Johnson ushered Face and Amy in first, and then he and his gunman followed.

"Oh, I'm sorry, maximum of three people, sir," The bank clerk said naively.

Johnson nodded to his gunman and the gunman stayed behind the vault door.

The vault was a large square room, filled with hundreds of metal boxes, lining the walls, all numbered and all requiring a key to open them. In the middle was a table with a dark marble top, which matched the floor. Once in the vault and the door was closed by the bank clerk, Johnson hurriedly found the safety deposit box required. Amy noticed the numbers were related to her birthday. He pulled out the box; it was quite narrow but long, a deceiving impression to which the room gave, Amy had thought the box would have been smaller.

He inserted the key into the lock, but it wouldn't open. Face watched him nervously and panicked a little.

"Here, let me have a go." And took the key off of Johnson and with his usual knack, unlocked the safety deposit box. "Let's just say it's one of my fortes" Face smiled, relieved the key had opened the box. He turned the box to Johnson, who then opened the box up, removing the lid. His face was of fury and disbelieve.

"What?" Face asked innocently.

"It's empty!" Johnson angrily turned the box to Face to show him the lack of its contents.

"Huh? Looks like someone's got here before you. Gregory boy out there, maybe?"

"What have you done with my money, Peck?"

"Me?" Face looked nervous. "I haven't touched your money!"

"You're going to pay for this Peck!"

"He hasn't got it, Johnson, honest. We didn't know about the box or what it contained. You have to believe us!" Amy chipped in also starting to panic slightly.

"Well, whatever you've done with the money, I'll find it, Peck! You're girlfriend here, will help me!" Johnson grabbed her roughly by the arm, stroking her face creepily with the gun in his hand. Face was about to protest, but decided against it. The three of them exited the vault. The gunman was waiting patiently outside and they hurried out of the bank, without even a thank you to the bank clerk.

Face and Amy were once again forced back into the limo, Johnson was mad with anger. There was a gun pointing in Amy's face and Face had a gun dug into his ribs. Amy was starting to panic as to how they were going to get out of this situation, she just hoped Hannibal had a plan and it was going to work!

"Tie them up! Maybe Peck will talk if he sees what's installed for him, or maybe the girl will talk as she watches her boyfriend die!" Johnson spat angrily at them both. "To the docks, driver!"


XXXXXXX

Once outside of the bank, the old man started to walk quickly, more upright and unaided by his stick. He jumped into the side door of a black GMC van.

Inside the van, Hannibal removed his wig and beard and grinned with delight looking at the contents of the bag. He was twiddling a key in his other hand.

"Nice!" Hannibal said with a grin on his face.

"Oh man, he's gonna be mad now!" BA chuckled.

"Yeah I know, so keep a tail on him! He's gonna want to lose Face and Amy now. We can't lose them! Its time for the fat cat to pounce!"