Well here it is, suffered a bit of writer's block with this one, went back and forth on it all day & finally decided it was about as good as it was going to get. Hope it's not too bad. :(
Adam scanned the bank. He took note of the doors and windows, counters and any other obstructions. He then took stock of the rest of the hostages. Three bank employees, and elderly couple, a middle aged couple, the woman with her baby and two other elderly women who seemed unrelated.
They weren't exactly calm but right now they were under control. It was the young male bank employee who unnerved him the most, he watched him for a while as he followed the two instigators around. While it wasn't unusual to follow their every move, hell he was doing the same there was just something off with him.
They'd called themselves Larry and Mo and Adam thought it was cute, and as dumb as fuck. They were amateurs but they had guns nonetheless and he needed to see how jumpy they were before he did anything.
So he watched.
The young bank guy was watching them and him and Adam tried to strike up a rapport with him, mainly with eye contact. At this stage nobody was speaking except Larry and Mo. Something about him unsettled him, something he couldn't put his finger on so he decided to stop trying to engage him.
He had to formulate a plan, he had to let people on the outside know he was here and he had to make sure that Larry and Mo didn't know he was a cop, that would be signing his death warrant. He zoned out for a few moments, his eyes open but he was trying to still his mind and think. What would Voight do? What would Al do?
Voight, he'd be motherfucking crazy and take out the two guys and that was not something Adam contemplated, not right now anyway. Give him another 24 or 48 hours of this then he might go Voight.
Al, he'd be more considered, he'd watch and think and move as slow as a snail. They really were chalk and cheese with regards to that. He wanted to rush in and do everything at once and a million miles an hour, like Voight but Al was teaching him slowly to be more like him and while it frustrated him at times and they had blown up at each other more times than he could count but in this moment he appreciated Al's approach to policing. He finally got it.
Suddenly the baby started crying and his focus came back and he started to formulate a plan. Larry and Mo didn't seem trigger happy, he was pretty sure they didn't want to fire their weapons. That didn't mean they wouldn't but at least it gave him a chance. Some small hope that they'd be able to get out of here alive.
"Wanna shut that kid up?" He growled at the mother. He felt awful when he saw her horrified look but he had to do it. It was strange, being mean to a mother and child went against everything he stood for, but getting everyone out had to take priority and even if she didn't know it, he was doing it for her and her baby. He hoped one day she'd know that, even if he didn't make it.
"Sorry." She held her baby closer and tried to soothe her.
"It's fucking annoying." From the corner of his eye he watched Larry and Mo. They exchanged a brief glance and he knew they'd picked up on something so he had to drive it home, but it was a long game he was playing.
"Why can't you shut it up. Stick your tit in its mouth or something." Internally he even cringed at that.
The mother pleaded with him. She was desperately trying not to gain any attention. She had no idea what these people would do to her baby and having someone bring attention to them was mortifying and terrified her. "Please stop."
"What? All kids like tits don't they?"
"Shut the fuck up." Larry warned him, taking a step closer to Adam who was sitting with his back to the wall and knees pulled up.
"What? The kids fucking annoying. I don't want to sit here listening to it screaming all day. Do you?"
"I said shut the fuck up."
Adam muttered under his breath and Larry didn't quite hear it and asked him to repeat it to which Adam just shrugged. That pissed him off and Mo decided to join in. "What the fuck you say?"
"Nothing." He shrugged again.
Everyone else gasped when Mo's handgun smashed into the side of Adam's face. He felt the blood trickle down his cheek almost immediately but did not flinch. "Fucking tough guy." Mo did it again, seemingly annoyed by his lack of response.
"You done?" He asked and Larry actually put hand on his partners arm to stop him hitting Adam again. "And now the kids fucking screaming even louder. How about you let them go? Do us all a fucking favour."
"How about you shut the fuck up?"
"Okay." Adam held up his hands in defeat. He wasn't giving up though. He was just catching his breath. He needed them to calm back down a little before he started again. It was a balance, pushing them to the edge and then pulling back and letting it calm down before pushing them again, each time a little further. The balance was stopping before the rope snapped.
Moving his position he sat near the elderly couple. "Are you okay?" The lady asked handing him a tissue from her bag to wipe away the blood that was trickling down his face. He assumed it looked bad and was glad he didn't have a mirror to check it out. He was a bit of a wuss like that, if he couldn't see how much he was hurt somehow it didn't hurt as much.
"Just a flesh wound." Adam smiled painfully; it did fucking hurt though and he had the feeling that it wasn't going to be the last beating he took. "I'll be fine. You okay?" He whispered and they both nodded. "I need you to just stay calm and quiet okay. Let me do the talking."
"Okay."
He sat for a while, not talking to the couple because he knew he was being watched and then he moved off again. He had been quietly talking to everyone else, not staying long and Larry and Mo didn't seem to mind. He ignored the other bank guy.
He did ask the middle aged couple to try and defend the mother when he went her again. "Not too much, just tell me to stop. Don't get up or involved though. Trust me."
He eventually made his way towards the woman with the baby. His whole demeanour changed though; his quiet reassuring behaviour was suddenly cold.
"Give me the kid." He demanded.
"No."
Adam's back was facing Larry and Mo so he smiled at her, his eyes pleading. His kind pleading eyes didn't match his words though. "Give me the fucking kid." and reluctantly the mother handed her over.
What he did horrified the mother, he scared the baby and made it scream. She jumped up and snatched her baby from his arms, as she did she felt something sticking into her baby's back and Adam saw her reaction and just shook his head. His eyes tried to convey everything that was too dangerous to say.
"All it does is fucking scream." He grunted. "It's doing my fucking head in, get it fucking out of here before I smother it."
"Leave her alone." The middle aged man stood up on cue but didn't approach Adam.
"Sit down tough guy." Adam barked at him.
It worked, another ten minutes of bitching and a kick in the nuts, which left Adam rolling on the floor in agony had worked. He clutched his balls, just to make sure they were still there and for a moment he did contemplate that he'd never have kids now, that's how bad it was. He felt like they were in his throat and the throbbing rattled though his entire body but at least it stopped him thinking about the pain in his head from the pistol whipping.
It was chaos and for a moment he was worried he'd pushed them too far. Everyone jumped up to help the mother and baby who was hysterical that Adam had threatened to smother the child. Nobody cared about him and that was his plan, they had to think that Adam was working alone, if they started to form groups or allegiances Larry and Mo would get suspicious that they were about to try something. Adam had to maintain his cover.
"Please let her go." One of the elderly couple begged and Larry agreed. It was out of control and they couldn't stand the noise. Despite being armed they were still outnumbered and had to keep control. Right now they didn't have it.
Mo took a few more minutes of negotiating to get him to agree and all the while the baby kept screaming. The middle aged man, who he learned was called Jack came to help Adam was shocked when he whispered to him to make sure the baby kept crying. "Don't let it stop."
Suddenly Larry appeared in front of the mother, "Get out." He grabbed her wallet though and reminded her that he knew where she lived if things went sideways. Adam smirked. He really was stupid, the only way he was leaving was in a body bag, he just didn't know it yet. That, and Adam had no idea how that was going to happen either, not yet.
All Adam needed was for them to get out, the mother knew about the card, she'd look at it and the cops that surrounded the building would soon know he was in there and without a doubt Intelligence would be called in. He had faith in them, they wouldn't let him down.
Jack played along, he suddenly got it. When the mother was released he realised what had been going on the entire time. He wasn't an asshole; he was trying to get people out. He was smart enough to know he had to play the game though and he hoped that Adam understood. "You're a fucking ass you know that." Jack sniped at him.
"Yep." Fifteen minutes on and he was still smarting from the boot to the balls. "Don't you fucking start nagging either I ain't helping your sorry ass."
"Trust me, I don't need your help." Jack winked at him and Adam got it. He had an ally, someone who would follow his lead.
Now he had no fucking idea what to do next but he knew he needed to hang low for a while, let the steam come out of the room. Although they had let the mother go Larry and Mo were at each other's throats. Bank guy, or Curly as Adam had named him was just watching them getting agitated with each other but saying and doing nothing. He hadn't done or said one thing when the shit was going on with the releasing of the two hostages. It was unnerving and he didn't know how he rolled yet or what he was up to. He decided he had to let the dust settle a bit and hope that another idea or opportunity would present itself.
It was his turn to watch and wait.