Title: Heist.Rating: Um…PG13-R
Beta: The fabulous lurker m3kane, a beta virgin who did a great job. Thanks for the help and the insightful changes honey.
Disclaimer: I don't own The OC, Ryan or Benjamin McKenzie. Fuck!
Story: As requested Hero! In peril Ryan! Yeay! All in the title really. Set post finale.
Notes: hiding under the bed again to avoid the pinatas from 'certain' people - Storymom!
Heist
Chapter 4
Ryan could smell the acrid tang of stale sweat on his body. The air con had been off for just over thirty minutes by his reckoning and the room's humidity was already rising to a stifling level.
Anxiety, fear, and the fast rising heat in the building made for a dangerous mix. Exacerbating the situation, the dim light filtering through the heavy blinds cast a grim greyness over the room and crept into every corner like a depression. The guy with the gun had stripped off his outer shirt and was now sitting in a pair of jeans and a grubby pale blue tee. He jiggled his leg up and down as he stared at the phone waiting for it to ring again. The last call had not ended well and the tension in the room was palpable. The guy had yelled at the cops for switching the power off and he'd demanded they switch it back on. That call had ended with him punching the counter top hard.
They were still in semi-darkness twenty minutes later and it was getting hotter by the second.
The businessman was trying to engage the guy in conversation. "They're probably just trying to make you angry. Don't give in to them. Don't do anything stupid 'cause that's what they want."
"When did you become such an expert?" the guy with the gun grunted.
"I'm not…but they're going to try and fuck with you. Don't let them. This can end up okay. I mean you let the cop go and the women. That will go in your favour, right?" The businessman shifted and wiped the sweat off the back of his neck. "What's your name…I mean what do we call you, we've got to call you something right?"
The guy just glared.
"Give us a something, a nick name…hell make one up. We're going to be stuck here together for god knows how long. We might as well know each others names."
Ryan had a lot of respect for whoever this man was. He was cool and he wasn't panicking. He was probably some high-powered exec who was used to dealing with the "shit hitting the fan". He'd probably been on some crazy assed corporate course that covered hostage situations just in case the mailroom junior or janitor went nuts after years of unsuccessfully trying to climb the corporate ladder.
Ryan stifled a laugh. The heat was getting to him.
It was clever, though. Ryan had read somewhere that knowing each others names in a situation like this helped to personalize and create an atmosphere where they became people instead of disposable commodities. Not that it had helped him much, the guy knew his name and it hadn't stopped him from having a hard on for him when it came to threats.
"I'm Jeff," the businessman said. He pointedly looked at the security man.
"Clancy."
He then turned to each of them in turn.
"Brian," the manager said quietly.
Jeff then looked at Seth.
"Seth Cohen, first time hostage, first time heist situation and can I say that I'm kinda feeling the love in the room right now?" Seth replied.
Trust Seth to downplay his fear but at least he was looking less terrified. If he could wisecrack then Ryan could worry less. Even Sandy managed to look faintly amused.
"Sandy Cohen."
"Steve," the cashier spoke.
It took him a while to realize that all eyes had swung his way.
"Ryan," he said flatly, like they didn't know that already.
"Okay…" Jeff turned to the guy and looked at him expectantly.
The guy looked pissed but eventually gave in.
"Saul…the cops probably know that already, as it seems like we were ratted out."
Saul? This guy could not look less like a Saul if he tried with his dyed hair and prison yard tattoos but then what did he know…half the time he didn't feel like an 'Atwood' let alone a 'Ryan'.
Shit it was getting hot.
Ryan wiped the sweat off his face with his hand and rubbed the moisture onto his jeans. His hand came away just as damp. He cursed putting on heavy denim this morning instead of a pair of lightweight pants. He looked over at Seth who sat in a pair of broad shorts and a cotton shirt, his hair was damp but he looked cooler than some of the people in the room. Clancy had taken off his jacket and tie. Jeff had pulled his shirt out and opened it to the waist, as had Brian. Sandy was in the same position he was in and unless they both wanted to sit with their tops off they just had to put up with their tee shirts sticking to them.
Seth caught his eye and started signalling to him Eagle Scout style. Ryan didn't have a clue what Seth was trying to say but just watching him was a comfort. He gave Seth a weak smile and nodded his head slightly, any stronger movement than that made the room spin and tilt. To be quite honest he was having difficulties keeping his eyes open. It was the heat; he figured that was making him dopey, he was probably getting dehydrated as well, that was not helping the building nausea he felt.
Almost as if he was mocking him Saul got up and walked over to the water cooler situated in the corner of the room. He drained two cups, went back to the phone, and continued to stare at it.
"We all need water," Sandy spoke.
Just hearing the word made Ryan's gummy mouth water in anticipation and he looked longingly at the water cooler. Saul seemed to ponder this for a while and Ryan wondered if he was going to refuse Sandy's request out of sheer bloody mindedness to spite them.
"Okay…one at a time," he eventually said.
Sandy went first and drank deeply, and then sat back down. The others followed suit. Ryan went last. He got halfway to the cooler when his body started to rebel. He felt a cold flush surge through his body followed close on its heels by a hot sensation and a fuzzy light-headedness that told him that there was a distinct possibility that he was going to pass out. He slowed his steps and breathed deeply willing the episode away. It worked, the spots cleared from in front of his eyes and his leaden limbs felt like they could hold him up again. The heat was getting to him more than he thought. He pulled a paper cup down and filled it. The water was tepid now, but it tasted like nectar. Ryan sunk three cups and felt more human. He returned to his corner and sat back down.
"Ryan…are you okay?" Sandy asked as soon as his ass hit the floor. The patented Cohen worried tone was in place. Great.
"Yeah."
"Are you sure?"
Ryan's stomach gave a little lurch. He nodded even though he was starting to feel like crap again now that he'd sat down. He was thankful when Saul told them to be quiet. Sandy looked like he was going to argue, but the sound of the phone ringing made them all sit upright, everything else forgotten. Saul snatched the phone up and barked down the line.
"Put the power back on now! I'm not kidding. Don't fuck with me because it won't work. All you're doing is putting these people in danger. I told you I want out. I want a car…I want you to back off…I mean it!"
Ryan watched with the others as Saul listened intently to whoever was on the line. From what Saul was saying they appeared to be trying to placate him, asking for time to get a 'car' sorted. Ryan knew that was crap. No car would be available…no get out clause at all for Saul. They were buying time. At this moment there probably was several units setting up crisis meetings outside, risk management and feasibility studies on how best to end this with the least amount of casualties.
Saul started losing it again. Ryan was learning how to read him, and he'd figured that when he started running his hand through his hair, that was the time to worry. Ryan learnt from an early age that 'they' always had a sign to watch out for. Saul was listening quietly but his hand was repeatedly raking furrows in his thick hair.
He eventually spoke.
"I'm not a patient man," was all he said before he put the phone down.
Again they all held their breaths and looked at one another. Saul went back to his pacing. Ryan thought that he was beginning to understand that the cops were not about to let him walk and was trying to work out what to do next.
The room was silent and again the tension upped a notch. Seth shifted closer to Sandy. No one took their eyes off Saul.
Ryan's stomach unfortunately chose that moment to lurch again. The water he'd just downed churned uneasily. He must have drunk it too fast, or it was just the product of the mother of all headaches that had settled behind his eyes. He swallowed several times and shut his eyes.
Shit.
Not now.
He knew it was inevitable a second before it happened. Ryan kept the first wave in his mouth, and he rather disgustingly swallowed it back down in the vain hope that that would be it. But the second wave hit more forcefully, and he had no choice but to lean forward and open his mouth as his stomach expelled its contents with a series of explosive heaves. Vomit splattered across the marble floor, and Ryan could feel all eyes on him as he coughed and heaved.
"Stay where you are!" Saul shouted. Ryan could guess that Sandy had tried to join him.
He managed to catch his breath as the heaving stopped.
"Great…just fucking great. Now we have to put up with that stink." Saul sounded pissed, surprise surprise.
Ryan felt ashamed and embarrassed. Throwing up like a little kid in front of everyone was not cool.
"Let me go to him…he's sick." Sandy pleaded.
"I said, 'Stay where you are'."
"That guy hit him pretty hard…maybe it's a concussion," Jeff said.
"Yeah," Clancy added.
Ryan saw Seth's eyes grow wide and Sandy looked agitated by the thought.
"I'm fine… it's just the heat." He said to try and put their minds at rest but he was beginning to think that maybe there was some truth in what they'd just said.
"Yeah, well, whatever it is you've pissed me off from the start. I don't trust you, you're a sneaky little bastard…."
Saul walked over and looked at Ryan with distaste.
"I don't trust you one bit, you make me nervous…. get up."
Ryan looked at him trying to figure out what the hell was going to happen next.
"On your feet…now." He punctuated it with a nudge from the gun on his arm.
"He's ill…can't you see that?" Sandy pleaded again.
"Dad?" Ryan looked over at Seth and saw him looking both scared and confused. "Leave him alone."
He tried to signal with his eyes that it was going to be okay, but he didn't really believe it so why should Seth. He tried to work up the energy to move; he knelt for a second hoping that his head would clear before he stood up. He looked into Saul's eyes as he paused and didn't like what he saw there. A possible concussion was the least of his problems it appeared.
Saul grinned at him, and he felt like a fly trapped in a web.
"I'm going to count to five…" And he pulled back the trigger. A loud click sounded around the room.
Ryan didn't need to be told twice, he pushed himself upright and stood.
"He can barely stand!" Jeff shouted urgently. "Be reasonable…he's just a kid."
"Please…he's no real threat to you." Sandy joined in, as did everyone else in the room. Had he not been so scared, Ryan would have felt gratified that people seemed to care.
"What are you going to do?" he asked quietly, not sure he wanted to know the answer.
"Just move." Saul nudged him again with the gun towards the back of the bank. He looked at Seth and Sandy as he started walking.
"It'll be okay," he said softly as he passed them, but Saul's laugh implied that it would be far from okay.
"If you hurt him…if you lay one finger on him… I swear I'll not rest until I see you get everything you deserve!" Sandy yelled at their retreating backs. He didn't sound remotely like the Sandy he knew. For the first time ever he heard pure venom in his voice, and that was not a quality Ryan thought Sandy possessed. He was still learning things about the family that had taken him in.
Saul didn't acknowledge Sandy.
"If anyone moves a muscle they'll be trouble. I mean it, I won't be long," he said as they walked behind the cashiers' counters and into the back of the bank away from everyone else.
Ryan felt dizzy. He felt sick. His heart was beating way too fast.
Ryan comprehended, suddenly and completely, the meaning of the phrase 'dead man walking'.
To the left of him was what appeared to be a small safety deposit vault. Abandoned in fright by a staff member, the heavy steel door was ajar with papers scattered on the floor in front of it. To his right were several small offices and a kitchenette area also showing signs of the panic that must have occurred when the gunmen first entered the bank. A coffee cup lay on its side, sugar package upturned, a mini fridge with the door open, the creamer spoiling by the sink.
Saul told him to stop where he was.
He did.
Saul told him to kneel down.
He did… slowly.
Saul moved behind him and told him that he was going to die.
He had no doubt about that as the hard metal of the pistol touched the back of his head.
Saul said that this was going to show the cops he meant business.
Ryan stared at the floor in front of him and waited.
No one moved.
Even though the door was less than fifteen feet away and Brian had the keys. It was like they were all encased in their own invisible prisons, incapable of any mobility. Fear and uncertainty made them all stay put.
A strange solidarity had sprung up in the short space of time they'd been together, and they all worried about the teen that'd dared to stand up for them.
No one moved.
"What's going to happen?" Seth spoke quietly. His voice wavered, and his usual carefree posture stiff with tension.
Sandy for once in his life was at a loss for words. All he could do was hold his son's hand tight, a gesture which in normal circumstances would have resulted in a teenage hissy fit. Seth didn't seem to notice or, if he did, he didn't care about age or appearances given the present situation.
Sandy's eyes were focused, as were Seth's, on the wall that separated them from the rest of the bank, the wall behind which Ryan had been forcefully marched.
Sandy had never really understood his son's continuing obsession with comics and superheroes, but he desperately wished now that he possessed the superpower of x-ray vision to see what was happening behind that wall.
Time stood still, each second passing seemed like hours.
Sandy held onto Seth's hand and waited.
He prayed silently to himself.
A muffled gunshot reverberated around the room.
Sandy jumped even though he'd been expecting it.
He shut his eyes and held so tightly on to Seth.
He was glad he couldn't see through the wall after all.
TBC
Da da daaaaaaaaaaaaaa.
ducks the rotting fruit.