2.05PM
Nexus Commercial Bank
Female Customer Toilets
"Where are the others, Zafira?" asked Nanoha, stepping over the unconscious woman lying on the floor. Strands of fabric from the balaclava stuck to her tongue and she shuddered, pulling it off.
The dark-skinned man shrugged. "They're on their way. I need to hide her, and then get changed."
"Just make sure she doesn't start screaming; I've got a splitting headache…" Nanoha leant against the tiled wall, kneading her forehead with her palms.
Zafira dragged the woman into a cubicle at the end, took a roll of tape from his rucksack, and wrapped it around her wrists and ankles. He turned around only to have Nanoha glower at him, so he tore off a strip of tape and stuck it over the woman's mouth.
"Happy?"
"Mm."
"I'm going to change now," he said, moving to an adjacent cubicle, and slammed the door behind him.
Nanoha tapped her foot impatiently and glanced at her watch. The door opened and Signum ushered in a scowling Vita, who pouted before speaking.
"Stop pushing, Signum. I don't need steering," she said indignantly.
Nanoha grinned, momentarily forgetting her migraine, and petted Vita.
"Hey!" Vita recoiled, nearly tripping over Signum, who was standing watching nearby, bemused. "I'm going to get changed."
"Is Zafira here?" asked Signum in her confident, loud voice.
"Yes, I am," replied an aggravated Zafira. "Nanoha, these costumes of yours aren't exactly easy to climb into."
"Do you want to have the police identify us straight away?" she replied, coldly, before adding, in a more sympathetic tone. "I don't like it either, okay?"
Signum rolled her eyes and took the cubicle beside Vita's to change in.
Several minutes later they were all changed. Vita stood between Signum and Zafira, looking amusingly out of place. Nanoha giggled, and Vita's brow furrowed. They all wore grey boiler suits, identical in every way but size.
Signum had, like Nanoha, an AKS-74 with unfolded stock slung over her shoulder, Zafira the smaller AKS-74U variant with still-folded stock in his hands, strap dangling, and Vita a Glock, which she was presently staring at, and to the weapons held by her companions, in disbelief.
"This isn't fair," she said. "I'm fifteen. I can fire one of them." She motioned to Nanoha's gun.
Nanoha cocked her head, and let her gun's strap slide down her arm. "Would you like to try, Vita?" She held the gun out.
Vita took it, nearly dropping it when Nanoha released it from her tight grasp. Blushing, Vita handed it back without a word.
"Balaclavas on," instructed Signum, and they all complied.
"Right, it's time; Shamal will have killed the CCTV and cut the phones. We're doing this just like we planned. Zafira, secure the entrances, Signum, clear out the offices, get everyone into the lobby, and Vita, we'll round up the hostages."
They all nodded.
"Go."
X
2.20PM
Nexus Commercial Bank
Lobby
Hayate jumped as someone tapped her shoulder. She span around on her toes, only the find Shamal grinning at her.
"You scared me, Shamal!"
"Hayate, something is going to happen in a moment; something important. I'm telling you because you'll have to make a choice. I hope you'll make the right one."
Hayate frowned. "What kind of thing?"
Shamal eyed her changing expression. "A robbery."
Her eyes wide, Hayate replied, fear in her voice. "Here?"
Shamal nodded.
"Are you involved?"
"We both are."
There was a high-pitched shriek from behind them, in the corner of the lobby toward the customer toilets. Hayate looked, trying to see through the retreating crowd.
"We are robbing this bank. You are all now hostages," a familiar voice shouted. "If you cooperate, you will survive. If you do not, you will be shot. These are guns." A decidedly gun-like object was waved in the air, over the heads of the crowd. "They fire real bullets. They will hurt you if they hit you. Now, please listen to my compatriot as she explains the rules."
It can't be. It can't be Nanoha. Hayate thought. She's dead!
"There will be no unnecessary noise. Talking amongst yourselves is strictly prohibited. Nobody will try to escape this room. Nobody will try to contact anyone from the outside. Nobody will go near the windows – or even move, unless instructed," said Vita, and then added. "If you break any of these rules, I will shoot you."
Vita? That's Vita's voice!
Someone screamed. Unrest spread through the crowd and chaos ensued. Someone tried to run to the exit, but Vita stuck out her foot and tripped them. Nanoha clipped the butt of her rifle against the escapee's forehead, and they collapsed.
"Shut up!" Nanoha screamed.
"I have the worst headache."
There's no mistake. That
is definitely Nanoha's voice.
The crowd of clientele fell silent. Zafira came up behind Nanoha, having locked the bank's front doors. "Do you want to know what the definition of a hero is?" he asked loudly. "A hero is a person that gets other people killed."
I know that voice! Zafira! What is going on?
Hayate felt something cold press into the small of her back.
"Turn around," instructed Signum. "Slowly."
Hayate complied, turning until she faced the speaker. "Signum? Is that you?"
The speaker slapped her hard across the face. "Shut up if you do not want to end up dead. Go and join the others out there." The barrel motioned toward the crowd in the centre of the lobby.
A small whimper escaped Hayate's lips, and she nursed the bruising spot on her left cheek as she walked out into the lobby.
Five minutes later Signum had checked and cleared every office, restroom and briefing room, and the entire population, bar Nanoha's group, of the bank was sat, cowering, on the marble floor of the lobby, their hands on their heads.
"Okay, everybody, I want you all to stand in two lines," shouted Nanoha. "Females this side, and males this side."
There was a shuffling of feet and several moments later all hostages had begrudgingly complied.
Nanoha nodded to Signum, who went down the male line as Nanoha did the female line.
"Everyone is to surrender all keys and mobile phones they have on their person. Non-compliance will be dealt with unpleasantly."
Every single person surrendered a mobile and a set of keys, dropping them into a bag that was waved in front of them, until Signum reached the last male of the line, a bank employee.
"No phone?" she asked, disbelieving.
"N-No."
Signum grabbed his hair and yanked his head so it was millimetres from hers. "Are you sure?"
"Yes."
Her eyes narrowed. "What is your name?"
"Er-"
"Your name?!" she screamed.
" Preston," he answered.
"Surname?"
"…Bale."
Signum released his hair, and emptied the bag of phones and keys onto the floor. She grabbed one at random, and started flicking through its contact list. Finding no match, she hurled the handset at a nearby pillar, and selected another. And another. And finally, she found what she was looking for.
A bass-less tune began playing. The man cowered. Signum raised her weapon, but Nanoha caught her eye. Signum settled with a blow to the side of the man's head with the metal stock on her rifle.
X
2.35PM
Police
Headquarters, SWAT Department
Cafeteria
Fate leaned back in her chair and sipped her cup of hot coffee cautiously. She sighed, letting her shoulders relax.
It was quiet. The day had been slow. The month had been slow. Fate was beginning to wish for some action. Normal duties as a law enforcement officer were usually uninteresting and involved a lot of paperwork, and the firing range could offer little potential improvement for her now, and thus had become boring.
All of a sudden, her pager beeped. She grabbed it, pulling it from her belt, and read the text that was scrolling across.
SWAT Call; Bank Heist; Barricaded Suspects, Hostage Situation.