Stray Bullets 2
by Bill Kieffer
The screams started before Harold and Zu-Zu hit the floor. The young girls, regardless of species, had all reacted to the initial gunfire with the same terrified squeals. Instinctively, Harold covered not only Zu-Zu body with his own, but his huge right paw also shielded her from what he expected to see.
Thankfully, the four gunmen who'd been posing as security guards hadn't fired into people. Their intent had been only to garner everyone's attention, which they had. The Tortoise who had been posted next to the entrance was pulling the large drapes closed, obviously to discourage sniper fire. The Gecko who had been closest to the tellers' row, had his gun out and was ordering tellers to back away from their draws. The 'Gator and the Turtle were herding the children to the opposite side of the lobby, while concerned parents did their best to hide their own anxieties and encourage their daughters to behave and stay calm and quiet.
This wasn't a bank robbery; this was a siege.
Harold's mind quickly assessed the situation. They were being ignored on this side of the bank, and they were very close to the break room door. The problem was, that's where Harold would hold the hostages if he was the masterminding this little event. The Gecko would likely see them as they left the break room by the back door, which was line of sight of the row.
He uncovered Zu-Zu's eyes and stifled her petite feline muzzle with a gently urgency. He held a furry blonde finger to his thin black lips. He needn't have bothered; his not-quite girl friend had more sense than that.
He tilted his head in the direction of the door and her eyes followed the length of his muzzle until she caught site of the door. She gave a quick nod and twisted silently out from under him the second he lifted himself up half an inch. Zu-Zu flowed like a bead liquid mercury, reminding Harold how he had once held her to him and ran his claws through her cream coloured fur.
It was quite impossible, of course, but if they made it out of here alive today he was never going to let her go. Others made it work.
Just as Zu-Zu made it to the door, the air above her sleek head rippled and sparkled. Harold felt his stomach drop terribly as his lungs and heart twisted about each other in his throat. Zu-Zu flinched back in that second and the rippling sparkles coalesced into the shape of... a man, for lack of a better word.
It stood seven foot tall, a Reptilian Avatar from the prehistoric Feral Age, while the rifle in its claws spoke of a future Harold was not likely to live to see. Its species was unclear beneath its matte black armor, but the exposed skin was clearly an orange with brown splotches not unlike paw prints. The stubby snout and spike crested forehead of the creature met in a broad ridge that might have been a mask painted in his exotic skin tones, but clearly wasn't. Its whole back was crested with jagged plates that Harold was unwilling to believe were part of the freakish monstrosity that stood before Zu-Zu, yet they could no serve purpose as armor that military minded dog could see.
"Going somewhere, Kitty?" It hissed, in a reptilian growl full of sadistic promises that set Harold's hackles aflame with fear for Zu-Zu, who froze sensibly inches away from the muzzle of the firearm the creature carried. It motioned with the gun and she scuttled back on all fours. "That's what I thought."
Then it spoke again in its coarse, dry voice, its eyes locked on Harold. "You, you've got hero written all over your face. Play it cool or Kitty cashes it in." Harold concentrated on easing his hackles down and keeping his lips tight against his teeth. He raised his black palms up slightly, and that seemed to please the monster. "Right, let's keep everything nice and friendly, and professional, hmmm? I promise, if you behave, we'll be out of your fur in a few short time."
The lips of the creature were very supple for a Reptile, unlike any being Harold had even seen before. Alien or Exotic, Harold had no doubt the creature went about the day in a different guise. He knew something about criminals and the so-called supervillians, after all, and anyone this ugly 24/7 tended to be either very aggressive or very tame. So, he pulled his eyes away from the creature's demonic face to its futuristic rifle. If he survived this, the rifle's construction might be the best clue to whoever was behind this.
The business end of the rifle bounced to the side twice and Harold exchanged a look with Zu-Zu before they both stood slowly and allowed themselves to be herded across the bank with the other hostages. The guards seemed to smile evilly at them. With Reps, it was sometimes to easy to assign menacing undertones in their expressions, Harold realized, especially if one is unduly prejudiced. Seeing the four green skinned Repts standing there with their guns trained on unarmed women and children, did a lot to rekindle the prejudices his father had tried to instill in his children. He could almost hear the old man gloating from his grave. He allowed himself one little growl, at his father, at himself, and at the men who had betrayed the uniforms they wore.
There was sobbing and shuffling as Harold and Zu-Zu joined the other bank employees against the wall, but there was a bit of relief that nobody had been asked to turn and face the wall. Most would-be bank robbers had their hostages lie down, to better control them. This suited SWAT teams just fine, as it reduced the risk of accidentally taking out a hostage, although it tended to make identification difficult.
Whatever is happening, Harold thought, they want us to watch. That thought sat not at all well with the Canine. Not with the children of the bank employees standing against another wall, opposite the huge windows the expected SWAT team would likely be pointing their sniper rifles at, itching for a target.
Still held upright, the Canine's right paw suddenly wrapped itself in Zu- Zu's delicate cream coloured hand.
"I am Stegosaurus Rex," the huge yellow and brown monster growled, as it paced before them. "My men and I are from the Reptilian Liberation Army and we are NOT here to rob your bank, although we will gladly accept donations." The Gecko and Crocodile snickered at this joke, but the two shelled Repts seemed to glower at their partners. Dissension in the ranks, perhaps, Harold noted and filed that moment away. If this thing dragged out too long, that little tidbit might come in handy.
"No," the thing calling itself Rex continued in his cruelly rasping voice, "We are hear to ask you a very important question... 'Do you love your children?'"
The screams started before Harold and Zu-Zu hit the floor. The young girls, regardless of species, had all reacted to the initial gunfire with the same terrified squeals. Instinctively, Harold covered not only Zu-Zu body with his own, but his huge right paw also shielded her from what he expected to see.
Thankfully, the four gunmen who'd been posing as security guards hadn't fired into people. Their intent had been only to garner everyone's attention, which they had. The Tortoise who had been posted next to the entrance was pulling the large drapes closed, obviously to discourage sniper fire. The Gecko who had been closest to the tellers' row, had his gun out and was ordering tellers to back away from their draws. The 'Gator and the Turtle were herding the children to the opposite side of the lobby, while concerned parents did their best to hide their own anxieties and encourage their daughters to behave and stay calm and quiet.
This wasn't a bank robbery; this was a siege.
Harold's mind quickly assessed the situation. They were being ignored on this side of the bank, and they were very close to the break room door. The problem was, that's where Harold would hold the hostages if he was the masterminding this little event. The Gecko would likely see them as they left the break room by the back door, which was line of sight of the row.
He uncovered Zu-Zu's eyes and stifled her petite feline muzzle with a gently urgency. He held a furry blonde finger to his thin black lips. He needn't have bothered; his not-quite girl friend had more sense than that.
He tilted his head in the direction of the door and her eyes followed the length of his muzzle until she caught site of the door. She gave a quick nod and twisted silently out from under him the second he lifted himself up half an inch. Zu-Zu flowed like a bead liquid mercury, reminding Harold how he had once held her to him and ran his claws through her cream coloured fur.
It was quite impossible, of course, but if they made it out of here alive today he was never going to let her go. Others made it work.
Just as Zu-Zu made it to the door, the air above her sleek head rippled and sparkled. Harold felt his stomach drop terribly as his lungs and heart twisted about each other in his throat. Zu-Zu flinched back in that second and the rippling sparkles coalesced into the shape of... a man, for lack of a better word.
It stood seven foot tall, a Reptilian Avatar from the prehistoric Feral Age, while the rifle in its claws spoke of a future Harold was not likely to live to see. Its species was unclear beneath its matte black armor, but the exposed skin was clearly an orange with brown splotches not unlike paw prints. The stubby snout and spike crested forehead of the creature met in a broad ridge that might have been a mask painted in his exotic skin tones, but clearly wasn't. Its whole back was crested with jagged plates that Harold was unwilling to believe were part of the freakish monstrosity that stood before Zu-Zu, yet they could no serve purpose as armor that military minded dog could see.
"Going somewhere, Kitty?" It hissed, in a reptilian growl full of sadistic promises that set Harold's hackles aflame with fear for Zu-Zu, who froze sensibly inches away from the muzzle of the firearm the creature carried. It motioned with the gun and she scuttled back on all fours. "That's what I thought."
Then it spoke again in its coarse, dry voice, its eyes locked on Harold. "You, you've got hero written all over your face. Play it cool or Kitty cashes it in." Harold concentrated on easing his hackles down and keeping his lips tight against his teeth. He raised his black palms up slightly, and that seemed to please the monster. "Right, let's keep everything nice and friendly, and professional, hmmm? I promise, if you behave, we'll be out of your fur in a few short time."
The lips of the creature were very supple for a Reptile, unlike any being Harold had even seen before. Alien or Exotic, Harold had no doubt the creature went about the day in a different guise. He knew something about criminals and the so-called supervillians, after all, and anyone this ugly 24/7 tended to be either very aggressive or very tame. So, he pulled his eyes away from the creature's demonic face to its futuristic rifle. If he survived this, the rifle's construction might be the best clue to whoever was behind this.
The business end of the rifle bounced to the side twice and Harold exchanged a look with Zu-Zu before they both stood slowly and allowed themselves to be herded across the bank with the other hostages. The guards seemed to smile evilly at them. With Reps, it was sometimes to easy to assign menacing undertones in their expressions, Harold realized, especially if one is unduly prejudiced. Seeing the four green skinned Repts standing there with their guns trained on unarmed women and children, did a lot to rekindle the prejudices his father had tried to instill in his children. He could almost hear the old man gloating from his grave. He allowed himself one little growl, at his father, at himself, and at the men who had betrayed the uniforms they wore.
There was sobbing and shuffling as Harold and Zu-Zu joined the other bank employees against the wall, but there was a bit of relief that nobody had been asked to turn and face the wall. Most would-be bank robbers had their hostages lie down, to better control them. This suited SWAT teams just fine, as it reduced the risk of accidentally taking out a hostage, although it tended to make identification difficult.
Whatever is happening, Harold thought, they want us to watch. That thought sat not at all well with the Canine. Not with the children of the bank employees standing against another wall, opposite the huge windows the expected SWAT team would likely be pointing their sniper rifles at, itching for a target.
Still held upright, the Canine's right paw suddenly wrapped itself in Zu- Zu's delicate cream coloured hand.
"I am Stegosaurus Rex," the huge yellow and brown monster growled, as it paced before them. "My men and I are from the Reptilian Liberation Army and we are NOT here to rob your bank, although we will gladly accept donations." The Gecko and Crocodile snickered at this joke, but the two shelled Repts seemed to glower at their partners. Dissension in the ranks, perhaps, Harold noted and filed that moment away. If this thing dragged out too long, that little tidbit might come in handy.
"No," the thing calling itself Rex continued in his cruelly rasping voice, "We are hear to ask you a very important question... 'Do you love your children?'"