A Wish From The Devil

CHAPTER 3: The man with the Gun.

{Tips on how to not get shot:

Avoid standing in front of the shooter

Be like the wind

Be the wind.}

*************

It was slow but immediate, the same way a queue of small children would form up in front of the ice-cream man on a hot afternoon. One moment the ice-cream guy is standing underneath a tree with his cart and the next moment a row of kids can be seen crowding together in front of him as if drawn by an invisible force.

One moment, almost all the employees had their heads bent trying to preserve their lives, except a few nosy ones who from the beginning just couldn’t stop themselves from peering at the intruders. To them, sacrificing themselves for an opportunity to be able to get the details of every single thing happening in the bank, was for the greater good.

And it was the side of the bank where those set of people had been looking at that the other self-preserving kind turned to the moment the smell of urine spread through and pervaded the bank as the Old lady, who was the source laid unconscious on the ground.

"Well that was unexpected," Jack murmured to himself as he watched the vice-manager he had been threatening lie unmoving in a pool of her own urine right in front of him,

Shifting his gaze, he looked over at his left only to see the manager who looked even older than the vice with big saggy bags under her eyes and hands that were already shaking without anyone saying a word to her,

With no intention to even try and her since Jack had no idea what would happen if by any chance the manager also somehow fainted, instead he turned around to look at Tom as he approached me, quietly asking what next to do,

"Well...the manager doesn't look so good. Quickly, give her some water or something," Tom said to Jack the moment he came to stand beside him, watching as Jack immediately moved to do as he said only to watch in slight amusement as the old woman struggled to drink what was given to her, sipping as if she was been force-fed poison,

"Well God knows we can't afford to lose the manager to anything like a heart attack" Tom groaned, face-palming in annoyance as he felt the stares of everyone at the bank on him,

"Now listen up everyone...listen, I didn't ask any of you to raise your heads," he shouted annoyed at how slowly their quick in and out plan was going,

" Who is in charge when these two women aren't around?" He asked pointing at the two women sitting on the floor who were in no condition to walk,

" I haven't got all day people," Tom said raising the gun he held in his hand high enough for all of them to see just in case any of them had forgotten that they were robbers and their lives might be in danger,

"It- It's me," stammered someone from behind the counter as the individual slowly got up,

"Finally," Tom breathed out in relief,

"A young man..." He said more like a question than a statement as he started at a slim body wearing a long-sleeved shirt coupled with black pants, however the out-standing factor that made him stand up with the heavy, long and flowing mass of hair that laid on his head,

" It doesn't matter...," Tom then continued waving the gun he held above his head,

"Just show them the money," Tom said pointing to Jack and Billy as he did so,

"and both of you should go with him. Also, make sure to gently carry that old lady along with you. She might come in handy," Finished Tom waving them in the direction of the back room where the safe was before hopping on the counter and sitting his ass on the stone-cold top of it at a vantage point that allowed him to see what was going in every corner of the bank,

After a minute or so of silence in the main lobby as everyone waited patiently for the two men that went to break into the safe to come back.

A loud creaking was heard coming from what seemed to be the back exit of the bank. On instinct, Tom immediately jumped down and was already on his way to check out the source of the noise when he suddenly became aware that he was the only one with the hostages and no one was guarding the front door which had simply been closed,

"Where's that noise coming from?" Billy asked the moment he got to the lobby and was standing right beside Tom.

"We were able to crack the safe and Billy is currently putting the money into the bags when I heard the noise and immediately came to help…" he continued,

"That's what I was just about to figure out myself," Tom then replied pointing down at the right side before turning back around to look at Billy with a curious look on his face,

" Did both of you remember to secure the back door?" He asked in an exasperated manner, already expecting an apology the moment he asked while thinking of how clueless his gang members could be,

"Boss, no. I locked it myself,"

"What about the alarms. Did jack take care of them the minute we began the robbery before helping out with the safe?"

"Yes, I watched him do it. Both the back door and the alarms were taken care of," Billy nodded as he spoke, trying to convey his sincerity to his boss at the same time,

They were still talking when suddenly they heard the sound of the loud hinges of a metal door being broken apart,

" I'll take care of it, Boss," Billy immediately said, grasping his gun tightly in his hands, putting one step in front of the other about to turn around and head towards the direction of the back exit when Tom unexpectedly slammed his palm against his chest to stop him,

"No, I'll take care of this. Keep an eye on the employees. I don't want any mistakes to happen" he said taking one look at the employees who had their heads bent towards the ground but whose ears and eyes were paying rapt attention to every word that was spoken in their presence.

Tom then slowly walked towards the right side of the lobby which led to the back exit manoeuvring his way through the bodies of the bank employees that lay in his path,

Carefully bit quickly with his gun raised in his hand as the entire bank seemed to become even more silent than it had been before as everyone watched with bated breaths as Tom walked down the lobby,

He was close to the corner that had a door which lead to another door that led outside which he had to turn to circumvent,

With only a few more steps to go, Tom walked even faster about to turn towards the door leading to the exit when suddenly a man tore the door open and suddenly appeared in front of him,

Alarmed and startled, Tom immediately raised the gun in his hand, prepared to pull the trigger when the man in front of him suddenly spoke,

"Wait...wait, it's me," he yelled, loud enough for all the employees including Billy to wonder who he was especially since they couldn't see him considering the bend obstructing him from their view,

A second was all it took for the anxiety and adrenaline pumping in Tom's veins to dissipate as he lowered his gun the moment he clearly saw the man who stood in front of him, as he seemed to be trying his best to catch his breath,

However, Tom had barely lowered the gun when he unexpectedly raised it again, only for him to carefully aim it with precision at the intruder's forehead which was currently dripping with sweat,

"What are you doing?" The newcomer then asked with a slightly annoyed look on his face, as he wondered what the hell was going on with the person pointing the gun at him,

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't pull the trigger, Ray," Tom said coldly as he faced the last member of his gang who he had been expecting but who for some reason decided not to show up at the expected time,

********

"Let me explain," Ray replied raising his hands up while wondering at the same time in his mind if Tom was actually capable of shooting him,

"Well...There's nothing holding you is there? It's just that you really don't have anything to say" Tom replied with a pissed off expression on his face,

"The question is why did you even bother coming at all. Why are you here Ray?"

"I was late, Yes. But that doesn't make me any less, a part of the group, does it?" Said Ray as calmly as he could, without taking his eye from the gun that was still pointed at his skull,

"Well fancy seeing you here," a different voice belonging to Billy, suddenly swore the moment he laid his eyes on Ray,

"What the f**k are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to watch the employees?" Tom shouted frustrated at having to deal with Billy at the same time, even as he continued to point his gun at Ray,

"I am. I tied all of them up the moment I heard you talking to him," Billy replied pointing at Ray as he did so,

"Why are you pointing a gun at him though?" Billy asked with a confused look on his face, turning towards Tom as he did so since he assumed that Ray was a fellow gang member,

"THAT! Is a very good question," snorted Ray even as he left his hands in the air without bothering to bring them down,

"By the way where is Jack? Leaving him to do all the work isn't very nice, is it," asked Ray with genuine curiosity even though that wasn't the way Tom heard it,

"Shut up!!!" Yelled Tom immediately in annoyance loud enough for everyone in the entire building to hear as some even seemed to scoot closer even with their hands tied in order to be able to hear the entire story clearly,

"I'm tempted to shoot you just so I don't have to hear your voice," he continued, making sure to reduce his tone the moment he was conscious of the fact that he had been yelling at the top of his voice,

"One last question then," said Ray in a rush as he peeked out of the corner where he stood hoping that Tom wasn't trigger happy with the gun he was holding,

"Where is the security guard? I don't see him tired up anywhere," Ray said looking around for the stereotypical man with the gun which every bank regardless of the location always had,

"Of course Billy tied him up too along with the employees. Don't try and change the subject, Ray. Why the hell are you just breaking in? Or you didn't think the heist would be successful so you wanted us to go in first? Is that it?" Tom spoke asking multiple questions over and over without giving anyone any space or chance to speak,

"Ehm...Tom?" Muttered Billy the moment Tom stopped talking,

"I don't remember tying up or even seeing anybody in a security uniform," said Billy thoughtful putting his hands against his chin as he looked to be lost in deep thought,

"What?" Yelled Tom the moment he heard what Billy said, before taking a pause and taking a deep breath, bringing the gun he had been pointing to Ray to rest against his forehead as he tried to keep his cool,

"Maybe this bank doesn't have a security man. There was none when we walked in," Billy scrambled to say defending himself as best as he could,

"How dumb are you?" Asked Tom incredulously almost in disgust when for a second he couldn't comprehend why he allowed him into the gang,

"When you went upstairs to switch off the alarms and the cameras, what did you see?" Tom asked turning around to look at Billy, deciding completely to ignore Ray whom he felt he could deal with later,

Billy immediately started to panic.

"Nothing and no one. Jack knew more about the security systems and I merely stood beside him carrying the bags," Billy replied as his worry began to show on Tom's face,

"The fastest way to find out would be to ask the employees. For all we know, we might be fortunate enough to find out that he called in si..." Ray said and he had barely finished speaking when Tom interrupted,

"Bring one of them here," he ordered speaking in an extra low tone almost like he didn't want anyone else to hear him but Billy,

******

The three of them stood at the corner, right next to the door labelled "Exit" talking and sometimes yelling loudly enough for everyone in the lobby to hear. So it was very surprising when all the employees who had nothing better to do than try to eavesdrop on the robbers conversations suddenly heard nothing, only for them to see one of the robbers, the one sporting a black handkerchief around his neck like a cowboy to suddenly appear from the hidden corner where they heard the voices of two of the robbers and one belonging to the voice of a man they didn't recognize,

With more curiosity than fear towards the robbers since they realized that none of them had been shot at or man-handled in an improper manner,

They watched as, the country boy robber with the black handkerchief around his neck wearing a completely black outfit like his fellow gang members took a quick and swift glance at all of them before walking over to "Sarah" whom they all knew as someone who worked in the bank as one of the bank's customer service officials, and who's cubicle was right next to that of the newbie the general manager had just hired,

"Sei- rah," whispered June almost in pain as she and every one of the employees of "Silverlight quietly watched her get picked up and pulled away by a robber into a corner until they could neither see nor hear her again. The only thing that seemed a little unnerving to a few of them that noticed was the fact that it almost seemed like she didn't struggle at all and if she wasn't one of them they would have assumed that she had been happy to go and had gone willingly,