Undercover Jeopardy Read online

  Terrell suddenly emerged from the back room, which instantly stopped her woolgathering and made her alert. His hands were empty except for the rifle, and he approached Bethany and leaned forward so only she could hear. “Jackson is having trouble with the safe. The manager couldn’t get his code to work, so Jackson is working on the wiring. He’s trying to override the system.”

  “We don’t have time for this,” she hissed. “The cops will be here in no time.”

  “Jackson wants to wait. He’s convinced he can open it if he’s just given a few more minutes.”

  “J.P. might die.”

  Terrell laughed. “I never liked him anyway, and I sure never thought you’d care with the way he treats you.”

  “I’ve never liked him either,” she whispered back. “But that doesn’t mean I want him to die.” She glanced around at the people lined against the counter, then at her watch. “We really need to get out of here. Forget the vault. Let’s get the cash out of the registers and bounce.” Fear swept down her spine. She wasn’t afraid of getting caught. Her FBI handler would deal with that if she were arrested. But the longer this robbery stretched out, the more probable it became that someone would get hurt.

  As if to accent the point, the phone started ringing again.

  Terrell motioned toward the phone. “Go ahead and answer it. I’ll keep an eye on these folks. If it’s the cops, we need to start the dialogue so they don’t raid the place.”

  She hesitated but finally slung her rifle over her back and walked over to where the phone was ringing on the desk. She picked it up. “What?”

  “This is Sergeant Michaels with the police department. Who am I talking to?”

  “You can call me Bonnie.” Bethany smiled, thinking of Bonnie and Clyde. “By the way, you get an A+ for response time. I must say, you got here quicker than we expected.”

  “We aim to serve,” he responded dryly. “Am I speaking to the one in charge?”

  “Not likely.”

  “Well, who would that be?”

  “He’s a bit busy right now. We’ll have to hold introductions later.”

  Sergeant Michaels paused, obviously taking notes. “Alright, Bonnie. Is anybody hurt in there?”

  “We’ve had a few mishaps.”

  “Do you want to let me send in some emergency techs to take care of them?”

  “No, Sergeant, I don’t think that would be a good idea. In case you haven’t noticed, we’ve strapped some C-4 on the doors. It would get a bit exciting if you tried to get in here.”

  There was another pause. “We don’t want anyone to get hurt here.”

  Bethany nodded, switching the phone from one ear to the other so she could keep a better eye on Terrell and the hostages. “We share that goal.” She lowered her voice. “My boss, however, isn’t as concerned about that as we are. I urge you not to try to breech the front or the back of the bank.” There. She’d warned them. Her handler should have already notified the local authorities of her role in the heist and of what they were facing, but there were no guarantees. She had notified her handler of the details and he, in turn, had passed on the details, such as the explosives at the doors, to the local teams. Still, she knew she was in a risky position, and there was always a possibility that things could go terribly wrong. Since banks were federally insured, the FBI always got called in when a robbery occurred, but that didn’t mean the communication between the various law enforcement agencies was decent or accurate.

  Sergeant Michaels cleared his throat. “Can you give your boss a message for me?”

  “Sure thing, Sergeant.”

  “Well, Bonnie, first let him know we’ve got control of the landlines coming out of the bank, so you can reach us by picking up any of the phones in the building. Anytime you or your boss want to talk, I’ll be available.”

  “Aren’t you the Southern gentleman?” She let a tad of sarcasm touch her voice. She was supposed to be a bank robber after all. Sergeant Michaels didn’t take the bait though, and when he spoke again, his voice was calm and controlled.

  “You should also know that we have this bank surrounded. You’re not going to be able to get out of there without my help.” He paused. “You believe that, don’t you, Bonnie? That I’m here to help you?”

  She laughed. “Sure. You’ll help me all the way to a prison cell.”

  Again, he didn’t react to her taunting. “I’m here to help make sure you don’t get killed. I don’t want any more bloodshed. Let’s end this peacefully. I want you to be able to see tomorrow.”

  “Sergeant, let me remind you that we have eighteen hostages in here. If you want them all to walk out of here, you’ll keep your distance. Otherwise, you’ll be picking up the pieces.”

  “Well, Bonnie, like I said, my goal today is to make sure no one gets hurt. What can I do for you to make sure we resolve this quickly and quietly?”

  “I’ll get back to you on that.” She hung up, not willing to drag out the conversation. She was sure they were recording her voice and doing a voice recognition test. Hopefully that would remind them that she was law enforcement and the snipers that would inevitably be put in place wouldn’t put a target on her.

  She glanced at her watch and noted the time. Jackson was taking way too long to get into that safe. They’d had a plan in place if the police showed up before they could escape, but it was dangerous. Now they had no choice but to start following it. She thought about J.P. lying on the floor and stole a glance in his direction. He was still grimacing and holding his side where he’d been shot, but he was moving around less. His face was also much paler, and she wondered if he was going into shock. She decided to check on him and went back over to his side. She bent and took a look under his bandages while Terrell checked in with Jackson at the vault. She kept a close eye on the hostages while she did so, but none of them seemed anxious to challenge her authority this time, even though she had to lay down her rifle to check J.P.’s wounds.

  “How’s it look?” J.P. asked, his voice laced with pain.

  “Not so good,” she said softly. She kept the panic out of her voice, but she was deeply concerned about the amount of blood on the bandages. Daniel was right. J.P. needed a doctor, and he needed one now. If he didn’t get one, he might end up bleeding out right there on the floor. She adjusted the bandages and tied them a bit tighter. “Don’t worry, J.P. I’m going to get you some help.”

  He grabbed her arm and held it way too tightly. “Don’t turn me over to the cops,” he hissed.

  “I don’t have a choice. If I don’t, you’ll die right here and right now. Is that what you want?”

  “Don’t do it, Hailey. I’m warning you.”

  “Warning me?” she laughed, even though there was no mirth in her voice. “What do you plan to do to me if you’re six feet under, pushing up daisies?”

  He tried to pull himself up but groaned and fell back against the floor. He grabbed for her arm again, but she stayed just out of reach. “I’d rather die than get caught. If you turn me over to the cops, I’ll end up in prison, and it will be all your fault. If that happens, I’ll make you pay. I swear I will.”

  “Maybe,” she said with a frown. “But at least you’ll be alive.” She knew J.P. was a true believer in the cause, and the chances of him ratting them out were next to nil once he was arrested, but she took his threat against her seriously. J.P. was a dangerous enemy to have. Still, she couldn’t just let him die.

  “How is he?” Terrell asked as he reappeared and sauntered over to her side. He must have noticed her worried expression because some of the confidence went out of his step as he looked between her and J.P.

  “Not good.” She stood and motioned toward the vault. “How’s the progress back there?”

  Terrell shrugged. “The same. Slow but steady.”

  She motioned to J.P. “He’s going to die if we
don’t get him some help. He’s bleeding way too much.”

  Terrell shook his head. “Then he dies. The boss won’t like it if we let anybody in here or if we let them take him to a hospital. You know the rules.”

  J.P. called out to Terrell. “Hey, man. Don’t let her turn me over to the cops.”

  Bethany moved so she was blocking Terrell’s view of J.P. and caught the bigger man’s eye. “Did you hear what I said? He’ll die if we don’t get him to a hospital.”

  “Then let him die,” Terrell suddenly yelled, his voice filling with anger. “Aren’t you listening? There’s a bigger picture here, woman. You can’t take a chance that he’ll talk.” He stalked up to Bethany and leaned over her, his stance threatening. “The cause is the only thing that matters.”

  She didn’t back down. “I won’t let him die.”

  “It’s not up to you. Listen to what he’s saying. He doesn’t even want your help.”

  “Do you want his death on your conscience?” she spat. She knew Terrell was twice her size and strength, but she had to stand up to him. This was important. This was life and death. She looked into his eyes and wondered how far he would go. He looked angry enough to shoot her just for daring to challenge him. Or would he shoot J.P. himself and make the whole argument moot? Despite his glare, she couldn’t back down. “I don’t want him on my conscience when I know I could have saved him.”

  “The boss will not be happy about it. Let him die.”

  Bethany looked from J.P. to Terrell, both of whom were glowering. Her insides were fighting a raging battle. Was this the end of her undercover assignment right here and now? Even if it meant she had wasted a year of her life on this mission, life was too precious to just throw it away.

  “I’m sorry, boys. I can’t just stand here and do nothing. I won’t.”

  Terrell nodded. “Okay. You’ve made your choice.”

  He raised his weapon.

  FOUR

  Daniel watched the confrontation and felt his adrenaline surge as his protective instincts kicked in. Even if it cost him his life, he would not stand by and watch Bethany get hurt. He didn’t know if the bodybuilder robber would actually shoot her or not, but he couldn’t wait and find out. Daniel didn’t like the way the man was holding his rifle. He stood and moved toward them. “Hey now.”

  In one fleeting second, all of the bigger man’s anger focused on Daniel. He took several steps toward him and raised the butt of his weapon as if preparing to hit Daniel across the face. “You stay back, do you hear me?”

  Daniel put his hands up and retreated a few steps. He had accomplished his objective—he had distracted him and gotten him to move away from Bethany. “Yeah, I hear you.”

  The bodybuilder loomed threateningly over him, and Daniel could see the red in his eyes and smell garlic on his breath even through the mask. “Sit back down! Now! Or I’ll make sure you never stand up again!”

  Daniel obeyed, his hands still up in front of him. He didn’t know what to expect and wouldn’t have been surprised if the robber had bashed him with the rifle just for good measure. The man was so angry his hands were shaking. It had to be the stress. This heist was taking longer than any of them had probably expected, and the threat of capture had to be looming in all of their minds. Daniel wondered if they were criminals by trade or if this was a one-time deal.

  The phone broke the silence once again with a steady ring.

  Bethany held back and didn’t move. She simply looked at the big man, apparently waiting for permission before answering the phone or doing anything else. Daniel didn’t blame her. The robber was an incredibly large man with heavily developed muscles and a threatening presence. He would be a dangerous foe in any situation, and in his current stance of agitation, it wasn’t worth challenging him without a very good reason.

  The phone stopped ringing, then started again after about thirty seconds or so. No one else said a word. The air felt heavy. Even the other hostages were smart enough to stay quiet and subdued.

  Finally, the bodybuilder relented. He motioned with his weapon toward the phone, then started pacing in front of the hostages, glaring at them as he did so. “Fine, answer the stupid phone and do whatever you want to do with J.P., but I’m not taking the blame. When the boss finds out, it’ll be you who answers to him. Not me.”

  Bethany nodded and swung her rifle behind her, then walked over and quickly picked up the receiver. “Yeah?”

  She was silent as she listened, then turned and looked into the other robber’s eyes as she spoke. “Look, we’ve got a man down. He’s been shot, and he needs a doctor. I want you to send in someone to get him. One man and a stretcher. That’s it.”

  She listened again and then stood straighter as her eyes narrowed. “No, I’m not letting a hostage take him outside. You’re going to send in one EMT with a stretcher on wheels and he’s going to come in and get the guy, and then he’s going to turn around and leave. If he’s armed, I’ll kill him. If he does anything foolish, I’ll kill him. Got it?”

  She listened some more and then slammed down the phone and turned to the bodybuilder. “Okay, they’re sending in a guy with a stretcher. Can you let him in the front door?”

  The big robber blew out a breath, then nodded. “Yeah, I guess. The boss is going to blow a gasket over this. Cover me while I work.”

  J.P. groaned loudly. “Don’t hand me over to them.” He tried to sit up again but failed miserably. “I’ll get you back, Hailey. I promise you that.”

  Daniel was surprised that the wounded man said Bethany’s undercover name out loud. Hailey must be what Bethany was calling herself these days. He could tell it was a major breach of etiquette for the robbers to mention names because even the bodybuilder balked at his words.

  “Shut up, man. Just close your mouth and keep it closed.”

  Daniel watched as the bodybuilder slung his rifle behind him and went to the front door and undid some wires, apparently disarming the bomb temporarily so the doors could be opened. Then he released the cables that were holding the door shut and opened one of them. A man dressed as an emergency tech pushed in a yellow stretcher on wheels, noticed the man lying on the floor and rushed to his side, but Bethany frisked him before she let him get close to the wounded man, and she searched the bags he brought in, presumably for any weapons or other suspicious devices. Meanwhile, the bodybuilder robber stayed near the front door and pulled his gun back around to the front and held it ready, his eyes following the EMT’s every movement.

  When the EMT approached him, J.P. started thrashing his arms around, trying to keep the EMT away from him. Bethany pointed her weapon at Daniel and motioned toward the fallen man. “Hey, hero. Help him get that man on the stretcher. Now.”

  Daniel nodded and moved quickly to help the EMT, glad that Bethany had allowed him to help. He glanced at the rest of the hostages as he did so, but although a few were watching the scene unfold, most were turned away and trying to stay as uninvolved as possible. It was probably wise of them not to challenge the robbers like he had, but doing nothing went against his basic ideals, and he knew Bethany was a cop, which gave him the advantage. He was also driven to help resolve this problem and was grateful to play even a small part in the resolution. He grabbed and secured the injured man’s hands and helped lift him to the stretcher, being careful of the man’s wound as he did so. Then he continued holding the man steady as the EMT strapped him to the gurney. Once the injured man couldn’t pull away or fight any longer, the EMT checked his wound and re-bandaged it, then started an IV.

  “Is he going to live?” Bethany asked.

  “Looks like it,” the EMT answered. “You called us just in time. He’s lost a lot of blood and is in shock, but the hospital is close. I think he’ll make it.”

  Bethany nodded, but kept her gun trained on the tech even as he spoke to her. She even kept it on him as he turned and pushe
d the gurney back out through the front door. Once he was gone, the bodybuilder lost no time in rewiring the door and securing the door handles with the cables.

  “Why don’t you let the women go?” Daniel asked quietly. “You’ll still have plenty of hostages...”

  Bethany swung around and pointed her weapon right at Daniel’s chest. “Shut up.” She motioned toward the line of hostages. “Sit back down and keep quiet.”

  He put up his hands again but didn’t obey. “Look, you just did something decent. Don’t stop now. Let the women go. You’ll still have all of the men...”

  The bodybuilder advanced quicker than Daniel had expected and loomed above him, his weapon once again pulled back like a club. “She told you to sit down and shut up. I’ve had enough of you and your mouth. Do you hear me? Do as she says, buddy, or I’ll make you comply. Got it?”

  Daniel backed down and sat on the floor again, but he kept his eyes on Bethany. She had done the right thing by getting the injured man to safety, but how far was she going to take this robbery? She could put an end to it right now if she wanted to, and with his help, they could arrest the bodybuilder and catch the robbers in the vault unprepared and unaware. What was holding her back? Was she actually going to see this robbery through to the end? A chill went through him as he considered the possibilities. What was their endgame? What was the bigger picture that the bodybuilder had alluded to earlier? He didn’t want to blow her cover, but he didn’t want anyone else to get hurt either. As long as the robbers were in the bank, more violence could erupt at any moment.

  * * *

  Bethany’s teeth chattered and she realized they had turned off the heat in the building and the temperature was slowly dropping. She’d given up her hoodie to make bandages for J.P., and the T-shirt she was wearing did little to stave off the cold. They were going straight down the law enforcement playbook. Step one was make them uncomfortable by cutting off the heat. Step two was keep the communication lines open while SWAT got into place in case a tactical operation was required. She was sure they already had snipers in place, looking for a clear shot if the negotiator couldn’t talk them out of the building.