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    “Nothing so far. I think they’re totally off their game at being caught inside the bank. They seem like smash-and-grab punks, not criminal masterminds. I’m surprised they didn’t shoot the tellers to get the one that pressed the alarm button.”

    John took out a pair of binoculars from the trunk of one of the cars and trained it on the bank’s large plate-glass front window. He could see two men moving around, both wearing ski masks and holding automatic weapons. He counted around fourteen people lying on the floor that he could see. He presumed there were more out of sight behind the counters.

    Agent Coulter came back to John. “The hostage negotiator just arrived,” he said. “By the way, the back area of the bank has both OPD and our people watching it from rooftops.”

    “Whose negotiator are we using?”

    “Well, the one who just arrived is OPD. Ours is out on a training day, remember?”

    “Fuck, yeah, that’s right. It figures that the one time we could really use her, I’ve got her ass sitting in a classroom for advanced techniques. Great. Do you know the OPD guy?”

    “Yeah, Officer Frank Evans. Competent and knows what he’s doing.”

    “Of his last six situations, how did they turn out?”

    “As far as I know, all but one ended without bloodshed; on that one, the hostage taker was killed by snipers.”

    “Okay, let’s meet with Evans before he gets started.”

    John and Agent Coulter found Evans with the on-scene OPD commander. When they walked up, they immediately identified themselves. When the formalities were over, John addressed Evans.

    “Officer, you know that one of the hostages is a brand new FBI agent, correct?”

    “Yes, the lieutenant just filled me in on that. Who is in charge of the negotiations?”

    “You are. Our person is away for the day. From what I hear, you’re damn good, and I pray your luck won’t run out today. Don’t try and force it, but if it comes up naturally and we can get some hostages out, ask for the women first and at least one man. Maybe they’ll choose my guy. If the robbers find out who he is, he’ll more than likely end up dead.”

    “Understood. If you go to tact two on an OPD radio, you’ll be able to listen in on much of what will be going on. They’re setting up a call in a couple of minutes from me on the only line that’s still connected to the bank. The phone company is being very cooperative.”

    “Okay, we’ll be over there. Good luck,” John said as he turned around and walked away.

    An hour went by as the negotiator talked to the robbers three times without making much headway. John kept his face glued to the binoculars and watched the scene inside as he listened to the OPD radio channel that carried nothing but the incident at the bank. As the day wore on, the air temperature climbed to just under one hundred.

    “Sniper one to Andrews,” John heard over the FBI radio.

    “Go ahead.”

    “Sir, we have a clear shot at two of the gunmen. If we take them out, couldn’t our guy inside take out the third?”

    “Hold fire until told otherwise.”

    “What do you think, Winfield? Would the kid be able to react fast enough to take out the remaining gunman?”

    “It depends on where the man’s at in relation to Capparell’s position. It might lead to all of the hostages in the viewable area being able to make a dash for it out the front.”

    “Do we know if the doors are locked?”

    “As far as we know, they never tried to lock them, so they should be accessible from the inside.”

    “Let’s check with the negotiator to see how he thinks this thing is going,” John said as he headed towards the command post.

    They opened the door and entered the air-conditioned coolness of the command post. When everyone looked up, John addressed the negotiator.

    “Evans, what’s your opinion on how this is going to end?”

    “Right now, they’re demanding what you’d expect. They want the money from the bank and a bus to take them to Orlando Airport where a private jet, fully fueled, will be waiting. They insist on taking six women hostages with them. They’ve given us an hour to decide, or they start shooting the men, one every five minutes, until we answer.”

    “How long do we have left?”

    “Forty-two minutes.”

    “Okay, here’s what we propose. My snipers tell me that they can take out two of the gunmen. If they take them out, I’m hoping my guy takes action