Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 3

snorted softly and shrugged. "They like to live up to the status quo."
    "Don't fucking move!" Twitchy ordered, backing away with his gun pointing somewhere halfway between the two of them to look out through a crack in the blinds covering the windows. "Shit, shit, fuck , man, they're everywhere!"
    "Just calm the fuck down," Bear growled from the other end of the bank.
    The pervy gunman left off harassing the female teller, shouldered the duffle bag, and opened the door the lead gunman had gone through. "Boss, we got company! We gotta move!"
    Twitchy was getting more and more agitated. He jumped at every little sound.
    "You're not getting out of here," Niko said quietly. "You're going to go to jail. But do yourself a favor; put down the gun and go peaceably. You'll save yourself a lot of grief if you do."
    "Didn't I tell you to shut the fuck up?" He moved away from the window and darted forward, grabbing a handful of Charlie's work shirt. "They can't take me if I have him, can they?"
    Charlie couldn't help the rather unmanly squeak that escaped him as he was jerked up against Twitchy, his hip digging painfully against Niko's stolen gun where it was tucked into Twitchy's pants. Niko was up in a movement so fast, Charlie didn't even see it. One minute he was on the ground, the next he was on Twitchy, trying to deflect the gun and pull Charlie away at the same time.
    A shot rang out and Charlie's heart dropped into his stomach with a sickening lurch. Time seemed to slow as Niko sagged to the floor and Charlie looked down to see blood seeping from the fresh bullet wound in the lower half Niko's thigh. For a fleeting moment, the only thought Charlie's brain could supply him with was the ridiculous notion that Niko had just taken an arrow to the knee. It was all he could do not to giggle hysterically.
    Shaking off the errant—and highly inappropriate—thought, Charlie took advantage of Twitchy's shock, wrapped a hand around Niko's gun, and yanked. It slid out of Twitchy's waistband easily and Charlie pointed it in his direction, his fingers trembling near the trigger. He'd never held a gun before. Hell, he'd never even seen one outside of video games, but this wasn’t Halo or Half Life. This gun didn't have an 'A' button and anyone shot with it wouldn't get a second chance or restart if they died.
    Twitchy had recovered from his shock just as Charlie levelled the gun at him and now he was pointing his much larger, much scarier-looking gun straight in Charlie's face. The only thing that kept Charlie from backing down was the knowledge that Niko was hurt because of him. He'd been brave enough to throw himself at an armed psycho; the least Charlie could do was return the favor by way of a Mexican standoff. All he needed to make it official was a tumbleweed blowing past.
    "Put the fucking gun down, man," Twitchy shouted. He was shaking more than Charlie had seen him do yet. A drop of sweat trickled down past the corner of his eye, no doubt stinging him. Charlie hoped it would serve to blind him a little, maybe give him a slight advantage. Then again, at this range, even if he was blinded by an ocean of sweat, if Twitchy shot his gun, Charlie would still get hit. Still, despite the pounding of his heart and the tremor in his knees, he held his ground.
    "No! You put yours down!"
    "What the fuck is going on out here?" Out of the corner of his eye, Charlie saw Boss re-enter the main room, shoving Bob to the side as he stalked across the room with his gun, leading the way.
    "This little bastard got his hands on a gun and now he thinks he's going to shoot someone," Bear said. He sounded far too amused for Charlie's pride though, given how hard his arm was starting to shake, he may have had a point.
    That pride shriveled up completely when Boss stepped forward and pressed the cold, heavy muzzle of his gun against Charlie's temple. Charlie glanced to the right with just his eyes and met Boss' hard gaze.
    "Drop it or I'll take your head off." A death threat shouldn't sound so casual and almost sweet. If not for the words, Boss could have been inviting him over for a nice cup of tea. Despite—or possibly because of—his tone, Charlie knew he would do it.
    "Charlie." Niko's voice met his ears and Charlie looked to his other side where Niko sat in a small pool of blood, his blue eyes compelling. "Put the gun down."
    There was a moment of hesitation and Boss shoved the tip of his gun just a bit harder into Charlie's head before Charlie