"Drop the money and put your hands behind you head," my loud, stern command echoing in the bank vault.
The perp standing a few feet away from me tossed one of the bags of money at me and made off. I swerved slightly to avoid contact with said bag and ran after her.
The metal door of the bank vault clang shut behind her as she ran outside. I slid to a stop. The inside of the door didn't have any handles. I was locked in. I banged against the door. Part of me hoping the security guard outside the main vault would come and let me out. But, I highly doubted it. If the whole shouting and running around ordeal didn't wake him up, my beating my hand against a metal door of an inner vault was not going to do much except turn my hand into one resembling a smurf's.
Shaking out my sore knuckles, I moved around the the vault hoping to find another way out. She had to have come in some way and she had most definitely not used the front entrance. I knew that as I was standing guard right outside the rather large metallic door when I thought I heard something inside the vault and also, because, the alarm hadn't sounded. I, ofcourse, had turned it off before stepping into the vault.
I should have brought in my radio with me or at least someone for back up but, I had come alone as soon as I had figured out 30 minutes ago that this was the perpetuator's next target and that she was going to strike tonight. I hadn't wanted to pull anyone in based on a hunch considering the fact that our perp was also a murderer who had slit the throats of the security guards that worked in the last two banks she had hit. That decision hadn't been my best one in my days as the leading police detective. And now I would lose the bank robber if I didn't find an out soon. I had lost her probably anyways but, I did need to get out of this stupid metal prison.
After checking the floor for anything that might look like a spot of entry, I slumped against one of the metal racks. Now I'd just wait till someone opened the door in the morning or afternoon or whenever the next customer came looking for their money. That is if I didn't die of the lack of oxygen first. It was a surprise that I was breathing comfortably; the place was completely sealed off. Wait. I was breathing even after being trapped for so long. That meant their had to be an opening for oxygen to sneak in. Probably an air vent. And considering that out perp was on really short ( shorter than my 5'2") she could have sneaked in through there.
Since, I had already examined the floor and the walls next to it. I climbed up the rack in hopes of finding the vent. And what do you know. The first rack I climbed up on had a vent whose cover was removed. I climbed in and started crawling towards freedom. It didn't feel much like the path to freedom considering that it was an extremely tight fit and I had to fight down the claustrophobia crawling at my throat.
I, finally, made my way to the end and fell out of the vent and landed on top of someone. It took me a second to realise that she was a female on the short side carrying a duffel bag. And another second to cuff her hands behind her back. It was over before she realised what was going on or at least before she could process what had just happened. I opened the duffel and what do you know. It was full of money.
After accomplishing all of that, I took in my surroundings to find myself in a run down building. I took the girl's phone off her and called for back up.
It turned out that she was just one part of a gang of robbers and murderers. That night all six members were arrested.
703 words.
