Dark Star

1. Fate

Gunshots echoed throughout the bank. One minute everything had been an orderly, business-like situation. Then, out of nowhere, chaos erupted. Six armed men appeared, none of whom wore anything to hide their faces. Everything happened so fast, Vesper didn't even have a chance to move.

In a flash, the men shot the three security guards with taser guns. Vesper watched them drop-- one, two, three-- and fear forced its way inside her heart. Two of the men herded everyone else-- the customers and the bank employees alike-- into the middle of the room and ordered them to sit on the floor with their faces looking toward the ground. Meanwhile, the other men went into the back room. They were gone for only a few minutes, but to everyone involved they were a very long and tense few minutes. Vesper could hear some of the women crying, and you could feel the fear in the air, thick as fog.

Finally, the other men came back, with a large number of duffel bags. Vesper had seen enough movies to be safe to presume they were filled with money. The bank robbers seemed to be packing up, making preparations to leave the bank, when one of the men stepped forward. He had been the one to lead the others into the bank, and he seemed to be the one in charge.

“Our business is done here, and we shall be leaving shortly,” the man began in a very calm, yet firm, voice. He held a gun in his hand, at the ready, to be used if he needed it. “As long as you cause us no trouble, we will have no need to harm any of you. When we leave you will find yourselves locked in, all phone lines have been cut, and your cell phones jammed and useless. Consequently, you will be trapped in here. Don't panic though, when the bank's guard shift changes in four hours you will be found and freed.”

One of his men walked up to him as he spoke, and when the he noticed, he paused and looked at the man expectantly.

“We are ready to leave, Josef,” he said, in a hushed voice.

He had spoken so quietly, that Vesper was certain that none of the other hostages had heard him, but she had. Josef, so that was the leader's name. She filed away that information for later.

“We will be needing to take one of you with us,” Josef continued. “As 'insurance', so none of you will get any ideas about trying to get out of this building before the time I just mentioned.”

Here, he paused to survey the lot of them. Slowly he walked over to one of the bank tellers, a woman in her forties, who sat next to Vesper. He pointed his gun at the woman.

“If you will please stand up, my dear?” he asked.

The woman stood up as best as she could on shaking legs, as tears started to run down her cheeks. She was, quite obviously, terrified. Vesper knew exactly how she felt. Dark memories began to slowly surface their way from where she had kept them hidden for so long, in the back of her mind. Suddenly, not knowing where the impulse came from, she realized she wouldn't just sit there and watch this happen. More than that, she couldn't.

“No!” Vesper yelled, as she stood up and put herself in front of the woman.

The man looked rather shocked. He still was holding the gun at the woman, but Vesper had become a shield in between them.

“No?” The man asked, with a crooked, one-sided smirk. He looked her up and down, and seemed to be sizing her up. Whatever it was he saw, he seemed to find humor in the situation. “And what are you going to do about it?”

Vesper paused, knowing he was right. She was completely helpless in this situation. She swallowed hard, praying for an idea to come to her. Then she had a thought, one which she instantly regretted, even though she knew she was going to follow through on it anyway. It was the only option she had. There was nothing else she could do.

“Take me,” she said in a shaky voice, barely above a whisper. She took a moment to gather herself, and spoke in a louder voice. “Take me instead of her.”

“You would do that, for a complete stranger?” Josef asked, not looking very convinced. He took a step closer to her, so he could speak quietly, so only she would hear him. “This isn't some game, I make no false promises, things might not end well for whoever comes. You are a very young, my dear, you have your whole life ahead of you. Are you really willing to throw it away for someone you don't even know?”

“Yes,” she said, her voice just a little shaky. She took a breathe to gather herself before continuing. “That woman is scared out of her mind, for obvious reasons, and she doesn't want to go with you. Believe me, I know this isn't a game, but if our places were reversed I'd hope she'd do the same for me.”

“Very well,” he said as he grabbed her by the arm, and started to move towards the door of the bank. “You have chosen your own fate.”