The Purple Haze Read Free Page A

the large police presence, people on foot were stopping to watch what was happening. People who were being diverted past the street in their cars were parking up further down the road and walking back to join the crowd of onlookers. “If they knew a bank had been taken over by armed gunmen, they would not be here” he thought to himself. Yes, he was bitter, and for the moment he hated the public he swore to protect.
    Back at the front of the bank, Myers felt the pressure of what he was up against. He hadn't made further contact with the criminal in the window but the robber still stood there looking out, the Rorschach mask scanning the road outside. Ken came back to him. “We can't get anyone down here for the next hour sir,” he said.
    “ Why? What the hell are they doing down there?” demanded Myers.
    “ All's I know is that nobody can get here for the next hour,” said Ken, “They recommend you control the situation for now.”
    Myers thought of what to do next. He knew the first thing to do was to get some demands. He lifted his speaker again. “What do you want?” he asked. He watched again as the black and white mask disappeared into the shadows. He waited a moment and the face returned, again with a piece of paper. He waited for the robber to hold it up to the window. He read the words “We have what we want. Only you can give us what we need.”
    “ I'll give you what you need, a club in the head!” he thought to himself. He lifted the speaker again. “What do you need?” he asked sternly. Again, the face disappeared. He waited, and surely enough, it returned with another piece of paper. The words were shown, and they said “An exit.”
    “ You know I can't give you that,” Myers said quietly under his breath. He didn't respond through the speaker at this time. Although he wasn't a negotiator, he was fully aware that you should never say no to a hostage taker. The face disappeared again. He waited, longer this time. The robber returned, stepping sideways. Then Myers saw it, clear as day, in the robber's right hand the sawed off shotgun. The robber stood side on and presented the gun so the police could clearly see it. Fearing that shots could be fired, Myers ordered the armed response teams to hold fire unless fired upon. No sooner had he given this order, a more horrific thing was shown to him. The robber pulled with his left hand and threw against the window one of the hostages. A young woman, aged about twenty, was held against the window while the robber put both barrels of his gun against the back of her head. Although he kept his cool on the outside, Myers panicked inside. “What if he shoots her? We'll have a massacre in the streets,” he thought. All he could do was watch. He waited holding his breath, then as quickly as he had thrust her against it the robber pulled her away from the window and disappeared into the shadows again.
    Myers waited for what seemed an eternity this time. The face wasn't coming back. He waited for muffled gunfire, anything. Then the face returned with paper in hand, and presented his message to the police outside, “You have fifteen minutes.” Myers knew all too well that this wasn't nearly enough time to do anything.
    * * *
    Across town, Pete drove his van casually. He hadn't wanted to leave the team behind and he was kicking himself for it, but there was no way he was going down for his involvement in this, especially since he was only the getaway driver. He had driven about four miles, and since he was sure he couldn’t be linked with the robbery any time soon, he thought it safe enough to pull over. He had heard the police sirens shortly after driving away from Hough Lane, and after going the four miles and not hearing any more, he was sure he hadn’t been chased. He pulled up in a public car park across from a small café. He gave one last check in the mirrors and out the windows, just to double check that nobody had followed him, and then he got out the