Robbery In Progress

*Emma*

By the time Kelsey and I made it to her precinct Drew had messaged me to confirm that he was running the search but there was a depressing amount of missing people in the country so it was going to take a bit. In the meantime we planned on working with Matty to crack the clue Joe gave us. If it was a clue.

"Tell me again what she said," Matty said for the fifth time.

"I don't see how this is helping but she said to find her mom. That he was supposed to let them go when they were done but she didn't trust him to follow through." I slumped in my chair, we made no progress on either of their messages. "Well if she said he was supposed to let them go when they are done, does that mean there's a specific cut off? Maybe they aren't just robbing banks until they get caught or whatever goes through serial bank robbers minds. Maybe they have a certain number they are looking to hit." And that was the third time someone brought up that possibility, this time it was Kelsey.

"Okay, but what number are they trying to hit? And why is there a specific number? What's the reasoning?" Matty wondered aloud.

"The robberies themselves must not be the point. There must be a goal we don't know about. The robberies are a means to an end. But without knowing who is running the show, it's hard to know what the end is."

Just as I was pulling out my phone to call Drew about an update, Kelsey and Matty's boss popped her head into the conference room, "your guys are at it again. Bank on the corner of 188th and 73rd."

"But it's Tuesday." We all got up and started collecting our things as we all contemplated the change in M.O.

*Kelsey*

The minute we arrived on scene Emma was on edge. She wouldn't tell me why though, and that put me on edge.

As expected, the cameras in the building were deactivated, we had all come to expect it at this point, but for some reason it irritated Emma this time.

"Someone figure out how to get those damn cameras back on and running," the order was shouted at no one in particular so we all exchanged quick glances with each other while Emma typed the bank's number into her phone before Matty went off to do God knows what.

Since we were alone, well as alone as you can be in the middle of street, I stepped closer to her and rested my hand on her hip, "hey, what's-"

She stepped out of my grasp and put up a hand, cutting me off. "Not here. Not while we're at work."

I had a few things my knee jerk reaction wanted to say back to that but in an effort of being the bigger person I bit my tongue, for now, and stepped back.

"Sorry. It's just you seem upset."

Instead of responding to me, she hit dial and set the phone on speaker.

"You must be Emma," it was a voice I didn't recognize that answered the phone. *Where's Joe?* I asked myself.

"I seem to be at a bit of a disadvantage. You know who I am but I don't know who you are." If I didn't know her like I did now, I would think she was perfectly in control. Calm and confident. But I do know her now and I can see the worry lines on her face, the subtle sway of her hips, the small nips at the inside of her cheek. Things I hadn't noticed the first time I saw her talk to Joe, when I was shocked speechless but also impressed as all get out.

"I just knew having two negotiators talk to each other would end up being a bad idea. That's why I'm taking over from now on." His voice was hard and unforgiving and I knew instantly that this was the robber that shot the security guard. There was no doubt in my mind.

"Okay, what should I call you then?"

"You can call me Mason. Maybe when we're on better terms I'll tell you my real name. For now, I don't know how you keep getting here before we leave but in the end it won't matter. Stay out of here or I'll shoot someone. And if you happen to find yourselves on our tails, I'll shoot someone. We will be on our way in a few minutes here, but it was nice chatting with you. Emma." He drew out her name in a way that ran shivers down my spine. I officially did not like this man. After hanging up the phone she threw it down on the table, "we need to figure out how they are escaping."

"He said if we follow them he will shoot someone. Which means they are bringing a hostage with them wherever it is they are going. I can't imagine they would be able to walk out the front doors with a hostage and we wouldn't notice it." The pacing commenced almost immediately as she began to think it over.

"I'm sure we would notice, not that it would matter much. He has to know protocol would guarantee that we wouldn't touch him as long as he had them. But I don't think he would want to waste the time on engaging with us again. Front door's a no then. What about the back door? Or are there side doors?"

"The place is surrounded. It's always surrounded. If they aren't going out the front door with the hostages the only other options are up or down."

That seemed to spark something in her as she turned to look at me, "does this bank happen to have access to the underground tunnels?"

"I have no idea but that makes total sense if it does." I smiled knowing we quite possibly just broke this case wide open. She retrieved her phone from the table and dialed her team to ask about the tunnel access at all the banks the team has hit.

"They are looking into it, but-" Before she could finish the hostages started to come out of the bank. "We don't have time to wait, we have to go in and see for ourselves."

"Shouldn't SWAT do that? And how do we know they have a hostage anyway? We could be putting ourselves in danger." I had a really bad feeling about this plan, it was against every protocol in the book.

"They have a hostage," she replied as she scanned the crowd.

"How do you know?"

"Because my sister works at this bank. And she didn't come out."