1. Always Go Back to the Start
One Direction is in my bank.
It’s funny how that was my last thought before my life changed forever.
Maybe I should have been excited...you know, that overwhelming hysteria that swamps teenage girls – hormones plus boy band equals ear-piercing scream? The thought did occur to me, and perhaps I did feel the stirrings of excitement in my stomach, but mostly, it was just hunger.
Yes, hunger, because I was on my way home from a twelve-hour shift at the café… hunger, because I’d just picked up a jumbo carton of Ben and Jerry’s Double Choc Fudge ice-cream that I couldn’t wait to eat at home after I was done at the bank.
The last thing I needed was a re-enactment of the stampede scene from ‘The Lion King’ with the mass of hysterical teenage girls that were probably waiting just outside.
It wasn’t even the entire band. As far as I could tell, it was just Louis, Harry and Zayn. I kicked myself mentally for knowing their names. After years of my roommate, Ellie, reciting pointless celebrity trivia, some of it had stuck. The boys sat around the bank’s polished, oak desks; two bodyguards built like trees on either side of them.
The bank teller was definitely flirting with them. She laughed animatedly, her giggle bouncing in an echo off the bank's tiled walls. I watched a grin twitch at Harry’s lips as he glanced at Louis in amusement, an unspoken message passed between them.
They were good-looking; I would give them that. All three were slouched casually in their seats, wearing an assortment of branded clothing and ripped jeans that somehow managed to ooze equal parts 'effortless' and 'rockstar' at the same time. A style of clothing that would render us regular mortals 'homeless'.
Psht, celebrities.
Harry’s cool, green eyes flicked around the room before they settled on mine, and it took me a second to realise that I had been staring.
Oops.
I turned away, laughing to myself.
Just eye contact?! I could imagine Ellie's splutters of disbelief. Her head would be about ready to explode at the idea that I hadn’t even asked for a picture.
I could still feel a pair of eyes on me from across the room, but I made a conscious effort to ignore it. If Harry Styles was eyeing up my tub of ice-cream, he could forget it. I didn’t care how green those eyes were.
I scanned my surroundings as I stood in line. The bank was more or less empty right now. I was standing behind a middle-aged woman, holding the hand of a solemn little boy who looked around seven years old. She was next to be served; behind an old man, probably in his sixties, barking at a male teller who looked exasperated.
The distinctive ring of an iPhone sounded, its tone tearing through the bank's 'elevator music' and muted conversation. One of the band’s bodyguards gestured quickly to the other, before he answered his phone and slipped outside.
I watched the second hand of the bank's clock tick idly by, each second dragging longer than it ought to, as if time itself had decided that it couldn’t be bothered to move. I knew exactly how it felt.
I could see two women through the thin pane of glass behind the counter, probably in their thirties, sipping coffee in a small room. One of them waved wildly and the other burst out laughing.
Now, if this were a movie, there would have been some kind of warning that something horrible was about to happen. Perhaps an eerie flicker of the lights, a creepy, thin man dressed in all black, or a subtle build-up of ominous music, like in Jaws. I mean, it’s only fair to have a warning.
There was none of that.
Only an ear-shattering CRACK that ripped through the walls, before the bank was plunged into absolute darkness.
Several more cracks whipped through the air, and my body flattened instinctively to the floor, recognising the sound of a gunshot. I scrambled quickly towards the nearest desk for cover, my hands collapsing out from underneath me, clumsily.
The shots were terrifyingly close. My ears rang and my heart pounded heavily in my chest. From behind the desk I could see the little boy in front of me wailing. His mother fell to her knees, trying frantically to comfort him. The ceiling lights flickered off; once, twice, before they burned out completely.
Now the only light that illuminated the bank came from a small window in the ceiling.
“Everybody crawl to the centre of the room now!” Another two gunshots sounded.
“Don’t do anything stupid…” A second voice hissed after the first, “or we’ll show you what we do to people who mess around!”
I let out a string of curses. I was in a bank robbery. An actual bank robbery, and not the kind you saw in cartoons where robbers wore bags over their heads, either.
I felt a bead of sweat trickle down my temple. Fear bubbled up within me as I watched the old man, the bank teller, the two gossiping women and the little boy and his mother crawl towards the centre of the room… the centre of the room where One Direction and their bodyguard now stood, hands up in surrender. The flirty bank teller trembled beside them.
I flattened my back to the side of the desk, peeping through a slit of light where the wooden walls connected. Had anyone seen me? Was everyone in the middle of the room?
“Finish that up and grab whatever’s in the back,” the first voice barked to the second.
Footsteps thudded closer as I held my breath, wishing I could melt into the walls. As far as I could tell, there were only two armed men. One of which had just locked chains around the bank’s double doors, while the other held a handgun at the people.
The second man disappeared out the back. I let out a breath of relief. They didn’t know I was here yet. I couldn’t see whether they were wearing masks or not, both robbers wore non-descript black jackets with hoods. A seemingly popular option, I assumed, for modern day burglers or criminals... As soon as the second robber disappeared, a familiar voice cut through the silence.
“Please, mate. Think about this. We can give you whatever you came for, there’s no need to hurt anybody.”
It was Louis. I watched as the little boy sobbed harder behind his mother. The old man stared quietly into space, while the woman teller clasped her knees to her body and rocked back and forth silently.
“Shut up!” Robber one hissed at the group. “I get to decide who talks and who doesn’t.”
Swallowing down my panic, I forced myself to survey the layout of the bank. My eyes found the security cameras mounted high on the ceiling walls, hoping to god that the police were watching and would burst in soon.
I took note of the fact that Robber One stood a few metres in front of me, facing me with his back. I tried to ignore the terror radiating from the hostages, so that I could concentrate on formulating a plan. My fear dissipated slightly, as I forced myself to take in the situation logically.
No one had seen me yet. I could still do something.
Robber Two was still in the back room, so it would be unwise to make a move until I could see them both, just in case one of them burst back in and surprised me. I could see a big, red panic button on the underside of the desk nearby, but even if I could make it there, it was useless. The bastards had disabled the electricity.
I tried to focus and quickly noticed that amongst the panic, Harry’s eyes were searching the room silently.
He’s noticed that I’m missing.
I hoped he wouldn’t do anything stupid.
“Now… what should we do while we wait?” Robber One’s voice turned sickly sweet as his gun danced across the people in front of him. I watched him pause. His gun landed squarely on Zayn and he burst out laughing.
“Oh, now I’ve bloody seen it all! I knew that there was something familiar about you lot. I just couldn’t put my finger on it!”
Zayn winced and Harry’s mouth tightened. My breath caught. Damn it, the boys had been recognised.
“Oi! Danny!” Robber One spun around and cackled. I whipped myself back behind the desk just in time.
“We've got One Direction here in our midst! Maybe they ought to give us a little performance!”
It all happened in slow motion.
I could see the band’s remaining bodyguard in plain view. I watched as his fists tightened; his eyes darted back and forth, making a quick assessment of how far he had to jump in order to reach the attacker.
My muscles tensed and I bit back the urge to stand up and yell at him to stop. But before I could, he took advantage of the gunman’s lapsed attention and barrelled towards him in a tackle. He was a big guy, maybe three hundred pounds, but it doesn’t matter how many pounds you are if the other guy has a gun.
A shot rang out and he fell to the floor. I heard a shriek, and a woman sobbing. Chaos broke out as Louis and Harry fell to the floor beside their fallen guard.
“You've fucking killed him!” Zayn shouted. He cursed and struggled to break free from the male teller that held him back. The mother rocked her boy back and forth, covering his eyes with her hands, while the old man stood frozen with the two women shrieking beside him.
The second robber, Danny, appeared from the back room. He toted a bag that looked heavy, most likely filled with notes that had been left out.
“What’s going on, Eddie?! I heard a shot!”
Robber One, Eddie, was breathing heavily. Danny looked bewildered, as he strode to the centre of the room and dumped the bag at Eddie’s feet. He stumbled abruptly, as Eddie shoved him backwards towards me. He grabbed Zayn gruffly by the collar and shoved him backwards, too.
“Get out of my way and shut this one up!” Eddie demanded, turning back around to face Louis and Harry.
Danny and Zayn were standing right in front of me now. They were so close that Zayn’s leg blocked my shaft of light. He stood perfectly still with Danny’s gun aimed at his head, his breathing rapid.
“You know what I think?” Eddie’s voice dropped dangerously. “I think that because you made me waste my bullet, you ought to give us a little performance!” Beads of spit flew out of his mouth in rage. He clapped a hand on Harry’s back and shoved him forward, letting his finger hover dangerously close to the trigger.
“Sing something. Now!”
My fists clenched. He was trying to humiliate Harry. He didn’t have to; the hostages were terrified enough already. I could see the fury brewing in Harry’s eyes as he cleared his throat and began to sing. He had a deep voice, throaty and smooth with a slight rasp that masked his fear.
I took a deep breath. It was now or never. I slid out from behind the desk silently, trying to assess how I was going to disable Danny quickly and quietly while his gun was still pointed at Zayn.
It was impossible. It would only take him a split second to pull the trigger.
Defeated, I crept back behind the desk. And that’s when I saw it. The relief washed over me in waves and I bit back an incredulous laugh.
He hasn't turned the safety off of his gun.
That would be my opening. It would take Danny more than a second to turn the safety off and pull the trigger, which was longer than the time it would take me to knock him out of the equation... if I could do this right.
Danny’s eyes remained fixed on Harry, sneering at him mid-song.
I stood up carefully and quietly behind him like a shadow, holding my breath as I watched Zayn’s eyes widen. I put a finger to my lips and nodded at the gun, indicating for him to grab it at my signal.
I noticed then that Harry was watching us. His voice dropped for a split second, before he continued to sing louder, helping us to take advantage of the small window of opportunity before it slammed shut.
Quick as a cat, I jerked forward. My body performed the same ‘sleeper stroke’ I’d practiced with my dad so many times before. In one swift strike, I raised two fingers and jabbed the part of Danny’s neck that would silence him, using that same hand to mask the sound of him choking and the other to twist his right hand backwards, allowing Zayn to rip the gun away.
At the same time, I slammed the base of my foot into the back of his knees and held him in a tight headlock, bringing him down to the ground slowly as he lost consciousness.
It took no more than three seconds.
I nodded at Zayn to keep the gun in case he woke up again. Then I turned my attention to Eddie. Damn it, his gun was aimed straight at Harry and the safety was off.
Sounds about right. It was too lucky to hope that both of them didn’t know how to use a gun…
Harry finished his song.
It was then that I noticed the frantic glance of the little boy dart back at me.
Eddie noticed it as well.
He whirled around, just as I made the decision to tackle him – knocking his shooting arm backwards so that his shot was skewed, the bullet ricocheting off a nearby lamp and into the wall. It let out a crack as loud as thunder.
He got up quickly - the same time as I did - and as he raised his gun, I roundhouse kicked it from his hands. It clattered away from him and towards the hostages.
I heard yelling and became aware that Zayn was shouting at Eddie to get on his knees.
For a split second, Eddie’s eyes burned at me in fury. Now that I could see his face, I realised that he wasn’t wearing a mask. The thought flitted across my mind that only an idiot would allow people to see his face while he was committing a crime, but perhaps both of them had planned on being rich enough for plastic surgery when they were done.
Eddie narrowed his dark, beady eyes at me, his mouth tilted into a snarl. Well, he was going to need that plastic surgery anyway after I was done with him.
We both knew that Zayn wasn’t going to shoot.
Eddie let out a roar and lunged at me, smashing a punch to my jaw a second earlier than I was able to block him. He whipped a knife out from his waistband and pinned me to the wall, holding it against my throat.
Damn it.
Well, that was embarrassing.
I could picture my dad shaking his head in disapproval at my lapse in concentration.
“You bitch!” Eddie screamed in fury, pressing the knife deeper against my neck. I concentrated on slowing down my breathing. The teeth of his knife rubbed painfully into my skin.
“Let her go!”
I looked behind Eddie and met Harry’s gaze. His green eyes stared back at me steadily, holding the gun firmly in both hands.
“Don’t be stupid, boy…” Eddie hissed dangerously. He pushed the knife harder against my throat. It felt like my neck was on fire. I held my breath and faked a small whimper.
It doesn’t hurt to let your opponent think that you’re weaker than you are, my dad’s voice reminded me. If they underestimate you, then that will be your greatest weapon.
“Drop the gun and kick it to me!” Eddie bellowed, a snake of purple veins bulging from his forehead. I made eye contact with Harry, willing him to listen.
“Drop her first.” Harry commanded, taking two steps forward.
Eddie let out a cackle. “Boy, if you don’t give me the gun, I’m going to gut her right here in front of you.” He twisted me around so that his arm wrapped around my neck in a suffocating chokehold.
I watched Harry’s intense stare waver, as he took in Eddie’s stance and the angle of the knife. I watched him swallow and then lift his hands in a signal of surrender. He bent down slowly to the floor, his eyes never leaving mine, as he let the gun clatter to the ground.
“Good, now kick it over here!” Eddie ordered. He slammed my head roughly against the wall to reiterate his point. Rainbow spots and stars danced in front of my eyes.
Goddammit, that hurt…
I felt a sticky trail of liquid trickle down the side of my head. Blood. Great. Now I felt dizzy and everything was becoming blurred. I forced myself to stay conscious. The room spun. I knew it was because of the head wound, but there wasn’t much I could do about it.
Harry looked livid, as he stood with his hands still raised and kicked the gun roughly, sending it spiralling away from him. I gritted my teeth and summoned up the last remaining bit of my strength.
I only had one chance.
Wait for it... Wait for it...
I watched Eddie's eyes glitter in triumph, as the gun span closer and closer. In that split second, his grip on my neck loosened slightly and the hand holding the knife drifted dangerously close to my face.
...NOW!
I lunged forward and bit his hand as hard as I could, throwing my elbow backwards into his chest at the same time. He howled in pain and dropped the weapon. For a moment, he lost his balance and tilted backwards - but as I whipped away from him to grab the gun, he righted himself and charged at me.
I kicked the gun out of his reach just in time, just as his body collided into the back of mine, crushing the air out of my lungs and leaving me winded. My head slammed against the tiled floor and white spots clouded my vision. I could hear the distant roar of sirens and yelling.
It sounded like people were shouting nearby, but for some reason, I couldn't answer them. Their voices were muffled - as if my entire body was underwater.
I felt my eyes flutter shut, exhausted from trying to see past the dancing white spots.
My dad would’ve been so disappointed.
His voice flooded through my head before I passed out, repeating his most important lesson;
Never turn your back on your opponent.
Damn it.
Then everything went black.
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A/N: I'm ridiculously excited to have started this story!
The community of writers here on Wattpad is nothing short of inspiring, and since I've got some time on my hands, I thought I'd give it a shot. :-)
Thank you for taking a peek at my story. Vote or Comment if you feel like you should, or tell me what you think! It'll light up my week. Really, really. Criticism too.
Onwards and upwards,
- Freya xx
Chapter 2 includes: A HEADACHE, A THANK-YOU AND HARRY STYLES.