A Strange Way to Find Out - Chapters 4 & 5

[arctic]

A Strange Way to Find Out
May Contain Spoilers for Seasons 4, 7 & 8

Chapter 4

“All right, all o’ ya. Line up over there. Now!” The gunman who seemed to be the mouthpiece for the group pointed to the western wall of the bank. Harry took Ruth’s hand and led them over to the wall, positioning them closest to an office door.

Some of the women and a few of the men were crying as they lined up along the wall. One woman was grabbing at the gunmen and pleading with them, “Please please don’t hurt me. Please please” so that by the time the customers were positioned against the wall the gunmen were annoyed. Harry judged they had about half an hour until Tariq and Lucas discovered what was happening and sent in the cavalry until…

“Hey you” Harry was jabbed in the stomach “give me your wallet.” Harry opened his coat.

“I don’t have my wallet.”

“Get real man” the gunman pointed his gun directly at Harry’s chest.

“My wife has her purse. Why do I need a wallet?” Harry calmly reasoned.

“Ha Ha. Yeah man. Let the old lady do the payin’. I like that.” He turned to address Ruth. “Drop it in here, doll” Ruth chanced a glance at Harry who nodded. She dropped her purse into the bag the gunman was holding. As the gunman moved on, Wes made a strange strangled sound in his throat which caused the gunman to pause and step back toward him. Harry looked down at Wes and for the first time realized how pale the boy was. Wes was shaking visibly as he stood between Harry and Ruth. They exchanged a look.

“Hey kid, what’s your problem?” the gunman grasped the front of Wes’ jersey and the boy promptly vomited all down the gunman’s front. Harry blanched at what he knew would come next.

“You rotten brat” the gunman raised his hand to slap the boy. Harry stepped in front of Wes and grabbed the man’s arm.

“You don’t want to do that.” Harry stated coldly, his eyes lancing through the gunman’s eyes. The gunman stepped back finding it difficult to hold Harry’s stare. Unfortunately, this unusual action caught the attention of the ringleader who strode over to see who this man was that could cow his henchman.

“What’s going on here?” He demanded of the gunman.

“Nothin’ boss. This here kid puked on me.” The Ringleader studied the boy in front of him. Ruth tightened her grip around Wes’ shoulders and stared back, defying the man to touch him.

Harry acted quickly when he saw Ruth’s determined face. She’ll challenge them all if I don’t step in now. His heart beat with pride in this brave lady at his side.

“My son is sick. Can my wife take him into the washroom and clean him up?” The Ringleader slowly turned and held Harry’s gaze.

“This boy is your son?” He said in a measured voice.


CHAPTER 5

“My Godson.” Harry replied. The man held Harry’s stare for a long time before he glanced at his henchman. “Wait here” he ordered and moved down the line until he reached someone with a name tag.

“You. Darrell Burns, Assistant Bank Manager” the man read the name tag mockingly. Darrell looked up, shaking in response to the attention.

“Where is the staff washroom?” The Ringleader demanded. The cowed man pointed.

“Is there a key?” Darrell nodded again in response to the question.

“Well?” the ringleader waited impatiently. Darrell looked back at him blankly.

“Give … me…the key.” The leader spoke derisively, holding out his hand.

Darrell nodded wanting this interaction over as soon as possible and the attention turned on someone else. “It’s in my desk.” His voice wobbled as he spoke.

“Then, GET IT!” the leader raised his voice to make his point. He gestured to one of the men to follow him. In a moment, Darrell returned handing the key to the Ringleader with shaking hands.

The Ringleader took the key and walked back over to Harry. He watched Harry as he handed the key to his henchman.

“Take the woman and the boy into the washroom and let her clean him up.” His gaze shifted to his man, wrinkling his nose. “And get yourself cleaned up as well.”

Harry began to follow them, extremely uncomfortable with the thought of that man alone with his wife but the ringleader stopped him. “Oh no, sir, I think we’ll keep you here.” Then the Ringleader turned sharply on his heel and took up a position in the middle of the room.

Harry watched the doorway where Ruth and Wes had disappeared, clenching and unclenching his fists as he waited for them to reappear. Wes’ puzzling reaction worried Harry. It was never a good idea to draw attention to yourself in a hostage situation.

After a time, Ruth reappeared with her arm around Wes and made her way to Harry. As she took her place beside him, she looked up, noticing the intense relief on his face. She pondered his intense reaction, why is Harry so concerned? She reached out and brushed his fingers, hooking his index finger. He looked down at her. She whispered, “He hasn’t spoken a word, Harry. Something is seriously wrong with him.” Harry nodded in response, passing a fleeting look over the boy before returning his attention to the bank robbers. There is more to this situation than a bank robbery. Harry had a black feeling in the pit of his stomach. He had felt that way before, usually when an operation went wrong.

[Nia M]

Great build of suspense here!