Silent Night Standoff. Susan Sleeman

       TWENTY-THREE

       TWENTY-FOUR

       EPILOGUE

       Dear Reader

       Questions for Discussion

       Extract

       Copyright

       ONE

      The gun came out of nowhere.

      A hard kick of adrenaline stole Skyler’s breath. She raised her hands and backed away, the urge to reach for her own weapon nearly overpowering her good sense.

      “Everyone on the floor now!” the bank robber screamed.

      Skinny with spiked hair, his eyes were glassy, his body jittery. Fidgety. He was coming down from some drug. Not a good thing. Drugs and money were the top causes of violence, and he had both of them spurring him on. Making him unpredictable.

      Add a loaded weapon and Skyler had a dangerous combination staring her down.

      She needed to tread lightly. Forget about the gun in her purse for now. Do as he commanded.

      She pulled in a few cleansing breaths and helped a pregnant woman settle on the cold tile floor of the Portland Community Bank, then took a seat with the other terrified customers.

      She’d messed up. Big-time. Missed seeing the team dubbed by the media as a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde, but she hadn’t been paying attention.

      She wasn’t on duty. She’d just stopped in to cash a check for her upcoming Christmas party for homeless families. A worthy cause, for sure, but she was a deputy sheriff and a hostage negotiator on the county’s First Response Squad, for crying out loud. She was trained to read people, and she’d failed Cop 101.

      Her training officer’s voice rang in her head. Always know your surroundings. Always be alert and ready for anything. Serve and protect the innocent.

       Protect, Skyler! How can you protect if you don’t know what’s going on?

       Focus. Now. Before it’s too late and someone gets hurt.

      She watched Bonnie, a thin woman with dead eyes, calmly herd three customers from the teller windows to sit nearby. She shot across the room to retrieve the balding bank manager. That left three tellers standing behind the counter, all gaping at Clyde, his gun trained on them.

      “My baby.” The pregnant woman cradled her swollen belly as her terrified gaze flitted around the space. “I’ve got to get out of here.”

      “It’s okay,” Skyler whispered. “You and your baby will be fine. Just fine.”

      “You don’t know that.” Panic took her voice high.

      Hoping to redirect the woman’s thoughts before one of the robbers singled them out, Skyler asked, “What’s your name?”

      “Faith.”

      “Well, Faith, I do know we all have a much better chance of avoiding injury if we keep calm and do everything we’re told.”

      “No talking!” Clyde spun on them and locked gazes with Skyler.

      For the first time since they’d drawn their weapons, Skyler doubted her abilities. Doubted she’d be able to end this situation without anyone getting hurt. Not without her team. On duty, she’d have a sniper at the ready. Medical support waiting. A trained supervisor calling the shots as he did for all crisis situations in the county.

      “I’ve got to get out of here.” Faith struggled to stand. Skyler stilled her as Bonnie shot across the room toward them.

      Bonnie bent low, her scraggly blond hair falling over her face. She jabbed her gun at Faith’s chest. “Are you deaf, lady? He said no talking.”

      “Easy,” Skyler said, the word slipping out before she thought better of it.

      Bonnie pawed her hair from her eyes and glared in reply. Skyler should be afraid, but her anger fired hotter, blotting out her fear. Faith didn’t deserve to be frightened like this. The terror would live with her—with everyone in the room—for the rest of their lives.

      Skyler needed to do everything she could to minimize their trauma. That meant holding her anger in check so she was ready to act if she could do so safely.

      “Man the door, Bonnie,” Clyde said, his focus returning to the tellers.

      Bonnie kept narrowed eyes fixed on Faith until she reached the door and turned her back.

      Perfect. Just the distraction Skyler needed.

      She shifted her body for privacy, opened the message screen on her phone and typed, 211 bank 23rd & Glisan. Bonnie and Clyde. 2 Glock 9mm. She sent the message to squad leader, Jake Marsh, then dialed his number and lowered her in-call volume to zero to keep the robbers from hearing Jake answer.

      When she saw that the call had connected and knew he was on the line, she switched to speaker so he could listen in. She palmed her phone—microphone facing out—and turned back to wait for her team to arrive.

      “Put all of your cash in the bag.” Clyde unfolded a worn duffel bag and tossed it onto the counter in front of the first teller.

      “Move it along, Clyde,” Bonnie yelled from her post at the front door. “All we need is for a customer to show up and call the cops.”

      Clyde slid over to the next teller. “Your turn. Make it quick.”

      Skyler sat quietly, praying her squad arrived soon to set up their command center and get everyone out before the situation turned ugly.

      Time ticked by.

      Slowly. Painfully. A minute feeling like an hour.

      The soothing strains of “Silent Night” played from the speakers, but nothing was calm or bright in this room. Just the opposite.

      Skyler was aware of every breath she took. Of the perspiration sliding down her back. Of her purse lying against her leg, the gun inside. The change in Faith’s breathing and the face of an elderly man wearing a tattered suit reddening like a ripe tomato.

      Why did they have to have a heat wave in December of all times? The seventy-plus afternoon temps made it seem more like an Oregon summer. Mix that with the fear pulsing around them and the space felt like a muggy, breath-stealing jungle. A situation that could cause panic.

      “People are hot and looking like they might pass out,” Skyler said to Clyde. “Would it be okay if they took off their coats or sweaters?”

      “Not happening.” He didn’t even bother to look at the group.

      “I’m really worried about them.” Skyler grabbed a brochure from a rack and fanned Faith. “Especially Faith here. Her pregnancy makes her much hotter than the rest of us.”

      Bonnie spun. “Another word out of you, and I’m coming over there to shut you up,” she shouted, her face tightening in anger.

      Skyler could see Bonnie was starting to lose it, so Skyler clamped her mouth shut while continuing to fan Faith. When a police siren sounded nearby, Skyler held her breath, fearing that her worst nightmare was coming true. It was protocol not to run