by Helen Harper
Rather than turn onto the same street as the Talismanic Bank, I swerved Tallulah round to the road that ran parallel to it. I wanted to get as close to the rear of the bank as I could. Fortunately, my luck held and I managed to drive into the single available parking space outside the doctor’s surgery.
I leapt out and jogged round, scrambling easily onto the flat roof. I eyed the empty courtyard of the bank. Pralk had been right: from this distance, vaulting across the gap while avoiding the sensors on top of the wall appeared all but impossible. Then again, I was a phoenix so I didn’t have wings. But if I were careful, I might just be able to fly.
I would only get one chance. If I set off the alarm by accident, all my plans would fail. The trick would be to aim for a specific point in the courtyard and focus on it. I wasn’t especially aerodynamic but I’d learned one or two things from witnessing Adam Jones’s controlled tumble from the Eye.
I drew back, allowing myself several metres for a run up. My heart thumped against my chest. Run, I told myself. Jump. Roll. I repeated the words in my head like a mantra. Run. Jump. Roll. Run. Jump. Roll. I pushed my hair out of my eyes. And then I went for it.
Loose gravel on the surgery roof flew up around my feet as I gave it everything I had and sprinted towards the edge. I had to gain enough momentum to spring upwards and clear the wall. I might not be an Olympic long jumper, but I had to believe I could do it.
My toes hit the roof’s edge and I pushed off, pumping my arms and legs as if I were running through the very air itself. Up, up, over and … the ground rushed up to meet me.
I folded myself into a ball, bent my knees and prepared for impact. It was jarring and I gasped with pain when I smacked into the hard concrete of the courtyard. Despite my best efforts, I hadn’t landed well and spears of agony shot through my left ankle. The force of my landing also sent waves of pain radiating through the wound in my shoulder. I grimaced and blinked back involuntary tears, but I couldn’t allow myself the luxury of feeling pathetic.
I heaved myself upwards, glanced at the wall and gave it the finger. Then I limped over to the bank’s rear door. It was already 1.21pm.
I put the numbers into the keypad, suddenly doubting my memory and praying that I wouldn’t set off the alarm by getting the code wrong. When I heard the lock click open, relief flooded through me.
I pushed open the door and stepped across the threshold. I’d made it this far. I straightened my back and, ignoring the screeching jolts of pain from my shoulder and my ankle, strode along the corridor, past the messy staffroom, the computer server room and the chillingly familiar safety deposit box room.
I reached the final door and shoved it open into the main hall of the Talismanic Bank. Part of me had been expecting one of the bank employees to spot me and demand to know what was doing in the bowels of their building, but my entrance was obscured by one of the large marble pillars. Not a single person glanced in my direction.
I counted three bank tellers and five customers. There was the pixie, staring at her phone with intense concentration as she waited for her turn. The two werewolves, whose blood had previously leaked all over the shiny floor, were deep in conversation, chuckling at some shared joke. There was the human who’d wandered in off the street to goggle at the architecture.
For a moment I watched them all. They had no idea what was about to happen unless I could stop it. An invisible hand wrapped round my chest and squeezed it tight.
I squared my shoulders and marched over to Lord Fairfax’s beta. She was next in line. I hooked my arm round hers. She stiffened and turned to throw me off. I was ready for that and tightened my grip. ‘Hello, Toffee,’ I murmured. ‘I need you to come with me. Lord Fairfax asked me to find you.’
‘He doesn’t know I’m here.’ Her eyes narrowed. ‘And I’m not going anywhere with you.’
This was the riskiest part of the operation, and I tried not to let my fear show on my face. I knew from the brief CCTV report Liza had given me that the trio of robbers hadn’t started shooting until Toffee challenged them. All my plans hinged on getting her out of the way before they arrived. I didn’t have her real name, so I couldn’t use it to compel her; even if I’d had it I doubted I would have succeeded – She was a beta – and that meant she was strong. My powers over high-ranking supes were patchy at the best of times.
‘Okay,’ I muttered, keeping my voice low. ‘You caught me out. I’ve not spoken to Fairfax – but I need to talk to you urgently. It’s part of a Supe Squad investigation that’s incredibly time sensitive.’ I hoped my vagueness would snag her interest. Unfortunately, it didn’t.
‘I don’t care what you’re doing. I’m not saying anything to you until I’ve spoken to my alpha.’ Her lip curled and I saw the challenge in her eyes. ‘If you want to wait until I’m done here, we can go to Lisson Grove together and speak to him.’ She laughed coldly. ‘But you don’t want to do that, do you? Because it’s Fairfax himself you’re investigating.’ I blinked and Toffee laughed again. ‘I’m not stupid, detective. Why else would you want to talk to me?’
‘I can’t tell you here – it’s too public. And your lord isn’t at Lisson Grove. There’s an incident occurring on Tower Bridge. He’ll be heading there.’
That caught her attention. ‘What incident?’
‘A group of werewolves have hijacked a bus and they’re holding the people inside hostage.’
She stared at me. ‘Bullshit.’
‘It’s true.’
‘If it’s true, why aren’t you there?’ she sneered.
‘My colleague is there in my place,’ I said. Toffee yanked her arm back. I let her go, unwilling to antagonise her too much and lose control of the situation. ‘Listen, Toffee, you…’
I didn’t get a chance to finish my sentence. She pulled out her phone and jabbed in a number, then she stepped further back. Eyeing me as if I were some kind of rabid dog, she held the phone to her ear. I didn’t take her attitude personally; she wasn’t any friendlier to the person on the other end of the line. ‘Where the fuck are you?’ she barked.
I strained my ears to hear the answer but I could only make out a few words. Then her eyes widened and her expression altered.
‘What? What do you mean there’s been a hijacking at Tower Bridge? Why didn’t you call me?’ She was already backing away. ‘Goddamnit!’ Toffee whirled round and sprinted out of the bank at full speed.
Everyone in the bank stared after her, except the pixie who glanced at me with open curiosity. I shrugged. It hadn’t happened quite the way I’d expected but I’d achieved my goal: Toffee was out of the way and, with any luck, her speedy exit wouldn’t have alarmed whoever was spying for the gang.
It made sense that she’d hear about Tower Bridge and would hotfoot it over there. Just in case, however, I drew out my own phone and pretended to call someone. ‘What’s happening at Tower Bridge?’ I demanded loudly. ‘Why would werewolves hijack a bus?’
Several mouths dropped open. The pixie gasped and the two McGuigan wolves looked at each other nervously.
And, at that very moment, the three masked robbers came in. ‘Everyone down on the floor, now!’
Nobody moved a muscle. The woman raised the muzzle of her gun to the ceiling and fired a shot. That was more than enough; every single person, me included, dropped.
Even though I was expecting it, the cold marble floor against my skin was a shock. I couldn’t prevent the swirl of nausea in the pit of my belly either; I was gambling a lot on Toffee’s absence. I prayed I’d made the right choice.
I turned my head so I could watch the robbers. They marched forward confidently. The woman headed straight for the bank tellers, whilst the man by her side diverted through the door. A moment later, I heard the sound of crunching metal as he smashed open the stainless-steel box that controlled the bank’s power. Almost immediately the overhead lights flickered off. Now Mosburn Pralk and the other staff were trapped upstairs while the rest of us were trapped down here.
The third robber faced the rest of us, moving his gun from bowed head to bowed head. I noticed one of the werewolves twitch as claws started to emerge from his right hand. The stress was forcing him into lupine transformation – either that or he was consciously planning an attack. Whatever it was, I had to stop him.
‘Safety deposit boxes,’ the woman barked, pointing her gun at one of the bank tellers. The middle-aged goblin behind the screen stared at her, her face slack with terror.
I slid a few inches along the floor, hoping that the robber wouldn’t notice.
‘I want the safety deposit boxes. Get me all the keys,’ the woman ordered.
I slid forward another five inches.
The werewolf’s leg was in spasm. He was trying hide what was happening but it wouldn’t be long before the robber noticed and opened fire.
‘Nobody will be hurt,’ the woman said, ‘as long as you all cooperate.’
I saw fur springing up across the werewolf’s cheekbone. I had to act. I swung my head towards the bank’s front door. Come on. I held my breath. He should be here by now.
The bank teller fumbled with something and I heard the masked woman hiss irritably. Much more of this and she’d lose patience. Then I heard footsteps and I breathed more easily. Finally.
‘Hello?’ There was a pause from the poor McGuigan werewolf who’d chosen this moment to wander inside to deposit his cheque. ‘Uh…’
There was a flurry of movement. Two of the robbers spun round, as the third loosed off a single shot that thudded into one of the marble pillars. I was already on my feet. I threw myself not at the robbers but into the path of the confused, McGuigan werewolf, my hands raised in surrender.
‘Don’t shoot him!’ I yelled. ‘We’re behaving! We’re doing as you said!’ I waved frantically at the incomer. He belatedly realised what was happening and lowered himself to the floor. I did the same, directly in front of him.
‘I’m Detective Constable Emma Bellamy,’ I continued. ‘I’m with Supe Squad. I guarantee that nobody here will do anything to stop you, myself included.’ I forced as much authority as I could into my tone. ‘I take full responsibility for everyone here. If you shoot anyone, shoot me first. But we’ll do whatever you tell us. We’re not moving.’
The robbers stood absolutely still. I saw the black muzzle of the nearest gun waver and my stomach tightened further. Be sensible. Please. This time, be sensible.
There was a loud clinking sound and the bank teller’s voice rang out. ‘I’ve got the keys! Here! Here are the safety deposit box keys!’ She held up a narrow box and rattled it.
For another half second nobody moved a muscle. Then the female robber spun round. ‘Pass them through.’
The bank teller did as she was told. Some of the tension in my body eased.
The woman took the box and double-checked the contents. She nodded to her colleagues. ‘I don’t care whether she’s with the police or whether she’s the Queen of fucking Sheba,’ she said in her fake Cockney accent. ‘She’ll bleed as red as the rest of you. We’re in charge here. Stay where you are for another few minutes and you all might live to see another day. Make any moves and you won’t.’
She and the nearest male robber, probably the one Adam Jones had labelled the Professor, strode to the door and the corridor beyond, leaving their gun-toting companion to keep an eye on us.
I glanced at the werewolf lying a mere three metres away from me. His body was flat and there was no sign of further spasms or fur. Even his claws had disappeared, smoothing into human skin and neatly trimmed fingernails. My ploy had worked. Praise be.
The first time the masked gang had entered the bank, Toffee had seen herself as the highest ranking and most powerful creature in there. It had been her responsibility to act. I’d removed her from the equation. In her absence, the other werewolves, particularly the one who’d begun to change, had taken up that baton. By speaking out, I’d positioned myself as the highest ranking hostage so the responsibility for what happened next passed to me. The onus of attempting an attack on the robbers had been stripped from the other werewolves now that I was at the top of the hierarchy. And that meant that the lives of everyone in here might be saved.
It took three minutes and twelve seconds. It felt like a lifetime as each second dragged by. The robber in front of me kept his gun trained on the back of my skull but I knew he was aware of everyone else in the bank too. Everyone behaved. I could see the small pixie, her eyes tightly squeezed shut. The only human was mumbling to himself in terror, an incessant litany that was the only sound in the hall. None of the werewolves moved. Then the other two robbers marched out, each holding a small tower of locked safety deposit boxes.
The woman nodded to the third gunman. He swung his gun from me to the werewolves to the still cowering bank tellers, covering his colleagues’ escape. Their shiny shoes trod past me as they left with maximum efficiency. Seconds later I heard the brief rumble of an engine firing up outside. The last robber turned and ran out of the door at top speed. The bank’s heavy front door banged shut behind him.
They’d gone.
Chapter Twenty-Four
It was several seconds before I moved. When I raised myself up and slowly climbed to my feet, it was as if a dam had burst.
The werewolves sprang up, rage and anxiety written on their faces. ‘So much for fucking Supe Squad!’ one of them yelled. He was in my face, his fists clenched. His ears were already sprouting fur and he was struggling to control himself. ‘Aren’t you supposed to stop crime? You just let those fuckers do what they wanted!’ He spat on the ground. ‘You’re a waste of space!’
I didn’t react. His fury was borne out of fear and adrenaline. Besides, from where he was standing, he had a good point. He hadn’t seen himself lying on this very spot in a pool of his own blood.
‘It might have escaped your notice,’ I said calmly, ‘but they were carrying very large guns.’
‘So? I know who you are and I know what you’re capable of. You’re immortal, ain’t you? You can’t die. Why would you be afraid of getting shot?’
‘Because,’ I answered, ‘if they’d shot me, they’d have shot you too. And everyone else in here too.’
‘You…’ He faltered and his expression fell as he absorbed the possibility that he might not have made it out of the bank alive. ‘You don’t know that.’
Unfortunately, I did. I gave him a crooked smile and turned, just in time to see Mosburn Pralk burst through the door. ‘Is anyone injured? Did anyone get hurt?’
The bank teller who’d handed over the box of keys emerged from her booth. From the interviews I’d conducted, I knew her name was Mista Tio. She was married, with three children, loved her job and took great pride in it. She brought home-made cakes in at the end of every month for her colleagues. The thought of the bank being robbed had genuinely never occurred to her. Now it was something she’d never forget.
‘We’re fine,’ she said shakily. She was very pale beneath her golden skin and her green eyes looked enormous. ‘They let off a shot but no one was hit.’
‘Thank God.’ Pralk sagged in relief. ‘When they shut off the power, all the doors upstairs locked automatically. It took far too long to over-ride the system. You’re all safe, though, and that’s what matters. We can replace money. We can’t replace you.’
The bank teller swallowed. She didn’t appear mollified by his concern. ‘They didn’t take money,’ she whispered. ‘That’s not what they were after.’
Pralk’s brow creased. ‘Then what…?’
‘The safety deposit boxes,’ I said, striding forward. I stuck out my hand. ‘Good to meet you, Mr Pralk. I’m DC Bellamy.’
He blinked at me. ‘Goodness. I’ve heard stories about your prowess, detective, but I didn’t realise you were this good. You got here faster than I did – and I was in the building.’
‘I was already here,’ I explained.
‘What?’
‘I was already in the b
uilding when the robbers arrived.’
Pralk narrowed his eyes. ‘Wait. If you were here, why didn’t you stop them?’
The antsy werewolf snorted. ‘That’s exactly what I said.’
‘Because if I’d intervened, innocent lives would have been lost.’ I refused to apologise for my perceived lack of inaction. I knew exactly what I was doing.
Pralk’s bottom lip curled in the faintest moue of disgust. Then he thought of something else and turned back to Mista Tio. ‘The safety deposit boxes?’ he asked.
She nodded, her fingers twisting together. Pralk’s body went rigid. Uh-oh. I guessed the real penny had just dropped. ‘Which ones? Which ones did they take?’
Her skin turned even paler. Rather than wait for her to gather her wits and think of an answer, Pralk whirled round and headed back the way he’d come. He moved remarkably quickly for someone so tall. I followed; I already knew where he was going and I knew what he would find there.
The safety deposit room looked exactly the same as it had the first time I’d been there. The same boxes had been targeted. I gazed round, unsurprised. Pralk, however, let out a low moan. He obviously didn’t require a list to tell him who owned the missing boxes. And of course he recognised that the bank’s own safety deposit box had been attacked.
I allowed him a moment or two, then I closed the door to afford us some privacy. ‘Mr Pralk,’ I said. ‘You won’t remember, but this isn’t the first time we’ve met.’
He barely heard me. He continued to stare round the room, a desolate expression darkening his face. Then his gaze abruptly snapped to mine. ‘What do you mean? If our paths had crossed, DC Bellamy, I certainly would have remembered.’
‘Carpe Diem,’ I said softly.
‘Pardon?’
‘I know you’ve heard of it because you told me you had. I’ve taken the Carpe Diem potion. As far as I’m concerned, this is the fourth time your bank has been targeted for robbery.’