Robbery In Progress

*Emma*

*Twenty years ago*

I was at home with my dad when it happened. My ten year old mind didn't really understand what *it* was but everyone around me was sad. Dad got a phone call while we were playing, when he came back he was crying and he said we had to go to the hospital.

I tried to ask him what was wrong but he wouldn't say. He just shook his head and hugged me. I didn't know what was happening but he was making me feel so sad and confused.

After arriving at the hospital some nurse lady walked me and my dad to a room that my sister was in. The air smelled weird, burning my nose a little. And my sister was in one of those weird hospital gown things with all those cords connected to her. Just like dad she had tears in her eyes, but she also had hope where I only saw sorrow in dad.

"I'm so sorry, dad. I didn't mean to crash the car. Is she okay? They won't tell me." Her words rushed out of her as she reached for our dad. He was barely holding it together, that was clear, as he rested his head on hers for a few minutes. His eyes closed.

"I don't understand what's going on," I spoke up, no longer able to stay quite. "What happened? Why are we here?"

Dad came over and picked me up, something he almost never did anymore. He told me I'd grown too much when I asked these days.

"Your mom and your sister got in a car accident on their way home from the store," he talked slowly but he wasn't doing it for me, he kept needing to take breaks and compose himself. "Your mom didn't make it."

I furrowed my brows in confusion as my sister broke out into tears, "she didn't make it?"

"That's right, honey. She's, uh, she's in heaven now."

People in my life had explained death and heaven before, but I guess I didn't quite understand it until that night when I got in bed and mom never came for goodnight kisses and storytime.

Instead, my sister read to me. And she kept reading to me every night for two years. By the time I turned twelve, I didn't need bedtime stories anymore. But she was there for me in all kinds of other ways. She gave up her dreams of law school to stay home and help our dad raise me. She was there for every school event I had, she took me shopping for new clothes when I needed them, and sometimes when I didn't.

"I'm here for you, always," she would say.

*Today*

The air in my lungs felt like daggers as I raced into the bank, all protocols thrown to the wind. I barely even registered that Kelsey was chasing after me, which in hindsight should have been a wake up call. It didn't matter in the moment, though. My big sister was being held captive by the very people I've been chasing.

The door to the basement was ajar, the escape today must have been more rushed. Or someone wanted us to find them. I want to say that I rushed down the steps but it would be more accurate to say that I jumped down them, sometimes taking three or four at a time. The fact that I didn't break an ankle in my haste is astounding.

At the bottom of the stairs there was a cellar door, closed but not locked. I opened it without pause and rushed into the tunnel, my weapon still hostlered, but I heard Kelsey pull hers out behind me.

Without anyone in sight, I finally stopped. Just long enough to fall silent and listen. The echos in this place were crazy but my sister needed me to hone in and find her.

Footsteps. To the right.

I started to turn that way.

No. Left, they went left.

Kelsey didn't question me, which was appreciated, just followed behind with her gun at the ready.

The footsteps got louder, and soon they were joined by voices. My sisters, definitely. No doubt pleading for her life. And if I wasn't mistaken, Joe's.

"Please, just let me go. I promise I won't tell anyone where you went."

"I think we've made it far enough, Jason." Ah, so his name was Jason. Not only was he a murdering tool but also unimaginative.

I stormed forward, pulling out my gun and angling it towards Jason. "Let her go." All four of them turned around, startled. Jason was holding onto Meg's arm, a gun pointed into her side. "Kelsey, get an ambulance en route." I never took my eyes off Jason as I spoke to her.

"Maybe I should stay and you should get the ambulance," her replied was spoken softly, like she was worried about how I would respond.

"Which one of us is the negotiator, again?"

"Fine, but I'm just going to step out for a signal and I will be right back."

I acknowledged her with a brief nod before zeroing back in on Jason.

"Em, I'm fine. Really," my sister said to me, though I didn't believe her.

"Why don't we just both put our guns down for a second?" I asked Jason, trying with very fiber of my being to stick to my training to some extent.

"I told you that if anyone came after us I would shoot someone. I'm not putting down the gun."

"Okay, fine then. Shoot me. Let her go and shoot me."

"Uh, no." Great, Kelsey was back. "Real textbook negotiating, Emma." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. "Even I know you don't do tradesies with the robber."

"You know each other, don't you?" Jason referenced between Meg and me. "Well then, I guess you have a choice to make. Chase me or save her." Before I could even process his words he had stepped back and shot Meg. "Meg!"