Of Heroes and Villains

The Chapter With the Hostage Situation

The four got into Sean's car, much to Don's surprise. He had expected some fancier form of transportation, like a private jet or a tank. Jordan got into the shotgun seat, leaving Don and Dean in the back.

"You're gonna wanna hang on tight," the handsome man warned him. Don didn't understand at first.

Then Sean stepped on the gas.

The car took off down the road like a rabid camel, practically jumping up into the air at every single road anomaly. Don's stomach began to turn as they took a sharp left, nearly sending them all flying out of the car. The green light ahead of them was beginning to blink.

"We can make it," Sean muttered.

'He's not serious,' Don thought.

He was serious.

Speeding as much as possible, Sean forced the car to speed down the road and past the crossroad, rising dust in its wake. Another left turn pushed Don into Dean, and the two bumped heads. Then a right pushed them over to Don's side, where they were squished against the door, which was, thankfully, locked. A rock in the middle of the street made the car jump. Dean and Jordan were ready and had their hands on top of their heads. Don had no such luck. He slammed into the car ceiling head-first. A few more turbulent rights and lefts, and many angered drivers later, they reached the street on which the bank was located.

Dean reached over and put a hand against Don's chest, then pushed him against the seat. "This is the big one."

Sean hit the breaks so suddenly, all of them nearly flew out through the windshield. Don thought his heart would be pushed out of his chest.

At long last, the ride was finished.

Noticing the distressed look on his new recruit's face, Sean turned to face him. "Yeah, I hate car rides, too."

'THAT'S NOT THE PROBLEM!' the young man thought, but didn't dare voice it.

With Sean leading the way, they walked over to the SWAT team situated out front. Their leader seemed to know who they were.

"About time you got here," the regular-looking man said. "Small-time bank, so only ten people were inside. Three perps inside, all of them Espers."

"Vapors?" Sean asked.

"One of them can hear very well, so he's probably eavesdropping right now. I'd write this down for you, but one of my idiot men already talked about it, and the perp heard him, so he knows all I'm telling you."

"They know we're here?" said Dean.

The man nodded. "The other two can both jump really high. They're all low-level. C rank threats at most. Your job's to get everyone out safely."

Sean nodded, then turned to Dean, who smirked. The SWAT captain handed him his phone. All of it seemed to be routine for them. With his best possible smile on, Dean spoke. "Hello, my name is Dean, and I'll be handling all negotiations with you. You're on speaker. Please confirm that no hostages have been harmed."

"And they won't be if you cooperate," the man on the other end said. "Send a cop in as a sign of trust. Once he's with us, we'll be letting the hostages go, and use him as the replacement."

Dean nodded, then remembered he was speaking over the phone. "Y-Yes, of course." He cleared his throat, trying not to let Don and Jordan's snickering bother him. Sean's glare silenced them. "How about captain Norm goes in? Will that suffice?"

"It will. Once the exchange is done, we'll make our actual demands." The man hung up, and Norm then turned on a strange device tied to his wrist. It started beeping loudly, making it hard to focus.