Mission Report Part (1/5)Main Street Bank StandoffOne operator will be immediately dispatched to advise and assist the Goodhaven Sheriff during an active hostage standoff. Per invitation of the Sheriff himself, this operator will assume command of the entire force to resolve the situation.
Before our sole operator scrambles out the door, she should put on her dress beret, in an attempt to cut a more authoritative image for a commanding officer. With time of the essence, Anna is an ideal pick, as she is already familiar with Goodhaven and its Sheriff Department.
Per client suggestion, operator will be picked up at the spaceport by a Deputy. While driving over, operator will use the time to question the driver for a basic SITREP. Upon arrival at the scene, operator will assume command and immediately get a more exact SITREP. The security cordon will be immediately confirmed and then contact will be made with the adversaries. The adversaries will be assessed by the operator for threat-level and possibility for de-escalation. Operator should attempt to negotiate a peaceful surrender before attempting a tactical solution.
As this is an overt mission of some prestige, operator should freely promote their Ocean PMC affiliation, and should leverage that status as an outside professional for the benefit of leadership and negotiation. Anna is already known in Goodhaven, so concealing her face is irrelevant and would only hamper face-to-face communication.
Additional Guidance:
"Secure. The. Perimeter. The first step when we get there, if they had failed to do it by that time. It is vitally important to our goals that the target doesn't think they can just walk out if they shoot enough people. A secure perimeter prevents escape, forces the target to either go noisy or (more likely) submit, and allows us to act quickly in the case something goes wrong. A pursuit team should be established should we have enough manpower after said securing. I doubt Goodhaven has any, but insure marksman are in reasonable positions.
Her training and charisma are probably above mine. Follow whatever de-escalation techniques you know, like the five-step FBI method. Attempt for small demands likely to be followed (such as asking them to release hostages difficult to both parties, such as young children and the injured) before moving on to larger demands.
Just remembered we have medical supplies now. Should bring some just in case."
"Just get me a fraking car or we gonna get bodies chucked out windows! Ya hear!"With hostages as gun-point, Anna Chapman wastes no time rushing out the door to get on scene. Luckily she keeps a go-bag ready for situations like this, and the armorer already has a freshly serviced Val carbine waiting for her. Mission prep and research would've been nice, but other than quickly reading over the mission plan on the flight down to Harad, she just doesn't have the time.
Anna did skim the part about the dress beret though, and she stretches it on her head during the flight. It's a formal black wool Anglo-American-style military beret, the felt shaved bare then soaked and individually shaped over the wearer's head. The metallic beret flash displays the traditional Ocean PMC "Division" insignia. Checking herself on her camera phone, Anna appreciates the classic military officer look it gives her.
A Sheriff's Department Jeep Wrangler is waiting on the tarmac as Anna steps off the shuttle. The blue-haired Deputy Janet "Holla" Hollaran greets her effusively, "Anna! I love that beret on you, girl!"
Anna holds back a beaming smile at such an effusive and sincere greeting, "Oh! Thank you, Deputy Hollaran. Glad to be working with you again. But for the sake of professionalism, I'd prefer if you adressed me as Ms. Chapman."
Deputy Hollaran winces apologetically, "Ah, my bad Ma'am. You're right, we've got some serious shit here. Serious business calls for serious people, right?"
"Damn straight, let's get on scene and you can brief me what you know on the drive over."
It's a short drive and Deputy Hollaran doesn't know too more than what the Sheriff already passed to Ms. Chapman through Ops Chief Neil McCauley. Two men tried to rob the Main Street Bank, but didn't know the safe was on a time lock. They apparently didn't believe the bank manager when he told them he couldn't open it, and they got bogged down trying to prove otherwise. It's been about an hour since a Deputy stumbled onto the robbery in progress and now the whole Sheriff Department is in an armed standoff with the would-be robbers.
"WE'VE GOT YOU SURROUNDED! COME ON OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP!" the unmistakable voice of Sheriff Nash Wilder bellows over a bullhorn.
Ms. Chapman checks herself again on her camera phone before reintroducing herself to Sheriff Wilder, "Sheriff Wilder, Ms. Chapman from Ocean PMC reporting for duty."
He gives her an obvious double-take, "Anna, look at you all churched up. Hold your horses a second, and I'll get you right sorted."
He turns back to the bullhorn, "You two-bit banditos really done goofed now. We got a tier one pro here from offworld. Y'all better come out in cuffs, before you come out in body bags."
Already tempted to skip the SITREP to immediately move to de-escalate the situation, Ms. Chapman tries not to keep count of how many mistakes Sheriff Wilder has made as she tolerates his briefing. Despite being in a standoff for an hour, he's gathered virtually no intelligence for either a tactical or non-tactical solution. The cordon itself is rock solid, with the fully posse is now on scene and watching all sides of the bank. A few have hunting rifles, and are probably competent frontier riflemen, but she doesn't have the time to evaluate them as paramilitary sharpshooters. She recalls her training course two months ago only covered basic marksmanship in terms of firearms. Using her HUMINTer's intuition, she can tell Sheriff Wilder is excited by the tactical aspects of the situation and thrilled by how many "guns" he has "rawr'ing to go."
"Two dirtbags with sawed-offs, we could take 'em easy. We don't want trouble-makers to think they can get walk in here like that. The Mayor got involved though, and insisted we give a pro a shot to handle this."
"But what about the hostages? How many of them? Are they hurt? Who are they?"
"Uh... I hadn't gotten to that part yet. There should be a bank manager and teller. The reporting Deputy thinks he saw at least two customers inside."
"Anything more you can tell me about the perps? What do they want? Are they sane and sober? Any idea who they are?"
"Uh... like I said, two male punks with sawed-off shotguns. Right now, all they want is a car to escape out of town. They got them lady nylons over their heads, so you can't make their faces. Probably out-of-town folk, 'cause I can't imagine one of our own would do something like this. We got all these folks coming in from Anghabar these days. They're not sending us their best people, you know?"
"I think that's all I need Sheriff, you did a good job here. You wouldn't mind commanding the cordon element for now, while I focus on the perps?" She takes the bullhorn from his hands.
"Sure." He then keys his radio, "Attention all Sheriff Department personnel. Anna from Ocean PMC is here. She's calling the shots now. By tarnation, you best not be giving that girl any sass."
While it's not the reintroduction to Goodhaven she wanted, Ms. Chapman doesn't have the time to go and correct it. (At least they got her name right this time.) "One more thing; I'm going to need an assistant. Mind if I take Deputy Hollaran?"
He shrugs, "Sure, Janet's all yours."
"Well Sheriff, thanks for all your hard work. Keep the cordon set, and I'll get us through this in one-piece."
Deputy Janet Hollaran had been lingering around since dropping off Ms. Chapman and eagerly steps forward, "Anything you need Ma'am."
"Okay Hollaran, I want you attached to my hip, you understand?"
Hollaran smirks, but then straightens up, "Yes, Ma'am."
Confident the cordon will keep both the perps and Sheriff Wilder from doing anything else stupid, it's time for her to make contact. As cinematically tempting as the bullhorn is, she doesn't need her HUMINT training to know that two people publically shouting at each other across a street are unlikely to have a productive conversation. Common sense also dictates that no one has ever been "calmed down" by someone literally shouting at them to calm down.
Thinking on her feet, she gets the phone number for the bank off the building's front billboard.
*ring* *ring*
*ring* *ring*
*ring* *ring*
"...hello."
"Hello, this is Anna Chapman from Ocean PMC, representing the Sheriff's Department. With whom am I speaking?"
"...uh, J-Joe."
Unsure if she contacted a hostage, perp, or even a wrong number, she probes gently "I'm outside with the Sheriff's Department. Can you step outside?"
"...uh, I don't think that's a good idea..."
Another voice abruptly comes on, "Who the frak is this?"
"Hello, this is Anna Chapman from Ocean PMC, representing the Sheriff's-"
"Oh, so you're the merc? I've seen what you people do on Anghabar."
"Many terrible things have been done on Anghabar, and I assure you, I've done none of them. With whom am I speaking?"
"If you say so lady. You can call me Finn."
"Glad to meet you Finn. Again, I'm Anna, I'm the one in charge-"
"Frak off lady, I'm the one in charge here. Unless you want to see some bodies, you better get us a car out of here."
"That's going to take some time. First I need to know if anybody is hurt in there."
"There will be if we don't get that car."
"I understand. But I think we both want everyone to walk away from this unhurt here, correct?"
"Fine. The banker had a bit of an accident, but he'll live. Everyone else is fine."
"Everyone else? How many other people are there?"
"Two of us, two bankers, and three customers."
"Any women or children?"
"Just one woman."
"Ok, Finn. Sounds like you've got a lot to handle there. How about we make this easier for you. Can we take one hostage off your hands? Perhaps the wounded man or the woman? They sound difficult."
"Ha, frak no. Nice try though."
"I'm sorry to hear that Finn. But these people have families, and they've been giving us an earful trying to find out if they're safe or not. Could you at least tell us who you have?"
"Fair. I'll call you back."
"Thank-"
And so ended her first contact. While not formally trained on crisis negotiation, she pats herself on the back for a good start. Asking for a hostage was a stretch anyways. But at least she established communications and collected baseline intel, something Sheriff Wilder somehow spent an hour without attempting. Plus she de-escalated from yelling death threats across this street, so she's got that going as well. She doubts she'll get any name trace hits on "Joe and Finn from Anghabar," but passes the lead off to the rest of the Department through Hollaran.
Although she didn't get a chance to research it, her methods so far have roughly followed the FBI Five Step "Behavioral Change Stairway Model." Her superb HUMINTer training has a foundation of gradual intelligence collection via establishing and maintaining rapport. This isn't tremendously different than the Behavioral Change Stairway, except in a different context. Calm things down to a stable situation. Listen like a therapist. Establish a friendly relationship (rapport). Get small concessions. Build to larger concessions. Build those large concessions all the way into a peaceful surrender. However as a HUMINTer and paramilitary operator, she's also collecting intelligence the whole time to execute a tactical solution if needed.
After a few minutes, the front door of the bank cracks open and a grenade-sized object is thrown out. Giving it a few seconds to explode, Anna looks over to Hollaran, who takes the cue to go and retrieve it.
To everyone's relief, it turns out to be a handwritten note wrapped around a paperweight. It's short and to the point: four names and "What's your phone number you dumb bitch?"
Hollaran holds back a laugh as she hands it over to Anna. Anna is not amused at being called out on her error, and guesses the bank phone doesn't have caller id.
"Holy shit, Ma'am. Dorothy Rae Miller!"
"You know her?"
"I mean, I know all four. Small town, yadda, yadda... But this is bad."
"You think a hostage situation can be good? How is this bad?"
"Dorothy Rae Miller, nee Dorothy Rae Wilder-"
"Motherfraker-"
"AKA, Sheriff Wilder's daughter."
"This is bad."
"That's what I said, Ma'am."
"I don't think he knows."
"The perp or the Sheriff Ma'am?"
"Definitely not the Sheriff, I'll have to see about the perp. Either way, hold off on reporting the list. We don't need Sheriff Wilder flying off the handle here."
*ring* *ring*
*ring* *ring*
"So I guess they did teach you to read and write at merc school, huh?"
"Indeed Finn. Those people's family are going to be relieved you've treated them so well-"
"Car! We need a car, lady merc."
"That's going to take time Finn. These aren't wealthy people. They can't agree whose car to give you and want to be sure they're getting a square deal-"
"You calling me a liar? That's rich coming from a merc."
"I hear you Finn, but together we have to reassure these people everything is going to be okay."
"You know how we do that? Three letters: C-A-R."
"Tell you what Finn. I'm betting you didn't brown bag it for this caper of yours. Neither did the others. How about we get you guys lunch, my treat."
"Ladies picking up lunch, I guess we're living in the future after all. Can I spring for drinks and dessert too?"
"Ha, you are a funny one aren't you? They only pay me well enough for sandwiches and soda. Though if you want to take this to the station, I'm sure I could arrange some nice juicy steaks."
"Tempting, but no. We'll take the sandwiches though. Do I need to tip the delivery guy?"
"I'd prefer the term delivery woman, but gratuity is always appreciated. I'll be bringing the food over ASAP. See you soon Finn."
"Oh really? See you soon."
Deputy Hollaran is startled by this plan, "Seriously? I mean, I know you got some state-of-the-art body armor on under there, but do you really think this is safe?"
"It's a calculated risk. I think I've talked him down far enough that he won't blow my head off on sight. We need to get face-to-face, both to assess the perps and verify the hostages."
"Cool. Bet we're bug the shit out of that lunch right? Get some good audio/visual from the inside."
"Uh... sandwiches aren't good for that. Can you get that meal order going for us?"
She decides it's best not to discuss the existence and limitations of their custom button cameras. It does give her the idea to discreetly set one up as body camera however. Assuming the face-to-face goes well, footage might catch something inside the bank she wouldn't otherwise notice.
With lunch ready, she checks herself on her camera phone again. The perp suggested a bad history with mercs, and the Val carbine and Magnum Colt revolver are too flagrantly aggressive. A concealed or holdout weapon would seem prudent, but alas, that's not something in the Ocean's Ten Armory anymore.
"I'll trade you my carbine for those sandwiches Hollaran."
"Seriously Ma'am?"
"It's just going to get in the way. Take my sidearm too."
"Ah, I get it Ma'am. 'Cuz your hands are deadly weapons anyways?"
"Damn straight, Hollaran."
Slowly walking across the street, alone, unarmed, unarmored, and both hands full with a lunch order, Anna can't help but feel more than alittle vulnerable. It's a gamble, but she really needs a win under her belt this time. Getting thrown under the bus by Redbrick, then having her HUMINT op at the Shamrock Tavern getting bushwhacked like that, her rep as an operator needs a boost.
The bank door swings open to reveal a masked man tightly holding another at gun point, "You can set the food down inside."
She recognizes the voice as Finn. Just as reported, he's wearing a nylon stocking pulled over his head, ghoulishly distorting his facial features into an unrecognizable mess. He does have dark hair though and a medium build though. Finn is packing a sawed-off double barreled shotgun. Both ends have been dangerously hacked off, leaving a pistol grip and just enough barrel to cover the two shells. Assuming he's loaded buckshot, he's effectively wielding more of a directed fragmentation grenade than a firearm anymore. He'd surely lose a pitched firefight, but he'd maim and probably blind anybody in a sixty degree arc in the process.
The hostage has seen better days. The middle-aged man is dressed like a bank manager and obviously has been roughed up. His face is sweaty and swollen. His nose is crooked, presumably broke, and bulges with bits of rag stuffed to stop the otherwise profuse bleeding.
"Whoa, far enough lady merc."
The front lobby is empty except for them three, suggesting everyone else is either tucked behind the teller's counter or in a back office. She places the food on a small table used to sign checks. "You sure ordered a lot of food for just you two. Where's the party?"
"In a safe place you might say. Say, you look different than I was expecting. You sure you're in the right line of work with a face like that?"
"I think that was a compliment? Wish I could say the same for you. Lemme see yours and I'll tell you if you're Ocean's Ten material."
"Ha, I would never go merc. A man's gotta have a code. Besides, where's my car?"
"Funny and driven, I like that in a man... so like I said, we've got to convince Goodhaven we're all legit here." She motions to the bank manager, "So I can tell Mrs. Fitzsimmons that her husband Charlie is alive, but what about the three others?"
"I told you, they're fine."
"I believe you, but we have to convince everyone else that. It would really help if I could get a look at them."
Finn sighs, "Fine. Just keep your hands where I can see them. JOE, WE GOT A COP COMING BY."
"SHOOT HIM!?!"
"NO, DON'T SHOOT HIM. I MEAN HER. JUST DON'T SHOOT ANYBODY, OKAY?"
Finn shakes his head and gestures towards the door to the back office. He keeps the bank manager at gunpoint, "Go take a look."
Anna considers insisting on an introduction for her own safety, but decides not to risk losing this concession. She speaks loudly but non-threateningly as she approaches the door, "Hello Joe, it's me, Anna Chapman, representing the Sheriff's Department. We spoke on the phone earlier."
"Oh... what do you want?"
"Finn said I can come in and say 'hi' to you. That alright?"
"Okay."
Between Anna, the oversized gunman, a counting table and three hostages sitting on the next to a large safe, the back office is tightly packed. It has some small windows for light, but otherwise has no exterior points of exit/entry. The three hostages are definitely rattled, but otherwise seem uninjured. The Sheriff's daughter, Dorothy, doesn't stand out other than being the sole female hostage and there's nothing to suggest the perps are aware of her value.
"Hi, lady."
"You must be Joe. I'm Anna, glad to meet you. You taking good care of these people here?"
"Yes."
"And how are you doing, Joe?"
"Fine."
"Good to hear Joe-"
Finn interrupts, "Hey, hey, lady merc. I said take a look, not chat up my boy. I think you better get out so we can eat some lunch in peace."
"I understand, Finn. I'll be back when you're done eating." Anna backs out slowly through the lobby, trying not to startle or show her back to either perp on the way out.
Back outside, Hollaran is relieved to see her come out, "Jesus, they let you in? What did you see?"
"It's two perps with sawed-offs holding four hostages alright."
"Anything new though?"
"So the good news is that they have no idea about the Sheriff's daughter. The bad news is that they beat the tar out of the bank manager."
"I thought we knew that already."
"Yes, but it confirms these guys are comfortable with violence. I was hoping for someone less hardened. Hardened types are the ones who eventually start sending you severed fingers until demands are met."
"Well at least we're comfortable with violence too, Ma'am!"
"Damn straight, Hollaran. Anyways, they're chowing down on lunch right now. I'm going to hit the outhouse while we got the time. Hold the fort."
Tucked away in seclusion, Anna recovers the memory card from the button cam she worn and pops it into her smartphone. Quickly fast-forwarding through the footage, she doesn't catch anything new. Either she was talented enough to catch everything with her own eye, or the disappointing audioless non-transmitting daytime only button cam wasn't good enough. Still, she doesn't see a compelling reason to stop using it, so she resets the camera on her body before returning to Deputy Hollaran.
Sheriff Wilder is speaking with Deputy Hollaran as Anna returns. He turns to Anna and smiles eagerly, "So those punks ready to crack, or is it time to start talking about doorkicking?"
Anna smiles back, "Oh, we're making progress alright. I'd like to get as many hostages out as possible before pushing a tactical solution. I'm sure the Mayor would appreciate if we didn't get into a daytime shootout on Main Street. Speaking of, shouldn't the cordon push the civilian onlookers further back? We don't want any bystanders to get hurt in a firefight."
The Sheriff shrugs sheepishly, "Oh, I better get on that then. Man, I'm sure glad we brought you back Anna. You really are more than a pretty face, aren't you?"
She grits her teeth and hides it with a tight-lipped smile, "I'll keep you posted on any updates. Thanks, Sheriff."
With Sheriff Wilder out of earshot she lays into Hollaran, "What did you tell that guy?"
"Whoa, Ma'am. Calm down. These lips were sealed."
Anna gives her the side-eye, "So then what did he ask, and what did you say?"
"He said he saw you go in and wanted to know how that went. Said you saw the two perps and four hostages. He asked about the guns the perps had, and I confirmed they both had sawed-offs. I certainly didn't tell him the big secret."
"He didn't ask about the hostages?"
"Nope."
"DOCTOR! WE NEED A DOCTOR!" Finn yells from the bank.
"I GOT THIS FINN. I'M COMING IN!" Unwilling to risk sending a civilian in blind, Anna rushes in with her PFASK. It's not much, but she's literally the first responder in this situation.
Finn waves her to the back office, "Fraking banker is choking or something!"
The bank teller is laid out on the floor with his shirt off. His eyes are swollen shut and he's having trouble breathing. Blotchey red rashes are visible on his skin. Dorothy seems to be trying to take care of him while everyone else stands back in confusion.
"It's an allergic reaction. He needs epinephrine, or at least some Benadryl." Dorothy calls out.
Anna opens up the PFASK pouch on the counting table, "I don't have that. You know what you're doing? Take a look."
Dorothy rummages through the splayed out inventory, "A nasopharyngeal airway? Here we go..."
She expertly unwraps the inauspicious rubber tube and vulgarly jams it down her own throat, nearly gagging in the process. The now wet and slimey straw is then forcefully shoved up the bank teller's nostril, propping an airway open. It's painful process to watch, but Dorothy pulls it off within three agonizing minutes.
As she finishes up, "I've done what I can, but this man needs to be evacuated."
Anna looks over to Finn, "You heard her. This man needs out."
"Okay, okay, take him, geez."
The teller is still conscious and can barely walk. Anna gives him one shoulder and Dorothy steps in and takes the other as pair of human crutches. Dorothy makes it as far as the front door before Finn grabs her.
"I said he can go, not Doctor Quinn Medicine Woman here."
"But he's a patient under my care-"
"Yeah, and I don't care. You don't get a freebie. Get back in the room."
After her argument in the doorway, she concedes and Anna walks the bank teller out. Hollaran directs her to a waiting doctor she called and he gets to work. "Yep, that's anaphylaxis alright. He's had an allergy to sesame seeds since childhood. Nice job with the NPA though. Any medication administered?"
"None." Thinking to check her PFASK, she realizes she left it behind on the bank counting table.
He pulls out a syringe from his leather doctor's bag and loads it from a vial before injecting the patient. Soon the anaphylaxis subsides and the patient recovers.
Sheriff Wilder slaps Anna on the back, "Hot dang Anna, you got one out."
Anna beams, "Not the way I wanted, but I won't look a gifthorse in the mouth."
The patient comes to and sees Sheriff Wilder, "Sheriff... thank God for your daughter. If she wasn't there, I'd be a goner."
"Wait, what?"
"Dorothy, Dorothy saved me in there."
Sheriff Wilder glares at Anna, "Did you know?"
"Sir, it's a very dynamic situation-"
"Enough with the pettifogging chicanery, did you know?"
"Sir-"
"Gorramit, never send a woman to do a man's job. I knew I should've gone straight to Marshal York!" he rants before storming off.
Hollaran chimes in, "Looks like the cat's out of the bag, Ma'am."
Anna sighs, "That's one way of putting it-"
"Y'ALL RUSTLING BOZOS BETTER COUGH UP MY DAUGHTER RIGHT NOW, YA HEAR?!?" rings over a bullhorn.
"Gorramit!" Anna speed-dials the bank telephone number.
"YOU AIN'T JUST GONNA WALK OUT OF HERE AFTER DISRESPECTING MY DAUGHTER LIKE THAT!"
*RING* *RI-*
"Hello?"
"Finn, the best way forward here is to let the woman go. It's just-"
"Calm down lady merc. You saying I got dealt an ace, and I'm just supposed to fold? Not gonna happen."
"Finn, you don't know what you're dealing with here. You need-"
"I need a car, lady merc. If that doesn't happen by sundown, we're going to find out how Dorothy here sings. You hear me?"
"Finn-"
He hangs up.
Anna swears under her breath and begins brainstorming tactical solutions. The front lobby is open enough to be taken in an assault. But the back office is a death trap. No external entry points and packed full of hostages, there's no safe way to breach and clear that room.
"Ms. Anya Clapton, we need to speak," Mayor Bixby plainly states.
"Sir, I can pull this off, you just need-"
"Ms. Clapton, I respect the work that you've done, but I've spoken with Nash and we're prepared to concede to their demands."
"Concede? How so?"
"We will provide a jeep, so long as none of the hostages are taken out of town."
"Sir, if I had more time-"
"Ms. Clapton, the Town of Goodhaven has decided on this matter. If you cannot execute this, we will have to ask you to step aside."
Anna holds back a disappointed sigh, "Very well sir, the hostage-takers have just set a deadline by sundown. Can we meet that?"
Mayor Bixby startles, "Oh? Should be doable. Let them know we can make that happen."
Anna takes a moment to wind down before re-engaging with Finn. This isn't the way she wanted this to end. Despite her best effort, 'the powers that be' seem to have sabotaged her yet again.
*RING* *RING*
"You got my car, lady merc?"
"Finn, yes I do. Mind if I step inside so we can wrap this up?"
"Wow... actually wasn't expecting that, but okay."
Anna looks over to Deputy Hollaran, "Back in I go, don't get too cozy with my carbine."
Hollaran deliberately caresses the Val in slow strokes, as you would a kitten, "Just letting her know everything is going to be okay. Good luck in there Ma'am."
Anna again enters the bank lobby to find Finn holding the battered bank manager at gunpoint, "So you got my car?"
"Finn, we did it. We kept our cool, and I got us a car. A jeep in fact. You let the hostages go, and you can take that anywhere you want."
"What's the catch?"
"Finn, you need to let the hostages go."
"Frak no."
"Be practical, are you going to drive while holding three people at gunpoint? They're just going to make your getaway harder."
Finn pauses in thought. Apparently he hadn't thought that part through.
"Five folks in a jeep is a pretty tight fit, especially for a big guy like Joe."
"Fine, I'll give you one, but I'm keeping my ace and the banker till I see that Jeep."
"I'm sure Jonathan Berg will be happy at this news. I'll go get him right now."
Before he has a chance to renege, Anna heads to the back office, "Hey Joe, it's Anna coming in."
Joe towers over the two hostages, "Hi Anna. You left your things."
Anna looks over the counting table and remembers her PFASK, "Ah thanks. I'll pack that right up. Also, Finn said I can take Jon here out."
"Uh..."
"I SAID IT WAS OKAY JOE!" Finn yells from the lobby.
"Okay."
Trying to hurry through the situation before another curveball gets thrown, she quickly packs up her splayed open PFASK. She's not very familiar with the full inventory of the new kit, and thinks something might be missing (besides the NPA), but doesn't have the time to double-check.
She holds her hand out to the male hostage on the floor, "Mr. Jonathan Berg, I'm Ms. Anna Chapman, from Ocean PMC, I'm here to escort you out of the bank."
As Anna walks the man out of the back office and through the lobby, Finn calls out, "Sundown, lady merc. Need I say more?"
Mayor Bixby is waiting by Deputy Hollaran and greets the released hostage, "Glad to have you back son. Go have the Doc check yourself out."
The Mayor looks to Anna, "Well that was a pleasant surprise. I assume they accepted our offer?"
"Yes, sir. One jeep by sundown, and we're good to go."
"We're fueling the car right now. Soon this will all be over."
To Anna's dismay, the country definition of 'soon' appears to be two hours later. It's nearly sundown as a Deputy brings up a freshly washed jeep and hands Anna the keys briskly.
*RING* *RI-*
"Hello."
"Finn, let's do this. I got your Jeep right here. I can drive it up to the front door."
"Effing A, lady merc. Looks like you're about to deliver. Drop off the jeep and back off. It's been a pleasure doing business."
Anna hands off the carbine but keeps the revolver this time, "Don't drop your guard Hollaran. This is when things can get wierd. Clean shots only. I don't want to catch any lead from you."
Hollaran nods soberly, "Serious business time, Ma'am."
Anna steps into the car and turns on the ignition. The engine turns and gas tank is full. As far as she can tell, it's an honest deal. It's a short drive up to the front door of the bank. Leaving the engine running, she steps aside and waves welcomingly to the bank windows.
"You got everything you wanted Finn. Let 'em go."
The door cracks open and Finn pokes his head out. The bank manager is held tightly against his body as a shield, "Looks legit. JOE! WE'RE LOADING AND ROLLING!"
Finn steps back inside and Joe soon barges out with a large coal sack over his shoulder. He flings it in back of the jeep and hurries back inside. Anna guesses the timelock of the safe must have finally unlocked towards the end of the business hours.
Joe comes back with a flustered Dorothy Wilder tosssed over her shoulder. He flops down into the backseat with her. Finn steps out with the bank manager. He holds him close until he reaches the driver seat and then pushes him away. The bank manager scurries off to the police line.
"Finn, this wasn't the deal. Let Dorothy go."
"Not until we're outside of the cordon, lady merc! I wasn't born-"
*CRACK-BANG*
Anna reflexively hits the dirt at the sound of a high velocity incoming round. The first shot is rapidly followed by a second and third.
By the time Anna regains her bearings, both Finn and Joe are limply dangling out the side of the jeep with portions of their skulls missing. Dorothy crawls out of the back seat and towards her. Despite being soaked in blood, and covered in bits of skull and brain matter, she's uninjured.
Deputy Hollaran immediately sprints up from the police line, beating the other Deputies by far, "ANNA!" She charges the jeep and secures the two shotguns from the dead perps.
"I'M OKAY! I'M OKAY!" Anna confirms as she gets to her feet. Recognizing the precision headshots, she has the wherewithal to to quickly scan storefront rooftops. She only catches a rifle barrel being withdrawn from an open second story window down the street. Sheriff Wilder is also nowhere to be seen on the police line.
Seeing the hostage safe and Deputy Hollaran already secured the weapons, she dusts herself off as Dorothy Wilder approaches, "Anna Chapman, right? I believe this is yours."
She calmly produces a scalpel, "This was Plan B. Thanks for your hard work."
Mission Results: Success. 2 EKIA. 10k profit. Personnel notes updated on Data Sheet.
Plan Rating: Good (+1)
Roll (2d4): 5
Plan Execution Result: 6 - Good
Mission Difficulty Roll (2d4): 4 - Harder Than Expected
Operator Improvisation Roll (2d4): 5 - Competent