Red and White herded the mother and her three small children into the family room on the main floor. The room featured a home entertainment center and a Tae-Bo video was playing. A picture window looked out on a small, still lake, but no one could see them unless they had a boat, and there were no boats on the lake that morning.
'Now, we're going to make a home movie,' Mr. Red explained to Mrs. Bartlett and the kids. He talked to them in a matter-of-fact, almost friendly way.
'You don't have to hurt anyone,' Katie Bartlett told him. 'We'll cooperate with you. Please put the guns away. I beg you.'
'I hear you, Katie. But we have to show your husband that we're serious and that I'm actually here in the house with you and the kids.'
'They're two, three, and four,' the mother said. She started to cry, but then she seemed to will herself to stop. 'They're just little babies. My babies.'
Mr. Red slid his gun inside his holster. 'There, there. I don't want to hurt the kids. I promise I don't.'
He was pleased with the job so far. Katie seemed smart and the kids were well behaved. They were a nice family, the Bartletts. Just as the Mastermind had said.
'I want you to be the one to put this duct tape on the kids' mouths,' Mr. Red told Katie Bartlett. He handed over a thick roll of tape.
'They won't make any noise. I promise, 'she said,' They're good kids.'
Mr. Red felt sorry for her. She was pretty, and an okay lady. He thought of the couple and the kid in the movie Life is Beautiful Mr. Red spoke directly to the kids. 'This is duct tape and we're going to play a game with it. It'll be cool,' he said
Two of the kids glared at him, but the three-year-old grinned. 'Duck tape?'
'That's right. Duck tape. Quack, quack, quack, quack. Now Mommy's going to put the duck tape on everybody's mouth. Then we make a home movie for Daddy to see how you look.'
'Then what?' asked Dennis, the four-year-old, who now seemed interested in the game,' We quack up Daddy.'
Mr. Red laughed. Even Mr. White managed a smirk. The kids were cute. He hoped he wouldn't have to kill them in a few minutes.
Chapter Fourteen
Somebody was going to be murdered in just a few minutes. It was 8:12. The Falls Church robbery was on the clock and it couldn't be stopped.
Ms Green had a rapid-fire weapon aimed in the direction of two frightened women tellers; both of them were in their mid-to-late twenties.
Mr. Blue was already in the manager's office at the First Union branch office. He was explaining the rules of the game of 'truth or consequences' to James Bartlett and his assistant manager.
'Nobody has any panic buttons on them?' Mr. Blue asked in a fast, high-pitched voice that was intended to communicate that he was tense and maybe close to losing it. 'That would be a serious mistake, and there can be no mistakes.'
'We don't have panic buttons,' said the bank manager, who seemed smart enough and eager to please. 'I would tell you if we did.'
'You ever listen to the training tapes put out by the American Society for Industrial Security?' Blue asked.
'No, I haven't,' the bank manager answered with a nervous stutter. 'I'm sorry.'
'Well, their number-one recommendation during a robbery is cooperation so that no one gets hurt.'
The manager nodded his head rapidly. 'I agree with that. I hear you. I'm cooperating, sir.'
'You're a pretty smart guy for a bank manager. Everything I told you about your family being held as hostages is the absolute truth. I want you to always tell me the truth too. Or there will be unfortunate consequences. That means no trip alarms, no bait money, no dye packs, no hidden cameras. If Sonitrol has a device in here that's recording me now, tell me.'
'I know about the job at the Citibank in Silver Spring,' the manager said. His wide square face was beet red. Perspiration dripped from his forehead in large drops. His blue eyes blinked repeatedly.
'Watch your computer screen,' Mr. Blue said and pointed with his gun. 'Watch it.'
A film sequence came up and the manager saw his wife putting black tape on the mouths of his three children.
'Oh, God! I know that the manager in Silver Spring was late. Let's get going,' he said to the ski-masked man in his office. 'My family is everything to me.'
'We know,' Blue said. He turned to the assistant manager. He pointed the gun at her. 'You're not a hero are you, Ms Collins?'
She shook her head of soft red curls. 'No sir, I'm not. The bank's money is not my money. It isn't worth dying for. It isn't worth Mr. Bartlett's children dying for.'
Mr. Blue smiled under his mask. 'You took the words right out of my mouth.'
He turned back to the manager. 'I have children, you have children. We don't want them to be fatherless,' he said It was the Mastermind's line and an effective one, he thought. 'Let's get going.'
They hurried to the main vault, which had a dual combination and needed both Bartlett and his assistant
