trouble that needs more than one hero

[slayers_desire]

After her weekly visit back to her home dimension, April returned feeling frustrated and a little abandoned. Everyone was leaving Rome now that the Third Evil was defeated. And she really didn't know how that would affect her.

So instead, she grabbed her Dark Oak costume and headed to Topeka.There she was able to deal with a few minor crimes on her own. Then her senses warned her of something big.

A hostage situation at the Capitol Federal Savings Bank. Several employees were being detained by six armed gunmen. One of the them even claimed that a bomb was hidden on the location too. And their demands were to have the whole bank emptied into a waiting semi, and for the police to not follow. Even though the police surrounded the building.

There were too much people. Too much minds. And too many lives at stake. Dark Oak took a calming breath and reached out her mind. Blur. Can you hear me?

Comments

[redbluesuperguy.livejournal.com]

He's on patrol in Metropolis, checking over his own city. Today's relatively quiet - a few car accidents, a mugging or two, just petty crime. He's not expecting the mental touch, as Dark Oak normally keeps her patrols separate from his, unless they're working together. I'm here. Is something wrong?

[slayers-desire.livejournal.com]

Big trouble in Topeka. I have a hostage situation at the Capitol Federal Savings Bank. And I don't think I can handle this alone

[redbluesuperguy.livejournal.com]

I'll be right there. Where are you? He's already launching himself from the roof of the building he was using to watch over the streets, steering in the direction of the state capital.

[slayers-desire.livejournal.com]

Across from the Bank on the north side, on a rooftop. Watching the situation Dark Oak looked down to the dozens of police cars.

[redbluesuperguy.livejournal.com]

He slows down a little as he approaches the city, so there won't be a sonic boom to give away his position. The police are hard to miss, helping him locate the bank, and he finds the rooftop where she's waiting for him, landing lightly.

[slayers-desire.livejournal.com]

Dark Oak is relieved to see him. "I sense six gunmen down in the bank. But there are two others who are working with them, that have not been revealed. They have guns, hostages, and claim to have a bomb."

[redbluesuperguy.livejournal.com]

"Wonderful. It's almost a complete set." He turns his attention downwards, toward the bank, trying to see what he can hear. "What else do you know?"

[slayers-desire.livejournal.com]

"The negotiator is attempting to arrange a semi to arrive, for them to load the cash into, in exchange for some of the hostages." Dark Oak points out the police officer responsible for negotiating the situation.

[redbluesuperguy.livejournal.com]

If not for the two other unknown collaborators, he'd know what to do. That makes things a bit trickier, and he turns his x-ray vision downward to see if he can find a bomb. Maybe that part's just a threat, or they could really have one. "Are your voices giving you any advice?"

[slayers-desire.livejournal.com]

"They told me to call you." Dark Oak smirked lightly. She leans slightly to get a better look down below, stretching out her mind. "And to seek where no one else wants to be."

The Blur would indeed find a bomb. Two in fact. One that is hidden in a parked car near the police officers. And one that is being strapped to a hostage as they speak.

[redbluesuperguy.livejournal.com]

"Got the bombs," he tells her, picturing their locations so she can see. He's most concerned about the one being strapped to the hostage, although the other is obviously a worry too.

[slayers-desire.livejournal.com]

"The one in the car should be easy to disable without being noticed. We would have to get inside to deal with the other one." Dark Oak frowns. She doesn't like the fact that a hostage was being used in this manner. The woman was so scared that she could sense it up here.

"Where would you not want to be in a situation like this?"

[redbluesuperguy.livejournal.com]

"Where would I not want to be?" He's puzzled by what that means in this context.

[slayers-desire.livejournal.com]

"If I was down there, I would not want to be a hostage." Dark Oak continues to work it out. She blinks, opens her mind up, and frowns.

"One of the hostages, the branch manager, is working with the gunmen."

[redbluesuperguy.livejournal.com]

Well. That puts a new spin on things. "Insurance fraud, or being promised a cut. Clever. He gets to play the victim and turn a profit at the same time." Not that he approves, mind you.

[slayers-desire.livejournal.com]

"He told them the best time to do it too, when they had the most money in the bank." Dark Oak frowned. There was still one more missing piece to the puzzle.

[redbluesuperguy.livejournal.com]

"If he's the only hostage collaborating... what about the police?" He doesn't know if Topeka's police force is as corrupt as Metropolis's was, but he's thinking twice about assuming the best of people these days.

[slayers-desire.livejournal.com]

Scanning the minds of the police, Dark Oak shook her head. "No. None of them are working with the ones inside..."

"But..." She looks again. "There, the reporter trying to get a voice clip from the police chief. He knew that tonight would come."

[redbluesuperguy.livejournal.com]

The two collaborators are identified, and he seeks them out visually, frowning deeply. "Can you tell who's in charge?" He can hear the one who is responding to the negotiator, but that doesn't mean they're the leader.

[slayers-desire.livejournal.com]

"Two are sharing the role. The fake reporter outside, and the one who strapped the bomb to the hostage. If anything goes wrong outside, the fake reporter will contact his partner inside."

"They plan to make themselves the most rich out of this scheme."

[redbluesuperguy.livejournal.com]

"So we'll need to take out both of them pretty much simultaneously." That certainly explains why she needs backup.

The good thing is that the police are uncorrupted, at least in this matter. He knows he can trust them to do their jobs. "What's your recommendation?" he asks. This is technically her city, and he's operating as an ally here, not a leader.

[slayers-desire.livejournal.com]

"I should take out the fake reporter. He has no weapons, and coming up from behind should be enough to surprise him."

"But it needs to be timed, so you take out the partner inside. That is going to be delicate work... they all have guns."

[redbluesuperguy.livejournal.com]

"And we need to make sure those bombs don't go off. Do you think you could sneak and disable the car bomb before we make our move? I can handle the one on the hostage once I get inside."

[slayers-desire.livejournal.com]

"I never handled a bomb before. If I show it to you, will you walk me through it?"

[redbluesuperguy.livejournal.com]

"If it isn't too fully connected to the car, we could PIN it away. But if it is, I'll do my best."