For a Pessimist I'm Pretty Optimistic (1/2)
Title: For a Pessimist I’m Pretty Optimistic
Summary: A simple trip into town goes wrong when Jack and Sam are held hostage inside a bank in Minnesota.
Timeframe: You decide. ;)
Characters/Pairing: Established SJ, Daniel, Teal’c
Genre: Drama, Action/Adventure
Rating: T (mild violence/language)
Note: Written as a Secret Santa gift for annerbhp over at sj_everyday.
For a Pessimist I’m Pretty Optimistic
Part One
“This looks like it’s going to be bad,” Sam said softly, gesturing toward the television and glancing up as Jack came around the couch and handed her a mug of coffee.
On the morning news, the weather was showing a bad storm aiming straight for the small town of Silver Creek Minnesota, twenty miles out from Jack’s cabin.
Jack sat beside her on the couch, his own mug of hot coffee in hand. He absently pulled a hand through hair that was still damp from his recent shower. “If we head up to town now, before the storm hits, we should be alright with the truck.”
Sam nodded and leaned a little closer to him, loving the way he smelled just out of the shower. She sat up straighter and turned, peering out to the kitchen area where Teal’c and Daniel sat at the table, eating their breakfast and reading the paper. “Are you guys just going to hang around here while we run some errands?”
Daniel finished chewing the piece of toast in his mouth and nodded. “Yeah, we’ll hang here. We’ll go out and get some more firewood to bring in before it starts to snow, right Teal’c?”
“Indeed.” Teal’c gave a nod and reached for a section of newspaper.
Sam smiled, having to wonder if the guys were just staying to give her and Jack some time by themselves. They hadn’t gotten much time alone since Teal’c and Daniel met them in Minnesota for a little pre-Christmas team vacation.
Jack got up from the couch, finished his coffee, and started to put on his boots. “We better stock up on the non-perishables in case we get snowed in.” He shrugged into his coat and went to get his keys. “I’ll warm the truck up.”
Smiling at him, Sam took her mug over to the sink and went to find her own boots. She felt a little bad for ditching the guys, but she and Jack had only had one day together before they’d arrived. Sam was eager for a little alone time with Jack, even if they were only out running errands.
.
“Bank first?” Jack asked as they drove through the center of town when they’d finally reached civilization again. It had started to snow heavily on their ride in, and took even longer than normal to travel the twenty miles into town.
“Yeah, that’s fine.” Sam looked up as the truck pulled into the town bank’s parking lot. There was already at least five inches of snow on the ground, and it was piling up fast.
“This storm is hitting a lot faster than I thought,” Jack murmured as he killed the ignition and unbuckled his seatbelt.
Sam grimaced slightly, a little worried that they were going to have trouble on the drive back. After the bank they needed to stop at the grocery store and pack up on food just in case they got snowed in at the cabin. She watched Jack flip up the collar of his jacket before stepping out of the warm cab, then opened the door and did the same.
.
The small town bank wasn’t crowded, but Sam suspected it never really was, even without inclement weather. Jack was by the west wall, filling out a withdrawal slip on the small table while Sam got in line behind an elderly man and a woman about her own age.
When the door behind her opened, sending a chill up her spine, the hair at the back of Sam’s neck stood on end, and it wasn’t just from the cold air that blew in. She glanced quickly back at Jack, noticing he’d completely stopped what he was doing, his dark eyes sharp and fixated on those that had just walked in the bank doors.
As Sam turned around, it was obvious what was going on. Four people wearing navy coveralls, tool belts, and miscellaneous Halloween masks had just entered the bank. One of them immediately spray painted the lenses of the security cameras at the front of the building, and another swiftly disarmed the old security guard, taking his taser and throwing the poor guy to the floor. There were four robbers; an alien, a rabbit, a gorilla, and bigfoot. And they were all armed with various weapons.
While the robber with the gorilla mask began shouting orders, Sam’s brain clicked into soldier-mode and she immediately slid her cell phone out from her purse, tucking it into the front waistband of her jeans before getting down on the floor as they were all told to do. She put her head down and prayed that Jack didn’t do anything stupid or foolishly heroic.
.
Jack’s eyes were alert and calculating as he put his chin to the marble floor with his arms spread out front, and watched the rabbit go around patting everyone down, collecting jackets and cell phones. When Sam’s eyes locked onto his, he silently conveyed assurance that he wasn’t about to do anything stupid and hoped she believed him. If they were going to get out of this, he had to stay below the radar as long as possible. They both did.
“You!” Jack looked up sharply as the robber in the big foot mask pointed at the balding middle-aged man whose silver blazer tag clearly marked him as the bank manager. Bigfoot grabbed a pen and blank piece of paper off a desk and thrust it at the quaking man. “Write exactly what I tell you.”
Jack’s brows furrowed slightly as he listened to the robber’s orders. Bigfoot told the manager to write ‘Bank Temporarily Closed Due to Electrical Problems’ and tape it to the door. The robber watched the man’s every move, and then told the guy to lock the door, close the blinds and pull the shades down.
The man in the gorilla mask kept his shotgun trained on all the hostages, but the other two had disappeared from Jack’s line of sight. He assumed they were checking the bank for hidden hostages, silent alarms, and other entrances and exits so they could be secured. Well, if they were smart, that was what they were doing, Jack thought absently.
He tensed slightly as the main lights were suddenly all turned off, the remaining lights giving the bank a dull early dawn type glow. He knew it was to back up the ‘Electrical Problems’ story for any passersby, and quickly came to the conclusion they weren’t just up against some dumb rednecks out for a few bucks. These guys knew exactly what they were doing. They had a plan.
.
Sam couldn’t help the brief feeling of relief that swept over her when she and the other hostages were all rounded up together, sitting on the floor in a row against the far wall. Sitting beside Jack, shoulder to shoulder against the smooth granite wall helped to calm her racing heart and mind. Now was not the time to let fears overwhelm her; now was the time to act as though she were in battle. She needed to be poised and ready for anything.
The two robbers in the alien mask and the gorilla mask took the bank manager and went down into the basement after demanding entrance to the vault. Rabbit and Bigfoot were left, Bigfoot keeping an eye out, circling the largest areas and occasionally peering outside through the blinds while Rabbit watched the hostages.
Sam noticed that Rabbit’s watchful eye was a bit lax. She immediately pegged him as the weak leak, and with a sideways glance at Jack, knew that he was thinking the same thing.
Glancing at the other hostages-there were eight of them altogether, including her and Jack-Sam could see the male bank teller was getting a little antsy. He looked like he was about to do something stupid. And she was right.
As soon as Rabbit turned his back on them and lowered his gun arm, the bank teller made his move. He lunged and grabbed for the robber’s hand, fighting to gain control of the gun. The next moments happened in a blur. There was screaming and yelling, most of the hostages trying to get up in a panic until Bigfoot came running toward them, waving his gun and yelling for everyone to stay down. Sam took her eyes off Rabbit and the teller’s struggle, and suddenly Jack was throwing her down on the floor, covering her body with his own a split second before she heard the gun go off.
The sound of the ricochet hitting the granite so near to her and Jack chilled Sam to the core, but not more than the sharp grunt in her ear immediately after. Oh God. She twisted around and sat up, Jack falling to his side behind her, clutching an oozing bullet hole in his right thigh. “Jack,” she cried, biting her trembling lower lip.
“Oh shit, oh no. Oh God.” Rabbit was pacing frantically, gun still in his hand as Bigfoot grabbed the teller’s arm and pushed him back to the floor with the other hostages.
“You idiot!” Bigfoot growled, glancing briefly at Jack before smacking Rabbit upside the head and nearly dislodging his mask.
The alien and gorilla masked robbers came running. “What the hell is going on?” The alien yelled angrily, and only then did Sam realize that the person with that mask was a women.
“Your stupid brother almost got ambushed by that one tryin’ to be a damn hero,” Bigfoot waved a frantic arm to the now-cowering male bank teller, “And he shot a fricking hostage!” He now waved at Jack.
Sam hovered over Jack protectively, trying to help stem the flow of blood from his wound. She worked up some sharp, frantic breaths and sobs for dramatic effect.
“AGH! You idiot!” The alien rushed at Rabbit and shoved him hard. She ripped the gun out of his hand and stuffed it in the back of her tool belt.
“I’m sorry, Weaver, I’m sorry!” Rabbit cringed away from the angry woman.
“Where’s the guard’s taser?” The alien-Weaver-looked around at the other two men. Bigfoot held it out to her and she thrust it into Rabbit’s shaking hands. “Take this, and dammit, don’t shoot anyone else! Keep an eye on everyone. Use the zip ties to restrain some of them if you have to.”
Rabbit nodded meekly as Weaver and the gorilla returned to the vault and Bigfoot went back to wandering around the bank, keeping guard.
“Okay. That hurts,” Jack grunted in pain, writhing a little on the floor as Sam pressed down on the bleeding hole in his leg.
She smiled tightly at him. “Not the best time to take a bullet, Jack,” Sam joked half-heartedly.
He snorted. “Tell me about it.”
Sam looked up sharply when Rabbit came scampering toward them, crouching down but keeping his distance.
“Hey, I’m really sorry about this. No one was supposed to get hurt.” Sam saw his surprisingly gentle-looking green eyes crinkling through the eye holes in his mask, and figured he was grimacing.
“Hmph, that’s what they always say,” Jack muttered derisively without looking at the young man.
“Jack,” Sam admonished in a harsh whisper, though the robber crouched in front of them said nothing in rebuke. Jack rolled his eyes.
“Um, can I-uh-can I help somehow? I mean-ah…” Rabbit blabbered uncomfortably, staring down at Jack’s injured leg. “Oh God.”
“I need to stop this bleeding. Maybe there’s a First Aid kit around or something with some bandages?” Sam practically pleaded with the young man.
“There’s a First Aid kit in the break room closet,” the female teller offered timidly. “In the back.”
“Ah-uh-okay. I’ll…I’ll get it.” Rabbit stood up and then called for Bigfoot, smart enough to know he shouldn’t just leave the hostages by themselves.
Sam grimaced apologetically down at Jack, brushing her free hand through his short, spiky hair.
His eyes were dark, but determined and he whispered confidently, “We’re gonna get outta this, Carter.”
She had to believe him. They would figure a way out of this; Jack alone had escaped a Goa’uld System Lord’s fortress, for crying out loud! Sam figured they could defeat some run-of-the-mill bank robbers.
The other hostages were anxiously huddled nearby, but curiously keeping their distance from Jack and Sam. The male bank teller that had tried to grab Rabbit’s gun was guiltily pressed against the hard granite wall with his legs tucked up tight against his chest. It looked like he was avoiding looking over at her and Jack at all costs. After all, he was partially responsible for Jack getting shot.
Sam tensed as Bigfoot pulled some black plastic zip ties from his belt, but relaxed slightly when the only hostages he tied up were the male teller, security guard, and bank manager. She figured the robber was pegging those three as the most dangerous, not thinking the elderly man or the two other women were a threat. Jack was shot and she was sticking with him, so to Bigfoot, they weren’t a threat either. He couldn’t have been more wrong.
When Rabbit came back with a First Aid kit, taking all the gauze out and handing everything to her with shaking hands, Sam immediately ripped open the packages of the pressure bandages and pressed down on Jack’s wound. He hissed in pain, and she turned to the robber, hoping to further gain some compassion by showing her appreciation of his efforts. “Thank you.”
Rabbit nodded, then glanced at Bigfoot briefly, who gave the hostages all a sweeping look before turning around and walking toward one of the windows. He peeked between the blinds and muttered, “Gettin’ pretty bad out there, Rab. I’m gonna go talk to Weaver.”
Sam felt a little safer with Bigfoot gone, and noticed the other hostages relaxing marginally. Rabbit gave them some space, walking off to pace the floor, but he didn’t go far.
Jack sat up with a grunt and pushed himself back to lean against the wall. “Where’d bunny boy, go? Maybe we could get him to order us a pizza or somethin’, he’s been so hospitable so far,” he muttered sourly, but Sam knew it was mostly the pain talking.
“Jack,” she admonished with some exasperation.
He huffed out a breath, momentarily closing his eyes as she used the gauze roll to secure some bandages to his wound, wrapping it tightly around his leg. “I’m sorry, I’m just having a hard time taking this too seriously when we’re being robbed by Thor and Sasquatch.”
Sam snorted and pressed her lips together as she tried not to laugh at the image that conjured up. She sobered quickly when she again thought about the seriousness of their situation. With the increasingly bad weather conditions outside, it looked like they were going to be stuck with their captors for longer than any of them would have liked. Since Rabbit seemed to be keeping his distance, Sam started to contemplate their little ace in the hole. Her cell phone-with alerts and volume shut off, thankfully-was still tucked away inside the front of her jeans. If she could get to it before Bigfoot got back, and without Rabbit noticing, she might be able to get a text message out to Daniel.
“Sam.”
Looking up at Jack, she realized he could see what she was doing and his eyes shifted subtly to the other hostages. She nodded, understanding his meaning. If any of them saw what she was up to, they might unintentionally give her away. She was going to have be patient for now.
With her phone concealed carefully with her hand, she pulled it out from her jeans and stuck it into the front pocket of Jack’s navy cargo pants, which were baggy enough to conceal it if they made him get up. He nodded at her, and she sent him a small smile.
Sam sat back against the wall when Bigfoot came back and pulled Rabbit aside. She strained to hear what they were saying to each other, just barely making out the quietly spoken words.
“What’s going on?” Rabbit asked, fidgeting on his feet.
“We’re in trouble, pal. Weaver and Kong are gonna pack up the van, but conditions aren’t lookin’ good. Got a blizzard out there. The good news, though, is hopefully the armored truck is gonna be delayed if it can get here at all.”
“What if it’s not?”
“Then we’re screwed. The truck will come to pick up the money, but there’s no money ‘cuz we got the money. We’re screwed.”
Sam’s attention slid to Jack, briefly. He was picking up on it too.
“If we can’t get outta this snow storm, we’re gonna hafta hang around a while longer than we planned,” Bigfoot muttered irritably, then wandered off again.
Rabbit started his pacing once more, occasionally stopping to peer out between the blinds, checking on the weather or looking out for the armored truck, who knew?
.
Part Two
Summary: A simple trip into town goes wrong when Jack and Sam are held hostage inside a bank in Minnesota.
Timeframe: You decide. ;)
Characters/Pairing: Established SJ, Daniel, Teal’c
Genre: Drama, Action/Adventure
Rating: T (mild violence/language)
Note: Written as a Secret Santa gift for annerbhp over at sj_everyday.
For a Pessimist I’m Pretty Optimistic
Part One
“This looks like it’s going to be bad,” Sam said softly, gesturing toward the television and glancing up as Jack came around the couch and handed her a mug of coffee.
On the morning news, the weather was showing a bad storm aiming straight for the small town of Silver Creek Minnesota, twenty miles out from Jack’s cabin.
Jack sat beside her on the couch, his own mug of hot coffee in hand. He absently pulled a hand through hair that was still damp from his recent shower. “If we head up to town now, before the storm hits, we should be alright with the truck.”
Sam nodded and leaned a little closer to him, loving the way he smelled just out of the shower. She sat up straighter and turned, peering out to the kitchen area where Teal’c and Daniel sat at the table, eating their breakfast and reading the paper. “Are you guys just going to hang around here while we run some errands?”
Daniel finished chewing the piece of toast in his mouth and nodded. “Yeah, we’ll hang here. We’ll go out and get some more firewood to bring in before it starts to snow, right Teal’c?”
“Indeed.” Teal’c gave a nod and reached for a section of newspaper.
Sam smiled, having to wonder if the guys were just staying to give her and Jack some time by themselves. They hadn’t gotten much time alone since Teal’c and Daniel met them in Minnesota for a little pre-Christmas team vacation.
Jack got up from the couch, finished his coffee, and started to put on his boots. “We better stock up on the non-perishables in case we get snowed in.” He shrugged into his coat and went to get his keys. “I’ll warm the truck up.”
Smiling at him, Sam took her mug over to the sink and went to find her own boots. She felt a little bad for ditching the guys, but she and Jack had only had one day together before they’d arrived. Sam was eager for a little alone time with Jack, even if they were only out running errands.
.
“Bank first?” Jack asked as they drove through the center of town when they’d finally reached civilization again. It had started to snow heavily on their ride in, and took even longer than normal to travel the twenty miles into town.
“Yeah, that’s fine.” Sam looked up as the truck pulled into the town bank’s parking lot. There was already at least five inches of snow on the ground, and it was piling up fast.
“This storm is hitting a lot faster than I thought,” Jack murmured as he killed the ignition and unbuckled his seatbelt.
Sam grimaced slightly, a little worried that they were going to have trouble on the drive back. After the bank they needed to stop at the grocery store and pack up on food just in case they got snowed in at the cabin. She watched Jack flip up the collar of his jacket before stepping out of the warm cab, then opened the door and did the same.
.
The small town bank wasn’t crowded, but Sam suspected it never really was, even without inclement weather. Jack was by the west wall, filling out a withdrawal slip on the small table while Sam got in line behind an elderly man and a woman about her own age.
When the door behind her opened, sending a chill up her spine, the hair at the back of Sam’s neck stood on end, and it wasn’t just from the cold air that blew in. She glanced quickly back at Jack, noticing he’d completely stopped what he was doing, his dark eyes sharp and fixated on those that had just walked in the bank doors.
As Sam turned around, it was obvious what was going on. Four people wearing navy coveralls, tool belts, and miscellaneous Halloween masks had just entered the bank. One of them immediately spray painted the lenses of the security cameras at the front of the building, and another swiftly disarmed the old security guard, taking his taser and throwing the poor guy to the floor. There were four robbers; an alien, a rabbit, a gorilla, and bigfoot. And they were all armed with various weapons.
While the robber with the gorilla mask began shouting orders, Sam’s brain clicked into soldier-mode and she immediately slid her cell phone out from her purse, tucking it into the front waistband of her jeans before getting down on the floor as they were all told to do. She put her head down and prayed that Jack didn’t do anything stupid or foolishly heroic.
.
Jack’s eyes were alert and calculating as he put his chin to the marble floor with his arms spread out front, and watched the rabbit go around patting everyone down, collecting jackets and cell phones. When Sam’s eyes locked onto his, he silently conveyed assurance that he wasn’t about to do anything stupid and hoped she believed him. If they were going to get out of this, he had to stay below the radar as long as possible. They both did.
“You!” Jack looked up sharply as the robber in the big foot mask pointed at the balding middle-aged man whose silver blazer tag clearly marked him as the bank manager. Bigfoot grabbed a pen and blank piece of paper off a desk and thrust it at the quaking man. “Write exactly what I tell you.”
Jack’s brows furrowed slightly as he listened to the robber’s orders. Bigfoot told the manager to write ‘Bank Temporarily Closed Due to Electrical Problems’ and tape it to the door. The robber watched the man’s every move, and then told the guy to lock the door, close the blinds and pull the shades down.
The man in the gorilla mask kept his shotgun trained on all the hostages, but the other two had disappeared from Jack’s line of sight. He assumed they were checking the bank for hidden hostages, silent alarms, and other entrances and exits so they could be secured. Well, if they were smart, that was what they were doing, Jack thought absently.
He tensed slightly as the main lights were suddenly all turned off, the remaining lights giving the bank a dull early dawn type glow. He knew it was to back up the ‘Electrical Problems’ story for any passersby, and quickly came to the conclusion they weren’t just up against some dumb rednecks out for a few bucks. These guys knew exactly what they were doing. They had a plan.
.
Sam couldn’t help the brief feeling of relief that swept over her when she and the other hostages were all rounded up together, sitting on the floor in a row against the far wall. Sitting beside Jack, shoulder to shoulder against the smooth granite wall helped to calm her racing heart and mind. Now was not the time to let fears overwhelm her; now was the time to act as though she were in battle. She needed to be poised and ready for anything.
The two robbers in the alien mask and the gorilla mask took the bank manager and went down into the basement after demanding entrance to the vault. Rabbit and Bigfoot were left, Bigfoot keeping an eye out, circling the largest areas and occasionally peering outside through the blinds while Rabbit watched the hostages.
Sam noticed that Rabbit’s watchful eye was a bit lax. She immediately pegged him as the weak leak, and with a sideways glance at Jack, knew that he was thinking the same thing.
Glancing at the other hostages-there were eight of them altogether, including her and Jack-Sam could see the male bank teller was getting a little antsy. He looked like he was about to do something stupid. And she was right.
As soon as Rabbit turned his back on them and lowered his gun arm, the bank teller made his move. He lunged and grabbed for the robber’s hand, fighting to gain control of the gun. The next moments happened in a blur. There was screaming and yelling, most of the hostages trying to get up in a panic until Bigfoot came running toward them, waving his gun and yelling for everyone to stay down. Sam took her eyes off Rabbit and the teller’s struggle, and suddenly Jack was throwing her down on the floor, covering her body with his own a split second before she heard the gun go off.
The sound of the ricochet hitting the granite so near to her and Jack chilled Sam to the core, but not more than the sharp grunt in her ear immediately after. Oh God. She twisted around and sat up, Jack falling to his side behind her, clutching an oozing bullet hole in his right thigh. “Jack,” she cried, biting her trembling lower lip.
“Oh shit, oh no. Oh God.” Rabbit was pacing frantically, gun still in his hand as Bigfoot grabbed the teller’s arm and pushed him back to the floor with the other hostages.
“You idiot!” Bigfoot growled, glancing briefly at Jack before smacking Rabbit upside the head and nearly dislodging his mask.
The alien and gorilla masked robbers came running. “What the hell is going on?” The alien yelled angrily, and only then did Sam realize that the person with that mask was a women.
“Your stupid brother almost got ambushed by that one tryin’ to be a damn hero,” Bigfoot waved a frantic arm to the now-cowering male bank teller, “And he shot a fricking hostage!” He now waved at Jack.
Sam hovered over Jack protectively, trying to help stem the flow of blood from his wound. She worked up some sharp, frantic breaths and sobs for dramatic effect.
“AGH! You idiot!” The alien rushed at Rabbit and shoved him hard. She ripped the gun out of his hand and stuffed it in the back of her tool belt.
“I’m sorry, Weaver, I’m sorry!” Rabbit cringed away from the angry woman.
“Where’s the guard’s taser?” The alien-Weaver-looked around at the other two men. Bigfoot held it out to her and she thrust it into Rabbit’s shaking hands. “Take this, and dammit, don’t shoot anyone else! Keep an eye on everyone. Use the zip ties to restrain some of them if you have to.”
Rabbit nodded meekly as Weaver and the gorilla returned to the vault and Bigfoot went back to wandering around the bank, keeping guard.
“Okay. That hurts,” Jack grunted in pain, writhing a little on the floor as Sam pressed down on the bleeding hole in his leg.
She smiled tightly at him. “Not the best time to take a bullet, Jack,” Sam joked half-heartedly.
He snorted. “Tell me about it.”
Sam looked up sharply when Rabbit came scampering toward them, crouching down but keeping his distance.
“Hey, I’m really sorry about this. No one was supposed to get hurt.” Sam saw his surprisingly gentle-looking green eyes crinkling through the eye holes in his mask, and figured he was grimacing.
“Hmph, that’s what they always say,” Jack muttered derisively without looking at the young man.
“Jack,” Sam admonished in a harsh whisper, though the robber crouched in front of them said nothing in rebuke. Jack rolled his eyes.
“Um, can I-uh-can I help somehow? I mean-ah…” Rabbit blabbered uncomfortably, staring down at Jack’s injured leg. “Oh God.”
“I need to stop this bleeding. Maybe there’s a First Aid kit around or something with some bandages?” Sam practically pleaded with the young man.
“There’s a First Aid kit in the break room closet,” the female teller offered timidly. “In the back.”
“Ah-uh-okay. I’ll…I’ll get it.” Rabbit stood up and then called for Bigfoot, smart enough to know he shouldn’t just leave the hostages by themselves.
Sam grimaced apologetically down at Jack, brushing her free hand through his short, spiky hair.
His eyes were dark, but determined and he whispered confidently, “We’re gonna get outta this, Carter.”
She had to believe him. They would figure a way out of this; Jack alone had escaped a Goa’uld System Lord’s fortress, for crying out loud! Sam figured they could defeat some run-of-the-mill bank robbers.
The other hostages were anxiously huddled nearby, but curiously keeping their distance from Jack and Sam. The male bank teller that had tried to grab Rabbit’s gun was guiltily pressed against the hard granite wall with his legs tucked up tight against his chest. It looked like he was avoiding looking over at her and Jack at all costs. After all, he was partially responsible for Jack getting shot.
Sam tensed as Bigfoot pulled some black plastic zip ties from his belt, but relaxed slightly when the only hostages he tied up were the male teller, security guard, and bank manager. She figured the robber was pegging those three as the most dangerous, not thinking the elderly man or the two other women were a threat. Jack was shot and she was sticking with him, so to Bigfoot, they weren’t a threat either. He couldn’t have been more wrong.
When Rabbit came back with a First Aid kit, taking all the gauze out and handing everything to her with shaking hands, Sam immediately ripped open the packages of the pressure bandages and pressed down on Jack’s wound. He hissed in pain, and she turned to the robber, hoping to further gain some compassion by showing her appreciation of his efforts. “Thank you.”
Rabbit nodded, then glanced at Bigfoot briefly, who gave the hostages all a sweeping look before turning around and walking toward one of the windows. He peeked between the blinds and muttered, “Gettin’ pretty bad out there, Rab. I’m gonna go talk to Weaver.”
Sam felt a little safer with Bigfoot gone, and noticed the other hostages relaxing marginally. Rabbit gave them some space, walking off to pace the floor, but he didn’t go far.
Jack sat up with a grunt and pushed himself back to lean against the wall. “Where’d bunny boy, go? Maybe we could get him to order us a pizza or somethin’, he’s been so hospitable so far,” he muttered sourly, but Sam knew it was mostly the pain talking.
“Jack,” she admonished with some exasperation.
He huffed out a breath, momentarily closing his eyes as she used the gauze roll to secure some bandages to his wound, wrapping it tightly around his leg. “I’m sorry, I’m just having a hard time taking this too seriously when we’re being robbed by Thor and Sasquatch.”
Sam snorted and pressed her lips together as she tried not to laugh at the image that conjured up. She sobered quickly when she again thought about the seriousness of their situation. With the increasingly bad weather conditions outside, it looked like they were going to be stuck with their captors for longer than any of them would have liked. Since Rabbit seemed to be keeping his distance, Sam started to contemplate their little ace in the hole. Her cell phone-with alerts and volume shut off, thankfully-was still tucked away inside the front of her jeans. If she could get to it before Bigfoot got back, and without Rabbit noticing, she might be able to get a text message out to Daniel.
“Sam.”
Looking up at Jack, she realized he could see what she was doing and his eyes shifted subtly to the other hostages. She nodded, understanding his meaning. If any of them saw what she was up to, they might unintentionally give her away. She was going to have be patient for now.
With her phone concealed carefully with her hand, she pulled it out from her jeans and stuck it into the front pocket of Jack’s navy cargo pants, which were baggy enough to conceal it if they made him get up. He nodded at her, and she sent him a small smile.
Sam sat back against the wall when Bigfoot came back and pulled Rabbit aside. She strained to hear what they were saying to each other, just barely making out the quietly spoken words.
“What’s going on?” Rabbit asked, fidgeting on his feet.
“We’re in trouble, pal. Weaver and Kong are gonna pack up the van, but conditions aren’t lookin’ good. Got a blizzard out there. The good news, though, is hopefully the armored truck is gonna be delayed if it can get here at all.”
“What if it’s not?”
“Then we’re screwed. The truck will come to pick up the money, but there’s no money ‘cuz we got the money. We’re screwed.”
Sam’s attention slid to Jack, briefly. He was picking up on it too.
“If we can’t get outta this snow storm, we’re gonna hafta hang around a while longer than we planned,” Bigfoot muttered irritably, then wandered off again.
Rabbit started his pacing once more, occasionally stopping to peer out between the blinds, checking on the weather or looking out for the armored truck, who knew?
.
Part Two