by Mike Ryan
As the time drew closer, Recker knew it was almost time for action. It was 8:45pm. The crew would be arriving any minute. He was well prepared in terms of firearms, as he had taken three weapons with him. He had one Glock in his hand, one in his belt, and an assault rifle strapped to his back, plus a few extra clips. If a firefight erupted, he’d be ready for it. Recker got out of his car and walked over to the other side of it, stretching his legs and getting himself ready. All the while, he kept an eye on the jewelry store so he had an idea of how many customers were inside. After ten more minutes, the crew still wasn’t there yet. Although it was possible they decided to scrap their plans, Recker still believed they’d show up. They still had five minutes and he figured they were waiting as long as possible. Just a few seconds later a black van slowly drove past him, finding a parking spot a little up the street, not quite level with the jewelry store. Right after parking, three men spilled out of the van and ran toward the store. Recker instantly recognized the crew from the photos they had of them.
As the men approached the store, they put black ski masks on before they entered. Somewhat surprisingly, all three men entered the store. Recker assumed one of the men was standing on the inside of the door to prevent surprises and whoever was left in the van was guarding the street. Whatever the case, it made it a little easier for Recker. He knew time was short and he had to make his first move now. Knowing the man inside the van was probably looking through the mirrors to make sure nobody came up from behind, Recker walked in the street by the cars. He got out his keys and fumbled with them in his hand to make it look like he was walking toward his car. With the van just a few feet in front of him, he put his keys back in his pocket and replaced them with a gun. As he got near the van, he could see through the side mirror that someone was still in the driver seat. Still walking toward it, as he reached the taillights, the driver rolled his window down. Recker cautiously approached the door, knowing there was a chance the driver was waiting for him with a weapon of his own. A few inches from the door, Recker saw the left hand of the driver reach out and set it on the edge of the rolled down window.
Once Recker got to within reach of the door, he pulled on the handle and opened the door, causing the driver to slightly lose balance. Even though the driver was waiting for him, he wasn’t expecting the stranger to open the door on him. The two seconds that caused the driver to lose his balance was all Recker needed to gain the advantage. As the driver tried to steady himself and raise his own gun he had in hand, Recker pointed his weapon at the man and fired twice at point blank range. Two shots lodged firmly into the man’s chest meant the crew just lost their getaway driver. Recker, while keeping one eye on the store, reached into the van and pulled out the keys from the ignition. He turned and tossed them into the middle of the street then went back towards the rear of the van. He peered around the edge, keeping his eyes centered on the entrance of the store. He thought about maneuvering a little closer to the store but wasn’t sure if he’d have time before the robbers came out of the store. He didn’t want to get caught out in the open without having some type of cover. At least where he was, he had the van for protection. They would be heading anyway so he figured it was best just to wait there.
Two minutes later, the three remaining members of the crew came rushing out of the store, two of them carrying a black duffel bag, presumably holding whatever jewelry, cash, and other valuables they had just pilfered. The three men planned to stagger their positioning to avoid being grouped together, with the first man getting to the truck, then the second man, then the third. As the first man got to the curb, Recker jumped out from behind the van and unloaded on the unsuspecting robber. Three shots into his chest knocked the man onto his back then Recker turned his attention to the next man who was halfway between the store and the getaway vehicle. Recker fired at the second guy, also hitting him several times in the chest and midsection. With the first two men down, he fired at the third guy, who retreated toward the store entrance. As he took another shot at the man toward the store, Recker was shocked to see the first two guys stumble back to their feet. Recker knew he hit both of them square and was stunned they weren’t dead yet. As they returned fire from their respective locations, Recker took cover behind the van.
“Crap,” Recker whispered to himself. “Must be wearing vests. Wasn’t counting on that.”
Recker put his Glock in its holster and grabbed the assault rifle from his back and spun it around to a firing position. He figured if they were wearing bullet proof vests than he needed a little more firepower. With a few bullets from his targets glancing off the van or lodging into its metal exterior, Recker dropped down to the ground and fired his rifle at the first member of the crew. Instead of aiming at his chest, Recker fired at the man’s legs, chopping him down to size as he fell to the pavement, bullets ripping into his shins. The second member of the crew started to run back toward the store entrance as well, but Recker quickly fired before he could get there, hitting the man in the back of his thighs as he crumpled to the concrete walkway. Recker looked for the third member of the crew but he was nowhere in sight. He must’ve retreated into the store. With the first two members of the crew seemingly down and out, Recker stood and came out from behind the van into the open. He swung the rifle onto his back again and pulled out his Glock as he walked toward the injured men on the ground. Seeing an assault rifle was still on the ground within reach of the pain riddled man, Recker kicked his gun away from him. As he stood over the fallen robber, the man could see what his shooter’s intentions were.
“Please, man,” the man said, holding his legs in pain.
“Today’s not your day,” Recker said.
Recker unloaded one round into the man’s head then moved to the next member of the gang. The man was still lying face down as he was grabbing the back of his legs. The man was screaming in agony with his legs feeling like they were on fire. As Recker passed over the man on his way to the store, he didn’t bother speaking to him, or letting him know what was coming. He nonchalantly fired a round into the back of the man’s head, instantly silencing the man’s screams of pain. Although it briefly occurred to him to just leave the two bullet ridden bodies behind, alive, as he went after the last remaining member of the crew. He quickly dismissed the idea. These men were too unscrupulous, too violent, too much of a danger to society. Recker wouldn’t lose any sleep dispatching these people to their afterlife. Once he got to the door, he tried to push it open, but it wouldn’t budge. It appeared to be locked. He knew there was a good chance he was going to take some fire the minute he busted through the door. Before going in, Recker put in a new clip for his gun to make sure he was fully loaded. Sirens started wailing in the background. The police were coming. Recker figured he didn’t have very long until they got there. A couple minutes at most. The smart move would’ve been to hike his way out of there before the cops arrived. But Recker knew there were still three people in the store who were now likely hostages, including the person who worked there and two customers. The police were qualified to handle hostage negotiations, but Recker thought if he left, there was a chance the guy might just kill one or two of them before the police got there. But once he did get inside, he didn’t have a lot of time to get the job done. And he wouldn’t have time to negotiate either. He thought he had maybe two or three minutes max to kill the guy and get out of there before the police swarmed the building.
The door was made of glass, making it unnecessary to have to kick it open. Recker grabbed his assault rifle and forcefully smashed it through the glass. It instantly smashed into tiny pieces as the small particles of glass fell to the ground. Gunfire erupted as the lone remaining member of the gang opened fire toward the door when the glass smashed. Recker took a small step back, knowing he was going to have to make his way inside rather quickly. Surprise was probably his best way to make entry. He saw a small kiosk near the front of the door he could take cover behind until he saw where his target was located. He dove
through the newly opened door, again drawing some gunfire, and scurried along the light blue carpeted floor until he reached the kiosk. He sat on the floor with his back against the bottom of the wooden kiosk, taking a second to catch his breath and figure out what to do from there. The top of the kiosk was jewelry encased in glass, but only temporarily, as the case was immediately smashed to pieces as gunfire ripped through it. Recker put his arms over his head and ducked to protect his face from getting cut from the falling pieces of glass.
“Give it up,” Recker yelled. “All your buddies are dead.”
“Yeah, well I ain’t joining them,” the man shouted back.
Recker took a quick look around to try to find the two customers and store worker to make sure they were safe and out of the line of fire. He couldn’t initially find them though. He turned around and got on his hands and knees as he looked around the edge of the kiosk. He saw his target behind the main counter, though only the top of his head, as he was ducking behind it. Half a minute later, the man rose fully behind the counter, showing the rest of his body. Recker didn’t fire though. The man was yanking at the hair of one of the customers, putting her body in front of his and holding a gun to the side of her head. She was a middle-aged woman, in her mid to late forties, and looked scared as could be. This was one of the things Recker had feared. He knew this scenario might come into play if he couldn’t have gotten them all outside the store. Of course, he knew if he had waited for them inside the store, a whole other set of problems may have occurred. But still, he hated seeing an innocent person come into the dangerous crosshairs of the two sides. Recker also rose above the kiosk and stepped away from it, slowly walking toward the counter at his target and the hostage. He aimed his gun at the man the entire time he moved closer to him.
“Let her go,” Recker said.
“Yeah, right,” the man said. “She’s my insurance policy. She’s not going anywhere.”
“You got nowhere to go. I already disabled your vehicle out there so you’d have to escape on foot. Once SWAT gets here, you know there’s no escape. Just make it easy on yourself.”
“As long as I got leverage, I have a way of getting out of here.”
“The cops are coming, they’re not making any deals,” Recker said.
“Unless they want bodies in here, they’ll deal.”
“That’s not happening. ‘Cause no bodies are gonna pile up in here as long as I’m breathing.”
“Well I guess I’ll just have to do something about that, won’t I?”
Though Recker never took his eyes off the target in front of him, he let his ears take in what was outside, listening to the sounds of the police sirens. They weren’t far off. If he didn’t get out of there soon, there was a chance he was going to wind up getting trapped in there himself. He knew what he had to do. He just had to make sure he had a clean shot. He had to wait until the man made his head completely visible behind the woman’s face. Though Recker was an expert marksman, he didn’t want to take chances with only half of the man’s head as a target.
“Tell you what, why don’t we switch places?” Recker asked. “Let go of the woman and take me instead.”
The man laughed at the silliness of the suggestion. “Yeah right. I ain’t letting go of her. Maybe if you drop your gun first I’ll think about it.”
“Think of it. Having a cop as a hostage is a lot more valuable to you than these people.”
“You’re a cop?”
“Of course I am. Why else would I be in here? What, you think I go around getting in shootouts for kicks?”
“Where’s your badge?”
“I’m undercover. I don’t carry one,” Recker said.
“Throw down your gun or I’ll kill this woman right here.”
“I wouldn’t do that.”
“I don’t care what you would do.”
With the sirens getting louder and likely getting there within the minute, Recker knew he had to make some hay, and he had to make it now. He had to come up with a new plan.
“How about this? I’ll throw my gun down, then you release the woman. Then I’ll give you the keys to my car and you can get out of here?” Recker said.
“Why would you do that?”
“Cause my only concern right now is saving the life of everyone in here. And I’d rather see you get away than put anyone’s life in jeopardy with a police standoff.”
“I dunno, man.”
“C’mon, we don’t have long to debate this. Listen to the sirens. The rest of the squad’s right up the street and closing in fast. If you wanna get out of here, this is your ticket. You’re not likely to get another chance at this.”
“You’re trying to pull something on me.”
“I’m not trying to pull anything. I just don’t want any bloodshed and I can see what’s gonna happen here if you don’t take this. But if you don’t leave now, you’ll never make it to my car in time,” Recker said.
Sweat was pouring off the man’s head as he contemplated the deal. Something was gnawing at him telling him something wasn’t right, but in his current predicament, he really couldn’t afford to be too choosy. He knew the likelihood of him getting out of the situation as is was low. As soon as the rest of the police rolled in, he knew he was going to be arrested or killed. As Recker suggested, this was his only shot at getting out of there in one piece.
“Fine. Throw your gun down,” the man said finally.
Recker did as they agreed upon and gently tossed his gun down on the ground. Before making a move, he waited until the man let go of the woman hostage. As the woman slowly slid away from her captor, the man turned his attention to Recker and pointed his gun at him as he waited for him to complete his end of the deal.
“The keys?” the man said.
“I’m gonna reach inside my pocket and toss them over to you, OK?”
“Just do it slowly.”
“I don’t have any other weapons on me,” Recker said, lying to the man. “Just the one I already put down, so take it easy.”
Recker slowly moved his arm inside his coat and reached for the handle of his backup weapon. He put his left arm up to try to keep the man at ease and not tip him off that he was about to give him a surprise.
“All right, I’m just bringing out my keys now,” Recker said. “I’ll toss them over to you.”
Seeing the man relax his gun arm ever so slightly as his elbow bent, Recker quickly withdrew his gun from its holster. As fast as possible, he immediately pointed it at the unsuspecting robber, who was caught a little off guard. Though the man still wasn’t sure he trusted the cop’s proposition, Recker’s speed was something he wasn’t quite prepared for. Assuming the man was wearing a bullet proof vest like his comrades, Recker didn’t bother aiming for his chest. He didn’t want to take the chance in case the guy returned fire at him. Like the other members of the crew, Recker sought to finish the man off and put an end to this standoff by taking him out with a head shot. With one quick flash, Recker withdrew his gun, pointed it at the man’s head, and fired, all before the man could get a shot off himself. Recker’s aim was right on target as the bullet went right through the man’s forehead, though not quite on center as it caught the man a little to the left. Still, it got the job done as the man slumped to the ground and died even before the impact of hitting the carpet. With the screams of the two women customers in the store not believing what just happened, the situation was now resolved.
“Everyone all right?” Recker asked.
He got either an affirmative reply or a nod of the head from the three people who remained, still a little shaken by the events. Recker looked back toward the front door and saw the red and blue lights flashing, as well as the blaring sirens. The standoff took too long. There was no escaping now. At least not the way he came in. He quickly backtracked behind the main counter and checked on the man he just killed, just to make sure there was no mistake.
“Do you need us to stay here and get statements from us?”
one of the women customers asked.
“I’m not the police.”
“What? I thought you said...”
“I said what I needed to say to try to diffuse the situation,” Recker said.
“Well if you’re not the police, then who are you?” the store worker asked
Recker sighed as he looked around for an exit strategy. “I guess you could call me a concerned third party.”
“You’re not here to rob us or anything either, are you?” the woman hostage asked.
“No.”
Recker continued to look around, unsure how he was getting out of this one. Several things crossed his mind, none of which had a high probability of working. He could’ve tossed his guns away and asked the others not to reveal his role in the shootings and pretend he was just a customer there as well, but he didn’t have faith the others would keep quiet on his involvement in the killings. Not that he could blame them, he just couldn’t expect them to lie about something as big as this. He could’ve just ran out the front door and started shooting, but it wasn’t a very sensible option either. He wasn’t too keen at shooting at the police, even if it was to save his own hide. For one, engaging the police was likely to be a suicide mission, considering there was probably half a dozen cars out there or on their way. But the bigger reason was, he didn’t want to hurt any of them. Everything he’d done since he arrived in this city was to help people, protect the innocent. The police had the same objectives. They just went about their goals in two different ways. So essentially, they were on the same side. And if Recker was going down, he decided he wasn’t taking any of them with him. He didn’t figure they deserved to be on the receiving end of one of his bullets. He had to find another way.
“Are we free to leave?” the woman hostage asked.
“Just give me a minute to figure something out,” Recker said.
The store worker was closely studying Recker’s face and could tell by his nervous demeanor he was worried about the police outside. Seeing the man wasn’t a threat to them, and seeing how he did help them and save them from being harmed and robbed, the elderly gentleman tried to find out what his problem was.
