Gordon Ryan - State of Rebellion

When Hodgekiss and his companion were gone, Jack replaced the pistol in his belt beneath his vest.

“Jack, where the heck did you go? I thought they’d taken you while I was sleeping.”

“A man’s gotta answer the call of nature, son.” He smiled.

“With a.357 magnum?”

“Never can tell what varmints you might encounter up in these mountains.”

“True enough,” Dan said, shaking his head and laughing at his grandfather, his adrenaline beginning to subside. “Better stir the fire if we’re going to have any breakfast.”

“You do that. As for me, I hear another Rainbow calling my name.”

Wells Fargo Bank, Natomas Branch

Sacramento, California

September, 2011

The Natomas Branch of the Wells Fargo Bank, located in the northwestern part of Sacramento, was more likely than most banks to be robbed. In addition to being close to the intersection of two major Interstate highways, it was situated on its own pad, in front of a busy strip mall. Nearby stood a large Safeway grocery store, a drop-in health clinic, and about a dozen smaller establishments. The parking lot was full, and the sidewalks were bustling with shoppers when two white vans slowly drove through the area.

Three weeks earlier, when Otto Krueger had canvassed the place, he quickly saw that it met the criteria Commander Shaw had described, especially the multiple exit routes in the event of trouble. Today the decision seemed even more correct. Hundreds of people would scurry like rabbits at the first shots, and their escape would be all the easier in the melee.

Krueger nodded across the lane to the second van, and the driver exited the parking lot, turning onto El Camino and heading toward the main intersection. As the light turned yellow for the opposite traffic, the usual group of vehicles raced to make their crossing before the light turned red. He gunned his engine, aiming for the back of a station wagon that was trying to be the last car to beat the changing light. The crash brought cross traffic to a standstill, and horns began honking, with other vehicles and pedestrians stopping to observe the commotion.

Immediately following the crash, the driver of the van tripped a fifteen-second timer, jumped out of the damaged vehicle, and ran to the side of the road, melding with the foot traffic that was heading toward the mall. The van suddenly erupted in a fireball, also setting fire to the damaged station wagon, whose two occupants quickly exited their vehicle. The instant confusion in the intersection was followed by the sound of sirens, and within moments, two police cars had blocked off the intersection with their emergency lights flashing.

Krueger smiled at the success of the diversionary tactic and directed his driver to pull up and stop directly in front of the bank. He and two other men in the back of the van pulled balaclavas over their faces, exited the side door of the vehicle, and quickly pushed their way through the front door of the bank. The lobby was crowded with people waiting to use the automatic teller, plus four lines of customers standing in front of teller windows running the length of the main counter.

As soon as he entered the building, Otto pulled a shotgun from beneath his overcoat and fired a blast into the ceiling of the bank, then two more shots in quick succession aimed at the security cameras strategically placed in the corners of the interior walls.

“Everyone, down on your face. Now!” he bellowed.

Women began to scream, but paralyzed by the suddenness of the violence, people didn’t immediately respond. Otto repeated his demand, his voice even louder, and many people began to drop to the floor, husbands covering wives as best they could and mothers embracing their children. The two men with Krueger took up positions at either end of the main counter, their weapons drawn and aimed at the customers.

Krueger quickly approached the leftmost teller window. “We’ll have it all, young lady,” he said to the terrified woman, his voice calm. He dropped the barrel of his shotgun on the counter top, the metal clattering against the marble facing. Krueger shoved the weapon through the window opening until the front of the barrel was pressed against the young teller’s stomach. “Just keep calm, and you’ll live to enjoy a long and healthy life.”

The frightened woman took the canvas bag Krueger handed her and began clumsily filling it with the contents of her cash drawer. When her drawer was empty, Krueger motioned with the shotgun toward the next window in line and stepped along the outside of the counter in that direction. From behind the counter, the young woman paralleled his movement, her eyes wide with fear. They repeated the process through two more windows, emptying each cash drawer. At the last window, Krueger again smiled at her.

“You’ve done well. . Sara,” he said, reading her nametag. “Now, back away from the counter and keep your hands in sight, and you won’t get hurt.” He turned toward his accomplice stationed at the far end of the lobby and jerked his head toward the door. “Time to leave,” Krueger said to his closest associate, and the two men began to step over the prostrate customers scattered on the floor. The third man, at the far end of the counter, made his way toward the door, also.

“FBI! Drop your weapons and hit the floor!” a voice shouted from within the teller cages.

Krueger spun around to face the main counter, his shotgun swiveling in the same direction, as he sought to identify the source of the voice.

“I said drop it!” the female voice repeated in a commanding, Quantico tone.

Krueger spotted a dark-haired young woman standing behind one of the tellers’ windows, her pistol extended toward him in a double-handed stance.

A husky male voice from the far end of the bank lobby joined the chorus. “This is the FBI. The police have the bank surrounded, and there’s no escape. Now drop your weapons, get on your knees, and raise your hands.”

His gaze still riveted on the female teller, Krueger stole a quick glance at the new voice and observed a man dressed in a business suit, kneeling on the floor with a pistol drawn and leveled directly at him. For several moments, the stalemate continued, then one of Krueger’s companions turned and fired a shotgun blast at the kneeling man. Several of the customers screamed hysterically, and one woman jumped to her feet, bolting for the front door. She caught the brunt of a second blast full in the chest and sprawled backward, landing on another woman and her child who were cowering on the floor.

Reacting instantly, the female teller redirected her aim and fired two quick shots at the man who had discharged his weapon. Krueger took that opportunity to level a hurried blast toward the teller window, but his aim was low, and the pellets imbedded themselves in the front of the counter. He reached down and grabbed a female customer who was lying at his feet. Jerking her roughly upright, he locked his arm around her throat and began backing toward the entrance, still clutching the moneybag and his weapon. As he reached the door, he could see his associate lying on his back. Blood had saturated his hood and was pooling under his head, and his unseeing eyes stared at the ceiling out of the eye holes of his mask.

Krueger motioned to his second companion, who quickly joined him, and together they exited the front door. They ran around the side of the bank and dragged the hostage with them into the van, which then began to weave its way between the parked cars. Krueger stuck the shotgun out the open van door and fired into the fuel tank of a parked car, which immediately erupted in a ball of flame. Pedestrians in the parking lot began screaming and running away from the flames, hysteria spreading quickly throughout the mob of shoppers.