“So, is anyone going to tell me why I’m trying to buy TNT?” Danny asked, turning to face the other three men as they were seated on the couch in the abandoned motel that was to be their place of residence for the next three months.

Teddy tilted his head toward Jinhwan. “Ask him.”

Jinhwan sighed, glaring back at Teddy before answering Danny’s question. “Look, as much as I know we aren’t in the position to be picky, but I just don’t trust whoever these people are, ‘the others,’ or whatever you want to call them.” He started to explain, hoping that at least one of the three would see eye to eye with him on this matter. “I know they are saying that they have everything under control, but what if they don’t? What if it’s a trap? I’m just saying we need to have a backup plan. A way out on own, just in case they do try to screw us over.”

“So, what’s the plan Obiwon?” Danny jokingly asked, deciding that it just might be rather amusing to see just what the elder friend had in mind.

Jinhwan smiled knowing that all he needed was an elaborate and intricate plan to have Danny’s approval. “It’s a decoy, in the form of a car bomb.”

“I’m listening.” Danny said, crossing his arms at his chest and taking a seat across from the eldest male, intrigued with the idea of blowing up a vehicle as a distraction.

“From the blueprints Baek Kyoung got, it’s safe to say that the infrastructure of the bank is old. Most of these old buildings in the city are placed right up against each other some even sharing adjacent walls, as is the case with HKG. Theoretically, if we strap explosives to the wall in the basement where the vaults are and blow them up, we can blow a hole right into the next building.” Jinhwan smiled back at Danny, obviously proud of the amount of thought he put into the plan.

Baek Kyoung immediately shook his head no. “Won’t work. The wall is right near the vault. If you blow the wall you’ll mess with the seismic plates, then the cops are going to know we broke into the vault, which ‘the others’ have clearly said we can’t let happen.”

“That’s where the car bomb comes in.” Jinhwan simply answered. “If we blow up a rather large car outside at the same time as the hole in the antechamber, then the cops won’t know. They will be so preoccupied with what is going on outside that we can easily get away. And the same goes for the plates. Cops will think it’s just the bomb outside that rattled them; I mean you did say they were hella sensitive. So, still think I’m crazy?”

Just as Teddy had suggested, Baek Kyoung and Danny went downstairs to begin the preparations for plan B, while the remaining two stayed to watch over the hostages. Teddy couldn’t fight his conscious any longer and his eyes darted toward the security guard, who was still bleeding. Staring at the pool of blood beside him, the security guard’s pale skin, and the once-pink sweatshirt stained dark red, Teddy felt a pang of guilt surge through him. “Hey Spike, what’s it look like out there right now?”

Jinhwan leaned over the keyboard, staring at the small screen on his laptop watching the satellite image for a few seconds before answering back. “Everything seems to be okay. There’s a bit of extra activity around the SWAT van but nothing I would say we would have to worry about.”

Teddy shut his eyes briefly before walking toward the older man. “Listen, I want to you tell the cops we’re bringing an injured guy out.” Teddy’s voice was barely above a whisper, as he spoke quietly to the man. Jinhwan looked back at him in confusion but quickly conceded, his own conscience kicking in. He understood just why Teddy was being cautious, as Danny would be furious if he found out. Merely nodding his head in agreement, Jinhwan typed away on his computer relaying the message to the SWAT team.

Rushing over to the guard, Teddy helped lift him up to his feet warning him to not make a peep or he would lose his chance at getting out of there. Helping Teddy carry the guard over to the front door, Jinhwan unlocked the cuffs on the front door and handed Teddy his gun. Peeking the barrel of the AK47 out through the crack of the open front door Teddy yelled out. “He’s injured! Don’t shoot!”

Agent Lee was ready and waiting, bullhorn in hand. “Just bring the hostage out!”

Teddy took a few steps, being sure to put the security guard directly in front him as they walked out into onto the sidewalk, leaving Jinhwan standing behind the door. Two EMTs ran up to the two, safely pulling the security guard away from Teddy’s grasp as his eyes fell on Agent Lee momentarily before turning back around to the front door of the bank.

Agent Lee raised his hand and seconds later a single gunshot rang out.

“, I missed.” Agent Jin could be heard over the earpiece as the bullet pierced the side of Teddy’s neck, the robber falling to the ground shortly after.

“Teddy!” Jinhwan yelled out, when he saw his best friend fall to the ground and bolted out the front door of the bank.

Danny and Baek Kyoung halted in their movements when they heard the sound of a gun going off, and quickly ran up the stairs into the main lobby of the bank. Danny stood at the top of the stairs outraged when he saw the front door to the bank wide open while Baek Kyoung ran deeper into the lobby when he saw Jinhwan drag Teddy’s body into the lobby, the pool of blood leaving streaks against the marble floor behind him.

“What the happened?” Danny yelled out, still unmoving from his position at the top of the stairs. He couldn’t believe what his eyes were trying to show him; Teddy wasn’t on the ground bleeding, it just wasn’t possible.

“Help!” Jinhwan croaked out, pulling off Teddy’s ski mask and bunching up the material to press it against the open wound that continued to spurt out blood. “Don’t you in’ die Teddy.”

The hostages huddled closer together, seemingly torn. They feared for their lives, thinking that if the robber died the remaining three men would be furious, but at the same time they couldn’t help but feel saddened as they watched the heartbreaking scene unfold in front of their eyes. Teddy was only being helpful by going against his colleague and getting the security guard out. Alex couldn’t fight the growing regret she felt for yelling at him earlier and calling him a piece of . Yes, the four men may have robbed the bank, but it was apparent to her that at least they didn’t intentionally mean to harm any of them.

Baek Kyoung fell to his knees, his vision blurred by his own tears, as he just held tightly onto Teddy’s hand unable to do anything else. Call it a state of shock, denial or him just being an but Danny could only continue yelling out frantically. “This is why you never get emotionally involved!! He in’ broke the rules!” Running to the door, he locked the cuffs in place, his eyes never once landing on his bleeding friend.

“Shut the up!” Baek Kyoung cried out, his eyes bloodshot as he snarled at Danny before turning his attention back to his beloved friend. Blotches of blood stained Teddy’s face as the projectile streaks of blood splattered here and there tainting everything that at one time was pristine. Teddy’s mouth slowly filled with blood, making it difficult for him to breathe and less than a minute later he was dead. It wasn’t like in the movies where the actor would say a few last words and smile before they took their last breath, or when the actor would tragically thrash around before becoming still instantly; Teddy’s dead was rather quick. One minute there was a light behind his eyes as he looked back at Jinhwan trying frantically to help him and the next, they were empty, hollow, and soulless.

The lobby fell into a deep silence, the only thing audible besides the sirens and shouts from the police outside as they prepared for an ambush was Baek Kyoung’s light sobbing. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. “Go ahead with plan B.” Jihwan spoke out in a quiet whisper that gradually transitioned into a growl as he voiced his aggression.  “They knew full well that killing Teddy would piss us off. Let’s show them just how badly they ed up.” Turning to face a still crying Baek Kyoung, Jinhwan took the initiative to delegate roles. “Jerry, go back downstairs. You too Tyke, get everything ready.”

Baek Kyoung begrudgingly got back up to his feet, his lower half drenched in Teddy’s blood as his soaked shoes squelched against the marble while he walked toward the staircase. He made a point to ram his shoulder harshly against Danny’s not caring if it hurt the other male or not. Bastard didn’t even run to Teddy’s side. Falling back onto his heels, Jinhwan looked at Teddy’s lifeless body and couldn’t help but think about his friend’s family. Staring at his bloodied body, this was no way for a mother to see her son.

Moving the man’s legs so they laid straight, Jinhwan then placed Teddy’s hands across his stomach, laying them one on top of the other so at least it looked like Teddy was at peace. Zipping up the black utility jacket over the bulletproof vest that proved its existence to be useless, Jinhwan tried to wipe the blood off Teddy’s body but it was just everywhere. “ the stupid rules.” Jinhwan mumbled under his breath, staring down at one of his best friends. The rules didn’t matter anymore. Pulling his ski mask off, thus breaking the fourth rule to their code of conduct, Jinhwan bunched the cotton material into a clump in his fist, using it to wipe the blood that had splattered across Teddy’s face, shutting the man’s eyes in the process. This shouldn’t have happened. You should be on your island soaking up the sun, you shouldn’t have died like this. I’m so sorry Teddy.

“You!” Alex yelled out, her eyes widening in wonderment when Jinhwan revealed his face, not caring about the rules any more. Alex knew she had seen the same set of eyes before but couldn’t quite place where, that was at least until she saw Jinhwan’s face. The waitress had seen him countless of times at the diner. He would always sit at the same booth and spend most of his time looking out the window. To come to think of it, he always had his eyes on the bank, Alex realized. She remembered how he would always be shy around her, blushing every time she approached him and tried to make small talk. Alex even recalled how she found it endearing. “I’ve seen you before. You’re the same guy that comes into the diner all the time.”

Jinhwan tore his attention away from Teddy momentarily to look at her, the look of growing disgust clear in her eyes. The male wouldn’t deny it hurt him. He at one point actually thought that after this whole thing died down, he would return to this small city he had grown attached to and maybe even try to date her. Evidently that plan burst into flames, yet at the same time it didn’t matter anymore; nothing did. All that mattered to the remaining three men was getting out of the bank.

Danny ran up the stairs, skidding to a halt when he saw Jinhwan unmasked, his eyes locked with Alex. “Spike.” Danny hesitantly called out, wondering if it was even worth it using code names at this point. “Get away from the door, we’ve got 90 seconds.”

Jinhwan stood up, his eyes darting over to the group of hostages. “All of you move over to the far wall, now.” His voice was stern yet hasty as the hostages began to walk on their knees toward the wall. Danny had no intentions of trying to secure the safety of the hostages, at least not anymore, but Jinhwan’s persistence on the matter forced him to help, as he walked over to the youth pastor who seemed to be having difficulty and helped the man toward the wall. Jinhwan turned toward the door, his eyes landing on Teddy’s body resting peacefully by the front foyer.

“Sixty-seven seconds!” Danny called out, staring at Jinhwan’s back as he still stood in the middle of the lobby. “Come on!”

Jinhwan looked over his shoulder at Danny for a second before running toward Teddy’s body, holding on to the collar of his jacket and dragging his body toward the wall where all the hostages were. He wasn’t sure just how much TNT Baek Kyoung had stuck to the car when assembling bomb or how much damage it would cause to the surrounding buildings, and the last thing he wanted was Teddy’s body to be further mutilated.

Grabbing his laptop before running over to the staircase, Jinhwan took one last glance at his friend’s body then looked over to Alex, who oddly enough was staring back at him, an unreadable expression on her face. “Do you have it?” Jinhwan looked over to Danny as the man quickly handed him his pair of headphones. Seconds later, Baek Kyoung joined them in the stairwell, looking at both men and nodding his head before taking one final glance at Teddy’s body.

---

“Are you sure he’s dead?” Agent Lee roared, while members of the SWAT team and police alike ran around.

“I barely missed the carotid. He has to be dead.” Agent Jin answered, his eyes darting quickly toward the front door. “We’re just wasting time standing around like idiots,” he added. All Agent Jin wanted to hear was the final go-ahead and he would have his team barging through the front door within seconds. The whole idea of shooting one of the robbers while they tried to hand over a hostage was so they could take advantage of the stressful situation and finally take over the bank, but things didn’t seem to be running smoothly. It had been almost four minutes and the cops were still on the outside of the bank.

Before Agent Jin could try to convince his leader to give him the go-ahead everything went hazy when a loud explosion ripped through the intersection, fragments of the metallic-gray SUV piercing through the yellow-orange burst of flames raining down on the people standing in the streets. Car alarms from adjacent vehicles parked along the street instantly went off, while windows of every building within 300 feet from the SUV shattered into pieces and black smoke filled the air clouding everyone’s vision. Chaos immediately ensued, as people screamed, running in each and every direction trying to avoid the falling debris navigating their way blindly through the intersection while police tried to get a handle on the situation.

---

Inside the bank was just as chaotic, the four remaining hostages screaming out in sheer panic. For them, the intensity they felt from the explosion was two fold, as they felt the aftereffects from the car bomb outside and the other bomb down in the antechamber. The interior of the bank went black; smoke seeping into the crevices of each corner of the building not letting up leaving the hostages blind and seemingly deaf while their ears rang incessantly. They should have seen it coming when the robbers had told them to move over to the far wall or when they saw them cover their ears with noise blocking headphones. Maybe that was why Hyunshik had thrown his body over Alex right before the explosion occurred, she would never quite understand as she squirmed underneath him.

Slowly getting off of her Hyunshik yelled out. “Is everyone okay?” The ringing in even his own ears was too powerful to understand the words that were coming out of even his own mouth as he struggled to hear a response. Alex turned her head, her eyes searching through the dark smoke to see if she could still see the three robbers by the stairwell not knowing that they were long gone.

Right after the explosion the three men bolted, running down the stairs each grabbing a black gym bag and jumped through the newly made hole in the side of the building. Jinhwan had no time to revel in the fact that his plan so far was turning out just as he had imagined, as he was the last person to jump through the hole entering a storage room in the basement of the adjacent building. Opening the door that lead to the room they had just entered, the three men walked out onto the main floor of the basement.

Baek Kyoung quickly ped his gym bag pulling out the vacuum-sealed packages containing their wrinkle-free suits, each properly labeled. The three men quickly changed into the three-piece suits, after having practiced for this so many times they managed to completely dress themselves in under 30 seconds. Three pairs of black shoes were pulled out of the gym bag next, the last pair of snakeskin loafers sadly left at the bottom of the bag along with the suit labeled Tom. Throwing the visitor passes around their necks, the three men opened the door to the stairwell located at the far end of the building reserved for deliveries and walked up two flights of stairs, sneaking their way into an open hallway that placed the three men on the second floor of a law firm.

“What are you still doing here?” A burly police officer yelled out as he and his partner ran up to the three men. “I thought this place was evacuated?” The other officer asked, watching as two other suited men ran past the three friends.

“They said it was optional.” One of the suited men responded as he ran past them before Danny could try and come up with a good enough excuse.

Relieved that there were other people still in the building, yet sensing the awkward silence with the police officers, Danny chimed in. “But what the hell was that?”

“A car bomb.” The muscular cop replied solemnly. “Look, you have to evacuate now, we don’t know if there are more.”

word count: 3119

...this has to be the toughest chapter I've ever written...

I've replayed the scene of the character's death thousands of times in my head but it took me forever to put it into words

I hope I was able to capture the emotion properly....

thank you for reading!

(one more hour/chapter to go!)