Most people would lose their minds.

Their knees would buckle, their heart would drop, fear and panic would flush straight through their veins. They wouldn’t take a deep breath; their heart rate wouldn’t settle into a normal rhythm and they most certainly wouldn’t speak with a voice so calm and reassuring that one would think they were simply ordering dinner.

But then again, not everyone was Yoo Ayeon.

“You don’t want to do this.”          

His voice was rough and aged, “Shut up. Hand over your gun and phone.” He cocked his own, “Now.”

Ayeon weighed her chances before cautiously reaching for her gun and phone and handing them over to him. “You don’t know the hell you’ve unleashed by taking a detective hostage.”

“Should I be scared of a detective that was sent to a hostage alone?”

That stung.

He grabbed her arm and yanked her to a room to the side where 5 other staff members were zip tied on the ground. Their eyes widened when she was marched in and shoved to the ground next to them. He threw the zip ties at the teller, the only one with free hands.

“Tie her up. And I’m not going to forget about the note Chan.”

The second he walked out of the room, tension snapped, “I can’t believe this. A cop. He took a cop hostage. He’s insane.” One of the women cried.

Chan’s hands shook as he tied her hands and ankles together before moving back to his spot and hugging his knees.

“We need to stay calm.” Ayeon said while adjusting to the zip ties.

One of the other tellers, hair slicked back so tight with gel that it could double as a helmet, “Calm?! He took a police officer hostage. How the do we stay calm? And by the way, I heard what he said to you and for a psychopath, he’s right. What the kind of cop comes to a hostage scene alone?”

Her jaw tightened, and it took every muscle in her body to not snap back with an I don’t know, ask the s who sent me here on a missing car case. Instead, she let out a breath and let her gaze lay a comforting blanket over everyone, “The precinct knows that this is a hostage and robbery, they will send in hoards of officers, you are all going to be fine. We just need to stay calm and make sure we do nothing to tick him off until they take him out. Is there anything you guys can tell me? How did this happen?”

No matter how much people at the precinct hated her, they wouldn’t risk the lives of civilians, she had to believe a real negotiation-hostage team was on their way.

A Younger Woman spoke up, her voice shaking as tears spilled down her cheeks, “He came in early but after the morning rush. Only the staff was in, the security guard had left but the guy who takes his shift over was late, he was always late and takes the looooongest breaks. So, this guy comes in with the mask on and pulls out the gun. He told us to step away from the counter and to not press the panic button, but I already did. Then he locked us up in here, every time someone tried to come in, he sent Chan to the front to act like everything was fine.”

Ayeon frowned, “I walked in easily. He didn’t lock the doors?”

“No.” An older man said quietly, he looked dazed as he leaned against the wall, “It was like he was so confident about it all.”

Ayeon turned to look at him, “You’re the manager?”

“I am. Usually, there are two of us, but Wednesdays are usually pretty slow so it’s just me.”

“How much money did he take out?” She asked.

The manager shook his head, “I don’t know. He herded us into this room and then left.”

“Wait, so he accessed the money on his own? Without any of your help?” She asked incredulously.

The Manager’s eyes widened, as if the realization just hit him, “Yeah. He just went back there.”

“Actually,” the Younger Woman started, “we have no way to know how much money he took. Or if he took any at all. He didn't speak to any of us other than to tell us to be quiet and not move.”

Ayeon’s mind was racing, “Okay, assuming he was here for the money, what would he need to do to gain access to it?”

“Well, if he wanted the vault, first he’d need a key card, then he’d need to enter an 8-digit number password. Then he’d have access to ten thousand dollars, anything more would require a thumbprint, a phone call to head offices and a sign-off. That part takes 48 hours and needs to be verified by both managers.” The Manager said.

Helmet Head gave her a look, “It’s obvious he didn’t take the money, no one plans a robbery without knowing how to get the money. That must mean he’s here for something else.”

“Oh wow, Sherlock. You’re really cracking this case wide open, huh?” The Older Woman hissed, “Who cares what he’s here for? I want to leave!”

Ayeon hummed and nodded, “Hey, I know you’re scared. This is a frightening situation. We just need to give it a little more time for the rest of the authorities to get here. In the meantime, is everyone holding up okay? Anyone injured?”

“We’re fine.” The Younger Woman said gently. “We’re just scared.”

“Not we. You’re scared.” Helmet Head muttered.

Ayeon resisted the urge to roll her eyes, “How long have you been here?”

“About 4 hours.”

An idea hit her, “And probably hungry.”

The Older Woman groaned with tears still running down her face, “I’m on a diet.”

“Oh my god, you’re an idiot.” Helmet Head muttered. “She’s trying to get the police to send someone in dressed as a delivery guy.”

Ayeon craned her neck, trying to get a look outside the door, “We need to wait for the cops to show. Once they do, we need to get a message back to them, so they know what situation they’re dealing with.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. Ayeon felt an inch of relief before looking at the group of people. “There’s just one thing that you need to remember.”

“Keep calm?” Helmet Head asked sarcastically.

“No.”

Ayeon turned to stare directly at him, “Don’t try to be a hero.”

-----

“Where the hell is Ayeon?” Jinah muttered as she stared at her phone. She had sent a text, asking her to come in for a second to go over some documents. She was right across the street, it shouldn’t take her this long to come over.

She knew that sending her off-site was good for Ayeon, but it was torture for her.  Ayeon and Soya were the only people in this damned office that kept her sane and with Soya in court all week and Ayeon too far away, she had to deal with her dumb officers who kept sparing odd glances at her.  Not to mention that parasite of a reporter who she had to drag, chair and all, to an interrogation room where she couldn’t try to information out of the precinct.

Sometimes, she thought about transferring to a precinct she actually liked.  

“Detective, we’re here for the debrief.”

Jinah turned and stared at the two men in front of her, “Doyoung? Taeil? What the hell are you doing here from Neg?”

“We’re here to discuss the call that came in here about the hostage situation on Korea Bank on 5th.” Taeil said.

She narrowed her eyes, “Why would our precinct have anything to do with a hostage situation on 5th?”

“Your offices took the call. A detective from here was first on the scene. We have a team already sent on ground level. We’re about to head down ourselves but we wanted clarification on the status of your officer.” Doyoung said while handing her a dossier.

Jinah was incredulous, “My officer? I didn’t send anyone down.”

Taeil blinked at her before frowning. He opened his filed and pulled out a piece of paper, “This is a transcript from a connecting call to this precinct.”

Jinah’s eyes ran down the print, the sinking feeling growing heavier down her gut.

Copy that. We’ll be sending an officer now.

10-4. Can I get the officer’s name?

Yoo Ayeon.

“I didn’t make this assignment.” Jinah breathed out.

Doyoung tensed, “She was sent by a reporting officer?”

“I can’t believe this.” Suddenly everyone’s cursory glances made sense. “Someone sent her straight into a hostage situation.”

Taeil was stunned, “Was she at least briefed?”

“She’s working off-site. Chances are low.”

“Who’s her partner?” Doyoung fired back.

Jinah squeezed her eyes shut, “She doesn’t have one. Her last was on maternity leave and…she doesn’t do well with temporary ones.”

“Jinah.” Doyoung was the most by-the-book cop she had ever known, so, using her first name while at work meant that things were bad. “We need to get down there. Now.”

-----

They could hear the masked man cursing in the other room, most likely as a result from the hoards of police cars that had just pulled up.

“This is good, right?” Chan asked.

Ayeon nodded, “Yeah, although it doesn’t seem like he’s answering any negotiation calls, he must know how to get out of this that he didn’t need whatever the police would offer him.”

Helmet Head gave her a look, “So, this isn’t good.”

Before she could answer, the masked man stormed back to the room, his gun swinging around. “The cops are here! I thought I told you not to press the button!”

He pointed his gun at the Young Woman who screamed and turned her face away. Ayeon raised her voice, “It was me! What? Did you think the cops weren’t going to follow up on the disappearance of a fellow officer?”

He started pacing, “. . .”

“Do you have demands?”

He looked over at Ayeon and through the holes in his mask, she could make out the confusion in his eyes, “What?”

“Demands? Like a getaway car? Or immunity? Or a priv