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"I didn’t know" Shock had -eyed, lock-jointed robot "It’s not my fault I didn’t know"

"Give h the handles of the gy and tried to haul it over the front of her station The teller refused to let it go, clutching it as if it were her only lifeline "Take your hands off or I’ll shoot you in the face"

"If you do, you’ll get her blood all over the money," a deep male voice with a distinct British accent said "Damnably hard to launder out Almost as much of a nuisance as that dye powder"

DeLuca turned as solove, knocking the gun out of his hand Whatever it was kept going and buried itself in the wall on the other side of the lobby The thin wooden shaft bobbed, wagging its brown-feathered end at DeLuca like a disapproving finger Even with the flaring burn of pain froashed leather over his hand, it took hiister what it was and what had happened, and even then he didn’t quite believe it

Shot me with an arrow?

DeLuca turned to see where it had coe men stood there The shorter of the pair, a stocky bleached blond dressed in a red T-shirt and black cords, held two knives in his broad fists The dark, polished blades glowed like gold Beside hi ray jeans drew another arrow frobow he held was as tall as he was, at least six feet long, and had strangewooden curves

The short one sniffed the air like a curious bulldog "Tounded, Rob" His accent sounded different, thicker and harder to understand "One male, concealed"

The one he called Rob fitted another arrow to his bow and pointed the sharp-looking copper head of it at DeLuca "Find him, Will"

DeLuca didn’t knohat to think Neither one of these guys had been inside the bank when DeLuca had come out of the john; they’d just appeared out of thin air But that couldn’t have happened As soon as DeLuca had walked in and taken over, he’d forced the er to dead-bolt the doors and barricade them with the loan officer’s massive desk The doors were bolted, the barricade still in place

Why the hell was the dark one using a bow?

He started to tell the one called Will not to ht his breath as a peculiar odor filtered through his s and sift basket of oranges and chocolate Not perfuer in his chest even after he exhaled, sweet and heavy

"You," the one called Rob said to hi" He lowered the bow, replacing the arrow in the quiver hanging fro the weapon over his shoulder and across his torso before he walked over to the cluster of hostages

DeLuca would have gone after his wouldn’t er he stood there, however, the ht: He needed to stay where he was and do nothing

"Is she unconscious?" Rob asked Joe, who nodded He checked the guard’s shoulder, and then gently reer’s throat and wrapped it like a bandage around her head "If she rouses, my friend, keep her still and quiet Help should arrive momentarily"

DeLuca barely heard him He remained in place and studied the bank’s entrance doors They were still locked, and the heavy oak desk reotten inside? Had they been hiding in the back? Then he saw the vault door standing open, and through it could see that some of the safety-deposit boxes had been pulled out They’d been in the vault, robbing it--that’s why he hadn’t seen the He’d assured the Italian: No one else but the feds in Chicago knew aboutoperation

"Hey, you Rob" DeLuca waited until the pretty purple eyes focused on his face "You guys looking to score?"

Rob said nothing, but wrapped his hand around one curved end of the wooden bow as if to pull it fro to DeLuca’s face The last thing he wanted to do was to ry or upset "If you are, maybe we could join forces Split the take three ways"