The robber kicked the manager again. “Start over.”
“Turn the dial carefully four times to the left. When you get to zero, begin turning right,” Adam said.
Gabe did as he was told, and when he was slowly approaching the third revolution, he confirmed, “Stop on twenty-one?”
“Yes.”
He reached the mark. “Now what?”
“Two revolutions to the left, and stop on forty-four.”
Gabe did that, then asked, “And now?”
“One revolution to the right. Stop on thirty-five. That should unlock the mechanism, then turn the wheel to the right to open the door. It’s heavy.”
Misty wasn’t worried about a heavy door. With Gabe’s muscles, he could probably lift a safe over his head…not this one, though. In height, it spanned from floor to ceiling, and its width took up most of the side wall. It was like a room in itself. Gabe continued to follow all the manager’s directions, but when he turned the wheel, it didn’t open.
The gunman kicked the manager hard and said, “Don’t fuck around with me. Did you give him the right combination or not?”
“Yes. Sometimes it takes a second.”
At that moment, something clicked, and the gunman pushed Gabe out of the way. He yanked on the handle and grunted as the door opened. “That’s better.” He grinned and grabbed something out of his jacket’s deep front pocket…two backpacks that folded up small and flat.
His partner had taken out identical packs from his own jacket pockets. “Should I empty the drawers, boss?”
“Depends. Are there any dye packs in there?” he asked Misty.
“Yes,” she said.
“Brownie points for honesty.” He handed Misty his backpacks and said, “Go in there and fill these up.”
She took the backpacks and pushed open the heavy door enough to enter the vault.
“Hey, numb nuts. Toss me yours, so I can give her more to fill.”
A second later, she was shoved in the back. As she stumbled forward, the door slammed shut, encasing her in complete blackness. “What the hell?” she cried. For a moment, she didn’t know if she was alone or not.
“It’s me, Gabe. Relax. They can’t get you in here.”
She spun toward his voice. “Gabe? I can’t see a thing in here. Where are you?”
A warm hand found her arm and gently caressed it on his way up to cup her face. “I’m right here. We’re safe.”
She lurched into his strong arms and grasped him around his waist. He held her for a moment, then extricated himself gently.
“Wh-why did you do that?” she whispered.
“Misty, I couldn’t let anything happen to you. The minute he didn’t have his weapon pointed at you, I took the opportunity to keep you out of harm’s way.”
“What about everyone else out there?” she cried.
“You didn’t see the way he looked at you. Plus, I wouldn’t be surprised if they took you with them, for insurance for their getaway.”
She hesitated, not knowing how to feel about that. “You realize we’re stuck in here until morning.”
“I’m sure the criminals won’t wait that long to be caught. As soon as they leave, someone will call the cops, and the fire department will come too. They’ll be able to cut through the door and get us out in no time.”
She huffed. “You watch too much TV. This vault was created in the 1920s, back when bank robberies were a lot more common. This thing is made of steel-reinforced concrete. Not the kind of concrete used in construction. Something much stronger. The walls are over a foot thick. The door, as you saw, is even stronger. I was told the bank was actually built around the vault.”
