Victoria watched Missy out of the side of her eye, snickering internally.<i>She doesn’t even have the sense to be scared. She’s gonna get herself killed, if not all of us.</i>She, on the other hand, had spent enough time around men who could kill her to develop a healthy sense of self preservation. Besides, everyone let down their guard eventually. It was just a matter of grasping the moment when it happened.<br/><br/>Sparing a moment’s glance as Cassie, she began to suspect that moment was right now. While Cassie drew in her mugger, Vickie handed over her strong box. If this was the right moment, she was going to need both hands free. And he couldn’t wield his shotgun and hold the lockbox at the same time.<br/><br/>From outside, an unfamiliar voice called out,<i>"You in the bank! We got y'all surrounded. Throw down your guns and come out with your hands high!"</i><br/><br/>There, that was exactly the distraction they needed! Cassie pushed her accoster away and plugged the other one –the one too busy carrying a strongbox to be any use to his buddies– in the chest twice. Cassie turned her attention on the leader, and Vickie turned hers on the grounded man, planting a heeled boot on his back and her gun against his head.<br/><br/>Tension hung thick in the air, like the stench surrounding an outhouse. Clearly they had the upperhand, but the ringleader still had a gun on Missy. He wouldn’t make it out of the bank alive if he pulled the trigger, but Missy would still be just as dead.<br/><br/><i> “I’m going to kill you last,”</i>Missy snarled, the twitch in her eye convincing Vickie of her intentions. And that was the worst of it. If this man thought he was dead anyways, he was as dangerous as a cornered rattlesnake.<br/><br/>“Hush it,” she snapped at Missy, keeping her gun pressed against the back of one man’s head. “Don’t do anythin’ else stupid here-now. You two can still walk out of here with your lives, if’n ya know what’s best for ya.”