Before exiting the motel room, Colton took a long look out the window.  The snow seemed to be coming down much harder than before, causing him to smile to himself.

As he hastily cleaned off the car windows, the rest of the boys loaded up the gear.  When they were finished, Colton got behind the wheel, and began their slow ride to the bank in cold silence, each deep in their own thoughts.

He drove by the front of the bank slowly, looking at the snow covered street and walkway.  There were very little signs of traffic as he had hoped, which meant the only people in the bank would be the employees.

Another good thing about the heavy snow was the reaction time of the police.  Even if one of the employees called from a cell phone while running, it would still take some time for the police to arrive due to the storm.

Colton drove the car around to the back of the bank and parked it in the farthest space possible.  From there, the five of them made their way slowly to the front of the bank.

Colton stopped at the corner of the bank and gave one look up and down the street.  As he had hoped and expected, there was nobody in sight.  He then looked at the others and gave a curt nod.  Those that didn’t already have their masks down did so.  When all weapons were drawn and cocked, they moved.

They all burst through the door at once, shouting, cursing and waving their weapons where everyone could see them.  When two of the boys fired their one round into the air, it brought the employees to both a state of reality and a state of panic. 

 “Everyone to the center of the floor, now!” Colton barked.  It was not until then that he realized there were only eight people in the bank.

When the small group had complied with his demand, Colton pointed at two of the boys and instructed them to do a search of the building.  While they were taking care of that, the two others proceeded to blind the cameras and draw the shades and drapes.

When the two sent to do recon returned, they instantly began doing their parts they were paid to do.  After fifteen long minutes, the job was done, and the only sounds heard were the sobbing of the women.

Colton looked around the bank and smiled to himself.  There were several tables’ set up in the middle of the floor with food and a bowl of punch, and one lone table was piled with Christmas gifts.  They had busted in on the bank’s Christmas party.

Colton held back his laughter at how easy this was going to be.  He hoped he could stay sounding mean and menacing for the sake of the hostages.

“Everybody on your feet!” he barked, and all but one woman hastily replied.  She, it turned out, was pregnant.  On the inside, Colton was screaming, “YES!”  He could not have planned this more perfectly.  On the outside, though, he wore a wicked sneer.

“Seeing as tomorrow is Christmas, I’m going to give you all an early present.”  Each person let out a sigh of relief, even though none had heard what this supposed “present” was going to be. 

“I’m going to let you all go,” he continued, his voice almost gentle.  Soft whispers of thanks and blessings could be heard throughout the circle.  “Everyone, except you.”  He finished the statement by pulling the pregnant woman to him and putting his arm around her throat. 

If the situation had been different, it would look as though he was greatly fond of the woman, rather than holding her and her baby’s life in his hands.

“Now,” he continued slowly, making sure that they would clearly understand what he was about to say.  “If I hear so much as a siren, or see one passing cop car, the pregnant bitch and her little bundle of joy get splattered all over the walls.  Do I make myself perfectly clear?”

It was hard to decipher most of the replies though the relieved sobbing and shocked outrage of his demand.  He then sneered at the pregnant woman.  “You better hope you didn’t piss any of these folks off, ma’am,” he whispered, though loud enough for all to hear.

The pregnant woman said nothing, although the fat tears that ran down her red cheeks spoke volumes.  There was a long silence before Colton finally said, “Get out.”  Colton shook his head and chuckled as he watched the now freed hostages nearly trample one another to get out.

Once the final hostage was out the door, Colton called the four boys over to wear he stood.  “Are you sure you got everything?”  All four nodded in unison causing him to smile.  “Awesome,” he stated, then proceeded to shake each one of their hands.

“Thank you for all your hard work, gentlemen.  Have a Merry Christmas.”  They returned his handshake, though none of them returned the salutation.  After briefly picking through some of the food on the table, they exited out the same door almost as quickly as the hostages had.

Colton ushered the remaining hostage to the back door behind them and pointed at the door.  “Lock that.”  For a moment, it looked as if she were to refuse.  However, her face paled slightly and her trembling hand went briefly to her protruding stomach.

“I need to sit,” she mumbled as the lock clicked firmly into place.  “Then sit you shall.”  He ushered her to a high backed leather chair and sat her down.

 While she was occupied with looking at the floor and breathing, Colton went to the front window and gave a quick peek out.  He smiled at seeing how hard the snow was falling.

“I suppose you want some water or something too, right?”  She looked up at him as he ambled towards her.

“That would be nice, yes,” she replied softly. 

Colton pointed the shotgun at her menacingly.  “Sit there.  Don’t move, or you will be celebrating Christmas in Heaven, understand?” Again the woman paled noticeably as she nodded.  “What’s your name?” he asked absently as he retrieved her water.

“Karen.  Karen Butterfield.”  After taking a few sips of the cold water, a little color returned to her face.

Colton poked her lightly in the belly with the shotgun barrel.  “When are you due?”  The look she gave him was murderous.

“About two weeks or so,” she replied, her eyes narrowed.  Colton smiled.

“Are you going to take off your mask?”  That made Colton laugh. 

“Maybe later, but not right now,” he replied.

“Ok, then what do I call you?”  He could tell that his non-compliance was pissing her off.  He didn’t care, however.  This was his show, not hers.

Colton made a play at thinking for a moment before he answered.  “How about Master?” he suggested, then popped a piece of shrimp in his mouth.

Karen’s face reddened visibly, but she said nothing.  The last thing she wanted to do was put her baby in jeopardy.

If she wasn’t pregnant, she would have fought him tooth and nail, but she had her unborn child to think about now.

“You able to get up yet?”  Colton asked after swallowing the last of the brownie he had eaten.  Karen nodded, but made no move to get up.

“Good.  As soon as you get your big ass outta that chair, we are going to empty all your cash drawers.”

Karen felt brave enough to smirk at him as she moved her pregnant frame to a standing position, a move that took more effort than she would have liked.

“That’s all you’re going to get though, Master,” she replied, the contempt obvious in her voice.

Colton’s smile and reply unnerved her.  “That’s ok, baby.  That will be good enough.  I’m not greedy.”

He made her walk directly in front of him, the barrels of the shotgun pressed lightly, but firmly against the small of her back.

“Keep your feet off of the silent alarm, and no dye packs, either.  Understood?”  Karen nodded without attempting to turn around.

When she opened the first teller’s drawer, Colton handed her a white canvas sack with a dollar sign drawn on it in black magic marker.  When she saw it, she giggled.  “Are you serious?”  It was hard to tell, but she was sure he was smiling under his mask. 

I sure am,” he chuckled, watching her fill up the sack.  “Ever since I was a kid, I always saw cartoons where the robbers had a bunch of sacks with a big dollar sign on them.  In real life, it’s not like that, so I made my own.”

Karen simply shook her head, but said nothing.  When she was done emptying the drawer, they moved on to the second.

They had just made it to the sixth and final drawer, when Colton suddenly let out a muffled scream and dropped to the floor.

Karen all but forgot he was there robbing the place, and tried to kneel down beside him.  “Christ!  Are you alright?”