Journal #28: Convincing

Police Chief Garrett Smith leaned tiredly against his squad car. He rubbed his eyes with his fists and breathed out a sigh filled with suffering and hopelessness. He and the other members of his small police force had been standing outside the local bank for an hour now and had nothing to show for it. Mobsters from the city an hour's drive away had burst into the bank at precisely 6:32 that evening, pulled out their guns, and demanded that everyone get down on the floor. It being a small town, the police force had shown up in minutes. Unfortunately, it being a small town, the police were not prepared to handle something like this. Help was arriving from the city, but it was still the better part of an hour away. The mobsters were holding the people inside the bank - two old men, a mother with her two daughters, and several people who had stopped by the bank on their way home from work- hostage and demanding that the police let them leave before they started shooting. Police Chief Smith had been trying to reason with them, but he couldn't convince them to do what he wanted, which was put down their guns and allow themselves to be arrested. He let out a frustrated noise and turned on his megaphone to try to talk to them again. He swore rather loudly when he realized that he could no longer see the hostages nor the mobsters. He rounded on his deputy and asked where they had gone. His reply was a worried shrug. This was not good. Leaving instructions to radio him if they saw anything, the police chief made his way to the back of the bank where he snuck into a door that was intended for "Employees Only". He crept down the corridor toward the room where he could her the frightened sobbing of a child. One of the mobsters came into sight and the police chief stepped forward. He could only hope that they would agree to the trade he had in mind, the police chief for the civilians. It was they only plan he had left to convince the men to let the innocent bystanders go. He sent a quick prayer to whoever was listening that it was the right thing to do as the large men moved closer in the dark hallway...