Every night I’m on patrol to keep Gotham City safe and sound.  Tonight I’m scaling from building to building, decked out in an all black superhero costume while I’m on patrol.  Normally Gotham is fairly quiet but not tonight.  Tonight there’s a full moon so my eyes are peeled and my Bat senses are sharp.  I get an alert from the county police chief: burglary in progress at National Bank, the only bank in the country where a successful robbery has never taken place.  Many have tried to rob this bank but none have succeeded.

I hop into my sporty black Bat-mobile and make it to Lexington and 5th Avenue in thirty seconds.  I arrive to find police cars have lined the street and surrounded the bank.  The night is dark but the flash of the police sirens illuminates the block. “Boy are we glad you’re here, Batman.  The Hostage Negotiation Team is delayed.  We haven’t been able to make contact with any of the robbers that are inside the bank.  Our calls to the bank’s main line have gone unanswered.  We believe there are a total of thirty individuals being held hostage.” , Chief Riley said. “How long has this been an active hostage situation?” I ask. “It’s been a little over an hour since….”.   

The sound of a gunshot pierces the air and frantic screams can be heard coming from the bank.  “Shots fired!  Shots fired!”.  The police officers assume their position behind their police cars for protection and draw their weapons.  “Hold your fire!”, Chief Riley shouts. “There are innocent people in there.  Hold your fire!”  Chief Riley turns to me.  “We can’t wait any longer.  We have to storm the building.”

The police officers suit up in riot gear and line up to storm the doors of National Bank.  Shields in hand and helmets on their heads, one of the officers throws something through the window breaking the glass, followed by tear gas that lands in the bank.  From the outside, we can see a thick layer of smoke fill the room inside the bank.  The response came quick and furious.  A barrage of bullets came flying at us.  We’re under heavy fire.  “Fall back!  Fall back!”  Glass shatters everywhere, officers dive for cover, and more screams fill the bank.

“Chief, let’s try making contact again.  I’ll try the bank’s line.”  Ring...ring…ring… “Are you guys stupid?!  You better not try that trick again!  Next time one of these hostages will pay for it!”.  Click! The line goes dead.

Ring...ring…ring… “We’re just trying to make sure that everyone’s safe.  We heard gunshots.  Does anyone need a medic?” Chief Riley says.  “Everyone’s fine.  We have a list of demands and we need for them to be met within the hour.” The voice on the other end sounded raspy, tired, and worried.  “That’s not how this works.” Chief Riley says.  “I need to know that every hostage in that building is alive and well.  I need proof of life for every individual then we’ll talk demands.  I need pictures of every hostage then we’ll negotiate.  Here’s the number you can text the pictures to.  We’ll talk then.”  Chief Riley hangs up before the robber can get a word in.  “We have the upper hand now, Batman.  Did you hear how worried and tired he sounded?”  Chief was right.  Within ten minutes the pictures came through.  Pictures of women bound by their hands and feet with tears streaming down their faces.  There are kids inside too.  All thirty victims are accounted for.  Some are bleeding but all are alive.

Ring...ring…ring… “You got your proof of life.”, the raspy voice on the other end said.  “Ok, what are your demands?” “We need food and drinks pronto.   Large garbage pizza pies,  pepperoni pies, garlic knots, chicken fingers, and fries.  We need drinks and water, within the hour!”  “Wait!  We’ll bring you food but we need a kid in exchange.” “No deal.” “No food.”, Chief Riley replied.  Silence…. “Listen” Chief Riley says, “we know you’re tired and hungry.  The folks you have in there with you are tired and hungry.  We’ll get you your food but we need someone in exchange.”  The line goes dead without another word.

A half an hour later food and drinks are at the front door of First National Bank.  “Food’s here.  We need a kid in exchange.  That’s the deal.”  “Ok, we’re sending a hostage out.  No funny business.  Don’t you dare attempt another storming of the bank.”  The line goes dead.

Fifteen minutes later the front door to the bank cracks open slowly.  A man emerges with his hands up  in the air .  The door is immediately slammed shut behind him.  He slowly walks towards the items and carries them back to the door.  On his last trip, he walks towards the officers with tears in his eyes.  So they didn’t release a kid but they did free a hostage.

The newly released hostage is a bank employee and provides valuable information.  There are five masked gunmen inside.  They are equipped with bullet proof vests and a cache of weapons.  Two people are hurt inside.  Neither of them seriously.  They were assaulted when they tried to stop the robbery.   The kids are ok.  They are scared, tired, and hungry, but they are ok.  There’s another way into the bank.  There’s an underground passage that leads to the vault room. And the ringleader’s name is Robert.

Ring...ring…ring… “Robert, we’re going to need you to release more hostages.  Free the kids.  They’re kids, man! Or atleast free the injured hostages.”  “We have more demands. We’re going to need two getaway vehicles without license plates.  The drivers should walk away from the vehicles and leave the cars running.  We need all of your officers to stand down.  No weapons, no funny business… and none of the hostages will be hurt.  You let us escape and you can have the hostages.”.

Chief Riley and I decide to divide and conquer.  As Chief Riley works to pull off the list of demands I pull a small group of police officers to explore the underground passage.  We walk up the block and enter the pizza shop on 6th Avenue that the freed hostage pointed us to.  I scale the building, enter through the roof, and allow the officers in through the front door.  The hostage directed us to a specific picture on the wall of the pizza shop.  Along that wall is a secret compartment, a crawl space, that opens up into an underground lair. 

We stood in the lair for a moment, waiting for our eyes to adjust to the darkness.  As we walked closer to the bank through the underground path, muffled voices could be heard from above.   The voices are loud enough to be heard but too muffled to make out any words.  We proceed until we’ve reached the end of the tunnel.  We then climb up the stairs making our entry through the floor opening in the vault room of the bank.  We’re in!

We quietly scan the room with our eyes.  The place is in complete disarray.  Draws and cash have been strewn all over the floor.  We perform a room by room search, stealthily looking for any signs of people.  “I hear voices”, Officer Ramos said, “quick, to the left”.  As we open the door we enter a room filled with people with hands and feet bound.   Some are sitting on the floor. Others are bound to chairs.  Their eyes were wide with fear.  “NYPD!  We’re here to help.”

“Let’s divide and conquer, Officer Ramos.”  The officers remain with the hostages while I proceed to look for the robbers.  Meanwhile Chief Riley has secured the two vehicles stationed at the front door of the bank, engine running, with no drivers inside.  The police officers outside are eagerly waiting for the robbers to come out but they are standing down for the safety of all involved. 

The front door to the bank cracks open with a group of masked men appearing.  They’re carrying loads of bags, presumably stolen cash from the bank.  They each have guns pointed at the cops as they slowly make their way into the unmarked vehicles.

It’s a mad chase down interstate 95 with the police officers in close pursuit, sirens blaring into the night.  I’m hovering up above in my Bat-plane and tactfully deploy my apparatus to flatten their tires. Within seconds the robbers’ tires deflate and they’re spinning out on the highway.  The cops move in and make their arrests without a fight.

“Breaking news.  Reporting live from I-95.  The hostage situation at National Bank has come to an end with all of the hostages released. Five robbers have been arrested after a high speed chase on Interstate highway 95.  An undisclosed sum of money has been accounted for and the suspects have surrendered without incident.  All of the hostages have been taken to nearby hospitals to be evaluated.  This is Cindy Chase reporting.”