Under the Veil of Night

The man was wearing a black ski mask to cover up his entire face. Only his eyes and mouth were visible. His hand was holding a pistol, ready to shoot at any given time.

"Nobody moves!"

Nearly everyone immediately crouched on the floor. They were afraid that the gun would hit them. In addition, there were four men in front of them, and they were guarding the entrance carefully. Even the guards were knocked down.

"Give me the money," the man looked towards the bank teller.

The bank teller was trembling heavily. He was afraid that he would be killed, but he didn't know the number to the safe. Only the manager knew the number and mere staff members like them didn't know about that.

The next second, the alarm rang and the men shot again.

BANG!

"Who called the police?"

It was easy to call the police in this city because of the special alert system the police had. Just one call, and the police would come here without delay nor questions. This was what usually made the robbers prepared for the police to come.

Kanae eyed the robbers with inquiring eyes. Their hands were stable, and they seemed to be at ease. It seemed that this was not their first time robbing a bank. They were also cautious and took care to leave a way out.

Her hand touched her special phone lightly. Almost immediately, the call was answered.

"Hello, Rei (Kanae's codename), what is it?"

"Oro (Jason's code name), are you busy?" Kanae was whispering as she could not let those men know she was talking to someone.

"No. Are you in trouble? Your voice is lower than usual."

"I'm in the bank, and there's a bank robbery happening right before my eyes."

Jason nearly fell down from his chair when he heard what Kanae said. He was inside his office, doing his usual job lazily when Kanae called. He immediately turned on the television as his hand worked on the laptop.

"Wait, I'll track your location. Don't talk, or they might find out about your special phone."

Kanae went silent. She was watching as the robbers threatened the staff. The surrounding people tensed up. They all knew that they might get involved if this went on any longer.

"Where's the manager?" the first man asked loudly.

The bank teller was too afraid to tell the truth. He eyed the side for a second before looking towards the man again. Although it was faint, he was clearly giving the information about the manager's whereabouts to this robber.

The first man smiled. He waved his hand and one of the men moved to the side. He pulled out a man who was hiding behind the counter.

"Let me go! It's not me!"

"If it's not you, then who is it?" the second man took a small gun and pointed towards the manager's head.

"Now, show us the safe and the money inside."

On the ground, Kanae watched as the events unfolded with a pair of cold eyes. Their movements were trained and there was not even the slightest hesitation in their movements. If they said that they were not part of the military or a gang, she would not believe them.

She recalled the layout of this bank as she closed her eyes. It was a closed room as there were only two doors to this room. The first door led to the lobby while the second door led to the staff's room, which she believed would lead to the second floor where they kept the money.

This room didn't have any windows, so even if the police came, they couldn't know what was happening inside. All they could see would be the robber standing near the glass door that connected to the lobby.

While she was thinking, she heard Tommy's voice.

"Captain, what are you doing inside that building?" Tommy sounded exasperated.

Kanae smiled wryly, but she didn't answer. One of the robbers was walking near her and watched the customers carefully. If she got found out talking to someone else, the gun would head her way. Even if she managed to dodge it, her identity would get found out.

"She won't be able to talk, Tom. Where are you?"

"I'm not far from the bank. I have just finished a fight with a local gang. I'll be heading there."

"Are you sure? The bank is outside the Black Street, right?"

Tommy snorted. "It's only several meters outside the Black Street. As long as you control the cameras, I can get in without any problem."

"What if I don't do that?"

"ORO!"

Kanae felt a headache as she listened to these two. Even during crucial times like this, they still had the power to joke around like it was the usual day. Still, it might be her fault as she always made them all relaxed but vigilant towards every dangerous mission. If they tensed up too much, the opponent would know their movements.

"Mr. Manager, do you think you have a chance against us?" the first man asked with a wicked smile.

The manager was terrified. "The police will come and you'll be captured!"

"Oh, really?"

BANG!

KYAAA!

The woman near the manager scampered in fear. The first man had just shot the manager's foot. The poor man wailed in anguish as he felt deep pain from his feet.

"This is not a toy, Mr. Manager. I believe you should just cooperate with me, right now."

Kanae's eyes watched the gun with a hardened gaze. Even if this was the City of Crime, there was no way ordinary people could have a gun. Only several people who have connections or something similar could have a gun.

Most of the time, people who have them were from the big clans. However, it was impossible for the clans to go and rob a bank. If they truly did that, the other clans would gladly offer a hand in obliterating that particular clan for shaming them.

"Kanae, don't try to do anything," Jason's voice sounded again. "The news has appeared on the television, and it's not good."

"Why is that?" Tommy interrupted. This was a group call, so he could hear the voice of the others very clearly.

"Those robbers have been operating for quite some time, so the police have already investigated their identity. Two of them are former soldiers and they have a bad reputation for their viciousness. As of now, they worked on Black Street quite often. However, outside Black Street, they had to change their targets repeatedly to avoid the law persecutors from tracking them."

Former soldier

Kanae nodded her head internally. No wonder these guys seemed to be at ease when handling the gun. Besides, soldiers had access to guns and even if they were only former soldiers, they had their way to get them.

"Captain, you can't be quicker than a gun, right?"

"She can handle them. That's for certain," Jason added. "But you won't be fast enough, Tom, without them knowing your appearance."

She was wearing her school uniform, so if she moved, the security cameras were going to capture her movement. It was troublesome.

"Can't you just handle them, Oro?" Tommy asked again.

"I can, it just takes some time. This is a bank that belongs to the government. If I'm not careful, they're going to trace me back."

"Then move fast, what are you going to do if they shoot Captain?"

"Be quiet little runt. Just head over as fast as you can."

"I'm already running, Mr. Always late."

"Say that again and I will let the cameras capture your movement."

"!@#$%^&!"

Kanae frowned when she heard the line of curses flowing out from Tommy's mouth. She would surely remember to teach a lesson to this street boy again. He still had that bad habit of cursing.

The manager nodded his head tearfully. "I'll take you there. I'll take you there. Please, don't hurt me."

The first man smiled, but his smile stiffened when he heard the police siren from outside the building.. The police came too quickly.