Taken hostage

Mackenzie could see the masked man's eyes widen in surprise, taken aback by what he was seeing. Unfortunately for the redhead and her cohort, the gunman was quicker to recover from the shock than they were, and Mackenzie found herself staring at a gun pointed right at her.

"Don't move! Who the hell are you, lady? You with the cops?!" the man shouted frantically.

"N-n-no, I-I'm..." Mackenzie began, unable to keep her voice steady in the face of this new threat. Remembering that the camera was still rolling, she resolved to stay professional. "I work for the news. We're here to report on... well... on your robbery."

The gunman was taken aback at Mackenzie's honesty. He'd figured that she'd try to lie, even though the camera made it obvious what she was doing.

With a snarl, the gunman stepped forward and yanked the door to the bank open, gesturing threateningly at Mackenzie and Stephanie with his gun. "Get your asses inside before the cops show up!"

The two weren't about to argue and quickly obliged, running inside as the gunman pulled the door shut behind them.

"Guess what, boys? We just got ourselves some hostages!" the gunman shouted just as Mackenzie saw the rest of the gunmen run into the bank lobby to investigate the commotion. Counting the man at the door, there were six gunmen, not counting any that may be in other parts of the building.

"Oh, shit, I recognize her! It's that reporter!" another one of the gunmen exclaimed. "So... does that mean we're on TV?"

"That's right. We're broadcasting live." Mackenzie replied with a nod.

"Damn it, get the camera off of us!" another shouted. "We don't need you showing the cops where we are and what all we're doing!"

With a frantic gesture, Mackenzie maneuvered Stephanie and her camera to face an empty corner of the lobby. She should've expected a less than friendly reaction to a live broadcast. At least they hadn't started shooting...

"Hey, you're used to the camera, right?" the gunman, apparently the ringleader, continued. Mackenzie nodded meekly. "Well go ahead and get in frame. I'm not gonna steal your spotlight. In fact, I have an idea or two to make you an overnight sensation."