The Crimes of the One Second Bandit

At exactly ten minutes past ten, Bank Manager Martin Simmons descends the stairs of the Royal National Bank, clutching a briefcase. Inside that briefcase is the weekly wages for the staff of the Marston and Sons Plastic and Rubber Company, a total sum of five thousand pounds! Despite such a large sum, Simmons has no escort, uniformed or otherwise; he has made the delivery via the same route at the same time on the same day for twenty years and not once has he been held up but that is all to change...

reaching the junction of Station Road and Queen's Parade, Simmons consults his watch...and stops! But there is nothing natural about Mr. Simmons's stopping, for it is not just he who has stopped but everyone around him! A lady out jogging stands on the tip of her left foot, a man in a brown suit is stuck in the middle of hailing a taxi and two portly women stand, mouths open in mid conversation! A once bustling area has now become strangely still. A moment's silence passes, when the door of a car suddenly opens and a man gets out; the man, hands deep in pockets, nonchalantly walks towards the motionless Bank Manager ands stops in front of him, a smile on his face.

"Good morning, Mr. Simmons, on your way to deliver the wages for Marston and Sons?" the Bank Manager makes no reply and continues to stare at his now non-functional watch. The Stranger smiles "Well, I'm afraid there's been a change of plan, that money's coming with me.." and with that, the man uncurls the Manager's fingers from around the handle of the briefcase before walking back to his car.