South Brooklyn, NYC, USA.

Ben's P.O.V.

Nodding at his explanation, she commented. “Alright. Do we know what kind of superpowers those two have?” “Cross seemed to be able to make a sort of protective shell appear all over his body, while his strength clearly reached superhuman levels.”

The man continued. “As for Marco... His power is stranger. He seems to be able to manipulate sand. He... He can protect himself with it. We're not sure if he can use it to do anything else, though.” Acknowledging his report, she remarked. “It's a good start. A physical type and a mage type... Depending on what he can do, that Marco guy might become our biggest problem...”

Tapping her chin in thought, she questioned. “Are they armed?” “Only Marco. He's got an AR15 and he knows how to use it.” Pausing for a second, he then added. “The guy injured a few of our men. God Bless, it was nothing life-threatening.” Cocking her eyebrow, the redhead woman wondered. “Cross is not armed at all? Isn't there at least one armed guard in there? Didn't they take his weapon?”

With a wry smile on his face, the man replied. “You're right Ma'am. Cross stole the security guard's gun but... When he tried to use it against us, he crushed it accidentally. The accidental part is a guess on our part, but none of us could think of a reason why that man would do that otherwise.”

“Mmhh! You're probably right. That often happens to new Physical Supes who can't control their strength. It's a good thing for us since we only have to deal with one gunman. The problem is that the risk of Cross crippling, or even killing a hostage accidentally is very high. Speaking of which is that so-called director in there now?” “Yes, Ma'am. From what we know he should be the only injured hostage.” “How are his injuries?”

Shaking his head, the man answered. “We can't say for sure. We only know as much because one of the hostages called 911 and hid her phone in her pocket.” His words drew a disdainful comment from the woman. “You were right about this being their first bank robbery, then. Stopping any communication with the outside should have been the first thing they did. Not that it's a bad thing for us.”

Pondering for a second, she asked. “Any demands from them?” Nodding his head, the man responded. “They ask for 10 million bucks in cash and a bulletproof car.” Tapping her chin, the redhead muttered. “A bulletproof car, you say... Unless they're complete morons, they should have an exit plan ready close by...” Pondering for a few seconds, she then shared her thoughts.

“They could use a car to flee, but we'd catch them easily, so that's a no. The air is out since a helicopter would be too obvious of a target... Is there a Pier close by?” The man replied, positively before asking. “Yes, the Sheepshead Bay Pier. So, Ma'am, you're thinking they're gonna take a boat?”

Shrugging her shoulders, she retorted, but this time to all the officers present. “That's the most likely scenario, so you should send some men over there to keep an eye out in case they succeed in shaking us off.” All of them nodded at her order, before deciding between each other whose men would go to the Pier.

“Don't forget that it's only the most logical move to do for them, but that doesn't mean they'll follow it. So, keep your eyes open in case they decide to be dumb.” She added before being asked a question from one of the SWAT team captains. “Ma'am, what's the plan?”

When the man suited in tactical gear all over his body but his head asked the question, Ben noticed the other men's eyes radiating some complex emotions all hidden under a 'yes-man' facade. After more than a decade as a Green Beret, he became well-versed in understanding human nature, especially when it came to people in power. That meant that he knew without a single shred of doubt that those cunning men were only acting 'tame' because they were over their heads dealing with two supes, no matter how 'weak' they were.

However, the second they felt that the situation was under control, they would fight among themselves to take the credit. Of course, if all went to shit, then they would push the blame onto Natalia while pretending that they were not able to disobey her order. After all, it was the NSA's jurisdiction, not theirs. How convenient!

Being confronted with that kind of attitude after a few years of not having to deal with it reminded him of one of the big reasons why he quit the Special Forces. 'Well, I'm complaining about all those internal 'wars' for power, but I still joined SHIELD in the end, and from what happened with that fellow Rumlow, it's probably not any better...' He thought wryly, with no sign of it showing on his face, while the voice of the female redhead resounded close to his ears.

“It's simple. We'll get them the money and the vehicle in exchange for the hostages. If they don't keep any hostages, we'll disable the vehicle and apprehend them.” Pausing for a second to let her words sink in, she then continued.

“If they do keep some of the hostages, then we'll let them go with the vehicle and tail them from behind until they arrive at their extraction point, which will probably be the Sheepshead Pier. There we'll need to locate the boat they prepared and disable it. We'll then apprehend them. Simple, isn't it?”

Despite her clear explanation, one of them still expressed some doubts. “But Ma'am, shouldn't we try to block before they arrive at the Pier? If we let them reach it, then who knows if they'd slip away with the money. Wouldn't we have failed our mission, then?”

Shaking her head, the woman retorted in a slightly sarcastic tone. “Look, do you think this is a Hollywood movie? Let's say you start shooting in the street, do you think they wouldn't retaliate? That would endanger not only the hostages in the car but also the civilians around. Do you want casualties on our hands when we can avoid them? No, there won't be any shooting in the street. At least, until we reach the Pier. I understand that it's not a perfect solution, but it's the best we can do with what we have.”

Looking at everyone present, she declared in a stern voice. “Now, find the money and the car before they start killing people.” Despite looking reluctant they all started to follow her orders, with some of them calling their superiors, while others ordered some of their men to go to the Sheepshead Pier and start to look around for any suspicious boat.

While the police higher-ups were busy, Natalia turned toward Ben and the other two agents and instructed. “25 and 28, the two of you need to get one of the two bulletproof vans we used previously. We might need it if we want to trail the robbers. Just park it in the street over there, wait inside, and keep your earpiece on in case we need to use it. Go now.” She pointed her delicate finger toward the adjacent street, the latter being slightly hidden by the police vehicles.

“Yes, Ma'am.” The two answered before leaving toward the parking lot. Now that the two of them were alone, the redhead woman turned toward him, her dainty mouth opening and closing a few times before a sigh escaped her, prompting him to cock an eyebrow to show his confusion.

Shaking her head slightly at his gesture, she replied with a small smile which hid complex emotions. “It's nothing. Anyway, I'll need you to act as a negotiator with the robbers inside when the money and the car arrive. You'll put on SWAT gear and take a ballistic shield with you. That way you won't spend a week and a half in the hospital like last time.”

Her small joke made him roll his eyes, but he decided to just ignore it and instead asked with some curiosity. “I'll do it. What about you?” Cocking her eyebrow playfully, she replied. “Oh, questioning your superior officer? You're playing with fire, soldier.”

Not reacting to her mischievous comment, he instead kept looking at her, noting the light in her eyes dimming slightly when he did not respond to her for a few seconds. Turning her face away, her gaze seemed to lose focus slightly while a low whisper escaped her, that could not escape his enhanced senses. “Still nothing, uh...?”

'Sorry, Nat. I just can't...' He thought with conflicting emotions, while his face stayed neutral. After a few moments of silence, he noted the former struggle raging in her eyes disappear, replaced with an unexpected resolve, drawing an exasperated sigh from him. “Nat, you should just...” However, his sentence was cut off by the scene of the young woman's facial muscles tensing up, coupled with her stiff response.

“Don't, Ben! Just don't.” Despite not finishing his words, he knew she understood what he wanted to convey. 'Why, Nat? Is it really worth it?' He thought with both puzzlement and some guilt for being the cause of her inner struggle. Nonetheless, he knew that further persuasion would be a waste of energy, thus he just gave up and let her make her own choices.

'She's a grown woman, after all.' He determined, before replying in a tone slightly softer. “Alright. Now can you answer my previous question?” Gazing at his face for a second she then replied in a neutral tone. “While you distract them from the front, I'll infiltrate through the back. Depending on the situation, I'll try to release the hostages. If not, I'll just get as much info as I can.”

Pausing for a second, she added in a soft tone. “Be careful when you deal with the negotiation. I don't want you getting hurt.” The care in her tone made the older man feel warm, not noticing the small smile that surfaced on his handsome face, which briefly distracted the masked beautiful woman in front of him.

As time passed, the pieces started to fall into place. Agent 25 and Agent 28 returned swiftly with the bulletproof van and parked it in the hidden street. The money and the car that the robbers asked for also arrived less than 10 minutes later, the latter being informed by the police negotiator to avoid any extreme reaction from them.

At the same time, Ben donned the SWAT gear prepared for him, the only exception to the uniform being the two handguns on each side of his waist, one normal-looking and the other slightly more futuristic in its design. Once everything else was ready, the middle-aged man, with the help of some policemen, put the bags filled with wads of cash in the backseat, before getting in the driver's seat with a ballistic shield lying beside him.

Turning the ignition on, the silver-eyed man glanced briefly at the redhead's average-looking face, noting the slight worry hidden under the guise of impassiveness, with only her following words betraying the former. “Be careful.” Bowing his head slightly in assent, he replied with an expression mirroring her. “I will.” Before his gaze moved to face the imposing building in front.

Taking a deep breath, his right hand shifted the gear to 'forward' while his right foot pushed the gas pedal gently, making the car move at a slow speed toward the entrance, where he could spot one partially hidden man waiting for him with an AR15 pointed in his direction. As the vehicle was propelled closer and closer to that man, he briefly examined the premises, before parking the car close to the entrance doors, the car door on the passenger side facing the gunman with his rifle pointed in his direction.

“Here we go.” He muttered under his breath before opening the car door and exiting the vehicle, with his shield in hand, ready to face those robbers.