Nic heard the blast of the shotgun. He heard the glass shatter and felt it sting his face. Then he felt a terrible bone-jarring impact that stole his breath and sent him flying through the air.

Before the darkness came for him, Nic heard more shooting and screaming, then Strom yelling for someone to get down on the ground.

And then Nic heard nothing.

Chapter 8

The back half of the GoBox facility held the customers’ private lounge, four private viewing rooms, the manager’s office, and the vault room and its conveyor system, which retrieved the personal vaults and brought them up from the branch’s primary vault, which was made from steel-reinforced concrete and rated as Class 1 by Underwriter Laboratories, the standard vault certification agency. Kruger knew that it was also stored underground and only accessible through the company’s automated retrieval system. Not even GoBox employees could enter the vault. It was inaccessible and impenetrable. The only way to retrieve one of the personal vaults or large bullion storage units that the company offered and stored inside the ultra-secure vault was to provide a thumbprint analysis scan, retinal scan, an eight-digit pin code, and have your photo verified by GoBox security.

Fortunately for Kruger, his mission wasn’t to steal what was inside the GoBox vault.

But before he could steal anything, he would have to get past a manned security checkpoint encased in four inches of bullet-and explosive-resistant clear polycarbonate material.

“Sparks, make the call and activate the communication jammers,” Kruger said.

Franklin, following the plan, grabbed the telephone receiver off the top of the reception desk and dialed 911.

“We have taken over the Henderson, Nevada GoBox location,” he said. “We have hostages, and we are heavily armed with assault rifles and explosives. Our instructions are as follows. Number one, don’t come near the building or everyone dies. Number two, after this call is terminated, we will be disabling all communication in and out of the building. You will be contacted with further instructions. Number three, we will only negotiate with an FBI Supervisory Special Agent or above. We will not speak to local police. If these instructions are not followed, then everyone dies.”

Franklin had done well and relayed the instructions just as he had been told. With a smile beneath his ski mask, Kruger said, “Nice job, Sparks.”

Kruger and Franklin gathered the four hostages from the front of the building.

“Watch them,” Kruger said to the Doc.

Then he moved to the thumbprint and retinal scanner mounted beside a steel security door just past the reception desk. This part was easy. All he needed to gain access was to have his prints and retinal scans on file in GoBox’s system, and all it took to accomplish that was a form, a photo, and five dollars. GoBox didn’t require ID, Social Security card, or anything that proved that a person was truly who he or she claimed. As long as you had a thumb and an eye to scan and the monthly fee paid three months in advance, GoBox would rent you a vault. So that’s what Kruger had done, and then, of course, before the mission was complete, he would delete his scans from the GoBox computer system.