I crouched just outside of the door to figure out the direction in which Tharpe had fled. The maze of hallways made it difficult. I could hear people screaming. Then I heard gunshots around the corner toward the front of the bank.

I sprinted down the long hallway, dodging the body of the murdered guard. As I got closer, I could hear the chaos. In the lobby, a young mother clutched her baby and ran for cover. An elderly man fell and just stayed on the tile, reaching up uselessly, like a turtle on its back. Customers and tellers alike were scrambling past him and shouting. Security had spread around the perimeter of the room.

When I turned to my right, I immediately saw Tharpe crouched behind a heavy planter with leafy branches spreading out above him. This hallway led to the waiting area where we had come from.

Tharpe leaned out from behind the planter and took a potshot at a security guard twenty feet away. Tharpe intended to flee out the front, but this guy held his ground. Good for him.

The security guard was using a column as cover and he had the advantage of time on his side. The police would arrive before long. All he had to do was keep Tharpe behind the planter.

I crept toward Tharpe in his blind spot. When I was about a dozen feet behind him, I tried to signal the security guard by waving my arm. The last thing I wanted was to catch one of his bullets by mistake. Or on purpose, if he thought I was Tharpe’s partner.

The guard looked like a deer in the headlights. I had to risk the chance that he saw me.

I made my move.

Chapter 33

Chapter 33

I JUST DOVE in. Like I was playing football in school. I led with my shoulder. Tharpe made a humph sound as I drove him into the planter.

I wrapped both hands around his right wrist to keep him from pointing the pistol in my direction. I jerked him away from the planter, expecting the guard to give me some sort of support. I didn’t care if he shot Tharpe while I had him in the open. Instead, I was in dogfight mode. The SEAL mentality was to never lose. This time I wanted to make the loser pay.

I jerked Tharpe closer and head-butted him in the nose. He staggered back, blood already dripping from his nostrils. He managed to hold on to the gun. He even squeezed off a round that kept the security guard behind the pillar.

I stole a peek at the lobby and saw that it was still in chaos. A woman screamed and ran for the front door. I hoped others would follow her.

I focused on Tharpe again and used my legs to drive him into the wall. He crashed hard. The whole building seemed to shake.