It was just his luck that he’d get taken hostage when he went to deposit that lousy dollar Jones had given him.

Though at least he had some luck. These guys were clearly incompetent; only one gunman watching the crowd? With his back to the open window behind him? Please. Sure, the bank was up on the fourteenth floor, but that wouldn’t stop half the people in Arkham from climbing in anyway.

Okay, so he wasn’t in Arkham. The point still stood, as evidenced by Teleika Thaziazhsta perching like a gargoyle right behind the gunman, grinning like a barracuda.

He kind of hoped the other hostages weren’t stupid enough to draw the robbers’ attention to her, but given the way his luck usually ran, he wasn’t holding out much hope.

Teleika caught his eye and winked.

The gunman looked up, right into some damn ornamental mirror.

Teleika winked at him, too.

With lots of shouting and melodrama, the gunman turned around and fired. Teleika vanished from the windowsill.

Only to rotate back up into her previous crouch. Damn, he thought, she’s got strong fingers.

Before the gunman could fire again, Teleika punched him, and he was down and out. Served the dumbass right, for wandering that close to the window.

The other robbers came running out, but Teleika, grinning that ghastly grin and moving like she had no bones, took them all out with ease. One punch a piece.

Then she stood up straight, put on a more composed face, winked again at the slightly-unnerved hostages, and left.

Smith shrugged and went back to trying to deposit his dollar with that grin still floating in his mind.