"Money in the Bank" by Imogen Freeman 2/1/01
imfree_80@yahoo.com
Setting- Melbourne, where Stingers is made,
approximately three weeks after the 2000 season finale
(ie- Oscar has just been shot, Pete is dating Colette
and Mac slept with Bill Hollister)
Disclaimer- no, unfortunately I do not own Stingers
(please write to me, i need feedback!)
~~~****~~~****~~~****~~~****~~~****~~~****~~~****~~~
Mac, as usual, was the workaholic. She realised
that she shouldn't have put herself in this case, but
what choice did she have? Danni and Angie were busy on
another case. 
At least she had Pete for company. That was not her
choice either, since Oscar had been shot and was on
light duties.
Mac's feelings towards Pete were in a state of
confusion. She could tell that he was happy with
Colette, although she was glad to be working with him.
Recently she found herself thinking alot about their
past relationship.
As she glanced at her watch, she realised how tight
her deadline had become. She shoved papers into her
bag
and hurried through her office door, only to be
intercepted by Pete.
"Hey, Mac, what's the hurry?"
"I'm on a deadline, Pete. The bank closes in half
an hour."
"Do you think we could get together tonight? I
really think we should discuss our meeting tomorrow
with Harvey's associates."
"Sure," Mac replied, forcing a smile. "Give me a
call." With that, she brushed past him, into her car.
Pete watched on as the roller doors groaned open to
release her.
"Is she okay, Pete?" Danni asked, coming up beside
him.
"Yeah, she's just got a lot on her plate at the
moment."
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
*
Mac parked her car and looked at her watch. Fifteen
minutes should be plenty of time, she thought to
herself. She hurried through the huge glass doors, to
be greeted by the cold air conditioning of the bank's
interior.
She looked up in horror to find that she had walked
in on a holdup by three young men; the leader holding
a gun, and the other two with large knives.
"Get on the floor! NOW!" screamed the leader.
Mac obliged, lying down next to an elderly woman
who smiled slightly, saying to Mac, "these things only
happen in the movies."
Mac smiled back, thinking how false that statement
was, and realising with shock that she was usually
heavily involved in these kinds of dangerous
situations.
Ten minutes had passed, and the customers of the
bank were still spread out on the floor. The men were
pacing nervously; something had obviously not gone to
plan. Breaking the silence was a moblie phone that
sent almost every customer to check their bags and
pockets. However, it was Mac who was the unlucky
winner of this competition.
The leader came over to her, still carrying his
gun. Mac looked up at him and spoke for the first
time,
"it's probably my husband, he was only expecting me to
be ten minutes. We are having dinner guests tonight."
Mac was impressed by her own quick thinking, thankful
for her chosen occupation.
"Answer it." the leader demanded. "But don't try
anything clever."
Mac nodded, picking up her phone.
"Hello? Grace speaking," she said confidently,
deciding to take full advantage of her case at the
moment, as she realised that she had Grace's wallet in
her bag.
"Mac, it's Pete. What's going on?"
"Hi darling, I know I'm a bit late but...," Mac
felt the gun pressing into her shoulder. "...I met Sue
from down the street, and we got to talking. You know
what she's like."
"Mac, can you talk at the moment? Are you hurt?"
"Yes, honey, perhaps you should call Brian and tell
him to come around a little later for dinner."
"Brian? From armed robberies? Mac, are you in a
holdup?" Pete was begining to be anxious.
"Yes, dear, the number's by the fridge," the gun
was being pressed in deeper, so Mac took this as a
sign to wind up the conversation, "no, sorry darling,
I didn't get a chance to go to the bank before it
closed, but I'll go tomorrow."
"Mac? Are you at the bank? I'll call Brian, ok?
Don't worry, everything will be fine."
"Okay sweetie, I'll be home in a little bit. I love
you. Bye."
She hung up the phone and looked up at the men
surrounding her. She was obviously a better actress
than she thought, as she saw the leader breathe a sigh
of relief that she hadn't given anything away.
Mac thought about those three words she had said to
Pete so many times. Was it just a part of her act, or
did she really love him? 
For the first time, one of the other men spoke.
"JJ, this is bad. We've got to get out," he said to
the leader.
"No, Mickey. We came to get the money, and we're
going to get it."
"What about the people? If we take their valuables,
that will make up some of the difference," intercepted
the third man.
The leader nodded in agreement, as they began to
harass the customers of the bank once more. Mac was
one of the last to be searched. She handed over her
watch, and a bracelet that had been a present from
Pete as her bag was taken from her clutches.
JJ opened Mac's wallet as something caught his eye.
He took a longer look and then threw the wallet to the
floor, where Mac was sitting.
"Who is this?" he demanded
Mac took a look, and then realised JJ was referring
to the picture of Mac and Pete. It was from a photo
booth, for the puropses of their latest case. They
looked exceptionally happy; Pete even had his arm
around Mac's shoulder.
"This is me," Mac replied.
"The man," JJ fired back. "Who is the man?"
Mac paused for a second to think of a possibility.
Of course she could tell them that Pete was her
husband, but Mac was suspicious, and Pete being her
husband seemed like the easy option.
"It's my brother, John."
Mac's delayed reply enraged JJ and Mickey, who had
come over and looked at the picture as well.
"NO! THIS IS A COP!" Mickey hollered, scaring every
customer inside the bank. "THIS BLOODY COP IS THE
REASON MY COUSIN"S IN JAIL"
Mac tried to reason with them, and decided that
innocence would be the best option. "My brother is an
accountant. I think you must be mistaken."
JJ tried to calm himself unsuccessfully. "Are you a
cop too?"
"No!" Mac exclaimed quickly. "Of course not!"
As Mac finished her sentence, the street outside
came into life.
"This is the police. We want to resolve this
situation without any bloodshed. Can you send a
representative out so we know everyone is well
inside?"
JJ and his men formed a huddle, discussing their
choices. Mac could hear select words, including
"getaway car" and "more money". They obviously agreed
that they should send somebody out, because otherwise
the police could send a team in within seconds.
Mickey gestured for the old lady that Mac had been
lying next to, to get up. They had chosen her,
probably because she would not be a threat to them.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Outside the bank, Pete waited anxiously. He and
Angie were sharing a car door as a shield, guns
pointed towards the door. The elderly lady emerged,
hands held high above her head. Pete, Angie and some
of the uniforms surrounded her eagerly.
"What's happening at the moment?" Pete asked her.
"They're angry at the moment. There's a lovely
young lady in there trying to convince them that she
isn't a police woman."
Pete and Angie shared horrified glances at each
other. Pete then pulled aside an official-looking man,
showing him his badge.
"Look, that's my boss she's talking about," Pete
explained. "I'm the one who contacted you. Can you
send in one of our undercover operatives as a
negotiator?"
The official man walked away, to consult his
colleagues, while Pete talked to Angie.
"Are you willing to go in, if they let you?"
"Sure," Angie replied. "It's the least I can do for
Mac."
The man came back, granting permission for Angie to
go in. The old lady was going to go in first, to ask
the men for permission to bring in a negotiator.
As she walked back to the bank, Pete called to her,
"Wait!"
He ran to her. "That lady you told us about," Pete
began. "If you can get her by herself, tell her it's
ok to blow her cover."
The lady smiled slightly and the approached the
doors of the bank. 
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * 
JJ, Rob and Mickey were pacing nervously. They
still weren't too sure about the cop lady, but their
thoughts were interrupted as the old woman returned.
She told the men that they wanted to send in a
negotiator, and she left them in a huddle as she sat
down slowly next to Mac.
Mac was absorbed in the picture in her wallet. The
woman broke her concentration to speak to Mac.
"I just saw that man outside," she whispered.
Mac looked at her in disbelief. "He's here?"
"He said to tell you that you can blow your cover.
He was very worried about you."
Mac smiled, comforted by the thought of Pete being
so close to her.
"He's a very good friend of mine," Mac explained.
"It seemed more than that to me. He seemed worried;
more than a friend," the woman replied slyly.
"Yeah, well, we used to be more than friends. A
long time ago."
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * 
Pete blushed, as Angie gave him a curious stare.
Now he wasn't so glad that he had agreed to let Angie
wire the old lady.
"More than friends?" she asked.
"It was a long time ago," Pete defended, using the
same argument Mac had used minutes ago.
Angie was preparing herself to go in as the
negotiator. Thanks to Oscar she had a listening device
in her watch, which made her feel safer.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Inside, Mac had finally confessed that she was a
cop. She tried convincing them that it would be an
advantage to have her inside with them, as it would
help them with their negotiations.
"They will listen to me. I am in a high position,"
she argued. "You should still let them bring a
negotiator," Mac added, for her own peace of mind.
After a brief discussion, the men agreed. Mac
picked up her phone and dialled Pete's number.
"Hey, it's me."
"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Pete asked quickly.
"They've agreed to let in a negotiator. Send him to
the door. Bye." With that the phone was out of her
hands and smashed on the floor by Rob.
The negotiator had approached the door, and was
being inspected by JJ and Mickey. Mac was relieved to
see Angie standing there, in faded jeans and a red
jumper.
"My first priority is the wellbeing of the
patrons," she explained. "I just need to make sure
everyone is okay."
She circled the room, asking questions. She worked
fast since she knew that she only had ten minutes to
make contact with the teams outside.
"What are your demands?" she asked JJ.
They talked in the corner for what seemed to Mac as
at least ten minutes. Rob was making his way to
consult Mac, knife in hand, when they were stopped by
the sound of shattering glass. Since Angie had failed
to make contact within the designated time frame, the
teams outside had to assume the worse and take control
of the situation.
Rob grabbed Mac, who was the closest person to him,
and held her as a human shield in front of him.
"Put your weapons down!" came the standard cry of
the police.
Rob had the knife in front of Mac, so the police
would know he was armed. For a brief moment, one of
the uniforms had a clear shot at Rob's head. He took
it, successfully wounding him, although causing Mac to
be stabbed in the stomach as a result. 

To Be Continued...