A Quick Withdrawal

[Victor Fries]

When it came to illegal ways to obtain money, some might have assumed that literally breaking into a bank vault was an out of date method. After all, modern security technology led to vaults constructed in such a way that they were impossible to break open quickly, even using the best equipment any would-be robber could reasonably be expected to get their hands on. Even finding a way to avoid having to actually break into the vault was rare because it required either a complicated scheme that was likely to go wrong or help from the inside - which was a rarity because the number of people who could possibly help was limited by design and were also the exact same people most harmed by any breach.

And beyond that, so much money was handled electronically anymore that there was simply less physical cash being stored in such vaults. This was why a 'bank robbery' in modern times was usually someone managing to make off with whatever cash the tellers had - it wasn't that much different than robbing a convenience store. It was also far less lucrative to just get that money and ignore the vault, but speed was the most important factor - your standard robber needed to get in and out before the police showed up or their efforts would only land them behind bars. All in all, it was simply much easier to hack into a computer and get the money that way.

Unless you were Mr. Freeze. From the moment he became a criminal, quickly breaking into secure places became his forte. It was simply a question of mechanics for him, and he had two good answers: cold and ice. It was also a method of getting money that he could handle personally, which he preferred, and he was no hacker. And, having made a name for himself in having that skill set, he even got tips occasionally about where he might want to apply those talents. In this particular case, he'd been informed that the Second National Bank of Gotham currently had more money than usual stored in its vaults - a helpful thing to know to ensure that his efforts would be fruitful. He may be quick, but even so, each heist was a risk so he preferred to do as few of them as possible by ensuring they were as profitable as he could manage.

Though they came from different directions when two windowless white vans pulled up in front of the bank at the same time, any guise that they weren't together faded when their doors opened and out poured Victor and six of his men. The drivers of each van remained behind, armed and ready to protect the getaway vehicles as well as serving as lookouts while everyone else was inside. The six following their boss were also armed - each holding a cold gun that was smaller and less powerful than the one held by their boss. They followed him as he entered the bank, letting him take the lead.

"This is a robbery," he announced the moment he was inside. This, of course, prompted instant panic from everyone who happened to be inside. Reactions were varied, but Victor's men were ready and quite willing to instantly shoot anyone who tried to be a hero, freezing them in place. But it wasn't like this was Victor's first robbery - every single person in this bank had probably heard of at least one of his previous robberies, at least enough to know that the last place they wanted to be was at the business end of the guns they were carrying.

"To your tasks," he ordered his men, not needing to give them many instructions because it was already all planned out. If he needed to he could change the plan on the fly, but if he didn't then he didn't need to tell them what to do - they already knew.

Three of the six men who came with him immediately broke off from the others, two of them moving to corral everyone in the bank's lobby while the third stayed front and center and announced, "Everyone get down on the ground! Take out your wallets, purses, jewelry, watches - whatever valuables you've got. Cooperate and you get to live." He then began to go from person to person, grabbing whatever valuables were produced and collecting them in a bag and threatening anyone who he suspected was holding out on him while the other two kept an eye on the group generally - watching the back of the one taking the lead and looking for anyone trying any funny business.

Meanwhile, Victor and the other three men walked toward the tellers and the staff area beyond. He and one of his men walked right past the teller booths, but the other two broke off from them there - one began to demand the money from the tellers while the other watched his back. They didn't fuss about whether or not any silent alarms had been pressed - if it wasn't that then one of the people in the lobby would manage to sneak in a phone call to 911 or something.

The plan was to be in and out within as few minutes as possible so that they'd be finished before the police or, even worse, Batman could arrive. One could never be sure how much time that meant they had, but it was the middle of the day so hopefully that would slow down Batman's response time. And the police had no doubt learned by now that it's a bad idea to show up to where Mr. Freeze is except in a coordinated group, which took more time to get together than simply sending the nearest officers. Minutes mattered a lot when Victor was breaking into something.

Speaking of which, Victor and the last man still following him made a beeline for the vault. It was, not surprisingly, closed because if it had been open when they arrived it would have taken an alert staff member only a moment to do so at the first sign of trouble. But that was why this was a job for Victor. While his man watched his back, he got to work

Water expands when it freezes, generating enough force to crack almost anything. So his method here was to simply inject water into the seam of the door where he knew it would be most effective and then quickly freeze it, causing the door to strain heavily against the metal holding it in place. It was a lot of metal keeping the door shut, but it would only be able to withstand the pressure for so long - less than a minute after Victor started and the door of the vault was already making some quite alarming noises that indicated that it was failing.

[Roman Sionis]

"What do you mean the loan is not approved?!" Roman Sionis stood up and slammed both hands on a table. One of the veins on his left temple started to bulge out. It had been over an hour since Roman Sionis entered into a private conference room with one of the lead bank representatives.

Wooden walls decorated the circumference of the conference room, reminiscent of an old log cabin feel. In the center of the conference room was a large oval shaped table with 4 rotating chairs surrounding it. Roman sat at an end of the table and the bank rep sat at the other end opposite Roman. 

"I am sorry Mr. Sionis. Second National Bank of Gotham cannot extend anymore credit to Janus Cosmetics. You're all tapped out. You'll have to find another bank to borrow money from," the bank rep replied with hands folded neatly in their lap and a calm expression on their face.

"What do you mean?! My family has been conducting business with this bank for years! Ever since I was a little boy," Roman stood up and leaned forward. Roman kept one hand on the desk and brought the other towards his heart in a sign language 'E' shape.

"Once again. we cannot do it," the bank representative leaned back in their chair before pausing, "Frankly, Janus Cosmetics has become the laughing stock of the fashion industry and investing in the company is a tremendous risk."

"I have a brilliant idea for a new cosmetic supplement to add to EXTREME Facepaint," Roman brought both hands together and then separated them horizontally as if he was parting the red sea. "Wa-ter-proof. So you see, if I don't have the money to mass produce the addition, I can't make money to pay the bank back."

The Representative was about to respond, but Mr. Freeze and his minions burst through the bank doors interrupting the meeting. With three words from Freeze, the crew had the lobby secure, people on the ground, and the tellers already emptying what was in the cash registers.

The bank representative quickly locked the door of the conference room, and Roman immediately dropped to the ground, "Get down you fool before they see you!" Roman whispered.  Roman grabbed the representative and pulled them underneath the large table with him, trying their best to stay out of sight of the lobby.

Roman pulled out a silver Beretta Nano compact handgun with a 6 round stainless steel clip. Roman double checked and found that the clip in the gun was the only one he had.

"You have a gun!" The representative whispered with hope. "Can you go outside and help?"

Roman looked at the representative incredulously, "$!#% that."

[Author's note:  This is a cameo post for Roman Sionis aka Black Mask, unless another character purposely interacts with him.  I still want to encourage police, heroes, etc to attempt to thwart Mr. Freeze's plans.  Cheers!]

[James Gordon]

The silent alarm was triggered almost as soon the armed men entered the bank. The bank itself was fairly well guarded with six guards in total. 3 armed guards were literally frozen in place when they decided to actually try and stop the robbery. The other guards decided that it would be smart to not try and stop the robbery, and surrendered their weapons to the thugs. Being frozen in an actual block of ice or shot wasn't worth the pitiful amount of money you made for being a guard, most of the guards had kids, a wife, a girlfriend. They had something to live for and decided they'd let the police handle it, or at least they'd let the police try to handle it. "Mr. Freeze" at this point was almost like an urban legend to some people. It was clear that he did indeed exist but did someone really want to believe that a frozen bogeyman was ready to put them in a block of ice at a split second? Ignorance was bliss, and the people of Gotham were rather ignorant for a reason. 

"All units in the area there is a 220 in progress at the Second National Bank of Gotham, Code 4 Identify."

The Gotham Second National Bank was in downtown, meaning it was close to the Gotham City Police Plaza. Several cars responded to the radio call right away, code four meant it was as urgent as possible. There were even a few 911 calls from the lobby of the bank saying something about a rather large individual and ice? This message was passed along to the officers but there wasn't much they could do about it now. It was clear that there were hostages in the bank, the responding officers would need to arrive and form a perimeter in order to box the perpetrators in the bank.

Sirens filled Downtown Gotham as radio cars sped toward the bank. The first two radio cars arrived at the same time, about a minute after the silent alarm was triggered. They parked their cars as if they were forming a barricade. The officers would get out and go to draw their guns straight away.

"This is eleven bravo, we've arrived on scene"

"Copy that eleven bravo, begin setting up a perimeter and wait for backup."

A third and fourth radio car would arrive, and then a fifth and sixth. They followed the same procedure, they add their cars to the perimeter around the bank and would get behind them with their weapons. Sergeant Anthony Renzulli arrived with his partner Officer Benjamin Floyd about two minutes after the silent alarm was triggered. The Sergeant would get out of the car and go for the trunk of the radio car. He popped the trunk and retrieved his 12 gauge shotgun, tossing it to Officer FLoyd. He then grabbed the bullhorn and got close enough to the bank where the inhabitants could hear him.

"To those in the bank, this is the GCPD. You are surrounded. Throw your weapons and come out with your hands up. If you have hostages then present your demands."

More and more radio cars would be on the way, SWAT had just been dispatched from GCPD plaza along with a helicopter. Those would take a bit longer to arrive, however. As it stands now, after two and a half minutes after the silent alarm there are five radio cars with a total of ten officers. Five are armed with 12 gauge pump-action shotguns and five have their standard-issue Glock handguns. There is one sergeant among them and they are all behind their cars, which now forms a barricade around the bank. As more time passes, more police officers will arrive adding to the barricade. A negotiator is also on the way to deal with the hostage situation and will arrive around the same time as two SWAT teams led by Lieutenant Aldrich and Captain Petit.

The number one priority is to get the hostages out of the bank, after that the GCPD will do everything in its power to stop the assailants.

[Victor Fries]

The guards who surrendered were simply added to the group of people corralled in the lobby. It wasn't Mr. Freeze's MO to kill those who willingly stayed out of his way, and his men tended to follow his lead. He didn't do things like this because he got some sort of a thrill out of causing harm, after all, he did it simply for the money and it wasn't like killing more people increased his profit. In fact, if anything he recognized that the more harm he caused the more hardened the response against him would be, so it was actually somewhat to his benefit to keep casualties to a minimum.

Still, this wasn't his first bank robbery and everyone knew that it wouldn't be his last, so each time they seemed to get more determined to stop him anyway. That was fine, though, because he always spent a part of the money upgrading his equipment so that he had more answers to their determination for the next time. He was up to that challenge.

As the police started to arrive, the men waiting in the vans in front of the bank lowered their heads and lifted their guns. They were the standard cold guns that Mr. Freeze gave to all his men - not as powerful as his own but certainly devastating enough. Though they, like the cops, simply pointed them - ready to fire but waiting for a reason to. One of them flicked on his radio. "Cops arriving, out front - two cars," he stated, though he got no reply. But he didn't expect any, as the men inside were undoubtedly busy and only two cars weren't enough to be a problem. It was a bit fast, maybe, but the speed of the first few wasn't important - what was important was how fast the police could get enough of a force assembled to be an actual problem.

About the same time that the fourth car was announced as arriving there was a sudden, explosive sound around the vault door as it gave way to the extreme pressures that Victor had been inflicting upon it. It burst outward, but the man watching his back had known to stay clear so the only one in its way was Victor. It gave him a hard knock, but his suit absorbed the blow quite nicely. Just inside the door, there was an additional gate, but it was only so that the vault could be 'closed' even while the main door was open. It was easily thwarted with a kick. "Vault breeched," he announced into the radio to his men.

This triggered a quick series of movements, as the man with him headed into the vault - ready to raid its contents. One of the two men dealing with the tellers went into the back to get to the vault, while Victor headed the opposite direction and went back into the front area of the bank. By this time they'd finished clearing out the tellers so he was handed a bag with that money and then the second man who had been there also headed into the back. "Join the others," Victor said, lifting his gun both to threaten and to indicate that they should join the rest that were gathered in the lobby. Few ever dared to argue with him, and the tellers weren't prepared to do so now.

He then went to oversee the lobby personally, replacing one of the men guarding the group - who also went to join the others back at the vault. It was then that he heard the officer with the bullhorn and he moved toward the front window to take a look at the situation outside for himself. He could see a bit more than his men did because hid HUD goggles provided him with an infrared view - allowing him to see heat as long as there weren't too many obstructions. But what he saw was five cars, ten officers. More than he'd hoped for at this point, but still not too many. There were now four of his men teaming up to quickly empty the cash from the vault, while he and two others were keeping an eye on the people gathered in the lobby. All that was left to do was to wait for the men emptying the vault to finish, then they could be on their way - though that last part could always get tricky, depending.

"Take her phone, standard warning," Victor ordered the man that was finishing gathering up the valuables. Though the woman he'd pointed to was hiding beneath a table, he could see her hand to her ear so he knew she was on a phone - probably with 911, which saved them a step. She cried out in alarm when she was 'spotted', but despite her worst fears Victor's man merely took her phone, verified that she was on the line with 911, then lifted it to his ear and said, "I'm in the bank with Freeze. Remind your friends that if they shoot something we care about, we shoot something they care about." Words that the police had been told before when they'd been in a standoff with Mr. Freeze. Just a little reminder that the safety of the hostages was entirely dependent upon whether or not the responding officers could control their itchy trigger fingers - especially with regard to the vans, which would probably be their only target for the moment unless someone thought that trying to get a difficult shot at Victor through the window might work.

[Deleted]

If the night was said to belong to the bat, then surely the day was equally to be in the hands of a robin. During his short time with Bruce, Dick had found that there existed more than a few unspoken golden rules passed down from the cowl on high concerning effective crime fighting and operating during daylight was one which the Dark Knight had been forced to adopt, for the most part. As Robin, Dick had decided that this was a rule he had less of a necessity to hold himself too – owing to the fact that he didn’t intend to build his reputation from the shadows.

For the past several evenings he’d begrudgingly found his attention distracted from matters of cape, in fact he hadn’t left the Cave as the Boy Wonder for almost a week. His time had been spent dedicated to a string of sessions led by Alfred on the beginnings of basic Russian 101, a language unfortunately rife through the various layers of Gotham’s seedier criminal classes. An early discussion regarding his training outlined the necessity for a diverse and varied knowledge base, a realm of expertise dipping into a multitude of criminal practices and lore to better outfit his vigilante know-how. It was decided that to be an effective practitioner, and to hold himself to the same level of dedication as Batman, an understanding of the various factions and relevant nationalities was to be prioritized. And naturally this would involve a working knowledge of the more prominent languages in play. This however was not the evening, and he was not sitting at a desk listening to the various nuances of the Cyrillic alphabet. Daylight was to be his and he intended to use it as Robin.

On this particular morning he found himself standing in the dim of another alley, the bustle of distant street movement forcing him into a more secluded spot for practice. The last thing he wanted was someone to poke their head out of a window and heckle the kid in a cape standing beneath them but it was a risk he was willing to take. He raised an arm skyward and a sudden light breeze ran through Robin’s hair, courtesy of the lift from the grapple firmly gripped in the folds of his gloved palm. He rocketed forward, the whizz of the internal mechanics tightening and yanking the steel line up from the ground so that within a moment his feet had moved from the puddle of the alley to the sun-bleached roof of the facing tenement, the blur of stacked windows and stairwells passing by like strokes of impressionist blurs. Turning, Dick took a moment to peer back down into the cavernous shade that he’d leapt from, a grin forming wide at the technological achievement that had allowed him to fly – or at least fall with a certain style. Coupled with his cape, a weave that reacted to pulses of devised electrical shocks to strengthen the fabric into a design more applicable to gliding, he wondered just how far he could go across Gotham’s rises before having to feel the touch of the earth again. This innocent enthusiasm lingered in the corners of his imagination for a few moments before a crackled buzz from his ear-piece waded through the speculative fantasy and dragged him back to the moment.

Rather than waiting for direct orders from the Cave as originally ordained, Dick had taken it upon himself to wire certain emergency calls directly to his head set based on an approximate distance algorithm. "All units in the area there is a 220 in progress at the Second National Bank of Gotham, Code 4 Identify." Lifting his head Eastward, Robin estimated that he was no more than three blocks away from the crime’s location. Pacing across the roof top he began to question whether he had the means to actually intervene in a robbery of such a scale. However, upon further mention from the police scanner of cryogenic weaponry being used by the thieves, he knew this was an opportunity he couldn’t afford to idly waste. The few steps that Dick had taken now quickly grew into a more agile and determined pace, so that as he reached the lip of the building he had enough momentum to carry him across the divide to the next structure without as much as a glance. Moving with an unconscious drive, he considered the threat he may be facing. For weeks there’d been a growing number of reports across Gotham of a figure using such a technology to perpetuate a number of crimes though as of yet Bruce had been unable to reach the scene of a crime quickly enough to apprehend the imaginatively dubbed ‘Mr. Freeze’. Now it fell upon his shoulders, his opportunity to engage with a criminal of note to show Batman he had what it took to stand against a calibre of criminal he’d previously avoided.

Leaping free, he decided to let gravity carry him the rest of the distance, his arms stretched wide with the folds of the cape gripped firmly between his fists. Gliding down one of the streets, Robin bent his head forward and noticed the stream of police cars that sped beneath him in the same direction, a sea of lights that he sat above. His grin had yet to fade. Within a few minutes Robin had reached a nearby building, touching down on the roof of a boutique that lined a far corner of the street. From his belt he pulled a set of specialised binoculars, assessing the bank through its thermal imaging lens. He noted the huddle masses, the ones standing marked by the below temperature weapons in their hands. If there was a leader amongst them he wasn’t sure where or who they were, questions which would invite a closer look. A sudden explosion from within hurried Robin to fold the binoculars away and retrieve his grapple, shooting a line out towards the roof of the Bank itself. 

[James Gordon]

Sergeant Renzulli's eyes widened when he learned that it was Mr. Freeze that was behind this particular bank robbery, he wasn't exactly the kind of man to get stuck in a standoff lasting hours. Renzulli blinked his eyes a few times, at a loss for words with the bullhorn still in his hands. All of sudden his hands started sweating and he began to clam up. He started taking deep breaths, his hand shaking as he reached for the radio biscuit attached to his chest. "Dispatch, this is Sergeant Renzulli, we're dealing with Freeze at the bank." He placed the bullhorn down for a moment, with his eyes closed. "Copy that Sergeant Renzulli, do not engage, I repeat do not engage. The hostages are the top priority."

As Sergeant Renzulli picked up the bullhorn again, a GCPD helicopter was now overhead with a sharpshooter. "GCPD air on site." The helicopter reported in as it hovered above the bank. SWAT was still a few moments out, it took a certain amount of time to gear up and prepare to storm a building. "Send out a hostage so we know they're okay!" Mr. Freeze was a bit of an urban legend, it was known he existed but a lot of people haven't actually seen him. Sergeant Renzulli wasn't really a hostage negotiator, he was just trying his best to get the hostages out of the bank. He didn't really have a problem sacrificing the money, it wasn't his money, and banks were insured. He was a cop, he always felt like it was his mission to protect and serve the people of Gotham. No matter how bad of a rap the GCPD got, no matter how many times the media tore apart the GCPD, Sergeant Anthony Renzulli would do his best to protect and serve.

After the helicopter, more and more patrol cars started to arrive. They were starting to arrive en masse now but their numbers were still relatively low considered who they were dealing with. The fact that Freeze chose a target downtown meant that there would be a much faster response, this was one of the best banks to hit though based on the fact that it would have more on hand cash than the others. The perimeter was almost complete, the cars were used as barricades and every officer was armed with a shotgun or a standard-issue handgun. The fact that Freeze was the one in the bank was now known among all of the present officers, as well as the en-route swat teams. The SWAT teams wouldn't necessarily have any way to deal with Freeze, but they would know how and how not to engage him. The tension was intense, Sergeant Renzulli hadn't been on the bullhorn since he requested a hostage, all of the officers that were part of the perimeter kept their weapons pointed at the bank with an unbreakable sense of anticipation for what was going to happen next.

[Victor Fries]

Though there were no clocks in the vicinity that were old enough in design to produce audible ticking noises, Victor could practically hear one anyway. It seemed like every passing moment more police cars were arriving, adding to the perimeter they were attempting to set up. And he knew, too, that even more would be coming - things were almost certainly going to get very messy if a SWAT team managed to reach the bank before they could leave.

However, with each passing moment, more money was also finding its way into his hands - he didn't know how much because it could always be the case that he'd be misinformed. That it was taking four men a bit of time to retrieve it was a good sign, but then again it depended upon how much of it was small bills. This was a quick, smash and grab operation so they wouldn't take the time to even look at what they were grabbing - they would be able to count it up at their leisure later, just as long as they got away. He did have the option of pulling the plug on the whole operation early, and he was tempted to do so as the perimeter neared completion, but on the other hand it was vital that he get the most profit from this whole endeavor as possible. This was hardly a safe business and the more money he got the longer he could wait until the next time and the fewer times he needed to expose himself to danger. So as he watched the police trickle in, it was almost like a game of chicken between them and himself.

But then he heard the words he'd be waiting for, "Vault emptied."

That meant that the four in the vault were headed back to rejoin them, but even before they arrived he turned to look at the two who had remained to watch over the gathered people. Though they hadn't tried to look through the windows, they'd heard the lookouts in the vans announce the numbers and Victor could see a touch of worry in their expressions - he'd known that this job might get a bit tricky so he'd brought his best men and they'd all been on at least one heist with him before, but this was the biggest force that Victor had allowed to accumulate to date.

Victor didn't look worried, but that didn't mean much because he rarely did. What brought his men more of a mixed sense of relief is that he started giving orders - and not just a word or two to remind them of a plan, but unfamiliar orders that weren't part of any plan they'd prepared. He was going off-script, which was perhaps a good sign because his men knew by now that it was one of his talents, even if he preferred to plan instead. The advantage of doing something more on the fly was that he could cater it more to the situation currently on hand than any plan thought up beforehand.

In this situation, he hadn't expected the police response to be so heavy so quickly, so the plans he'd prepared which were all variations on charging out there and taking advantage of the fact that they still had the police out-gunned. Now that they were downrange of this many guns, that simple plan seemed foolhardy. He'd probably be fine in his suit - it wasn't completely bulletproof but the odds of a bullet getting into a weak spot were slim in a situation where he wouldn't be giving them a chance to take careful aim - but though his men were all outfitted with the finest tactical gear that his supplier could give him, the odds were too high that he'd lose a few. Not that he really cared about their well-being, but finding good men was a difficult and annoying process and he'd rather not have to do it. They were an asset that he didn't want to throw away if he didn't have to.

And so were the hostages. Just as there were more police than he expected, there happened to be more than a few people in the bank when they'd charged in, and they were also an asset to be used. "Move these people into position between the police and the vans. Shoot anyone who delays or tries to make a break for it," he ordered, purposely giving the instruction loudly enough that everyone gathered would hear the instruction - everything would go more smoothly if everyone knew what the plan was, and especially that there was a punishment in place for non-compliance.

"You heard him! On your feet! Quickly!" one of his men immediately barked at the crowd. This new instruction caused even more fear to ripple through the group, but it was plain to most what he was doing - using them as a human shield. A frightening prospect, but so was the consequence of not doing as they were told and a quick glance at the guards who hadn't surrendered and were now decorating the lobby like frozen sculptures kept compliance among the group quite high.

Selma Meadows was 98 years young. Though she'd been healthy in her youth, age was taking its toll - though her mind was still mostly with her, she sometimes became confused and her sight and hearing were starting to go. So when she started to get some confusing letters from the bank that even her spry 76-year-old son was unsure about, they'd decided to go actually talk to someone at the bank itself about it. They chose a very bad time to do so, especially because Selma simply couldn't move very quickly anymore - her son did his best to hurry her, but she simply couldn't help but cause a 'delay' and when one of Freeze's men attempted to rush them it did nothing speed them along.

However, Freeze noted the problem and told his man, "She doesn't matter." Probably sparing her life with those cold, heartless words. Not because he felt any compassion for her, but because he recognized that others would - upsetting everyone would probably cause more delays, and he couldn't afford them. So she was left behind in the bank as the rest were escorted out the front door.

Victor hand-selected three especially terrified looking women to exit first, mostly because they were most obviously not his men and also unlikely to try to run at the first hint of possible freedom - he didn't really trust either these people or the police to not be stupid. He trusted his men to not be stupid, but he'd carefully vetted them. But he wanted to make it as obvious as possible for the police to see that it was the hostages who were coming out. And then himself - he went fourth. Hopefully, that meant that just as the police were relaxing their grip on their guns at the sight of terrified women, that's when he'd appear followed by several more civilians.

The more quick-witted and sure of themselves might possibly try a shot at his head at this juncture, for though the women were in front of him he was quite a bit taller than they were and it would seem to be a clear shot for one whose hand was steady enough. But the bullet-resistant glass of the dome over his head should do the trick if so and, either way, he didn't give them very much time. Because he lifted his arm over the women and fired his cold gun at the ground, beginning to construct a barrier and then extending it to create a wall between the vans and the police, with a bit of space in between - allowing a gap in front of the vans in the direction of one of the remaining holes in the police's perimeter.

It wasn't a solid wall, because he purposely left several holes in it at approximately shoulder level - not his best work, and in fact, he made a mental note that he might want to practice making such things later, but it would do and he was in a very big hurry anyway. His purpose was to block the line of sight for the officers - the ice he created was far from glass-like and though in his haste he'd kept it quite thin, and though it would only do so much to stop bullets it provided the officers with a very obscured view of the people behind the wall of ice. In fact, it should be enough to make it impossible for them to clearly see whether or not they had a clear shot at one of his men or if there was a hostage in the way. Meanwhile, the holes he left weren't big enough to be very useful to the police, but it gave his men a place to fire from cover.

"Load the van, two of you watch the people, the rest of you aim for their tires," he ordered, and his men were quick to comply. The bags with the money from the vault, from the tellers, and the valuables of the people in the bank were all quickly thrown into the back of one of the vans and then four of the men started trying to shoot the tires of the police vehicles. That was a much easier target than trying to shoot the officers, and Victor was far more concerned about stopping their pursuit than he was about killing cops.

All except for one... While his men neutralized the police cars, he'd not failed to notice the sound of a helicopter. So the moment he was finished making the wall of ice, he cast his eyes skyward and took aim. Unless the helicopter noticed and took immediate evasive action, he began to attempt to fire at the rotors on the tail of the helicopter - he knew that it would spin out and crash if he managed to hit it. It was a hard shot for him to make, though much easier if it attempted to hold steady so he'd settle for being enough of a threat that it couldn't do that if he didn't make the lucky shot.

Either way, he'd only try long enough for his men to finish with the tires, which wouldn't take very long at all because he'd set it up to be an easy shot for them. The moment they reported that the task was done, they'd pile into the vans and take off through the gap in the police cars, leaving the people from the bank behind - taking any of them would simply add fuel to the fire for those trying to find them and wouldn't provide much further benefit.

[James Gordon]

The request for a hostage went ignored, Freeze was too smart to waste time with a request that was meant to waste his time. Sergeant Renzulli thought of the next move he should take, Freeze wasn't going to turn this into a standoff. He was most likely going to use the hostages so that he and he could escape with all the money in the bank. He sat down the bullhorn, he knew it wasn't going to be useful in this situation any longer. "You haven't tried negotiating with him? Good call, it's a waste of time." A tall broad-shouldered man approached Sergeant Renzulli. He was wearing a Swat uniform, his rank insignia signified he was a lieutenant. "You can't negotiate with men like that. Don't worry Sergeant, the cavalry is almost here." Sergeant Renzulli blinked a few times before making sure he was standing straight. "uhhh.. Yes sir, lieutenant er..." The man chuckled and offered his hand for a handshake, even in the midst of this crisis.

"Lieutenant Charlie Aldrich. Captain Petit sent me ahead of SWAT to ensure you patrol guys had all that you need in setting up this perimeter. And you are?" Sergeant Renzulli shrugged. "Sergeant Renzulli, sir. We need SWAT now, Freeze isn't going to wait..." Not another moment passed before people began emerging from the bank. It was hostages followed by Freeze and his men. "Son of a bitch is moving now... And we don't have any sharpshooters set up" Lieutenant Aldrich set his eyes to the sky, noticing that GCPD air was already on site. He moved his hand to the radio attached to his built, he turned one of the dials and cleared his throat. "If you got shots, take them." There was a moment of silence. "Sir... The hostages." Lieutenant Aldrich looked annoyed for a moment. "Don't hit the hostages then. Hit freeze and his cronies." Another brief moment of silence. "Roger that, sir."

There was a brief hesitation in all of the officers on sight, Lieutenant Aldrich moved towards them, with his hand on his holstered side-arm. "Hold your fire, I repeat hold your fire." He spoke in the radio channel meant for the patrol officers on-site, he'd wait just a moment and before Freeze put up the wall Aldrich would quickly draw his sidearm and take potshots at Freeze. His aim was accurate, he fired for the dome at first and then at the neck area trying to probe for weak spots. He only got a few shots however before the ice wall obstructed his view. "GCPD Air one take the shots now!" The sharpshooter in the helicopter aimed for Freeze's men first, since they were all carrying a bulk of the money. He was accurate and the helicopter was steady, the only problem was this was about the same time when Freeze turned his attention on the helicopter. The sharpshooter took two shots before the rotors were muddled with ice. He didn't even know if he achieved confirmed hits. The ice didn't completely ruin the helicopter, luckily they were able to move out of the way before the rotors were completely frozen solid. "We've been hit, I repeat we have been hit." The pilot did his best to save the helicopter, he ended up making a rough landing on one of the buildings Downtown. No one died luckily, but the sharpshooter would no longer be able to take shots at Freeze and his men, and the Helicopter wouldn't be able to aid in the chase.

Shots were already being taken at the tires of the patrol cars when Freeze was dealing with the helicopter. Aldrich realized how close they were to the vans, and he wasn't about to let them getaway. "Everyone get back in their cars, first two responding patrol cars stay behind for the hostages." The patrol officers on site were moving out of the way, trying not to get hit by the incoming bullets that were taking out their tires. About 75% of the patrol cars already on site were decommissioned in this way, but there were a few that were far away enough to not be hit. Just as Freeze and his men finished loading up the vans, the two SWAT team vans arrived on scene. "Captain Petit, Freeze is trying to make his escape, prepare to the pursuit, I repeat prepare to pursuit." Lieutenant Aldrich himself piled into a patrol car that wasn't taken out by Freeze's men. The GCPD was already at a huge disadvantage, but they couldn't be avoided that easily.

"All units in the Downtown area, assist in the pursuit of a group of armed and dangerous men. Mr. Freeze is with them, use extreme caution." Another helicopter was being prepared to aid the pursuit. There were a handful of patrol cars and the two vans of SWAT officers in pursuit of Freeze and his vans.

[Victor Fries]

Though he didn't respond to it immediately at the time, Victor noted the direction of the one officer who was bold enough to fire at him before he'd managed to put up a wall big enough to make that ill-advised. If it had been more than one person it wouldn't have been such an easy thing to keep track of so he wouldn't have bothered, but as it was it was a simple matter.

But that was a lesser concern to him than the helicopter, which not only was in a position to still shoot at his men but was also a very unwanted possible participant in any chase. He didn't worry too much that someone in it had managed a couple of shots before he could attend to it because his men were equipped with body armor and he'd kept the hostages so tightly grouped with his men that, though the difference between the two would be distinct from above, it was likely that person firing wasn't able to take ideal shots for fear of hitting someone unintended. Though in any event, none of his men fell to the ground and any injuries less significant than that could wait the few moments before they piled into the van to be worried about.

When he saw that he'd managed to put the helicopter in distress, he turned his attention back to matters on the ground without bothering to see the end result. He didn't care if he'd killed anyone in it or not, only that it was out of the way. He then noted that his men were nearly finished encasing any visible tires with ice, so he had the luxury of a few seconds to do with as he wished. So, remembering where the bullets that had chipped the glass of his dome had come from, he stepped over to the hole in the ice wall and used it to fire a few potshots of his own back toward that same spot. Actually, it was a single shot but far more substantial, as his cold gun could fire a sustained blast, unlike the smaller and weaker guns of his men. He encased the entire patrol car that the man had hidden behind in ice - probably not hitting the man himself in the process if he'd moved since or had half his wits about him, but then again the man's bullets hadn't actually harmed him either and it would probably be obvious to that man why Mr. Freeze had singled him out so that was one slight repaid.

But then it was time to move. "Into the vans!" he prompted his men who weren't already doing so once they'd frozen up all the tires they could. Most of his men piled into the back of one of the vans, while he and the rest quickly climbed into the other. "Go!" he said the moment the doors were shut, saying so over their private radio frequency so that both vans would move in unison.

He figured that it was unlikely that the vans would get pelted with bullets as they left because even though many of the police might be trigger-happy and upset that most of them wouldn't be able to join in a chase it would be impossible for them to tell at this juncture whether or not any of the hostages were in the vans. There weren't, but with the wall obscuring the view of that and the helicopter out of commission, nobody on their side could have seen. The hostages could tell them momentarily that nobody had been taken, but that conversation would take long enough to happen for Victor as his men to be on their way.

Either way, however, the intentionally plain and non-descript vans were very heavily modified internally - more powerful engines, run-flat tires, bullet-resistant glass, bullet-proof panels added into the walls and doors. Just because they could easily blend in with any other of the many white utility cargo vans in the city didn't mean that's what they were. Which was demonstrated by just how quickly they took off - if anyone wished to pursue them then there was no time for hesitation.

Still, no matter how fancy the internals of the vans were, they couldn't remove the daytime traffic on Gotham's roads. That could be mitigated to an extent by utterly reckless driving, of course, but it would most likely take more than that to shake off the small number of vehicles left that were able to pursue. Which was why Victor turned to the man driving the van he was in and said, "Stay behind the other." His normal tactic when using multiple vehicles was to have them split up, but the pursuit was so hot this time that he figured a different tactic was in order, at least for the moment.

Though the vehicle was speeding down the road at this point, he opened one of the two vertical back doors. It was then that he saw the SWAT team vans in pursuit for the first time, and realized that they'd cut it quite close - those must have just been arriving as they'd left. That didn't intimidate him much, however, because in this circumstance it didn't matter how many men or what kind of equipment they had because functionally, at the moment, all they were was just one vehicle to be rid of. Keeping the other door closed and using it for cover, he reached out with his cold gun to shoot at the vehicles in pursuit.

Specifically, he aimed for the windshield of the nearest vehicle, with a heavy preference for the driver's side. One cannot drive if one cannot see. And though they could try the tactic of sticking their head out of the window, getting a face full of ice would be even more effective at disabling the driver so that was no matter. And as he did so, he didn't bother to be very careful with his shots - accidentally hitting other, uninvolved targets was actually a tactic at this point because he knew that if he made their pursuit dangerous enough to innocent bystanders that alone might encourage them to call off the pursuit. After all, they knew that he'd stop doing it if they stopped chasing him and possibly save some lives that way - it depended on how they calculated the lives put at risk now against the lives that may be lost later. It didn't matter to him whether or not the calculations were correct - the lives of those caught in the crossfire didn't matter to him.

Either way, it was now his goal to end their pursuit as quickly as possible - the longer it went on, the more assets the police might be able to gather to continue it. And it would only take a few moments of the vans being out of sight of the police for them to split up and hide, either becoming needles in a haystack among all the other white vans in the city or finding a place to park where they couldn't easily be seen.

[James Gordon]

The GCPD was at a very large disadvantage, the helicopter unit that had been previously decommissioned would have helped them predict where Freeze was going with his vans. Without that air coverage, it was difficult to predict and make the next call. Luckily they were downtown in the epicenter of GCPD activity, it wouldn't take long for more patrol cars to enter the fray. The problem was how long they were willing to put up the chase when civilians would ultimately be put in danger by this chase. Captain Petit was stubborn but he isn't willing to put the public in danger, Lieutenant Charlie Aldrich, on the other hand, would risk a lot to see someone like Mr. Freeze put away for good. Risk some lives now, save some later, that is the philosophy he had with a lot of these super-criminals that suddenly cropped up around the same time as the cracked out vigilante that put on a Batman costume each and every night. The Icegun being fired at the cars in the pursuit would hit its first mark, Ice would cover the windshield and the patrol car would swerve and crash into a fire hydrant. Water was spraying everywhere and civilians were scrambling. No one was hit this time but the two officers in the patrol car would most likely need immediate medical attention. 


Where in the hell is that air support? I need it now!" Petit shifted himself in his seat as the SWAT van sped up. "ETA 3 minutes, Captain Petit." Captain Petit's face turned red, but he knew getting angry about this would lead to nothing, he took two deep breaths, only a few more seconds would pass before Lieutenant Aldrich was speaking over the radio. "All cars converge, set up roadblocks on all major roadways, and block off the bridges." Petit's voice was clear and resolute while he gave orders on the radio. Soon the two vans that were attempting to make their getaway would be followed by several SWAT vans and more and more patrol cars with every passing second.

"Sir, we have a shot, should we take it?" Captain Petit's eyes widened for a moment before responding. "Negative, there could still be hostages in those vans." Aldrich, in a separate vehicle would shake his head at his Captain's reply. "But sir... We need to take every chan-"

"Do not open fire, I repeat do not open fire. Relay a message back to the crime scene to ensure that Mr. Freeze and his cronies have no hostages. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes Sir."

Lieutenant Aldrich wasn't happy about it, he was even fuming but he decided that he would not tempt fate on this day by disobeying Captain Petit. He would proceed to put the call out to the officers back at the crime scene that were cleaning up and taking statements. According to the hostages in the bank, Freeze didn't take anybody with him. "Of course..." Aldrich swore under his breath, almost two minutes were wasted while checking on this detail, time that could have been used to take down Freeze.

"He has no hostages sir... May I take the sho-"

"Hold your fire, for now, it is too dangerous to fire with so many civilians in the vicinity."

Lieutenant Aldrich grumbled, but he would wait for Captain Petit's next orders. In the meantime, they pursued Freeze as best they could. Roadblocks were being set up and the bridges off of the island were blocked off as well. Daytime traffic was being cleared out from the main roads and spike strips were set up at the roadblocks.

It was possible that the pursuit would be called off if more people were put in danger, but for now, they would stay on Freeze's tail and do everything in their power to stop him.

[Victor Fries]

While Victor was aware that he had the advantage, he was also aware that his advantage had a definite time limit, measured more easily in seconds than in minutes. He needed to end the pursuit before all the numerous resources the authorities were no doubt gathering could be deployed, even if some of it was pointless. Worrying about the bridges was pointless, for example, as Victor had no intention of leaving the island - if this chase lasted that long then he was doing a very poor job of things.

No, instead of planning a long chase he simply kept his focus behind the van, not pausing to pat himself on the back when the first patrol car swerved out of the chase, he immediately targeted the next vehicle and continued to fire every time he could identify a target. He was a crack shot with his cold gun and, beyond that, he was completely unconcerned about civilian casualties so he could afford to be extremely liberal with his gun. Even if he didn't manage to hit an actual police car, a civilian car swerving due to being hit presented just as much of a hazard to those behind him as a direct hit.

Quickly forcing the chasing vehicles back, Victor carefully gauged his timing before ordering, "Split and hide." At the next intersection, the lead van took an abrupt right turn into a smaller side street, and Victor's van took a left. He hoped that the vehicles in pursuit were far enough back at this point to not easily see which way each had gone and, in any event, the van he was in would be much easier to follow because it was in the back.

Either way, the chase had gone in this direction with a purpose, as this part of the city was a maze of intersections, with fewer long stretches between lights. Both vans now attempted to fully shake the pursuit, depriving the police of visual contact with the plain-looking vehicles by making unexpected turns at each opportunity. The drivers both knew that the moment that they were certain that the police had lost sight, they were to stop driving recklessly so as to blend in with all the other traffic and turn into a parking garage or other place the van would be difficult to see.

Victor would not be sure of the fate of the other van for the time being but, as for his own, he kept a sharp eye behind the vehicle - ready to shut the door so that the van would blend in better if it seemed their pursuit was being successfully thrown, but equally ready to cause more chaos with his cold gun if the chase seemed poised to continue.