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.Three blocks south-west the secondary cars waited, and this was their destination.Once in the secondary cars they had a prayer.‘Where is she?’ Dietz asked.Freiberg shook his head.‘Aw fuck,’ Dietz said.‘She was cute.’One minute past ten.Four people emerged from the rear of American Investment & Loan – Ray Dietz, Walt Freiberg, the two hostages.As soon as it was verified that there were no other gunmen inside the building, the front was stormed by a Federal Assault Unit.Inside, they found the security guard with a broken neck and the lifeless form of Cathy Hollander.Once the building was given the all-clear, fifty-three people were escorted from the foyer and into the street: thirty-one bank staff and twenty-two members of the public.All of them were shaken, some hysterical, but in all cases they had experienced a Christmas they would never forget.One of the Federal Agents stood over the prostrate body of Cathy Hollander, kicked the sole of her boot with the toe of his shoe.‘Nightmare,’ he said to himself, his voice barely audible.‘What a fucking nightmare.’SIXTY-SIXIt is three minutes after ten by the time John Harper realizes that there is no way he will get close enough to the East Coast Mercantile & Savings to understand what is happening, least of all to determine whether Cathy Hollander is inside.Police are everywhere, in sidestreets, along the roofs of the adjacent and facing buildings.Federal people in dark blue windcheaters run back and forth from one sidewalk to the other, and barriers are hastily erected to keep everyone away.Members of the public from nearby houses, apartment buildings and stores are swiftly evacuated and gathered at the end of the street, and when Harper tries to press forward, to make some progress towards the scene of activity, he finds that the closer he gets the more unrealistic it is to go any further.Eventually he backs up and returns the way he’s come.He finds a coffee shop on the corner of Greenwich Avenue.From a seat near the window he can see the front of St Vincent’s Hospital.He is unaware of both irony and coincidence.He is distraught, afraid, apprehensive.He feels there is no adequate way to describe what he is experiencing and, had he been asked, he might have done nothing more than stare blankly and shake his head.He believes a life has opened up around him, a life he never knew he possessed, and just as he’d started to appreciate what might have been involved in such a life, it has imploded, folded backwards upon itself and crushed him within.He thinks – just for a moment – that he should go over to the hospital and see what is happening with his father.He cannot remember when he was last there.He decides against it.He cannot face it.Harper is then aware of the sound of voices behind him.He turns to see a small crowd gathering beneath an overhead TV in the corner of the bar.He makes his way across the room, stands for a while, completely unable to focus his attention – but when he does, he realizes that he is watching reports of events unfolding at four different locations.West Twelfth is merely one of them.Something is happening in three other places, and he – John Harper – knows they all have something to do with him.What he thinks, he is unable to believe; and what he believes he cannot bear to think.After some minutes he turns and leaves the coffee shop.He starts walking, away from West Twelfth, away from St Vincent’s.He doesn’t look back.He is too frightened.Joe Koenig, Albert Reiff and Karl Merrett leave the front of the New York Providence Bank on West Ninth and Washington in a hail of gunfire.The gunfire, targeted upwards, is merely designed to confuse and disorientate the police and Federal units that face them across the street.Using the same strategy as Freiberg and Dietz, they take with them four hostages, two girls, two men, and as they leave they are literally surrounded by uniforms.There is no opportunity for any clear strikes, except perhaps from overhead, and such an attempt would be considered far too risky.They intend to make it as far as East Ninth and Fifth where Ricky Wheland is waiting to take them west across the Village to the secondary vehicles.The task force is set on standby.No clearance is given for any sharpshooters to attempt a strike.Enough innocent people have been killed already.It is ten-o-seven by the time the awkward huddle of people reaches the rendezvous with Wheland.Only one hostage goes in the car with them, one hostage and something in the region of six hundred thousand dollars [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]