The Fearless Five

by Bannie McPartlin

  ‘Faster,’ I shouted at Charlie. ‘We need to go faster.’

  She nodded and changed gears, I changed mine too and we sped up so much that our bikes wobbled. The walkie-talkie crackled back to life. Walker was still talking as though I’d been listening to everything he said.

  ‘It’s the only way. Agreed? Over,’ he said.

  ‘What’s the only way? Over,’ I said.

  ‘I just said it. Over.’

  ‘Well, I didn’t hear it. Over.’

  ‘Well, pay attention. Over.’

  ‘I’m half killed trying to keep up with a speeding van. Over.’

  ‘Oh, OK. Sorry. Over,’ he said. ‘We’ll jump out with the bag of money after they make the first stop. Sumo’ll have to make a run for it when he can. If he’s sent into the bank, he’ll just have to pretend to go inside and leg it, or if he’s left in the van, he’ll have to wait until Big Tom goes in and then leg it. Over.’

  ‘OK. How will he know to do this? Over,’ I asked.

  ‘You’ll have to stay behind and tell him. Over.’

  Oh no. I thought. More pressure. My knees were buckling. I had not realised the first bank would be so far away. I also worried about the prospect of Sumo and Big Tom talking. What was Sumo saying? What were they talking about? I prayed it was football.

  ‘OK. Over,’ I said, and despite every muscle in my legs burning, I cycled on. Charlie kept up, but she was tired too.

  ‘We’ll be OK,’ I called out to her.

  ‘We have to be,’ she said, and we cycled on for ANOTHER HOUR! AT BREAKNECK SPEED!

  Eventually the van pulled in beside a large bank. As soon as I stopped, my legs gave way. I felt sick. Charlie flopped to the ground. Her bike fell on her. She didn’t care.

  ‘Water,’ she gasped, but I didn’t have any water. We watched Big Tom get out of the van and walk into the bank. This was my cue to run across and tell Sumo the new plan, but I couldn’t stand up.

  ‘Stand up,’ Charlie said.

  ‘I can’t,’ I said.

  ‘Don’t be so ridiculous.’

  ‘You stand up then.’

  She tried to stand up. She couldn’t. ‘Oh.’

  I kneeled, then I climbed a little using my arms, holding on to a wall, and pulled myself up. Once I was on my feet I took one unsteady step, then another, and after a few seconds I was walking properly.

  ‘Go,’ she said as she pulled herself up using the wall.

  My wobbly walk turned into a shaky run. I made it to the van and knocked on the window. Sumo rolled it down.

  ‘Hi, Jeremy,’ he said.

  ‘What are you doing in the van?’ I almost screamed.

  ‘My best,’ he said.

  ‘The next time Big Tom goes into a bank, get out and run.’

  ‘Any chance I could just run now?’

  ‘The lads have to get the money and get out first,’ I said.

  He thought about it. ‘OK. Do you know where we are?’ he asked.

  I hadn’t got a clue. I moved to leave, but he stopped me.

  ‘He’s very nice,’ he said, and I could tell he was feeling bad.fn1

  ‘Sorry,’ I said, and I don’t know why I apologised except that I felt sorry.

  ‘Me too.’

  I shaky-ran back to Charlie, who was examining the blisters on her hand from gripping onto the handlebars. We got back on our bikes and waited for Big Tom to come out with the bag. It was a big bag and it looked full. He fed it through the slot on the side of the van and we saw it go in.

  ‘They have it,’ I said. Then I radioed on the walkie-talkie, but we were parked too far away to communicate. I watched Big Tom get back in the van and the van take off.

  ‘Let’s go,’ I said, and Charlie sighed deeply, closed her eyes, gripped the handlebars and took off. I followed, and we were giving chase once again.

  ‘Number One Buddy, come in. Over. Tango, come in. Over?’

  The walkie-talkie crackled to life.

  ‘It’s me, Tango. Number One Buddy is holding the bag. Over.’

  ‘OK, great. Over.’

  We followed the van until we reached a long queue of traffic and all the cars came to a standstill.

  ‘I think there’s been an accident up ahead,’ Charlie said, and she cycled on to have a look.

  ‘Tango, come in. Over?’

  ‘Yeah? Over?’

  ‘Looks like a traffic jam. Get ready to jump,’ I said.

  ‘Ready. Over.’

  Charlie came back. ‘Four cars – no one looks hurt, but the road’s a mess,’ she said. It was now or never.

  ‘Jump out, turn left, into the shopping centre, meet in the toilets, over,’ I said, thinking on the spot. Charlie nodded. I could see she was impressed.

  The van door opened. Johnny J jumped out holding the bag and ran toward the shopping centre, but as Walker tried to follow, Titch broke free of his ropes and grabbed him. Walker dropped the pepper spray. Charlie and I watched from three cars back, frozen to the spot and really no help at all.

  ‘Get off me,’ Walker shouted.

  ‘Hmm hummm hummmny hummmm,’ Titch shouted, on account of the socks in his mouth. They pushed and pulled one another around the van. Titch pressed Walker’s face up against the side of the van, but then when he tried to untie the scarf that held the socks in his mouth, he let go for a second and Walker made a run for it. As Walker ran out, Titch grabbed his jacket, but Walker was thin and wily and he escaped out of his own jacket. He’d got such a fright he ran right, not left as instructed. Just then Big Tom and Sumo jumped out of the van. Titch dropped the jacket and pulled the scarf off his face. He grabbed the can of pepper spray that Walker had dropped in the scuffle. Big Tom ran around to the back of the van in time for Titch to spray him in the face. Big Tom hit the ground moaning and crying, and poor Titch didn’t know what to do. Then he saw us – Charlie and me. He looked right at us and pointed. My insides threatened to fall out, but before they did, he tripped over Walker’s jacket and fell beside his moaning friend. Sumo had got such a shock he ran straight up the road toward the car crash.

  Charlie and I looked at one another, frozen.

  ‘Go,’ I shouted, and we bolted on our bikes, weaving in and out of traffic, experts now, fire in our bellies as well as our legs. We were on the run with no idea where we were or where we were going. Only Johnny J and the bag were in the shopping-centre toilets. I tried to use the walkie-talkie, but of course it wasn’t working.

  ‘What now?’ Charlie asked.

  ‘The forest,’ I shouted.

  ‘How? Which way?’ she shouted.

  ‘I don’t know!’ I shouted back. We cycled on for a few minutes before we saw a 14A bus.

  ‘It’s a 14A!’ Charlie shouted.

  ‘Follow it,’ I shouted back. She nodded and grinned. A 14A would guide us back to our area. It felt like a miracle.

  27

  The Panic

  Charlie and I cycled till we reached the forest, where we promptly fell off our bikes and lay on the ground hugging our tired, screaming legs against our chests while moaning softly to ourselves. We did that for a long time. When we were done, we sat at the picnic table.

  ‘Are you OK?’ she asked.

  ‘No,’ I admitted.

  ‘Good. Me neither.’

  ‘Do you think they’ve been caught?’ I asked.

  ‘No,’ she said.

  ‘Good. Me neither.’

  We were both lying, but it made me feel a bit better. The wait was torture, lunchtime became teatime and worry turned to abject fear. Suddenly all I could think was: They’ve been caught, they’ve all been caught. We’re going to get caught too. I said it in my head over and over and then I saw him, large as life and waving at me from the distance. It was Sumo!

  He sat down at the picnic table.

  ‘I got the wrong bus. The traffic was terrible,’ he said as though it was just a normal day and we hadn’t robbed a cash van. Charlie asked him if he’d seen any of the ot
hers. He hadn’t.

  ‘How did you end up in the front seat of the van?’ I asked.

  ‘Oh, I pushed Titch into the back and Johnny J and Walker were waiting for him … That bit worked like a charm …’ he said, and he took out a Spam sandwich and blew some pocket fluff off it before tucking in. We waited for him to finish. He was focused on the sandwich.

  ‘And …?’ I said.

  ‘Oh yeah, and as soon as the door was shut on Titch and the lads, Big Tom walked over, patted me on the back and asked me if I was filling in for Mr Brown. I didn’t know what to say,’ he said.

  All of a sudden, Walker bobbed into view. ‘I heard the sirens so I hid for a while.’ As we waited for Johnny J, Sumo explained that the van door was so heavy that it had shut itself after he pushed Titch in, and before he could reopen it, Big Tom had discovered him. ‘I did my best,’ he said, and we all agreed that he had. He was very stressed. He said that Big Tom had noticed how young he looked and asked him what cream he used or if he’d sold his soul.fn1

  Sumo said he pretended to feel unwell to avoid answering questions. That’s why Big Tom retrieved the money from the bank. ‘He was being nice.’

  Walker told us how Titch had fought Johnny J and bitten him hard and about how quiet he went when Walker threatened him. ‘I scared myself,’ Walker admitted.

  He’d scared me too. My stomach ached. What have we done? We’re going to get caught. We’re going to prison. WHAT HAVE WE DONE?

  Charlie talked about our hard cycle. The others didn’t seem very impressed, even though our blisters and wobbly walks suggested we’d worked harder than anyone else. Johnny J didn’t arrive. At five o’clock we were dressing in our Ireland gear and painting our faces, but by then we feared the worst.

  ‘He’s definitely been caught,’ Walker said.

  ‘We’re done for,’ Sumo said.

  ‘That idea to go into the toilets was stupid!’ Walker said to me.

  ‘Leave him alone,’ Charlie shouted, and it was the first time Charlie Eastman stood up for me. It felt weird.

  Then I remembered something – my brother Rich’s stupid rehearsal for his stupid gig!

  ‘What if he went straight to rehearsal?’ I said.

  ‘As if!’ Walker said.

  ‘No, listen, the rehearsal was at four. If he missed it, Rich would have tried to track him down, causing problems for all of us. If he was delayed like all of you were, he might have gone straight there.’ I instantly felt better. I knew in my heart that if we went to the garage behind my house, we’d find Johnny J safe and well.

  ‘It’s going to be fine,’ I said, wobbling onto my bike. ‘Everything’s going to be fine.’

  Charlie and the boys followed me to my house. I could hear the music and Johnny J’s voice singing before I saw him. A grin broke out on my face – never had Fingers & the Fudge sounded so good.

  I opened the door and Johnny J grinned at me. I looked over to the bag of money that was casually lying on my parents’ garage floor. The others pushed in behind me.

  ‘What are you all doing here?’ Rich said.

  ‘We’re your audience,’ I said, and Buzz nodded.

  ‘Cool,’ he said. ‘Sit down.’

  ‘Nice gear,’ Fingers said, pointing to us standing in our Ireland kit.

  ‘Start again,’ Rich said.

  We all sat down on the ground, backs against the wall. The others watched our friend Johnny J sing and play his heart out with my brother Rich’s crap band. I couldn’t take my eyes off the bag of stolen money. There were so many things to worry about. Despite the flag painted on Sumo’s face, Big Tom had spent enough time with him to identify him easily. Sumo said Big Tom had commented on the flag and liked his commitment to Ireland. I could tell that Sumo felt terrible about Big Tom by the fact that his head was hanging and he only ate half of his Spam sandwich. I’d never seen that before.

  Then there was Walker to consider. Would Titch guess that Tango was actually his colleague’s son? Titch hadn’t said anything, but then it’s hard to talk with balled socks in your mouth. And he’d seen Charlie and me cycle away. He looked at us with his beady little eyes, pointed at us with the sock still jammed in his mouth. What was he saying now that that sock was out? They’d know how many of us there were now for sure. Charlie’s bike was pink. They’d know she was a girl. There we were, lined up against the wall in my parents’ garage and dressed in Ireland gear, the same kids in gear the police were now looking for. We needed to change out of our disguises.

  I waited till the rehearsal ended and Rich, Buzz, Cap and Johnny J high-fived. Fingers high-three’d on account of his three fingers.

  ‘See you at Cornally’s, Johnny J. Don’t be late,’ Rich said.

  Johnny J nodded, picked up the black bag and swung it over his shoulders.

  ‘What’s in the bag?’ Cap said. My heard raced, my palms sweated, ears buzzed. This was it, we were done for.

  ‘Your mam,’ Johnny J said, and all the lads laughed and high-fived/high-three’d again.

  Johnny J didn’t want to dress in the gear. He thought it was unnecessary, seeing the robbery was done and we didn’t need to blend in any more, but Walker insisted we needed to be consistent – if we’d dressed up for the last match, why not this one? He had a point, plus I think he really liked it.

  Johnny J was too tired to argue. I took the bag to the hiding spot in the forest while he changed and the others grabbed some food. I didn’t look inside the bag, not when I was on my own. That bag of money scared me. It was heavy. I knew there was more than enough to send Mrs Tulsi to America. It should have made me feel better. It didn’t. I felt the worst I’ve ever felt and I wanted to give it back.

  Everyone agreed it was a better idea if we stayed apart till the match. It was seven o’clock. An hour to go. I lay on my bed. Downstairs, Mam was cleaning up after dinner, Dad and Rich were watching the build-up to the game. I couldn’t. My heart wasn’t in it. I heard the front door open and footsteps on the stairs and then my door opened and it was my sister Rachel.

  I sat up.

  ‘What are you doing here?’ I asked.

  ‘I came to see you,’ she said, and she sat on my bed.

  I shot up.

  ‘Why?’ I asked.

  ‘I had a bad feeling,’ she said, and I grew pale. A BAD FEELING!fn2

  ‘What bad feeling?’ I asked.

  ‘Dunno,’ she said. ‘But you know even though I live across the city I’m always here for you, don’t you, Jeremy?’

  I said I did and then I cried in my sister’s arms. I know, I know, I’m a big baby … But you’d cry too if you were a fugitive from the law with hand and butt blisters, wonky legs and a broken heart.

  28

  The Match

  Cornally’s pub was packed to the rafters with what my dad described as every dog, duck and devil he’d ever met. To prove his point there were even a few dogs sleeping under tables. Sumo, Charlie and Walker sat together on the floor, eating free chips and staring up at the screen, lost in a game of football. Johnny J was engaged in some last-minute rehearsing behind the pub with Rich and the lads. I asked him if he was all right. He said he was and that it was good to have something to take his mind off everything.

  I sat with my parents and Rachel. My mam was just delighted to have all her family together. I don’t remember the first half of the Ireland v Netherlands match. I know Ireland was 1–0 down at half-time, but I was too busy thinking about everything that could still go wrong. Every time the door opened I worried it would be the guards coming in to drag us away, but as the time passed my fears eased.

  Then it happened, just after seventy minutes of play. GOAL! GOAL! GOAL!fn1 We were 1–1. Every dog, duck and devil jumped up and down and shouted, screamed, barked, cried and cheered. IRELAND, IRELAND, IRELAND! Johnny J, Rich and the lads started singing ‘Jackie’s Army’ and everyone joined in. The match ended 1–1 and we were through to the knockouts. The Irish crowd in Cornally’s pub, Dublin,
watched the Irish crowd on a field in Palermo, Italy, singing and crying and the players jumping and high-fiving, and we all did the same.

  Walker screamed that he’d seen his dad crying on the TV and then we all spotted him and he was bawling like a baby. ‘He’ll never live that down,’ Walker said, and in that moment I forgot about Mrs Tulsi’s illness, Auntie Alison’s arrival, the robberies, the spectre of the guards arriving at our doorsteps, the prospect of prison, how disappointed and upset my parents would be if they knew what I had done. I forgot about everything and just celebrated with everyone else in the pub, and honestly it was probably one of the best moments of my life.

  When the madness died down, some of the women with small babies and younger children left and I joined my friends at a table. Rich and the lads started setting up for the gig, but Johnny J came over to us instead.

  ‘This is a sign,’ Walker said. ‘Everything’s going to work out.’

  ‘Deffo,’ Charlie said.

  ‘Between Ireland drawing 1–1 with the Netherlands and seeing that hummingbird – one hundred per cent,’ I said.

  Johnny J clapped his hands together. ‘My mam is going to America. We’ve saved her. Thank you all. I mean it. Best friends ever,’ he said, and he raised his glass of fizzy orange and we raised ours.

  ‘Best friends ever,’ we all shouted, and it was brilliant.

  Everyone shushed when the post-match interview came on, but Rich wanted to get the gig going.

  ‘Right, right, come on, Johnny J,’ he said, coming over.

  Johnny J smiled at me and gave me the thumbs up. I smiled, even though I was dreading the gig. Fingers & the Fudge were better with Johnny J, but they were still terrible.

  Rich ushered Johnny J to the side of the small stage. (It looked more like a large box.) Buzz clapped him on the back. Fingers handed him his guitar.

  ‘It’s all set up,’ he said, and Johnny J nodded. Cap pretended to be busy tapping and testing the microphone. He was clearly still annoyed that Johnny J was playing with them. When Rich turned on the actual speaker, Cap’s voice came over loud and clear. ‘Testing, one, two, three, testing.’