by Nina Hall
They all nodded.
“Anderson go on, take us through what you boys have come up with.” Harris said.
Anderson cleared his throat. “The way we see it, the vulnerable places are the front and the back. We’re not so worried about the back because the back is completely sealed.”
“What about the shops next door?” Harris interjected.
“They’re two, and yes they’re weak points, but using that way to access the bank would require a lot of hours which the they won’t have. From bank heists past, thugs usually time their strikes during bank holidays, when they know the banks are closed for more than twenty four hours. We’re lucky because cube will only be there over night.”
“OK, go on.” Harris said.
“We’ll split into two groups, my usual team and then King and Adams. My team will work at night and the other team can do the day shift.”
Harris nodded. “Sounds good. I’ll see you all tomorrow I wish you all the best.”
“Make sure to call me if anything happens.” Anderson told King and Adam. “Anything at all.”
Anderson and his team left for home, leaving King and Adams at the office until a few minutes to ten when they would head to the bank. Anderson was eager to go home, and he felt grateful for the night shift so he could spend time with his now very pregnant wife.
“What are you doing honey?” Anderson said, staring at his wife in disbelief.
“I’m hovering honey, what did you think I was doing?” she said, turning off the hoover.
“I know, I can see, what I mean is, shouldn’t you be resting, you with your feet up?”
“I probably should huh.” Mary said, making a face. “I just can’t seem to sit still. I keep seeing stuff that should be done before the baby gets here.”
“Come-on, let’s go upstairs, I’ll give you a massage.” Anderson said.
They went up the stairs hand in hand and settled on the bed. It felt odd to be relaxing in bed with his wife, when the mob could be at this very moment stealing the cube.
“This job tonight is really worrying you.” Mary said her small face crunched with worry.
“Just a little. Once it’s over, I’ll be alright.” Anderson said, hoping that it would indeed end OK.
Mary dozed off, and to his surprise, he slept too, only to wake up at two, just in time to get ready for his shift.
* * *
This time when Lisa got into the van at seven in the evening, she was greeted by a somber mood, which suited her perfectly. They exchanged muted greetings. She sat next to Harper at the back of the van. Alan drove off, this time, careful not to swerve the vehicle. Harper had the front of the bank on his screen and all was quiet.
He zoomed the camera to a grey vehicle near the entrance of the bank.
“See this?” he said. “The feds. I recognize Anderson; he must have gotten a tip-off about tonight.”
Lisa‘s heart beat faster. She fervently hoped that the presence of the feds would not interfere with the operation. Alan drove to the back street and parked the van right opposite the entrance of the deli, a little way ahead. The street appeared too busy for that time of evening. Lisa saw a drunk, staggering along the back street. He tripped over a fallen dust bin and went flying into the cemented ground.
She looked at Harper and saw that his attention was on the man. He lay still. Just their luck, to have a drunk pass out near the entrance of the deli. Lucky for them, he soon struggled to his feet and continued wandering down the street. Lisa exhaled in relief when he disappeared from the street. By eight thirty, there was not much activity, apart from cats and dogs ravaging for food.
Like clockwork, the lights in the deli went off and the workers left for the night. Meanwhile, Harper had kept an eye on the feds. They were still in the same spot. At one point one of them, Anderson maybe, stepped out of the car and went for coffee, returning with three cups. The cleaners came in at ten and by twelve their van had picked them up.
“It’s almost time” Harper said. “Let’s give it fifteen minutes in case the cleaner forgot something and come back.”
In the next few minutes, Lisa arranged her things, making sure she had everything she need. The tool box and the metal box.
“Ready.” Harper said, then immediately said, “No, wait.”
Lisa peered into his laptop. The feds were moving. Their car was cruising down the street and in moments it disappeared from view.
“Shit!” Lisa said softly.
“Go down.” Harper told Alan. “They‘re coming this way.”
The grey car cruised from behind them and came to a stop a few feet away from them, at the back of the van. Then it slid into a parking space next to the bank.
“Jesus!” harper said. “This cannot be happening. Anderson is like an animal. He can smell us nearby.”
Lisa sat still watching the grey vehicle and hoping it would leave. An hour passed, then another.
“If they don’t move in another twenty minutes, we’ll have to abort this mission.” Harper said.
* * *
Anderson was feeling more confident as the hours slowly ticked away. His source had been wrong. He looked at the time. Two in the morning. If anything was happening tonight it would have happened by now. The shrill of his phone made everyone jump.
He looked at the number and almost wept.
“OK, I’m coming.” Anderson said into his phone.
He punched the front board of the car. This couldn’t be happening now. He felt torn. His wife was having contractions, and in a few hours, the cube would be safe. If only they could stay on for three more hours.
“What’s up?” Jackson said from the front passenger seat.
“Mary. The baby is coming.”
“What awful timing.” Clark chipped from behind.
“We’ll pick Mary up, drop you guys to the entrance of the hospital and come back as quickly as we can. It shouldn’t take more than thirty minutes.” Jackson said.
“OK, let’s go.” Anderson said.
He was worried about that thirty minutes but he didn’t say anything. What choice did he have really? Calling for a cab would take too long, and all that time his Mary was in pain. They pulled up his driveway in eight minutes and Anderson raced to the house. He came out minutes later, supporting Mary with his arm on one hand and a bag on the other.
“Step on it Jackson.” Anderson said, once he had himself and Mary in the back seat.
“Hang in there honey.” Clark said, from the front seat, where he had jumped in as soon as Anderson had got out.
“Go, go go.” Anderson urged Clark and Jackson, “We’ll be OK.”
The moment they got into the delivery room, Anderson forgot about the cube and focused completely on supporting Mary. She labored for what seemed like hours. At five in the morning, they welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world. Anderson couldn’t get over her beauty and the sparse hairs on her head that you could separate and count.
Mary nudged him.
“Go back to work honey, we’ll be here when you get back.”
* * *
Lisa couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw the grey car slide out of the parking and drive off at a great speed. There was not much time left. She and Harper jumped out of the van and headed to the deli. Harper held a torch and Lisa picked the padlock. It snapped open, and they went in.
Working together, they removed decorative artificial sandwiches from the shelves, placing them on the floor. When the shelves were near empty, Harper reached for the drill and turned it on. It whirled silently and he directed it to the wall. She could not see his facial expression, only his eyes and they appeared intense. He worked silently for an hour, only stopping to wipe off excess debris. Progress was slow. They had to work in the dark. For all they knew the feds could be back and watching the deli.
After an hour and a half of drilling, Harper had made a neat square on the wall. Using a hammer, Lisa hit it trying not to make too much noise, while
Harper drilled the last bit. Dust filled the air, when the square went down; making a loud bang that shattered the silence of the night. They stood still listening for any unusual noise or an alarm. Nothing, it was still again.
“I’ll go in first. Here are your goggles. ” Harper said, giving Lisa a pair and wearing another.
He went through the hole, and walking against the wall, he chose the furthest corner, away from the invisible beams. He put on his laptop and whistled for Lisa to get in.
The room was well lit; Harper had come with his own light, a small LED lamp that illuminated every corner of the room. With her goggles, Lisa could make out the red beams of laser criss-crossing the room. She stood still, waiting for Harper to tell her to start moving.
“OK, go on. Take your time, Lisa. There’s no rush.”
The vault looked much bigger here than it did on camera. Lisa stilled her body, and using a mind technique she had perfected over the years, Lisa obliterated everything in the room, including Harper. Her breathing became even and she felt her muscles relax. She needed her body to be as flexible as a fluid, so that her movements would be smooth.
As if in a trance, she lifted one leg over the first beam and readjusted her body. When she felt balanced, she lifted the other leg and like a ballet dancer, brought it to the floor next to the other. Her progress was painstakingly slow, but that’s exactly how Lisa had planned it. She balanced the metal box on one hand and when going over the beams, lifting it over her head with both hands. When she was halfway through, she looked at Harper. He smiled, and gave her thumbs up.
Breathing deeply she continued going over the last few beams. When she was on the last one with one leg in the air, the sound of an alarm cut through the air, breaking the silence. Lisa’ heart dropped to her abdomen and her first instinct was to flee.
“Don’t move!” Harper said in a harsh voice that got through the fog of confusion that was in her brain. “It’s not here. The alarm’s not here.”
Sure enough, two minutes later, the sound of siren whizzing by sounded and only when it passed did Lisa breathe again. She slowly brought her foot down. She swallowed hard and wet her dry lips with saliva.
“Are you OK?” Harper said in a gentle voice.
“I’m good.” Lisa said in a strange voice that did not sound like hers.
Her fingers were shaking badly. She took deep breathes and tried to get into her zone. When she felt marginally stable, she went to the huge circular door.
“Ready?” Harper said, and then proceeded to tell her the 10 number lock combination.
Lisa stepped back and the huge door swung open, creaking loudly as it did so. Lisa cringed. All the noises sounded loud and exaggerated. Either that or her own sense of hearing had been magnified by fear. She felt inside her tool box and removed two lock picks and proceeded to open the lock of the metal door. It snapped open and Lisa turned to look at Harper in triumph. He wore a huge smile on his face.
On one end of the vault were some metal shelves, and Lisa immediately saw the cube in the bottle shelf. She put the metal box down and opened it with a key from the side pocket of her tool bag. Reaching inside her tool bag again, she removed a portable EMP pulse. As Harper had shown her, she turned it on and directed the electric pulses towards a box attached to the cube that was the alarm. A green light flickered on the surface. Lisa then carefully lifted the cube which turned out to be as light as air. Gingerly, she placed it inside the blue metal box, which she then locked with a key, and put it back in her tool bag. Now they could not be tracked with the cube in the metal box.
She was ready to make her way out of the vault. She returned the metal door behind her to make it look as though it was shut. Despite its size, the vault door was pretty easy to swing shut, and it closed without much noise.
Lisa stood in front of the beams and put all her concentration on them. She went over them one by one, her arms straining from lifting the metal box over her head. She went over the last one to find Harper’s arms waiting to take the box from her. The relief of success was so great; she wanted to scream in exhilaration.
She followed Harper out of the vault room and into the darkness of the deli. They pushed open the back door. Lisa breathed in the sweet night air. She was about to sprint towards the van when Harper held her back. He was looking through a small monocular. He pulled Lisa further into the shadows and gave it to her. She gasped. Alan was slumped over the steering wheel, his head at a funny angle. Harper took the monocular back and scanned down the street and on top of buildings.
He pulled a shocked Lisa back into the deli.
“There’s a sniper on the alcove on the second floor of the furthest building opposite the van. I think that’s who got Alan.”
Lisa was still in shock after seeing her colleague slumped on the wheel. Although they were not close, she had known Alan for years. He had been kind to her when she first joined the network and she always felt grateful to him. She knew nothing of his personal life. Most people in the business preferred it that way. She wondered at this life they led. Was Alan like her with nobody to claim her body or to mourn her?
“This is not the time Lisa, we have to think fast. Something is happening out there and it’s not the feds.” Harper said.
Lisa snapped out of her despondency, on realizing the danger they were in. They needed a plan B fast. Harper opened a door on the other side of the Deli which led to a kind of storage. Using a torch, he scanned the walls until he saw a ventilation shaft.
“I’m on it.” Lisa said.
Harper lifted her on his shoulders and using a screw driver and craw bar, she pulled open the cover of the ventilation shaft. Grabbing the stairs inside the shaft, Lisa used her hands to pull herself up and into the shaft. She stood with her legs apart each on the opposite sides of the wall of the shaft.
“Hoist the box.” Lisa told Harper.
He lifted it over his head and Lisa grabbed it. It wasn’t heavy but was bulky. She moved further up, holding the metal box tight against her chest. This gave Harper space to climb into the shaft. Slowly they inched their way to the top. Lisa fumbled inside her tool box for her torch. She shone it at the top of the shaft. It was closed with vertical metal bars.
“Shit!” she said.
“What’s up?” Harper called from below.
“Metal bars sealing the shaft and I think they have an alarm.” Lisa said.
“We don’t have a choice Lisa. I’ll pass you the drill and we’ll make a run for it.” Harper said.
After some seconds, Harper passed her the hand held drill. Lisa shielded her eyes with her hand while she drilled. Working fast, she drilled the ends of the shafts and sure enough an alarm went off, loud enough to wake the whole city.
“Come-on Lisa, faster.” Harper said.
The last of the bars fell off and she climbed out of the shaft onto the roof. Harper followed her.
“Run, let’s go.”
Lisa followed Harper to the edge of the building. The next one was pretty close and she avoided looking at the bottom.
“Think you can do it?” Harper asked.
Her eyes wide with fear, Lisa shouted above the wails of sirens approaching from a distance.
‘Go on, go first, jump.” Harper said.
The sirens were getting closer. Lisa closed her eyes. She counted to three and jumped. Only when she felt solid ground on her feet did her breathe come out in quick bursts. She turned her eyes to Harper. He held the blue metal box with one hand. She saw his body stiffen then he leaped into the air. He made it. They started jogging across that building, jumping over cables. They reached the edge and again jumped.
“Let’s look for a way down.” Harper said.
Before they could move, they heard the unmistakable sound of an approaching helicopter. Seconds later it was on them shining a light on them as they ran.
Harper reached for the EMP and aiming towards the helicopter, he released the remaining charge. Moving almost in slow motion, t
he helicopter engine sputtered off, and it started spinning. Lisa and Harper took off again and jumped to the next building. Lisa was wet with sweat, yet she wasn’t exhausted.
They found an emergency stair case that lead to the bottom of the roof.
“Where’s your phone?” Harper asked. “Toss it.”
Lisa removed her phone from a back pocket of her suit and tossed it to the ground. Harper followed suit. They went down the stairs, staying in the shadows. The stairs ended in an alley on a back street. Lisa stripped out of her cat suit and her mask. Harper removed his mask too and holding hands, they ran into the night.
When it was safe, they emerged into the lit streets. Luck was on their side. Harper waved down an approaching cab and when it stopped they got in.
The motel they picked was off the highway. Lisa waited outside with the blue metal box while Harper paid for a room and got their key.
“I don’t understand what happened.” Lisa said when they entered the room.
Harper paced the short width of the motel room.
“I think there was an interloper.” Harper finally said. “Possibly, another organization from out of state. That’s the only thing that makes sense.”
Slowly, tension started to ease from Lisa’s body and she kicked off her shoes and lay on the bed.
“We’ll find out in the morning.” Harper said.
He took off his clothes and was left with only a pair of boxers. Lisa’s eyes were glued to his body. Their eyes met and when Harper got into bed, it seemed inevitable that he would gather her in his arms. She traced her fingers on his cheeks and let them drop to his shoulder. Hungrily, Harper brought his mouth down to hers. She clung tightly to him, and wrapped her legs around his waist. Harper groaned. Lisa tugged at her leggings and without breaking the kiss, Harper reached down with one hand and wrenched the leggings from her legs.
“Open your eyes.” Harper said.
Lisa opened her eyes.
“Lisa Hunter, I love you.” Harper said.
Lisa’s eyes almost popped out.
Supporting himself with his arms, Harper said in a light voice.
