Prowl (Nothing Else Matters But Survival Book 1)

by Stephanie Nicole Norris

  “What do you mean she never came back?”

  Leah followed Symone into the bathroom. “She said she was going home to get some things and she never came back.”

  “And you believed she would?” Symone shook her head in disbelief.

  “Yes, I asked her if she was coming back and she said she would. Maybe she wanted to be alone,” Leah suggested.

  “But she doesn’t need to be, I’m worried about her.” No matter how they fought, Symone loved Brooklyn.

  Symone ran warm water in the sink and pulled out a toothbrush from behind the medicine cabinet.

  “We’ve got other things to worry about. Let’s keep that list short and just get through the day.”

  Leah frowned. “What’s wrong with you?”

  Symone mumbled as she brushed her teeth. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Leah squinted at her. “What’s that tone I hear in your voice?”

  The doorbell chimed and both Symone and Leah whipped around.

  “That’s probably Brooklyn,” Symone mumbled continuing to brush her teeth.

  Leah walked away to open the door. A cool breeze flew in and Brooklyn stood on the other side of the threshold dressed down in a pair of blue jeans, black Reeboks, a black t-shirt to match and a shoulder-length black wig.

  “Well you’re looking the part,” Leah said.

  Brooklyn rolled her eyes. “Tell me about it.” She pushed past Leah going straight for the dining room with a book bag on her shoulder.

  “Where’s Nia?”

  “Here,” Nia’s soft voice sounded. Both Leah and Brooklyn turned to her and Brooklyn smirked.

  “I guess today you’re my twin,” Brooklyn said, looking Nia up and down, in her blue jeans, black shoes, and black shirt.

  “It seemed to be the most obvious choice,” Nia said.

  “What happened to you last night?” Leah asked Brooklyn.

  Brooklyn brought her attention back to Leah. “Nothing, I got home and decided I wanted to stay. Is there a problem?”

  Leah watched her closely for a minute. “I suppose not.”

  “Where’s Symone?”

  “Getting ready. What do you have there?” Leah asked, questioning the book bag.

  Brooklyn hauled the bag onto the table and unzipped it.

  “One for you,” she said to Nia, “and one for you,” Brooklyn said to Leah.

  “Why are we carrying weapons?” Symone asked walking into the room.

  “Yes, why, Brook?” Leah seconded; staring at the 360 handgun that now sat in the palm of her hand.

  “Just in case,” Brooklyn said.

  “We’ve never used guns before. Our operation is not like any others. There’s no point in carrying one because neither of us is going to use it.” Leah looked around the room. “Right?”

  No one said a word and Leah’s gut tightened. “Guys!”

  “We won’t hurt anyone,” Nia said. “But it’s good to have them if only for a scare tactic. It will keep people in their place, trust me.”

  They all stared at Nia, each having their own thoughts about what she could’ve possibly been a part of for the last eight years.

  “Fine,” Leah said. “But I won’t need one since I’m an employee and all.”

  Symone turned the gun back and forth in her hand and pulled back the handle then flipped the safety securely locking it.

  “Just in case,” Brooklyn reiterated. “Are we ready?”

  “Let’s get this over with.”

  Symone sat the gun at her back and they filed out one behind the other.

  Atlantic Bank of New York

  6 AM

  “Good morning, you must be Sarah,” Brandon McGee said as he held out a hand to Leah.

  “Yes sir,” Leah took his hand in hers for a shake.

  Brandon fumbled with a set of keys. “I’m sorry to call you in on such short notice. Harry, the guard that usually comes in with me, is sick. Happened at the last minute.”

  Finally, Brandon slid the key into the bank doors and held the door open for her.

  “After you,” he said.

  “I’m your security,” Leah replied. “Maybe you should go in first.”

  Brandon perked up. “You’re right! After me,” he said making an attempt at a joke.

  Leah stepped in behind Brandon and closed the door, turning the lock while Brandon disarmed the alarm.

  “Your job should go easy today. Follow me and I’ll talk you through it.”

  Leah trailed behind Brandon as he pointed out the areas she would watch.

  “We also have an officer on duty, so keeping an eye on things won’t be totally up to you. Besides that, we have a pretty good security system.”

  “How so?” Leah asked.

  “Well, if at any time the alarm is triggered, the cameras take immediate snapshots of everyone in the building. Also, the doors are automatically locked. Not I or anyone else can unlock them until police arrive.”

  “And how does this system know when the police arrive?”

  Brandon chuckled. “New York’s finest will have the code to shut the system down. One is sent to their headquarters as soon as the alarm is triggered.”

  Brandon stopped walking and turned to Leah. “But you won’t have to worry about any of that. If Harry’s better tomorrow, you’ll only have to endure a day of the hustle and bustle of this place.”

  Leah smiled thinly.

  “You can round the building here.” Brandon continued his stride.

  Leah kept her eyes on every detail of the bank.

  “What’s down this hall?”

  “Oh, that’s an employee entrance.”

  They walked down the hallway to a door that would unlock with the slide of a keycard.

  “Some of the tellers don’t care to come through the front door, so they enter here in back. The door can’t be opened inside or out without this.” He handed her a card. “Congratulations, it’s your very own temporary keycard.”

  The back door opened and the officer strolled through. “Morning,” he said to Brandon. The officer set his sights on Leah; a smile spreading across his lips. His tone became husky as he spoke. “Good morning.”

  “Good morning, Officer?”

  “Oh, I apologize,” Brandon interrupted. “This is Officer Myers. Officer this is Sarah Middleton. She’ll be working in Harry’s place today.”

  “Is that so?”

  “Yeah, unfortunately, Harry called in sick.”

  “That is unfortunate, but you’re prettier than Harry anyway,” Officer Myers winked.

  Leah pulled back that thin smile again.

  “Well, I need to make my morning rounds. We’ll open up in thirty minutes,” Brandon injected.

  The door opened again and more employees strolled through, all of them speaking one after another.

  “Do you need help with anything?” Officer Myers asked.

  “No, I think I can manage.”

  “I’m right up front if you need a helping hand. I can’t be missed since I pretty much stand as still as a statue like this.” Officer Myers stood with his shoulders back impersonating a statue.

  It was all Leah could do not to roll her eyes.

  “I get your point. If I need anything, I’ll let you know.”

  Leah walked away from the officer trying to put as much distance between the two as possible.

  Chapter Twenty

  “Do you copy?” Symone said through the walkie talkie.

  “Yes,” Brooklyn spoke back.

  Symone glanced at her watch. It was 6:30 a.m. Looking back to the monitor, she watched Brandon step to the glass doors and open the bank for business like clockwork. For the first fifteen minutes, activity was unusually low, but slowly customers began to enter the bank. The downtown street held its normal movement with an influx of traffic with every passing minute. In her sitting position under the bridge on 39th, Symone’s feet balanced on her toes, and her leg shook with a steady nervou
s vibration; then it happened. Two White males passed the bank’s ATM when money flew from the spout. A few women behind them gasped.

  “Oh my God!” One of them said catching the young men’s attention.

  “It’s spitting money!” Another woman yelled. The men’s faces lit up in surprise and mischief. The bills flew into the street getting caught up against the windshields of passing cars.

  Motorists came to a halt as everyone began to realize money was falling around them. Pedestrians ran to the machine, arms out, stuffing every pocket and crevice they could. Jumping out of cars, people stopped traffic leaving it backed up past a green light as they too flocked to the falling bills.

  Horns blared as the drivers stuck in the intersection swore while they leaned into their steering wheels. The police officer inside the bank ran out with Brandon hot on his heels. Their eyes widened at the disorder happening in front of their bank, and they ran to the crowd in an attempt to diffuse it.

  Symone glanced back down at her watch. “Five minutes,” she murmured as she lie in wait for Brooklyn to make her move.

  The back door opened and Leah stepped to the side. Brooklyn and Nia rushed through with empty duffle bags making their way straight to the vault. Once inside, they began to stuff them quickly.

  “Toss me a bag!” Leah whispered.

  “I need you to watch that door,” Brooklyn said. She turned to Nia, “Snap out of it Leah! Fill your bags!”

  “I’ve never seen this much money in my life,” Nia said casting her eyes around the cash with wonder.

  “And you never will again if you don’t snap out of it!”

  “This is incredible…” Nia said.

  Brooklyn dropped her bag and walked to Nia laying a heavy hand across her face. The slap almost dazed Nia as she held her jaw with surprised eyes.

  “Bitch you better get it together, my sister’s life is at stake!”

  “Brooklyn!” Leah screeched, offended at her audacity to strike Nia.

  “What?!” Brooklyn turned to get in Leah’s face. “What?” she growled gritting her teeth.

  “This was a mistake,” Leah said. “She’s not ready. I knew she wouldn’t be.”

  “No, I’m sorry, I’m ready.” Nia grabbed her bags and quickly tossed the vacuum sealed money in them.

  Brooklyn grabbed hers and went back to the task of packing the bags. Leah grabbed a bag and commenced packing it. After they’d gotten the bags filled to capacity, Brooklyn turned to Leah, handing her the bags she’d packed.

  “Take these to the blue grand marquis sitting right outside the door.”

  “Where are you going?” Leah asked as Brooklyn walked away.

  “To Brandon’s office, we’re running out of time.” Brooklyn paused in her steps and turned to them one last time. “Remember what we talked about, if I get caught…”

  “We know, just hurry up.”

  Brooklyn went out the door and made her way to Brandon’s office. With the cameras on a steady loop and the tellers distracted, Brooklyn entered Brandon’s office without interference. Quickly, she sat in the leather office chair, pulled the keyboard out and began typing.

  Her stopwatch beep indicated three minutes had passed. Brooklyn hit a button to reset it for another three minutes. It would be past the five minutes they’d given themselves to get the job done, but Brooklyn wouldn’t leave that office until she’d transferred the money.

  She made it past the first two coded backdoors in the bank’s system when Brandon rounded the corner into the office. An instant frown sat on his features as the two locked eyes. She looked somewhat familiar, but Brandon couldn’t quite put a finger on where’d he’d seen Brooklyn before.

  “Who are you and what are you doing in my office!”

  Brooklyn’s fingers never stopped moving. She was now past the third back door and in the process of transferring the dividends.

  “You’ll excuse me if I seem unbothered. I needed to use your computer.”

  “Young lady, I don’t know who you are, but in ten seconds I’ll hit a button that will lock this place down and bring NYPD in here, and you’ll go someplace where you might never get out.”

  “Not without you.”

  “Excuse me?”

  Brooklyn’s fingers continued to move. All she had to do was finish this, enter the off-shore account number, and it was a done deal.

  “Do that, and I’ll be sure to let the police know that you’ve been stacking money back there in that vault for days now. Probably weeks looking at the amount you’ve managed to stash.”

  Brandon’s eyes grew, and a small smile tapered Brooklyn’s lips. Brandon recovered quickly.

  “If you don’t have proof then it’s your word against mine. But believe me when I tell you, they’re going to look into your black ass before they look into mine. He turned to walk out of the room when he heard a click behind him. Pausing his movements, Brandon turned slowly back to Brooklyn.

  “I don’t think you understand,” she said holding the Smith and Wesson on him. “You don’t have a choice. Now, unless you want me to blow your fat ass head off, I suggest you sit down, Mr. McGee, until I’m finished.”

  They eyed each other for a second longer than Brooklyn had.

  “You wouldn’t,” Brandon said.

  “Do you really want to try it with me?”

  Another long second, then Brandon moved his heavy frame into the uncomfortable chair in front of his desk. Brooklyn kept the gun raised on him as she bent to tap the last of the numbers into the system and hit enter. The money began to transfer, and a loading bar sat on the middle of the screen. 30 percent, 40, 50, percent complete. Brooklyn was losing patience as she waited for the bar to reach 100 percent. When it did, her stopwatch beeped simultaneously. She tapped the device to shut it off and walked towards the door.

  “It was nice doing business with you, and before you get any bright ideas, just know, I know where Mrs. McGee works and where CJ and Lindsey attend school.”

  Brandon’s eyes grew wide.

  “Oh and I’ll take this,” she said snatching his badge that held his keycard attached. Don’t test me.”

  Brooklyn left the office quickly just as Leah rounded the corner.

  Brandon came out of the room.

  “Stop her!” He said to Leah as she passed. Leah and Brooklyn locked eyes and Brooklyn struck out running. Shit! Leah thought as she ran after her, playing her part of security guard. Brooklyn swiped the keycard pushing passed the back door and Leah followed her with Brandon right behind Leah.

  “She’s got a gun!” Brandon said.

  “Wait here!” Leah shouted at Brandon. She exited the back door coming face to face with Brooklyn.

  By this time, Nia made it to the car and sat in the passenger seat listening. She was ready to move out if need be.

  “Shit, shit!” Leah repeated. “You’ve got to shoot me.”

  “What?!” Nia said leaning over the middle console listening to her sister. “No way Leah! What are you thinking?”

  “We don’t have time to debate this! You have to or he’ll know I let you get away!” Leah glanced behind her frantic. “Do it! Do it now Brook!”

  Leah threw her hands around Brooklyn pretending to tussle. Brandon exited the back door, his eyes wide as the girls fought. Brooklyn pushed her off and aimed her gun at Leah. Bang!

  Nia screamed at the same time as Leah. Brooklyn jumped in the Grand Marquis and sped out of the parking lot; her hands shaking as she navigated through the dense traffic.

  “I can’t believe you shot her!” Nia cried. She tossed her tiny frame at Brooklyn scratching and swinging at her face. The Grand Marquis swerved as Brooklyn tried to fend Nia off and gain control of the car.

  “You shot her! You shot my sister!” Nia continued frantically.

  “I think I shot her in the leg! I had to!” A mist of tears clouded Brooklyn’s vision. “Fuck!” she screamed beating the steering wheel. Brooklyn’s cell phone rang, and she knew it was
Symone.

  When Brooklyn answered, Symone could hear Nia screaming in the background. Symone too had listened to Brooklyn shoot Leah from her safe spot in the van. Alarmed, Symone yelled, “What the hell happened?”

  Brooklyn tried to get a hold of herself. “Are you under the bridge, we need to exchange vehicles now!”

  “Yes, I’m here. What happened, Brooklyn?!”

  “I’ll tell you when we get there. We’re on the way!”

  Brooklyn shut off the phone and prayed Leah was okay.

  Chapter Twenty One

  “Talk and talk quick Brooklyn,” Symone yelled as Nia and Brooklyn climbed into the van.

  “Just get us the hell out of here, Symone,” Brooklyn shouted, slamming the van door and tumbling inside with the weighted down bags of money.

  “You shot my sister! How could you do that,” Nia wailed, scrambling to the monitor’s that were still watching the parking lot of the bank to see if she could see Leah.

  “What the hell was that, Brook,” Symone demanded as she moved the van as quickly through traffic as possible, without drawing unnecessary attention. Sirens wailed and police cruisers followed shortly thereafter making their way to the bank.

  “That was not the plan! Not the plan at all, so start talking before I pull this damn van over. We can all go down.”

  Symone’s threat was not idle. Seeing Leah hit the ground like that was too much.

  “I didn’t have a choice,” Brooklyn spoke up.

  “You did! You did!”

  Nia was an emotional wreck. The anger and fear overwhelmed her, and she cried as she screamed. The van had gone too far away from the bank, taking the monitors out of range. Nia couldn’t see her twin, but she felt her pain.

  “No, I didn’t!”

  Brooklyn’s heart beat loudly in her chest. All the repressed adrenaline from playing it cool in front of Brandon came on like a rushing wind, and now her senses were on edge.

  “There had to be another way,” Symone pressed, not willing to hear the bullshit from Brooklyn. But Symone kept the van moving.

  “Don’t you think if something else could have been done, I would have done it? I didn’t want to shoot Leah, hell, it was her idea!”