The Banks Sisters

by Nikki Turner

  “No,” he had to laugh at himself. “You got me. I actually came to ask you to dinner. To ask you on a date,” he told her shuffling from one foot to the other like some adolescent teenager.

  “Wait so I went from being a suspect to being a possible dinner date?” she asked this trying to keep a straight face. She was struggling to keep from laughing. She found it a bit comical that Detective Dugan was asking her out after the hard time he had given her.

  “Hey look, I was just doing my job,” he explained trying to reason with her.

  “And you did your job well,” she added.

  “All right I get it. This was a bad idea. I’m sorry if I offended you.” He took a step back trying to gather himself. It wasn’t his habit to mix business with pleasure and he sure wasn’t used to getting turned down even if it was by the most beautiful woman he’d met in ages.

  “You think you offend me?” Simone asked putting her hand over her chest acting as if she was surprised.

  “I’m sorry Ms. Banks. Really, can we forget I ever stepped over the line and made a real fool of myself asking you out? I get it.” He had that look on his face of sheer embarrassment and Simone was really enjoying his discomfort a little too much.

  “Get what? That a really cute police officer actually thought I was guilty?” She had to fight to keep herself from laughing.

  “No, I didn’t say that I thought you were guilty . . . wait? You just called me cute? Like baby puppy cute or like I should get to know him cute?” He broke out into and infectious smile.

  “So where are you taking me on this date?” Simone asked letting him know exactly what kind of cute she had been talking about. It had been a long time since she’d actually agreed to a date, but she had been thinking about the detective more than she wanted to admit.

  “You want to grab a quick coffee and talk about it? I mean I did drive all this way and waited for you to finish with work.” She had been listening but that was before a Brinks armored truck pulled up in front of the bank. Two armed guards exited and went into the bank. “Hello? Hello?” the detective broke Simone out of her trance watching the money being loaded into the bank. She glanced down at her watch, five-thirty.

  “What is your first name Detective Dugan? I cannot go out with someone when I don’t even know his first name,” she smiled teasing him a little more. Damn, this girl is gorgeous, he thought to himself.

  “It’s Chase, Chase Dugan.”

  “Yeah, that sounds about right. You look like a Chase. So Chase, you want to go and have a coffee?”

  “Sounds good. There’s a place around the corner. It’s not Starbucks, but I think it’s a little more quaint,” he told her as Simone allowed him to lead her down the street. So many things were swirling in her head, but one of them was definitely how good it felt to have a man this fine want to get to know you better. There was something about the detective that reminded her of someone, but she couldn’t put her finger on who that could be.

  -33-

  By the time Simone and Chase got back to their cars it was way past eight. They’d spent so much time talking about their families, mostly him and their lives that time had gotten away from them. He had grown up in the area, went away for college, and retuned determined to make a difference in his hometown. The whole ride home she kept replaying their conversation and thinking about how comfortable they were together.

  When she walked in the door Bunny was sitting in the kitchen alone making notes in a book. She didn’t even look up when Simone walked into the room.

  “What are you doing?” she asked concerned because her sister had an intense expression on her face when she entered.

  “Nothing,” she answered without glancing up. Simone came around the table and stood over her shoulder. An immediate feeling of sheer terror shot through her body as she caught a glimpse of what had captured Bunny’s attention.

  “You can’t do it.”

  “Yes. I’m going to. I don’t have a choice.” Bunny gave her sister a look of such resignation that she knew there was no way to change her mind.

  “This is like when I told you that Marla Thompson was bullying me in third grade and you threatened to beat her up. No matter how much I tried to talk you out of it you wouldn’t listen and you beat the girl up anyway. My little sister came to my rescue,” Simone said reminicing.

  “Yup, that’s exactly what it’s like Simone. You can’t stop me,” Bunny said without looking at her.

  “I couldn’t stop you then and I can’t stop you now, huh?”

  “No, you can’t.”

  “Then I’m going to do it with you.”

  “No. You must be crazy if you think I’m going to let you do that.”

  “I’m the insider. I can actually make sure you don’t get arrested or killed.” Bunny stared at her sister and began considering what Simone had just shared, but in the end she fought against it.

  “No. And I mean it, Sisi. I can take care of myself. I’m the one that was living in the fast lane with a man that ripped people off for a living. Sure they were drug dealers, but this is my mess to clean up. You never even got a driving violation. You do things the right way and follow all the rules. I couldn’t live with myself if I got you caught up in any kind of trouble.”

  “And look where being a Miss-Goody-Too-Shoes has gotten me? Working at a bank for a boss who thinks I’m some ghetto thief anyway. I might as well make sure that he’s right.”

  “I’m not going to let you destroy your life. You’re better than this,” Bunny said trying to do whatever she could to talk her sister out of this.

  “So who are you going to get to help you? Some of your friends? Bunny, where are all those girls now that your money is running low? You think they won’t turn you in if it came to them or you? Family is the only thing you can trust. I will have your back.”

  “I know why I am willing to risk my life Sisi, but you can’t. I won’t let you do this for me.” But Bunny knew that Simone was just like her when it came to being stubborn. She knew once Simone made the decision to something, nothing would stop her from it.

  “Well, don’t flatter yourself. I’m not doing it for you.” Simone answered, looking into a confused Bunny’s eyes. Now it was time for her to share something, “When my father died and that bitch stole all his money she took something else, that I need. She cut me off from my medical insurance and . . .”

  “What? Sisi, tell me!” A red flag went off and Bunny knew that whatever her sister was holding back had to be huge.

  “I need to have all these expensive tests and I need them done soon. The doctor thinks I might be very sick and unless I get these tests I won’t know how bad things are and what the best course of action for me to take is.”

  “Wait, what? Sick, how sick do they think you are, Simone?” a now worried Bunny asked her.

  “Pretty sick Bunny,” Simone said trying to keep it as vague as possible, but her sister wasn’t having it.

  “How sick Simone? Stop beating around the fucking bush Simone!”

  “They think I might have cancer,” Simone said in a low tone.

  “Cancer? No! I can’t lose you. Not after Spoe, Tariq, and Me-Ma. Please God, no,” Bunny cried out at the injustice.

  “I know, but I’m going to be fine as long as I get the money to handle the medical tests.”

  “So I guess we’re going to do this?” Bunny asked gazing into her sister’s eyes.

  “Look, I saw that robbery go down and I can tell you everything those men did wrong. They were total amateurs. They didn’t even know the bank routines or the best time to rob the place. They just thought that if they busted in like bad asses they would be able to take the place. And those stupid masks were ridiculous.”

  “We need to hire a driver,” Bunny started to flip through her mental rolodex trying to find someone that they could trust.

  “And at least one more person. And we need weapons.”

  “I got guns. Spoe kept all his equipm
ent in a storage place and nobody knows where he kept them except me and him so I’m sure they’re all still there.” Bunny’s eyes started to water thinking about Spoe. Simone glanced up and saw her sister’s damp face.

  “Everything will be all right, baby sis.” She gave Bunny a squeeze trying to comfort her.

  “I’m all right. Maybe doing this, exactly what Spoe use to do is going to help me in more ways than one. Because you work there you need to draw the inside of the bank and make a list of all the employees and how many guards.”

  “And we have to make damn sure that nobody has the chance to put a dye pack inside the bag when they’re putting the money in there. That stuff does not come off. And we need the robbery to happen on a Thursday evening.”

  The two of them were so busy caught up in the details of the robbery that neither noticed Tallhya standing in the doorway her eyes wide from shock. She cleared her throat dramatically attempting to get their attention. They both looked up surprised expressions on their faces.

  “So now you bitches think you’re Bonnie and fucking Clyde?” she asked raising her voice loud enough to wake the neighbors.

  “Shhh! Are you fucking crazy?” Bunny snapped at her.

  “Me? Your’e asking Me? You two are the ones that sound crazy. Y’all bitches think this is the movie, Set it Off or some shit and if Me-Ma was here she would beat you both with those wooden spoons over there.” She pointed to the jar of spoons on the counter that their grandmother used to discipline her unruly charges when they were young.

  “We don’t have a choice. Or do you have a whole lot of money hidden that we don’t know about?” Bunny questioned her and then added a hostile stare for effect.

  “No,” Tallhya said looking down at the floor, “in case you two forgot, that no good husband of mine stole all my money and the bank says I have to sue him to get it back so I don’t have shit,” she said looking from one sister to the other with tears in her eyes.

  “Look, just don’t say anything to anyone please. If we had a choice we would, but we don’t,” Simone said with pleading eyes.

  “I don’t think you two can do this alone. I know that for sure.”

  “We don’t care what you think as long as you keep this shit to yourself,” Bunny said with an attitude. They both waited for Tallhya to agree, but she didn’t.

  “Guess I’m going to have to help since I don’t want to visit you in the state pen.” Tallhya’s words shocked her sisters.

  “What?”

  ‘Y’all are not the only ones sick and tired of being a damn doormat having everything go wrong. Hell, just less than two weeks ago I had a husband who I thought loved me and a nice size bank account. Now here I am single and broke. Hell yeah, I want in. The way I see it Simone needs to be at work so it doesn’t look suspicious, Bunny and I will rob the place so now all we need is someone to drive the getaway car.” All three looked at each other realizing that neither of of them were the best drivers in the family.

  “Ginger!” they all said in unison.

  -34-

  Bunny drove her sisters to Hopewell, a little town about thirty minutes outside of Richmond to the spot where Spoe and Tariq kept all their equipment for the robberies. Spoe knew that he had to make sure they weren’t ever spotted with the weapons or clothing from the robberies. Luckily he trusted Bunny and made her come out with him to learn how to shoot the guns. He didn’t ever want her in a situation where she couldn’t protect herself so she went from being a novice to an expert marksman.

  “Where the hell are we going?” Ginger raised her voice looking around at the country road with nothing, but miles of trees on either side. Occasionally they’d see a small house pushed back from the road, but this was too densely populated for the sisters. “This can’t take all day ’cause I got places to go, people to do and more people to do.” Ginger laughed high-fiving Tallhya.

  “You stoopid,” Bunny shook her head at their youngest sister.

  “Not too stupid for you bitches to need me to save your asses. See y’all can’t be talkin’ about Ginger and treating her like the pain in the neck little sister when she got skills to pay the bills.” She snapped her fingers to solidify her point.

  “Whatever,” Simone laughed grateful they could always count on Ginger for some comic relief.

  “I’m about to be one bad bitch with a gun in my hands. Then I’ll be packing in more ways then one,” Ginger joked.

  “Ew, stop! Just stop!” Bunny yelled then preceded to shoot Ginger a dirty look in the rearview mirror. “Thank God, we’re here,” Bunny pulled Simone’s beat up old dodge into a hidden driveway and drove a ways down a road until they came to a shack with a garage.

  “I’m not going in there,” Tallhya shook her head and Bunny just gave her a look so fierce she jumped out of the car without anymore complaining.

  “This is serious!” Simone stood there in shock as Bunny unlocked the huge metal cabinet that held a shitload of artillery. Tallhya and Ginger raced over each grabbing a gun like they were toys. Tale held a semi-automatic pistol, but of course the youngest had to have the biggest and went straight for a machine gun.

  “Bam! Bam! Bam! Motherfucker, take that you’re dead,” Tallhya shouted to her imaginary victim who her sisters assumed was Walter. She shot at the cans Bunny had lined up outside on a wall and missed all three of them. Simone brandishing a glock came up next to her and hit all three cans.

  “Now Walter is dead for real,” she said winking at Tallhya. Thankfully her father had always made sure that she knew how to defend herself. She had taken shooting once a month since she was thirteen.

  “How could I have been so stupid?” Tallhya whined

  “Good dick will make you do some dumb shit,” Bunny laughed thinking about all the things she had done with and for Spoe.

  “Ain’t that the motherfuckin’ truth,” Ginger sighed.

  “I know,” Tallhya started, “but it wasn’t even that good.” She confessed and they all burst out laughing ’cause that made it sad.

  “All right we need to get serious,” Simone interrupted them breaking off the fun. “This is a real big deal so we need to be focused and ready. No thinking about men or dick or heartbreak or any of the people who messed us over. Not now. The slightest mistake can cost us our lives or our freedom so the time to joke and have fun is done. You hear me?” She glanced over at her sisters even Ginger who always had a snappy comeback remained mute and serious. “We are ready to run through what we need to do because once we—”

  “I got this Sisi,” Bunny interjected, cutting her off. “I know you’re the big sister and you’re used to being in charge, but this is my thing.”

  “No, it’s not. You have an immediate need that makes you too invested to take the lead. The other reason I’m going to lead is because I’m the one working at the bank. Do any of you know where the security is stationed? What measures have been put into place recently in order to thwart another bank robbery? Do you even know the best day in order to get the most cash? No. So if you want me involved you need to let me take charge. I will get you in and out of there safe.”

  “Fine, but something goes wrong and it’s on you!” Bunny announced throwing up her hands. Simone waited until the wrath of her sister’s threat dissipated before continuing.

  “Every one of us is going to have a job to do. First off, Bunny and I know how to use guns so Tale and Ginger you both have to learn marksmanship. While I’m at work the next two days you both need to come out here and work on your aim and comfort levels. You can’t have any fear. Bunny is going to come up with our disguises and outfits for the hit. Also, Bunny it’s your job to make sure we have the right weapons and burner cell phones. Tallhya you have a memory like an elephant so I need you to come to the bank and to do a visual walk through. You need to make sure that no one notices you checking out the bank.

  “What about me?” Ginger always wanting to keep up with her sisters interrupted her mouth pressed into a pout.
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  “You need to find a car that no one will notice and we can use for the heist.”

  “That’s easy.”

  “So everybody has their assignments. My job is to draw a map of the bank and to give you all the details you need to pull this off.” Simone surprisingly took to the whole criminal thing. She liked finally being in control.

  “You really think we can pull this off?” Bunny whispered to her older sister.

  “Yeah, I do. In fact I know we can do it,” she smiled, taking her sister’s hand.

  -35-

  “Girl, what the hell are you wearing?” Ginger asked then she physically blocked Simone from leaving the bedroom. “Tallhyra, Bunny come quick!” she hollered down the stairs for reinforcements.

  “Stop playing we need to do one more run through before I leave,” She insisted trying to maneuver around her sister. Ginger folded her hands across her chest and gave her the once over before shaking her head at this pitiful display.

  “What?” Both Tallhya and Bunny crowded into Simone’s bedroom.

  “Look at this hot mess!” Ginger pointed at their older sister’s outfit, a pencil skirt, button down shirt a blazer and a pair of pumps.

  “What? I like this outfit,” she said defending her outfit.

  “If you were tryin’a be a librarian or a receptionist you would definitely get the job,” Tallhya sassed.

  “Its not that bad,” Simone insisted staring at her image in the mirror.

  “Unless you are trying to blow someone off, this is not a lets take it to the next level kind of outfit. This is a shut that shit down ’cause you aint getting none.” Bunny laughed.

  “That cooty cat is on some Fort Knox security level.” Ginger snapped again.

  “But I don’t know him enough to sleep with him.” Simone insisted getting uptight about her first date with Detective Dugan.

  “How the hell are we related? If he’s fine, employed, and interested then sex is usually on the agenda. How are you even Deidra’s child? Our mother likes to fuck, we all like to fuck except you.” Bunny glanced at her oldest sister who looked embarrassed at this uninvited attention to her sex life.