The Signal

“Boss, when will we begin the procedure?” I asked. “It’s been two hours and all we’ve done is sit here, I’m getting bored!”

     “Shut your trap Amelia! We will go when the time is right, if you have a problem with that, you can leave, but good luck robbing a bank on your own!” Boss shouted.

     “Boss the guards will hear us if you don’t quiet down,” I said.

Suddenly I was startled by a sharp slap on the face. I winced through my black ski mask and sighed.

     “Sorry boss.”

     “Next time it'll be worse,” Boss reminded me while flashing a smile through the hole in his mask. His breath reeked of rotting vegetables and dried blood. I resisted the urge to tear off my mask and gulp in big breaths of the clean air around me. Boss wasn’t the cleanest. On days like these I look up at the sky and thank my parents for teaching me personal hygiene, so I didn’t end up being a walking garbage can like Boss. 

    “Lexi should be giving us the signal any minute,” Boss murmured.

    “Where is she anyway?” I asked. “If she had any pride in her job at all she’d hurry the heck up!” I whined.

     “Now, don't be impatient,” Boss scolded.

     I nodded my head and focused my gaze on the ground beneath us. The breeze began to kick in some more, so I wrapped my arms around my body tighter than I had before, so the bitter wind couldn't find a way in.

     “Hey, I think she's about to give the signal,” Boss said, excitement gleaming in the back of his eyes. I squinted into the distance trying to make out Lexi’s figure, when all of the sudden the world went dark. I grinned, knowing that the first phase of our plan was complete. Lexi had caused the city-wide power outage. Now we could strike in under the cover of night. 

    “Let’s go!” Boss said.    

     We sprinted out from behind the bush that had kept us sheltered, and continued towards the bank. 

    “You take care of these guards,” Boss started, “I’ll find a way in.”

     I nodded and my way towards the guards, both armed and alert now that it was pitch black. I wasn't quite sure how to handle them, I mean I could just knock them out but that would attract attention. On the other hand I could lure them away, but then making a run towards the bank would be hard. Ugh. I was lost. C’mon Amelia you don’t have much time, just go. Suddenly I picked up the pace and halted to a stop right in front of the first guard.

     “Hi, sorry but Boss said I need to take care of you so I’ll make it quick!’’ I said, exasperated from all the running. The guard looked confused, and reached for the gun at his holster, but I quickly kicked it out of his hand.

     “You’ll have to do better than that young lady,” the guard said as he formed a fist. Well, you asked for it, I thought. I ducked under his punch, and slammed my full weight into him, sending him to the ground. The second guard came running towards me, so I jumped up into the air to avoid his sweeping leg. I punched him in the groin, knocking the wind out of him. He gasped for air as I reached for the gun on his hip. Once I had a hold of it, I chucked it into the distance. I don't need a weapon, Boss had trained me in Martial Arts since I was young. I laughed out loud, and gave the guard one last kick, so he landed on top of his buddy. Both seemed to be out cold, so I started to walk to the back entrance.

     “Am I late?” a voice asked from behind me. I whipped my head around.

     “What's the code?!” I barked.

     “61194, It’s me Amelia.” I sighed. Yep that’s Lexi. She must be here to accompany me to the vault.

     “I got the guards, so we need to break into the back entrance, the walls are thick though, so I’m afraid we are gonna have to use that dynamite you brought,” I said.

     “So much for being discreet,” she said. I laughed as she removed the dynamite carefully from her pack.

     “Lets go.”

     We ran up to the back entrance in which a single door stood. It had what seemed to be dozens of padlocks on it.

     “They must be onto us,” Lexi murmured as she gently set the dynamite down and pulled out a box of matches from the back pocket of her jeans. “Remember, this stuff goes fast, Amelia, so you better run.” I nodded my head, Lexi knows what she's doing, so I ought to listen. I got in position, ready to bolt out of the way.

     “Here I go,” Lexi said. She aimed a match to the rope connected to the dynamite. It caught a flame, and we began to sprint in the opposite direction. Lexi and I were the same age, but she was much faster. I did my best to keep up with her, but it wasn’t enough. I heard the loud boom and saw bits of the building flying all over the place. The impact sent me flying backwards, into the bushes. I groaned as I sat upright, pain searing through my body.

     “Amelia?! Yo Amelia?!” Lexi called.

     “Here!”

     “What did I say about getting away quickly, Boss ought to work you harder. Now get up! This mission isn’t stopping for you,” Lexi said. I grunted and forced myself to my feet, ignoring the constant ringing in my ears. We walked towards the large hole on the back of the building and creeped in. Even with my crippled ears, I could hear sirens wailing in the distance.

     “Lexi, we gotta make this quick,” I said.

     “I know, so follow me. I found a map of the bank on my phone.” Lexi has always been tech-savvy, so I’m not really surprised. She led me through an empty corridor, in which more guards stood.

     “They seem to be the last of the guards, I’m pretty sure Boss wiped out the rest. Go get them,” Lexi demanded. I followed her orders and threw myself into action. I threw up a roundhouse kick, giving two of them a bloody nose. I avoided a punch and rolled under the guard, hitting a pressure point on his neck from behind. He collapsed in seconds. Another guard shot at me a few times, and I managed to miss them, but I was gonna need some help.

     “Code red, I repeat code red, come to staircase eight, we have an intruder.” Oh no, were toast, I thought. But suddenly...

     “Hyah!” Lexi joined the fight and threw a punch to another guards stomach, he groaned and backed up, but shortly after he sprung back forward, nailing Lexi in the shoulder with the bottom of his pistol. Unfazed, she elbowed him in the face.

     “There, now we gotta throw them in the closet,” I said. Lexi dragged two of the guards into the closet while I lifted the others onto my shoulder. We sprinted up the staircase, under Lexi’s direction. Boss should be right up ahead. We were so close.

     “BANG!” A bullet went flying through the air missing us by inches. I screamed and Lexi nearly stumbled down the stairs. 

     “Oh it’s you girls, nice job let’s roll out,” a voice said. Lexi focused her flashlight on the figure. It was Boss, hoisting bags of money over his shoulder. Wow, I thought, that was quick. We made our way down the staircase, and tiptoed out of the building.

     “Put your hands up where I can see ‘em!” a bold voice demanded. No, I thought, no no no no no. We almost had it. I looked at Boss for directions, but only saw the hands over his head. I turned to Lexi. Same for her. I put my hands up, and my head down. Suddenly the world seemed blinding. The lights had turned back on.

     “Nice try,” the cop said, “but it’s over.”