Freedom

The feet of the Carmac brothers are heard around the bank as the loud alarms blare their distress. They accidentally tripped the wire when coming in through the window. What an amateur move any idiot could prevent, but they let it go as they tore down the long corridor. Stephen was breathing hard and tore off his black ski mask, panting for air. His brother was in the same condition, but refused to risk his true identity being seen. They took another left at the corner, and could see through the narrow, slim windows red and blue lights flashing wildly. They didn’t have much time. They came to the end of the hallway, and quickly used the code to unlock the double doors. Then they took a right and used their decoding skills to crack the code of the ultra-thick titanium vault. They slipped in and shut the door behind them. They threw down the sacks they had been carrying with them, and started filling it up with piles and piles of never-ending cash.

    “Man, I can’t even remember how many times we’ve done this,” Stephen said, barely giving a care.

    “23 to be exact,” Replied his twin brother Carlos. 

    He finally pulled off his mask, and drew his fingers through his hair as he took a deep, relieving breath. 

    “I wonder what would happen if they finally catch us.”

    “They haven’t yet!!” Grinned Carlos as he threw a fat wad of cash at Stephen. 

    They continued to fill their bags until no more could be put in.

    “How much do you think we racked up?” Questioned Carlos.

    “Maybe around 10 grand or so.”

    All of the sudden a loud buzzing noise was heard from above, and they moved to the side as part of the roof tumbled down and cracked on the impact of the floor. 

    “Need a lift boys?” Asked a warm voice. 

    Lucia.

    “Hey! You're 2 minutes late!” Shouted Carlos.

    “Oh whatever. At least I’m here.” 

    She threw down a ladder and as Stephen and Carlos made their way up it, they heard loud footprints followed by yelling coming from the corridor. They hurried up their pace, and as they jumped into the chopper and greeted Michael, the pilot, Lucia collected the ladder and tossed it in with them. Gunshots rang throughout the titanium shell and just ricochet off of the walls blindly.

    “Late again!” Stephen teased as the chopper lifted off the ground and headed away from the building. 

    As thy the chopper touched back down on the mountain, the crew jumped out and land hard on the ground. They slid down a side hill partway and they knocked on one of the part of what looked like an edge to a cliff. The door slid open, and everyone piled in in a hurry. They clicked the button on the little compartment, and slid down into the mountain at lightning speed. 

    “Boss,” Carlos greeted the man by throwing the 2 sacks of cash on the table in front of a large man with wide shoulders. “Bout’ 10 grand right there. 

    Without a word, the man pressed a button on his desk hidden behind a large coffee mug. Behind him opened a large door that looked like the titanium vault back at the bank but 10 times bigger. He took the sacks and threw them in with the rest of the piles that they had collected. 

    “Expect more,” He said flatly, returning to writing something on paper.

    Carlos’s mouth dropped, but he and his fellow employees were used to this kind of treatment. 

    They walked away and into a door on the right side of him. 

    “Man, I can’t take that guy for another second!!” Stephen slammed his fist on the little table in the middle of the room. “He can’t even give us half the share to split evenly among the 4 of us!” 

    He fell into a little cushioned chair and started rubbing his face with the palms of his hands.

    “I swear, one day we will find a life better for ourselves.”

    “Yeah, honestly, I hate doing all this stuff. You know, stealing? And I’m always freaking out that we’ll get caught one day. I don’t wanna end up in prison. If I’m being honest, I want to settle down somewhere nice and have a life of my own,” Admitted Lucia.

    “My dream was to become a drummer in a band,” Said Michael.

    They all stared at the golden drum set in the corner of the room. Boss always complained that he was too loud and threatened to throw it off the mountain. 

    “I just always wanted to get away from Boss, but I knew he would never let us go,” Said Stephen grimly.

    They all wanted more than to just be puppets for Boss. Carlos snapped his fingers as he got an idea, and took the pen and started writing on a pad of paper on the sparsely decorated table. His hand moved wildly, and when he was done, he held up his creation.

    “This,” he said majestically, “Is out route to freedom.’

    “Ok, so does everyone remember the plan?” Carlos asked, pulling his black ski mask over his head. 

    “Yup!” Replied Lucia. “You two tell Boss to come on the mission with you, and we’ll be the getaway drivers,” She gestured to Michael and herself. 

    “Let’s do this,” Stephen said, pulling on his mask and heading out of the room. 

    CRASH. The window smashed open as Stephen, Carlos, and Boss entered the Jewelry Store. Priceless pieces lined up in glass casements filled the store. This was the biggest store in the city, and the most expensive one too. The hallways seemed endless as they made their way through, collecting all the rubies and sapphires and emeralds encased in silver chains. Boss had agreed earlier this would be their next stop, and the crew insisted he come along. They brought larger sacks this time so they could get a bigger haul. They suddenly heard the alarms going off, and a few minutes later police sirens ringing in the distance. Perfect.

    “Boss, why don’t you take the big room while we finish up this one?” Suggested Stephen. 

    He took himself and his bag, and ran down the hallway to the biggest room where there were no windows and the place was boarded up, the most secure place in the facility. When he was in there, being his little greedy self, he didn’t notice Stephen and Carlos at the door. A minute later, they were behind a door. The lock clicked.

    “See ya Boss!” Carlos said with a wink as he and Stephen took off down the hallway to a separate room. 

    “Get back here you two!!!!” Boss shouted as he dropped his sack and started pounding on the door. 

    When Carlos and Stephen broke through the door of the little room, they leaped across it and jumped out the window, shattering it to a million little pieces. The were surrounded by towering apartment buildings. They took off running as they went right and navigated their way to a very little, quiet lane. They saw a black car sitting there, idle, and opened the doors and threw their sacks down. They pulled off their ski masks and looked at the people in the front seat. Lucia and Michael. They all grinned at each other. Michael put the car in drive, and they started down the road on the path to their new life. Cop cars drove right by them, getting to the scene where they would find Boss in the room with all the necklaces and diamonds and crystals. They made their way up the road and onto the interstate headed east. They all took a deep breath in and started whooping and cheering. They did it, they actually did it. 

    “So, how are we going to pay for everything when we get to our new home?” Asked Michael, turning seriously.

    “I’m not quite sure, but this is a good start!” Carlos held up the 2 bags filled with jewelry and started laughing. 

    They turned on the radio, and all sat back in their seats as they started their long journey to home. To freedom.