Black or White

Chapter 20 )( It's the Only Option, Right?

   The man's name was Denesh and he kept his word. Mara met up with the people he recruited without Dan, when she spoke to them about what exactly the ever developing plan of hers was. Dan went over to her place as usual but sometimes would show up to see one of the recruited on their way out with some papers in hand.

The limited interactions he witnessed between them did not phase him; he was surprised at Mara telling them her name point blank in an overheard exchange and her not wearing a mask when meeting any of them.

"Mara," he whisper shouted as a member left her apartment, "aren't you a bit weary about them knowing who you are? You are kind of a well-known criminal." Mara looked at him like a tourist to a native speaking in their mother tongue before she replied.

"No, we're going to be working with them for a while, if things go right. You want me to put on mask every time they come over?" It did sound a bit absurd when she said it – still;

"Your name though?"

"I gave you my real name when we started working together. Why would I need to give them a different one? It will just cause confusion." He opened his mouth to rebut again, she cut him off. "It's fine, Dan. They can't do worlds of damage with my name." She had given them more than that but if she wanted it to be that way, then Dan had to accept it.

Soon after, Mara appointed Dan as the man to talk to once the basic briefings had been done. With every new development, she told Dan about it and he had to distribute the information to their recruited.

Their 'crew' was small, only 6 people excluding Mara and Dan, so they started out small and slow. Solo or duo robs at the bank tellers or ATM machines in the rich neighbourhoods. One of the guys knew his machinery so he went on most of the ATM hits, and the pay out from them was everything Dan had expected when he decided to do this all those months ago, and more. Five thousand dollars from one ATM alone, Dan almost cried when they had brought it back.

They kept going like that for half a month, then one of their people got caught and Mara decided it was time they moved on to the real goal.

Their first mid-sized bank robbery was easy enough – was it successful? No. Another duo rob where they simply told the teller to give them some money or one of them would shoot, Dan assumed, then they took the money and ran. Mara and Dan had sat in her apartment and waited for them to return. Dan was still surprised that Mara had not gone to do any of the robberies yet, he just assumed she wanted them to get the hang of it before she did. When the two did return the girl had a smudge of red on her face but neither of them had the bag.

"What happened?" Dan had asked. A simple response came from the guy beside her, he mentioned a 'dye pack'. Mara took out her computer and looked it up then cursed under her breath. It was a good thing they had both worn very long black coats and black ski masks, or they would have been caught.

So their robberies got put on hold as Mara did some in depth research about other precautions banks took against robberies, other than the obvious security equipment she had noted before. While she did her research Dan did his by finally taking an interest in all the crime movies Marcus loved to watch. It took only a few days, then she came back and they were ready to plan again. She took charge of speaking to the crew that time, having them all in her apartment as they made plans.

Dan got involved for the next few tasks they had, more casing but of a different kind. He would go into banks and take a good look around, chat up with the tellers and the security guards too, while looking for specific things in lobby area and behind the counters if he could. He relayed all of it back to Mara – of course.

"So, you want to start profiling our crew?"

"No, not start, I already started that after we met them, I just need them to prove what they are capable of so I know what to do with them." Dan and Mara were alone in her apartment, Mara had cooked lunch so they spoke over some sandwiches and nuggets. Just like the last scheme they had crafted, the new one was shaky but they were getting through it. Mara mostly on fixing the kinks and such. "So I can know who is bait and who is worth sending out to get the job done."

Bait. Dan did not like the term. He knew they had discussed the idea of having the crew on as cushion for fallbacks but Dan had been getting to know them over the few weeks they had been working and it made him understand that they weren't the best people but bait still sounded wrong.

They kept talking regardless of Dan's unexpressed discomfort, they finished eating about an hour before the conversation ended. Dan took the plates to go wash up before he left. However, Mara stopped him as he went for the door, she asked if he wanted to watch one of the heist movies he'd told her about since it was still early. His mind immediately tried to pull up reasons why he shouldn't; he did not have any, so he walked back to the couch and they watched the movie.

Their crew had new precautions for the robberies. The plan for their second one rob really made Dan smile at Mara, the humor in it was right up her alley. It started as a repeat of the first, except that they dropped the money the minute it left the bank and once the dye pack went off they waited. After the police left, one of them went back in and told them to pack the bag again, properly. They made sure to point out their partner sitting by the window with the 'police officer' outside and told them that there was a gun pressed up to the officer's side.

The pay was not as much as the ATM's but the duo came back with smirks and cash none the less. Dan almost smiled with them but one look at Mara's formal expression lead him not to. She took the money and left the room, not a glance back.

"If you want a job you can just ask for it you know."

Dan had not been back to the Hunny Bunny in a month. After the fear had set in about him actually having considered threatening Damien's cousin.

The time passed and Dan's head was laid on the counter for the sixth day in a row, focused solely on the ovens and doughy things behind Damien. Damien's comment caught him off guard. Dan lifted his head up to address him.

"What?" Damien's smile still was not as wide as it had been before but he smiled at Dan with the same level of kindness.

"I said, if you wanted a job here you coulda just asked." Dan blinked then sighed. He laid his head against the counter again.

"If this is about the thing with your cousins."

"It's not, well it is but is more bout how you look at them," Damien gestures behind him, "like you jealous. I see wishful thinking all over yuh face."

Dan frowned a little at that but did not respond. He had never thought about it, plus he could not bake so the offer was misplaced.

"I can't bake Dam, so thanks but no thanks."

"Zoey couldn' bake. When she was sixteen de girl couldn' roll a dough to save her life, now look at her." Dan did, every time he came by, and she was a really great baker. The idea of learning to bake did not make him uncomfortable or dejected, if anything his shoulders lowered and relaxed at the thought. He did not know what to say to Damien though, he kind of did not have the level of focus needed to cultivate a skill at the moment. "I'm just telling yuh, Dan, if you want to work here I would give you a job. Yuh can take de register until yuh get the gist of all," he waved his hand around in a flurry of movement, "that."

Dan walked home feeling a bit colder that evening, not because of the dropping temperatures either. Damien's offer was no way close to a bad thing, but it made Dan's stomach churn. The image of him at the Hunny Bunny every day, cashing people up and learning to bake, it made his cheeks warm and his breaths stutter.

He couldn't though. Dan, he had something already. It paid good, he liked the people around him – person around him and he did not want to back out so far in. By the time Dan had reached home he had put the thought aside. He had things to do with Mara the next day, so he left his coat on the rack by the door and went to bed on his adjustable plush sofa.