Mischievous Function

Banking, the Old Yoylish Art

In the lobby...

"Hey, Two!"

Two heard the voice of one of his students calling him and lay the black-tea-soaked potato chip next to the crumpets, scones, and finger sandwiches on his saucer by his chip bag and two tea cups before turning around. He saw Remote idly examining a smudge on her pistol before cleaning it off with her sleeve, Pie loading the last few bullets into a magazine, Liy pulling out some earpieces out of the four duffel bags she was carrying and handing them out to the other three, and Pillow leading the group toward Two while resting a shotgun on her shoulder.

"Yes, Pillow?"

"Can we take the FreeSmart SuperVan out to rob that bank now?"

"Oh, sure! Just make sure that—hey, hold up a minute." He scanned the group of four again and tsk-tsked, wagging a finger. "None of you are even wearing ammo vests or armor! How do you kids expect to survive five seconds in a firefight?"

"We were planning on breaking in quietly," Liy admitted. "Pillow did most of the planning, and Pie's our getaway driver. They're also our backup guns if things go awry. We did pack some body armor and ammo vests in our equipment bags, but we weren't planning on needing them."

"Well, of course you could do it completely unprotected," Two reasoned. "But it's always better to have some sort of Plan B on hand, especially with girls as young as you lot." He sighed and motioned to the table, beckoning for them to take a seat. "All right, come on. I need to make sure you know what you're doing, first. What's the plan?"

Remote stood next to the table and kept watch for any civilians with over-curious ears, while the other three sat down and leaned forward. "Judging from my intel," Pillow started, "the vault is in the basement of the two-story bank behind several locked doors. The vault door itself requires a special keycard and a code to open, and just past the vault door are several heat sensors that would go off instantly if anyone found their way in."

"Heat sensors that acute?" Two muttered. "Makes you wonder why they need that level of security..."

"That's what we want to find out," Liy answered. She pulled out a large blueprint from her equipment bag and laid it across the table, making sure to tuck it under Two's food. "According to their records, some reclusive multi-millionaire put something in a deposit box here recently. He requested that security be increased—and offered a substantial bit of discreet motivation, so to speak. We don't know what that something that he deposited is, and we don't even know which box it's in, but if a rich guy's willing to pay through the nose to put guns in front of it, then it's probably worth taking. Not to mention all the cash that's probably sitting around in there, too."

"We know the keycard's in a safe somewhere in the bank," Pillow said, "but we couldn't figure out exactly where. As for the code, it's probably stored somewhere on the bank manager's computer on the second floor. Remote's going to try to search through the computer's files, but if that lead ends up being a dud...well, I'm sure the manager wouldn't object to a little meeting in their office with some unsatisfied customers."

"The sensors?" Two asked.

"There's an electrical transformer connected to them in the alley across the street," Liy replied. "Looks pretty standard, too. Shoot it, blow it up, kick it—we'll figure it out on the way. Whatever we do to it won't kill the sensors for good, but we should have enough time to get in, get the package and the cash, and get out."

"Okay. How are you getting in?"

"There's a couple of cameras in the alley behind the bank," Pillow said. "All we have to do is wave our guns around and get up to a little tomfoolery back there to lure some guards out. Once we relieve them of their uniforms and offer them the authentic dumpster experience, it's as easy as looping the cameras and picking the locks."

"What about numbers?"

"Four guards patrolling the main bank, one guarding the manager's office, another guarding the vault, two roaming the basement, and two camera operators," Liy promptly replied. "There's also around ten-ish employees on any given day, but they shouldn't be too hard to take care of—if they even become a problem."

"Good. And...your Plan B?"

Liy gestured with her head to the duffle bag on her back and grinned. "Loaded, locked, and ready to rock."

"That's not what I mean," Two explained. "I mean, guns are good, don't get me wrong, but if things get messy, no getaway driver's going to be able to get you out on those streets. There'll be police everywhere."

Pillow and Liy looked at each other awkwardly while Two sighed and shook his head. Suddenly, his eyes lit up with an idea. "This is the bank downtown, right?"

"Right," they both answered.

"There's an underground subway line that runs right under that bank," he said. "Barely any cameras through that tunnel, and even then, they're outdated and poorly maintained. I think I can plant some untraceable motorcycles for you down there. Bring something flammable or destructive; if things go wrong, you'll have to break down through the floor of the lobby. From the looks of these blueprints, the basement and vault won't connect with it. Once you start riding through the tunnel, it's a maze in there. You should all probably stick together, but they'll never find you if you're fast enough."

Liy and Pillow both looked at each other for a moment before smiling at Two. "Thanks, Two."

"No problem!" he chimed back. "And you've all got your equipment?" The four of them nodded as Liy began passing out the other three duffel bags. "Great!"

They all stood up and checked the magazines of each of their guns one more time before locking them back in place and heading toward the lobby exit. "See you later, Two!" Pillow said with a wave.

"Cheers!" Two waved back as he picked up a crumpet. "Tell me how it goes!"