REM

Syndicate

It was never the last with these guys. Whether we were stealing drugs, or robbing banks, everyone seemed to think they were invincible.

Bruno paced back and forth in his black boots. A large, black hunting knife was firmly grasped in his massive fist as he tried to figure out what to do next.

Stacks of dirty money were snatched from metal tables and tossed into bags, then thrown over shoulders by the other men, who then brought them to the getaway van. I kept a lookout the entire time, making sure the dead bodies littered around the warehouse didn't come back to life and take one of us out. To be honest, I didn't know who these guys were. And I really didn't care.

A job was always a job. I never questioned our way of living, as illegal as it was. Bruno kept his crew in check and everyone seemed to like me. He took me under his wing as a sort of protegé, promising to teach me everything so I wouldn't be a weak link in the group.

I held my automatic close to my chest as I squinted my eyes. Dust had been stirred up in the warehouse, causing a haze to float around the ground level, then slowly make its way upward to the second level where Bruno continued to pace. He was starting to make me nervous. Something must have been on his mind.

The rest of the crew were still bagging money when Big returned from a back section of the warehouse. He ran up the dark wooden stairs to Bruno.

"Everything is clear," he announced in a rough voice. "We're still good for a while."

Without warning, Bruno plunged his knife into Big. The giant of a man made a loud thud as he hit the floor clutching the wound. Blood dripped from the knife as I was left wondering what the hell just happened.

"You stinkin' rat!" growled Bruno.

Everyone else was busy finishing the job as planned, but I was too transfixed on what was happening above us. I ignored my post and ran upstairs where Bruno was towering over Big.

"Get out of here kid," demanded Bruno. "You don't need to see this."

Big grimaced as he tried to maintain pressure on his abdomen. The look on my face was a mix of anger, confusion and fear, which Bruno and Big saw in turn as I looked at them for an explanation.

"Do as he says, kid," Big suggested, his voice no longer booming like usual.

"What did you do?" I asked, staring him down.

"He ratted us out," answered Bruno calmly, running his free hand through his slicked back hair. "The police will be here any minute I bet."

My jaw dropped open in disbelief. Big had been Bruno's right hand man long before I joined. I had heard numerous stories of their crimes, so what I was seeing and hearing felt so surreal.

"Why?" I muttered to Big, who was now leaning against the railing.

"I got greedy, kid," he wheezed, veering his eyes away from mine toward the floor. "I'm getting too old for this shit. Someone offered me a way out. So I took it."

For the first time, I noticed his gray streaked hair. He did look old, but that didn't justify his way of getting a first class ticket out of the syndicate by throwing the rest of us under the bus.

I felt beside myself as we all remained silent. Down below the shuffling of feet meant the job was still moving forward without our participation. They probably didn't even notice I had disappeared upstairs.

Before I could think of what to say, faint sirens could be heard. Shit.

"This is the deal, Tanner," Bruno began – he never used my actual name unless it was serious, "we're leaving Big. If you want to stay you can, but he's taking the fall for this."

I nodded slowly, gun still against my chest, but held loosely now. Big betrayed all of us. We could all be going to jail because of him.

"Tanner," snapped Bruno. My eyes darted toward him. "What's your decision?"

"You took me in from the street," I replied. "You gave me an opportunity and I took it. I'll never forget that you saved me."

Bruno pulled out a box of matches from his black cargo pants and held it out. I took it in my hand immediately, holding the automatic with my right.

"Start the fire and let's go." Bruno glared at Big as he descended the stairs, leaving me one last chance to speak to the man, who I thought had everyone's back.

Not being able to think of much to say, I turned to follow Bruno as Big mumbled, "kid." I stopped and turned my head toward him. "Don't get greedy," he wheezed. "And if you want out–"

"I won't," I objected sternly. "I'm not like you, old man." The bitterness of being ratted out showed in my last words to him. I didn't care about him anymore. He was dead to me.

As we sped away in the getaway van, I wondered if Big would let the cops take him to prison, or if he'd drag himself closer to the fire to avoid dying behind bars. It didn't really matter what he did anyway, he was no longer a part of the syndicate.

Three weeks later and we had already relocated to Amsterdam. Bruno and the rest of the crew were in good spirits as they went over key details of the next job we had lined up – my job.

My first solo job. Real simple: get in, grab some security tapes, then get out. Oh, and don't get caught.

Pulling the office blinds back, I peeked my left eye through the window. Security guards were still walking in their designated areas under spotlights while I continued my search for some stupid tapes. I had turned the office upside down to no avail.

Maybe I fucked up, I thought to myself. My first job by myself and I fucked up. It didn't help that the job was in Germany either. If caught, I didn't speak German. They would throw me in jail for trespassing for sure. After all, it was a government compound with shipping containers littered all over.

I let out a deep breath, then refocused. Looking around the room, I couldn't see what I had missed.

"There must be something," I muttered through clenched teeth. My determined eyes scanned the office again. Everything in the office was untouched, except for an aquarium, staring me in the face. A fucking empty one.

"Damn it," I exhaled, feeling like an idiot. There were no fish present, so I smashed it with my elbow.

Broken glass and water poured onto the floor as I inspected the opening. There was a ledge inside the top section that I was able to slip my hand into.

I felt something and grasped it, pulling it out carefully. Once out in the light, a plastic bag of small cassettes stared back at me.

Who the hell uses this shit anymore?, I asked myself. Pushing the confusion from my face, I turned around and walked over to the office door.

Just like I had been taught, I closed my eyes as my ear pressed against the door. I flicked the light switch off and waited.

Once I was certain the coast was clear, I stepped out into the dark corridor of the building, then sneaked out the back door I had originally jimmied. After pulling my black mask down over my face, I peeked around corners and bolted until finally back at the hole cut in the fence.

Bruno was waiting for me in a blacked out Mercedes as I slunk my way across the industrial roads to our rendezvous point. I quickly popped open the door and slid inside with my loot, closing the door behind me as quietly as possible.

Pulling up my mask, I grinned as I held the plastic bag in front of him. I was out of breath from running, but I had done it.

"Good job, kid," he grinned crookedly back at me, before turning on the car and driving away. As we left the danger zone he informed me, "I have something special for you as a reward by the way."

"What's that?" I queried, clicking my seatbelt in.

"Since I haven't replaced Big yet, we're missing an expert." He kept his eyes on the road as he added, "I'm going to teach you about explosives."