Dick looked up innocently at penguin, "what do you mean? I'm right on time!"
Penguin face palmed. "What were you even doing out there for so long? I thought you wanted to find a cat and that's all."
"I couldn't find her, okay? Anyways, I'm here now and I'm ready!" Dick said with confidence. He had a gut feeling that he shouldn't tell Oswald about Catwoman.
Anyways, for some reason, after the session he had with Catwoman he felt like he could do anything. Although all he did was learn how to partially block a punch. He wouldn't even be fighting anyone.
"Good. Anthony, go. Dick, change into your suit and get in the car when you're done." He commanded.
Dick could feel his heart race. I'm actually doing this!
He swiftly grabbed the clothing on the counter besides him and entered the bathroom. To be honest, it was pretty tight. It was also completely black.
Hey, this reminds me of Catwoman's suit! Dick thought. She said she sneaks into places, right? Maybe she does this kind of stuff, too. Darn, I should have asked her for advice then!
Dick put on a mask and finished getting dressed. The mask covered his eyes only. He went outside and saw a black sport's car. Wow, with all this black stuff, I feel like a real spy.
He hopped right in the passengers seat.
"Go to the back." The guy named Anthony from earlier growled.
"Okay, okay." Dick whined defensively. Some people are so rude, he huffed.
Anthony turned around. "Everything you need is besides you, to your left. No, your other left. Okay, now get that walkie-talkie. Now, test it out to see if it works." He said.
While Dick inspected the device and looked for the power switch, the car started moving. He pushed the switch and heard static sounds. Then he pressed onto a button and muttered, "hello?"
"Hello, Richard, This is Penguin." Dick could hear the satisfaction in his voice. "Perfect, the radios are working as I had anticipated. Make sure you lower the volume so that only you can hear my voice."
"Right." Dick approved as he put down the sound.
"We're here." Anthony declared.
Already? He looked out the window and saw that they were in the parking lot. Dick gulped. Alrighty then...
Dick took the backpack that was lying next to him and put it on. He fastened the walked-talkie to his belt. He was ready.
"I'll be around the are the whole time. I might have to move to a new spot avoid suspicion, so tell me beforehand when you're leaving with the money, so I can be aware. Got it?"
Dick fiercely nodded.
The driver patted his shoulder. "Good luck, kid."
"Thank you!" Dick expressed as he leaped out of the car. He drove away leaving Dick alone.
It was evening now. The sky was dark and no one was near or in the bank. All the light were off and all the doors were locked. Expected, of course.
Dick got behind the building and looked for a power box. He didn't take long for him to find it. He tried opening it but there was a lock keeping him from doing so. Dick took his book bag off and dug in the smallest pocket for a bobby pin.
What did Penguin's friend say to do? To bend it straight and use it as a lever? Dick recalled. He's always seen people in movies do it so easily, but this was hard. He considered asking penguin, but decided against it. He wanted to prove that he could this without help.
After a while, he still hadn't opened the stupid lock. Dick was started to get frustrated and regretted not asking for assistance earlier. Right as he was reaching for his walkie-talkie, he heard a click. Really, now it works?! Dick thought exasperated.
He took the lock out and looked for the wires. He found an open slot. Using an orange wire that he was given earlier, he carefully plugged it in.
"This wire will temporarily deactivate the alarms in the entrance doors. You'll have about thirty second the get through until they reactivate. Once you use this, you can't use it again. So be careful!" A lady had told Dick.
Dick ran as fast as he could to the doors.
24...
He hastily grabbed a screwdriver from his bag and jabbed the lock.
19...
He desperately rammed it harder. If the alarms weren't disable right now, they would have certainly gone off from all this damage.
12...
The lock broke and allowed Dick to open the door. He put the screwdriver back inside the bag swiftly.
9...
Dick ran inside catiously, avoiding any possible 'booby traps'.
5...
He closed the door and made sure it was completely shut.
1... 0
Dick sighed in in relief. Just in time.
He took out his walkie-talkie and whispered, "I'm in."
"Good job. Also, you don't need to whisper, no one is in there. I got a guy to hack the security cameras for the main lobby. We did do the same for the cameras in the vault room, but we're struggling to maintain it because the firewall is really good. That means you need to hurry." Penguin lectured.
"On it." Dick said simply. "Talk to you later."
Dick groaned immediately after. There were lasers. Not only did he have to be careful, but now he had to rush? He never gets a break, huh?
In movies it seemed simple enough, but being in the situation in person where you had to avoid the bright red lights was intimidating. Was is this bank so cliché? Dick sassed.
But luckily for Dick, he was flexible. Illegal activity seemed to be the only benefit of being so small, too. He stretched a but before he started.
He ducked, jumped, crawled, and even did a a cartwheel or flip every so often. There was a moment when a strand of Dick's hair almost the laser, but he quickly saved it. It was also annoying for him to have to worry about his book bag getting in contact with the light.
Dick slide under the last laser. "Finally." he exhaled. This task wasn't as difficult as he thought it would be but it definitely was tedious.
There it was: the vault room. Earlier Penguin had explained that he needed Dick to go up the vent rather than go through the normal way, because it was too difficult. The vault entrance required a code and was made of a substance that couldn't be damaged with the mini-bomb that Dick had.
That's why Penguin chose Dick to do the job in the first place.
Dick took out his best friend, the screwdriver, once again and dropped his book bag on the floor. He then climbed a nearby table and started unscrewing the bolts. He was required to go on his tippy toes due to how high up the vent was,
Dick got some major déjà vu from this. It felt like it was only yesterday he broke out of the juvenile detention center he had spent the past month and a half in.
Oh wait, it was only yesterday. It had felt like much longer. Well, to be fair, today was a very action-packed day.
When he finished unscrewing, he leaped down the get his back, and started crawling through the vent. After everything Dick had gone through to get here, he was (jokingly) surprised there weren't lasers here, too.
Dick's knees were beginning to ache so he stopped and turned himself backwards, so he was laid down, propped on his elbows. He grabbed his Walkie-talkie and told penguin that he was in the vents.
"Listen, that's great, but we need you to get to the vault ASAP. We won't be able to have control over the cameras for much longer. HEY, STOP THAT YOU FOOLS-" he warned Dick before yelling at some of his henchmen.
R.I.P., my knees, Dick remarked as he continued crawling through the claustrophobic air vents.
He eventually reached his destination and unbolted his way out of there. Before he got out, though, he searched for cameras. He spotted two. Just in case they turn on, I need to know where they are, dick noted. He subconsciously raised his hand towards his mask.
Dick landed on the ground with a thud. Immediately he found what he needed. A big grey safe lied in the left corner of the room. He took the miniature bomb out of the bag and attached it to the safe. He clicked the activate button, it started glowing green and then red.
5..4..3..
Dick ran to the opposite side of the room, as far away from the bomb as possible.
2..1..
Boom.
You see, this is where things go wrong.
Out of everything they anticipated to happen, they didn't think about whether the bomb would set of the fire alarms.
The sprinklers splashed water on Dick, getting him wet. That was the least of his problems.
He shakily grabbed the walkie-talkie. "Um, Penguin? We have an emergency. The fire alarm and sprinklers are on." He informed. This wasn't Dick's fault, but he couldn't help but worry that Penguin would yell at him.
"WHAT? How did th- okay, never mind. Just finish the job. Make sure the money does not get wet! The police and ambulance will be on their way, hurry." Penguin demanded.
Dick did just that. He put as much cash in the bag as his small hands would allow. Why is there so much money?
He wanted to grab it all, but he could hear sirens in the distance, so he packed his stuff and ventured into the vents.
The sounds of water, alarms, and sirens were replaced with the beating of his heart. He was shaking. Partly because of the fear he felt and partly because of the freezing water that soaked him. He was scared. He didn't want to go back to juvie. The worse part about going back there this time would be that he deserved it.
Dick froze. He couldn't go back the same way he came in! The police would be waiting out there.
Think, Dick, think. Where would they never expect you? Where could you escape? Where, where, where?! He anxiously pondered.
Dick looked at himself. He was wearing the back pack backwards so that it was facing his stomach. This was a precaution to keep everything inside dry.
Gosh, he was so wet. Were there any paper towels he could use to-
The bathroom! He gasped.
At this point, Dick's knees elbows were bruised and even bleeding in a few places, but he didn't care. He crawled like his life depended on it. When he passed a room, he peered over to see if it was he could spot a toilet or sink.
He heard Penguin talk through the Wilkie-talkie but he didn't respond. He couldn't afford to waste time. He tried to ignore the sound of police officers that was becoming clearer and clearer to his misfortune.
"Hallelujah." Dick sighed in relief. He found a bathroom, and it had a window.
He took his Walkie-talkie and muttered quickly, "I'm almost out. I have the money."
"Great, I'll be waiting at the back of the building, behind a tree." Anthony said.
"Search the area! Someone is in here, I know it! Quick, someone check if any money was stolen!" A man with a powerful voice yelled. It was close enough to worry Dick.
Dick took his screwdriver and unscrewed the bolts for the thousandth time. He jumped out and decided, YOLO! He threw the screwdriver at the window as hard as he could. The glass shattered upon impact.
He climbed out of the window, accidentally cutting his leg with the shards. He grimaced in pain but continued moving.
He squinted. Where was the car? It was already dark out and the color of the car didn't help with that.
Beep.
Dick turned his head to the direction he heard the sound. The sports car drove towards him.
"Get in!" The driver yelled.
He didn't need to ask twice. Dick opened the car door and limped inside. He let out a shakily exhale and glanced out the window. Anthony sped off before the police could even see the car. He was a skilled driver, swerving and accelerating easily.
"You look awful, kid." He said, breaking the silence.
He was right. Dick was dripping water and sweat all over the car seat. He was breathing deeply, still trying to catch his breath. His elbows and knees were beaten up while he had a large, nasty gash on his lower leg that was oozing blood into his shoe and the car floor.
Dick sniffled. He could feel tears spilling down his face. He was crying for a combination of reasons: one, the pain in several parts of his body and two, he was relieving the pent up emotions he felt.
Anthony felt bad for the boy, he wasn't good at comforting but he tried. "You did well. And when we get back, they'll patch you up, don't worry."
Dick just nodded tiredly.
I did not intend for the whole chapter to be about him breaking into the bank, but there was so much to write about! I might be a bit of sadist for enjoying Dick's pain. Hehe~