"We are always going to be petty thieves. No matter what." -Athens
꧁_________꧂
How could I have not seen it? How did I not notice? That out of all people Monica had stolen a phone under my nose. I wasn't there when it actually happened, I didn't see her sneak it into her panties but she had stolen neither the less. And I wasn't there to stop her because I was to busy talking to Berlin. Finally, it wasn't only Tokyo's and Rio's romance that had messed something up.
It was Saturday, 12:30 in the evening, we hadn't even handed out lunch yet and someone had already managed to mess something up for us and it wasn't a stupid person like Arturo it was Monica. Fucking Monica Gaztambide. What a feminist move.
2 shots rang out from the bathroom as the hostages screamed loudly. 2 shots, she had to be dead. At first, I thought someone was angry, like yesterday with Tokyo when she shot the cameras because Helsinki beat up Rio, but there wasn't anything going wrong, everything was fine and then boom. Someone who had a beating heart a minute ago seized to exist. Gone.
We were 26 hours into the heist and had just gotten past the first full day circle and someone had already broken the number one rule, don't spill any blood. Was it that arduous? Did people struggle with not killing someone? How could you just kill an innocent woman when you knew she was also pregnant? How?
"Calm down, It's okay," I said cuddling the women around me close. Oslo had sped out the room to see what had happened so now it was up to me to rest their imaginative minds. "We all heard the scream, they killed someone" an old lady wailed, as she crawled into a ball and started rocking herself back and forth.
"Maybe they were just scaring someone, like when they did with Mr Roman?" I reassured as she sniffed a nod towards me.
She was dead, she had to be, nobody heard the thud but I had. What would happen now?
Berlin casually walked into the room pulling Tokyo behind him aggressively. "Miss Carillo, may I borrow you for a second?" he asked as I forged a bewildered grimace to the others.
I was pulled into the control room with Tokyo as I stared around the place. Didn't look half bad, almost like a hangout spot. "Who shot, what happened?" I demanded staring around at the others.
"A hostage had to be killed she had a phone on her," Berlin said smoothly as my stomach dropped. Someone really was dead.
"You killed her! What is wrong with your head, you could have frightened her, threatened her, maybe even shoot her in the arm or leg but Berlin you killed her" I laughed sarcastically slumping down on the table. So much for a tidy non-violent heist.
"I didn't kill Monica, Denver did," Berlin said sipping on an espresso. Now was really the right time for a coffee and chill date.
"The professor said no spilt blood, it was the golden rule we weren't supposed to cross" Rio explained as I held my head in my hands.
"Rio your not one to talk about rules, your fucking that walking cloud of bad luck" I spat jumping up and pacing around the room. Nice to know defending Berlin was something I didn't have to think about even though he was wrong.
The idiot ordered a hostage dead but maybe she deserved it, she could have risked everything for us.
Rio dialled the number of the professor waiting bravely for him to pick up while Berlin gradually lowered the phone from his ear. Tokyo grabbed her gun shoving it down on the table as I snatched it from her hand and threw it across the room.
"Are you all braindead or something? There's a problem and we need to fix it, pointing guns won't bring the dead back Tokyo, so maybe use your brain for once and think of a solution" I shouted as Moscow burst into the room.
"What's happening, why is Athens here, isn't she supposed to be with the hostages?" he queried.
"A hostage is dead Moscow" I explained watching as his face dropped.
"Who shot?"
"Your son"
The look on his face was deadly. As he leaned over on the table cupping a hand to his mouth. I grabbed a small gun from the table shoving it down my jumpsuit before walking out of the room. "This bullshit is all on you, Berlin fix whatever the fuck you've done"
I stormed down the corridor fiercely slamming my hands into the wall. This wasn't what we planned. This was all making decisions on whims, and emotions. Why didn't people think with their brain and not their heart, what is wrong with everyone?
I sniffed back my tears, gritting my teeth and setting off down the hallway watching Moscow march down boldly Berlin hot on his heels. Whatever was happening between them was on them, I'm just a hostage.
It was like her death was a slap to the face, bringing me out of the sugary reality that we would leave happily with 2.4 billion euros and have no causalities or slip-ups. And I wasn't the only one who had to deal with that hit, Moscow had to as well, but we both dealt with shit differently.
I strolled back into the office as the girls crowded around me like I was an important celebrity. "What did he want?" they whispered huddling close together. "He was asking about flowers and psychology he's absolutely crazy" I muttered as they gawked confusingly at my face.
"What about the shots, what happened?" Adriana questioned darkness clouding in her once sparkling eyes.
"I don't think anyone got hurt, they were arguing and some shot, he didn't elaborate when I asked," I said reassuringly as they all slumped down sighing heavily. If only they knew someone was dead, they would probably die hearing the news.
The idea of Moscow crawled into my mind as I smiled lightly. He was definitely annoying, always wanting a say in things, being overprotective but he was sweet and he listened, all round a good man. He didn't deserve to hear that about his son, and his strong heart crumbled, his son was a murderer and it was his fault.
He was the one who brought him into the heist, so he could pay off his own debts but he didn't think one day his son would be the one dropping a defenceless woman to the ground and shooting her twice. You can't imagine your kids doing something like that, How could you? They're just kids.
I shook his memory out of my mind, it was painful to even think about it because when he found out, he looked so defeated. I thought back to a happier memory, a time I spent with Berlin on the balcony at 4 in the morning.
꧁__________꧂
"And I thought I was the only one awake at this time?" a voice behind me said as I grinned up looking at the shadow resting on the doorframe. "Well may I join you," he asked as I nodded my head motioning to the chair beside me.
"How come your up this early" he questioned as I simply pointed up to the sky. "I like watching the sunrise every morning it's pretty"
I lay back down on the chair feeling his eyes stare into the side of my face. "The sky is up there not down here" I laughed watching rich colours of orange and red dance back into view.
"Can I ask you a question?" Berlin said as I nodded over to him watching the sun, rise majestically, sitting on the horizon like it was a throne.
"Why do you steal?"
"Well because its fun I guess, Living on the run, stealing things, pretending to be someone else for a change, it just thrilling you know, I do it for the fun and experience" I shrugged.
"And anyways the villains in the story are always hotter and badass" I laughed watching a grin split open on his face.
"How about you, why do you steal Berlin?" I asked rolling over to face him.
"Well it wasn't really a choice for me, my parents were thieves and so where theirs, I guess it sort of runs in my blood," he said chuckling dejectedly.
"So you didn't want to be a thief?" I asked
He nodded smiling up at the sun. "I wanted to be an artist, I love the art of creation, making someone out nothing, painting is my passion but has now turned into a hobby I dabble in every once and while"
"Then go be a painter, who's stopping you, I'll beat them up" I laughed flexing my fists out in front of him.
"You can't beat up fate Athens, I was destined to be a thief and I always will be," he said getting up and leaving.
We are always going to be petty thieves. No matter what.
꧁__________꧂
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't shake off my bad mood. Because even when this is over and I've started afresh in a distant exotic country, I was always going to be just a thief to everyone else. Have you ever heard the quote always the bridesmaid but never the bride? It was like that.
But always a criminal and never a human. Because to everyone else I was the beast, rebelling against the declared government, everyone knew it was corrupt but who was willing to go against the law to prove a point.
So the professor lied, I wasn't a hero to the public, I was an optimist who always wanted the best of everything because she couldn't accept what she had, made me sound like a loser. But I wasn't, Wouldnt be here if I was.
Everything had gone to shit, absolutely everything. And there was one simple thing to blame. Love. Stupid, Idiotic, fucking love.
A thing that ensnares the senses, has you up on a sugar high of a lover, until ridding you of your drugs and leaving you alone and cold.
How could love ruin everything? You couldn't even see it, some might say it isn't even real. Because if love was ever real how could you ever fall out of love?
How could you ever, not love someone anymore, if once you truly loved them with all your heart?
It didn't make sense, It didn't add up. Why was everything being ruined by the thing that should draw people closer not further away? What was the real reason?
Why did nothing make sense in this heist? Why was everything suddenly tumbling into a deep hole of shit? And why was I questioning the world as if it's going to give me an answer?
I smacked the side of my head with my palm shaking my head back into reality. I needed to stop thinking and focus. The heist wouldn't stop for my ridiculous questions.
I fiddled with the bracelet on my wrist remembering where I had stolen it from. A tiny store in Florence, right before I met the professor. He was the one who had saved me from the police.
꧁__________꧂
It was a normal day in Italy. Tourists bustling around the street, Food vendors dotted around the plaza, and the enormous statues made by some of the most famous painters of the modern age. A beautiful stone wrapped in a small city. But it wasn't just the art of the city that was beautiful, it was the jewellery. Thousands of diamonds, emeralds and rubies dug up from the African dirt and transported back here to be handcrafted into the most gorgeous pieces.
None of the jewels had been imported legally. The Kohinoor diamond that sits atop of the crown belonging to queen Elizabeth the second was stolen from the Indians. They're trying to negotiate it back but it never will rightfully go back to its owner.
And your in Florence. The suns bright, the grass is lush and the sky is as clear as the ocean and you think I want to steal something.
Just a little souvenir. Just one to keep, as a memory. Completely harmless.
So I did it. I walked into that store, sauntering confidently, pulling the summer hat lower over my head. I traced my finger over the glass cases inspecting every small diamond. Rings, bracelets, necklaces, anklets, earrings and tiaras, each holding an impressive price tag to their name.
An attendant came over as I scanned my eyes over her body. She was about 4'11, Beautiful Italian skin and hazel brown eyes, nearly as beautiful as the diamonds. She was new, naive to the business easily trickable. "I'm looking for a bracelet, something valuable, ostentatious, something eyecatching, it's for a family dinner" I smiled as she plucked the petite bracelet out from the locked cabinet.
It was stunning, to say the least. 200 diamonds peppered across it like stars in the night sky. Shimmering and glimmering under the morning light. Locked in by thousands of strings of 24k gold. A beauty.
"How much for this one?" I asked pointing over at another bracelet suddenly and slipping the other into my pocket.
"This one madam is much cheaper, however, if you're looking for something more expensive I think this one would go perfectly..." I cut her off glancing at my watch before hurrying over to the door.
"I'm so sorry, my husband is coming to pick me up, I must go, I'll come back later to pick up the bracelet" I smiled waving goodbye before stepping out through the door.
Then the alarms went off. I flinched, biting my lips furiously. The fucking alarm system, why hadn't I thought of that?
I smiled pulling off my coat and handing it to the attendant, so she could pat it down. Before she was about to slip her fingers into the pocket where the bracelet was hidden, I grabbed the coat and ran out the door, kicking her in the stomach with the point of my high heel. Hopefully, I hadn't hurt her too badly.
I ran down the street, winding down a small alley, panting for air as I went. High heels are designed to look attractive and definitely not track racing. I pulled off my heels, now running barefoot through puddles of shit water, before taking a sharp turn into a road.
A red car abruptly stopped in front of me as I watched the man inside, grin widely pulling me into the back seat. What a plot twist.
"Who are you?" I gulped shoving the heel threateningly to his Adam's apple.
"I'm the professor, I have a job offer"
"I'm in the middle of running away from police and you ask me to become a teaching assistant" I mocked watching a lump rise in his throat.
"It's not a normal job offer, It's distinctive, how do you feel about robbing 2.4 billion euros?"
I shook my head confused lowering the heel from his throat. 2.4 billion euros.
"How is this not a hoax?" I demanded, staring up at the professor's face.
Copper hair and rusty brown eyes, with those nerdy little glasses and questionable fashion choice, was it worth trusting this loser?
"How long do I get to decide this shit?" I questioned as he stared down at his watch peering nervously into the side mirror.
"30 seconds if you want me to be generous"
"It's either the police or this, you know what I'm going to choose" I grinned as he fumbled with the steering wheel pulling out into the highway.
꧁___________꧂
And that's how I joined this absurd thing, Wasn't as exciting as you thought it may be, but at least I can say it wasn't as if he knocked on my door with a bag of cookies and said let's do a heist together.
I stared down at the carpeted floor, kicking the dust with the points of my shoe. Berlin was right, assigning tasks to the hostages would definitely make them feel better because sitting here was leaving me restless and leaving again would make the others suspicious.
So I waited for something to come up, for them to need me, so I could finally do something instead of sitting around. Maybe god took my prayers to seriously.
Denver came into the room, asking for me, Adriana and the receptionist to step out for a small while. I nodded grabbing their hands and squeezing them reassuringly, we would live.
We were taken to stand in a long line reaching up to the rooftop stairs. A trip to the roof, wouldn't be half bad.
I pulled on my mask, grabbing the fake gun and twisting the barrel open. Empty. I sighed marching up the stairs, feeling someone lightly kick the back of my boots. It was Arturo.
"Yes Sir" I whispered leaning back so he could whisper into my ear.
"I have a plan and I know you can help, I'll tell you on the roof" he mumbled as I nodded shaking out my tense shoulders.
The first plot against us, something I had to stomp down and convince the hostages that their plan was fruitless there was no escape.
The professor had told us, the hostages weren't stupid. They worked in a mint, had degrees and were civil servants to the population of Spain, they weren't naive and after some time they would realise 67 of us against 9 people. We are stronger than our fear.
The gang had guns, explosives and whatever else Rio had salvaged off the black market but the hostages were stronger in numbers and could easily overthrow them if they grew a pair of balls.
So that's why I was there. To communicate with them as their equals, to be scared, clueless and petrified like them, I needed to put on a mask and be someone else, to feel for them, sympathise with them and care for them. Almost like a babysitter.
They would plan an escape, whether it be a couple of them or all of them, they would start to rebel after a certain point, it was natural human instinct.
My job was manageable but difficult. Stop them from leaving was my only motive. And at whatever cost necessary. I needed to gain their trust and work with them so they didn't suspect a thing. I only needed their spines to hold up my story, the rest would be dealt with in the course of time.
It was possible that they would discover my real identity, in whatever way they did, whether they overheard something, saw something or just suspected something, so I needed to shut down their senses, and make them all my puppets and control them from the outside. To sum it up Manipulation. Trust me It's way less evil then it sounds.
The first job was Arturo, and he wasn't the most peaceful client to deal with. You know those snobby people who return their orders if something isn't right, he was probably one those. Who prided themselves on their money, their big house, their salary and all the things that made him look rich. Because he cared about other peoples opinions, he wanted them to adore him.
So I guessed, I'd give him what he wanted. I'd adore him, praise his bravery, his will to stand up to the gang, and his disturbingly big ego, maybe even bigger than Berlin's. Scary thought right there people.
Denver slowly ran by us up the stairs, dragging me to the front of the line. "Look after Moscow for me please," he said as I nodded watching him run back down.
I rubbed Moscow's back as he smiled weakly at my face. If anything, the man needed rest and a hot cup of coffee. "What happened Moscow, Are you all right?" I whispered as his scratchy beard drew near my face.
"After I found out about what happened to Monica, I tried to leave, I opened the door and wanted to turn myself in, So Denver's letting me get some air on the roof, sorry for all the trouble I'm causing" I smiled kissing his cheek and squeezing his shoulder.
"You've caused no trouble, we all need this little break"
Denver suddenly appeared from below, as everyone pulled their masks over their face and marched out onto the roof.
I was behind Denver and Moscow standing beside Arturo in the second row to the front. "So my plan" he began as I pulled him further away and nodded for him to continue.
I looked out at the sight before me, marvelling at the view, everything looked crisper from above like you were head-on from the sniper teams on the roof of the encompassing buildings.
As Denver and Moscow fought in hushed voices, Arturo's ears pricked up as he circled Denver like a thirsty bloodhound.
"You're talking about Monica, what did you do to her?" he gasped as I winced trying to pull Arturo back into the line.
"You killed Monica, she was innocent, she was pregnant" he cried dropping to his knees and shaking.
I pulled the hostages to the ground kneeling in front of Arturo like I was begging for mercy. The snipers were going to shoot. "On the ground" I hissed pushing Denver and Moscow down to the floor. "There are snipers they're going to shoot us, pretend were hostages"
We all raised our hands to our heads, as Arturo swung around his gun, screaming in Denver's face. "How could you kill her, she did nothing, she was pregnant, you killed a pregnant woman" he screamed.
I crawled through the gravel, feeling them cut into my knees and palms, I pushed the running hostages to the ground as they circled the roof trying to find an exit. Without the key, there was only one, jump.
Then came the bang. The rest happened in slow motion. Arturo fell to the ground, the mask flying off his face and over the edge of the roof. I tried to grab it before it fell but it whisked away from my grasp, only touching the edge of my fingertips landing atop of the sandbags below.
The fall of Dali.
I pressed a hand to Arturo's gushing wound, as he withered and shrieked like a snake in pain. the bullet had pierced right through his collar bone but not out through the other end, probably hitting the nerves around his shoulder, making his arm wither back and forth trying to remove the foreign object by itself.
Moscow ran over to the door fumbling with the key as I grabbed Arturo's shoulder gently making sure not to move the bullet as we hurried down the stairs. "Help" I screeched as I pushed past the others.
"Someone's been shot, We need a doctor"
I felt Helsinki jostle past me, running with a medkit before I ran a hand over my forehead, Arturo's spilt blood brushing against my pale skin. I slumped down by the wall, crawling up into a small ball, feeling the emotions rush down as I shook under all the bottled stress inside of me.
What the fuck was going to happen now?
I'm sorry for the shit chapter, I'm really trying but I'm suffering from such bad writer's block, So I just start waffling down on the page, this chapter also isn't the most cohesive so when I go back and edit, I'll try to fix this wordy mess. I only wrote about 4000 words today which isn't my best but thank you for reading. Hopefully, with all the drama with Arturo and his shoulder, everything gets more exciting and better. I redesigned the cover and I'm not entirely happy so I might edit it again in the future, In this chapter, there's a small clue that links with how her identity is going to get exposed so if you find that, that comment. Please leave a vote and comment, it's really fun interacting with readers.
Love Roza 🌹