"And that's how they found me" -Athens
꧁________꧂
As the forensics team burst into the house, turning over tables and intruding uninvited into our rooms, the professor pulled on a relaxed and poised facade over his genuine nervous gaze. The plan for the police to discover the Toledo house had always been in place, and he had thought he had pulled together all the final details making sure that any DNA he had chosen to not be identified had been washed away by some ammonia and a washcloth.
But then love came and destroyed the oscar worthy crime scene. Now you must wonder how did love ruin something this time? Well, it wasn't really love it was a secret relationship. The night before we left, Berlin and I had a picnic, in a small clearing in the forest. The grounds there still belonged to the house but nobody ever was bothered to clear out the trees, it was a natural gate, keeping eyes out and soundproofing the shots within.
That night, Berlin didn't clear up any of the food or plates leaving a feast of fingerprints. It was my downfall. They found me. As an officer bustled around back of the house, to call his wife to tell her he wouldn't be able to make it to dinner, he stumbled on our humble picnic ground. He shot himself a bullseye. Leaving a gaping hole through the dartboard. that hole being my identity.
What the professor had thought was a plan mapped down to the core of the earth had a minor flaw. A small tweak that lead to another identity to be discovered. It was me. It wasn't as if I was new to the police, my fingers were imprinted into databases in countries I couldn't even pronounce, my face made periodic appearances on the news and I had gained somewhat of a celebrity status around the world.
People knew who I was, but they thought I was laying low for the time being, letting the mint robbers go get their seconds of grandeur, they didn't know I was one of them. That I had sneaked in under their noses and was posing as a meek little hostage.
"Inspector" the police officer shouted as she jerked around, striding towards him.
"Have you found anything?" she ordered as he nodded motioning her over to the clearing in the forest.
"I've found everything" he grinned as he showed her the 3-day old feast, shining like gold in the burning sun.
"Any fingerprints?" she questioned as he smirked holding up two clear plastic bags to the light.
"One has been cross-checked to be Andres De Follonssa, the other was Maria De La Rosa, assumingly they seem to be involved they planned an entire picnic"
"here's her file," he said handing over the large record as she flicked through the sheets.
According to the county psychologist, Maria is a very pleasant girl, she likes reading and keeps herself away from drama in the pod, even so, the other girls respect her and she is considered one of the bosses in the group, she has an extraordinary sense of humour and enjoys discussing knowledge and theory, she is a sharp, sarcastic woman and chooses to stay lighthearted and emotionless when talking to others. It seems as if the girl chooses to hide secrets and would rather stay introverted around the others unless they come to her first, she loses her patience quickly and has undergone some anger management courses since her time here. She will also sometimes zone out from her surroundings if she finds things monotonous, she isn't afraid to stand up for herself and has strong opinions. She is also known to demonstrate psychotic traits and has megalomanic and self-assured characteristics.
"She's absolutely crazy" she whispered tucking the file under her shoulder and turning away from the officer.
"Catch some prints and make sure they go off to forensics in the first truck, I want to know everything about this girl" she instructed marching up back to the house.
"Saurez" she called, as the young man raced over.
"We've got another one, Maria De La Rosa"
And that's how they found me.
꧁________꧂
Inside the mint, I was still clueless. Counting up the money and grinning freely towards the others. After the separation, everything was well.
We were printing 8 million an hour and we didn't know what was going on outside. I had adapted to the change and suddenly appreciated the tranquillity and silence of simply counting up the money which would go towards a holiday trip, on a secluded island in the Caribbean.
"It's time," Moscow said as Berlin looked down at his watch.
"We've still got 2 minutes until then"
"Depending on the circumstances you know exactly where you should shove your British punctuality," Moscow hissed, dialling the number of the professor waiting for him to pick up.
When the line turned back to speed dial, Tokyo groaned pacing around the room. "18 hours, what do we?"
The professor had told us that every 6 hours he would call to check up, on us. If he didn't call or pick up after a 24 hour, four call cycle period then he was unquestionably dead or being interrogated in the deserts of the middle east. What a charming tropical way to die, the sand being shoved down your throat and falling into your eyes as your buried alive underneath the scorching sun. Refreshing.
"We still have one more call until the cycle ends, so we wait until then" I shrugged sipping on a hot coffee.
"The cycle of death," Denver ridiculed.
"The professor could be tying up some loose ends, we can't become pessimistic just yet," Berlin said grabbing two wine glasses and gesturing over to the door.
"We are in the middle of a dilemma and you too are going to fuck" Tokyo yelled, as I grit my teeth advancing towards her, as Berlin forced me back quickly.
"There's no need to be vulgar we all need to blow off some steam from time to time, didn't you every night back in Toledo with Rio?" Berlin smiled.
"You sons of bitches" Nairobi shouted as I rolled my eyes pulling up a chair and sitting down in front of her.
"Enlighten me with your words"
"You know Athens or may I say, Maria, you're on the news. They've found you and you want to know how? Because you both held a lovely little picnic the day we went in and you are all such self-assured pricks that you couldn't be bothered to clean up after yourselves" Nairobi spat.
"And you didn't fucking tell me" I seethed marching out the room and dragging the tv set back in.
I plugged in the tv, smacking the sides of it as it burst into life, the pixelated image of my headshot turning up on the screen.
Another robber known as Maria De La Rosa has been identified. According to security footage, she went in surreptitiously pretending to be there for a job interview on the position as an apprentice to the general director. She is most profoundly known for her crimes down in London at the bank of England alongside robberies of jewellery stores around Europe.
We have brought in the jail psychiatrist who personally formed together De La Rosa's report on her mental state. "She was a charming lady. when I first met her I couldn't perceive, how such an optimistic and talented woman could have pulled off such notorious heists. She had a splendid sense of humour always sarcastic and extremely courteous, she always made sure others had approving impressions of her and observed her surroundings, she was almost like an older sister to the other inmates telling them stories and giving them advice."
"Your the jail storyteller as well, have you been reading stories to Berlin so he could fall asleep faster" Nairobi taunted.
"She had two sides to her, she might even suffer the bipolar disorder. Some days she was the smiling, young woman she appeared to be and sometimes she would wake up with grudges against the entire world. Sometimes it even got so bad she had to be restrained and taken away from the others posing as a danger to herself. She had a bad past, I looked into it privately to understand her mind, she has a very unique personality her type is INTP-T which is in the top 3 percent of the rarest ones in the USA. She had potential and had a love for theatrical arts, she would often ask for plays scripts so she could read in her free time" the man said as I sniffed remembering him.
He was a modern man, fresh from school and possibly had parents who disapproved that he wanted to be a shrink rather than a heart surgeon. He was always nervous like the professor, biting his nails, fiddling with the ends of his shirts, bouncing his foot or tapping on the sides of his chair with his shoes, to pass the time.
He always smiled up at the officers, a clipboard probably glued into his hands and pen tucked behind his ear. He worked with the female inmates and had created a special bond with some. He enjoyed his job and found our lives fascinating. Almost as if we were extinct zoo animals and he was in charge of making our webpages of sponsoring us.
His only cutback was that he asked too many questions. Always wanting detailed descriptions of everything, personally investigating our lives so he could find 'a more immeasurable understanding of our mindset'. Trying to make everything seem positive. I bet he could find some sort of chastity in manslaughter.
"If Maria ever hears this, I beg for her to come forth and give herself up. You're a naive woman with an exceptionally bright future. After you left, all the other inmates missed you despairingly and often talked out the legacy you left behind in that pod."
"Athens you have a legacy in there what a legend" Nairobi laughed
"With some help on your part, I'm sure we can work out a solution and help you overcome your inner demons. The person who is pulling off the heist isn't you, I worked with you for 3 years and I know how much of an honest girl you are" he finished.
"Berlin, watch out it seems little doctor here has a crush on your girl" Denver chuckled.
"Ignoring that, how can someone fuck in the middle of the heist, you are all crazy" Tokyo spat.
"I don't see a problem" Denver chimed in as his father stared apprehensively into his eyes.
"I'm with Monica, I saved her life and she loves me, I didn't force her she came up to me hugged me, kissed me then we fucked" He shrugged.
"Denver I had hope in you, and your fucking a hostage shes got Stockholm syndrome" Nairobi cried.
"What's Stockholm syndrome," he asked.
Before Nairobi had a chance to sink her teeth into Denver skull, I cut her off continuing in a monotone voice. "Stockholm syndrome is a cerebral response. It occurs when hostages or abuse victims bond with their captors or abusers. This psychological relationship evolves over the course of the days, weeks, months, or even years of imprisonment or exploitation"
"But from what I know, I believe Denver's relationship with her is true" I finished.
"Okay enough, you need to stop digging up shit, we are in a critical situation and having Athens make a diagnosis about mental conditions," Moscow said.
"No, we aren't, it becomes classified as critical in 6 hours time," Berlin said simply.
"And if not, we commence plan Chernobyl" I finished.
"The professor never mentioned plan Chernobyl what is that?" Moscow asked.
"A plan not to be heard by the faint of heart, if nothing goes wrong then you'll never have to worry about it," Berlin said.
"Now if your done interviewing us, I and Athens have something to catch up with" he smirked grabbing my head and marching out the room with me.
"Athens wait before you go" Denver cried as I turned my head, walking back into the room.
"I need to ask you something," he said as I looked over at Berlin, who nodded towards me.
"I'll wait in the office, come when your ready" he smirked marching off down the corridor.
Denver pulled out the room and into an office, slamming the door quickly behind him.
"You know how you have a doctors degree and everything," he asked. "Can you explain more about Stockholm Syndrome for me? I don't get it the words you used were too big"
"Well Denver, I'm no psychoanalyst but I've read about it before" I shrugged sitting behind the desk and spinning around on the leather chair.
"Stockholm Syndrome happens to very few hostages, sometimes they pretend they have it to win their captors trust, only to double-cross them but the real syndrome is kind of like a coping mechanism to help their mind overwhelm the trauma they're going through, it's not a genuine mental health issue, it's treated through anxiety and depression therapy nowadays"
"So she's using me?" he queried dismally.
"Everyone is different, I do think she has the syndrome but I believe you can change that and maybe from their a beautiful romance can blossom, but Denver please don't tell her anything about the plan, or any sort of thing like that, we don't know from sure her genuine motives yet," I said.
He nodded opening the door and walking out. "Thank you, Athens"
"Hey, Denver, I know you can do it, go get the girl and make sure I'm the maid of honour, I'll kill you both if I'm not invited to the wedding"
He laughed stiffly before walking back down the corridor and out of sight.
My time as a hostage was up. If the public knew I wasn't an innocent woman then there was no point keeping up the facade inside the cage. I was now truly one of them, the professor had said there was always the probability that I would be caught and even so I would have to continue the act of the friendly girl. Kind of like good cop bad cop they were still my responsibility I just had to gain their trust from a modified approach.
As I barged into the room, Berlin smirked gesturing over to the two wine glasses resting on the desk "What did he want?" he asked, as I sipped on my glass.
"The poor boy wanted to know more about Stockholm Syndrome, bless him," I said sadly.
"Well at least our romance isn't corrupted by mental illnesses" he laughed taking my hands in his and dancing around the room.
"Didn't you hear brainy on the tv? My inner demons plague my youthful soul" I laughed coldly.
"Well tell me about those demons then, how they've caused every smile, every tear, and where I can find them so I could thank them personally for bringing you to me" he smiled. "You're an enchanting mystery to me, Maria, I want to know everything about you"
"For instance, we can start simple, your first kiss?" he asked.
"It was in high school, we were playing truth or dare and someone dared this boy to kiss the hottest girl in the circle, I don't even remember his name the only thing I do was that his breath stank like tobacco and marijuana" I chuckled.
"I wholeheartedly agree when he chose you as the hottest" he laughed.
"First times are extraordinary, unique, journeying into the unknown with your head held high, but the last time is beyond comparison, utterly priceless... People don't know when it's going to be their last time of something but that just means you have to hold onto every moment"
"And live life to the fullest" I finished.
"You know how I only have 6 months to live, or 4, or maybe even less than that, and one of the few things that truly matter to me at this very moment"
"Is that I live on in here" he said pressing a hand to my heart. "Inside your beautiful soul... forever, and I'm sorry for every time I've made you cry or hurt and I may not be the prince you always yearned to have, but even living on inside of you as the cruel beast would be enough for me" he smiled as tears began to trickle down my face like raindrops on a window.
"Berlin" Tokyo said kicking open the door as we sprung apart like cats exposed to water. "Something happened, something very serious"
As I marched into the control room, everyone's faces turned to me, as I scowled stepping in front of the screen and resting on the arm of the chair Denver sat on.
"They're interrogating the professor in Toledo, he's been arrested," Rio said pointing up at the screen. He was right, there stood the professor surrounded by police and forensics with that permanent nervous look on his face.
"If they had caught him he would either be wearing cuffs on his hands or at least his feet and they wouldn't show his face to the public just yet," I said rolling my eyes.
"He's obviously just tying up some strings on the outside and had to step into the lion's den to resolve a conflict, I don't see a problem" I shrugged.
According to the police, they have uncovered many articles of evidence which could be used to formulate a substantial case against the robbers, one of those included a wine glass which matched the fingerprints of infamous robber Maria De La Rosa who was last seen in Florence Italy, where she robbed a bracelet retailed at 1 million euros.
The media just loved talking, didn't they? I was the next person they could jump upon, so their columnists could fill the pockets of their designer suits even more. The number of times I've heard my name spat out the mouths of others, made it feel as if they had carved it into my head with a knife.
As the screen flickered Rio cursed, unplugging the wires and blowing into the circuits. "No signal goddammit" he whined throwing the plugs down on the ground angrily. "Shit, they've cut the signal"
"They want to prepare an attack, so we can either wait in here for 5 hours so they can blow our brains off our neck or we can start plan Chernobyl which is sounding godsent at the moment" Tokyo hissed.
"The plan is only to be used when our backs are pressed against the wall not when were gradually being cornered, stop being a pussy and pleading for the plan, it means we would have to lose all the money and I don't want to waste 300 million because the TV lost connection" I spat.
"There won't be a professor waiting in the hanger there will be police pointing guns to our head, we can't sit around in here and imagine everything is a princess story," she said turning to others.
"Tokyo, if he was taken by the police it would be in every news headline across the globe, were viral on every social media, we've done nothing but piss the government off, to preserve their strength and the public opinion they would have already broadcasted it to the world showing that they were dominant and had caught the mastermind" I yelled
"Normally the idea of democracy is very displeasing but right now I feel like voting, who still believes in the professor?" Berlin asked.
"I believe in the professor," Helsinki said.
"I believe in what I see" Rio shrugged restlessly. "And right now the professor is up against the ropes, I'm with Tokyo"
"I entered under definite rules, and the rules are yet to be broken or distorted in any way so far, I stand with the professor," Moscow said gravely moving to stand beside Berlin.
"Denver?" I asked staring expectantly into his eyes.
"I say we get the fuck out of here, being a multimillionaire doesn't seem to suit me," he said standing beside Tokyo.
Nairobi bounced on the spot, fighting a tumultuous battle in her mind. Stay and print more money potentiality being thrown into the slammer or forfeit the money and run.
"I have a valid reason to stand with the professor and until he's blown into pieces in front of my eyes, I stand with him until the very end," she said turning away to cover her burning face. "I stand with Berlin"
"Now Athens" Berlin purred. "The land where democracy all began and ultimately ends with you, you either side with Tokyo and make it a draw or side with me, but I won't pressure you, it's free a country" he smiled.
Tokyo sulked into the back of my head while I suffered the same sort of battle Nairobi did. The likelihood the professor had actually been taken into police custody was a pressing affair, I couldn't neglect no matter how hard I tried. The last time I had seen him, he was standing outside Toledo house encircled by police officers and forensics and to add onto that he hadn't been accepting our calls.
He could be in deep shit right now but that didn't mean we had to be. We couldn't settle everything until we were 100% sure the police had captured him, we couldn't only base our conclusions on what we saw because what if we had gotten frightened and ran away when the professor was fine, and we would have given up 2.4 billion for nothing.
"So I decide we stay," I said resolutely. "None of us can guarantee that the professor is stuck in a mousetrap just yet, so we keep printing and until I see some reliable evidence against his name, I'm not leaving until I've go with 2.4 billion," I said firmly, turning away from the others.
I joined Berlin in his office, who had once again tried to call the professor with no answer. "Still nothing?" I asked watching him nod dejectedly.
"What if he is in trouble?" he said turning to me anxiously. "What if the police have got him?"
"The professor will be fine, he's one of the most intelligent guys I've ever met, he has deceived the police more than anyone in the world probably has, don't give up hope just yet," I said strongly.
I was still worried but I ate my thought. I would have to stay firm and become the sturdy backbone holding up the collapsing walls of this heist. I couldn't break just yet, so even if it meant I would have to break people's noses to stop them from trying to escape, I'd do it, to preserve the plan.
"Go rest, I'm going to see how the others are grieving with the loss of their cause" I sighed.
I stepped out in the hallway turning in the direction of the printing presses I felt a gun, point into the arch of my back. As I tried to turn on the spot pulling out my own gun from my holster, I felt that snatched away from me as well, before being pressed up against the wall another pair of guns aimed at the sides of my head.
"Someone doesn't enjoy to be on the losing party" I chuckled as I was hauled down the corridor.
Maybe I wasn't the sourest loser in the group after all
Now here's chapter 10, I'm kind of surprised as I hoped the story would be at least 30-40 chapters but turns out it's going to be about 20 because to gain the lengths I wanted I would combine some episodes together to make them longer. If you've enjoyed the story so far please vote and comment as it shows me people actually read my book and enjoy them. I'm going to start writing some chapters in advance so they don't seem as rushed as they usually do and it also gives me so time to edit them completely without just trying to rush in a hurried chapter every night.
Love Roza 🌹