Title from 'Just Give Me a Reason' by Pink
"Right from the start
You were a thief
You stole my heart
And I your willing victim."
"Monty." Miller's voice crackles through his earpiece, urgency in his words.
"Hold on," Monty urges, typing furiously – his fingers flying across the keyboard. On the screen in front of him he can see the CCTV footage of the jeweller's store, cutting from one angle to another. Miller is not visible on any screen, hiding crouched in the vents somewhere above.
"Come on," Miller presses, "Blake'll be here soon."
"I know," Monty says in frustration. "I've just gotta be ready to loop the footage of the cameras in the back room, but leave the others intact. I'm nearly there," he promises.
He mutters whilst he works, and Miller hears snatches of phrases that make no sense to him, like: 'Camera 4's on a different circuit to the others, of course it is'.
Then two things happen in quick succession: Monty cries, "Got it!", just as there is a loud crash, accompanied by the screeching wail of an alarm. Camera 1 shows the cause: a large black car has just smashed into the front window, shattering glass everywhere. The cameras in the back room blink once before appearing to continue filming, the red alarm lights flashing.
Monty is blind to whatever Miller's doing, but cries, "Go, Nate!" and is relieved when his friend says, "I'm in," but doesn't show on the screen in front of him.
"You're alright, I can't see you," he tells Miller. What he can see is Bellamy, who is doing an impressive job of looking like a poor, shocked innocent who lost control of his vehicle and crashed. The security cameras are high quality, so it's easy to see Bellamy take out his phone – a burner, of course – and call the police. Bellamy doesn't have an earpiece, so Monty can't hear what he's saying, but can see through the camera that he's turned on the waterworks.
"Bellamy's putting on a convincing display," Monty tells Miller.
"I knew he would," Miller responds. "He's always had a flair for amateur dramatics."
"Yeah, looks like you were right not to use Jasper," Monty muses, still watching Bellamy on the phone, one finger in his ear to drown out the alarm.
"Told you," Miller says, and Monty can hear the smile in his voice. His heart does a weird flip. "Remind me why we couldn't have done this without setting off the alarm?" Miller grits out.
"Because someone wanted to rob this jeweller specifically," Monty reminds him. "And this store just so happens to be heavily guarded because it contains the most valuable jewels in a 50-mile radius."
"Oh yeah," Miller grins.
"It's just my job to make sure you get in and out – you masterminded this plan, remember? You decided it'd be easier to crash a Rover through the window than try and disable the alarm system," he teases.
There's no time for Miller to respond however, as Monty can see Bellamy putting his phone back in his pocket – the agreed sign that the police are on their way. "Nate, you'd better get moving – the cops are on their way."
"Understood," Miller says.
Monty starts typing energetically once more, preparing to bring the cameras back online. "Nearly there," he murmurs under his breath; half to himself, and half for Miller's benefit. "You better be in those vents," he says urgently a few moments later. "We're back online in ten…"
"Clear," Miller says, at the exact moment Monty's countdown reaches one.
The feed in front of him loops for a final time, and then they're live once more. The time stamp ticks on, with only the barest flicker to hint that the cameras might have been tampered with. It doesn't matter anyway: by the time anyone realises the jewels are gone, Miller will also be far away. As long as he can get out of the building without being seen, there will be no evidence to identify him as the thief.
Through Camera 1, Monty can see the approach of blue lights to the window. Bellamy turns to the police officers and begins what Monty can only guess is a rambling apology.
"Time to go," Monty whispers, as though the quiet of his voice will help Miller leave undetected. He watches the screen as the police question, breathalyse, and console Bellamy.
After a few minutes, Miller's breathless voice crackles over the comms. "I'm out. Last job – done. See you back at the flat."
Monty keeps his eyes carefully trained on the screen.
"Honey, I'm home," Miller sing-songs as he walks through the door of the dingy flat.
Monty rolls his eyes fondly.
Miller heads towards his room to pack his few belongings, stopping briefly to pat Monty's shoulder. "Thanks for your help," he murmurs.
Monty finds himself leaning into the touch. "Hey, you're a great thief, even without my help."
Miller just gives him a quick smile before disappearing around the corner.
A few minutes later, he slinks back in, and seems surprised to see Monty still sat at the screens. "Come on, get packed up, we're meeting Kane in an hour."
Monty turns to him, surprise on his face. "What?" he says dumbly.
"Well, you are coming, aren't you?"
"I didn't—" Monty stutters. "'One last job, and then I'm off', you said." He looks at Miller accusingly.
Understanding dawns in Miller's eyes. "I meant with you," he says, and then at Monty's raised eyebrow: "Okay, okay – obviously I should have said 'one last job and then we're off', but I thought you knew."
"Knew?"
"That I'm not gonna leave you behind," Miller says fiercely, but the force isn't aimed at Monty – it's aimed at the idea that he could go somewhere and Monty wouldn't follow.
"I'm just a hacker," Monty whispers, looking at the floor.
Miller gawps. "You're a hell of a lot more than that!" he exclaims. "You're my best friend, Monty." It's Monty's turn to look stunned. "You're the only one who has been there throughout everything, regardless of what I did… When I got sent down, my family disowned me.You are my family now, Monty. So don't ever say you're just anything." He bends to press a quick kiss to Monty's forehead, his lips brushing the hair of his fringe. "Now go and pack, you idiot."
Monty laughs. "I love you," he says brightly.