Bank Heist Blackout

This is going to be fun. Melanie thought to herself as she and Sasha arrived at the bank. She pretended to listen to Sasha babble endlessly about another argument she had with her boyfriend Brandon.

Melanie hated Brandon with a passion. Ever since Sasha started dating him she started to change, very few girls night outs. The last one they tried to plan he wouldn't let her go unless he was with her. One night Sasha had lied to him about going out with Melanie. He followed them and all three of them gotten into a huge argument. That was a year ago and Melanie hasn't seen him since, nor did she want to.

Melanie began to think about her recent relationship, although it was never really a relationship. It was more sexual if anything. She met that guy at the club she works at. It didn't last very long when he told her that they needed to be over three days before his wedding. Melanie didn't want to admit it, but she was hurt. She was beginning to have feelings for him, but now he was long gone.

The two of them approached the elevators and waited. Sasha was still continuing about Brandon.

"He called my job a bunch of times! I had all this work to get done! He pissed me off to the core! Then he got mad at me for going over to your place last night! "

The elevator finally reached the floor they were on and the doors opened. Sasha and Melanie got in, it was a little crowded due a janitor pushing a large cart, but they managed to squeeze in. Sasha decided to change her tone due to everyone being so close.

"So Mel, when are you going to start dating? I know a guy who works at our firm, he's really sweet."

Melanie scrunched her face, "Okay, the last guy you set me up with was a total lame."

Sasha scoffed as the elevator stopped and the doors opened. They made their exit and made the way in line waiting for an available teller.

"He was not lame!" Sasha exclaimed. "You just need to higher your standards. You keep dating these no good losers. He had a job, he treated you nice. What was the problem?"

Melanie sighed, "I don't know. I just wasn't into him. I can't explain it."

"I can help the next person!" A teller was finally available to them.

Melanie and Sasha began walking but they were distracted by the sudden chaos. Everyone in the bank began frantically running around screaming as four guys dressed in black, armed with large guns burst out one of the elevators. One of them immediately began shooting in the air and everyone quickly got on the ground.

"Now that I have your attention! We're not here to hurt you! Stay calm! You get to go home for dinner! Understand me!"

Melanie immediately laid stomach first on the ground. She couldn't believe that she is witnessing a real live bank robbery. This is the kind of thing you see in movies. She began to panic because she couldn't find Sasha. She quickly looked around and see that she was laying on her stomach, clear across the room. How did that happen? She was right next to me. Melanie thought to herself. They must have lost track of each other in the midst of the chaos. She began to panic as she watched two other guys crack open the safe while the other two patrolled the rest of the bank. Everyone seemed to be complying to the robbers except a bank teller who tried to discreetly press a silent alarm.

"Looks like we got a naughty on here!" One of them caught her.

Melanie looked up quickly to see one of the robbers quickly grab her.

"Okay, bad girl, we need to make a phone call." He continued as he forcefully escorted her to the phone and the victim made the phone call.

Melanie kept her head up, but she was still trying to be stealthy. She didn't want to be noticed by any of the other robbers. She watched as robber took the phone away from the teller and forced her to sit down. She quickly obliged and put her hands behind her back. The robber put his gun to her head.

Melanie began breathing hard. She was trying her best to calm down, but she couldn't. She began coughing so loudly that everyone heard her, including the robber.

"Hey! Shut up over there!" One of them yelled.

Melanie put her head down, clutching her chest, still coughing. She was trying her best to quiet down, but she couldn't. Sasha looked at her with concern. She knew Melanie is having one of her infamous panic attacks. She couldn't help calm her down because of the robbery. She gave her a reassuring look letting her know that everything was going to be okay, but Melanie was still panicking and coughing.

"Hey, I said shut up!" The robber yelled again. He slowly moved away from the bank teller who still had her arms behind her head, making his way to Melanie, but he didn't take his eyes off her.

"Don't you dare move!" He yelled as he pointed his gun at her. The bank teller remained frozen. It looked as though she was too scared to move.

The robber quickly made his way to Melanie. He grabbed wrapped one arm around her neck and pointed the gun at her head with his free hand.

"I said shut up!" He yelled.

Sasha watched in horror as Melanie slowly stopped coughing, but now she was running out of breath and her eyes were beginning to close. She was trying to stay conscious because of the robbery, but it was no use. She passed out on the robber and Sasha began to cry. The robber held onto her until the other two robbers arrived with larger duffel bags. It was obvious those bags were full of money.

The robber holding Melanie put her down and ran away along with the other robbers. As soon as they left the scene, everyone got up and chaos began. Tellers and customers were running all over the bank, panicking as police made their way in as well. Sasha quickly got up and began performing CPR on Melanie. She tried calling for help, but no one answered her call except a cop who just emerged from the stairs.

"Help me, please! I don't know what to do!" Sasha cried.

"Was she shot?" The cop asked as he began to perform CPR as well.

"No!" Sasha cried. "She started coughing and she couldn't breathe and the guy grabbed her and she passed out! I don't know what to do!"

"Ok, calm down ma'am! I still feel a pulse, we're going to get her to the hospital as soon as possible!"


Hours later Melanie woke up in a hospital bed. She clutched her aching head and let out a light groan.

"Hey Mel," Sasha greeted. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I got ran over by a bus," Melanie laid back. "How long was I out for?"

"Couple hours," Sasha answered, "You had one of those anxiety attacks again. You passed out during a bank robbery."

Melanie began to think about being held at gunpoint by one of the robbers. She didn't remember much after that. She frantically looked around and began checking herself for bruises and abrasions.

"You're okay." Sasha stopped her. "He didn't hurt you." Melanie sighed as the doctor entered her room. "You're awake sleeping beauty!" He said with glee. "We're still running some tests and we'll have the results in a few hours. In the meantime, we have some detectives that need to ask you some questions."

"Beware," Sasha whispered to Melanie, "One of them is an asshole."

"Yeah, that's fine," Melanie said to the doctor as he signaled the detectives to enter.

"Hi, I'm detective Eddie Hatcher and this is my partner Jack Welles. We're sorry to bother you, but we would like to ask you some questions about the robbery."

Melanie sighed, "I'm not sure how much help I'm gonna be, but ok." She noticed the other detective rolling his eyes. He seemed agitated which made her nervous. She tried to keep calm.

"Your sister already told us that one of the robbers grabbed you," Detective Hatcher began. "Can you tell us anything about him? Did he say anything?"

Melanie was silent for a few seconds. She was trying her best to remember, but she couldn't.

"Um, well, they ran in and a few gunshots went off. They told everyone to get on the ground, I started coughing. I was trying to control it, but I guess it pissed him off. He grabbed me, then put the gun to my head. I remember him telling me don't move and to shut up that's all." She pointed to Sasha, "And she's not my sister, she's my friend."

"Was there anything unusual or distinctive about his voice?" Detective Hatcher asked as he began writing in his notepad.

Melanie shook her head, "I really don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" Detective Welles yelled. "He was right there! Didn't you hear anything? What are you deaf? We were literally in this hospital forever for this useless witness."

"Don't talk to her like that! What is hell is wrong with you?" Sasha darted, protecting her already nervous friend.

"I passed out!" Melanie's voice cracked, "They had their faces covered, he grabbed me from behind. I couldn't see him."

"Of course." Detective Welles uttered in frustration.

"Way to protect and serve," Sasha said after him. "Have a little compassion, the girl is in a goddamn hospital bed!" The two of them began raising their voices and Detective Hatcher got in between them quickly.

"Calm down guys."

Detective Welles let out a long sigh and left the room.

"I apologize for my partner, he didn't mean anything by it." He gave Sasha his card. "Thanks for your help. If you guys remember anything, please call me. We wanna nail these guys asap."

"Thank you," Sasha said as Detective Hatcher walked out of the room.

"Told you one of them was an asshole," Sasha began. "That other one was cute, though. You should go for him!"

"Um, no," Melanie scrunched her face. "Plus, he's married. I saw the ring."

They both chuckled a bit. Sasha took a look at Melanie, she looked really exhausted and upset. She couldn't help but feel bad for her. She has been having these anxiety attacks ever since her mother died. This wasn't the first time Sasha had to accompany Melanie to the hospital when she had a breakdown. It was hard to see Melanie like this. As much as she loved her best friend, it was becoming a bit too much for her to handle on her own. She knew it was best for Melanie to be in contact with her father, but she didn't want to bring it up right now, it wasn't a good time.

"Are you hungry? I'll get something out of the vending machine."

"Sure, I can use a sandwich." Melanie answered as she watched Sasha walk away. She tried her best to maintain her nervousness, but it was no use. She hated being in this hospital. She just wanted to go home. She began thinking about her mom, and how much it would mean to have her here. She was the only family she ever had, and she counted on her for everything. Now, she wasn't sure who she could count on other than Sasha.


John should be ecstatic about the robbery job being successful and the profit they made. After finishing a long night of counting money, he along with Gordon, Jesse, Jake, and AJ, made a toast with their shots of whiskey to another job well done this year. Jake poured more shots for the guys and announced that Lily accepted his marriage proposal and he was planning an engagement party. John took his second shot and congratulated him, but Melanie was in the back of his mind. He broke away from the guys and paced back and forth on the balcony of G's penthouse. He cursed himself for not going to Melanie's apartment and explaining himself. She is the only family he has left and he would love nothing more to reconnect with her. He knew she had some negative feelings about him leaving when she was a teenager. It was very unfortunate to know that she had become a stripper and not college bound like he hoped for.

"You okay, man?" G's voice broke his trance.

"Yeah, I'm fine," John answered.

"Still thinking about Melanie?" G asked, knowing exactly what's in his brother's head.

"Yeah," He answered. "I just really wish I can see her. I really messed up by not being in her life after me and Tara split up. She was giving me such shit, but I should have tried."

G sighed, he wasn't sure what to say to make John feel better. He knew first hand about John's rocky marriage with Tara. They met at the opening of Jake's club years ago and have been inseparable ever since. He wasn't sure if he could be with a woman that had a teenage daughter, but Melanie grew on him and he loved her as if he were her own. When he adopted Melanie, he finally felt that he had the family he always wanted. He was heartbroken when Tara asked him for a divorce out of the blue. John tried his best to keep his family together, but Tara wanted to leave and she took Melanie with her. When he asked to see Melanie, Tara would never let him. She ignored his calls and eventually changed her number. He never heard from her again. He was shocked to see her picture in the paper in the obituaries. It was hard for him to believe.

"You know where she is now," G began. "You got your second chance."

John sighed, "I know but I'm sure she hates me and probably doesn't want to see me. I tried calling her but she doesn't answer. Maybe I should just give up, let her be."

G shook his head. He didn't want John to give up so quickly. He met Melanie and she grew on him too. She even called him Uncle G from time to time. Melanie would tell him secrets that she was too scared to tell John and Tara. He always wondered about her when they divorced, but he kept quiet about it because it was a sensitive subject to him.

"Why not invite her to the party?" G suggested. "Want me to get her to come?"

John chuckled, "She may just go for it if you ask her. You wouldn't mind doing that for me?"

G nodded, "You know I don't mind. That's what family is for. I know with her mom's passing she really needs you right now."

John sighed and took another shot. He was still in disbelief that Tara passed away, but he was glad to know that he still has Melanie. This reunion with her is going to be different. He had to get to know his daughter all over again, and she wasn't a little girl anymore. She was grown up.