Still whooping and hollering, Darien, Bobby, and the others began to head toward the back exit. Darien opened the door and stepped out into the night. The first thing to greet his vision was an old, rusty-looking black van. "Aw man, we're taking that?" he asked in a disgusted tone, looking at the van with something akin to pity. It looked like it should have been put out of its misery quite some time ago.
"Hey, don't go badmouthing my baby," Bobby said, patting the van's hood in what could almost be considered a consoling manner. "She may look like a rust-bucket, but she still runs well. She's got character, too." Darien couldn't help thinking that if the van Bobby was looking at so fondly had much more 'character' it would probably collapse from its own weight.
Bobby walked around to the back of the van, fumbled in his pocket for a moment, pulled out a key-ring, and unlocked the back doors to the van. "Hey everyone, pile in!" he yelled, walking over to the driver's side of the van and climbing in.
The others walked over, placed their respective bags of equipment in the back of the van, and then started to take what seemed to be their assigned places. Fabio sat in the front passenger's side, Neville sat in the seat behind them, and Jonathan sat in the very back. Darien walked around back and placed his duffle bag of equipment in the back along with the others, closed the doors, and then walked around to the side. He stuck his head inside the van somewhat nervously, in an attempt to discern whether or not the van would be able to support his weight.
Finally, when Bobby started giving Darien irritated glances via the rear-view mirror, he climbed in. He sat next to Neville, mainly because he had no desire to sit next to Jonathan. Bobby jammed the keys into the ignition, started up the engine, and sent the van careening out of the alley. Darien could tell one thing right off; he wasn't the least bit impressed with Bobby's driving skills.
**********
About twenty minutes later, Bobby pulled his van to a stop outside an old, decrepit diner that didn't look to be good for much besides a cup or two of tepid coffee or maybe a quick stop by the restrooms. Of course, this was not the place Fabio had ordered them to break into. Only three buildings away stood some sort of high-tech government facility. This, not the diner, was the target.
Silently, everyone except Darien began to make their way out of the van and head around to the back doors. Bobby unlocked them and stepped out of the way while everyone began to unload their backpacks and duffle bags of equipment. Bobby grabbed his backpack last of all, trying to keep the feelings of guilt and remorse that kept trying to worm their way into his head at bay.
He couldn't get Vivian out of his mind; that was the main problem. He really did love her. And, even though he knew she loved him too, he also knew she wasn't the kind of person who would be happy playing second fiddle to his work. She had made it quite clear that morning that she wasn't going to stand for it much longer; for all Bobby knew, she might even be considering leaving him.
Bobby knew he was getting too absorbed in his job, knew that Vivian had every reason to act the way she had acted, but he also knew that there was no way he could ease off on his work now. Fabio had recently received a commission from one of their employers that would most likely keep the entire thieving ring busy for the next month, and Bobby felt obligated to help with those jobs. Still, he also longed to please Vivian, and that would mean easing off on his work, if not quitting completely...
Bobby's train of thought was interrupted by the sudden, mildly alarming sensation of someone tapping on his shoulder. Bobby jumped nervously and looked up, and up, and up, and finally made eye contact with Darien Fielding, who was leaning over the back seat of the van and giving him a curious look. "You okay, man?" Darien asked, minute traces of concern in his voice.
"I'm fine," Bobby replied hurriedly, pulling one of his backpack straps up over his right shoulder. Darien had a less than convinced look on his face, so Bobby said in a reassuring tone, "Really, I'm fine." Of course, that was a lie, but Bobby hoped it wouldn't be by the time he started the job at hand.
Darien still looked doubtful, but he only said, "Okay, if you say so. Could you hand me my duffle?" Bobby nodded and passed it up to Darien, who pulled it over the back of the seat. Then he gave Bobby a pointed look. "A little privacy might be nice..." Bobby rolled his eyes and closed the back doors. A resounding slam told him that Darien had closed the side door as well. In order for the plan to work Darien had to pose as a janitor, and it had been decided that the best place for him to change into the appropriate attire was in the van.
About five minutes later Darien opened the side door of the van and stepped out, dressed in a plain blue uniform. His duffle bag was slung over one shoulder. Bobby cocked an eyebrow. "That's it?"
Darien shrugged. "Yeah, this is it."
Bobby shook his head. "I just hope you have a back-up plan, 'cause there's no way you're gonna make it in and out of that building without getting caught."
"You'd be surprised," Darien said, a smirk crossing his face.
"Whatever man, it's your funeral." Bobby turned and began heading towards the place where Fabio, Neville, and Jonathan were standing. Darien followed, duffle in hand.
Fabio and Neville turned to face Bobby as he walked up to them, but Jonathan didn't move an inch, just continued to look over at the building. Bobby had the feeling Jonathan was upset at him for standing up for Darien yesterday. But hey, someone had to stand up for the new kid on the block, and Neville certainly wouldn't have managed it. He meant well, but he was a bit of a wuss.
"Is everyone ready?" Fabio asked, using his most professional tone. Bobby nodded, as did everyone else. "All right then." And with that, Fabio pulled out a black ski mask and pulled it over his face. Neville and Jonathan followed suit, and Bobby dug through his backpack until he found his own ski mask. He pulled it over his face, wincing just the tiniest bit as he did so. He had never liked wearing ski masks; they always felt uncomfortable to him. But it was better than having people be able to identify him on sight.
Darien walked by, that irritating smirk still on his face. "See you guys later." He started to head for the target building's main entrance. Meanwhile, Hobbes began walking toward the building next to it. As he walked, his mind began to turn more toward the job at hand, much to his relief. He could always worry about Vivian later. Right now he needed to keep focused, or he'd quite likely end up in jail.
**********
Darien walked through the front door of the building, trying to ignore the fact that the harness around his chest was very uncomfortable. Absently whistling the tune to an old Christmas carol, he started to walk past the security guard. He didn't get very far before he felt someone place a hand on his shoulder. He turned around and found himself face to face with the security guard.
"Hey man," Darien said, giving the guard a smile, "what's up?"
"I don't remember ever seeing you before," the guard said, giving Darien a suspicious look.
"Oh," Darien said in as nonchalant a tone as he could manage. "That's 'cause I don't usually work night-shift. But Bill's sick, so I'm filling in for him." Darien hoped the security guard would be stupid or inexperienced enough to fall for that.
And, fortunately for Darien, he was. "Okay then, go on through." The guard paused for a moment and then said in a curious tone, "I gotta ask- what's with the hair?"
Darien shrugged. "I just don't like it hanging in my eyes." He turned around and walked away, hardly able to believe the gullibility of that guard. He made a mental note to inform his boss that this building needed better training for its security staff.
It didn't take him long to set the cameras up so that they displayed nothing but a repeated loop of empty hallways. As soon as he'd done that, he pulled a small handheld radio out of his duffle and set it to the preordained frequency. "Okay guys, everything's ready for you to come down," he said casually, reclining comfortably in a chair.
"Roger that," Fabio said, his voice slightly distorted by the radio's speaker.
Satisfied that no more communication was necessary at this time, Darien stuffed the radio in his pants pocket. He glanced at his watch and then walked over to a nearby janitor's closet, pulling out a mop and bucket. No use in hanging around unless he looked like he was actually supposed to be here, after all. And he needed to stick around to make sure the others were able to get in and out without any trouble. If all went according to plan, he should only have to stay in the building for ten minutes.
**********
Bobby looked over the edge of the roof he was standing on and felt a gentle breeze tugging at his clothes. He wanted to get this job over with; even though he was in the right mindset now, the thought of Vivian still lurked in the back of his mind, refusing to let him be. He had to do something to make it up to her. He resolved to take her out to dinner tomorrow night. Somewhere nice, expensive even. He was willing to do anything to make her happy again. Well, almost anything...
He pulled himself back to the moment as he heard Darien's voice crackling through over Fabio's radio, letting everyone know that the building's security had been compromised. Fabio acknowledged Darien's comment and Bobby felt the beginnings of a smile crossing his face, although it was hidden by the mask he wore. Now the fun would begin.
On Fabio's signal, everyone began gathering their equipment. Neville unzipped his duffle, holding up a large contraption designed to shoot a grappling hook into the wall of the target building. He pulled out a harness as well, and Bobby strapped that on himself; he was the one who was going to break into the building first, so that he could unlock the roof. Then the others, who didn't have his skill for scaling buildings, would have an easier time getting in.
Neville might be a coward and a sticky-fingered pickpocket, but he was a pretty good shot with that weird contraption of his. He hit the intended area of brick the first shot. He and Bobby secured the other end of the line around a sturdy pole, and then Bobby began to hook up his harness. He could have already had it hooked up by now if he'd let Jonathan assist Neville, but he quite frankly didn't trust Jonathan to tie the rope properly, especially if he was out for blood. And from the way he'd been acting lately, if he wasn't already, he would be soon.
It didn't take long before Bobby was hooked up to the rope and flying- no, not flying, but close to it- toward the imposing brick wall of the building next door. He hit hard, but no harder than expected; he'd already steeled himself for the blow. Then he detached himself from the cable that had allowed him to come thus far and began carefully, ever so carefully, climbing toward the nearest window.
Before long he had arrived, and he pulled his glasscutter out of his pocket and, after placing a suction-powered clamp on the window so that he could keep hold of it with one hand and making sure that his footing on the window ledge was secure, he used his other hand to cut the glass around the clamp in a wide circle, wide enough for him to step through.
Slow and steady now, he thought to himself, just take your time. Slow and easy now, slow and quiet. So, slowly and quietly, he pushed the circle of glass inward with one hand, keeping a firm hold on that clamp with his other. Then, once the circle of glass was inside the building, he very carefully lowered it to the floor. No good letting the guards hear a mysterious crash that would make them curious as to what was going on in here, after all.
After the piece of glass had been lowered to the floor, Bobby placed a hand on the top of the window frame and cautiously placed his right leg through the hole in the glass. Once he'd lowered it to the floor, he brought his other leg through the hole. He was inside the building now; he had just completed his favorite part of these thieving jobs. He loved the thrill of climbing the walls, nothing below him but air and, very far away, the ground. Some people were afraid of heights, but not Bobby Hobbes.
He jogged out of the room and down the hall in an almost carefree manner, and then climbed the stairs to the roof. He swung the door open and took off one of his shoes, placing it in the doorway. Then he let out a short, piercing whistle. Immediately Fabio, Neville, and Jonathan appeared out of the shadows, walking toward the open door. Bobby didn't know exactly how they'd made it across the gap between buildings, and quite frankly he didn't care. He did his job, they did theirs, and they never questioned each other. Unless a mistake was made, that is. Then the questions rose thick as smoke.
Fabio walked through the door first, just like always. Then Neville followed, and then Jonathan. He didn't go in right away, though. He stopped for a moment, giving Bobby a nasty look. Bobby knew that look all too well, and he returned it with pleasure. As long as things didn't actually come to blows, he didn't mind a little mutual animosity.
Finally Jonathan turned and walked into the building. Bobby walked in after him, pausing just long enough to pull his shoe out of the doorway and put it back on his foot. Then he followed the others down the stairwell.
The next few minutes were simply a matter of scurrying down hallways and making sure security guards weren't lurking around the next corner. Within three minutes, the four thieves had reached their destination. Bobby was surprised to see that it was a lab of some kind. He had expected something more along the lines of a... well, he wasn't really sure what he had been expecting, but it sure hadn't been this.
"You sure we're in the right building?" he asked jokingly, glancing over at Fabio.
Fabio glared back. "Of course I'm sure. Do you think we'd be here if I wasn't?" Bobby shook his head, mentally rolling his eyes. Sometimes Fabio took everything way too seriously.
There was a large safe sitting in one corner of the room; that at least seemed to support the fact that this was the building they were meant to be robbing. Jonathan got right to work on it, and had it cracked within two minutes, by hand no less. It had been agreed that an explosion would be much too loud for this particular job.
Fabio wasted no time, walking right into the safe, which was more than large enough for a man to walk inside. He rummaged around in it for a few seconds and then stopped, a wide grin spreading across his face that Bobby knew meant he'd found what he was looking for. He held up a small metal container, which had a biohazard logo on it. "That's it?" Bobby said, a cold feeling beginning to appear in the pit of his stomach. "That's what we're stealing?" He frowned. The thing didn't look very valuable in and of itself.
Fabio gave Bobby a pointed look. "This is it, and we're being paid a lot of money for it." The tone of his voice indicated that the subject was not to be brought up again. This was not a prospect that was particularly pleasing to Bobby, but he decided to go along with it. The less he knew about what was done with the stuff he stole, the better. If he found out, his conscience would probably start gnawing at him. It had done that quite often in the past, and it had always been at the most inopportune times.
Fabio placed the container in his backpack and the group of thieves started to head out of the room. But, just before they walked out, Neville kicked the safe closed.
He obviously hadn't expected it to close so loudly. It slammed shut with a resounding bang, and he cringed visibly, knowing he had just made a monumental mistake. "What did you do that for?" Jonathan hissed, looking angrily down at the smaller man.
"Well... I thought..."
"You didn't think!" Fabio exclaimed, his eyes blazing with anger. Bobby stepped back to a corner of the room. This was one conversation he didn't want to get in the middle of.
"Well, I figured the guards, you know, might be suspicious if the safe was open..." Neville stammered, glancing nervously at Jonathan, then at Fabio, then at the door. It was obvious he wanted to make a run for it, and he might have done it too, except at that moment a security guard walked into the room, flashlight raised and gun drawn.
TBC... I know, I'm evil... But I hope to have part 4 out by this time next week.
