360: A Dogtown Story

Chapter 10: Bank Rob a House

"Of course we won't leave you. Never ever again."

The hospital lights were buzzing, even though they were off. It was what was keeping her awake. The droning buzz that infiltrated her ears and wouldn't give her peace. Carmen shifted to lie on her side. She'd figured out how to lie on her side without putting painful pressure on her cuts earlier this afternoon. If she lay at a certain angle, brought her arms up to her chest, and lay on her shoulder, it wasn't painful at all. In fact, it actually numbed the tingling pain in her arm.

Carmen let out a sigh, moving her hand to brush a stray hair out of her face. She was tired and exhausted, if it was possible for someone to be both. She'd learnt quickly they meant different things. If she was exhausted, she was weary of everything in her body. Tired was different…tired meant she just needed sleep. Exhausted meant she needed rest. Both two very different things. At least…that's what Carmen had most willfully decided when Stacy and Sid had left. They must have been the only people who knew she was in the hospital. No one else had come, not even Tony, who had grown quite protective over her over the short time she'd known him. And Jay…even Jay hadn't come. Carmen sighed again, but this time in pure frustration. She didn't know why it mattered so much to her that Jay hadn't come. Technically, she was unofficially with Stacy. She'd even told him that…and yet it mattered to her that he hadn't come.

Her telephone rang. The noise surprised her and with terrified eyes she turned gently onto her back, staring at the phone that was on the other side of her hospital bed. No lights were on save the dim light shining through the sheen white curtains. The noises of the hospital and the hum of the machines were singing a spooky harmony in the background of the buzzing lights and the ring of the phone. Carmen felt goosebumps run up her arms. This was always the part in the fancy horror movies that the girl got abducted or murdered…during the dead of night in an abandoned place.

What if it was her mother phoning? Phoning to yell at her, probably in a drunken slur. Or cry until she got home, and then beat her up again. Or maybe it was Ron? Maybe one of his medical friends had told him about her being in the hospital…that maybe Sonya would finally get yelled at? Or maybe it was Sid, phoning to tell her of his plan to break into her house? Reaching a shaky hand out to get the receiver, Carmen decided that it could be anyone. If it were someone worth talking to, she wouldn't hang up. If it were her mother, which was the only person she could think of not talking to, she would drop the receiver back down. She already knew how she would do this without being caught.

Carmen lifted up the hard tope phone and held it to her ear. Sure enough, the person on the other end began speaking.

"Hello? Carmen? Carmeena? Are you there?" Sid's voice was more than recognizable than her own to Carmen's ear, and she let out a relieved sigh. "You thought this was your mom, didn't you?"

"Well what do you expect? The phone rings in the middle of the night…wait a second, how did you even get this phone number?" It was almost impossible to make the nurses behind the counter budge, especially if it was in the middle of the night and you wanted to phone someone.

"I've got my connections at the hospitals around town."

"Oh…right," Carmen couldn't help but smile, even though it was painful to do so. The split lip she had gotten was from the smashed wine bottle she'd fallen on when her mother had hit her. The gashes in her arm, the broken end her mother had used to hit her. "How horrible did I look today?" She heard the hesitation in his silence, and she could almost see the grin break onto his face.

"I told you…nothing could make you look bad Carma," Carmen's eyes rolled at his comment. He told her that because she was his best friend. He loved her like a sister and more, and she knew he felt obligated to tell her that. "Stacy agreed with me on that one, so don't do your whole little huffy act."

"I wasn't!" She defended herself too quickly and Sid laughed over the phone. "Stop it…why did you phone me anyway?" He stopped laughing immediately and cleared his throat importantly, as if he was about to make a decision that would change the rest of his life.

"After much consideration, Red Dog, Stacy, Tony, Peggy, Jay, and I have decided to break into your house and get your things," Sid's voice said from the phone. "We're doing it tonight…in like, five minutes…bank robber style."

Carmen had never before in her life had a more odd phone conversation. How was it possible to rob a house bank robber style? Were they going to come in and make a lot of racket, holding water guns up to Sonya and Ron's heads? The idea was quite funny, but potentially problematic. Ron wasn't scared of stupid acts like that, and in an attempt to save his new wife, he would try to be as heroic as possible. If any one of them got caught, the cops could probably trace everything back to the Zephyr Team and the surf shop. And that would be problematic.

"Bank robber style? What do you mean by that?" She asked quietly. The only reason she wanted them to go get her stuff was because of Pooka, and the pictures of her brother and dad. That is, if her mother hadn't already burned everything.

"I mean black masks, black clothes…don't worry, we don't got any guns, and we ain't gonna make a racket," Sid reassured her, and Carmen thought for a moment he had read her thoughts. "Though it would be fun to take a gun to Sonya's head."

"Sid!" Carmen hissed. She was afraid someone was secretly listening into their conversation, just waiting to contact the Gilmore's and prepare them for a midnight raid. "Remember to get Pooka, alright? You're keeping him seeing as Stacy's mom is allergic to dogs. And my camera if you can-"

"Carmeena, you gave me a list already," Sid laughed, and she let out a defeated sigh. She was nervous as if she was the one stepping into the house and taking her stuff. They were her best friends…they would be careful, especially if Peggy was there with them. Carmen felt a lot less worried knowing that a girl would be there to pack her clothes. The thought of having Jay and Red Dog leaf through her bras and underwear made her cringe. "Don't worry about it. Oh…there's Stace. I'll phone you when the heist is complete! Or from the police station if we get caught."

"Be careful," She sighed, closing her eyes once the click of a dead tone had sounded. Now, perhaps, she could try to get some sleep.

……

Sid stared up at the pipeline that would be their way into Carmen's room. It would be a lot easier if they could sneak in through the front door, but Sid already knew that that pathway was impossible. Sonya and Ron could be up at any moment…for all they knew, Sonya could be sitting in Carmen's room with another wine bottle in tow. Stacy pulled him over to the small group they'd assembled to plan the heist. Red Dog was the tallest out of them, his red hair poking out of the mask he hadn't pulled over his face. The popular bank robber mask with three holes for the eyes and mouth was what they'd dressed in, along with the darkest clothes they could come up with. Sid was the only one dressed in all black other than Peggy, but he suspected it was only because she was a girl. They were supposed to have all the colours of the rainbow in their wardrobe. At least, Carmen did.

"Okay, so we go in, and look for the stuff on this list," Stacy whispered, holding up a piece of paper with four items on it. There were four items, but those items had many parts to them. The first item on the list was Pooka, which was the most obvious one for all of them. Most of my clothes, My makeup/makeup bag, and My camera followed closely behind. With the five of them, they could get her belongings and be out of there in ten minutes. Sid turned to Peggy. She had worn her hair in pigtails, but you could barely see it against her black clothing.

"Carmen asked if Peggy could be in charge of her clothes, while the rest of us handle the other stuff," He said, and she merely nodded while the rest of the boys sniggered in response. "Okay, masks on." Once the masks were on, Stacy gave everyone a quick glance before nodding towards the pipe. They'd picked an order to go up in previously, so they wouldn't make any noise going up. They made it up silently and with much relief, the window was opened. Tony had asked if Anita would open anything that was locked, but lock the door to her room. It would give them enough privacy to get everything they needed before anyone heard them. By the looks of it, Anita had fulfilled her duties.

Pooka didn't even bark when they came in, but remained curled up in a tight ball on the bed. Sid's mind angered for a moment to think of how he'd been left in here alone, but by the time that he'd collected the puppy, he had never been happier to see him.

"Hey Pook," Sid smiled, and the dog perked up in realization. The mask hid who he really was, but Sid knew Pooka would be able to tell it was him by his smell. "You can smell that weed on me, can't ya buddy?"

"Sid, shut up!" Stacy hissed from across the room. Sid snapped his attention towards the voice, grinning and sticking his thumbs up when he'd found Stacy. Long pieces of blond hair were sticking out of the bottom of his mask, and judging by the bumpy look of the masked person beside him, TA was helping him with makeup. Jay and Red Dog, the only other two male candidates, were loading up her camera gear into the large black canvas bag she used to carry it all around. Peggy was shoving clothes into a duffel bag over by her closet, not being careful at all. They had no given amount of time. One bad move could screw them all up.

"Why don't we just use the front door?" He heard Tony whispering to Stacy. Pooka had fallen asleep in his arms, and Sid held him close. He would have to be getting used to having a puppy around. Sid walked over to where the two guys were standing. It was hard to talk to someone you knew was wearing the same mask as you, but it was even harder for him when there were two people wearing the same mask.

"I agree with Tony man," Sid whispered, glancing at Stacy, although it was hard to take the situation seriously when he could barely see him. "Why wouldn't we just use the front? It's a lot easier."

Stacy let out a frustrated sigh, but the pause he let linger in was a sure sign he was considering it. Sid grinned. It really was the logical thing to do.

"Okay. Fine. But if we get caught, it's not my fault,"

Her heart beat increased as Sid moved to open the door. Truthfully, Peggy thought the entire idea of going out the front door was stupid. Anyone could be down there. Carmen's mom, her step-dad, one of the maids, or her step-grandparents for all they knew! Their next location could be at the police station filling out criminal record forms and getting their thumbprints taken. As far as skating went, she wanted to have a future. A future that would allow her to make something of her life.

"Do you really think this is a good idea?" She whispered worriedly to the tall figure beside her she was sure was Red Dog. It was so hard to tell when everyone looked exactly the same.

"I guess we'll find out," Peggy could only nod in reply to Red Dog as the door opened and they all walked quietly, but quickly out of the room. Staircase, bit of marble floor, and then the front door...that's all they had to go through. She held her breath and clutched the duffel bag full of Carmen's clothes in her hand. If it was anyone else they were going for, she probably would say no. But Carmen was the only girl she was actually friends with, good friends with at that, and she'd been through too much to say no to. Also, the thought of having the type of guys she was friends with going through a bunch of girl clothing was horrendously unappealing. They were halfway down the stairs when Peggy swore she heard a door open.

"Guys!" She hissed, and they all stopped to look at her. "I could have sworn I just heard a door open." They remained quiet and Peggy felt her heart beating faster again.

"I don't hear anything," Red Dog finally said, and they all nodded in agreement. She felt like sacking every one of them when they laughed quietly, making fun of her.

"Pegs, you just have to calm down, relax, and ch-"

"Sonya! Stay in your room and call the police! There's a bunch of intruders standing on the stairs!"