They made it to San Francisco. They crashed in the car to save money and spent a couple of nights camping out since they now had the supplies. James worked endlessly on the plans for their second stint. He wanted to get out of San Francisco, and California for that matter, as quickly as possible. James found a bank that was bigger than the last one that they robbed. It wasn't the largest bank in San Francisco, but he did not feel comfortable robbing a huge establishment for their second stint. James figured that they could get at least $10,000 from this second stint, which was slightly reassuring.
He knew the layout of the bank within a week. He went there as a customer, not even bothering to try and get a job for himself or for Kate. It would be pointless. He spent a couple of nights up late, drawing the floor plan and marking where there were alarms.
James knew that Kate was getting restless, waiting for him to get this plan ready. She was pacing in front of their fire pit every day, bothering him constantly. "James, are you done yet?" she would ask him. It was just like having a small child with them, and James wasn't sure he would be able to deal with her if she kept acting that way.
And on the eighth day of figuring out the plan, he snapped at her.
"James, do you think the plan will be ready tomorrow? I need an actual shower and an actual bed," she complained.
"Jesus fucking Christ, Kate. Can you please shut up? I'm trying to get us $10,000 here. The least you can do is shut your fucking mouth and let me work," he snapped. And he was seriously pissed off; the only time he called her Kate now was when he was pissed off.
And then Kate left him alone. Four days later, his plan was finished. Five days later, they were back in the heart of San Francisco, crashing at a hotel, per Kate's request. James felt bad that he had snapped with her; after her snapped at her on that day, she ignored him until his plan was finished. He knew he should have kept his cool, but he was trying to win their competition. And if he wanted to win, he needed to make sure that he plan was flawless.
"Repeat the plan back to me, Mrs. Ford," he said.
"I am going to pull the car to the side of the bank. You are going to go in, go to the teller, and say that you have a large amount of money to be deposited. He'll have to call the manager. Then you pull out your gun when the manager comes and ask for the ley to the back. Threaten to shoot the customers if he doesn't give you the key. Go back and get the money, then come out to me and then we leave for the east again," she said, sitting on the bed with knees tucked under her chin. Her hair was pulled into a messy bun and she was wearing one of James' t-shirts.
James nodded and then lay on the bed next to her. "That's right. And then we should have a cool $10,000 to play with, m'lady," he said, rolling on his side and looking at her.
Kate smiled. "I like the sound of that, Mr. Ford," she said, lying next to him.
They then fell asleep, James holding onto Kate.
James gave Kate a quick kiss on the lips before getting out of the car. His gun was stashed in his jacket and his hand instinctively hid it from view. He walked into the bank, the door shutting loudly behind him. His hair was slicked back and he was wearing a suit jacket and jeans. Walking right up to the teller without any hesitation, James said, "Hello, I need to make a deposit of $20,000. Could you please get the manager?"
The teller stared at him for a second but then nodded. "Yes sir," the man said. Then the teller got up and walked to get the manager.
James turned around while waiting, and took in his surroundings. A young blonde mother (she didn't look any older than Kate) holding an infant no older than six months was sitting in one of the leather lounge chairs, looking at another one of the teller stations. James followed her gaze and his eyes landed upon a shorter blond man who was depositing money with another teller.
"Sir, what can I do for you today?" a new voice asked.
James turned around and looked at the manager. He pulled out the gun slowly and said, "I need the key to the back room. If you don't cooperate, I will shoot the mother," he whispered, jerking his head to the young mother in the chair.
"O-of course," the manager said. "Follow me. And please, you can put the gun away. I will cooperate."
"I'd rather not," James said curtly.
The manager nodded and then took James to the back room. The manager opened every single box that James asked him to open and James stuck all the money in the black backpack that he bought. Once all the money had been collected from the boxes, James said, "Now, you are not going to call the police until 2:30. An hour from now. And if you do call the police, I will come back here and I will kill you. Are we clear?"
The manager nodded nervously and James walked back out to the front of the bank, where the customers and tellers were huddled in a corner, shaking. James looked at the young mother, father, and baby. "You were lucky that the manager cooperated, girl," James said to her before walking out of the building.
Kate was there waiting for him and when he got into the car she sped off, not even waiting for him to close his door. Overall the stint took seven minutes. Two more minutes than what Kate's stint took.
"Ha, I beat you in time," she said, laughing as they sped off towards Nevada.
"Yeah, well I beat you in actual money," James said, opening the backpack.
Kate glanced over and saw the bills and her jaw dropped. "How much?" she asked, her eyes focusing on the road once more.
"$10,000. I told you I would make more money. So, where do you want to stay tonight? A five star hotel?" James asked, zipping the backpack closed and throwing it in the backseat.
"A five star hotel. Definitely," Kate replied, grinning.
"Then get us there, Freckles."