"A/N" To celebrate 17 pathetic years on this very planet, I've decided, in a kind of reverse gift giving-way, to release the next chapter. Now, you're probably wondering what you can do to wish me a happy birthday. Here is a list I put together with the solution to your problem:
Go to xXDarkAngelKittenXx's page and review the stories "Snow Blind" and "End of the Line" (And all the others of course).
Read and review this chapter.
For the ever loving Christ, stop fucking sending me requests to do creepy roleplays with the Sonic characters that involve one character shitting on one another. Literally. Enjoy that mental image.
Replies to reviews :
NothingBetter1: Nothing quite like "Plan B". Thanks for reviewing.
xXDarkAngelKittenXx: I created this little funny moment based on when it happened to me… Anyways, glad you liked it.
Now without further ado:
Everyone needs their payday: Chapter 5; Cash-out
-Shadows POV-
When we entered the main hall, it was filled with panicked civilians. Turing to my crew, I simply nodded. They started spreading out, covering exits and making sure that no one escaped. In the crowd, I noticed something interesting: A security guard, franticly trying to keep his calm, but his courage was faltering. He wore a ballistics vest, and carried a sub machine gun. He could be of use…
"Drop your FUCKING WEAPON!"
That got his attention, and surely, the hedgehog did what I instructed him to do. I was aiming at him, and I could sense his fear from where I was standing. Deathly afraid.
"Get on your knees"
I was like a puppet master, pulling his stings. Now on his knees, I approached him in a hurried pace. I kneeled in front of him, making eye contact.
"Listen here… I don't want any one of us to get hurt, so I thank you for your cooperation. However, I got an interesting… offer for you: Turn your guns against the police. We make more money this one day, than you will make in your entire life. We will let you have a cut of the action. You understand?"
I spoke calmly and clearly, in contrast to our surroundings. His mental confusion seemed to get the better of him. He slowly nodded to my proposal. A small smirk grew on my lips as I patted his back and helped him back to his feed and handed him his gun. Looking around, I saw my companions gather the remaining civilians in the office area of the bank, and making sure they stayed at the ground . Turning back to my "puppet", I gave him the instruction to stand guard at the main entrance, and retreat to inform us when the cops decided to show up. Once I was sure that he had understood his orders and made his way to his post, I made my way towards the office area. Once there, I jumped up on a table located in the centre of the civilian masses.
"ALRIGHT, LISTEN UP EVERYONE!"
A silence settled as my voice became dominant in the room. A few whimpers and sobs could occasionally heard from the crying and terrified people lying on the floor.
"We're not here to rob any of you; we're here to rob the bank. All of you are insured by the federal government; you don't lose a dime. Do NOT try to be a hero, 'cause you aren't. Think of your families, think about your loved ones, think about your friends. I want you to stay down, and face the floor. Pray if you have to, but be quiet"
Looking around, I saw the civilians obeying my orders. All was going according to plan.
"C4's in place!"
I turned around to see Silver, or should I say "Wolf", pointing towards the vault with a detonator in hand. Nodding, I glanced over at Blaze. She knew what it meant.
"Five minutes till' S.W.A.T. arrives"
Nodding, I looked back at "Wolf".
"Blow it in twenty seconds. When we breach it, you stay here and keep them in check"
Earning a nod from the silver hedgehog, I refocused on the civilians.
"You heard my associate: There will be a loud noise here pretty soon. Stay calm, it will not hurt you. Mr. Wolf here will personally see to your wellbeing after the noise, and he really doesn't like heroes…"
"FIRE IN THE HOLE"
A small click, and the building shook from the tremendous power of the explosive device. Once the dust settled and the screaming stopped, I jumped down from the table, only to see Silver jump up on that very table.
"STAY THE HELL DOWN! IF I SEE ANY OF YOUR FACES, I'LL SHOOT"
I couldn't help but to roll my eyes. Of course he couldn't see that behind my mask, but I did it nonetheless. However, I promised I'd let him do it… Collecting my thoughts, I quickly started shouting orders.
"Hoxton, Chains! Follow me! We've got 4 minutes"
Moving towards the newly breached vault, my thoughts was focused on the task to come, slightly blurred by my sudden rush of adrenaline. Call me a hypocrite, but sometimes I love the outlaw life; it has it's perks. Entering the vault, I saw the stacks upon stacks of cash. Absolutely breath-taking. In the back of my mind I hoped that some of this money was supposed to pay my teacher. The look on his face when they tell him he won't be paid… Ah, how I wish I was there to see it. Snapping out of my little train of thoughts, I pulled out a large bag and shoved two of the piles into it. Smiling to myself, I turned towards the destroyed vault door. My smile fainted when I saw the security guard from before.
"T-they're h-here"
The stuttering hedgehog was panicking, and the cops were here. Great.
"Cover the main entrance. If they enter, you shoot them. I'll be with you in a minute!"
The WPD was here to impede out progress, however, I was not going to let them. Looking back at Blaze and Knuckles, I informed them about the current situation.
"You guys bag the money and carry the bags. I'll cover the main entrance."
A huff was heard from Knuckles.
"Once more you're escaping "bag duty" "
Ignoring his remark, I made my way to the main hall. Checking my magazine to make sure it was full, I rendezvoused with "our" security guard. He was standing by a window, looking out at the policemen taking cover behind their cars. He was panicking, morale faltering, and turned to me for advice.
"W-what do w-we d-do? They're gonna … k-kill us"
His voice was shaky and toned down, like he had accepted defeat already. However, I was not giving up that easily.
"Don't worry… Well… Don't worry until S.W.A.T. arrives. Then you can worry. Until then, you take cover and return fire whenever possible. We are leaving soon"
I was right. It wasn't the police he should be afraid of… I sounded confident in my speech, and it strengthened the wavering man. A new confidence lit up in him as he franticly nodded in agreement. A tense few minutes went by, nothing in particular happening. A annoying buzz suddenly started to ring in my ear. Tapping my earpiece, I soon hear a familiar voice.
"I see a lot of S.W.A.T. vans being dispatched, what the hell is going on over there?"
Tails, you of all people should know…
"Well, I was in the bank, wanting to make a withdrawal…"
A sarcastic quip to his dumb question, personally satisfied with myself. A smile prided my face behind the mask; although it was meant as a joke, it was somewhat true. We were cleaning out the vault this very moment, after all.
"Well, I hope you prepared for a fight: S.W.A.T. vans inbound, ETA 1 minute"
My smile disappeared; one minute? That is not enough time. We'll be trapped between a rock and a hard place. Turning towards our ally, I told him what to do.
"If S.W.A.T. enters, light 'em up. I need to inform my crew about the current situation. Need assistance? Go to "Wolf", that awkward sociopath over there"
He looked over towards "Wolf" with a worried look on his face. Ignoring it, and feeling satisfied by my briefing, I turned towards the vault and started running. This operation was going to hell faster than anticipated. Entering the looted vault, I was happy to see them finishing bagging the money. However, that didn't change the fact that S.W.A.T. was right around the corner.
"WE NEED TO GET A MOVE ON!"
Almost instantly, Knuckles handed me a bag, smirking.
"After you then; You didn't escape after all"
I was about to reply his snarky comment with soulless sarcasm, but I was rudely interrupted by gunshots, followed by swearing and shouting.
"Let's get rambling"
Two nods confirmed that hell was about to break loose. Bursting through the vault door, guns in hand and spirits high, we tried to locate the source of the commotion. Entering the main hall of the bank, we were greeted by flying bullets, a silver hedgehog and a security guard pinned down and two S.W.A.T. teams firing upon them. Silver turned slowly towards us as he saw us approach. He held up one hand, signalling for us to stop. Once he made sure we followed his "order", he made another movement with his hand, telling us to flank the teams.
"I'll do it. You guys stay here, and fire at will"
The others looked at each other, not sure if they wanted to protest or not. Slowly putting down my bag of money, I checked my weapon once more; one can never be too safe. When I was sure my weapons were working, I made my way towards a corridor that would take me where I needed to go; over to the S.W.A.T. teams flank. I would kill them to make our escape possible… and I would have no moral questioning when doing it. Still, when the moment came, and I was aiming at the tightly packed formation of police officers, I found myself stalling, questioning myself. Was it worth ruining many people's lives, just for money? Was this what I had degraded to?
Multiple shots were fired, bullets flew from the barrel of my gun, and two entire S.W.A.T. teams were dead.
"Yes… This is… Who I am"
Not giving it a second thought, I tossed away my magazine, reloaded, and made my way back to my crew. When I returned, I was given thumbs ups and a comments recognizing my "great deeds". I was disgusted with them, as well as myself for what I did. I just stayed silent, picked up one bag and made my way towards the escape van. Since both the S.W.A.T. teams were dead or mortally wounded, we encountered no resistance when we made our way towards the van. Opening the doors in the back of the van, I tossed my bag in the back and climbed in. After loading all the bags into the van, the rest of the crew entered the van. When I was about to close the doors and signal the driver to go, I saw my little "puppet", waiting to get into the car. Sighing, I offered him my hand to "help" him into the van. He took it, I pulled him close and three gunshots were heard. His lifeless body hit the ground, and I signalled the driver to go.
I was right. It wasn't the police he should be afraid of…
Another chapter done. I personally liked the ending. What do you think?
Read and review.
Until next time.