Chapter Two: Theft Job

Hans Gruber walked into the basement under the MGM Grand Las Vegas. Twenty six men stood there waiting for him. Hans' men were dressed as security guards, waiters, poker dealers and as regular civilians. Hans being the leader was dressed as an average person.

"You all know your positions, were in and out of this place in less than two hours. That's our time limit, so don't blow it" Hans told his men. "You wait for my signal and then we make our move."

The men stood there and simply nodded like robots. Hans just watched them barley stopping himself from rolling his eyes. Henchmen were so brainless if they weren't under tight instruction. "Well what are you waiting for? Get a move on," he growled.

Hans' men ran passed and headed out of the basement door. As his main man Karl walked by Hans stopped him and whispered. "Make sure the men pay attention, I don't want any problems, ten million dollars is on the line." Karl nodded and followed the others out.

Hans was at the bar with a drink in his hand. He was wearing a black shirt that was open at the collar, over some white dress pants and 6,000 dollars shoes on his feet. He was surveying the floor looking for his target. He didn't see it yet so he turned back to the open floor. There were a lot of lovely ladies here tonight; it was too bad he had to work. Well business before pleasure Hans told himself.

He had been sitting at the bar for fifteen minutes and his target was still a no show. Hans spotted some of his men stationed around the room. As he watched them quietly for a moment he could see they were getting antsy. He was getting antsy as well, the money was the main reason they had come to Las Vegas. The MGM Grand was just begging them to be rob it. He watched Karl walk by and caught his eye. Karl gestured his head towards the other side of the lobby area.

Hans took one last sip of his drink and moved across the room. He came to the end of the room and looked over the banister and down into the lobby. Four security guards were moving a large silver box on wheels. They were moving through the room quickly, it was time to act. He caught his men's eyes that were dressed as security guards and signal them to begin.

Hans' men had to intercept the guards before they hit the security room. If they failed game was over they would have to come back another day. Hans saw his men reach the real security and follow them around the corner. Hans figure they would make their move then.

All there was to do is get into the security room and into the safe with tonight's money in it. Hans had Theo his computer expert rig the cameras to play last night's footage so they would not be observed. His men that were posing as poker and black jack dealers had rigged the games so all of Hans' men that were in plain clothes could win big money and bring in a little bit more cash home tonight.

Hans was thinking about playing the games but he went back to the bar and watched over the proceedings. Hans ordered another drink and saw that his men had taken out the real security guards and was heading to the security door with the silver box in front of them. One of his men stopped in front of the door and slid the security card and punched in series of numbers. The door slid open and the four men pushed cart into the room and then moment later the door slid shut tightly behind them. Hans turned back to the bar and sat on the stool. He pulled out a small ear piece and stuck it into his ear. He could hear everything that was going on between his men to make sure there were no problems. Hans looked at his watch; his men had an hour left to get the money. Now all he had to do was sit and wait.

Twenty minutes and five shots later Hans was still seated at the bar bored out of his mind. His men had almost gotten inside the safe. As soon as they opened that safe door it would trip a silent alarm. Once the alarm was activated the police would be swarming the building in less than fifteen minutes. Hans left the bar and headed towards the men's room. He walked in and stepping into the third stall. He reached behind the toilet and pulled out a duffel bag. He unzipped it. Inside was a spare security guard uniform. Hans put the uniform on pulled out the gun that was in the bag. He placed the clothes that he was wearing in the bag and left the stall. He walked over to the trash can and dumped the bag inside. He then pulled out his lighter and lit the trash can on fire. He stood there a moment watching it burn, and then he pulled the cap on his head and headed out the door.

Hans hurried back upstairs to the casino floor. He walked over the security door and slid the card and punched in the security code. The door open and Hans stepped inside. As the door slid shut he was met with a long corridor. White walls surrounded him and a mirror like ceiling stared down at him. In the distance he could hear drilling, so he headed in that direction.

Wires, metal and dust littered the floor. He saw his men standing in front an enormous sliver round polished door. Two of them were drilling at the hinges. A second later there was loud click sound and the men shut the drills off.

"Were there, sir" one of them said to Hans. "All we need now is open the door and the money will be inside."

"That will set off the alarm will it not?" Hans asked.

"Yes sir."

"Hold on a minute let me speak to the other teams before you processed."

Hans took a headset that Theo was holding and placed it on his head. "Karl, were getting ready to open the vault, you have eight minutes to get your team out of here." Hans listened to Karl's reply. "Good we will meet you at the rendezvous point." Hans gave Theo back his headset and turned to his men. "Start cleaning up and prepare to open that door."

Eight minutes later Karl had signaled that his team had just left the building. Hans instructed his men to open the door. Three men pulled the door open and revealed a large room. Inside were five large silver metal carts. They all rushed inside and started breaking the boxes open and began packing up the money. They knew the alarm had gone off so they needed to hurry. Hans and most of his men packed everything insight while the others drilled a huge hole in the floor. They would not be able to get out the way they had come in.

Everything was packed up and ready to go. The other men had made a big enough hole in the floor so everyone in the room could escape. Theo went first to go and fourteen bags full of money followed him down. They could here shouts coming from the many casino room. "Time to go" Hans yelled above the noise. Hans dropped down and into the hole and into the underground tunnel below.

Hans sat in the passenger seat in the van smoking a cigarette out the window. It was past midnight and Theo was in the back listening in on the police frequency on their CB communicators. It seemed the police had cleared out the MGM Grand of civilians and were searching the building. The coast was clear and Hans told his men to head for the rendezvous point.

Thirty minutes later the van pulled up to an old rundown apartment building in the projects. Hans' man parked the car and the other got out and began unload the truck. Karl came out of the building and walked up to Hans as he was stepping out of the car.

"We have a problem" Karl told him.

"What's the problem?" Hans asked. He was tried and he wanted just to get some sleep.

"One of are men has tried to betray us. He tried to steal some of the money and contact the police and give away our location."

Hans raised his eyebrows in alarm. "He didn't succeed; we stopped and bonded him in time before he could do anything." Relief crossed Hans face than a moment later it was replaced by anger.

"Where is this traitor?"

Karl turned and pointed to the building. "He is upstairs." Hans pushed pass Karl and walked into the building. As he entered one of his men was leaning against the door holding a gun and two others were sitting at the table playing cards. Hans walked in and saw the traitor. The Asian man was bound to a chair in the middle of the room with duct tape covering his mouth.

"Sir" his men said standing up.

Hans walked over towards the bound man and ripped the tape off his mouth. The man winced but that was all. Hans glared down at the man.

"Why?" Hans asked.

The man smirked at him. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Hans frowned. "You will tell me what I want know or I will resort to most unpleasant methods."

Hans could see the fear that crept into the man's eyes. Hans smirked back at him. "Do your worse." The man said.

Hans nodded and turned to Karl and Franco who were standing in the doorway. "Could you go into the kitchen and bring me a nice sharp knife and boiling hot water."

"My pleasure" Franco said.

Four minutes later Franco came back with the hot water and a sharp knife. Hans told him to place everything on the table in the corner. Hans removed his security hat and took of the jacket and rolled up his sleeves. He stepped over to the table and picked up the bucket of water in one hand and knife in the other.

He took the buck of water and splashed some of it on the man's chest and face. The man yelled and tried to get free of his bounds.

"You want to tell me why now?"

The man in the chair tried to blink the water out his eyes to stop the burning. "No."

Hans moved forward and pour the whole buck over his head. He screamed again. The man's skin was badly burned and it was turning red.

"You want to speak now?"

The man clenched his mouth shut and stared at the dirty floor. Smoke was pouring off of him and his skin beginning to peeling off. Hans dropped the bucket on to the floor with a clanking sound. He brought the knife forward and lightly traced the tip on the man's face.

"I stole the money because I needed it" the man rasped out in pain.

"For what?"

"There was no purpose I just needed."

Hans simple nodded at the information he had received. "What would you have gained by turning us into the cops?"

"None of your business, you filthy German!"

Hans took the knife and made three deep slashes across the man's face. He grabbed him by this hair and yanked his head back. Hans took the knife held it against the traitor's throat. "I would be careful as to what I say before certain appendages are cut off."

The man squirmed at this. Hans grinned above him and moved the knife downward towards the man's hand. The man tried to snatch his hand away, but couldn't with hand bound to the arm rest, so he instead balled his hand into a fist trying to hid his fingers. Hans just laughed at his action and waved Karl and Franco over to him.

Hans directed Karl to hold the traitors hand out so his fingers were exposed and Franco to hold the man still. But never the less the man tries to fight them off but it was no good. Hans slowly brought the knife down on the man's pinky finger. Hans looked him in the eyes when he cut through the bone.

The man in the chair cried out in agony pulling against his restrains. Above him Hans held his severed finger. Hans drop the finger to the floor and looked down at the man in the chair.

"Would you like to tell me what you would have gain by turning us into the police?" Hans asked ever so gently.

The man lifted up his head and stared Hans right in the eyes. He then leaned his head back and spite right into Hans' face. Hans stood there for a moment. He then slapped the man hard. He wiped the saliva off his face. He took the knife and cut off two more fingers. Hans was very angry now. He was tired and he wanted to go back to his hotel room and sleep.

"WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE GAINED!" Hans screamed at the man. The man didn't say anything. He was feeling like he about to pass out from the blood lost. The traitor wasn't speaking fast enough for him, so Hans cut off the rest of his fingers on his left hand.

Hans grew tired of this game. He stood up and turned to Karl. "Go back to the kitchen and bring me some more boiling hot water."

Karl went to go get it but stopped when he heard the man bleeding in the chair speak up. "Alright y-y-you w-win I'll talk" the breathed out.

"Then talk" Hans urged.

The man took a moment to catch his breath before continuing. "I stole the money for no particular reason, it was just for myself. "

"And why did you try to get the cops involved?"

"If I turned you in they would have given me a deal and after the Flaming Dragons would have giving me a million dollars for getting you out of their way."

Hans face turned to fury. He knew the Flaming Dragons wanted him out of the away so they could take on the bigger and better jobs. He and his men were better than them; he should have known they were behind this. Well he would send them a message.

Hans took the knife and slit the man's throat making blood spray everywhere. Then stood back and stared down at his handy work. "Karl, take some of your men and dump the traitors body in Chinese territory, let's this be a message not to trifle with me."

That's right you do not mess with this dude or he will cut your fingers off and burn you with hot water.