Disclaimer: "Detective Conan" belongs to Gosho Aoyama, and "Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon" belongs to Naoko Takeuchi.
This is an alternative story to my other fanfic "Encounter in Venice" and one of the possibilities of what could have happened if Ai had taken the antidote before Shinichi brought down the Organization.
Thanks a lot to my friends and betas Rae (Astarael00) and SN1987a and the Aicoholics on LiveJournal, without whom I would never have started this fic.
FS
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Ghost at Twilight
(edited version)
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Who, do you think, is more important…
Who, do you think, is more important to the government—Tenoh-san asked you when you demanded that she clarify her standpoint—the Boss and the Seven Crows... or Kudo Shinichi, a consulting detective intent on fighting corruption?
You two were sitting together in the study on the second floor of Tenoh-san and Kaioh-san's luxurious seaside house, drinking tea and eating Hotaru-chan's homemade cake as if you two were old friends meeting up for a chat and a jam session. The salty air was filled with the scents of green tea, vanilla, chocolate, and a touch of wild roses and kinmokusei, Tenoh-san's current fragrance. From two large speakers in a corner of the room, a lyric soprano was singing The Phantom of the Opera with tedious perfection...
Noticing your undisguised irritation, Tenoh-san quickly walked over to the small laptop on the desk and turned off the music.
"Sorry for that." She smiled. "I've almost forgotten what sensitive ears you have... Professor Tomoe told me once he was fascinated by your overdeveloped senses and your almost infallible intuition."
"Pity he has never told me!" You decided to take her assertion with a grain of salt. As much as you liked the thought that Stinger was impressed by your acute senses, you doubted the mad professor would have accepted a non-prodigy like you into his prestigious academy if it hadn't been for the sight of the loaded Beretta.
Returning to her chair, Tenoh-san poured you a new cup of tea and casually carried on with your previous topic. Impatient as she had always been, she didn't even bother with a transitional phrase, giving you the impression that someone had propelled the two of you back into the old topic by flipping an invisible switch on her.
"Even if we leave 'the Silver Bullet' out of the equation," she soberly stated, "I can tell you what would happen if Kudo managed to bring down the Organization and steal Pandora's Box as planned: Turning a deaf ear to all your warnings, he'd immediately open it and use the information."
"I know," you flatly commented. "It's not like he is making a secret out of it." If there was something Kudo couldn't resist, it was the urge to solve mysteries and bring criminals to justice.
Letting her eyes roam over your ten-year-old face, Tenoh-san smiled and calmly took a sip of her steaming tea. Oddly enough, she gave the impression of having just stepped out of a Victorian painting despite her usual blue jeans and blue cotton check shirt. Back at Infinity, you had often stolen curious glances at her tall slim figure picturesquely framed by the antique window and softly silhouetted against the mellow artificial light, wondering how a person who was the ideal illusion of male beauty actually felt about the reality of being a girl.
"Well, I said 'if he managed to steal Pandora's Box' because it's highly unlikely that he will get past the Seven Crows." Tenoh-san always talked about the seven crows as if the little euphemism for the seven highest codename members with access to Pandora's Box were the name of a separate group. "Even without them, I doubt either of you will walk away from the cabin alive or survive for longer than three days without being sniped by a hired assassin." She impatiently waved the idea away as if she were flipping through a boring passage of a book. "But let's assume that things go well, that all the 'bad guys' get arrested and that you manage to get past the Night Baron and secure Pandora's Box without anyone's knowledge... If the Boss and the Seven Crows don't commit suicide in prison as Jean predicts but are actually cooperative—which, in my opinion, they will be since they know that their survival is crucial to a future revival of the Organization—they will be protected by the government they end up working with until they're either freed or secretly assassinated by one of their paranoid multimillionaires or politicians."
"I doubt they will commit suicide," you agreed.
"There will be a subsequent scramble for power in which independent people and small groups like us will have to step back so as not to get crushed in the end." Tenoh-san frowned while you noted in satisfaction that, to all appearances, she hadn't "retired" yet. "Anyhow, I can tell you from personal experience that our beautiful black birds will be treated like new-born babies after their arrest while people like you and me won't ever be able to sleep in peace anymore."
"I fear you're right," you calmly concurred in answer to her questioning gaze.
"Even if he hides Pandora's Box, Kudo will be the first one to be disposed of." She shot you a curious glance. "Kudo doesn't know when to back off. He will demand justice for all the innocent victims. And incorruptible as he is, he won't even feign cooperation..." Fastidiously removing a long black hair from her chair and letting it fall on the plush brown carpet, she continued with growing certainty, "Maybe Kudo has an outside chance of survival in his present disguise. But if he insists on resuming his normal life, he won't be able to hide that the files are in his possession. Not when everybody who has a secret to hide is frantically searching for them. And we're not talking about harmless little secrets like drug addiction or clandestine affairs."
"I know."
Gin had told you about it one evening when you two discussed the goals of the Organization, marveling over the brilliant future you two would be able to witness if you really managed to conquer Time itself by developing the ideal drug. Humans—he indicated the tourist group passing by your window—obviously needed a new way of organizing themselves since the world's most "civilized" countries weren't different from savage tribes when stripped down to their essentials. The most civilized and educated people born with a silver spoon in their mouths didn't possess much more humanity than cannibals devouring the flesh of their enemy. Pain only mattered when it had an immediate impact on one's own life. And the comfortable, sheltered existence of one privileged group wasn't founded on ideals like equality and justice as publicly proclaimed but on the pain of other groups less favoured by what the lucky ones would cynically call "providence" or "destiny".
One could lose one's belief in humanity after reading the files in Pandora's Box—when one had to face the truth about war crimes, drug abuse, human trafficking, and terrorism. "It's inevitable in this world, though," he had claimed, opening a new packet of cigarettes and reaching for his lighter. "You're always either the prey or the predator... whatever you've become depending on your talents and your luck. People who don't want to face reality are hypocrites living in their cute little fantasy world. They don't want to see that—to provide them with the small everyday things they always take for granted—many other people on the same planet are being sacrificed out of necessity."
Contrary to popular belief, there was simply not enough to feed the whole world. Even if the wealthy would voluntarily give up all their material possessions, there wouldn't be enough resources to provide for everyone's basic needs like shelter, food, and education. The world was overpopulated with dumb, passive, and selfish people multiplying at lightning speed—which was why the weapon industry was thriving and it really didn't matter who survived and who got killed. Whenever an idiot would finally kick the bucket, ten other useless idiots would volunteer to take that dead idiot's place in a meaningless fight over some abstruse problem.
The more gruesome the news on TV became, the less the anonymous sufferings would make an impact. Actually, one couldn't care less about the victims because living standards would always improve after a war when less people had to compete with each other. "It's almost impossible not to succumb to this all-pervasive air of corruption and apathy since it's the one world in which we're all struggling to survive. But all these things will change if you can complete your parents' research and develop the perfect cure..."
"Knowledge and time is what our organization needs," he had smiled, giving your earlobe an ardent kiss, which, despite the scent of tobacco, charmed you enough to settle on his lap and lean your head against his comfortable shoulder. "With the perfect tools to exercise absolute power over the world, the Organization will slowly change the inhabitants of this planet until the utopia of 'eternal equality and happiness for all' will be as real and as familiar as humiliation and pain are to us now. In contrast to all the silly human rights organizations, the Organization doesn't waste time solving petty problems and discussing philosophies. Using all the resources and mechanisms of this pitiful world to our advantage, we're going to rise above the limitations of time and space, rule over the whole universe, and change it forever for the sake of humanity…"
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Tenoh-san, who had lapsed into a glum silence for an unbearably long minute, finally emptied her cup of tea and decisively pushed it aside before scrutinizing you again with her clear, hard eyes.
"I've been watching your detective for years and admire him immensely," she said, her husky voice gentle and soothing as if she were about to sing you a lullaby. "He is one of the few who really live up to their own moral standards." With a nonchalant flicker of her wrist, she added, "Unfortunately, Kudo's biggest weakness is his compulsion to be fair and good. Once he has opened Pandora's Box, he'll be an eyesore even for me. I'm going to take him out myself if his sense of justice endangers my family."
Having finished her speech, she leaned back into her chair with her arms folded in front of her chest, studying you with polite curiosity.
"I've already thought of that," you admitted in resignation. None of the things she just said came as a surprise, as you had pondered over the matter for the whole night before you came here. It was perfectly clear to you that, even though Tenoh-san seemed to pursue a private vendetta against the Boss, her sense of justice would indubitably clash with Kudo's in the long run.
"I'm sure you have," Tenoh-san chuckled. "If you want my honest opinion, I think the only thing you can do is not giving Kudo the key although, now that he knows about them, he will find a way to get the files with or without your help. It's just as pointless trying to stop him. If he deems it necessary, he'll use his fancy tranquilizer watch on you and that's it." She fixed her eyes on you with interest, perhaps because she couldn't tell why you had come to her out of all people.
"I know. He has already used it on me once."
"And, did it prevent you from following him?"
"No. But I messed it up. I'd be dead by now if I hadn't been saved by... a lucky coincidence."
"You'd better not count on such dumb luck this time."
"No, I'll count on my survival instinct instead."
"Your survival instinct will be useless because it's the Seven Crows you're up against."
Again you two lapsed into a sudden silence although it felt strangely comfortable this time.
"I'm only so candid because I like you a lot, koneko-chan," she smiled at last, changing the topic as quickly as the wind changes its direction. "Maybe because you were the only girl who resisted me back at Infinity. You were perfectly immune to my charms! And that despite all my efforts to steal your heart—"
"To break it, I suppose. Just because I was one of the three girls who didn't get brainwashed and didn't watch your races screaming, 'Tenoh-sama, Tenoh-sama, please marry me'," you remarked, wondering whether you would have developed a crush on her if you hadn't noticed that the tall handsome blonde giving you outrageous winks when you passed each other in the long corridors of Infinity was a cross-dressing girl. "How you managed to casually kiss so many people and still enjoyed that happy relationship with Kaioh-san completely evades me."
"Michiru knows the one I love is her." After all, it was impossible to love two people with the same intensity. And no matter whom she found cute enough to kiss, Michiru would always be the one who really mattered, she elaborated.
"I suppose that's why she's still staying with me."
"I wouldn't be able to put up with someone who makes out with other girls! After a while, the jealousy would be unbearable."
"The lovers and spouses of film stars have to put up with those things all the time, but most of them wouldn't be able to stick by a sociopath for three years," Tenoh-san calmly retorted. "What did you call it? Loyalty? Playing his perfect little wife juggling career and housework while hiding the relationship from your own sister in the hope that the brute would change for the better as time passes... That seems much more silly to me than staying with a partner who truly loves you although they indulge in a few insignificant flings from time to time."
"I was a brainless teenager back then." You bite back the remark that Tenoh-san herself was a borderline sociopath in the making. "I admit the only good things I got from my so-called 'marriage' are my caution and my excellent shooting skills. Kudo is a very good shooter as well. If you can cover us at Pandora's Box, I'm sure we can get past the seven crows. I'm going to delete the files on your family if you help us out."
"No, thank you very much," Tenoh-san dryly remarked. "I'm sure Kudo will never really shoot anybody, not even out of self-defense. Apart from that, I won't put any of my friends in that kind of danger for something I can get in another way. Didn't Gin tell you that the Seven Crows call the laptop 'Pandora's Box' because they believe it contains all the tools humankind needs to destroy itself? Since I'll be caught in the mesh sooner or later, anyway, I'm going to step back and enjoy the glorious spectacle."
And strike in a flash at the right moment, you mentally added. That was undoubtedly what Tenoh-san was going to do. Like a vulture, she would be waiting patiently until she could take Pandora's Box from Kudo's corpse. Growing up in a harsh world where the means justified the ends, Tenoh-san had learned to fight for her own justice using her own methods, intuitively bending the rules to her advantage without caring much about lofty ideals like Kudo.
She and you were, without being romantically linked, what some people would classify as "soul mates," you thought in detached amusement. If you two were characters in Ayumi-chan's favourite fairy tales, you both would be dark creatures secretly longing for unattainable freedom and salvation. But while you had always resembled the little mermaid, who struggled with her own emotional turmoil and hesitated until her moment passed, Tenoh-san—cool and unscrupulously decisive—possessed an amazing swiftness of reaction.
"According to the things I know, I doubt your shooting skills will be of any use to you two if you really have to deal with the Seven Crows," she continued. "The best way to get rid of them would be poison or a bomb although you probably don't know who they are and I won't ever reveal their identities to you."
"Even if you did, Kudo wouldn't ever poison anybody! He will always make sure that everyone survives to get a fair trial."
"His pacifism will kill him in the long run."
"I know..."
This, among many other reasons, was why you were still apprehensive about giving Kudo the permanent cure. As long as his name wasn't connected to you and Pandora's Box, Kudo could return to Ran after the downfall of the Organization and continue his life under his real identity in peace. Once the name "Kudo Shinichi" had been linked to the Silver Bullet or Pandora's Box, however, there would be no chance left for Kudo to continue his normal life. You would naturally have preferred Kudo to stay in the background and let the FBI do all the work. But since the Organization's moles had already infiltrated the FBI and—to paraphrase Tenoh-san—the FBI's little secrets were also stored in Pandora's Box, Tenoh-san's prodigy group was your only hope left to get Kudo alive out of this situation.
"I do believe you're an excellent shot and won't miss a target if you get the chance to draw your weapon." Tenoh-san jumped from her chair and gave your shoulder a friendly pat. "And I'm sure Gin will let his emotions get the better of him when it comes to you. But I can assure you that you won't have a chance against the other five. I'm not sure about whether I really want Kudo to succeed either. So... If you value your own life, I recommend that you stay out of this." Pacing the room with the air of a beautiful Bengal tiger in confinement, she stopped in front of her small "family photo" on the mantlepiece near the grand piano.
As much as she would like to do it, she couldn't offer you her assistance, Tenoh-san continued with an air of regret. After hearing from her informants about Jean's plans, she would have tried to convince Jean not to contact Kudo if she had believed that she out of all people could have changed Jean's decision. Indicating the photo on the mantlepiece, she added almost apologetically, "And now that I have so much more to lose than seven years ago, I'm not going to sacrifice myself for a lost cause."
"I'm aware of that."
Intrigued by your comment, Tenoh-san smiled at you with renewed interest.
"I'm sure you're smart enough to have anticipated everything I've just told you before you came here." She appeared genuinely puzzled. "But I don't know why you still asked me for my assistance although you knew I was going to refuse. I can't believe that you missed me so much that you needed to see my face before getting killed. So... what do you actually want from me?"
You had arrived at the point of no return, and it was crucial to maintain your composure so that Tenoh-san wouldn't guess the real reason of your visit before giving you the information you needed.
You were curious as to whether her computer experts had found any virtual security loopholes since you were trying to find a way to disable the Night Baron so that Kudo could open Pandora's Box before the system sent off the mail alerts, you told her without pausing for breath. "Afterwards we can leave the cabin before the bombs go off. And all the blackmailed people can content themselves with the thought that whoever tried to open Pandora's Box has died in the explosion."
"There is no security loophole!" Tenoh-san sighed. "It's not so easy to snoop in their cloud with the Night Baron around. As I said, I have too much to lose now. I'm also not suicidal."
Your spirits sank. Either she had seen through your attempt of grilling her about their Night Baron copy or she had really given up the project.
"Once was more than enough." She absent-mindedly took a few pages of sheet music on the piano music stand into her hand and then put them down again in frustration. "We're still working on it, but right now there is no way to deactivate their top-notch alert system without erasing the whole disk before the time runs out."
Wonderful, you thought to yourself. So they did have the Night Baron copy you needed. You could proceed to the next step now.
"It's a pity Kudo can't wait for twenty years since the second generation will be easier to deal with than the first," Tenoh-san said. To your surprise, she was getting rather talkative.
"The second generation has doubts?"
"Of course, just like you yourself didn't support the Organization fully when you were working for them." She smiled with a hint of derision. Time had shown that any tight-knit community with strict moral codes like the core of the Organization would be undermined by the generation gap. As time passed, chances were that even the legendary Seven Crows would no longer share the same deep conviction...
Swinging a long leg over the piano stool, she let her short neat nails glide over the white keys for a perfect pearly upward glissando.
"The first generation is always the heroic one," she asserted, "willing to make great sacrifices for their community and their ideals. The second generation already has serious doubts as to the methods of the Organization although they're still pursuing their parents' goals. The third will definitely be the downfall of them." She gazed at you with calm confidence. "In contrast to Kudo, I can wait. I wish he could wait as well. Four of the seven crows are so old that they're going retire in ten to twenty years at the latest… Replacing those first-generation members with second- or third-generation members will dismantle the whole system."
But ten to twenty years were much too long, you thought. In ten to twenty years, Ran would probably have married someone else. Even if Ran could wait, Kudo and she would have lost thirteen to twenty-three years of their lives they could have spent with each other in perfect bliss if it hadn't been for you. Robbing three years from them was more than enough. Taking twenty years would be a crime.
"But I doubt we can make Kudo wait for twenty years," Tenoh-san reflected.
"No, I don't think we should even try."
Closing the piano lid, she once again lapsed into a sullen silence before shaking her head with an air of finality.
"No one can dispense justice all over the world on their own. And I suggest that you leave the Sleeping Kogoro and the police out of this matter since it doesn't come within the purview of the police. The more people know about this, the messier the aftermath will be. It's best to avoid unnecessary bloodshed." Strolling to the open window to gaze down to her large garden brimming over with the seven autumn flowers, she leaned against the windowsill for a moment and gave a fleeting smile as the wind ruffled her short blonde hair.
"I'm sorry I can't assist Kudo and you," she proceeded. "The odds that you two succeed and survive are practically zero, and I really don't want to back the wrong horse. I'll have enough trouble to deal with the aftermath of your heroic actions... Sucking up to authorities, flirting with secretaries, paying intermediaries... as if my current tasks weren't tedious enough, now it seems I'll have to deal with blackmailers and paranoid big names as well."
Winking at you, she joked, "You can't imagine what a pain it is to deal with them while preparing for a concert! The quality of my performances will surely drop, you see."
"Your poor fans... According to what you know about the Night Baron, the alert mails will only send the data of the person who used the key to the cabin, right?" you asked, not caring a bit about her busy schedule.
"Yes, but even if you were in disguise, it wouldn't help you much. I'm sure Gin must have told you about this. You voice, your fingerprints, your bone structure: everything will be saved and compared to the data in their files before you enter the cabin and will be sent off to all the addresses on the Organization's lists the moment you open the real Pandora's Box. If one can get past that identification procedure with a disguise, I would have done it long ago." She chuckled. "Whatever, maybe I'd have been mad enough for such a stunt if it hadn't been for Michiru."
Time to proceed to the next step, you thought to yourself. Since Tenoh-san was still immensely interested in the files, you were positive that she would agree to what you were going to propose to her.
"If you don't give Kudo the key, he will try to get Pandora's Box by luring Gin into a trap," she continued. "It's the only way for him to obtain Pandora's Box without activating the bombs. I must admit I'm curious about the showdown: The notorious second crow versus our chibi detective... If the other five crows don't show up and end the fight within a second, it might be something worth watching."
Despite her dark humour, you knew Tenoh-san was anything but sadistic. It was interesting how words were often used to disguise the truth instead of revealing it.
"No, there won't be any showdown," you disagreed, wondering why she had said "five" instead of "six" for the second time. "I think I've been avoiding this much too long." In answer to her alarmed gaze, you smiled. "You can congratulate me if you like. I've found the antidote although I don't know how to get rid of its side effects. Nothing that won't be gone in a few years, though. But why only 'five crows?' Shouldn't it be six?"
"Side effects again?" She raised a skeptical brow. "It's only Gin and five other crows because I know the seventh won't interfere. Third-generation member who is more or less on our side."
"Only physical pain this time... Well, strong migraines which drive all the rats insane. But I've developed a very efficient painkiller against them. And the pain doesn't seem permanent." You had just taken your coat when you remembered that the seventh crow must be the same biker whom Gin had given the red card. "I can't let Kudo wait any longer. It's time to give him his life back."
As expected, Tenoh-san was at your side within the split of a second, grabbed your arm, and angrily flung you back into the chair. Her skin smelled very pleasantly of a velvety wild rose fragrance. A unisex perfume with a quite sensual, warm touch of (white?) musk but—contrary to what you had thought—no kinmokusei.
"You've never intended to walk away from this alive, haven't you?" She slammed her fist on the coffee table, causing the spoons to clink against the china plates. "That's why you sounded me out about the Night Baron." She was seething with rage. "You think everything will be all right if you open Pandora's Box and offer yourself as a scapegoat, serving Kudo the files on a silver plate and leaving it to others to clean up the mess after you. But things aren't that easy, koneko-chan. A sacrifice like that is only an easy way out. I won't accept it!"
"Things will be easy," you set her straight. "I'm not going to give Kudo but you a copy of the original Pandora's Box. You can do whatever you want with it. The second one I'm going to keep in a computer where Meioh-san's Night Baron imitation is installed. The files will be deleted as soon as someone tries to get the data without a password. And I promise I'd rather die before anyone can make me talk." You meaningfully indicate the cage-shaped locket around your neck. "That way, no one will get hurt. You will certainly use the information within limits, won't you?"
"No one will get hurt... What about you?" Tenoh-san gave a dry laugh. "But I suppose that little locket implies a perfectly painless way to leave this world. You've always enjoyed the little luxuries of life, haven't you?"
"It's one way to redeem myself for creating APTX. Also, I've already had a great time with the children and the Professor. Any life has to end some day. And as you said, an easy way out can be considered a treat as well."
"So you were really going to ask Setsuna-san for the Night Baron copy?" Tenoh-san returned to her chair and demonstratively folded her arms. "That's wonderful, koneko-chan! Sacrificing yourself and offering me a bait I can't resist to protect your beloved detective... It's formidable self-defeat, in my opinion—but compared to your behaviour last time when you insisted on staying with your scoundrel of a 'husband', this is definitely a dramatic improvement. You can be proud of it."
"He is not my detective," you remarked, as Tenoh-san seemed to have mistaken Kudo for your boyfriend. "In any case, you'd have taken Pandora's Box after he has been assassinated, wouldn't you? No need to do that now."
She rubbed her temples in exasperation.
"You and your sister... Always devising grand self-destructive plans and sacrificing yourselves for your loved ones. I really doubt that your scheme will work out well since it will only appease the blackmailed people but won't erase the fact that Kudo is simply too nice to be a match for the Seven Crows. Even if I helped you and gave away their identities, Kudo would only try to arrest them, wouldn't he? And things would proceed exactly as I've told you. They will take revenge on us before we can even plant flowers on your grave. And it will be difficult for me to take them out because they will be under witness protection."
"That's why I need your assistance," you insisted. "Six people aren't that hard to take care of if you really know their identity." Mildly amazed about her remark regarding Akemi-nee-san because you didn't know that Tenoh-san and your sister knew each other, you asked, "But why did you mention my sister? Did she talk to you as well?"
"She also came to me before planning the robbery. She knew about us because Setsuna-san had contacted her to grill her about Pandora's Box. Since you didn't tell Akemi-san anything, she didn't know what we were talking about. But since she liked me so much, she wanted my opinion on how to buy your freedom."
"That was impossible." You frowned. "She knew codename members couldn't buy themselves out."
"That's what I told her. They would never let you go since codename members couldn't buy themselves out unlike normal members. I even told her that, if she requested it in front of the Seven Crows, chances were she would immediately be shot for treason. After the Rye affair, I was sure they'd already have executed her if you hadn't been their top scientist. I told her to stay inconspicuous and to do absolutely nothing to incur their disapproval. But the stubborn girl simply wouldn't listen to me!"
"So she had to die because of me?" you calmly asked. You had known this since the moment Gin showed you the newspaper article.
"No, you can blame yourself as much as you want but that was not how things were! Of course she wanted you to experience a happy youth instead of wasting your life in the lab. But she also told me she knew very well that her death would affect you negatively... Although she had a bad premonition, I'm sure she wanted to believe that she had a chance to survive. She even told me she was looking forward to going out with her 'Dai-kun' for real if her plan should work out. She was a sensible girl, though. I think if it hadn't been for your scheming ex-husband, she'd have listened to my advice."
"Gin?" Your head began to spin as the truth sank in. "What did Gin have to do with it?"
Equally taken aback by your reaction to her words, Tenoh-san threw you a wary look as if she had just realized that, in telling you the truth, she had put herself in an invidious position.
Since people always shot the messenger in a fit of rage, she wouldn't have told you if she hadn't expected you to know all about it, Tenoh-san said at last. But according to your sister, Gin was the one who promised her that she was allowed to buy you out of the Organization if the sum was large enough. Deep down, Akemi-nee-san must have known that it was a trap—a hypothesis which would explain why she decided to hide the money after the robbery. But since she desperately wanted to use the chance to give you the freedom you wanted, she gambled on the Seven Crow's greed and agreed to rob the bank.
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