An alleyway lamp flickered overhead as Mumei and I huddled together with the four flamboyant Kingpins of Winningson's Vanguard Syndicate. Together, all six of us pored over the full blueprint and floor plan of the Kovalskia National Bank spread out over the hood of my car.
"Alright then, ladies and gentlemen. Listen up!" Bettel addressed, emphasizing 'ladies' as he faced me and Mumei, "Here's how things are gonna go. We're gonna to storm the gates of the Kovalskia National Bank, neutralize the guards, crack the safe and make off with all the cash and the gold that we can."
"A standard bank robbery." I answered Bettel with a smirk, "Is there anything specific that you want us to snatch today?"
"Initiative. I like it." Bettel smiled back, "Well, rumor has it that Ms. Kovalsia is holding a part of her private art collection in the vaults of this branch. The piece I want is a trophy from The War: a life-size gold statue of the Daitōryō-sama of Pekoland herself - Pekora Usada! That, and all her twenty-eight, twenty-four karat golden carrots!"
I furrowed my brow. How the hell did he say that freaking tongue twister!?
"A statue and some carrots too, then. We can fit those in." I carried on. I gestured to the dozen-strong men and women of my Crime Family and insisted, "A lot of the vets in my unit have experience in robberies."
"We're well aware, Miss Ouro." Shinri chimed in, smiling warmly, "Your exploits on the high seas - and in the mean streets of The City up North - are well known to us." He put a hand on his hip and asked like an academic professor testing a student, "But what, would you say, is the biggest difference between those robberies and this one?"
I eyed the blueprint on my car and pointed to the vault at the heart of it, down in a fortified basement.
"This damn thing." I replied tapping the blueprint twice, "I worked with law enforcement in the past. I know how tough those bank vaults are to crack - especially the ones built after The War. Seeing how brand new this bank branch is, I'm willing to bet we've got a new-style vault here."
"That's gonna be where I come in, miss." Flayon stepped forward cheerfully, "A lot of the parts that went into that vault were fabricated by mechanics of my union." He laid his hand on his chest and boasted, "I was even the one who drafted up the specifications for bank vaults in City Council. My boys and I know them like the back of my hand."
"You've rigged the game from the start, huh?" I chuckled.
"Mhm!" Flayon nodded, "So tonight - you'll have my knowhow… and my tools!"
With that, he set down a heavy toolbox on the hood of my car beside the map.
THUD!
"HEY, WATCH WHERE YOU…!" Mumei shrieked at Flayon.
"GAH!" Flayon panicked, retreating behind Shinri's muscle bound frame.
Mumei snarled at Flayon like a furious dog frothing at the mouth. Holy crap! I had to hold Mumei back!
"Aha…ahahaha~ Sorry about that!" I laughed uncomfortably, "Mumei gets very… passionate about certain things."
Though, honestly, can you folks go easy on my freaking car!?
Flayon kept cowering, but Shinri laughed heartily.
"Haha, so it seems! I think we have a shoo-in for who deals with the guards and wannabe heroes." Shinri spoke with zen-like calm. He laid his hand over his chest politely and asked, "My Comfykois and I will support you in neutralizing the guards, Miss Nanashi. Would you grant us the honor?"
Shinri's calm words calmed Mumei down too. Her Flayon-hating fury dissolved in an instant. Her honey brown eyes sparkled and she asked, "Can I beat up lots of guards?"
"As many as you want!" Shinri smiled.
Mumei turned to me, her eyes shining like stars now, "They're giving me permission, Kronii!"
"D-don't have too much fun, though, Moom." I cautioned. But with Mumei literally shaking with excitement, I wonder if she heard me at all.
That said, I turned back to the blueprint of the bank and went over it again.
"This branch has an awful lot of wickets." I tapped on the large section of the bank lobby, "It's a weekday night too. There's gonna be a lot of civies on site."
"Ah, I've already taken care of that." Padre Hakka chimed in. He made his weird hand gestures and smiled at me, "In approximately fifteen minutes, the devoted, beautiful members of my flock - my Hakkitos - will come to the bank to withdraw money: or pretend to do so." He traced a circle around the lobby on the blueprint and hummed, "That would mean that the lion's share of 'civilians' there are part of our communion. ¿Entiendes?"
I winced. I didn't really know a lot of Xenokunian, so I just nodded to the Padre.
"That's all the 'variables' accounted for. Or rather… all but one." I assessed, glancing at the blueprint one last time. I raised my head and turned to Bettel, "Winningson PD. How do we deal with them when they inevitably arrive?"
"Overwhelming firepower, of course." Bettel answered.
He snapped his finger and his goons opened up the trunks of his fleet of cars. I walked over to those trunks and saw an arsenal of rifles and submachine guns - enough weapons to equip an entire platoon of soldiers!
"Holy shit…" I gasped.
"You can take your pick of the weapons, Miss Ouro. Miss Nanashi." Bettel offered.
Mumei, however, answered quickly.
"I'm fine." Mumei beamed menacingly. She brandished her hand-hammer and held it up proudly, "I want to make my enemies suffer."
"Ahahaha…" I laughed uncomfortably again.
"Anyways. There is one more card I have to play against Winningson PD." Bettel promptly added with a grin, "There's a baseball game going on today - right now, actually! My Winningson Wizards against the Knickerbockers of The City up North. The cops won't be able to deploy in time - and in large enough numbers - to stop us tonight."
"Damn." I scoffed, "You guys are devious."
"It's how the Vanguard Syndicate carved up our slices of this town." Bettel insisted, "Play every card you've got with everything that you've got! No mercy, dear Miss Ouro! No hesitation either! That's how you win in Winningson."
"I'll keep that in mind, Sir Gavis." I nodded eagerly. I browsed through the weapons of the Bettelion Group and fished out a Tommy Gun.
"Excellent choice." Bettel praised.
Then, one of the Bettelion Group gangsters approached Bettel.
"Sir." The goon started, "The game is starting."
"That's our cue." Bettel grinned, "We've told you everything you needed to know. Show this city a good time, Miss Ouro. It's your time to shine!"
I loaded my Tommy Gun with a drum magazine and grinned.
KA-CHAK!
"Let's do this thing!"
…
"Hello everybody. Join us now for another The City Knickerbockers ballgame - the last game of the Regular Season - brought to you by… the Lemon Shark Fruit Cannery - 'where the booty… is fruity!'"
" This is John Maggington joining you behind the plate at the beautiful Gladiator Stadium right here in The City. Here, at the place where destiny is made, your Knickerbockers play ball against the visiting Wizards for a spot in this year's Playoffs, and boy do the Knickerbockers need a win! Their season is on the line and this is their one big chance that they have what it takes and the… can-do~ to go to the big leagues!"
" So, with the Lemon Shark as your host, sit tight for a fine fruit salad of a ballgame!"
…
Sports broadcasts for the baseball game played from the radios of the cars in the alley as Mumei and I kicked into gear. We all put on face coverings that covered our noses and mouths. The Kingpins of the Vanguard Syndicate and their chosen crews also shed off their gang pins and changed into… less conspicuous clothing than their common fare.
"We're fashionable, not dumb." Bettel commented, putting on a more reasonable business suit. The other Kingpins followed suit until we had a uniform of sorts: suits, ties, hats and masks. Mumei finally became the only exception to the rule, but she did wear a coat over her maid attire.
Now, like a baseball team in uniform going out to the field, we brandished our weapons and marched into the street in broad moonlight. Our spectators in the early evening Winningson streets were, thankfully, fewer than earlier. Passers-by had become scarce. Those civies had either gone home or were flocking away from the bank in droves to the closest radio or television set they could find. Even the few cars on the road had their radios tuned to the baseball game broadcast!
Every single one of them was tuned in to the damn game!
The few folks who saw us and tried to make a fuss were just told to shut up, or were drowned out by the fanfare. I heard about how baseball was the national pastime, but in Winningson - this turned out to be especially true! What is it with this country and baseball?
Winningson danced to the tune of the Vanguard Syndicate. I had a feeling that this was the case, but seeing them play the whole town like a fiddle was still something to behold. It was almost too good to be true!
It made me feel small…
It made me wonder if my Ouro Crime Family could ever hold a candle to these strange but powerful kingpins.
C'mon Kronii. This ain't the time to hesitate! No mercy - no hesitation.
I want to win!
I want to take my place in this city - among the stars!
…
With this army at my back, I marched to the front yard of the bank. There, the bank guards were huddled around a radio of their own. Poor fools!
I cocked my Tommy Gun and pointed it at the guards.
"Put your hands up and don't try anything funny!" I warned them.
The guards went pale-faced, but there were still some 'heroes'. One of the guards reached for her shotgun, but Mumei lunged forward and whacked her with her hammer!
WHAM!
"Hey, that's not nice!" Mumei chided the brave guard who was now in agonizing pain, "She said to not try anything funny, you silly!"
A pair of guards walked out of the revolving doors of the bank and saw the commotion. One of them brought out his pistol and the other brought out a whistle. Shinri leapt towards the armed guard and threw a high kick right to his jaw.
BAM!
The guard flew straight into one of the bank's columns. His pistol fell from his hand.
Padre Hakka joined in and thrust one of his spear-like walking canes at the other guard's whistle, skewering it straight through. He then whacked that guard in the head with the side of his second walking cane.
THWACK!
The now whistle-less guard stumbled back but stayed standing. Before he could regain his footing, though, Flayon brought his heavy toolbag and bludgeoned the man!
THUD!
All that happened in the blink of an eye. Damn!
"Not bad…" Mumei hummed. Even she was impressed!
"Any other heroes wanna try out their luck?" I dared them, pointing my Tommy Gun at the rest of the guards.
Terrified now, the rest of the guards surrendered and did as they were told. Mumei, Shinri and my twelve-strong crew rounded them up and took their guns. The Vanguard goons started surrounding the bank and taking up positions by the bank's romanesque columns and anything else they could hide behind.
"Miss Nanashi and I will handle things out here." Shinri urged us, "Go do what you have to do!"
"O-oh, but I…" Mumei hesitated. She turned to me and asked, "Do you want me to come with you, Kronii?"
I paused for a moment, but took a deep breath and fixed my face covering.
"I'll be fine, Moom." I smiled with my eyes, "I'm taking the gang and the rest of the Kingpins with me. You're the one who has to stay safe."
Mumei heaved a sigh.
"Okay, Kronii. Don't take too long."
"I won't, birdie." I winked.
Mumei's ears went red. She then gripped her hammer and went off with the other goons to hide her face from me.
Cute.
That said, my goons and I carried on into the bank itself. Flayon, Hakka and Bettel followed behind us.
We walked into the foyer of the large branch of the Kovalskia National Bank. One of the greeters approached to welcome us at first, but when she saw my Tommy Gun she backed off. So, we kept on walking.
I cocked my Tommy Gun, pointed it up to the ceiling and pulled the trigger!
RATATATATATATATATATATAT!
Panicked screams filled the bank lobby. Clients and tellers alike dropped down to the ground and cowered. A handful of guards scrambled to the foyer, but some of the 'clients' in the crowd rose up and drew guns on the guards, forcing them to drop their weapons and kneel.
So those are the Hakkitos, huh? I wouldn't have known.
Playing to a home crowd, huh? Still, I can't get sloppy.
"This is a robbery! Sit still, shut up and nobody gets hurt!" I roared.
The outgunned and outmanned crowd was more than happy to comply. Smart move, friends. Then, I made my next demand, "Bring out the manager!"
An office door creaked open. A tall lady with pink, feathery hair emerged with her hands raised up. The brass pin on her lapel read 'Cecile Sparrowhawk - MANAGER'. She glared at me with sharp, blue, hawk-like eyes and frowned at me with disdain.
"Take us to the vault!" I barked, pointing my gun at her.
The manager snorted, but she complied.
…
Hakka, Flayon, Bettel and I held the bank manager at gunpoint and followed her onto a heavy duty lift. The manager activated the lift with a key and the machinery came to life.
WHIIRRRRRR!
We descended down to the depths. I checked my watch. We were making good time.
Very good time.
"You stupid fools aren't gonna get away with this." The manager suddenly warned, her smooth, albeit-accented voice echoing in the shaft, "We've got a '52 Grilla-Grip two-stage vault. My key only opens the first stage."
"And that's all we need you to do, ma'am." Flayon shrugged. He showed off his heavy toolbag, "That second stage won't stand a chance against me and my big sis with the big gun."
Did I just get called 'big sis' just now?
"But the time-lock…!" The manager tried to argue.
"That's something that needs a special cipher that only a handful of people know." I countered her slyly, "Someone high up in law enforcement, for example."
"No way…" The manager gasped.
I patted her shoulder and consoled her, "You're probably gonna lose your job after this. Might as well start thinking about the future." I glanced at Bettel and repeated his line, "No mercy and no hesitation - ain't that right?"
"Indeed." Bettel answered. He adjusted his face covering and mused, "Enough chitchat. We're almost there."
BRAM!
The lift came to a halt by the circular door of the Grilla-Grip vault. The manager brought out her key and opened the outer door, all the while I kept the gun pointed at her.
"Nice and easy now." I commanded her.
The manager frowned and started opening the outer vault door. It opened with a loud, heavy creak, but then…!
BRRRRRRRRIIIIIIINGGG!
The bank's alarm systems went off!
"OY!" I growled, shoving the manager with my Tommy Gun, "What the hell did you do!?"
The pink-haired manager smirked at me, "I used the wrong key. Oops!"
"Oye… maldición…" Hakka groaned in Xenokunian, "Looks like la policia will be coming after all."
I shoved the manager again and knocked her off her feet. Then, I pointed my gun at her and roared, "WHICH IS THE RIGHT ONE!?"
"Like I'd tell you!" The manager hissed.
Bettel frowned and marched over to the stumbled manager. He snatched her keyring from her and started trying out the keys on the outer vault door.
"Trial and error it is, then. Like the good ole' days." Bettel mused, fitting each key into the keyhole, "I'd say Winningson PD will have some coppers here in ten minutes… and the whole department in thirty." He glanced at Hakka over his shoulder and urged, "Go upstairs, Padre. We're going into Plan B."
"Si, señor." Hakka nodded, "By the grace of the Cube, we will still have victory today!"
Wait a second… I don't remember there being a 'Plan B'.
Either way, Hakka rode the lift back up to the main floor, leaving me, Flayon, Bettel and the manager. Eventually, one of the keys Bettel used opened the outer door.
Now, the second layer - the inner door - greeted us. Just like the manager warned, the door was shut tighter than the Pekolanders were in their pillboxes on Sunfish Hill.
That was when Flayon and I got to work.
The masked Kingpin mechanic brought out his tools and began undoing the Grilla-Grip's defenses from the outside. Meanwhile, he handed me a stethoscope and a notebook. I listened to the ticking of the time-lock through the stethoscope.
TIK-TOK-TOK-TOK-TOK!
TIK-TIK-TIK-TOK-TOK!
TIK-TIK-TIK-TOK-TOK!
TOK-TOK-TIK-TIK-TIK!
For once, doing all of Chief Enma's paperwork back in The City was paying off. I wrote down the rhythm and filtered it through what I remembered from the City PD ciphers in my head. Then, I passed the notebook onto Flayon.
"Ah, so that's how it is!" Flayon beamed.
He started drilling and cutting into the inner door at precise locations, weeding out the weaknesses bit by bit. Despite the ringing of the alarm, Flayon kept his cool and worked quietly. Watching him felt like watching a surgeon on the operating table… doing a lobotomy, maybe.
Then…!
CLICK!
The heavy inner door, too, unlocked. Flayon and I opened the inner door and saw the contents: cash and gold bars as far as the eye could see. Among them was the prize that Bettel sought: the solid gold Pekora Usada statue and her twenty-eight golden carrots right in the middle.
More wealth than I ever could have imagined.
"Oh my…" Bettel gasps, "It's beautiful!"
Bettel turned up to the rising lift and called, "PADRE! CALL IN SOME HANDS TOO! WE'VE HIT THE MOTHERLODE!"
Hakka gave a thumbs up.
And so, the great sacking of Kovalskia National Bank began.
…
In a short span of time, the coalition of goons from the five gangs took turns bagging up gold bars, bundles of cash and anything else that wasn't bolted to the ground. The Bettelion Group, of course, took custody of the Pekora statue and the golden carrots first. The Comfykois took their cut next, followed by the Hakkitos and the Greased Gears.
By the time my Ouro Crime Family got a chance, there was still a lot of gold stashed in the vault. Unfortunately, the officers of Winningson PD were starting to trickle into the scene. Gunfire erupted outside the bank. There was so much of it that it echoed all the way down to the underground vault.
CLANG-CLANG-CLINK!
"Double time, boys and girls!" I urged, shoving gold bars into a burlap sack, "Mumei and Vanguard are holding the fort, but let's not get too greedy! Take only what you can carry!"
"YES MA'AM!" My goons acknowledged. They seemed more enthusiastic than usual - though I guess being surrounded by all this gold got them excited, perhaps.
We scoured the vault for valuable things like it was a department store. But then, I saw something in the sea of gold: the bright red gemstone of a beautiful ruby ring. I picked it up and looked at it under the lights of the vault.
"I wonder if Mumei would like something like this one day…" I thought out loud. What sort of reaction would she have?
Before I could imagine that, Bettel shouted at the top of his lungs, "LAST CALL, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. WINNINGSON PD IS BREACHING THE PERIMETER! WE'RE PULLING OUT!"
With that, I pocketed the ruby ring, marshaled my gang out of the gold vault and marched out with my burlap sack filled with gold and my Tommy Gun. We only managed to get a fraction of the wealth stored within, but it was still a mission accomplished.
We all boarded the heavy-duty lift with all of our booty in tow.
WHIIRRRRRR!
Even the heavy lift was running on all cylinders to bring us back topside. As we got closer, I heard the gunfire echoing louder from the bank lobby. It sounded like Sunfish Hill up there - a hell of a battlefield.
"How the hell are we gonna make it out of here with all this gold?" I asked Bettel, gripping my burlap sack and my Tommy Gun.
"We're gonna make it out of here, Miss Ouro. Don't you worry." Bettel spoke calmly in the midst of the brewing battle, "But the same can't be said for you."
"... huh?"
When the heavy lift reached the ground floor, the pink-haired bank manager was standing there with a revolver in hand.
Pointed at me.
When did she…?
BANG! BANG!
"ARRRGGH!" I screamed.
Sharp pain stung my arm and my leg. Then, I fell down onto the heavy lift platform.
"HELP ME!" I commanded, but my goons didn't move a muscle. They just looked at me quietly and turned away.
Then, Bettel coaxed the gold-filled sack and the Tommy Gun from my hands.
"I'll be taking these back, Miss Ouro." Bettel smirked from behind his mask, "Thanks for being our scapegoat for today. You've been very, very helpful."
"You… BASTARD!" I spat.
"Nothing personal, kid." Bettel shrugged, "It's just like I told you - no mercy, no hesitation! That's how you win in Winningson!" He then nodded to the bank manager, "We're leaving it in your hands, Miss Lui Takane."
I wanted to shout back at Bettel and this 'Lui Takane' and strangle them - them and all of the traitors I once called my family… but I simply didn't have the strength. I keeled over on the heavy lift platform in a pool of my own blood.
Bettel, the traitors and the rest of the Vanguard Syndicate skedaddled, leaving the Lui with the smoking gun in her hand.
"Help! Police!" Lui screamed, acting like an 'innocent' bank manager once more, "I got one of them!"
In the blink of an eye - or maybe a heartbeat or two - Winningson PD officers swarmed me. They dragged me into the back of a paddy wagon. There, the radio of the wagon was blaring out that damn baseball game.
…
"And we are back here at the Gladiator Stadium where the UPSET OF THE CENTURY has just taken place! The Winningson Wizards have snatched victory from the jaws of defeat and handed the Knickerbockers a hell of a humiliating loss at the last moment! The Wizards advance to the playoffs and the Knickerbockers… their season is over! OVER!"
…
I gritted my bloodied teeth and shouted with my last conscious breath.
"Turn that FUCKING radio off!"
Then, I blacked out.
…
Queenpins 2 - The Big Brass Ballad of Kronii Ouro
The Sack Of Krone
…
To Be Continued
