*I would like to say this is the same chapter I posted on the 21st, but I accidentally deleted the chapter I posted, and I thought a small rewrite was in order…
Part 11 – First Job – Part 4
"Plans just arrive," Atla said as she walked into the room carrying the plans for the skylight Fohl and Sadeena spotted.
"Let's see them," Naofumi said.
Atla spread the plan out on the table, holding it down with the provided coffee mugs "Looks like they cut right through the steel plate," she said, "Four feet long by three feet wide. Glass is one-eight-inch thick laminated."
"Could shoot my .45 into that, and it'd shatter," Naofumi said.
"Well it could be a nice way in," Raphtalia said.
"Then we'll consider it," Naofumi said, "But I want to see if there's a quiet way in before we decide to go full on Ultimate Force, and storm in to empty our magazines into these guys."
"What do we do then," Raphtalia asked.
Naofumi reached into his pocket to pull out his cellphone which had a U.S. Army protective case on it, "It's 2098 right now," he said before turning toward Raphtalia, "When Fohl and Sadeena get back from overwatch, I want you to take Sadeena, and do some recon on the roof. See if there's a way to open it from the outside. There's a kitchen downstairs with a fully-stocked pantry and fridge, and the chief said we have free range."
"What's on the objective then," Raphtalia asked.
"I'm gonna head down there, and fix us some food," Naofumi said, "As soon as you're done, come into the kitchen, and we'll eat."
"Yes, sir," Raphtalia said.
"And me," Atla asked.
"I need someone to help me set up," Naofumi said.
Atla chuckled as she followed Naofumi down to the kitchen, and waved to Raphtalia as she walked up to greet Sadeena.
"Come on," Raphtalia said, "The Captain's asked us to do some recon on the skylight."
"I'll follow you," Sadeena said as she walked towards the back door.
"And me," Fohl asked.
"Come with us," Atla said.
Fohl followed his sister and Naofumi into the kitchen, "Nice place," Fohl said as he set his binoculars down.
"Very nice," Naofumi said as he removed his jacket before folding it, and placing it neatly in the chair nearest the stove.
"So what's for dinner," Fohl asked.
"That's what we're about to find out," Naofumi said as he walked over to the walk-in cooler.
"They said we could raid the fridge," Fohl asked.
"Anything we take, we can replace," Naofumi said as he opened the door.
"And they know that," Fohl asked.
"If not, I'll let them know," Naofumi said as he came out of the walk-in with a large slab of beef, and placed it on the counter in front of the stove.
"Where'd that thing come from," Atla asked.
"Probably one of the local farms," Naofumi said as he walked over to grab a large knife, and a sharpener, "I can cook any kind of meat you want. What'll you have?"
"Just hit me with your best shot, Captain," Fohl said.
"Be careful," Naofumi said, "You might get your wish, but not how you pictured."
Fohl chuckled, "Can't wait," he said.
Bank roof…
Access to the bank roof, to stay undetected by the media covering the story, had to be done by going down to the small inn next to the bank, climbing up the stairs to the top floor room, and exiting via the rear window.
"There wasn't a ladder further down we could use," Sadeena asked as she climbed out onto the lip of the window.
"Quit complaining," Raphtalia said as she put her MP5 on safe, and climbed onto the lip of the window behind Sadeena who had just stepped onto the roof's slope.
"You know I don't like heights," Sadeena said.
"Neither do I," Raphtalia replied, "Just keep moving."
The two of them stepped onto the roof and drew their weapons before starting their walk toward the skylight.
The skylight was a raised dome with a non-reflective coating, there was no access panel, and the frame was made of steel, "Piece of C4, here, and here," Sadeena said as she pointed to the corners.
"Probably could pop it clean off with even a small amount," Raphtalia said.
"Indeed," Sadeena said before they saw the door open, and laid prone against the roof.
Raphtalia took out her phone and placed it against the glass so they could see without peering into the room.
In walked a man in his early forties with white hair and a thick mustache, followed by another in his thirties very bald carrying an MP5, "This private enough," the one with the MP5 asked.
"Yes," the other said before turning around, and pointing at the door, "Don't let anyone through this door unless it's one of us. Knock four times, and come back every six hours."
"Yes, Mr. White," his partner said before closing the door.
The man sat against the wall and removed his fake beard before placing his gun into his shoulder holster and covering up with his jacket.
Raphtalia took the only photo she could before signaling Sadeena to quietly cross the roof.
Sadeena nodded, and the two of them crawled back to safety.
When they walked back into the main room, Raphtalia walked up to Chief Erhard who was eating a bowl of what looked like jambalaya, "Please tell me you have something," he said as he put his bowl down.
"Right here," Raphtalia said, holding out her phone to show the picture of the man that Fohl had snapped a slightly obstructed picture of.
"Better picture than anyone ever got," Erhard said as he pulled out a micro-USB cable, and plugged it into Raphtalia's phone to download it, "And it helps when he's not wearing that beard."
"Think we can get something with it," Raphtalia asked.
"I think so," Erhard said, "Might take a few hours to run it, but we should get something."
"Where's Captain Iwatani," Raphtalia asked.
"Kitchen," Erhard said, going back to eating after the image was downloaded, "Kid's an amazing cook."
"Thanks," Raphtalia said as she unplugged her phone, and slid it into her pocket.
The two of them walked into the kitchen where Fohl and Atla were sitting at a large table set for five. What was coming from inside was a symphony of marvelous smells.
"About time you guys got back," Fohl said, "I was beginning to wonder if I was going to have to eat your steaks."
"Where'd you find steaks," Sadeena asked as she placed her gun next to Fohl and Atla's.
"In the fridge," Naofumi said as he pointed over his shoulder with his spatula, "We'll reimburse them when the job's over."
"So is this food even edible," Sadeena asked as she sat next to Fohl.
"I wouldn't joke around with a man cooking for you," Naofumi said as he walked over to the table.
"And someone who cooks as well as he does," Fohl said as he pointed at his plate which was pretty much clean, "This is delicious."
"Can't wait, then," Raphtalia said.
What he laid on the plate in front of them was a beautifully cooked slab of beef that must have been at least half an inch thick.
"Wow," Sadeena said, the smell coming off of the steak would have made a vegetarian's mouth water.
"Potatoes," Naofumi asked.
"Please," Raphtalia said.
The pile of white clouds he laid next to the steaks were still steaming, and then what came next was a ladle of gravy that seemed to cascade off the potatoes like a waterfall.
Raphtalia cut through the steak which gave way like butter, and her first bite was a wash of beautifully meaty flavors.
"Wow," Sadeena said, "That's good."
"Best thing I've ever eaten," Raphtalia said.
"And how about a drink then," Fohl said as he picked up the bottle that was sitting next to his glass.
"Hold on," Raphtalia said as she took the bottle.
It was a bottle of Raymond Reserve Selection Cabernet Sauvignon, only a three-year-old bottle, very affordable.
"Not expensive," Sadeena said.
"But not a bad choice," Raphtalia said as she poured herself a glass, and then Sadeena.
Naofumi sat at the head of the table, "Can I see that," he asked.
"Of course," Raphtalia said as she handed the bottle to Naofumi.
After pouring himself a glass, he simply held up his glass, and smiled before speaking, "To our first mission."
"Here, here," Fohl said as he held up his glass to tap against Naofumi's.
"First mission," Raphtalia said as she cheered her glass against Naofumi's.
Inside the bank…
Most of the hostages were asleep, except for the receptionist and Mr. Yellow, "How old are you, young man," the receptionist asked.
"I'd rather not say," Mr. Yellow said.
"Of course," the receptionist replied, "I have a son, about your age. I really wish he'd have the balls to do something like this. All he does is stay in bed."
"All day," Mr. Yellow asked.
"Yes," the receptionist said, "At this point I'd be almost proud of him if he did something like this. Anything's better than the bed. Maybe some friends, a job, and then back to bed," Mr. Yellow chuckled, "Still, a little less useless than my husband. He can't even grill a burger correctly."
"Something me and your husband have in common," Mr. Yellow said, "Dad's not exactly father of the year. Lost his job, and is still holding out to get it back. He's not looking for one, mom's the only one keeping the house running."
The receptionist chuckled, "Same," she said, "The only way my family is surviving is by my paycheck."
"You make good money," Mr. Yellow asked.
"Decently enough," she said.
Mr. Red walked up to the window, "If I have to call Mr. White, the next person that talks will get a slapping," he said.
Mr. Yellow rolled his eyes angrily before exhaling with a strong hint of anger. Mr. Red walked over to the window where Mr. Green was sitting.
Mr. Green was reading one of the magazines the bank had in the lobby when he felt Mr. Red glaring daggers at him, "What," he asked.
"You do realize this is your fault," Mr. Red asked, "If it hadn't been for your colossal fuck up we'd be out of here!"
"My colossal fuck up," Mr. Green asked, "Mr. White said he cased the place right? How come he didn't prepare for the no parking sign across the street? He's the one who asked me to park there! No way was this situation we're in my fault! No way!"
"Then maybe it was his mistake bringing you into this," Mr. Red replied, "Either way, we're stuck in here! Waiting for the governor to authorize a helicopter to get us the hell out of here!"
"Yea," Mr. Green asked, "Well if it's my fault we got caught, whose fault is it that we don't have a helicopter already? Whose fault is it that we're not on a plane to wherever Mr. White wants to go? Ever think about that?"
Mr. Red exhaled, and walked off, Mr. Green swore he could hear him opening and closing the foregrip on the shotgun Mr. White gave him.
"Asshole," Mr. Red said as he walked back down the hall to stuff his face with the leftover pizza which wasn't much at that point.
"Not very friendly is he," the receptionist asked.
"Nope," Mr. Yellow said, "None of them are," he pointed at Mr. Green, "Save for that one."
Back with Naofumi's team…
"So we have five different scenarios, and not one agreement," Raphtalia said.
"Great start to our first mission together," Fohl said.
"Could be worse," Naofumi said, "We could all have five scenarios of our own at once."
"One way to look at it," Fohl said.
"There's a middle ground," Naofumi said, "We just need to find what works, and what doesn't. I say we go through each of the plans step-by-step."
"Whose do we start with," Fohl asked.
"How about we start with yours," Naofumi asked as he looked at Fohl.
"Ok then," Fohl said as they looked over the plan.
The next morning, Naofumi and his team came into the control room where Chief Erhard was waiting, "Morning," he said as he saw the team enter, "You guys get any sleep?"
"Maybe an hour or two," Naofumi said, "We've spent all night coming up with the plan. All we need now is the go-ahead."
"Right now we need patience," Erhard said, "We have no idea how the FAA, head of the airport, and the Mayor will react."
"And I bet it's not going to be good," Van Reichnott said, him having removed his jacket within the last few hours Naofumi saw him.
"What do you mean," Naofumi asked.
"We got a hit off the hostiles," he said as he handed him a set of pictures from the table, all of them were mugshots with placards that had 'Rock Valley Police Department' written on the faces, "All of them were arrested on charges ranging from petty burglary to armed robbery," Naofumi passed the pictures to his team, "And all of their profiles were accessed by this man," Van Reichnott handed Naofumi two pictures, one was the picture Raphtalia took of Mr. White when he had removed his disguise, and the next picture shocked him, "Sergeant Brian Nelson."
"He was a cop," Naofumi said.
To be continued…