The truck from Keystone City, transporting an experimental project from Ivo Laboratories, was just a few minutes away from reaching the borders of Central City.
Central City had no security at the borders separating it from Keystone City, so the only window of opportunity for Captain Cold and his crew to intercept the truck and execute their plan was to strike it at a well-calculated distance, less than three minutes away from the border. Cold and his crew were in position and ready, waiting for the approaching target.
Tom watched the operation from the top of a tall building located at a reasonable distance from the heist. He peered through the binoculars in his hands, excited to watch it all unfold.
Cold and his crew crouched on motorcycles behind a row of abandoned cars on the outskirts of Central City. They had been planning this ambush for days and were now only minutes away from executing their plan. They waited in anticipation, waiting for the truck and for their captain to give them the 'GO' signal.
Cold held up his hand, signaling for his crew to be quiet and stay low. In the distance, they could hear the sound of the transport truck approaching. He peered over the hood of an old sedan and saw the truck, it was the exact same one in the information he got and it was getting closer.
He activated the timer on his watch, then pulled out a walkie-talkie and whispered into it, "Team one, take positions." A four-man team wearing black ski masks and carrying assault rifles emerged from behind a nearby structure with their black dirt bikes as they chased beside the truck, taking on a diamond formation with the truck in the middle.
Why dirt bikes you might ask? That is because they are fast, versatile, and durable, allowing for easy maneuvering in remote areas. They wear the perfect vehicle for such a heist.
The team then each threw a portable E.M.P. devices which were all round in shape and they immediately attached to the body of the truck, disabling it. Two team members approached the driver's side while the other two approached the passenger's side, opening the doors and pointing their weapons at the drivers, who quickly put their hands up and stepped out of the truck.
Captain Cold waited for the signal and when he received it, he and his two-man team emerged from their hiding spots, weapons at the ready.
They quickly secured the driver's walkie-talkie as the voice of a man from the back of the truck vibrated from it, inquiring as to why the truck had stopped. They proceeded into positions to loot the truck's cargo, trying to work quickly to avoid detection by the police. However, the issue of the extra security at the back of the truck needed to be dealt with swiftly, as they were constantly losing time and had to make the best of it.
Any of the men at the back of the truck could have contacted the police for backup at that moment, but one of the crew members answered the walkie-talkie and assumed the driver's identity as he responded with. "All clear, nothing to worry about. The road is being worked on and a couple of construction workers are clearing a path for us on the road."
Immediately he gave a reply, they implanted a small explosive on the truck's locks and the explosion alarmed the guards.
Before they could react to the sudden situation while still being disoriented from the explosion, they instantly had guns pointing at each of their heads. They slowly raised their hands up in the air in surrender because any sudden movement would lead to an eminent end.
Yes they were covered in bulletproof vests and well protected, but their faces were only protected by visors and a shot to the face would be an immediate game over.
Overpowering them, they knocked each guard down delivering heavy blows to their heads with assault rifles and immediately went for the main objective, which was the project they needed to steal but it was inside a big metal safe and had a an iris scan lock for security meaning that it would only open when it scans the retina of a specific personnel.
Cold thought to himself as he shrugged off his curiosity about what exactly the experiment entailed. He felt that the person who had gone through a lot of trouble to protect the project had failed and that it was now fair game for him to steal it.
Looking like they had hit a stump along the way of the mission, their captain smiled and encouraged them to keep their cool as they were about to lose their composure and deliberated on how they would carry the oversized metal safe.
Considering the fact that Cold skipped on using lasers for the truck's locks and just blew up the locks instead, now it was time to put the laser into use.
Captain Cold cut a rational size on the front wall of the metal safe before hitting it and then extracted its content.
It was a briefcase sealed shut and required a special key to open it but it wasn't his problem because his job was to get the briefcase which housed the objective.
Looking at his timer, it became evident that they had barely two minutes left before he suddenly gave an order. "Alright boys, let's move out." He instructed them before realizing the cops were already approaching, a minute shy of the well calculated time frame.
It appears that one of the guards had triggered a panic button during the commotion when the locks of the truck were blown open using controlled explosives. That was an unprecedented development which anyone was yet to notice.
As they loaded the stolen goods onto their own vehicle, The sound of sirens filled the air as the robbers placidly looked around for the escape route. They had just robbed the truck and were making their getaway when they saw the flashing blue and red lights of the approaching police cars.
"This is the exact reason why I always tell you guys to make the plan, execute the plan, expect the plan to go off the rails and throw away the plan. Now it is time for a contingency plan." Cold addressed his crew as he signaled for them to split up and try to lose the police in the maze of streets and alleys, then rendezvous at one of their hideouts located within the City.
Captain Cold couldn't help but feel a rush of adrenaline. This was what he lived for, the thrill of the heist, the rush of blood from the police chase.
Tom was completely impressed by their efficiency and ability to adapt to unexpected changes in the plan. He recognized that this was what it meant to be skilled at one's job, and exemplified professionalism. After leaving the scene, he headed home, anticipating the success of the heist and the deposit of a substantial sum of cash in an offshore bank account under an assumed name, all arranged by Cold.
…
Captain Cold walked into the private hanger, his coat swirling behind him as he strode confidently towards the waiting client. The hanger was dimly lit, with only a few flickering fluorescent lights overhead. Cold could see the silhouette of the client, a shadowy figure shrouded in darkness.
Without a word, he pulled a large duffel bag from his shoulder and placed it on the ground in front of the client. The client stepped forward, reached into the bag, and pulled out the briefcase. He watched as the client examined the case, his face expressionless.
"Is everything in order?" Cold asked, his voice low and steady.
The client nodded, still examining the briefcase. "It looks like you've delivered exactly what I asked for. My people will take it from here."
Cold nodded, satisfied. He had no need to take a look at the insides of the merchandise, he knew that it was top-notch and would fetch a high price on the black market but money doesn't seem to be their issue so they definitely have a different purpose for the experiment he had stolen.
"I'll be on my way then," Cold said, turning to leave.
"Wait," the client said, holding up a hand. "I have another job for you but it would be within a year's time period, if you're interested."
Cold raised an eyebrow. "I'm always interested in a good job. What do you have in mind?"
The client smiled, and Cold knew that he was in for another profitable heist. Being that it stretched for a year's time period, it might be that they want to get every necessity ready before contacting him to steal the last requirement.
He left the hanger excited for the next job. The chill of the air outside doing nothing to dampen his spirits.
Tom lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, still in awe of the success of the previous day's heist. He had planned the robbery and Leo's crew had executed it in style, and now he was reaping the rewards. When he first got into business with Leo, he had wondered what it would be like to live the life of a criminal mastermind, and now that thought had become a reality.
As he lay there, lost in thought, he heard a beep from his laptop. He got up and walked over to his desk where the laptop was, curious to see what it was. Although he had been expecting his share from the previous deal with Leo, he was still surprised to see a large sum of money credited to his offshore account.
Tom couldn't believe his eyes. He sat down at his desk and stared at the laptop screen, still in amazement of what he had received as his cut from one operation.
As he sat there, his mind raced with thoughts of all the things he could do with his newfound source of income. He thought about the things he could buy if he kept this up and accumulated a fortune. He could buy a fancy car, a big house, and all the luxuries people normally yearn for. He could even retire early and live the rest of his days in comfort.
Nah! For most people, yeah.
But for Tom, these things didn't hold much appeal. He had grown up in a wealthy home in his previous life and had already experienced luxury to almost the maximum.
He knew that he had to be careful with the money, and not let anyone know about it. He didn't even have a friend he could share things with. He would have to keep a low profile and lay low for a while. But that was a small price to pay for the life of comfort he wished to have.
Beep!
The sound of his burner phone drew him out of his thoughts, the screen lit up and displayed the name 'Leo'. He answered the call as Leo spoke in his usual calm and relaxed tone.
"Hey kid, I just wanted to give you a call and let you know that I went ahead and transferred your cut from our job yesterday, over to your offshore account," Leo said.
"I just saw it and I have to say, I'm impressed with the amount from one job. I wasn't expecting such a large sum," Tom spoke honestly. He couldn't help but wonder what Leo's cut must have been if his was this huge.
"It all depends on the job and the client. I'll let you know if another contract requiring your expertise comes up," Leo said. "Later kid, stay out of trouble till then and also take care of that big brain of yours."
"Sure," Tom replied as he hung up the phone.
Tom closed his laptop and lay back in bed, a huge smile on his face. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, content in the knowledge of the success from his first job as a criminal mastermind.
…
Tom sat in the middle of his basement, which had more than enough space for a home gym. His eyes were closed in concentration as he had been working on developing his telekinetic abilities for months. He had made good progress, but he was still far from perfecting them.
He focused on the dumbbells in front of him, which each had different weights to test his strength and control. He willed both dumbbells to lift and they rose to a reasonable height just above his head, with his mind alone and without any hand gestures.
Encouraged by this small success, Tom pushed harder. He attempted to lift up a random car across the street through the window, but it was to no avail. He wasn't strong enough to lift a car yet, but he was determined to get there.
He continued to focus on just one dumbbell, this time it was the lighter one. He willed it to move faster towards him and it began to fly across the room, heading straight for Tom's chest. Tom could feel the sweat on his forehead as he struggled to create a deflective barrier in front of him that would be strong enough to withstand the dumbbell's dimpact.
The dumbbell seemed to hit a dense air wall, which appeared like a thick glass-like structure in front of him, at the last minute. It created water-like ripples in thin air around the spot it hit. But it was sent flying in another direction, luckily he was in the basement and it crashed into some boxes. He definitely broke something within those boxes.
He was barely able to create a barrier that was strong enough to withstand the dumbbell subconsciously, but he couldn't help but think of himself as insane for attempting such an experiment. It could have led to excruciating pain and internal injuries.
He did it over and over again in hopes of improving the strength of the barrier. But each time he did it, his heart skipped a beat faster, fearing that it wouldn't be strong enough. He had to steel his resolve, knowing that the barrier would only be as strong as his mental will.
Tom kept up this exercise until he was confident in both his deflective barrier and himself. His heart no longer skipped each time he saw the dumbbell approaching him at top speed, his subconscious had grown accustomed to the fact that it had to protect him from external harm.
He moved on to training the precision of his telekinesis. Tom placed a pen on the floor and commanded it to levitate in the air and move in front of a book that he already had floating in mid-air. At first, it was difficult for him to hold the book in place while trying to control the pen to write the words he had in mind. He would have to take it word for word as he formed the sentence.
As he trained, the movements of the pencil became more controlled and precise. He was able to direct it to stay on a specific margin line and spell out words to form a sentence. It was mentally exhausting and took a lot of focus and concentration for him to be able to do this, but he hoped that it would become easier for him as he gained better control over his powers.
It was a thrilling experience for Tom, who had never experienced such control over his powers before. Although it drained him mentally, he now had the feeling of his powers being an extension of his mind.
Tom continued to train for hours, pushing himself to the limit. He knew that mastering his telekinesis was crucial if he wanted to be able to use it in real-world situations in order to survive in this crazy world he nor lived in. He trained himself to control multiple objects at once, and even projected his powers to move distant objects till he felt depleted.
By the end of the day, Tom was exhausted, but he felt a sense of satisfaction and self accomplishment in the fact that he had made progress in moving a step further in perfecting his telekinesis.
The fatigue he felt that day was unmatched to any he had ever felt before, but he always knew this was a stepping stone. He understood that each time he pushed himself to the brink of exhaustion while training his powers, it would help build up his stamina and strengthen them.
Each time he used the powers he had awoken a few months back, he always had a pit in his stomach like he wasn't using them to their full potential. He knew there was so much more he could do. He could feel that telekinesis was just the tip of the iceberg, it was very frustrating knowing that there was so much more he could do, but he was currently limited by his lack of mastery over them and his current weakness.
The thought of him being attacked by one of those psychos in this crazy universe and not being able to protect himself due to his current weakness, was a thought that kept nagging at the back of his mind. He tried to shrug it off each time. The possibility of him, being a criminal mastermind which he had become not too long ago, and an hero in an unexpected instance, having his operations traced back to him, he would need to be strong enough to defend himself and escape capture.
He had come a long way in his training, and he knew that with continued practice, he would be able to gain full mastery of his powers. Tom went to bed that night with a sense of purpose, determined to continue training and perfecting his abilities in whatever way he could.