Page 11 of High Stakes

A job gone wrong.

I can’t fight the memory as it overtakes me completely, dragging me back into a past life.

“Just getthe sensors around the handle on the metal. I should be able to get a reading from that,” Silas mutters and clicks away on his laptop, his head moving back and forth as he reads the symbols moving across the screen. The mask on his face hides his eyes, but I know they’re scanning about a mile a minute.

“I don’t like doing this,” Declan whispers and shifts on his feet. He adjusts the mask on his face, making sure no skin or hair is visible.

“It’s fine. I’ve almost got it. We just need to get it unlocked,” Silas says in an offhand tone. “Once it’s open, we get the hell out of here.”

“Did you disable the alarm?” Declan turns to me and looks over his shoulder again.

“Jumpy fucker, aren’t you?” I ask with a chuckle. “Yes. I disabled all the alarms, including the fire and carbon monoxide, just to be safe. We have about 20 minutes before they realize there is an issue.”

“We’ll be finished way before then,” Silas confirms and pulls out a handheld walkie-talkie. The channel comes to life with a staticky crackle. “We’re in position and starting with the vault mechanism. Over.”

“Copy. We’ll send men to you. They’re in charge of receiving the payload. Over.” The voice cracks and rattles from the walkie.

“Copy,” Silas mutters and pockets the walkie-talkie again. “I’ve gotten three of the seven locking mechanisms so far. Just a few more.” His head cocks to the side as he clicks and types away.

The vault door clinks and thunks a few times before a dull hissing noise escapes from the edges of the door.

“Nice work, Si,” I grin underneath my mask and high-five him.

Declan pulls open the door with a grunt. “Motherfucker,” he curses loudly.

Silas and I rush into the vault. Only it’s not a vault. It’s an antechamber. There’s another vault door on the other side of the room and this one has different mechanisms.

“Fuck me sideways,” Silas groans and goes back to retrieve his equipment.

I press my lips together and bite the inside of my cheek to keep the inappropriate retort from slipping.

Three men stalk into the room with rifles and duffel bags slung across their shoulders. “Well?” One of them asks loudly.

“There’s a vault within the vault,” Declan explains. “We’re breaking the second one now.”

“We don’t have much time,” another man mutters and looks at his watch. “Maybe another ten minutes, if that.”

“Until what?” I ask and fold my arms across my chest, flexing my fists under my biceps. I’m getting anxious and I want this to be over with. I don’t play well with others. It’s why I don’t participate in the group jobs much, unless it’s behind the scenes.

The first man grins wickedly at me. “Until we bring the heat to these fuckers.”

Is that code for something? I have no idea what he’s fucking talking about. The only details we received were to break the safe and get out. Nothing else.

Declan cracks his knuckles and adjusts his mask on his face. “What the fuck does that mean?”

“Got it!” Silas calls out and closes his laptop with a loud snap. “Have at it!”

The three men brush past us and open the bags, their rifles clinking against the ammo belts around their waists.

“That’s an awful lot just for a robbery,” Silas whispers to us as we step back and take up guard duty. “Did they say who this vault belongs to?”

“Nope and I didn’t ask,” Declan states and shoves his hands into his pockets. “We just need to get in, get out, and get paid.”

I nod in agreement and listen to the men as they grunt and emerge from the vault with full duffel bags. “That it then?”

“Yep,” one of them says and shifts the bag on his shoulders. “Now let’s get the fuck out of here before we get buried.”

“What are you—” Declan starts to ask, but his question is cut off by a loud explosion. The foundation shudders under our feet and sends us all stumbling. Another two explosions rock the structure.

---