Dong. The cold midnight air bites my face as the clocktower vibrates, the bell ringing under me. My body shivers, though I can’t tell whether it’s from the clock tower, the cold, or the adrenaline pumping through my veins. I can't believe we actually pulled that off. I can’t believe it.
Dong. The night started off well, or as well as one of these can start. Sam had gathered the crew, saying, “One last time. Let’s get the band back together”. So of course we played along. Of course we had to do what Sam wanted. Who would say no to a man who had lost everything?
Dong. We gathered the crew. Me and Sam, back together like old times. Our getaway driver, who could never sit still; our scout, one of the best accountants in the business, who Sam dragged along for the ride; our hacker, a killer esports champion, living life on a high; me as the lockpick, coming out of retirement; and Sam as the brains behind it all. He pitched it to us four as our last hurrah, a swan song, one last thing to make our mark on the world.
“A diamond,” he said, “about as big as your fist.”
Dong. So in we drove, earlier tonight, and Sam had planned out the whole thing. He knew exactly every guard's rotation, the type of safe, every person who had interacted with the diamond for the past three weeks. Say what you will about Sam’s current situation, but he knew how to get stuff done. He may not have been successful at life, but he was a master at this. Or, I thought he was.
Dong. It went smoothly at the beginning, for the most part. The driver, scout, and hacker stayed in the car, as me and Sam beelined our way to the vault. The guard rotations Sam found worked perfectly, we practically walked straight in without a hint of trouble. But the vault, the stupid vault is where it all fell apart.
Dong. Now I don’t know how the change in the vault got past Sam. Maybe people knew we were planning this heist, or maybe it wasn’t a mistake at all. Maybe Sam knew. That question may sit with me for the rest of my life. Did Sam know? What really happened at the vault that night? And what happened all those years ago, the night he lost everything?
*****
Dong. 10 years ago. I still remember the day. Sam said it would just be a quick in and out job. We were all riding high. And we trusted him. That was the issue. The moment we stepped onto the premises, alarms went off like crazy. The hacker swore she disabled the security system, and the getaway driver tried to drive us all out. But Sam just couldn’t turn down the prize. He needed to get something for all his effort.
Dong. So he rushed into the building and told the rest of us to leave.
“I’ll find you guys,” he said, “I’ll find you guys eventually”. And then he practically dropped off the face of the earth. Until a few weeks ago, when he said he had one last job for us. No one knew where he had been. No one knew what he had been up to. We just knew he looked ruined, and we just had to say yes.
*****
Dong. So earlier tonight. We stepped toward the vault, I took one look at it and knew I had a handle on it. 10 minutes passed, and the vault door clicked open. Sam smiled at me, he knew what I could do, he was the one who truly saw my potential. I still remember the day we met. He found me. He said he was “rescuing me”, and I believed him. He seemed so sure of himself, seemed like everything I wanted to be and more.
Dong. We stepped into the vault, grabbed the diamond, and Sam stepped out first. He paused, put a hand back, and told me to stay in the vault. From then on, I don’t remember much. I remember running for my life. I remember my feet flying across the ground faster than I thought was possible. I remember running around the car, avoiding all of their betrayed, confused, gazes, and sprinting to the top of the bell tower. But I don’t remember anything else.
Dong. Was it a set up? Was Sam trying to get us caught? So out of the blue, a job that seemed doomed to fail. Was it doomed from the beginning? I choose to ignore these questions, to see Sam in a rosy light.
Dong. As the final toll of the bell rings, the cold midnight air bites my face. I hold the diamond in front of me, see the moonlight refract through its many faces. I can’t believe I actually pulled that off. I can’t believe it.
Dong. The night started off well, or as well as one of these can start. Sam had gathered the crew, saying, “One last time. Let’s get the band back together”. So of course we played along. Of course we had to do what Sam wanted. Who would say no to a man who had lost everything?
Dong. We gathered the crew. Me and Sam, back together like old times. Our getaway driver, who could never sit still; our scout, one of the best accountants in the business, who Sam dragged along for the ride; our hacker, a killer esports champion, living life on a high; me as the lockpick, coming out of retirement; and Sam as the brains behind it all. He pitched it to us four as our last hurrah, a swan song, one last thing to make our mark on the world.
“A diamond,” he said, “about as big as your fist.”
Dong. So in we drove, earlier tonight, and Sam had planned out the whole thing. He knew exactly every guard's rotation, the type of safe, every person who had interacted with the diamond for the past three weeks. Say what you will about Sam’s current situation, but he knew how to get stuff done. He may not have been successful at life, but he was a master at this. Or, I thought he was.
Dong. It went smoothly at the beginning, for the most part. The driver, scout, and hacker stayed in the car, as me and Sam beelined our way to the vault. The guard rotations Sam found worked perfectly, we practically walked straight in without a hint of trouble. But the vault, the stupid vault is where it all fell apart.
Dong. Now I don’t know how the change in the vault got past Sam. Maybe people knew we were planning this heist, or maybe it wasn’t a mistake at all. Maybe Sam knew. That question may sit with me for the rest of my life. Did Sam know? What really happened at the vault that night? And what happened all those years ago, the night he lost everything?
*****
Dong. 10 years ago. I still remember the day. Sam said it would just be a quick in and out job. We were all riding high. And we trusted him. That was the issue. The moment we stepped onto the premises, alarms went off like crazy. The hacker swore she disabled the security system, and the getaway driver tried to drive us all out. But Sam just couldn’t turn down the prize. He needed to get something for all his effort.
Dong. So he rushed into the building and told the rest of us to leave.
“I’ll find you guys,” he said, “I’ll find you guys eventually”. And then he practically dropped off the face of the earth. Until a few weeks ago, when he said he had one last job for us. No one knew where he had been. No one knew what he had been up to. We just knew he looked ruined, and we just had to say yes.
*****
Dong. So earlier tonight. We stepped toward the vault, I took one look at it and knew I had a handle on it. 10 minutes passed, and the vault door clicked open. Sam smiled at me, he knew what I could do, he was the one who truly saw my potential. I still remember the day we met. He found me. He said he was “rescuing me”, and I believed him. He seemed so sure of himself, seemed like everything I wanted to be and more.
Dong. We stepped into the vault, grabbed the diamond, and Sam stepped out first. He paused, put a hand back, and told me to stay in the vault. From then on, I don’t remember much. I remember running for my life. I remember my feet flying across the ground faster than I thought was possible. I remember running around the car, avoiding all of their betrayed, confused, gazes, and sprinting to the top of the bell tower. But I don’t remember anything else.
Dong. Was it a set up? Was Sam trying to get us caught? So out of the blue, a job that seemed doomed to fail. Was it doomed from the beginning? I choose to ignore these questions, to see Sam in a rosy light.
Dong. As the final toll of the bell rings, the cold midnight air bites my face. I hold the diamond in front of me, see the moonlight refract through its many faces. I can’t believe I actually pulled that off. I can’t believe it.