Deadly Heist

by Jack Heath

  ‘New plan,’ she says. ‘When the police ring, order them to get the vault combination from the security company. Tell them we have five hostages.’

  If you know the code for the vault, Click Here.

  If you don’t, Click Here.

  You push down on the grille. It doesn’t pop out of the frame.

  You push harder. The grille still doesn’t come out, but this time it groans loudly. Mr Silver—the man with the silver tooth—looks up.

  You stare at one another, frozen in mutual horror for a second. Then you start to scramble backwards around the corner. Mr Silver drops his phone and lunges forward to grab you—

  Then the grille collapses under his weight. He screams as he falls out of the vent and disappears into the darkness below. An ugly thud echoes through the chamber.

  Motion-activated lights flicker on. Mr Silver hasn’t fallen very far. He’s landed on a concrete floor next to a set of stairs, going up. His eyelids are flickering. He’s stunned, or concussed.

  The other robbers probably heard the scream. It won’t take them long to work out where it came from.

  ‘Hurry!’ you hiss. You drop down onto the floor next to Mr Silver, and drag him out of the way so the others can climb down.

  You find yourself on the bottom floor of a stairwell. Old wooden pallets are stacked in the corner. A fire axe is mounted on the wall. You’re below ground level, so the only way out is up the stairs.

  There’s a door on the first landing, covered by another security shutter—which probably means it leads outside. Maybe you could break through the shutter with the fire axe. Or maybe you should keep running past the door, up the stairs towards the roof.

  Kye hops down out of the vent. ‘Where are we going?’ he asks. ‘They’ll be right behind us!’

  If you grab the fire axe and try to break through the security shutter, Click Here.

  If you take the stairs all the way up to the roof, Click Here.

  ‘Climb across,’ you say. ‘Quickly!’

  ‘What?!’ the man in the yellow shirt squeaks. ‘I’m not doing that!’

  As the helicopter zooms closer, the wind picks up. The power cable sways from side to side over the deadly drop.

  ‘We’re sitting ducks up here,’ you say. ‘I’ll hold it steady.’

  You grab the cable. It doesn’t shock you, but you can feel it vibrating slightly, like a silent hum. You pull it tight so it’s easier to climb on.

  Kye looks scared, but he trusts you, and he doesn’t want to stand here arguing. He hangs underneath the cable and loops his legs over it, then he wriggles out over the street like an upside-down caterpillar.

  Someone screams below. A woman behind the police barricade has spotted Kye. The police follow her gaze, and start yelling at one another.

  No time to wait for them to get their act together. The helicopter is nearly here.

  You tug the cable. It feels steady enough to take more weight. ‘Who’s next?’ you ask.

  The middle-aged woman with the fluffy scarf steps forward. ‘I’ll go.’ She takes hold of the cable and climbs out over the street.

  Kye has almost reached the warehouse on the other side. He grabs the gutter, hauls himself up onto the metal roof and pumps his fist in the air.

  ‘Wooo!’ he cries. ‘I did it!’

  The people behind the barricade cheer. The news cameras swing towards the woman with the scarf, who’s halfway across. The other woman climbs onto the cable behind her.

  ‘Hold it steady,’ you shout to Kye.

  He does. With the cable anchored at both ends, the two women can crawl across even faster. The woman with the scarf has reached the warehouse.

  ‘Now you,’ you tell the man in the yellow shirt. ‘Quickly!’

  He reluctantly grabs the cable. He’s heavier than anyone who has crossed so far. You struggle to hold the cable steady as he crosses his legs over it and pulls his way out over the void.

  The helicopter thunders closer to the rooftop, tilted forward for speed. Now that it’s closer, you can see the police colours on the side. There was no need to climb the cable after all. Help has arrived.

  The man in the yellow shirt reaches the warehouse. You wave at the helicopter with both hands. ‘Hey! Down here!’

  The stairwell door bursts open behind you. You whirl around. Miss Scarlet stands in the doorway, holding her laser pistol. Her eyes glow with fury.

  The cops won’t be here in time to save you. So you leap onto the cable like a tightrope-walker and sprint over the deadly drop.

  The cable jerks violently beneath your shoes. The chopped air batters your head as the police helicopter sweeps past. You run towards Kye and the other three hostages, fighting to keep your balance.

  A laser beam zips over your head, close enough that you feel the heat. You duck, but this leaves you looking down. The distant street wobbles beneath you.

  But you’re almost at the warehouse rooftop. Five more steps and you’ll be there. Kye stretches out his hand for you to grab.

  Zap! Another laser beam passes near your ankles. It misses you—

  But it shears through the cable, cutting it off from the warehouse. The cable goes slack beneath your feet. You’re falling!

  If you leap towards the warehouse and Kye’s outstretched hand, Click Here.

  If you grab hold of the falling cable instead, Click Here.

  You scramble forwards, rushing at the man with the silver tooth as fast as you can. Startled, he drops the phone.

  You grab for it. But he’s too quick. He grips your shoulder with one hand and twists sideways, pinning you to the wall of the vent. His other hand clamps over your mouth.

  ‘Shhh,’ he whispers. ‘I’m on your side.’

  You stare at him.

  ‘I’m a cop,’ he says. ‘I’ve been undercover for months.’

  He releases you and opens a hidden pocket in his shirt sleeve. He pulls out a laminated card with a photograph of himself. It says: Omar Alhamed, Detective.

  ‘This is no ordinary bank,’ Alhamed says. ‘The second floor is actually a secret laboratory. They’re building experimental nanobots—millions of tiny machines, too small to see, designed to eat waste and turn it into more useful materials.’

  ‘That sounds like a crazy conspiracy theory,’ you say.

  ‘That’s what we thought, too. Then we found some. Total fluke—a few bots somehow got flushed down a drain. Maybe a lab worker washed their hands at the wrong time. Anyway, the nanobots showed up in a water quality study near here. Believe me, they’re real. That’s why the robbers are here.’

  ‘Are the nanobots worth a lot of money?’ you ask.

  ‘They can be programmed to build almost anything. The robbers are going to program them to make a bomb.’

  ‘A bomb? Did you say bomb?’ Your voice goes a bit squeaky.

  ‘This way,’ Alhamed says and wriggles away backwards along the vent. You follow.

  ‘What’s happening up there?’ whispers Kye, who has been stuck around the other side of the corner this whole time.

  ‘One of the robbers is secretly a police officer,’ you whisper back. ‘He’s taking us . . . somewhere.’

  Alhamed has reached another grille. He kicks it open and climbs down a ladder.

  ‘The police should be outside by now,’ he says. ‘They can cut the power to stop the robbers from programming the nanobots. Then they can gas the building through the air conditioning. But they won’t do either of those things while the hostages are still in danger.’

  If you ask Alhamed how to get outside before that happens, Click Here.

  If you ask him about the bomb instead, Click Here.

  You haul a wooden pallet underneath the air vent so the other hostages have something to land on.

  ‘We’ll head for the roof,’ you tell Kye. ‘There might be a fire-escape. Or maybe we can barricade ourselves up there and get the attention of someone going past.’

  He nods. ‘Good idea.’
<
br />   The last of the hostages—a man in a pale yellow shirt—drops down onto the pallet.

  ‘Why are we following a kid?’ he asks the other hostages.

  You open your mouth to defend yourself, but Kye gets there first.

  ‘I don’t see anyone else stepping up,’ he says. ‘Stay here if you want.’

  He starts running up the stairs, and so do you. After a moment’s hesitation, the other three hostages follow.

  Only the first door is shuttered. The others you pass on the way up are accessible—but you ignore them. They probably lead to offices on the second, third and fourth floors. Somewhere to hide, maybe, but not to escape.

  Still, it might help to let the robbers think you went that way. You shove one of the doors open as you run past. A fire alarm wails.

  By the time you get to the top floor of the building, your thighs are burning and your lungs hurt. There’s one last door, marked ROOFTOP—UNAUTHORISED ACCESS PROHIBITED.

  You push the door open, and the sunrise blinds you. Stepping outside, you can see the roof is flat concrete, with a pit for a massive air-circulation machine, and a platform for a radio antenna.

  You run over to the edge of the rooftop and look down. Cops have sealed off both ends of the street. News crews stand behind the barricades.

  ‘Hey!’ You wave your arms. ‘Up here!’

  They’re too far away to hear you, and all eyes are focused on the ground floor of the bank.

  You throw your phone at them. It lands in a tree. No-one notices.

  The robbers will be up here any second. You look around desperately. There’s no external fire-escape. No way down.

  A power cable connects this building to the warehouse across the street. It looks thick enough to take your weight. But is it electrified?

  A distant sound grows nearer. Thupthupthupthup. You shade your eyes with one hand and see a helicopter racing towards the rooftop.

  You’re saved!

  Unless this is the getaway helicopter for the robbers. If it is, the pilot won’t be pleased to see five escaped hostages. You’ll have to get off this rooftop as fast as possible.

  The other hostages are looking in your direction. You got them this far. They want your leadership.

  If you tell them to climb across the power cable, Click Here.

  If you wait for the helicopter, Click Here.

  You’re almost at the rooftop. Barely a metre away. It should be an easy jump. You leap towards the warehouse—

  But you have nothing to jump off. The severed cable is slack, so your feet just push it away. You hurtle through the air on leftover momentum, arms windmilling, legs kicking.

  Kye flings out a hand, trying to catch you before you fall. You reach for him, stretching every joint and tendon in your arm and shoulder.

  Success! Kye grabs your hand. He tries to haul you up onto the warehouse rooftop—

  But you’re too heavy. He overbalances.

  One of the other hostages tries to grab the back of Kye’s shirt, but she’s too slow. Kye topples off the roof and you both scream as you plummet down, down, down, accelerating towards the concrete below—

  Crack!

  THE END.

  To try again, Click Here.

  You wave to the helicopter as it thunders closer.

  ‘Hey!’ you yell, even though they can’t possibly hear you. ‘Down here!’

  The helicopter tilts and accelerates towards the rooftop. The wind from the blades nearly blasts you off your feet. But you can make out the word painted on the side—POLICE.

  You were right!

  The landing skis aren’t even on the ground yet when the side door opens. A police officer in padded armour beckons. ‘Get in!’ she yells.

  The hostages run over and start climbing on board. They all keep their heads low, wary of the spinning blades above.

  ‘Come on,’ Kye says, running over to the helicopter and jumping inside.

  You’re about to follow him when the stairwell door bursts open behind you. You turn to see Miss Scarlet and her laser pistol framed in the doorway. Rage crackles in her eyes.

  She takes aim at the helicopter.

  You start to run, heart thudding.

  Zap! A streak of light burns a scar along the side of the helicopter. The reflected laser scorches the rooftop. It doesn’t seem to penetrate the hull, but the pilot panics. The landing skis lurch upwards.

  The helicopter is leaving. In seconds it’ll be out of reach, leaving you alone on the rooftop with Miss Scarlet.

  If you run and jump towards the helicopter, trying to catch the skis before it’s out of reach, Click Here.

  If you tackle Miss Scarlet and try to get the pistol off her, Click Here.

  As you plummet towards the concrete far below, you reach for the power cable with both hands. The torn end is spitting sparks.

  Your left hand misses the cable. People are screaming down below. Cops are yelling.

  Your right hand catches the cable.

  The cable is still attached to the rooftop of the bank, so you swing back across the street like Tarzan on a vine. The air rushes past you, faster and faster. Squinting against the wind, you realise you’re about to swing right into a second-storey window.

  You let go, hoping to fall safely to the ground. Instead, you hit the window, shoes first.

  Smash! You hurtle through the window and slide along the tiled floor in a puddle of broken glass.

  ‘Ow,’ you groan.

  Someone looms over you. He—or she, it’s impossible to tell—is covered from head to toe in a white plastic suit. A mirrored visor reflects your own shock back at you.

  Looking around, you see other workers in similar outfits, all staring at you. Giant machines dangle from the ceiling. Workbenches are littered with devices you don’t recognise. This doesn’t look like a bank.

  A voice echoes over a loudspeaker. ‘OK, people. The police helicopter has landed on the roof, and the robbers have been arrested. Show’s over—everyone back to work.’

  The white-suited workers turn back to their benches and start looking through microscopes and fiddling with things too small for you to see.

  ‘What is this place?’ you ask.

  The man with the mirrored visor jabs a finger at you. ‘You were never here, and you never saw any of this. Got that?’

  You nod dumbly.

  ‘All right.’ He pulls you to your feet. ‘Let’s get you out of here.’

  00:00

  You survived! There are thirteen other ways to escape the danger—try to find them all!

  You sprint towards the helicopter, hoping to grab the skis before it escapes into the sky. Your feet scuffle on the concrete rooftop.

  Zap!

  This time, Miss Scarlet isn’t shooting at the helicopter. She’s shooting at you. A laser beam sizzles over your head.

  But you’re almost there. Ten more steps.

  Seven.

  Your heart is pounding in your ears.

  Four.

  As the helicopter lurches higher up into the air, Miss Scarlet shoots again. The laser bolt narrowly misses your ear—

  And melts through the glass of the cockpit.

  The pilot rips his hands off the controls as the laser burns his fingers. The helicopter swings out of control. The passengers inside scream.

  You leap forward to grasp the landing skis, but suddenly they’re not there anymore. The helicopter has turned and tilted . . .

  You’re flying towards the spinning blades instead.

  ‘Noooo!’ you shriek.

  But there’s nothing to grab on to. No way to stop. You hurtle into the whirling helicopter blades and—

  Splat!

  THE END.

  To try again, Click Here.

  ‘What kind of bomb are they making?’ you ask, as you climb down the ladder after Alhamed. The rungs chime like bells under your feet. ‘How far away do we have to get?’

  ‘We can’t get away from it,’ Alhamed says.
‘We can only stop it from going off.’

  You find yourself in a dimly lit maintenance room. Hammers and screwdrivers hang from rusty hooks. A mop is propped up in the corner next to an empty bucket. A first-aid kit sits on a workbench next to someone’s mobile phone.

  ‘The robbers came from a camp up in the mountains,’ Alhamed explains. ‘It started out as an environmentalist commune—carbon neutral, no modern tech, growing their own food, and so on. But a few of them got together and came up with a more effective plan to protect the planet.’

  ‘What plan?’

  ‘Get rid of all the people.’

  Your mouth goes dry. ‘How?’

  Alhamed is unlocking a steel hatch in the corner of the floor. A stamp on the lid reads CAUTION: SEWER. He lifts the lid.

  A foul smell fills the room. It’s as though a dozen dogs have all farted at once.

  ‘It’s called a battery bomb,’ Alhamed says, and for a moment you think he’s talking about the smell. ‘It broadcasts a signal to mobile phones making them explode. But something like that is very hard to build. That’s why they need the nanobots.’

  ‘Wait,’ you say. ‘They’re trying to save the world by destroying the world?’

  ‘Don’t try to make sense of it,’ Alhamed says. ‘It’s not rational. People like this never have a good reason to do what they do. It only ever fits together in their own heads.’

  He sounds gloomy. His months undercover with the robbers must have been tough.

  The other hostages have climbed out of the vent into the maintenance room. Alhamed gestures to the hatch. ‘That’s our way out,’ he tells them. ‘Grab that torch and that first-aid kit.’

  Kye picks up the first-aid kit. You take the torch off the workbench and hook it into your belt. Then you clamber through the hatch and climb down another ladder into the darkness of the sewer. The rungs are slippery. You’re already starting to get used to the smell, but you’re worried about diseases. Don’t sewage treatment workers wear masks and gloves, to stop deadly bacteria from getting into their bodies?