Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

by Brennen Tammons

  “You want to go to the market with me and get some booze and to pick the food up? By the time we leave out the store, the food should be ready and we can head back?”

  Russell nods his head to Brian. Russell then walks to the sofa area and starts to speak to Kevin and Jesse.

  “Brian and I will be back shortly. We’re gonna get pick up the food, and get something for us to drink. I want all this money accounted for by the time I get back. Understood?”

  Kevin while he’s still counting all the cash with Jesse, responds to Russell.

  “Yeah Russ, we’ll have all of this taken care of. See you when you get back man.”

  Russell shakes his head at Kevin. He along with Brian, both walk out of the unit. Russell and Brian leave in Russell’s car. As soon as they leave, Victor walks over to the sofa area where Kevin and Jesse are counting all of the cash. He takes a seat down on the sofa, and looks at them grinning heavily. Kevin turns his head towards Victor, giving a disgusted and annoyed expression towards him. Victor then starts to laugh at Kevin. Kevin tries to ignore him, but Victor continues on with his silly antics and quirks. Jesse is also being bothered by Victor’s behavior. They are trying to count the money, but Victor is causing a lot disturbance to the both of them.

  Victor then starts to pick up stacks of cash off the table, throwing it the air. Unable to take much more of it, Kevin begins to have a temper tantrum. Kevin throws all the cash off the table, onto the floor. Victor starts to laugh loudly because of this. Kevin then pins Victor down on the sofa, pressing his knee to Victor’s abdomen area. While doing that, Kevin angrily shouts at him.

  “Victor, I need you to not bother us right now. We’re trying to count all this money up. I don’t like being this type of guy, I don’t. However, you’re annoying us right now. We have to start all fucking over again, so thanks a lot man. Shit. You’re doing this on purpose too. Ugh. Victor if you want to help, all you have to do is say that you want to help. It’s not hard.”

  Kevin shakes his head at Victor, and starts to pick up all the cash on the floor. Jesse starts to feel upset, and picks up the cash Kevin threw. Victor joins both of the men, and he picks up the money as well. While he’s putting the money on the table, Victor speaks to them.

  “Can I help you guys out with counting all of that? I’m sorry, I guess I’m bored and I get like that. I didn’t think you would get all mad and stuff. So I can help you guys?”

  Kevin turns to look at Jesse who nods his head. Kevin then takes a deep breath, and turns to look at Victor. Under his breath, Kevin starts to talk to Victor.

  “Alright man, you can help. Don’t bother us anymore though. Count the money, and only do that. Don’t laugh, don’t do any silly shit. If you do anything silly again, you’re gonna have to go away. I’m not going to tell you again. We have to count all this money up man.”

  The three of them sit down on the sofa, and start to count the money. However, Victor continues his silly charades, and starts to giggle and snicker to himself. Jesse starts to frown, and Kevin who has already warned Victor, cannot contain himself towards the way he’s acting.

  “Victor, get up. I said if you did that shit again I was going to remove you man.”

  Victor then starts to get himself together, and cries out to him.

  “Kevin please? No I won’t do any of that anymore, I swear. Hey, do you have any weed man? We all can smoke some. I’m feeling kinda hyper right now, and that will chill me out. I need some weed to calm down.”

  Kevin gives an angry look to Victor.

  “Will you stop acting silly then?”

  Victor nods his head to him. Kevin with the same look on his face, deep breathes and shakes his head. He then turns his view over to Jesse. Kevin then speaks to Jesse in a bothered tone.

  “Jesse, go over to where my laptop case is, and get that bag of herb please. Thanks.”

  Jesse grabs the bag of marijuana, and hands it to Kevin. Kevin then begins to roll a marijuana joint. Victor then hands Kevin a lighter, and Kevin starts to light the marijuana joint, taking a hit of it. He then hands Victor the joint, and he takes a couple hits from it. Victor hands Jesse the marijuana joint, and he as well takes a couple hits. The men each take a couple more hits from the marijuana joint, before Kevin puts the marijuana joint out.

  “Alright that’s enough, now we need to get back to this. We should all feel mellow now. We have to count this money up before they get back, so come on now.”

  They each start to count all the money, without any further hassle or issue. Meanwhile, Russell and Brian are at the supermarket, buying beer for them all. They head over to the liquor section. As they are deciding what to pick, Brian starts to look around the area of the store they are in. He then walks closer to Russell, leans towards him, speaking very quietly.

  “Hey, I want to say that you did a good job today. I’m amazed at how well we did, and I want to thank you for that. You did such an amazing job. We really did it.”

  Russell while he’s still looking at the liquor and beer selections, starts to smile. While he’s looking at what to purchase, he responds to Brian, also speaking in a hushed tone.

  “We did do well, and I want to thank you too. I don’t want to believe it, but I have to believe it. Now, I want to have fun, and kick back and enjoy the hard work we did.”

  Brian looks at Russell and smiles at him. They eventually decide to get two cases of “Pabst Blue Ribbon”, with Russell carrying one, and Brian carrying the other. They then walk towards the checkout stand to purchase the beer. After that, they head over to the Chinese restaurant to pick up their food order. They get their food, and they both then proceed to head back towards “Home Base”. Kevin, Jesse and Victor, are getting towards the end of the stacks of cash they are counting. They continue to set piles on the table, evenly grouping them by one thousand each. Finally reaching the end of the pile, they can now figure out the complete amount. The men were able to get a total of ninety-two thousand dollars. Dividing the money evenly between them all, each man will get eighteen thousand, and four hundred dollars each. Right at the same time when they completed counting the money, Russell and Brian walk into the unit. Brian walks over to his kitchen area, setting the Chinese food down on the counter. Russell puts the cases of beer also on the kitchen counter area. He then sees that all the stacks of cash are piled evenly on the table. Russell walks over to the sofa area, and starts to speak with Kevin.

  “So, did you guys finish counting everything up? How much is it.”

  Before Kevin can respond, Brian has a puzzled look on his face, and turns to Kevin.

  “Kevin, were you smoking weed? I smell weed? If you were smoking, please be honest, and don’t lie to me. I can smell it, and I know you did, so tell the truth.”

  Kevin begins to laugh, and then responds to Brian.

  “Well okay, I’m going to answer your question first Brian. Yes, we were smoking pot. Only because Victor wouldn’t calm the fuck down, so I had no choice. To answer your question Russ, we counted everything, and it came out to ninety-two grand. So every guy is going to get about eighteen grand each. That’s not bad at all. I was expecting more, but that’s still good.”

  Kevin then puts all the money in five separate piles on the table. Russell feels disappointed at the amount. Along with Kevin, he was also expecting to take out a bigger amount. Jesse feels indifferent about how much they were able to get. Brian who had heard Kevin say the amount they had, also thought their take would be higher than that. Jesse and Victor however seem to accept what they have, and are neutral towards this. Kevin then starts to hand a stack of the money to Victor, and then another stack to Jesse. Kevin then starts to hand Russell a stack of cash. At this moment, Brian walks over to the sofa area very angrily. He snatches the stacks of cash from Victor, Jesse, and Kevin. Brian then snaps back at all of them.

  “Hey wait a minute, is everyone in agreement that we all should take our money now? I’d say we wait until we finish the next heist,
then we add that amount to this one. I don’t know, I mean if you guys want your cash now, you can take it. But I say we wait. What do you guys think?”

  There is a long silence after Brian speaks, and all of the guys stay silent. This is a very interesting conundrum they are in. Either decision they make is logical, and neither is right or wrong. It all depends on what choice the group as a whole is comfortable in doing. If they take their money now, they can use it and spend it however they want. On one side, they feel deserve their money, and the guys did work hard in order to achieve it.

  However, this might cause suspicion, and could possibly cause tension within the group on how they spend their cash. They also however could decide to wait until they finish their last heist a week from now. They can take their money from the first heist, and add it together, and they each will have their money for themselves. This causes no suspicion towards the group, as they aren’t spending the money they received quite yet. The only problem is the guys must wait, and be patient to not feel greedy. The men all stay silent as they contemplate on what choice they wish to make towards this situation. Brian then speaks.

  “Okay guys, we need to take a vote now, and decide what we are gonna do. Everyone who wants to get their money now, raise their hands.”

  Shockingly, none of the guys raise their hands. At this point, it’s best they wait to get their funds, until they are finished with the last heist. If they spend all of the money during this time, it might cause issues within the group, and they could possibly stray away from each other. They all agreed to do one last heist next Friday. It seems more comfortable for all of them to have their money, once they are finished with the next heist. Kevin then responds.

  “Well, Brian your idea makes more sense. We can wait and not be greedy about it.”

  Brian nods his head towards Kevin to agree with him. Brian then takes all the cash and puts it in a large black duffel bag. He sets the duffel bag over by his work station. Russell who was looking down at the ground, then responds to Brian’s idea, bringing up an interesting point.

  “Brian, I agree what we shouldn’t spend any money right now, but the part I don’t get, who’s gonna be in charge of the cash. So you’re just gonna leave the bag right there. How do we know you’re not going to spend it? Who can we trust to not touch any of the money?”

  Brian looks at Russell with a confused face, and at that moment someone begins to knock on the door of the unit. Brian walks over and looks through the peep hole, it’s Max. Brian then begins to unlock the door of the unit, and Max then proceeds in. Max talks to all of the guys.

  “I was watching live at five news a few minutes ago, and I saw that the bank you guys said you were going to hit, was a breaking story. I thought to myself, hey that sounds like my guys. I’m completely stunned that you guys were able to do it. I have to give it to you.”

  Max then starts to clap and smile at all the guys. Russell while looking at Max, then hatches an idea to himself. Moments ago, the men all agreed that they would wait to spend the money they got, until they completed the next bank job. Brian then took all the money, and kept it in a bag over by where he works on his cars. Russell doesn’t fully trust Brian that he won’t open the bag. He then realizes that Max is the perfect person to trust, and he won’t mess with the money. Russell then walks over to the bag grabbing it, and begins to ask Max a favor.

  “Max, can you hold onto this bag for us please?”

  Russell then hands Max the black duffel bag. Max looks at the bag very puzzled. He turns his head towards Brian who stays silent. Max then looks at Russell asking him a question.

  “I’ll hold onto the bag, but you have to tell me what’s in it first. If it’s anything I’m not comfortable holding onto, I don’t want anything to do with it. So tell me what’s in the bag.”

  Russell turns his head towards Brian, and he responds to Max.

  “Well, we counted all the money we got from the bank job. After that, we divvied all of it up. We each were about to take a pile of the cash, before we decided not to spend the money at this point. We’re gonna hit one more bank next Friday, then after we hit that bank, we’ll take that total from both of our heists, and then everyone gets their share of the money.”

  Max puts his hand under his chin, he continues to look at Russell who carries on.

  “So in that bag is our take. The favor I ask of you, is to hold onto that bag. All five of us trust you, and not that we don’t trust each other; we’re just a bunch of young crazy guys. You’re an older, more mature trustworthy man, and we all trust you to hold onto it. I appreciate it.”

  After Russell finishes speaking, Max begins to open the duffel bag. He notices the large amount of cash inside the bag and quickly zips it back up. He raises his eyebrows and speaks.

  “Oh my. That is quite a lot of money. I understand everything completely now. I will hold onto this bag, and you can count on me. I find it very lovely how each of you are working together to resolve issues like this. I am proud of all of you.”

  Brian then smiles at Max and starts to open the beer case.

  “Max, do you want a beer man? Incidentally enough, we’re all celebrating the shit we just pulled today. I got some Chinese food too. Come on Max, stay with us.”

  Max laughs at Brian, and then responds to him in a very rough way.

  “Okay, I’ll hang out for a bit. Only because you guys robbed a bank today. Ha-ha.”

  Russell laughs and smiles at Max. Brian then hands Max a beer, and the rest of the guys a beer as well. All six of them start to celebrate and enjoy themselves. Russell is happy that they are all embracing in joy at this point. He seems happy that all of the guys unanimously decided to not touch any of the money now. Although it would be nice for them to spend some of it, for right now, the best choice for them would be to wait until they complete their final heist next Friday, before getting to the money. Russell knows that Max is a very trustworthy man, and they are thankful they can use him for support. Brian knew his idea was the most sensible to make, and would cause the least amount of issues. Kevin, Jesse and Victor also believe it is better to wait, than for them to have access to all the money now. The men have equal chemistry towards their decision making skills. Working together as a collective and agreeing with each other is a good sign. Brian plays some music, and they all eat, drink, and unwind. They feel glad to celebrate right now. They are outlaws, and feel good to consider themselves as such.

  Several hours later, at 10 P.M., Max dismisses himself from the group.

  “Okay gentleman, it’s been lovely, but I must go now. I appreciate you inviting me to your party, I do. I have to leave, and I want you all to have a good night.”

  The rest of the guys then say goodbye to Max. Brian then walks over to him.

  “Hey Max, I’ll walk with you home man, it’s kinda late. I don’t mind walking you.”

  Max allows Brian to walk with him, and they both leave the unit, with Max carrying the black duffel bag with him. Kevin, Russell, Jesse and Victor are all sitting on the sofa area watching “Kindergarten Cop”. Kevin reaches into his pocket and takes out his bag of marijuana. He then starts to roll a marijuana joint. Russell watches him do this and starts to smile. As soon as Kevin finishes rolling the joint, Russell snatches it away from him, and lights it. Russell takes several hits from the marijuana joint, then passes it to Kevin. The men continue to pass the joint around to each other taking hits from it. Kevin starts to take a hit, but is stopped by Brian, who at this point walks back into the unit. He talks to all the guys very angrily.

  “So Kevin, that’s now the second time you’re smoking reefer up in here, when I’m gone. What the fuck is up with that man? I want some of that too. Hey, let me see that.”

  Brian snatches the joint from Kevin’s hand, and takes several long hits from it. He hands the joint back to Kevin, and Brian goes over to the area where his cars are, and starts to wax them. An hour passes, and some of the guys begin to feel slightly tired. Br
ian continues to detail his cars; however, the rest of the men remain at the sofa. Jesse stretches across the sofa, and puts his head on Russell’s lap, and closes his eyes. Jesse then starts to slowly fall asleep, while using Russell’s lap as a pillow. Russell then takes one of his hands, and starts to rub Jesse’s hair. Victor then who is feeling very tired, gets up from the sofa area, and goes to fall asleep on Brian’s bed. Brian watches Victor do this, and laughs. Brian then goes back to detailing his cars. Kevin starts to roll yet another marijuana joint, lighting it. He takes a hit from it, and then hands Russell the joint, who takes a hit as well. Kevin then starts to talk to Russell.

  “Hey Russ, isn’t it funny how things go full cycle? I mean, take you for example. You were a manager of a bank. You were this epitome of this working man profile. Everything you did was pretty much by the book, and everything had to be prim and proper with you. These two jerks rob your bank, one of the jerks is over there on the other side of room. Then that whole event transformed you Russ. You robbed a fucking bank today Russ. What happened? Ha-ha.”

  Russell while still rubbing Jesse’s hair with one of his hands, uses his other hand to take another hit of the marijuana joint. He then hands the joint to Kevin, and responds.

  “Well Kev, that’s interesting that you brought all that up. Maybe this was my destiny, maybe not. We all have choices, and I could have easily said hell no. If I wanted to right now, I could call the cops on Brian, for being an accessory to the robbery that killed two of my close friends. I’m not going to though. Because, Brian is a good guy. All five of us are good guys. We sadly are all misunderstood, and because we’re misunderstood, we get tired Kev.”