Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

by Brennen Tammons

  Russell noticed during his time working in the banking industry, that most banks used obsolete security cameras. This was something that always puzzled him, but there wasn’t much that he could do to remedy this particular problem. Internal security affair departments of the bank are the ones that are in charge of this issue. Brian continues to wait in line behind the tellers. Kevin continues to go through the detonation software, researching it very carefully. He then starts to talk to Russell.

  “Russ, I’m going to be honest, I’m not that familiar at all with this stuff, but that’s quitters talk. I’m going to figure this out Russ, and this is going to help us a lot. There’s a courtyard about a quarter mile from here, it would be the perfect spot to put the diversion at. I’ll drive over there right before the heist, and place the detonators very carefully. Before you guys head into the bank, I’ll set them off, and It will cause a loud bang, and everyone is going to be all worried, and distracted about that. This is going to be so good Russ.”

  Russell puts his hand under his neck and continues to watch the camera feed. By this point, Brian has finally reached the teller area. As suspected, Russell is glad the teller area is not secure in the slightest. It will grant them easy access to do the job efficiently and quickly. Russell also takes a closer look at the vault area. By using the industrial drills, they could possibly break through the vault barrier if they wanted to. Kevin continues to mess with the detonation software. He then talks to Russell.

  “Russ, I’m also thinking of using the spare detonators to troll the people of the bank. You guys can drop them off at the entrance before you walk in. As you guys are coming out, I can set them off, causing a loud explosion. What do you think Russ, sounds good?”

  Russell turns to look at Kevin with a disappointed face. He then responds to him.

  “No Kev, don’t do that. That’s not our style. I’m all for you using the detonators as a distraction, as long as nobody gets hurt by that, but by doing extra unnecessary stuff, I don’t think so Kev. I’m going to ask you not to do it Kev. Alright?”

  Kevin with his vision still directed at his laptop, laughs and shakes his head at Russell.

  “I was just fooling around Russ. You know I would never do something like that man. I was only joking Russ. But say if I did do it, that would be awesome and crazy right? Ugh, anyways Russ, I’ll practice more on this later back at “Home Base” man. That whole area outside the unit will give me more than enough space to practice the detonators.”

  Kevin then shuts down the detonation software, and he then focuses his attention on Brian’s camera feed. Russell looks down towards the ground and shakes his head. He then returns to watching the camera feed on the computer. Brian then starts to head back to Russell’s car. Russell is comfortable heading towards Friday. Even though this is a much larger bank than the one they took on previously, it is still poorly operated and not secure. When it comes to a bank heist, performing one at this bank shouldn’t be difficult at all. The problem Russell now must think about, is whether or not he wants to try to open the vault. Something he wasn’t originally thinking about, which now lingers on his mind. If he does decide to go through with that, his whole plan might have to be slightly changed. Going for the vault means a bigger reward they will receive. He also wants Kevin to be well prepared when using the detonators. It is very important that Kevin has his safety in mind. Working with explosives, no matter how experienced or informed the person dealing with them is, still has a risk factor. Russell can only think positive towards Friday. He trusts all the rest of the men, and that seems to be enough.

  Brian reaches the passenger side door, and takes off the camera glasses handing them to Kevin. Kevin puts the glasses, and his computer inside the laptop case. Brian then returns to his car, and all of the men head towards work. They are now finished with this task, and they have gathered enough information that they need. The men feel ready to take on this bank. Kevin will now use the time they have until Friday, to educate himself more on how the detonators work. For now, they do have to return to work. Russell and Victor arrive at the building, and they go inside. Without hesitation, they get their cleaning supplies and start working. As they do with any other day, keeping the fact they cased a bank earlier out of their minds. They strictly keep their minds towards their work.

  When break time approaches, the men head up to the roof and smoke a cigarette. The sky is still overcast as it was the day before. Russell seems to be indifferent towards this cloudy overcast weather. When standing up high on the roof, the sky gives off an interesting feel. The men take their break time to relax, as they have been working hard the entire day.

  They keep silent towards each other, not saying a single word. Not at all mentioning anything about the heist on Friday. They know that this is not the time and place to do so. Russell looks over at Kevin who’s looking down the ledge of the roof as he usually does. He walks over to join him and looks down at all the cars and people below. He rubs Kevin’s shoulder, and he then sits down at a benched area next to Jesse and Brian, who are also smoking their cigarettes. Victor sits on the side of the bench reading the newspaper. The men finish their break, and head back inside the building. Come evening time, it is significantly harder for them to do their tasks.

  There are more tasks which need to be completed, and more office rooms that need to be covered, as employees have now gone home. The men struggle through the remaining hours they have left to work. All of them using all of their energy and strength to muscle through their objectives. Doing trash runs is also exhausting. Having to take their trash carts in the elevator, and go down to the parking lot dumpster every time their trash cart becomes full. It’s a repetitious task, but it has to be done. Brian starts to deep mop the first floor. A task which arguably is the most tiresome to do.

  Russell as he’s cleaning, cannot stop thinking about the heist, and how well each of them are working together with this crusade. He finds it fascinating, that they all can be attentive towards planning criminal activity, yet be obedient enough to stay committed towards the work they have to do. Russell would never imagine he would be cleaning buildings. He would never imagine that he would ever rob a bank, but his life has been though many different changes lately.

  The men finally finish all of their tasks, and start to put all the cleaning supplies away. Russell and Brian then start to lock the entire building up, shutting off all the lights as well. The men then exit out of the building, and head towards the parking structure. Russell, Kevin and Jesse say goodbye to Brian and Victor, and they all leave out of the parking structure, and head on about their way; with Brian and Victor going towards “Home Base”. As Russell is driving down the road, Kevin pulls out his phone, and begins to speak with Russell.

  “Hey Russ, I’m hungry. Can you stop at ‘Del Taco’? I’ll pay for whatever you and Jesse want. I haven’t had anything to eat all day Russ.”

  Russell looks over at Kevin and and smiles. He then responds to him.

  “Yeah Kev. I can take you wherever you want to go man.”

  As Russell is driving down the road, Kevin opens his laptop bag and takes out a bag of marijuana. Even though Russell is driving and has his mind on the road, he knows exactly what Kevin is doing. Russell starts to grin to himself due to that. Kevin quickly starts to roll a marijuana joint. After Kevin is done rolling the joint, he grabs a lighter from his laptop bag. Kevin puts the joint in his mouth, and turns to Russell who is still driving. Kevin then asks Russell a question.

  “Russ, you don’t mind if we smoke this in here do you?”

  Under regular circumstances, Russell would not allow for this. However, Russell as of late is bending every single rule and agenda he used to follow. Russell replies to Kevin.

  “Kev, I don’t give a fuck man. You can do whatever you want.”

  Kevin laughs at Russell, and lights the joint. He takes a hits from it, before reaching behind him and passing the joint to Jesse. Jesse takes a hit from the joint,
and passes it back to Kevin. Kevin then takes another hit of the joint, and passes it to Russell, who takes a hit of the joint while he’s driving. The men continue to smoke the rest of the marijuana joint. Kevin puts the tip of the joint back in his marijuana bag, and puts the bag into his laptop case. Russell then playfully punches Kevin on the chin, before playfully arguing at him.

  “Kev, you got my car smelling like weed man. What the hell?”

  Russell Kevin, and Jesse all laugh at each other, and Russell continues down the road. He eventually reaches “Del Taco”. Kevin orders a California Burrito, a side order of fries, four tacos and a Coke. Russell orders a Supreme Burrito, a bean and cheese burrito, and a Sprite soda. Jesse orders a chicken quesadilla, two fish tacos, and a Root Beer. After getting their food, Russell gets on the highway, heading towards Santa Monica. Not alerting the rest of the guys of his destination. Kevin and Jesse are at first puzzled at where Russell is going, but then they immediately accept the suspense and surprise. Kevin turns up the volume on the stereo, being pleasured by the music. Russell soon gets off the highway, and heads towards the beach and pier area. He parks the car, in the parking lot facing the ocean. Getting a clear view of the “Pacific Wheel” Ferris Wheel, at the Santa Monica pier. As it has been cloudy all day, the night gives off a lovely bright orange color in the sky. This causes the night sky to have a unique glow and hue to it. Giving a very warm and interesting display. The smell of the ocean is also lovely, and the sound of the waves and tide coming though are peaceful to hear. All three of men gaze at the beauty of this scene. The men then eat their food, while looking at the view. Kevin while taking bites of his food, starts to talk to Russell.

  “Russ, thanks man. I haven’t been to the beach in ages. I can’t believe I live in LA, and I never come to the fucking beach. I don’t understand that at all.”

  Russell eats some of his food, and responds to Kevin.

  “I figured you would like this Kev. It’s been quite a while since I’ve been here too. I come here from time to time. During nights like this, it’s nice to sit and watch everything.”

  Kevin continues to eat his food, and nods his head at Russell. He then continues.

  “Yeah Russ, this is really something. That Ferris Wheel is cool too. I like the lights. The patterns, and how it changes like that. I can probably figure out all the mechanics they use to make it go like that. I like how the LED lights go with the night sky and the ocean.”

  Jesse who’s sitting in the back, then talks to the rest of the guys.

  “This is one of the few things I like about California. The beaches, and this whole aesthetic and vibe. It’s only a handful of places you can get a scene like this. Los Angeles is one of them. This is remarkable, and I’m happy to be able to see something like this.”

  Kevin then quickly responds to Jesse, as he’s eating his food.

  “I have to agree with you man, interesting observation Jesse. California does have hidden gems such as this, you have to admit that.”

  Russell nods his head at Kevin, and eats more of his food. He looks over at Kevin looking out the windshield towards the ocean. Russell smiles to himself, and continues to eat. Kevin then takes more bites, and continues to talk to Russell.

  “Russ, do you know how to surf man?”

  Russell while looking out towards the ocean, responds to Kevin.

  “Uh, no Kev. I don’t surf. I play football and hockey. I’m Russian, not Hawaiian Kev. I don’t surf. But I appreciate you asking me if I did. Ha-ha. Do you surf Kev?”

  Kevin laughs to himself, and while he’s taking bites of his food, responds to Russell.

  “Oh no Russ. I’m way to stumpy and short to surf. I mean it seems fun, but I don’t know. I wouldn’t be able to keep my balance like that. Usually surfers look like Matthew McConaughey, and not like me Russ. So no, I don’t surf.”

  Russell laughs, and shakes his head at Kevin. Kevin then speaks to Russell softly.

  “Thank you again Russ. I know you get tired of me saying thank you, but oh well.”

  Russell while looking ahead towards the ocean, smiles to himself. The men start to finish eating their food. Russell grabs all of their trash, and throws it away in a nearby trash can. He then gets back into the car, starts the ignition and drives towards Kevin’s residence. During this ride back, all of the men in the car remain quiet. Russell when he approaches Kevin’s building, pulls up to the curb and cuts the ignition off. Kevin then begins to grab his laptop bag, and opens the passenger door. Kevin without saying a word, then starts to walk towards his building. Jesse then gets out of the car, and starts to hug Kevin very tightly. Kevin who wasn’t expecting that laughs, and starts to speak to Jesse, while he’s still hugging him.

  “Ha-ha, Jess. I love you too. You’ll see me tomorrow man. Okay?”

  Kevin kisses Jesse on the cheek. Jesse then responds to him.

  “Good night Kevin. See you later man.”

  Russell who was watching all of this, gets out of his car and hugs Kevin. Once they finish hugging, Kevin then takes his laptop case, smacking Russell in his rear with the case, and laughs. Russell then immediately takes Kevin’s glasses off, teasing him. Waving them up in the air for Kevin to grab them. Russell slaps Kevin on his rear, laughing as well.

  “Good night Kev.”

  Russell hands Kevin back his glasses, and Russell gives Kevin a kiss on his forehead. Kevin then takes his hand and smacks Russell on his rear, and laughs. Kevin then responds to him.

  “I love you Russ. See you in the morning man.”

  Russell and Kevin, hug one final time. Russell, Kevin and Jesse all wave goodbye to each other, as Kevin walks into his building. Russell and Jesse then get back into the car, and Russell drives home.

  Chapter 16

  NOTHING GOOD, NOTHING BAD

  During the days leading up until the heist, the men feel safe and confident. They have already accomplished success with their first heist, so this shouldn’t be any different. Nothing should come strange, or out of the ordinary for them to manage or deal with. The men have already scoped out the bank they are going to target, likewise as they did with their first bank they hit. For this heist is their last, every one of the men want to leave out of it feeling victorious. Confidence is very beneficial at this point, as if they don’t believe in their actions, they won’t be able to gain anything positive from their adventures. From the time they have spent around each other’s company, the men developed a close bond. In order to pull off a bank heist, you need to have a core team that works well under pressure. With their first heist, they did have some slight mistakes. They hesitated going into the bank originally, and one of their men was attacked with a dye pack. Besides that, they had a flawless performance. Due to that event, the men now feel they have received enough experience to carry on with the next heist.

  The men agreed to do only one more heist, to stick it to all the oppression they face in their everyday lives. Using this agenda, they picked a much larger bank than the one they previously used. Being this will be the last time they will be doing this criminal act, they want to finish it with style. Once this heist is completed, the men will continue on their lives, going about their separate lifestyles. However, keeping their friendship together still. These men don’t consider themselves career criminals or violent people. From all the harsh situations they have been approached with, they are simply misunderstood creatures; feeling unwanted in general society. There is only so much that a man can take mentally, before he starts to feel completely outcast from others.

  These five men under immense pressure and high energy, act in the way they wish to. Acting in a way they were conditioned to, and in a manner that they feel is the only option for them. Taking on this unusual method of behaving and plotting, believing nothing really is to lose or is at stake. Honestly, the men need to realize how in over their heads they actually are. They are taking on a violent rush of activities, and this is sadly brushed away by each of their mental instabili
ties. Illogical thinking is running rampant in all of their minds.

  Living in the moment, and not seeing the full spectrum of the issues and consequences they might be approached with. A major mistake these men are making, is possibly acting fast and swift; and not acting slow but accurate. Not wasting time is an important mindset to have, but when it comes to crucial situations such as committing bank heists, there is not any room at all for error or mistakes if they can be avoided and blocked.

  With the days looming towards the heist, the men continue their cover job without any hassle. They don’t want to doubt themselves by feeling anxious. They have already gotten away with one heist, and now going towards their second and last heist. As they are working, a policy they secretly seem to keep to each other, is that none of the men talk or brag about the heist. It is important for them to feel confident at this stage, however they don’t want to over embellish themselves with any unwanted emotions and expressions. The men are travelling across highly classified and personal and criminal waters. They cannot risk being too careless with the way they present themselves towards the rest of the world. Anything they can do to conform their agendas publicly away from others, is necessary. The cleaning job allows for all of the men to come together, and hide their true selves from ordinary people. Despite the fact they gather around during the week and clean buildings together in peace, it doesn’t cover the fact these men are criminals. They have dangerous agendas running all across their minds. Keeping in mind, any mental difficulties each man is trying to battle in his own right and conscious.