Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

by Brennen Tammons

  It is now Friday; the day the men have all set aside to do their last heist. This will be the final curtain call for all the men. Following today, the men will no longer consider themselves outlaws, and will have proven their point enough to be happy and satisfied from what they were able to complete. Each of the men are gathered outside of the “Home Base” unit. It was this same time last week, in which they all prepared for their previous heist. It is now 2 P.M. The same identical time they all branched out the week before.

  The men have done all of this before, yet nothing is guaranteed to go completely as planned in life. Original intentions are likely to be changed, especially when you factor in the nature of the situation. A bank heist brings much pressure, and stress towards all of the men. Mentally as they did before, they all begin to offer minor self-reflection, before they head off and commit another dangerous heist.

  Russell is well aware of the magnitude of this current setting. All of this was originally his idea and plan. Russell from the beginning wanted to pull off a bank heist, as the ultimate rebellion of his original lifestyle. Russell was simply an ordinary man, living by ordinary standards. That is not the case anymore, he is now permanently mentally scarred from events he didn’t ask to happen, or be included in. On the outside, you would never assume a man like Russell would dare risk his profile and reputation to continue with activities such as this. Russell being on the edge of losing hope with following the rules he’s suspected to do, is no longer mentally concerned about any of that. This is his lifestyle now, and this is the one that he’s choosing to live by. The consequences he may face from his choices; are simply those he’s going to have to accept. His newly found vindictive personality, is one that he feels people should understand and relate to. Going into this last heist, Russell wants to move ahead with both sides of what makes him who he is. The side that is the more professional Russell, and the person he used to be. The guy who always followed the rules, and went by the book and codes he was meant to follow and obey towards. Then the other side of Russell, who is more willing to act more dangerously and on unpredictable impulse. Following whatever thoughts or plans he wants to follow, and acting in a way to which the reward is only given by immersing yourself under irregular objectives. Like with the previous heist, Russell sets himself in position to become the bad guy. He doesn’t enjoy breaking the law, but it’s at the point to where doubting yourself doesn’t much any sense at all. Russell realizes that he must adapt himself one final time, to accomplish all the dangers that this heist will bring. He is confident with his participation, and the help of the rest of his men, they will once again leave out of this event successfully. Russell is completely ready to proceed towards their mission, and commands his feelings to a more relaxed state.

  Kevin being a kind hearted man, always tries to see the positives in every person. Coming into this heist, not being directly related to the “Sunset Credit Union” incident at all. He latches himself onto others, which he feels he can relate a higher regard to. This however can make Kevin an easy target, as he is quick to not judge others. He sees the world in a different light and tone, willing to give people the benefit of the doubt even if they truly don’t deserve to.

  Kevin also has a hyperactivity issue. If he’s determined to go along with a particular subject or plan, it’s going to be difficult to convince him to move away from it. Kevin being skilled in computer hacking, makes him believe that he’s invincible to any category related to that. Kevin believes that using both man power, and artificial technology power can lead to a winning combination.

  Feeling out of place and mismatched compared to other men, he immerses himself with computers to make up for all of his errors that he faces in the typical world. His friendship and connection with Russell, is something that is a key point towards all of these ordeals. He thrives on knowing that he’s making others happy, also finding a place and position to belong to. Going into this final heist, he will give his total best. Kevin realizes that he is being an important member of the team, along with the other guys.

  Jesse approaches all of these events in shock. Wanting to feel included and accepted, he goes along with choices and plans he shouldn’t be agreeing with. His submissive attitude, allows him to deal with any pain or issues he encounters. Jesse has never had a supportive system growing up, he uses his experiences with the rest of the guys as his second family. He wants to use this current time, to think of it as a method to vent all of his turmoil’s over. He doesn’t know why things happen the way they do. Jesse is not proud to be attaching himself towards criminality, but he is acceptance towards it. The feeling of wanting to be included, even if this inclusion is surrounded by negativity.

  Jesse simply wants to find his own meaning in the world, and he does not find it easy to deal with being secluded. Jesse feels like he was born to be someone, that he doesn’t wish to be. Being underprivileged for most of his life, and being rejected for no reason in situations. Jesse finds it very unfair. Finally, being around a group of men he feels glad towards. Having a strong support group with the rest of the guys, allows Jesse to forget about all of that. That’s all he wanted in his life, to be accepted and loved despite his social status and personality. Jesse is safe and secure around them, and advances through this final heist eager to perform well.

  Brian has the most criminal experience out of all the guys. He isn’t a violent man at all, but he has much experience towards living his life against the law. Including himself with many groups, some of which aren’t positive environments to be dealing with. Brian at first didn’t want to join the group, and was on the path to leaving these types of behaviors and actions behind him. Understanding that he’s not dealing with a typical group of outlaws, and all of the men himself included, don’t quite fit into the regular mold as to what a criminal consists of. He makes a large exception to his traditional values. Trusting the other four guys, he is aware that each of them has a lot to prove to themselves. Their mental struggles each of them deal with, causes them to fight back. Even though he has great knowledge towards his kingpin like lifestyle, and working around situations such as that. Robbing banks, isn’t the only thing he likes. Brian enjoys his hobby of cars, and that’s his main ambition. Getting sidetracked and including himself with the dangers of unrelated agendas and tasks, makes him more agitated towards his own personality. Brian walks into this last heist, optimistic of his future endeavors. For this one last time, he will offer his help. He is strong minded, and his attitude is powerful. Brian has to spring into action, in this pivotal moment.

  Victor uses his eccentric personality to his advantage usually. As much as he hates the seclusion he deals with from other individuals, part of him is glad that his personality causes fear and ambiguity towards outsiders. Being a man of mystery when it comes to outwitting yourself to social standards, is a positive trait that Victor at times is thankful and glad about. Victor is being rewarded with his unique personality in this case. The rest of the guys put up with the way he deals with his life. He is a man that generally means no harm. Exterior wise, Victor does give off a beastly threatening profile. However, this is not truly the case always. Victor is very much a misunderstood man that like the other four, views life from an entirely different lens and scope. His mind is more directed and geared towards opportunity.

  The rejection he faces, gives him the opportunity to reject himself from others as well. Why should he mold himself into this ideal person, if others won’t respect him? Doing these heists give many perspectives towards Victor’s opinions. The dye pack exploding in his arm, in which you can still see the paint stain, makes him think about this entire venture. Proceeding towards this final heist, Victor takes in all the experiences he’s learned. The time he’s spent around the other men. Victor decides to keep being himself through it all.

  With it now being the day of the heist, it all comes down to this. The weather is perfect, and warm. The skies are a typical shade of blue. Regularly, this would be a
typical afternoon. The men are approaching their final heist together. With tensions becoming high, they continue to psych themselves up for all that is going to occur. They have no idea what is to come. Despite the fact they carefully planned and mapped their whole situation out clearly, the unpredictable still has a way of revealing itself. Russell’s main concern was whether or not to use the special industrial power drills, to gain access to the vault.

  Another concern Russell was having, was allowing Kevin to use the detonation devices and software. For the past two days, Kevin has been doing practice runs with the detonators outside the unit at “Home Base”. Even though Kevin has gained much practice with how the detonators are setup, he still is not completely sure on how they are implemented. Russell must believe in all the strengths his men can exhibit. He knows they all have the potential to persevere towards anything. The men are also slightly afraid of being captured by the authorities. This was something in their first heist they also felt much worry and concern over. Keeping in mind their careful planning beforehand, they do feel the chances of them being captured and caught aren’t that high.

  Making the right decisions under pressure, and working together will cease any of these thoughts. Not wanting to feel over confidence to the stress, the men were able to finish the heist a week ago successfully. It doesn’t make them completely calm with their nerves, however they do feel slightly sure of themselves. As this is their final heist, the men will take whatever situations thrown at them, and push their limits to full capacity. The rewards they gain from this heist, will be enough for all of the men to perform with great accuracy as a team. Making any type of mistakes isn’t acceptable at this point, they need to achieve victory. Using every advantage and tactics to give a perfect performance.

  Upon completing this heist, the men will rejoice in happiness. Their agenda was fulfilled, by rebelling against their feelings. Having the wit to pull of their last heist. Each man knows his own position towards their main goal. This is probably the main motivation they all have in their minds. The feel of finishing this heist together. Putting all the energy they have from being mistreated by the world, and using that as fuel to push through all the boundaries and obstacles. With only a short time until the heist commences, anxiety is starting to boil within all of the men. It is time for them to get into action, and to position themselves for this heist.

  The thrill on all of their minds is only natural and suspected. In order to do something like this, your mind must be adapted to handle the stress of it all. Switching your attitude into that particular moment is key. As with their last heist, they cannot succumb or give into the pressure they are feeling. If they give into the pressure, they can make careless mistakes, and disaster might approach. With the men being confident upon each other, and figuring out how to proceed with the heist as a team, they need not worry about such things. The confidence that each man holds within, is all that should matter.

  The men are now standing in the unit at “Home Base”, and looking at all of their tools and accessories they will use for the robbery. Brian takes all of the guns, checking to see if they are properly loaded and locked. He then sets all the guns down on a counter located inside the unit. Using the guns strictly as an intimidation factor. Identical as they did in the last heist, the men begin to get into their disguises. They are wearing the same exact setup they wore previously, which consist of all black combat gear. This includes them each wearing the same heavy black windbreakers. Victor however is wearing a different one, as his past windbreaker is stained from when he was hit with the dye pack. Other aspects of their disguise, include black cargo snow pants, and thick black ski caps. With the ski cap, the men wear dark sunglasses to cover their eyes, and black bandanas to cover their mouth region. This forms a mask, making their facial identity hard to detect. All of the men are wearing thick gloves on their hands as well, they are all also wearing black snow boots in addition to that. The men are now all suited with their disguises on.

  For this heist, the men are going to be using three separate vehicles. All of the vehicles contain dark tinted windows, so the identities of the people inside cannot be seen. Two of the vehicle’s, Brian was successfully able to steal from a crooked car dealer. Brian also modified these cars during the past week, so they can be fast enough to be evade the authorities easily, offering an excellent plan of escape. Russell and Jesse will be riding in the Ford Expedition. Brian and Victor will be riding in the Chevy Tahoe. Kevin will be using the black van from the first heist. Russell for this heist is planning to use the industrial drill to gain access to the vault. He will take the biggest drill located in the unit, to which he feels is the most powerful. Russell puts that drill in a large duffel bag. Russell will use another large duffel bag to put inside whatever money he gains from the vault. Brian will take two large duffel bags, and take whatever he can from the tellers, and the cash carts behind them. Victor and Jesse will be positioned out on the lobby floors as backup.

  Kevin will drive to the diversion location to set the detonators. After setting the detonators, he will then drive to the outside end of the bank disabling the security alarms. He will stay outside the entrance of the bank on the surface streets, as a lookout. Speaking to the rest of the men through their headsets. He will wait until the guys leave the bank, heading towards their own separate getaway vehicles in the parking structure located directly behind the bank. Kevin will then leave after the rest of the men exit out of the bank.

  The men are all in the unit, looking over all of their tools and supplies. In only a few short minutes, they all will leave to the bank. Brian then gives the keys of the vehicles to Russell and Kevin. Following this, the men grab all of their essentials. Russell and Jesse begin to set their guns in the back area of their getaway vehicle. Russell sets the bag containing the drill inside the back, and also sets the empty duffel bag right next to it. Brian and Victor set their guns in the back of their vehicle as well. Brian then puts both of his large empty duffel bags in the back of the vehicle along with that. Kevin gathers all of the detonation devices, and gets his laptop case. He sets them in the black van.

  The men are virtually about ready to proceed towards the bank. At this moment, as they did in the previous heist, the men huddle together for nearly a minute. They wrap their arms in a circle, and hug each other, showing love and affection among each other. With this particular heist, the men are going to be separated from each other during the majority of it. It is a scary thought knowing all of them are going to be in separate cars. However, this is a more accurate way of executing the heist. It should allow for a smooth escape, once they have finished the heist. While the men feel anxious due to the pressure of splitting up, they understand it’s the nature of the heist. They each care about one another, and try to be brave and strong, so they can finish the job well. Once the men finish their embrace, they immediately begin to prepare to depart from the unit.

  Kevin then gives each of the guys a headset earpiece. The earpieces only allow for Kevin to speak to them, they cannot respond. Russell then stands in front of all the men, and runs the entire plan through.

  “Listen guys. This is how we are going to approach this. We are all gonna head out and head back in separate cars. That’s how we’re gonna do it. Kev is going to take the van, and plant the diversion a few blocks away from the bank. The rest of us are going to head straight to parking lot behind the bank. Once we are there, we will wait for Kev to tell us he’s disabled the alarms. Kev will stay across the street as our lookout, as we run from the parking lot, to the bank. Once we get inside the bank and walk through the doors, Kevin who’s watching us, then will set off the diversion. Do you understand me so far?”

  All of the guys nod their head in agreement with Russell, and Russell continues.

  “Once in the bank, Brian I want you to take care of the tellers and the cash carts. I will start to drill in the vault. Jesse and Victor, I want you guys to remain in the lobby. Do you understand Victor? Rema
in in the lobby, I don’t want you doing anything else man. Then once we are all done, we head out. Kevin will see us run away, then he will drive back here along with us. If we all work together and work quick and fast, we’ll be out of there very fast. Now let’s do this, I have faith in all of you men. Let’s get this done.”

  The men nod their heads to agree with Russell. Brian heads over to the garage gate, and proceeds to unlock and open it. Once he is able to get the door open, on the other side, he notices Max. Max walks into the unit and starts to speak to all of the men.

  “What timing, I caught all of you right in the knick of time I see. I said to myself, if I came over here and they were already gone, then oh well. Luckily, you guys are still here. It was meant to be I suppose. Anyways, I want you guys as always to be careful. I am hoping the best for each of you. Please stay safe you guys. I care about all of you.”

  Brian opens the garage gate, and walks over to Max to speak to him.

  “Yeah, we were just about to get going. You caught us in the right time indeed man, how funny. Everything is all set, and we’re ready to go. As you’re here, I do want to say how grateful I am to have you assisting us like this. Max, thank you for all your help. Thank you for being here, and just you supporting us man. We’re going to do alright, and do better than we did last time. We all know what we have to do, and we all planned it well. It’s now executing it fast and well. That’s not a problem at all. We got this, piece of fucking cake.”

  Russell walks over and talks to Max.

  “I also want to sort of ditto what Brian got through saying. I am glad that you’ve decided to give us a chance and trust us. We wouldn’t be able to accomplish any of this without your help. I’m thankful, and the rest of the guys are thankful as well. Thank you.”