Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

by Brennen Tammons

  “I know you’re still unemployed. Nobody will hire you, because you’re pathetic Russell, and always have been. Peter felt sorry for you, and that’s the only reason you got that manager job at Sunset. I don’t understand why that man gave you a chance. I feel sorry for you.”

  Right after John finished saying that, Russell’s order is ready. He walks to the counter and grabs his food. On his way out, he is stopped by John, who ruffles though Russell’s hair.

  “Where you going Russell? I hope it’s to find a job, I know you don’t have one.”

  Russell stops walking and turns back to where John is. He looks around the restaurant, and notices that everyone else is minding their own business. Russell then sets his food down on a table, and rushes over to John, grasping his collar very tightly. John grabs Russell’s collar as well. Russell and John both grin at each other, not feeling intimidated at all. The other patrons in the restaurant watch the both of them. Both men let go of each other, and Russell grabs his food. He starts to walk out of the building. Not before John issues one final remark towards Russell.

  “Bye Russell. It sucks to be you. Sucks to be you. You still look like Satan by the way.”

  Russell ignores John, and walks out of the restaurant. As he is going towards his car, Russell takes note that John said he is now working at the “First Federal Bank”. Incidentally, this was the bank the men were going to choose on the last heist, based on a coin flip. In which they ended up choosing “First Savings and Trust” instead. Being that John is at that bank, Russell starts to feel sinister at this time.

  He wants to rob one final bank, this being the absolute last time for sure. This will not only satisfy this current feeling of being incomplete, but will rectify whatever feelings he has for losing Kevin in their previous heist. John, who he considers his mortal arch enemy, is manager at that bank. Hitting just one more bank, would be the cherry on top, to make all of his oppression complete. The men who targeted his bank that day, that was also their third heist as well. Third time should be the charm. Russell gets in his car, and drives back to the other men still on break. He starts to wonder how he’s going to relay this information to them, and if they are going to be supportive of it. Russell starts to feel scared that the other men might not agree to go along with it, especially considering the fact Kevin was killed in their last effort. Russell sees it in a unique unconventional way. He wants to use this heist to avenge Kevin, and for them to go out and strike, only one more final time. Russell arrives back at the building, and walks up to the roof area meeting with the other guys. Not mentioning what just happened at the restaurant to the other men. He hands each of them their food, and doesn’t reveal his latest scheme and plan quite yet. The men all eat their food, and talk about several petty things together. When they finish their food, they remain on the roof until the rest of their break is over. They quickly get back to work after their break, and stay focused completing the rest of their tasks. Russell cannot stop thinking about planning another heist. It wasn’t strictly the confrontation he had with John earlier that set him off, but adding that situation with Kevin’s death, makes him more determined to take charge with his thoughts. As Russell continues to clean, he cannot keep his emotions calm any longer, and feels he has to explain this to everyone else. The men wrap up all of their work duties, and all meet up on the first floor. Russell then asks for all of them to meet him on the top floor, like they have a couple times before. Only this time, they are without Kevin. The men reluctantly unsure of what Russell wants, agree to follow him up there. After they walk inside the board room, Russell closes and locks the door behind him. He then opens the curtains in the room, as he customarily did all the times before they were in there; revealing the night city scape of Los Angeles. Russell then turns on the small lamp in the corner of the room, revealing a small source of light. Brian, Jesse and Victor sit around the table, and look at him in confusion, scared of what he has in store. Russell creeps over to the window and looks outside for a few seconds. He looks around at the surrounding buildings. With his vision pointing out the window, Russell lays it down to the men in a direct and swift way.

  “Guys, let’s do one more hit. This will for sure be the last and final time. We have to hit ‘First Federal’. We were going to do it anyways, so might as well right? What do you guys say?”

  Brian, becomes immediately irate; he jumps up from the table, and tackles Russell to the floor. Jesse and Victor try unsuccessfully to break them up, however Brian gives in, and lets Russell go. They both get off from the floor. Russell grins in an evil way to Brian, and Brian shakes his head. Brian unlocks the door to the room, and before walking out, yells to Russell.

  “What do I say? I say you’re a sick man. I’ll see you tomorrow. Victor come on, we’re leaving. Jesse, do you want to come with me, or are you alright?”

  Jesse looks over at Russell who’s grinning at Brian. Jesse then responds to him.

  “No Brian, I’m okay. I’m going to go with Russell. I’ll be fine. Thank you though.”

  Brian nods his head, and he and Victor say goodbye to Jesse, and walk out, with Brian giving one final angry glare at Russell, as he shuts the door. Russell then returns to looking out the window, and starts to whisper under his breath to Jesse.

  “I fucking ran into John today at a restaurant during break. He works at ‘First Federal’ now. I didn’t say anything to him, but he kept bothering me. Me and him fought, it’s okay.”

  Jesse then covers his mouth, and walks over to Russell, responding quietly.

  “Holy shit. No wonder that’s why you want to do another heist. I normally would say no, but at this point, I seem to trust you. If you explain that to Brian, I’m sure he will change his mind and agree to do it. John, ugh. I fucking hate him, I believe he’s racist and homophobic. I told you that right? Victor will do whatever we decide to do. I trust you Russell. I feel you.”

  Russell nods his head at Jesse, and continues to look out the window. A couple minutes later, Russell closes all the curtains in the room, and shuts off the light. He and Jesse walk out the room, and Russell locks the door. Russell makes sure all the rest of the doors in the building are locked, and he and Jesse head to the parking structure, and leave. As he’s driving back home, Russell seems to not be too concerned over Brian’s initial reaction towards doing one more heist. Brian since the beginning, has always been on the fence for going along with committing heists. He feels Brian’s reaction was only natural, considering what they have been through. Russell reaches his residence, and parks his car. He and Jesse walk inside his apartment, and Russell proceeds over to the sofa, and takes a seat. Russell turns on the television, and watches “Shark Tank”. Jesse feeling sleepy, then proceeds towards Russell’s bedroom, lays down on the bed and rests. Russell runs over to the bedroom door, and shuts it, returning to watch the show. Russell continues to look at the television for a couple more hours, watching “The Late Show” as well. Eventually, Russell does pass out on the couch.

  The next morning, the men all wake up and do their regular routine. The men arrive at work, and stick with their tasks, not acting out of the ordinary. With tomorrow being the day of Kevin’s funeral, they will not have to work. Even though the men are working together to get their objectives done, Brian and Russell are refusing to look at each other. Both of them keeping the incident which happened last night in mind. Brian does not want to do another heist, and finds it slightly ridiculous that Russell wants them to. He feels that the men all decided that the heist they did previously, was the final one they would commit. The plans for them to take on yet another bank, Brian felt wasn’t even in the order of business. When break time finally arrives, and the other employees have left the building, Russell takes Brian inside an empty room on the top floor. He closes and locks the door behind them. Russell then whispers to Brian.

  “Hey, about last night, I want to apologize. I’m sorry for the way I went about that. After thinking about it, that wasn’t cool
at all. I totally understand your reaction. But listen to me, we have to take ‘First Federal.’ The guy who is the worst enemy in my life, is manager at that bank. I worked with him at Sunset, he is a horrible man. Please work with me Brian, one last time.”

  Brian looks down towards the ground, and frowns at Russell. He then responds to him.

  “I’m going to hell, and I feel I might possibly regret this, but let’s do it. This is it, after this, no more. Three is enough, and if it weren’t for the fact you have personal beef with this bank, I wouldn’t go along with this at all. You can count me in Russell, I can’t believe this.”

  Brian laughs to himself and shakes his head. He and Russell hug, and they embrace each other for several seconds. They both exit out of the room after that, locking the door. When break is over, all of the men immediately return to work. As the work shift ends, they all meet on the main floor of the building. Russell whispers something into Victor’s ear, and Victor nods his head. All of the men then head up to their meeting spot on the top floor. They all walk in, and sit down around the table, and Russell looks at the rest of the men, smiling. He then speaks.

  “Alright, so everyone is in agreement. Friday. ‘First Federal’. Need I say more?”

  The men all nod their heads at Russell, and support his final plot. Russell and the rest of the guys, remain at the table as Russell explains more information about the bank. He explains that he wants them all to case the bank Thursday morning. Even though they do not have the help of Kevin and his technologic tools, they are going to have to still proceed somehow. They all agree to discuss more about their plans on Thursday. For now, they have a funeral to attend tomorrow, and they need to get prepared for that. The men all exit out of the room, and Russell locks the door as they leave. After locking the building, Brian and Victor drive away. Russell and Jesse then drive away as well. When Russell reaches home, he heads directly to his bedroom closet, and pulls out the suit he wishes to wear to the funeral. Russell also sets aside a suit for Victor to wear as well. Jesse follows him into the bedroom, and watches as Russell goes through the closet. Russell as he’s going through his closet, speaks to Jesse.

  “I’m particular with the way I have all this arranged, it has to be in a proper way. I don’t like my clothes all mismatched. Formal wear and casual wear, and everything else is in order.”

  Jesse nods his head, then closes his eye and lays down on the bed falling asleep. Russell looks over at him and smiles. Russell walks out of the bedroom, and shuts the door. He then goes to the living room, and starts to practice his eulogy for Kevin. Once he’s done, Russell sits down on the sofa, and turns on the television, watching the local nighttime news. Russell must have somehow feel asleep sometime, as he wakes up hours later. Upon rising, he looks at the time on his phone, and sees that it’s now morning time. He now only has a couple hours before the funeral stars. In panic, he runs to the bedroom and pulls out his suit. He looks over at his bed, and notices that Jesse is still sleeping. Russell forcefully wakes Jesse up, and snaps at him.

  “We’re running late, get up. You can go into the shower first. We have to hurry. Brian, Victor, and Max could be here any fucking minute now. Damn, I don’t like being late.”

  Jesse quickly gets up obeying Russell, and walks into the bathroom. As soon as Jesse walks out of the bathroom, Russell quickly proceeds in, and gets himself situated. Jesse starts to dress into his outfit for the funeral. He is wearing a black vest, with a grey shirt and black tie. He has on brown dress pants on, with black shoes. Jesse sits down on the sofa area, and at this time Russell’s phone starts to ring, with him still being in the shower. Jesse picks up the phone, and it is Brian informing Jesse that he, Victor and Max are outside the building, and cannot find a place to park. Jesse struggles to find a solution, and luckily at this time Russell leaves the bathroom with nothing but a towel on. Jesse hands him the phone without explaining anything, and Russell answers. Brian relays the same exact situation to him, and Russell responds by quickly giving Jesse the key card to the parking structure, so Brian can park in the guest spot.

  Jesse runs out of the complex, and runs outside to look for Brian. Russell in the meantime, quickly gets dressed. Outside, Jesse and Brian spot each other, and he hands Brian the key card. Brian swipes the card at the gate of the parking structure, and hands the card back to Jesse, and Brian drives in. Jesse then walks right behind Brian’s car, as he advances to the guest parking spots. As soon as Brian parks his car, Jesse helps grab Max’s wheelchair from the trunk of Brian’s car, and they put Max in his chair. All four of them get inside the elevator, and proceed up towards Russell’s apartment. Russell who is now fully dressed, lets them in. Brian, Victor and Max start to observe Russell’s home. Russell quickly grabs his yarmulke from under the television and puts it on. Max compliments Russell’s apartment.

  “This is a nice pad. I love the way you have everything designed. It’s looks like a ‘Hooters’ or some other sports bar in here. I’m liking the fish aquarium as well. Pretty nice.”

  Russell ignores Max, as he runs into the bedroom, and grabs the suit Victor is going to wear. He hands the suit to Victor, and silently points towards the bathroom so he can change. Victor directs himself there, and gets dressed. Russell, Brian, Victor and Max are all wearing the same exact suit. They are wearing black suit jackets, with black pants, and white shirts with black ties. Russell grabs his Tanakh, and sets it on the coffee table. Brian then talks to Russell.

  “I’m not Jewish, I’m Catholic. I find it interesting how committed you are. That’s good.”

  Russell cannot find his car keys, and searches all over the living room to find them. Brian then grabs his Tanakh, and Russell snatches it from him, staring at him angrily. Russell continues to look for his keys. He responds to both Brian and Max, in a very passive aggressive manner.

  “I didn’t ask for your opinion on that Brian. Thanks Max, I try to keep my place nice.”

  Brian and Max then hint that Russell at this time isn’t in the mood to talk, so they let him be. Victor comes out of the bathroom at this time, and Russell grabs his discarded clothes, putting them in a black bag. He sets the bag on top of his washing machine, located in a small room in the other side of his apartment. Russell finally is able to locate his keys, and puts them in his pocket. He turns off the television, and closes all the curtains in his apartment. Russell then signals for the rest of the men to follow him out.

  All of the men exit out of Russell’s apartment, and put on their sunglasses. They all head to the parking structure. Russell and Brian, help Max out of his wheelchair. Max is situated on the passenger side of Russell’s car. Jesse and Victor help store his chair in the back of the car. Brian, Jesse and Victor all sit in the rear seat area. Russell backs out of the parking structure, and drives to the funeral procession. He looks and observes the weather, noticing that it’s a gloomy cloudy day. Russell find it’s odd that the last funeral he attended, also had similar weather. It doesn’t make the already depressive mood that he is in, any better. Russell doesn’t care for funerals, and finds them uncomfortable and upsetting. He does want to pay respect to his best friend, and attend. During the ride, the men stay quiet and do not talk to each other.

  This is a delicate time, being that it is a funeral. It is not the time for any of them to engage in any trivial discussions or behavior. Russell continues to drive to the funeral, only now being a few blocks away. He starts to feel nervous, as for the first time he’s going to meet Kevin’s family. Russell has already decided that he isn’t going to make a big deal of his presence. He is going to say a eulogy, but he isn’t going to introduce himself to any of the guests. Basically, he originally had no intentions of showing up at the funeral in the first place. Funerals are something he rather not be at, but Kevin was his best friend, so Russell wants to honor and respect him. Russell finally arrives at the funeral service.

  Russell parks his car, and while he cuts the ignition off, he quickly scans the sett
ing for a few seconds. Like with Peter and Jennifer’s funeral, the proceedings are being held outside in a graveyard. There are lovely flower arranges around Kevin’s closed coffin. The coffin is located on a raised platform in the front of the area. Right behind the coffin is a pulpit, which is also decorated with a flower arrangement. There is a considerable amount of people present at the funeral. Russell sees many people whom resemble Kevin, and he deduces that these people are his close relatives. At this time, Russell cannot see anyone he personally recognizes.

  Russell gets out of the car, and Jesse and Victor grab Max’s wheelchair. Russell and Brian help Max into his chair. The men then start to walk to the funeral procession. They all sign the guest book, and start to decide where they want to sit. Russell is pushing Max’s wheelchair, and he decides to sit in the front row, positioning Max right next to him. Brian whispers something to Russell, and Russell nods his head. Brian then forcefully grabs Victor and Jesse by the arms, and he sits them down with him in a back row away from Russell and Max, so they don’t draw attention to each other. From the position from which they are sitting, they cannot see Russell and Max, nor the front row at all. Russell then starts to feel nervous and uncomfortable at the funeral. He wonders if he is going to choke up, as he did at Peter and Jennifer’s funeral, when he gives the eulogy towards Kevin. Russell feels uneasy, as none of Kevin family members know who he is. He’s refusing to make eye contact with anyone at the funeral, and stares only ahead. As Russell is sitting in the front row, he has a good look at Kevin’s casket. It’s black with steel streaks across the surface of it. He also takes note of the lovely flowers set on top as well.

  Russell starts to uncontrollably cry while he’s looking at Kevin’s coffin. Russell pulls out his handkerchief, and starts to wipe his face. Max glances over at Russell and notices him crying. Max then reaches over, and starts to rub the back of Russell’s shoulder. Brian, Jesse and Victor are also starting to feel upset at the funeral. This is a special time to remember and honor Kevin, and it’s upsetting that despite all three of them were close with him, most of the people attending, do not know who they are. The three of them have also met Kevin under strange circumstances, and over circumstances which ultimately killed him. They are holding onto a heavy burden of guilt. Jesse and Victor both begin to cry, and Brian feels upset himself. Russell continues to stare straight ahead, when he notices a young curly haired woman who looks similar to Kevin, sit right next to him. Russell soon realized that this same woman was standing by the entrance of the procession, and saw him and Max come in. Russell is not looking at the woman at all, but she is profiling Russell, trying to figure out who he is. The woman looks away for a couple minutes, but then returns to staring him down. Russell begins to feel nervous, and his biggest fear is this woman wanting to talk to him, and wanting to know who he and Max are. He is certain that she is a family member of his from the resemblance, but that’s where the perceptions end. The woman then taps Russell on the shoulder. Russell feels frozen, and struggles to turn his head. He does, and stares at the woman for several seconds. The woman then starts to speak to him.