Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

by Brennen Tammons

  Victor takes a hit of the marijuana joint, and passes it to Jesse. He waits a couple of minutes to come up with his response, and he then in a soft manner, answers Brian’s question.

  “Well, I don’t want to you guys to laugh. I was thinking about what Russell told me a few days ago about my art. I was thinking of maybe moving to Japan. I can start my own outsourced animation company. Doing anime and manga, it’s a competitive business, but I know I can do it. Fuck, that would be my dream. Looking at Mount Fuji too for inspiration. Aww, yeah.”

  Jesse takes hits of the marijuana joint, and thinks about his response as well. Jesse doesn’t have a complete and precise answer at this point, but he does answer Brian’s question.

  “Hmm, well I don’t know. I’m not really a materialistic person, and I don’t have any dreams or aspirations right now. Money is nice yes, you can accomplish a lot with it, don’t get me wrong. But, I don’t know what God has in store for me. I do think that Brian your plan is lovely, and yours is too Victor. I have to be honest, and say I don’t know guys. Sorry.”

  Russell takes a couple hits from the joint, and passes it to Brian. Russell then rubs the back of his head, while he’s looking down towards the ground. The rest of the men look at him in suspense, expecting his answer like they all gave, and then Russell gives his response to the question Brian asked.

  “This is something we haven’t really talked about huh? I never did this for the money, this was all based on me going against the world. The money was an added bonus I guess. I do have to agree with Jesse, and say I can’t say I want to do ‘X’ or I want to to ‘Y’ or ‘Z’. I want to see what happens, and be optimistic on the future. I’ll take it from there, and that’s my answer.”

  All of the guys nod their head at Russell, and they continue to smoke together. Once they have finished all the joints, Russell takes the bag of marijuana, and tells Brian to keep it in a secure place. This bag, strangely is the only thing Russell has left to remember Kevin by. Brian walks over to his work station, and hides the bag in one of his storage compartments. The men then start to eat their food. Brian turns on the television, and the show “24”, is playing on the screen. Brian then sits down in his chair facing the other men on the sofa. Russell finds it interesting how fitting the television program is, considering in only a short amount of hours, they are going to take on yet another daring escapade.

  As they are eating their food, Russell starts to feel scared for the first time today. He wonders if this will be the last time they will all eat together. The confidence going into tomorrow’s heist is quite high, but these doubts still creep themselves, and find a way to intermittently enter into Russell’s thoughts. It is normal for Russell to feel scared about proceeding, as tomorrow is the big day. It is where everything will all come to an end. The events which have changed his life permanently and completely, will all suspend themselves, when they take on the heist. The men all finish their food, and Jesse and Victor begin to feel tired. Victor walks over to Brian’s bed, and quickly makes himself comfortable and rests. Jesse lays down across the sofa, and rests his head down on Russell’s lap. Russell is uncomfortable by Jesse laying on him like that, but he ignores it; softly stroking Jesse’s hair. Russell originally wanted to push Jesse off him, but considering the current situation, he leaves Jesse alone. Russell shakes his head, and grabs his beer from the table. Brian is not watching the television, but he is instead staring at the floor, thinking to himself. Russell takes a swallow of his beer, as he’s watching the television screen. Victor and Jesse at this point, have fallen asleep. Brian and Russell are not tired at all, and begin to converse with each other. They end up staying up for several hours, late into the night. Brian then whispers out to Russell.

  “Hey Russell, I’m starting to feel nervous man. I just have a strange feeling. I know I’m acting all paranoid, but I just have a feeling. You know, that feeling you have when you know that you forgot something on your way out of the house? Sometimes it’s a phantom feeling, and you didn’t forget anything at all. Other times, sadly the feeling is true. You know what I mean?”

  Russell takes another swallow of his beer, and nods his head. He responds to Brian.

  “I do. I have that feeling too. There’s nothing I can do though; we have to do this. It’s the last time, so we have to stick it through man. I know we can easily forget about this, and take what money we have, but the fact we hit three banks, think of the feeling that would bring. I have to do this not only for Kevin, but I have to do this so everything is clear and complete.”

  Brian nods his head, and looks over at his workstation. He realizes that it is a mess. Without making too much noise, Brian cuts off all the lights, and starts to put away some of the loose tools that were scattered around. Russell keeps his view towards the television screen. He finishes his beer, and sets the empty bottle down. Brian saw Russell complete his beer, and grabs two more additional beers from the refrigerator; giving one to Russell. Brian then takes a seat down on his chair. They both think their beers, while they watch the television. When a commercial break comes, Brian looks down and he shakes his head, and carries on with his conversation he was having with Russell.

  “Russell, I can’t sleep. Not because Victor is passed out in my bed, and sometimes I do sleep with him, but, I don’t want to bother him. I’ll let him sleep in peace. But I’m not tired man. I guess you can say that I’m a fucking insomniac man. Too anxious to sleep, that’s probably what it is. It’s okay though, because I can work without sleep. I go without sleep all the time.”

  Russell takes another swallow of his beer, and points to Jesse sitting on his lap.

  “This one keeps me up all night all the time. He sleeps on my bed, and I normally just stay up on the couch all night watching sports and shit. We’re probably going to stay up all night Brian, I just know. It’s going to be morning in a few hours.”

  Brian nods his head, and sits back in his chair. Brian takes another swig of his beer, and sets the bottle down on the table. Brian then talks to Russell once again.

  “Well Russ whatever happens tomorrow, we’re all winners right?”

  Russell finishes his second beer, and sets the bottle on the table. Russell turns away from the television and looks down towards the ground, and responds to Brian.

  “All of us are winners, and all we do is win. If you’re not first, you’re last right?”

  Brian nods his head, and sits back in his chair. He closes his eyes, and listens to Russell. Russell then continues.

  “The only thing you can do is win. Losing is not an option, we have to win.”

  Brian nods again. Russell then tilts his head back on the couch, and rests his eyes.

  Chapter 21

  NOTHING OPEN, NOTHING CLOSED

  It is now time for all of the action to commence. Everything which has been brewed and piled up over the past few weeks, must now all come together. This will be the final battle that the men will have to approach. They are all about to take on the last ever heist they will commit. Originally, the men had no intentions at all of doing a third heist. The oppression got to each and every one of them, and they were able to sway their minds to go ahead with doing it. From the success they were able to achieve from the first heist, allowed them to carry on towards the second. In the second heist, they approached this particular one, planning it to be their last heist. Wanting to gloat and celebrate after completing it. This was not the case at all, and things went differently than they suspected. Despite the fact they did manage to perform the heist well, they however were struck with an extreme tragedy. Kevin ended up being a victim in that heist; it difficult for all of the men to accept. It made them all turn against the core of the group, and they went into a big deal of defeat, depression and mental anguish. Once they were able to accept and grieve over Kevin in the proper way, Russell then decided to plan one final heist. This heist partly being on behalf of Kevin, as he is no longer with them. Russell also feels the men have unfinis
hed business. By doing this third heist, they will be complete, as far as their careers as outlaws are concerned. Upon finishing this heist, the men all hope to stay together as a group, and carry on with whatever choices and plans they have for their lives.

  With it now being Friday, the heist will take place shortly. Emotions are running high, as they always customarily do between all of the men, right before a heist starts. They men are fairly sure that they will breeze through this heist, and give it their all. As the men are already aware of, there is a possibility of danger. Things could possibly turn for the worst with this heist, and results might not be pleasant. One thing to consider, is that the bank they are going to hit which is the “First Federal Bank of Los Angeles”, is currently being watched by the police now. Investigators strongly believe the men are going to attack this bank today. The authorities have taken extra methods and tactics, to make sure they thwart the robbery. A police officer in an unmarked car is parking right outside the entrance of the bank now, waiting for the men to run in. He will then call for backup to arrive at the scene. After a minute has passed, the officer will walk into the bank, and try to subdue the situation in the best possible way before the rest of the authorities arrive. There will be an armed guard inside the bank to watch over for any scenarios to occur as well. Due to these extra tools the police are using, it makes this heist much harder to deal with.

  The men are going to work harder than they ever have, to come out victorious in this heist. From the looks of things, it seems this heist will be much harder than the first two were. Third time should be a charm though, as this would be a rematch of the second heist at “First Savings and Trust”. Kevin being killed, almost makes their last heist not count. The rest of the men were able to do a satisfactory job and escape. Kevin was unfortunately caught victim by the detonators outside of the bank. He wasn’t able to leave the heist with the rest of the men. The group now being incomplete with Kevin, that heist has many bad memories associated with it.

  Russell and Brian did not get any sleep the night before. They stayed up practically the whole night talking to each other. Only managing to rest for a few minutes, if that. Perhaps the excitement and all of the anxiety they were feeling towards this heist, made it difficult for them to sleep. All of the guys are now walking outside of the “Home Base” unit. Feeling tough with their expressions and attitudes. Like with the previous heists, the men are now heading towards the other unit, which contains all of the tools they need to use to commit the heist. With this now being the third heist the men are preparing for, everything seems so simple to put together. The men adapt their minds to not waste any time, and quickly get everything prepared for what they are about to do. However, this will be the last time they will get ready for a heist. After they finish this heist, they won’t ever have to be faced with this type of pressure anymore. The men have no intentions at all of doing a fourth heist. This heist is strictly to make up for the previous heist, which killed Kevin. In a way, this heist is to avenge his death, and for them to perform even better.

  This bank will be the largest one they will take. As it being the final heist, it’s fitting that this bank is the largest, and possibly the most complex one to approach. The men are all past the doubting stage, and they know the heist must be done. None of them wish to back out or quit at this point; it’s quite the contrary. The men want to stick together, and use all of the events which conspired over the past weeks to guide them through their lives. With this newly found brotherhood they have created for themselves, it makes them want to appreciate social interactions to a higher level than they have previously. Albeit the men are all committing bank heists, they are still able to attach themselves to work together as a team.

  They men reached the inside of the other unit. Inside this unit, their disguises, weapons, and getaway vehicles are stashed inside. Getting right to the point, the men don’t hesitate to get themselves ready for the heist. They of course, will be using and putting on the same disguises they wore in the previous heists. The police have dubbed them the “Snowman Bandits”, from the fact their disguises are snow jackets and snow boots. Every man is thinking of something different in his head. They each have this unexplainable anxiety in their bodies. When you have to do a bank heist, you have to act quick, and you need to control your emotions. If you don’t calm yourself down when you are faced with a daring event such as this, you could end up making a devastating mistake. The men strive on working together, to achieve the common goal. All four of them hold onto separate thoughts and feelings.

  Russell is quite arguably the captain of the ship, and he has been calling all of the shots since day one. Whatever he wants to do, he expects the other men to do it. If there is a certain thing he wants done, the rest of the men in Russell’s mind have to obey it. Russell being a bank manager at the “Sunset Credit Union”, has caused him to take the lead throughout the events they all have been approached with. Going onto the third heist; something he never planned on doing. Heist number two was going to be the last heist. Kevin who was his best friend, and someone that Russell still misses dearly, was killed in that heist.

  Russell feels this heist has to be done, to cover up the second heist. He is starting to feel much anxiety and excitement. As this is the last time they will do this, Russell wants to give a perfect performance. Russell orchestrated all of these heists, to rebel against the corporation and business that for lack of a better terms, screwed him completely over; both mentally and emotionally.

  Russell has this strange feeling of something being incomplete. That incomplete feeling is being caused, because Russell wants to go straight ahead with this third heist. His mind has been made up, and feels that this is something that they have to do, and it’s not something that can be changed at this point. The men never go back once they have gotten this far, especially with it now being the day of the heist. Russell importantly wants to use this to test John who is the manager of the “First Federal Bank”. John quite frankly, is Russell arch nemesis, his rival, and his mortal enemy. Russell wants John to feel scared, and to feel humiliated by having his bank robbed. He wants John to experience that same type of humiliation that he gives to others. Russell feels that for this final showdown, and what he has at stake, gives him whatever boost he needs to turn into a beast. He only uses this beast character, when it comes down to the heists. Russell ordinarily doesn’t like to get violent, or to cause pain to others. He would never hurt or harm anyone innocent like that. He simply wants to go against the same infrastructure that has rejected and oppressed him, and caused his life to go astray as it did. Russell no longer wants to follow the conformity rules, and deals with his own agendas and regulations.

  Jesse was simply a bank teller before all of this began. That was generally what his lifestyle consisted of. He was a regular employee at the “Sunset Credit Union.” His life as a gay black man, has been of much disappointment and struggle. Feeling out of place in the world, and having to deal with the fact he’s different in many aspects from other people. While he was working at the bank, he was quite comfortable with all the other workers, except Russell. It wasn’t until the day their bank was targeted, that Jesse developed an interesting relationship that he never would envision with Russell. It was unfortunate that an event such as that had to bring them together.

  Jesse feels that he can relate to Russell completely, and understands his pain and oppression as well. This third and final heist means a great deal to Jesse. This will be the last time to take all his anger and hardships that the world has given him, towards committing this heist. He also understands the risks and cautions involved with these types of activities. Jesse feels sad that Kevin was killed during the previous heist. He has faith in the other men, that they will work together once again in this heist, and push through. Jesse has had enough, and is tired of being told no, and is tired of always being last. Advancing to this final heist, he keeps his mind attentive. This is the time and chance to turn everything i
n his life around. Jesse realizes that it’s time for him to take charge.

  Brian has always been the type of guy that was smooth enough to get whatever he wanted. Not only because he was attractive physically, but mentally as well. Brian is indeed a very handsome man. He also has a good personality about himself; with high swagger and attitude. It is also due to this, that Brian gets himself involved around people and situations he has no business being in. It was clear that during the “Sunset Credit Union” heist, Brian had no business, none whatsoever, working with Scott. He wasn’t violent like that, and wasn’t even planning on robbing banks. Brian is more of a carjacker, and someone who likes to hustle around cars and automobiles. Working with cars has always been Brian’s main ambition in life not being an outlaw.

  Although Brian isn’t happy for the events which conspired the day he and Scott decided to rob Russell’s bank, he understands how fate works. The fact that two innocent people were killed; from all the pain and guilt, Brian quickly ran away from the scene. He is however happy to have met Russell. Brian is confident that going into this third heist, they will all do well, but he’s still slightly concerned. This concern is mostly due to the men feeling over confident of themselves, and not dealing with the pressure in the appropriate way. Brian believes that if they work well, and if they don’t feel drained by their emotions, he and the rest of the guys can leave of this heist for one final time as champions, and win.

  Victor does not think the way most other people do. He feels he is an alien from some strange planet, that is forced to live with other people. It’s not only because of his unique exterior experience, but his mental personality and his internal attitude. It was last Friday that Victor had his mind made up, to take his own life. The depression from witnessing everything he has in the past weeks, made him lose all control. Although the men keep reminding him that his position in the group is needed, Victor doesn’t feel he belongs at times. He starts to remember how he got involved in all of this.