Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

by Brennen Tammons

  Victor was a man who lived in his car, and never minded anyone else, because of how scary he claims he looks. He was desperate for money, and decided to rob the “Sunset Credit Union”. Victor had no idea whatsoever, that there were already men who were intending to rob that same bank, at the same time he was. Victor simply watched the entire heist pan out, without doing anything. How would things be different, if Victor simply walked in the bank, and robbed it? Would he have met the other men? Victor would not have killed or hurt anyone, and would not have turned violent. This is something that always puzzles Victor, and will always puzzle him. Despite the fact this incident has passed, Victor still wonders about it. He is now concerned on the final heist. Victor knows that he needs to help out the rest of the guys, to finish this heist. Using this heist to be the cap on the jar, of all his hardships.

  It is now crunch time for the guys. They do not have any time to waste at all, and they need to get ready for the heist. The men all begin to put on their disguises. Making sure their masks are concealed around their faces well. The men have on their snow boots, and put on their gloves as well. Again, this heist is practically going to be a repeat of the previous one they did. The second heist was originally supposed to be their last, and was planned out to be so. From the way how things panned out, the heist didn’t turn out to be successful as the men have hoped. Kevin is now dead, and it’s something the rest of the guys still haven’t been able to fully deal with.

  They are going ahead with this heist, as a tribute to Kevin. Showing that they aren’t going to let the unfortunate events which happened in the previous heist, let them down. The additional fact that Russell has a personal vendetta against the manager of the bank, is truly dismissive. Really, that was simply a bonus to add fuel to Russell’s fire. It only triggered him further to act on his impulses. The biggest mistake that each of these men have right now, would be the fact that they are feeling over confident. Understanding that they have done two heists before, and they have a good grasp of what they are doing. They still however don’t see most of the consequences of their actions, and the effects it will have.

  Detective Henderson during this same exact time, sits at his desk with a smirk on his face, staring at his blank computer screen. He takes a small sip of his coffee, and sets the cup down on his desk. He leans back in his chair, and folds his arms around his wide belly. The reason he is feeling nervous, is that he knows the “Snowman Bandits”, are about to strike. He just doesn’t know which bank in particular they have in mind. He only knows that they have hit a bank, for the past two Friday’s. Understanding that he needs to take whatever precautions he can, to stop these men. Detective Henderson has asked that private armed security guards be present in every major bank that hasn’t been targeted yet. This includes the “First Federal Bank”, the men intend to visit. All of the details from this particular case, is bringing much agitation and anger towards him. Not only because of how the men plan all of the heists that they commit, but how quickly they move about them as well. Detective Henderson rubs his fingers through his spiky hair, and unclips his badge from his waist. He stares at his badge, and shakes his head. This particular job causes him much stress, as Detective Henderson plans to retire very soon from the police force. One of his final wishes, is to get more answers and information regarding the “Snowman Bandit” case, before he leaves. He waits for the dispatch call, alerting him that they are at the bank. This is his cue to act fast, and to get to the bottom of the investigation before the men flee once again. Something like that would really destroy Detective Henderson’s spirit, as he really hopes that today is the day he is able to bring more unanswered questions towards this particular case. The meeting he had yesterday, was his only effort in being one step ahead of these men. He knows that all of this will make a big impact towards the heist the men plan to execute.

  Over at the “First Federal Bank”, a police officer dressed in uniform, waits in an unmarked car positioned right outside the front door of the bank. He is waiting for the suspects to run inside. Once they are in the bank, with the help of the armed guard, the situation will easily be deescalated. There are officers outside of surrounding banks which are at risk of being targeted, as well. This is part of Detective Henderson’s plan. If the banks are not taking the proper action to secure their buildings, then he feels he has no choice but to do the job himself. Detective Henderson takes another sip of his coffee, and leans back in his chair, staring at the ceiling tiles. He doesn’t see why his plan will fail; from the way he has everything positioned, it should turn out exactly the way he anticipates.

  The police man sitting outside of the bank keeps his vision towards the bank entrance. His name is Clyde Waker. He is a twenty-nine-year-old, baby faced bald man. He was previously in the United States army, and later became a police officer. Officer Waker has been a police officer for now three years. Being only with the “LAPD” for a year and a half. He is not married, and doesn’t have any children. In his spare time, he likes to each Little League baseball to young men. Officer Waker was called to scene randomly, like every other officer at the surrounding banks have been as well. As far his personality goes, Officer Waker is generally a nice guy, and a quiet man at times. He is very patriotic, and enjoys sports and shooting. Officer Waker honestly hopes that the men choose a different bank, as his biggest fear is being obligated to get in the middle of a robbery. Although, he understands he has to do, what he has to do. It’s the job he was sworn to take, protecting and serving civilians. But to be honest, he doesn’t want to see the robbers run into the bank he was picked to patrol.

  Inside the “First Federal Bank”, is an armed security guard working for a third party company. Ordinarily, this bank doesn’t hire security guards. Detective Henderson wants to make sure that all of the banks are secure, and instructs that one is positioned at locations which are at risk. The security guards present at each location are random as well, and were chosen by an outside company, not affiliated with the police department.

  The security guard on duty at the “First Federal Bank”, is a thirty-eight-year-old Caucasian man named Alan Richmond. He has brown hair, in a flat top hairstyle, and a bushy mustache. He has been a security guard his entire life, and has tried several times to get himself into the police force. Unfortunately, with every attempt he tried to become a police officer, not working out in his favor. He doesn’t understand why this is so; taking in consideration his past military experience. For now, he remains a security guard. Only hoping that someday he will eventually become a police officer. The security guard doesn’t feel like there will be any incidents or problems that will happen. His attitude is relaxed and calm, and he carefully scans all of the people inside of the building.

  The security guard is ready if he needs to step in if a situation happens. He continues to stand right next to the entrance, noticing every single person that walks in and out of the bank. The guys are not expecting a security guard to be standing at the front door of the bank. It is unknown as to what their tactics will be towards the heist as a result of that. The first two heists, the men did not have to deal with a guard present inside the bank. So this will be interesting to see how they are able to cope with an obstacle such as this, during the heist.

  Detective Henderson takes another swallow of his coffee. All he can do is sit and wait, until he is told what bank exactly the men have picked. He knows they are going to strike; he just doesn’t know where exactly they are going to strike at. Everything seems to be set perfectly for him to catch what he’s looking for. Detective Henderson has set up several traps and methods to crack this case, and now waits patiently. He sits far back in his chair, and closes his eyes for a second. He starts to relax, and clears his mind of any negative thoughts. Detective Henderson spent a great deal of time trying to find patterns in the case, that others weren’t able to notice. This case is one that has bothered him constantly.

  The possibility that only in a short while, he has the chanc
e to make a development in the case, makes him excited. Detective Henderson is planning on retiring and leaving the police force. Putting an end to this case, will be the perfect way for him to finish his career. After taking one final sip of his coffee, Detective Henderson puts his hands on his forehead, rests his elbows on his desk, and shakes his head. Having a strong feeling, that he’s about to receive some news.

  The men are now all dressed into their disguises, still remaining at the unit. The game plan for this heist, will the same in the second heist. Russell plans on breaking into the vault using the power drill, while Brian takes care of the bank tellers. Jesse and Victor will remain in the lobby, giving backup to them both. This system worked well for them while they were inside the bank the last time, so they feel confident on using the same approach. Russell also feels that the men travelling in separate vehicles is something he feels that they should do again. Although he’s not happy with it, and wants them all to remain together, it is more logical for them all to leave in separate cars. It allows for the escape to run by more smoothly. Russell and Jesse will be riding in a Ford Expedition. Brian and Victor will be riding in a Chevy Tahoe. Russell grabs two large empty duffel bags, and puts the industrial drill inside one of the bags. He then grabs one of the rifles. Russell puts both of the items in the back area of the getaway vehicle. Brian grabs two empty duffel bags, and one of the rifles. He places all of the contents in his getaway vehicle. Jesse and Victor then grab their guns, and they both set them inside their getaway vehicles. Following this, the men as they did in the previous heists as well, gather and huddle up and embrace each other for a minute.

  This particular ritual has been custom, so it comes natural for them to do. It is tough with Kevin not being there with him. With this heist, they are going to have to act without the aid of his computer services. It will be difficult for them to go about everything without using help such as that, however the men feel they will still complete the heist, without having the need to use that. The sadness of Kevin being apart from them is upsetting. This heist will make the men test themselves in ways they did know they could bring themselves to. Understanding feelings, thoughts, emotions, ideas, and expressions that never would have crossed their mind in any other instance. As individuals, they all have a different reason to be standing where they are right now. Each man feels a certain way, about separate agendas, for different reasons. However, when it comes to this heist, all four of them are equally feeling the same thing. They hold onto each other tight, in a big group hug. They support each other, and formed a brotherhood; now they need to get into action one last time. Understanding whichever happens from here on out, they have to accept and deal with it. When they finish embracing each other, Russell stands in the middle of all of them, and starts to speak.

  “We all know what to do. We get in, we get out, we come back here. We’re done. We celebrate, and we go on with our lives. This was fun, but this isn’t us. I know this is number three, but pretend this is number two. We’re starting over mainly for Kevin. With this, everything will be complete, and we would have proven our point. We’re not going to keep doing this. That was never our plan to rob three banks. Our plan was to stick it to man, and I believe we’ve accomplished all of that. I’m now ready to end this, one final time for certain. Let’s go and get this started, and let’s go and finish this men.”

  Like with the previous instances before, Max arrives at the scene right on time before the men all leave. He moves his wheelchair closer to the other guys and talks to them.

  “I don’t know why I keep catching you guys like this. I’m not complaining, it’s good that you all plan to prepare yourselves and leave in a flash like that. I don’t’ know why I have bad timing, and nearly miss not giving a chance to speak to you. As always, I’m here to offer my support, and I’ll be waiting for all of you later. I want to celebrate with you all later.”

  The men all appreciate Max dropping by before they depart for the heist. Russell gets closer to Max, and puts his hand on Max’s shoulder. He then speaks to him in a hushed tone.

  “Max, this is lovely that you care about us like this. If it weren’t for you, I don’t think we could be able to plan most of these out as thorough as we do. As much as you hate it, when I mention your acts of kindness, I’m thankful for it Max, and so are the rest of the guys. Thank you Max, I really mean it.”

  Max smiles, and the each of the men give him a hug. He then speaks to all the men.

  “I love all of you, and come back safe men. Remember, that you guys have worked together through all of this, and have been through so much. I love you all. I’ll see you later.”

  The guys all wave goodbye to Max, and Max has now left the unit. Brian then immediately walks over to the door of the unit, and unlocks it. Brian opens the door. Russell gets into his vehicle, and Brian gets into the other vehicle. Russell turns the ignition on, however, the car will not start. Russell begins to panic.

  Of all the times for something such as this to happen, he didn’t want it to be now. Russell tries to get the car to start, but the engine will not start. Brian turns the ignition on in his vehicle, and starts to drive out of the unit. Brian stops himself, when he notices that Russell hasn’t started his vehicle yet. Due to the tinted windows both vehicles have, Brian cannot see inside; he assumes that the reason why Russell hasn’t started the vehicle yet, is because he isn’t ready to leave. Brian decides wait a while, rather than see if Russell is having any issues. Russell tries one more time start the vehicle, and it will not come on. Feeling frustrated, Russell slams his head against the steering wheel. Russell tells Jesse to get out of the car, and Russell and Jesse walk over to Brian’s vehicle. When they reach Brian’s vehicle, Russell bangs on the driver side window. Brian rolls the window down, and Russell looks down towards the floor, talking to Brian.

  “The car won’t fucking start. I kept trying and trying. It won’t start. Ugh. Fuck. Shit.”

  Brian starts to shake his head, and gets out of his vehicle. He walks over to the other vehicle, and opens up the hood. Brian is puzzled as to what the issue perhaps is. Sadly, he does not have enough time to do a full diagnostic on the vehicle. It could be multiple reasons as to why Russell cannot start the vehicle. It could be anything as simple from the car needing oil, or the battery being dead. These issues could be fixed rather easily, and wouldn’t strain any time for their heist. Or it could be something more complex, such as the alternator or transmission being shot.

  The men currently cannot fix or attest those types of problems at this time. Brian starts to regret all of the modifications he has put towards this car. At the time, he felt it would give the vehicle a better chance on having a faster acceleration speed to get away easier. He now believes that he should have kept it simple with everything he added.

  Brian starts to check the oil, it’s fine. He checks the battery, that is alright as well. Brian then runs to “Home Base”, and grabs his tools and his electronic error reader. He quickly plugs in his electronic reader in the car, which pulls up many error codes related to the engine; so that if an error is confirmed, all Brian has to do is find out what part is weakening the car for it not to start. Brian then using his tools, takes apart the car. Russell and the rest of the men watch Brian move about this very quickly, with his disguise still on. Brian believes the engine system in the car, is causing the ignition not to come on. Brian becomes slightly angry, and slams the car hood down. Brian has several conclusions as to what the problem could possibly be, but he isn’t sure that he has the appropriate amount of time to replace the broken part in the vehicle. Brian turns his head towards Russell, and snaps at him.

  “I don’t know what’s the deal. If I only had a little more time, I would know for sure. It could possibly be the alternator, or the radiator perhaps as well. If I knew this shit yesterday, I could have already replaced everything now. We had to find this out now? Ugh. Russell, we don’t have a choice, we have to all leave in the other car. Come on man.�
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  Russell nods his head; he and Jesse grab all the heist items, and store them in the other vehicle. They all sit inside, and Brian quickly drives out of the unit. Victor moves himself to the back rear seat area with Jesse, and Russell sits in the passenger seat of the vehicle. Brian gets out, and closes and shuts the door of the unit, and the men all finally leave “Home Base”, and head to the “First Federal Bank”. Brian starts to shake his head, and drives at a slightly high speed. While he’s looking straight at the road, Brian angrily starts to speak to Russell.

  “I need to ask you a question, and whatever decision you want me to do, I’ll do it. Do you want me to jack another car before we get there? If you don’t want me to Russell, I won’t. I need your answer now though. There’s a place nearby that has good getaway cars.”

  Russell turns his head towards the window, and responds to Brian very quietly.

  “No Brian, we’ll be fine. I don’t want to talk about it, just go to the bank man. Okay?”

  Brian shakes his head, and gets himself on the highway. Russell looks out, and sees that today is an overcast gloomy day, like yesterday was. Not compared to their previous heists, which all had immaculate sunny and warm weather. Russell doesn’t know if this is a sign or not, that a terrible outcome is going to happen. He starts to worry over several things, and his confidence dissipates out of his mind. Russell is still upset that the getaway vehicle wouldn’t start, and doesn’t like it when things don’t go smoothly.

  The heist is already starting badly, and Russell is actually scared. His knees begin to shake uncontrollably, and he can feel his whole body start to become tense. Russell looks out towards the highway which Brian is driving on, and Russell’s vision completely fades to black, and he starts to hallucinate. Russell sticks to the seat, and is unable to move his body at all. Hallucinations run in his head very quickly, in a thrilling way. The hallucinations are separate events from his past. Starting with many happy and upsetting memories from his childhood. He starts to remember the times he has spent with his parents, and all the fun he has had when he lived in Milwaukee. Reliving some of these times in his mind, that Russell seldom thinks about. These include flashbacks of him playing in the snow with the other boys in the neighborhood, and other distance memories he has of being with his family. Russell doesn’t understand why he is having these thoughts, and he doesn’t know why he can’t control them. The hallucinations continue with more recent events from his life. Russell thinking of Peter, and all the things they have done together. Russell considered him like a father. Russell also thinks about Jennifer, and the time he has been with her, and how beautiful of a woman she was. He has more memories run in his head, as the flashback hallucinations continue to fly all around. Russell now starts to go back the first time he met Kevin. How Kevin was sitting by himself at study hall, stuffing his face with junk food, studying, and Russell introduced himself. Then all of a sudden, these images quickly vanish from Russell’s mind. When this happens, he turns his head quickly, and this causes Brian to be concerned.