“It was supposed to be easy. A quick smash and grab, in and out before anyone knew they were there, and then it was off to paradise with more money than they could spend in a lifetime. Hell, two lifetimes! Shoulda known nothing was ever that easy…”
Six convicts.
One helluva score.
What could possibly go wrong?
Originally published on the Quest of Evolution by Joseph Nassise.
A cat ran out from beneath the pile of trash bags Noah Jakes was walking past, and he jumped in nervous surprise, startling himself and earning a particularly disdainful look from the feline before it slunk away into darkness surrounding them.
Heart hammering, Jakes bent over, hands on his knees, and took a moment to get himself under control.
Settle down, he told himself. You’re good. No one knows you’re here. Get the job done and get back before anyone notices that you’re missing.
Even though he knew no one had seen him leave the dilapidated garage that they were using as a staging area and hideout, he took a long, slow look around, double checking that he hadn’t picked up a tail. He hadn’t survived all this time undercover by being careless and he wasn’t going to start now, today of all days.
Satisfied that no one was following him, Jakes hurried down the alley, counting his steps as he went. Reaching his target, he squatted down, using his fingers to pry the brick closest to the ground free of the others around it.
Setting it aside, he reached into the darkness of the space behind it, feeling about for the burner phone he’d secreted there. For a moment he couldn’t find it, his fingers finding nothing but loose sand and gravel where the phone should have been, and his heart rose in his throat at the idea that someone might have discovered it or, worse yet, seen him stash there. But then his fingers tapped the black plastic case, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
He pulled it out, flicked it on, and gave it a moment to boot up. When it had, he dialed a number from memory.
“First National. Ten a.m.,” he said after he heard the beep, and then hung up. He deleted the call history and then powered off the phone, replacing it where he had found it. Rising, he dusted off his jeans and hurriedly left the alley, headed back the way he had come.
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