The Cube Heist (BWWM Interracial Romance and Crime) (8 page)

“Don’t get stressed,” Harper said when Lisa let out a sigh of frustration. “You’re almost there. All it takes is practice and mostly concentration. Forget I’m here, empty your mind and think of only those red lines. It’s just you and the lines.”

Stepping out of the shower, Lisa looked out her bedroom window and saw the disappearing sunlight. Summer was nearing the end and the days were getting shorter. She dropped the towel and lathered her body with oil. Next she wore a matching pair of black panties and bra, before stepping into a one piece, leather suit.

She pulled it up hard. It was taking more effort than required. Lisa cursed under her breath. She’d added some weight. She promised herself to watch her diet in the coming weeks. Finally she got it up to her arms, and she zipped it up with the single zipper at the front. Then she wore thin black leather gloves. She walked to the full length mirror and looked at her reflection.

Her hair was wet and clinging to her forehead. She grabbed her mask and slid it over her wet hair. Only her brown eyes were visible. She swallowed a ball of saliva and looked at her hands. Her fingers were shaking. She clenched them into fists then released and some of the tension left. She only had fifteen minutes to get ready.

She took off her mask and put it into her small rack sack. She picked out a simple t-shirt and leggings and wore them on top of her suit. She wore the same clothes on top of her suit on all her jobs. They were a size bigger than all her other clothes. She returned to the mirror again. You couldn’t tell she had other clothes underneath the t-shirt and leggings.

Next she wore black socks and simple black sneakers. She checked her rack sack to see if her tool box was there. It was, and although she had gone through the contents earlier, she decided to check again. Hair pins, a small torch, and many other snippets a normal person would find no use for. Lisa chuckled, imagining her downstairs neighbor, a retired school teacher looking through the contents of her bag.

When she was ready, she grabbed her bag and went downstairs, preferring to use the stairs rather than the elevator. The white van was pulling up as she closed the door downstairs. Lisa went to the side and slid the door open.

“Hey boys,” Lisa said as she entered the van.

“Hi Lisa” Alan said from the driver’s seat.

She could see the white flash of Harper’s teeth in the darkness. The light from his laptop illuminated the back of the van to reveal a huge padlock on the body of the van. Lisa sat opposite Harper and almost fell off when the van swung onto the road.

“Easy Alan.” Harper said.

‘Sorry guys, it’s how we used to do it at the racing track.” Alan drawled.

“This ain’t no racing track.” Lisa said. “You’ll kill us before we even get to Corporate Street.”

The traffic was light at that time of evening and they were in Corporate Street by seven. The darkness by then had settled on the city. They went to the back street and Harper directed Alan on where to park the van. Away from the back camera, but in sight of the Deli so they could see the cleaning van arriving.

Lisa removed her tights and t-shirt and wore her ski mask over her head. She removed her tool bag from the rack sack and hung it over her shoulder.

They sat in silence, eyes glued to the deli. As they had anticipated, at nine, four employees of the deli left, closing the padlock behind them. Another hour passed and the cleaning van rolled in. The two women entered the deli and left in exactly two hours. Lisa felt her insides relaxing at the predictable activities of the night. The more everyone stuck to their schedule, the easier it would be for their operation to move smoothly.

The van drove off and Lisa jumped into action. She moved to where the padlock hang. She removed her small torch from the tool bag and clenched it between her teeth. The padlock was similar to the one on the door of the deli, and other than its size, it was a simple padlock. Using a pair of lock picks, Lisa worked the padlock and in less than thirty seconds it snapped open. Then she locked it again.

She went back into the van and grabbed a blue metal box that resembled a suitcase.

Harper began rehearsing the job. “Now we’re inside the deli with our drilling equipment. We dismantle the counter, removing the things on the shelves. Lisa keeps watch by the windows and also gives a hand where necessary while I drill the wall. This should take approximately two hours. Once inside the vault room, I set up my equipment and Lisa prepares to go over the laser beams.”

Harper handed Lisa her goggles. He switched on his board and the back of the van was illuminated by red lines.

“How many steps are there Lisa?” Harper said.

“Ten.” Lisa said.

“How long does it take you to go over them?”

“Ten minutes.” Lisa answered.

They sat in silence and waited for the ten minutes to be over.

“Now, you are past the laser beams, it’s time to face the door. I’ll give you the combination of the vault door and once it swings open, you’ll need to pick the lock of the metal door.”

Lisa had seen the lock before, but she looked at it again on Harper’s computer screen.

“Two minutes.” Lisa said.

“To the important bit; getting the cube out. Remember it has an alarm on it, so the first thing you need to do is to disable the alarm.” Harper said.

“I’ll use the EMP pulse to disable the alarm and then take the cube and put it in the metal box.”

“Remember to lock the box properly; we don’t want to activate the tracker if it slides out.” Harper said.

“I’ve secured the metal box, next is my exit.” Lisa said.

This was the part that worried her the most. She had practiced walking over the laser beams with the box in her hands. They ached and hurt but worst of all, was the imbalance they caused. Though she had jumped over the beam successfully, she wasn’t 100% sure. She only had to go over the beams and Harper would be waiting to take the box from her.

“Alan, you’ll be waiting at the parking with the engine running after two hours.” Harper said.

“Sure boss.” Alan said.

“How does everybody feel about the plan?” Harper asked.

Alan was fine with it and he said so.

“I’m also OK with it but I could do with more practice for carrying that box over the beams. It’s not really heavy, just awkward because of the size. If I go over it a few more times, my hands will get used to it.” Lisa said.

“OK we can do that tomorrow.” Harper said. “Guys what we’ve done is based on a perfect plan, which rarely happens. Something is likely to go wrong, it always does. There’s nothing like a perfect plan. The feds could be hovering around here. Alan, you keep watch when Lisa and I enter the deli. If there are suspicious people, let us know. We don’t want to be caught off guard.”

They left, dropping Lisa off first. She had removed her ski mask and worn her t-shirt and tights over her suits. There were unlikely to be people on the street but it did not hurt to be careful. She felt beat. The actual job didn’t exhaust her as much as the practice. She supposed it was the worrying and trying to think of what could go wrong. In the actual job, there was no time to think, her concentration was usually in the present.

Lisa entered her apartment and stripped off her work clothes. She wore a lose nightie and went to the living room. She was too wound up to sleep. She made a peanut butter sandwich and a glass of warm milk. She flipped over TV channels but nothing held her attention for long and she decided to go to bed.

Dreams of police sirens plagued her sleep, but again, that came with the job. The nearer the day came, the worse her nerves got. She woke up thrice in the night, her night gown wrapped tightly around her body, sweat holding it to her skin like glue. Her breath came out in short, quick gasps and it took her a while to realize that she was on her own bed and there’s no police chasing after her. Staring into the darkness, Lisa was glad that she had made up her mind.

This job was not for her anymore. Age was catching up. Her nerves were worse than the last time. But to be fair, this would be her biggest job yet. Her other jobs were child play compared to this one. If caught, she’d probably spend the rest of her life in jail.

Lisa yanked her mind from such thoughts and resolutely closed her eyes, determined to catch a few more hours of sleep.

The following morning, Lisa jogged all the way to Harper’ apartment. They carried their coffee to the back room. Lisa practiced jumping over the beams with the blue metal box. It strained one hand until harper came up with the idea of hoisting it at the top of her head. That seemed to work better.

She only stopped when she felt confident of jumping over the beams without setting them off with the box or worse, dropping it.

“Can I buy you lunch.” Harper told her at midday.

They walked down the street like any normal couple on a warm day. Lisa felt almost normal, like a regular girl on a date. She slipped her hand into Harper’s and to his credit; he didn’t look at her or react in any way.

They chose a bar cum restaurant and at a private booth away from the counter and the entrance.

Harper ordered a beer and Lisa went for a glass of wine.

“This is crazy,” Lisa said. “I never have alcohol before seven in the evening.”

“Me neither but today I feel like celebrating.” Harper said.

“Celebrating what?” Lisa said with a laugh.

“We’re celebrating one of two things. One, the coming success of our mission, and then most likely, our very last.”

“Secondly” Lisa urged.

“Secondly, we may be celebrating our last day of freedom. We may spend the rest of our lives, productive lives anyway, in jail.” Harper said in a casual tone.

Lisa’s mouth curled in distaste.

“Did you have to do that Harper? Spoil my meal and my day?”

Harper laughed.

“It’s the reality. Every time before I go on a job, I visualize myself on a sandy island somewhere. The sun is hot and I’m sipping a cool beer. Then I switch locations. I visualize myself seated on a long table, wearing a green overall, surrounded by hundreds of men, each of them engrossed in their tasteless meal.”

“Shit Harper, you’re a ray of sunshine aren’t you?” Lisa said her appetite all gone.

The five of them, Anderson, Clark and Jackson and the two guys Harris had picked to join them, met at eight in Harris’s office. The small office looked squashed and small crowded by six men. Anderson knew the two guys, King and Adams. They were both in their early thirties and Anderson hoped that the five of them would work well together.

“So boys, today is the day. As you well know, it’s imperative that the cube stays safe, and in the bank until tomorrow when it’ll be moved. The boys from headquarters will take it to the bank at ten.” Harris glanced at his watch. “That’s two hours from now. Once it enters the bank, it’s our job to make sure it stays there till tomorrow at ten.”

They all nodded.

“Anderson go on, take us through what you boys have come up with.” Harris said.

Anderson cleared his throat. “The way we see it, the vulnerable places are the front and the back. We’re not so worried about the back because the back is completely sealed.”

“What about the shops next door?” Harris interjected.

“They’re two, and yes they’re weak points, but using that way to access the bank would require a lot of hours which the they won’t have. From bank heists past, thugs usually time their strikes during bank holidays, when they know the banks are closed for more than twenty four hours. We’re lucky because cube will only be there over night.”

“OK, go on.” Harris said.

“We’ll split into two groups, my usual team and then King and Adams. My team will work at night and the other team can do the day shift.”

Harris nodded. “Sounds good. I’ll see you all tomorrow I wish you all the best.”

“Make sure to call me if anything happens.” Anderson told King and Adam. “Anything at all.”

Anderson and his team left for home, leaving King and Adams at the office until a few minutes to ten when they would head to the bank. Anderson was eager to go home, and he felt grateful for the night shift so he could spend time with his now very pregnant wife.

“What are you doing honey?” Anderson said, staring at his wife in disbelief.

“I’m hovering honey, what did you think I was doing?” she said, turning off the hoover.

“I know, I can see, what I mean is, shouldn’t you be resting, you with your feet up?”

“I probably should huh.” Mary said, making a face. “I just can’t seem to sit still. I keep seeing stuff that should be done before the baby gets here.”

“Come-on, let’s go upstairs, I’ll give you a massage.” Anderson said.

They went up the stairs hand in hand and settled on the bed. It felt odd to be relaxing in bed with his wife, when the mob could be at this very moment stealing the cube.

“This job tonight is really worrying you.” Mary said her small face crunched with worry.

“Just a little. Once it’s over, I’ll be alright.” Anderson said, hoping that it would indeed end OK.

Mary dozed off, and to his surprise, he slept too, only to wake up at two, just in time to get ready for his shift.

* * *

This time when Lisa got into the van at seven in the evening, she was greeted by a somber mood, which suited her perfectly. They exchanged muted greetings. She sat next to Harper at the back of the van. Alan drove off, this time, careful not to swerve the vehicle. Harper had the front of the bank on his screen and all was quiet.

He zoomed the camera to a grey vehicle near the entrance of the bank.

“See this?” he said. “The feds. I recognize Anderson; he must have gotten a tip-off about tonight.”

Lisa‘s heart beat faster. She fervently hoped that the presence of the feds would not interfere with the operation. Alan drove to the back street and parked the van right opposite the entrance of the deli, a little way ahead. The street appeared too busy for that time of evening. Lisa saw a drunk, staggering along the back street. He tripped over a fallen dust bin and went flying into the cemented ground.

She looked at Harper and saw that his attention was on the man. He lay still. Just their luck, to have a drunk pass out near the entrance of the deli. Lucky for them, he soon struggled to his feet and continued wandering down the street. Lisa exhaled in relief when he disappeared from the street. By eight thirty, there was not much activity, apart from cats and dogs ravaging for food.

Like clockwork, the lights in the deli went off and the workers left for the night. Meanwhile, Harper had kept an eye on the feds. They were still in the same spot. At one point one of them, Anderson maybe, stepped out of the car and went for coffee, returning with three cups. The cleaners came in at ten and by twelve their van had picked them up.

“It’s almost time” Harper said. “Let’s give it fifteen minutes in case the cleaner forgot something and come back.”

In the next few minutes, Lisa arranged her things, making sure she had everything she need. The tool box and the metal box.

“Ready.” Harper said, then immediately said, “No, wait.”

Lisa peered into his laptop. The feds were moving. Their car was cruising down the street and in moments it disappeared from view.

“Shit!” Lisa said softly.

“Go down.” Harper told Alan. “They‘re coming this way.”

The grey car cruised from behind them and came to a stop a few feet away from them, at the back of the van. Then it slid into a parking space next to the bank.

“Jesus!” harper said. “This cannot be happening. Anderson is like an animal. He can smell us nearby.”

Lisa sat still watching the grey vehicle and hoping it would leave. An hour passed, then another.

“If they don’t move in another twenty minutes, we’ll have to abort this mission.” Harper said.

* * *

Anderson was feeling more confident as the hours slowly ticked away. His source had been wrong. He looked at the time. Two in the morning. If anything was happening tonight it would have happened by now. The shrill of his phone made everyone jump.

He looked at the number and almost wept.

“OK, I’m coming.” Anderson said into his phone.

He punched the front board of the car. This couldn’t be happening now. He felt torn. His wife was having contractions, and in a few hours, the cube would be safe. If only they could stay on for three more hours.

“What’s up?” Jackson said from the front passenger seat.

“Mary. The baby is coming.”

“What awful timing.” Clark chipped from behind.

“We’ll pick Mary up, drop you guys to the entrance of the hospital and come back as quickly as we can. It shouldn’t take more than thirty minutes.” Jackson said.

“OK, let’s go.” Anderson said.

He was worried about that thirty minutes but he didn’t say anything. What choice did he have really? Calling for a cab would take too long, and all that time his Mary was in pain. They pulled up his driveway in eight minutes and Anderson raced to the house. He came out minutes later, supporting Mary with his arm on one hand and a bag on the other.

“Step on it Jackson.” Anderson said, once he had himself and Mary in the back seat.

“Hang in there honey.” Clark said, from the front seat, where he had jumped in as soon as Anderson had got out.

“Go, go go.” Anderson urged Clark and Jackson, “We’ll be OK.”

The moment they got into the delivery room, Anderson forgot about the cube and focused completely on supporting Mary.  She labored for what seemed like hours. At five in the morning, they welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world. Anderson couldn’t get over her beauty and the sparse hairs on her head that you could separate and count.

Mary nudged him.

“Go back to work honey, we’ll be here when you get back.”

* * *

Lisa couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw the grey car slide out of the parking and drive off at a great speed. There was not much time left. She and Harper jumped out of the van and headed to the deli. Harper held a torch and Lisa picked the padlock. It snapped open, and they went in.

Working together, they removed decorative artificial sandwiches from the shelves, placing them on the floor. When the shelves were near empty, Harper reached for the drill and turned it on. It whirled silently and he directed it to the wall. She could not see his facial expression, only his eyes and they appeared intense. He worked silently for an hour, only stopping to wipe off excess debris. Progress was slow. They had to work in the dark. For all they knew the feds could be back and watching the deli.

After an hour and a half of drilling, Harper had made a neat square on the wall. Using a hammer, Lisa hit it trying not to make too much noise, while Harper drilled the last bit. Dust filled the air, when the square went down; making a loud bang that shattered the silence of the night. They stood still listening for any unusual noise or an alarm. Nothing, it was still again.

“I’ll go in first. Here are your goggles. ” Harper said, giving Lisa a pair and wearing another.

He went through the hole, and walking against the wall, he chose the furthest corner, away from the invisible beams. He put on his laptop and whistled for Lisa to get in.

The room was well lit; Harper had come with his own light, a small LED lamp that illuminated every corner of the room. With her goggles, Lisa could make out the red beams of laser criss-crossing the room. She stood still, waiting for Harper to tell her to start moving.

“OK, go on. Take your time, Lisa. There’s no rush.”

The vault looked much bigger here than it did on camera. Lisa stilled her body, and using a mind technique she had perfected over the years, Lisa obliterated everything in the room, including Harper. Her breathing became even and she felt her muscles relax. She needed her body to be as flexible as a fluid, so that her movements would be smooth.

As if in a trance, she lifted one leg over the first beam and readjusted her body. When she felt balanced, she lifted the other leg and like a ballet dancer, brought it to the floor next to the other. Her progress was painstakingly slow, but that’s exactly how Lisa had planned it. She balanced the metal box on one hand and when going over the beams, lifting it over her head with both hands. When she was halfway through, she looked at Harper. He smiled, and gave her thumbs up.

Breathing deeply she continued going over the last few beams. When she was on the last one with one leg in the air, the sound of an alarm cut through the air, breaking the silence. Lisa’ heart dropped to her abdomen and her first instinct was to flee.

“Don’t move!” Harper said in a harsh voice that got through the fog of confusion that was in her brain. “It’s not here. The alarm’s not here.”

Sure enough, two minutes later, the sound of siren whizzing by sounded and only when it passed did Lisa breathe again. She slowly brought her foot down. She swallowed hard and wet her dry lips with saliva.

“Are you OK?” Harper said in a gentle voice.

“I’m good.” Lisa said in a strange voice that did not sound like hers.

Her fingers were shaking badly. She took deep breathes and tried to get into her zone. When she felt marginally stable, she went to the huge circular door.

“Ready?” Harper said, and then proceeded to tell her the 10 number lock combination.

Lisa stepped back and the huge door swung open, creaking loudly as it did so. Lisa cringed. All the noises sounded loud and exaggerated. Either that or her own sense of hearing had been magnified by fear. She felt inside her tool box and removed two lock picks and proceeded to open the lock of the metal door. It snapped open and Lisa turned to look at Harper in triumph. He wore a huge smile on his face.

On one end of the vault were some metal shelves, and Lisa immediately saw the cube in the bottle shelf. She put the metal box down and opened it with a key from the side pocket of her tool bag. Reaching inside her tool bag again, she removed a portable EMP pulse. As Harper had shown her, she turned it on and directed the electric pulses towards a box attached to the cube that was the alarm. A green light flickered on the surface. Lisa then carefully lifted the cube which turned out to be as light as air. Gingerly, she placed it inside the blue metal box, which she then locked with a key, and put it back in her tool bag. Now they could not be tracked with the cube in the metal box.

She was ready to make her way out of the vault. She returned the metal door behind her to make it look as though it was shut. Despite its size, the vault door was pretty easy to swing shut, and it closed without much noise.

Lisa stood in front of the beams and put all her concentration on them. She went over them one by one, her arms straining from lifting the metal box over her head. She went over the last one to find Harper’s arms waiting to take the box from her. The relief of success was so great; she wanted to scream in exhilaration.

She followed Harper out of the vault room and into the darkness of the deli. They pushed open the back door. Lisa breathed in the sweet night air. She was about to sprint towards the van when Harper held her back. He was looking through a small monocular. He pulled Lisa further into the shadows and gave it to her. She gasped. Alan was slumped over the steering wheel, his head at a funny angle.  Harper took the monocular back and scanned down the street and on top of buildings.

He pulled a shocked Lisa back into the deli.