BANK ROBBERY
By; Dibosa P.C. Marcel
Heat of the sun came down hard on the town, turning it into a giant furnace, animals in the town sought shade in one form or the other, everything made of metal sizzled, rubbery substance expanded, the tar on the road reeked. It wasn’t particularly a good day for any sane person to be outside, thus the town was quiet, except for the engine of a car zipping through the road in haste to God knows where.
Inside the car were the Fharruk siblings. In the front seat; Ruwa, a beautiful 26 year old, she had long thick woolen hair, that extended to her back, a brilliant chocolate skin, she had an oval jaw, holding thick brown lips, and her eyes were tiny and sad, by her side sat her little brother, Baje, a tall, healthy 18yr boy, with pink colored hair cut, a stoic face with equally sad eyes.
“It feels like a nuke just went off in my face.” Baje said. “Ruwa, your air conditioner doesn’t work.”
“Well, neither do you.” Ruwa replied sarcastically. “Now lay off.”
“Ha ha. Very funny.” Baje said as he looked out the window. “I don’t know if I should keep the window glass up or down. On one had, I’m scared, if I keep it up for too long, your stuffy car will kill me, and on the other hand, if I keep it down too long I’ll go up in flames like Dracula.” He laughed.
“Or maybe you’ll glow instead.” His sister retorted as she gave a cocky smile. She looked over to her brother. “Hey what was that I heard about you and Mr. Wu?” She asked in concern.
Baje looked into the rear view mirror, reluctant to answer, and then after a while he turned towards his sister and said. “He said, he doesn’t want my kind hanging around his kids anymore.”
“I didn’t take Mr. Wu for a racist.”
“He’s not…he just found out I was gay.”
“He did huh? What gave it away?”
“Rumors I guess.”
“Really? And you’re sure it wasn’t that awful colored hair?” Ruwa said with a facetious tone.
“Hey. Don’t talk about my hair that way. It’s fly.”
“Fly? So you’re both gay and a time traveler? Who says fly anymore?
“You’re one to talk; you’re a freaking relic sis.”
“Well, bro.” she said putting her free driving hand in air quotes. “I’m not the one wearing granddad’s old jacket; I mean you’ve smelled like the cemetery since you got in my car.”
Baje cried out in laughter. “That is so offensive, you have no shame.” He laughed some more.
Ruwa looked at her brother and smiled. She hadn’t seen him this happy in a while. “It’s good you’re finally laughing…ease that tension Baje, because we’re here.” She said as she pulled up into the side of a bank. She looked around and the roads were empty, not a car or person in sight. “This might turn out better than I thought.” She said smiling. “Are you ready for this?”
Baje’s stoic face went cold with doubt as he looked at his sister, trying to get her to say something to enhance his resolve but, she gave him a rope instead of a speech.
“Are you sure this is safe.” Baje asked his older sister.
“Don’t worry. I cased the place for weeks. It’s a local bank, relatively tiny, one receptionist, there’s just one security guard and he doesn’t even have a gun, the station is far from here, it’ll take the police at least 30 minutes to get here and by then we will be gone.” Ruwa replied as she brought out two guns, a revolver and a shotgun. She handed the revolver to her brother.”
“Why do I get the chick gun?”
“Cause you’re the only one here in pink.” She said winking. Baje still looked unconvinced. “Look little bro, we need this money, mom was a total bitch, she left us nothing, and no one in that town is going to help us, so let’s get this money and get away from everything. Maybe we’ll go to one of those gay clubs in Vegas, and you can give as many hand jobs as you want…what do you say.?”
“You had me at hand jobs.” Baje said smiling.
“Don’t forget to put on that ski mask. immediately we get in there, you knock the guard out like we practiced… in and out bro.”
“Déjà vu.” Baje uttered. He had been having those a lot today.
“What?”
“Nothing. don’t forget our aliases. A and B.”
“I still think we should have gone with Louis and Clark.” Ruwa said, as they both got down from the car and headed towards the bank.
Ruwa pulled the door of the bank open quickly, and Baje sprinted in, Ruwa followed suit and yelled.
“PUT THOSE HANDS UP, DON’T…” Ruwa stopped mid-sentence as soon as she could see her surroundings clearly. The bank was clearly different from the one she had been visiting for the past 2 weeks. The tiles were different, the walls were different and the bank was empty, nobody was around, just the female receptionist behind a wooden counter and even that was different.
“Don’t move money penny.” Baje said pointing his gun at the receptionist while advancing her way. “put your hands where I can see them.” He jumped over the counter.
“B, did you take care of the guard?” Ruwa asked her brother.
“There isn’t any.” He said. This made Ruwa feel very uneasy. No security, no customers. What the hell was happening?
“No customers today?” Ruwa asked the receptionist.
“It’s been a slow day.” The receptionist replied. Ruwa moved closer to her and peered at her name tag. It read “Janet.”
“You do look like a Janet.” She said, reading the name out. “Where’s your security Janet?”
“He’s on his day off.” Janet replied.
“Day off?” Baje asked confused.
“Well we don’t usually get bank robbers in this town.” she replied.
“More for us then.” Ruwa said sarcastically. She looked around some more. “Why does your bank look different Janet?”
“Different?” Baje asked.
“We had some renovations done throughout yesterday.” The receptionist said.
“You must be rolling in money then.” Ruwa replied giving Janet a wicked smile through her ski mask. She pointed he shotgun at Janet and said. “Any other person around?”
“No. it’s just me.”
“Good.” Ruwa replied. “Take me to your safe.”
“I don’t have access to the codes for the safe.” Janet pleaded.
“Then who does?”
“The manager.”
“And where is he?”
“I’m right here.” A startling voice came from behind the trio. It echoed through the empty bank. Baje dropped his gun in shock, showing his inexperience and Ruwa immediately faced her gun towards the voice, to find a pale lanky man in a grey suit standing there, he looked to be in his mid-40’s with a firm face and a long nose, his eyes however went so far inside his head that he looked like a skull. Not looking away from the man standing in front of her Ruwa whispered to her brother in disappointment.
“Pick up your gun you idiot, now.” She commanded.
“I thought you said you were the only one here?” Baje asked janet as he picked up his gun.
Ruwa walked towards the manager slowly with her shotgun pointed at him with precision. “Manager?” she asked.
“I am.” He replied.
“How long have you been standing there?” She asked.
“Long enough.”
“Put your hands behind your head.” She yelled. “Did you call the police.”
“I assure you that I did not.” The manager replied.
“The moment we hear any sirens outside you’re going to be sorry.” She said placing her shotgun on his chin.” She began to frisk him with her shotgun, are you hiding anything under that suit.”
“No.” He replied.
She maneuvered her gun to his groin. “What about this?.” she asked as she smiled seductively at him.
“That’s not a weapon mam.” He said.
“Mam? How do you know I’m not a guy with a woman’s voice?”
“Should I call you sir then?”
“You’re pretty cocky for a guy with a shotgun pointed at his d.....” She leaned into him. “Take me to your safe.”
“It’s right through here.” He said as he pointed to the door by the side of the counter.
“Lead the way skull face.” Ruwa said pointing her shotgun at his back. “B, stay here and watch Janet, if you she makes any moves shoot her legs, if you hear any sirens shoot both her legs.” She ordered as she pushed the manager forward.
The manager led Ruwa to the safe. it was a rather small safe, not too small to fit in two people but, small nonetheless.
“Open it.” She said.
The manager put in his pin and the safe made a beep sound and opened automatically.
“It’s open.”
“What, you think I’m an idiot?” She pressed the gun against his back. “Ladies first.”
The manager went in and Ruwa followed and then she fell into a confused silence, the safe was empty, she stared at the metal bunks within the safe, where did all the money go, she couldn’t have wasted all her time planning for this day for nothing, she looked furiously at the manager and asked in a surgical tone.
“Where is the money?… and don’t tell me it all went into renovations, unless you want to eat lead.”
“This bank doesn’t deal with money.” The manager said.
“Don’t play with me skull face.” She replied furiously. “What kind of bank doesn’t deal with money?”
“The kind that deals in something more precious.”
“Precious?...Do you mean gold, diamonds, what do you mean?
“Oh. It’s a lot more precious than that.”
Ruwa losing her patience placed her gun on the manager’s chest. “I won’t ask again.” She said.
“We deal in souls.” He said
“I don’t have time for this. Did you know we were coming? What’s going on here?” Ruwa figured maybe she was noticed during her casing the bank weeks prior, maybe they waited for her, maybe this was an ambush, she had to get her brother out of there quickly. She hit the back manager with the base of the shotgun and ran out towards the counter where her brother was.
“B!!!” She yelled, still staying in character not willing to risk any chance of exposure. “B, let’s get out of here now.”
“Where’s the money?” Baje asked.
“Forget the money, we need to bounce now.” She said as she made for the door. She pushed the door but, it did not budge, she tried again but, to no avail, Baje tried to pry it open but, the door stood as firm as a boulder.
“Back up B.” Ruwa said as she cocked her shotgun, Baje ran behind her. She fired at the door but, not one dent was made, even the glass partitions of the door had no scratch.
“What?” Ruwa said as she and Baje stared at the door in disbelief.
“You can’t leave.” The manager said from behind them. “Not till you do what you came here for.”
Ruwa stared at him as she raised her gun to his head. “I came here to rob a bank. Now I think I might add murder to the list. Open the damn door or I will blow your head clean off.”
“You can’t do that.” The manager said.
“You think I won’t?”
“I have no doubt that you will. I’m saying you can’t Ruwa.”
Baje looked at the manager, confused, trying to figure out what was going on, trying to figure out how he knew his sisters name.
“How did you know her name?” Baje asked.
“I know yours too.” The manager looked at him. “Baje.”
Ruwa had, had enough, she wasn’t going to let her brother end up in jail, and she wasn’t going to let herself get caught. She cocked her gun and shot at the manager’s leg, sending a loud bang echoing through the strange bank, Baje looked at his sister in shock but, not as shocked as he was about to be when the smoke cleared the manger stood there just as tall and as healthy as he was moments ago.
“What the f.... Ruwa?” Baje asked in complete disarray.
Ruwa stood there with her mouth open; her eyes stared down at the leg of the man she had just shot. How? Impossible. Something was obviously very wrong.
“What are you?” Ruwa asked.
“I’m just a manager.” He replied
“And why does a manager know our names?”
The manager smiled. “Well, it’s because you’ve been on every newspaper today, you’re famous.”
“What do you mean?” Baje asked.
“The Headlines today read; Fharruk siblings shot dead in a bank robbery gone wrong.”
“Your jokes are beginning to get on my nerves.” Ruwa yelled. “Those headlines aren’t possible.”
“I’m not trying to be funny.” The manager said. “You two are absolutely positively dead.”
“Prove it.” Baje said.
“Don’t listen to this nut job Baje.”
“Your brother seems to understand.” The manager said. “You’ve been having déjà vu throughout today haven’t you? It’s not déjà vu. Those are memories, from yesterday’s unsuccessful bank robbery. You were both gunned down by the police, and that’s why you’re here. Can you remember now Baje?”
Baje felt a sharp migraine, as memories flooded back into his head. He yelled in pain and fell into woe. Ruwa rushed to his side.
“Get a grip Baje.” She said as she placed a hand on his shoulder and then she too had her memories return to her. She remembered the bullets, she remembered the blood.
“Why are we here?” Ruwa said as she began to cry, knowing now that she and her brother were truly dead.
“Why, you’re here to make a deposit of course.” Said the manager. “Just follow Janet’s instructions and everything will be all right.” He smiled as Janet walked up behind him.
Dibosa P.C. Marcel writes fiction and poetry, his a corps member serving in Kwara state, his also a member Creative Writing SAED, NYSC.
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