THE NIGHT BEFORE THE HEIST

             The darkness of the night flooded over Milan's view of Toledo, and the only lights she could decipher were from the town lanterns miles away. There was also the stars, that managed to reflect some shine from above, but Milan wasn't one that spent hours laid back gazing at the white specks dotting the sky. She understood the beauty of a sunset, but not the beauty of ivory spots against a black surface.

So, she resorted to enjoying the feeling of her feet dangling from the balcony of the house and the peace that reigned under her. The rest of the gang was probably fidgeting under their covers, realising that the heist was merely hours away, and that their life was about to take a dramatic shift.

Milan decided then to grasp the chance of being alone with her thoughts, enjoying the melody of a song as it traveled through her tangled earphones. It was probably around two in the morning, but no sign of weariness arose in her bones. She probably would have been ready to start the heist then if she had been given the green light.

Yet, her breath lodged in her throat as she felt two hands press onto both her shoulders, threatening to knock her off her balance and send her tumbling down, cracking her skull. The girl's primal instinct was to try to whip herself around and undo herself from the hold, but the familiar sound of someone's loud cackling made her halt.

"Asshole." She rolled her eyes at the sight of Denver, his grin oozing with pride. "I was about to kill you."

"Doubt that," he shrugged, jumping over the marbled balcony to sit on the ledge, right next to her. "You'd never hurt me." He tried to joke, softly nudging the girl.

"Then you underestimate me, clearly," Milan humoured, turning her head to meet his gaze. In the meanwhile, after digging in his leather pockets, he lit up a cigarette, plucking it between his lips.

"C'mon, who'd hurt a handsome guy like me?" Denver chuckled, blowing smoke.

Milan reached for the cigarette, picking it from his mouth. She could feel the weight of his gaze as she inhaled, the burn of the tobacco bubbling on her tongue. The breeze stirred her hair as she continued to peer in the distance. "Couldn't sleep either?" she asked, turning back to Denver as a small silence had settled.

"Nope. And my dad's snoring isn't helping," he shook his head.

Milan breathed out a laugh. "I can relate, Amsterdam sounds like a running tractor at night."

"We should make them switch, then," Denver smiled. "Let the loud sleepers enjoy each other's snores." He proposed proudly, moving his hands forward.

"That desperate to share a room with me?" Milan teased, tilting her head to the side. Denver failed to reply, instead leaning forward to retrieve his cigarette, breathing in the nicotine.

"Just think we should at least get a good's night sleep before this heist." Denver commented, his expression suddenly drained out of any amusement as he mouthed the phrase.

"In a few hours we'll be in the process of being the richest people in the world," Milan laughed. "Why the long face?" Her eyebrows knitted as she caught on his downcast eyes, that stared at the vast abyss that stood beneath their feet.

"Don't get me wrong, I can't wait for the money. It's just, well---What if it goes wrong?" He shared, clenching his jaw.

"I know the feeling." Milan nodded. "But you'll never know until you try. Besides, what have we got to lose?" To the girl's surprise, Denver turned around with a smirk dangling childishly on his lips. "What?" She laughed.

"Did I just make you admit how you felt?" He clapped his hands together.

Milan bit back a smile as she lightly pushed his shoulder, ignoring the sound of his snorts. "Shut up!" She rolled her eyes playfully. Before she could move away though, Denver snaked an arm around her shoulders, reeling her in. Milan didn't fight back when he held her close to him, instead laying her head on his shoulder, breathing in the countryside air.

She didn't stay long, though, not taking pleasure in the crescendo rhythm of her heart against her chest. For once, she was determined in respecting a rule, the one that forbid personal relationships within the group. Milan would not let herself develop any romantic attachment to anyone, no matter how much attraction could be held between the two. She'd control herself. How difficult could that be?

                  Milan breathed in as she rushed down the stairs, squeezing the hilt of her rifle tightly as well as the heavy bag of cash. Following the plan, they all hurried to stand in front of the metal doors, jumpsuits on and bulletproof vests squeezing their body. Rio advanced to press on the red handle, activating the alarm.

"Two minutes." Berlin stated, and Milan sucked in a breath. This would be one of the only times they'd actually step outside the Royal Mint. By now, there were probably dozens of police cars zooming towards them, guns in the palm of their hands, ready to take them down. Little did they know.

Milan's gaze fell on Rio, that bounced his right leg up and down anxiously as the seconds ticked by. As their eyes met, the girl shot him a tight-lipped smile, that he managed to return, though stress was scribbled all over his features. Milan, having spent five months living with him, she had grown to believe Rio was probably the weakest link out of them all. Nonetheless, she had developed a soft spot for him, finding the boy to be a breath of fresh air through a midst of intensity.

In the moments that followed, the echo of sirens swarmed around the entrance. "Now." Tokyo commanded, running forward. Rio screamed after her, hurrying to follow the girl. She had gone too early. Milan let out a sigh of frustration.

As soon as gunshots began to ring through the air, Milan sprung to action, sprinting out of the corridor. She pressed her back against the marbled column for an instant, before joining the duo and shooting towards the several police cars. The only difference was that Milan wasn't aiming anyone, shooting only at the ground, while Tokyo blurred the difference.

Rio laid on the ground, obviously hit as Tokyo kneeled over him. Milan ignored Amsterdam's yell as she shielded the injured thief, helping Tokyo heave him up. She pierced bullets through the car and the window, distracting the cops in the meanwhile.

They retreated backward, returning to the inside of the Mint. As the doors began to close again, Milan ripped off her mask, eyes shining with anger and worry as she peered down to a bloody Rio, gasping for air.

"That was the first rule! The first fucking rule!" Denver exclaimed, venom dripping in his words as he paced around.

Meanwhile, Tokyo sobbed and embraced Rio as he opened his eyes. Milan stood up, letting a shaky breath of relief slither out of her mouth. Sure, the fact that the plan hadn't gone well triggered irritation, but she didn't how she could have coped with the death of one of them within the first minutes of the heist.

                Now that it was clear Rio was all right, Milan ran a hand through her disheveled hair. Nairobi dapped up his graze with a cotton as Denver and Amsterdam had rage imprinted all over his face. The Professor had insisted countless times that if even one death was on their hands, everything would be ruined. Now, there were very slight chances the police men had survived Tokyo's shots.

"Do you ever think before you act?!" Milan asked, slumping down next to Tokyo. "Did your brain not register the thousand of times we were told not to shoot at them?" She asked, slamming her hand against the table. She was pissed, just like the rest of them.

"I didn't know what to do, they--" Tokyo spat, trying to defend herself.

Amsterdam walked forward, flashes of red spreading on his cheeks. "Are you fucking nuts? Don't you get it? You shot them!" He yelled.

"Calm down. When they came, the police out there shot first." Tokyo said, meeting Amsterdam's furious gaze. "What would you have done? Spit on them?"

"You know what you should have done? Stuck to the plan!" Nairobi added. They were on all edge. Tokyo buried her face in her hands, sharing a look with Rio as the rest continued to yell at her.

"I blacked out from the impact, I--" Rio butted in weakly.

"I don't care!" Denver screamed, banging his fist. "We were there to back you up. We took shots at the ground! Not right at the damn cops!" Rio tensed up at the words, his body shaking vigorously.

However, they simultaneously quieted down at the sight of Berlin, having heard the piling up of yells and anger. Rio twitched nervously at the sight, because he knew, everyone knew, Berlin wasn't compassionate. If something had gone wrong, a punishment would be inflicted on the culprit, void of any remorse.

"They're taking the injured cops away," he claimed, seemingly calm. "Have you connected the phones yet Rio?" He asked, and an awkwardness floated between the rest of them. Nairobi and Milan shared a glance as Rio hurried to bring out the red landline phone, fiddling with the wires. "Cut off all wireless and radio signals." Everyone handed Berlin their earpiece. "We're switching to analog." He dropped the pieces into the fish tank, kneeling down to watch them sink to the bottom. "Call the Professor."

Rio followed the given instructions, and Berlin picked up the phone. "What happened?" The Professor's static voice could be heard through out the room. Denver and Milan exchanged an awkward glance, dreading the following minutes.

"Two cops were wounded."

"Who fired?"

"Tokyo." Berlin replied. "Connect the cameras for the Professor. They shot on Rio and Tokyo shot back. Apparently they're seeing each other." Tokyo's head whipped up at his accusation, surprise shining over her eyes. For some reason, Milan could feel the weight of Denver's gaze on her back, but she continued to focus on the phone call.

"Let me talk to her." The Professor said, and Berlin handed Tokyo the phone, the hint of a smile pasted on his lips. Tokyo stood up, snatching the phone.

"What?" She asked, with a layer of frustration.

"Is it true? Do you have a relationship with Rio?" He questioned, and Rio's flickered to the girl in question.

"What the fuck are you saying? The love of my life died because of me, so the last thing I'll do is get involved with a kid." A silence weighed around the room as Tokyo mouthed those words, and Rio peered down, eyes glistening with disappointment. "I fired only to protect myself and my partner. And, listen Professor, even if you spend a lot of time playing everything, things don't always turn out how you expected." Tokyo slammed the phone down, before storming out of the room. Milan noticed how Rio's gaze followed the girl, and how his bottom lip wavered as she stepped out. You had to be an idiot to not notice that something had been going on between the two.

"I suggest you sort out whatever's going on, because I'm not dying for a stupid love story." Milan whispered in Rio's ear. Berlin breathed out a soft chuckle at her words as she exited the room.

"Knew I liked her." Berlin smirked as he leaned further into his chair. "Don't think I'm the only one." He whispered under his breath as he watched Denver clench his jaw before following her trail.

An instant later, Milan felt her wrist being yanked backwards, and she was suddenly chest-to-chest with Denver. "You should have been more careful out there," he spoke, and Milan could feel his breath tickle her skin.

"Worried about me?" She joked, her pinkish lips twisting into a smirk.

"Don't joke around." He told off. "I just don't want anyone to go off killing themselves," he frowned. A glint of stress flashed over his gaze as he did so.

"I know what I'm doing, Denver," Milan tried to comfort, shooting him a smile. Milan was confident. Life had taught her strength, and she wouldn't back down easily at whatever obstacle. Besides, scaring the police wasn't particularly torturing.

"Yeah, I hope so." His shoulders relax slightly, though he stays holding on her wrist.

"You're cute when you're protective." Milan teased. She couldn't help throwing a comment from time to time. In some way, it helped her relax and reminded her this was all just a simple game between two bored thieves.

"You're hot as hell when you're shooting like that." Denver replied, matching her comments with ease.

"Maybe I'll do that more often, then," she shrugged innocently. At that, Denver locked her head in the crook of his arm, smiling as her laugh poured out of her mouth and filled the room.

Milan was so keen on following protocol and becoming the richest woman on earth that she failed to control her heartbeat as she fought against Denver's grip. He triggered childish giggles out of her, and that was an accomplishment already.