Steam swirled out from my black coffee and mixed with the cigarette smoke in the air. Soft music mixed with the sound of clattering dishes and small talk between tables. Todd, John, Erica, and I were sitting in a small booth at some random diner. They were talking about the robbery, which would go down in an hour. I zoned out awhile ago, too many things clouded my mind. Erica must've noticed because she kept glancing at me, but every time I look up she turns away. She probably overheard the argument between my mom and me. I'm surprised she hasn't said anything about it yet. Erica is always trying to invade my privacy, but if there's one thing she knows not to talk about it's my family.

"So what's the deal with security?" Todd asked.

"Oh shit," John chuckled. "I forgot about that." He elbowed Erica jokingly. She rolled her eyes and sent him a smile.

I shrugged and took a drag of my cigarette, blowing out the white smoke slowly. "Banks new, security shouldn't be a problem."

"But what if it is?" Erica thought out loud.

"Well.." I leaned my elbow on the table and placed my head in my hands. "We have two options: we play it safe, 'in out and no one gets hurt,' or, my personal favorite, we go in guns-a-blazin."

John laughed loudly. "I like the second option!" Erica also laughed and clapped excitedly, agreeing with John.

Todd seemed a little more hesitant though, which was expected. He's always so responsible and careful when it comes to the robberies. "As fun as that sounds, it's dangerous. There's more of a chance we get caught."

John groaned. "Come on, Todd! Stop being so boring."

I snickered and sent him a sly wink. "Yeah, Todd. Join the wild side."

Todd rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "The 'wild side' will get us busted."

I scoffed. "Oh, loosen up! You should learn how to be more like me," I teased.

"Now, why would I want to do that!" Todd laughed.

"Because I'm fun," I exclaimed as if it was obvious.

"More like reckless," Todd remarked sarcastically.

I sent him a fake glare and rolled my eyes, trying to hide my smile. "Whatever."

"Back to the robbery," Erica decided to change the topic. "I think we should take a vote!" She clapped and smiled. We all nodded an approval and waited for her to continue. "Okay, all those in favor for option 1?"

Todd raised his hand and looked around the table. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fine," he gave in. "But don't say I didn't warn you guys."

Erica and John clapped excitedly with wide smiles on their faces. It's funny how excited they get about breaking the law. They act like children when it comes to these things.

"We should probably get goin," Todd interrupted. "The opening is about to start." He nodded towards a clock on the wall behind our booth. It was already noon, which was when the bank would open, so we all agreed it was time to leave. I left my mom's money on the table and followed everyone else out of the door. We walked around the diner and found our van parked on the side of the building. I hopped in the passenger seat with Todd in the drivers seat, while Erica and John sat in the back. Todd started the engine and drove off towards the bank.

»»——⍟——««

By the time we got to the bank, a crowd of New Yorkers were already waiting outside. The line to get into the building moved slowly, but that wouldn't be a problem for us.

John handed each of us our own pistols with a few extra bullets. 'Just in case,' he always said.

The gun slipped into my hand perfectly. The cold metal shined when I turned it in my hand, getting a good look at the dangerous weapon. Every time I held a gun I felt completely mesmerized, but in a dark and uncontrollable way. I always questioned myself and wondered if worst came to worst.. would I be able to use the gun? Would I actually be able to shoot and kill someone? As twisted as it seems, the topic of murder always crossed my mind whenever I held a pistol, but I tried to ignore the questions my mind wanted answers to. I'd never just kill someone in cold blood, right?

"Oh! I almost forgot," Erica's voice broke me out of my daze. I turned around in my seat and faced her. She reached into her backpack and pulled out 4 black, identical bandanas. "I stole these so we'd have a disguise," she smiled and handed each of us one.

"Erica this isn't a fashion show," John teased and elbowed her jokingly.

She pushed John's arm away and rolled her eyes. "Come on guys. They're cool!"

I looked down at the piece of cloth in my hands and shrugged, tying it around my head. The bandana covered my nose and mouth like a mask.

"That's the spirit, Diana!" Erica happily nodded as she tied her own bandana around her head. The two boys eventually gave in and copied us with their bandanas. "We're like a team now," Erica's voice was slightly muffled, but the happiness and excitement was clearly present.

Todd chuckled. "Alright 'team' lets get this show on the road then."

We all got out of the van and made our way towards the entrance of the bank. I pulled my hood up and hid my gun in my leather jacket. As we pushed through the crowd of people, we received numerous looks of confusion and suspicion.

Finally, we got to the front doors of the building. Todd looked over his shoulder and I gave him a reassuring nod, smirking under the bandana. He kicked the doors open with his boot and all 4 of us strolled in. Immediately, everyone inside the bank froze and all eyes were on us.

It was a shame that we were about to trash the place because the bank was actually really nice. Black and white marble floors sparkled from the shining lights that hung from the ceiling. Tan, wooden desks were placed along each white wall with a smiley employee working behind. I doubt they'd be this happy in a few minutes.

John swaggered over to the center of the room, his sneakers echoed throughout the quiet building. He pulled out his pistol from the side of his belt and shot it twice into the air. Between the screams and bullets being shot from the gun, it was almost deafening. "Alright, listen up everybody," John paused, spinning on his heel to get a good look at all the frightened faces. "THIS IS A ROBBERY!"

There was a brief moment of silence before everyone in the bank began screaming and frantically running for the front doors, but Erica and Todd stood in front of their only exit with loaded guns pointed in every direction.

"Don't move!" Erica shouted.

"We'll shoot!" Todd threatened.

Everyone remained still and quickly became quiet. Mothers hugged their crying children close to them, and distraught couples held onto each other's hands. Everyone in the building seemed to be shaking with fear, while Todd, Erica, John, and I nonchalantly took over.

John shot another bullet to get everyone's attention again. A few gasps and shrieks were heard throughout the crowd as they all huddled closer together. My ears began ringing because of the loud noises, but I could still hear what was being said.

"No one is getting in or out until we get our, well deserved, cash!" John's dark laugher sent shivers down my spine. It amused me how he could switch into different tones, almost like he had two opposite personalities. Of course, I preferred his usual funny, adventurous self over his dangerous, crazy self. Sometimes I wondered how he can be so good at acting.. or if he's even acting at all.

I definitely wasn't the only one in the room who was freaked out by his behavior right now. My eyes glimpsed at each face in the crowd. Fear swirled in everyone's eyes as they watched us carefully. No one dared to move a muscle. Everyone was completely petrified and nervous that even the slightest movement or noise would get them shot or worse, killed.

There was a baby crying hysterically as the mother tried to comfort the infant. A man stepped forward hesitantly. "Please," he pleaded. "We have a baby!"

John chuckled and walked over to the man slowly and creepily. "Oh, well in that case.. your family is free to go!" He announced cheery.

The man looked up at John gratefully and quickly gathered his wife and baby. As they made their way to the exit, John fired 3 bullets at the door, nearly missing the family. I watched with wide eyes, not really sure what would happen next.

"Sike!" John's laugh echoed throughout the building. The baby cried even louder as the family ran to rejoin everyone else again, hiding behind the crowd now.

With his gun still pointed straight ahead, John gave me a curt nod, signaling for me to start grabbing money. I nodded back, slightly unsure if I should leave him alone. Regardless, I walked over to a desk, hopping over it and making my way down a hallway that led to the vault. It was 'protected' by a simple locked door, so I pulled out my knife and switched it open. I placed the sharp edge inside the lock and twisted the handle. I heard a click from the inside, so I turned the knob and pushed the door open. I smirked under the bandana as I walked into the small room, unzipping my backpack and loading it with as much cash as it could hold.

Finally, my bag was fully stuffed with green bills. I zipped it closed and walked out of the room, not bothering to close the door. As I walked down the hallway I heard faint sirens blaring from outside. Shit, the police! I ran down the hall and hopped over the desk quickly. Erica and Todd were still guarding the door, while John paced in the middle of the room.

"Hey," I shouted to get their attention. Their heads turned to face me. "Cops are outside, we gotta split."

An older man, who appeared to work at the bank, pushed his way to the front of the crowd. "Excuse me, Miss, but.. you can't just take all that money!"

I rolled my eyes and scoffed. "We can and we are."

"B-But those were all donations," the old man begged, his eyes pleaded for us to leave the money behind.

John stepped closer to the greying man. He held his gun firmly and placed it on the man's wrinkled forehead. "Sir, I really don't think you're in the place to make any demands right now." The old man slowly held up his hands in surrender. His whole body was shaking with horror as his life was being threatened.

I walked over to John's side. "Put the gun down," I ordered, but he didn't move. "Put the gun down," I repeated with venom laced in my voice. When John didn't back down, I pulled out my blade and switched it open, placing the sharp edge at John's neck, and practically daring him to disobey me again. His eyes glanced down at my knife that was pressed against his neck and then at me. Slowly, he pulled the pistol away from the terrified, old man. This was the side of John that I never wanted to see again.

"What should we do with them?" John called out to me and pointed towards the crowd of people that were still trapped inside the bank.

"Let 'em out," I said.

Todd shook his head. "But D, we can't-,"

I rolled my eyes and cut Todd off. "Just trust me."

He glanced over at Erica for her approval. She shrugged and nodded. Todd sighed and, together, they both pulled open the doors. People immediately flooded out into the streets screaming for help.

"Alright, so now what?" Todd asked, slightly annoyed. "We can't go out the front now."

"Well, good thing there's an emergency exit in the back," I said in a mocking tone. Todd rolled his eyes, while I smirked smugly. Thank god for the shit security in the 60s.

I turned on my heel and began running towards the back hallway again, motioning for everyone else to follow me. All 4 of us ran down the hall and, like I said, there was a door located at the end of it. I pushed on the handle and the door swung open. By now, the cops were already inside, so we stealthily moved around the bank and to the front of the building. We were on the side of the bank when I peaked my head out from the corner. The cops seemed to clear most citizens off of the area, making it easier for us not to get spotted.

I turned around to face the group. "There are 4 cops out front. Stay low," I whispered. Each of them nodded, so we began ducking and running towards our van, which was conveniently parked on this side of the bank. All 4 of us hopped in quickly, starting the engine and driving off.