The Heist

Frank stood quietly and walked to the front of the room. He could feel Les' eyes boring into him. He knew the big man was wondering what Frank was going to say. Frank was wondering the same thing. On one hand, he was ready for this opportunity and ready to retire. On the other, he was more than a little skeptical of Mr. Smalls. What were his motives, where did he come from, how did he find their group? He knew that the preparations for this heist were going to take at least three months. Would Large be willing to wait that long? He seemed a bit antsy.

Then there was Indigo. She had never called them all together without first meeting with him and Les privately. Had she already met with Les? If that was the case why hadn't Les called him for the meeting. No, he was sure she made this decision by herself and Les was the first person she had called. Had he demanded to have the specifics before coming? Frank was very uneasy about the whole situation. No matter how enticing the situation may seem, he wanted to keep his wits about him.

As Frank cleared his throat, he looked around the room. "I can see you are all very interested in this opportunity. I have to say that I am also very interested. This is the job that we have all been working toward, but someone has to be the voice of reason in this room." As he paused he could feel the energy in the room plummet like a glass from the counter and shatter all over the floor.

Just then, Indigo started to cut Frank off, "Frank, we don't need you...we can do this by ourselves," she began.

"I did not say that I would not do it, but you need to remember who has the power here. I can see that you got to Les before the meeting, and I am not sure what you said to convince him, but I need to hear all the specifics before fully committing to this job. I am personally indebted to everyone here, including you. Unlike some people in this room, I am not only looking out for myself."

After his speech the atmosphere in the room got a little lighter. It was becoming clearer where Frank stood and that seemed to put everyone a little more at ease. Frank knew that he really did have the power to say no to the job and the rest would follow, even Les. He glanced over at the big man. He shifted in his seat.

"Mr. Smalls, when the bank opens in thirty minutes we will have someone there to interview for the position of head security officer. We need you to disappear for a little while. You can't be anywhere near the bank during this time. Once we get our inside man set we will be in touch."

"But, but, you need the pass code, the updated schematics..."

Frank put up a hand to silence the stout man. "We are the professionals here, not you. We will tell you what we need. Don't get me wrong, we are thankful for your coming here and presenting the opportunity, but from here on out it is our job, or we don't do it," Frank said.

Indigo rose from her seat and walked over to Mr. Smalls. "Ken, we will be in touch very soon. I told you that they would want to run the show. You will find a bag by the door. Inside the bag are a passport and tickets to a relaxing destination. Take a short trip, begin your retirement in style. When you return we will be ready for you."

Mr. Smalls looked from Indigo to Frank. Then he shot a sideways glance at Les. He did not make eye contact with anyone else in the room. Reluctantly, he turned and walked out of the room. Once he was gone everyone began to talk at once.

"Quiet, everyone!" Les finally stood and spoke. "We must move quickly now. Bones, you will be the inside man on this one. Indigo, you need to make up some credentials for him from the agency that the bank uses. Parker you need to hack into the agency's computer system and remove all the other candidates that they have identified for the position. People, we have twenty minutes before the bank opens let's move."

Frank stood in shock. So Les had known about this job before the meeting.