On the Run

"I thought we'd come in the back way," Emma told him. "Best not turn up at the front asking if we can rob 'em."

"Too right," Jamie answered enthusiastically. Oliver nervously traipsed through the wrought iron gate and Emma leant over to slide his balaclava down, telling him that there was no point in him having it if it wasn't over his face.

They watched as she emptied out her cigarette butts and matches from a plastic sandwich bag onto the ground underneath the gate and she trod it slightly into the mud. "That'll throw 'em," she whispered and put the sandwich bag back into her pocket.

Oliver was scared as they walked across the grass, keeping to the shadows. Emma had turned off her torch, preferring the light of the moon and the Manor came into view. Oliver gulped.

Emma looked back at him. "Fuck, I was nervous on my first job, but just do as we said, it'll be fine. I've done this loads of times."

Oliver nodded and Jamie looked at Emma. "If this goes tits up 'cos of 'im I'll swing for ya," he muttered and Emma ignored him, running along the shadows to a small bush twenty yards from the patio and the house.

"OK. I am going to get inside and open that door there," she whispered glancing at a piece of torn paper and nodding towards a small door. "It's not protected by an alarm that one but is locked."

"OK."

"But I think there will be people in there," she said nodding towards a room opposite, so that's why we need the distractions."

Oliver's hands felt clammy and he sighed, nodding his head. He was scared; he didn't want to be in the undergrowth of his crazed employer's address, he wanted to be at home in front of the fire with a nice cup of cocoa. How did he let his brother talk him into this?

Emma looked at her watch. "I want you to do them exactly three minutes after I climb in through that window," she told them and Oliver looked at her. "I mean it three minutes. Exactly. To the second."

"But that window's not open," he told her and Emma just gave a snort and a promise that it soon would be.

Emma climbed up the drainpipe, her hands slipping as she made it to the first floor, and then the second. Jamie and Oliver watched from the bush as she got along side the window, and ran her hands along it before prising it open effortlessly.

"Fuck," Jamie cried. "She's got skills. That's insane."

"Ya just jealous," Oliver said nervously and watched as their partner disappeared through the window; he wouldn't have minded if Emma couldn't have gained access and they had to go home but glanced at his watch. "Fifteen seconds past," he whispered and watched as his watch ticked forward. The two brothers held their breaths waiting to hear alarms of the house or shouting but there was nothing.

"Scared?" Jamie asked from underneath his balaclava.

Oliver nodded. "Terrified. I know what Doszak is like. If this isn't perfect I'm going to be dead."

Jamie patted him on the back and left the silence to hang in the air for a few moments. "But dis perfect. And then we are well sorted, for life. And Emma, she is sound."

"I hope so," Oliver muttered. "Cause this is the stupidest thing I've ever done."

Jamie glanced at his watch and flicked his finger towards the gate. "Off you go bro," Jamie whispered as two minutes passed and Oliver tentatively edged his way along the undergrowth and around the house. Five seconds past; he had ten seconds and he looked up at the small gate and manicured hedge that stood in his way.

The gate creaked open, and he shuddered, listening for any movement but there was none, and the two cars were sat on the gravel drive as Emma told him they would be.

Keeping low to the ground, Oliver ran across to the first one, a BMW and pushed hard on the bonnet like he had been told to do, but there was nothing. He did it again and then had to almost jump on the car for the alarm to sound.

His felt his stomach lurch and he slid off of it, pressing down on the sports car for it to the same and dived through the gate, seconds before two voices appeared at the front door.

Oliver tore around the house and came face-to-face with Emma propping a door open at the side of the house. "Hurry," she hissed and Oliver slipped inside. Jamie was already waiting, holding a can in his hand that he put in his backpack. "Ready?"

She listened and guided them down a dimly-lit corridor opposite and then to her right down a marble staircase. They reached the bottom, and turned to see Oliver lifting his balaclava up to scratch underneath. She knocked his hand away and hissed. "Don't."

"But it itches," he moaned. "Itches really bad."

"Tough," Emma hissed and whispered to Oliver's brother. "You need to keep an eye on him."

The entrance to the vault was just in front of them and they walked towards it. Emma suddenly swore, she had tripped over something and the undignified squawk from under her feet shot towards the vault door. "It's Vlad," Oliver whispered. "Jaroslav's mistress's pussy."

Jamie sniggered and Emma looked through her balaclava at Oliver. "Vlad? As in the Impaler?" Emma asked and threw the cat a couple of squares of meat she had in a bag in her pocket as it hissed at her.

"Putin," came the response. "You know ex-KGB." Emma snickered, and went to ask why a Ukrainian businessman named his cat after a Russian president when they arrived at the vault and she muttered. "This is it here."

Jamie went to press the white door access card against the scanner, but Emma knocked his hand away. "Sssh," she silenced him when he went to object and pushed the door. It swung open, and she turned her torch off.

"Silence," she whispered and crept along the stone passageway, glancing either side at the statues that lined the path to the vault. There were two flickering lights that weakly illuminated their path although Emma kept to the right hand side in the shadows until the chamber at the end came into view.

"Why was the door unlocked?" Oliver asked and Jamie clamped his palm over his brother's mouth.

"Shut it," he hissed firmly the terrified man. "Just shut it. Or y'all get us all nicked. Or killed."

There was a terrified squawk from the unwilling robber at the last comment, but Emma glanced up at the CCTV cameras before spraying them with an aerosol; it was almost pitch black and Oliver asked what she had done.

"Tis an obscurer," Emma whispered. "Makes it look like it's through a bathroom winda and out of focus. In case lights come on."

Oliver sniffed and wiped his face. He had never been as scared as he was and looked around the almost pitch black chamber. There was a wrought iron vault in front of him and a dozen statues of naked women in marble around it. A control panel on a small plinth stood two feet away from the door and Emma glanced at it.

Emma strode forward and typed the six digit code – 418592 – into the control panel and looked at Jamie. "Get ready," she whispered and pressed the green button.

There was a whirring sound and the three of them held their breath in expectation. "Wait," she muttered and rubbed her hands together. There was a momentary pause as time stood still for them, waiting for the red light on top of the vault to glow green.

A high-pitched siren went off and the main lights flashed on. Emma looked Jamie and Oliver. "Oh shit," she called and started up towards the passage. "Hide," she called out when she heard voices shouting on the other side of the door and looked down to see Vlad staring up at her. "Get behind the statues."

The cat howled when she picked him up and then sprinted silently down the passageway back into the chamber. Oliver had already taken refuge behind a large feline statue in the very corner of the chamber and Jamie was cowering behind a naked woman. Emma dumped the tabby cat on the plinth and slid behind a statue next to Jamie, peering between the legs of the stone nymph.

The large figure of Jaroslav appeared seconds later with two large, bulky men and he laughed the moment he saw the cat looking scared on the dashboard. He clicked his fingers and a large brute of a man stepped forward and pushed the cat off the panel which made a thoroughly dissatisfied growl as it landed on its feet.

"Zhee fucking cat," he shouted. "Turn zhee alarms off," he barked and the man picked up the terrified animal and walked back down the passageway.

Jaroslav looked around the room, and then walked over to the the plinth, typing in his six digit number and walking into the vault as it swung open. A radio crackled into life and the henchman spoke to Jaroslav walking inside his giant safe. "Control say there is a problem with the camera there," he said in a professional voice. "Everything is washed out." Jaroslav looked up at it and touched it before looking back at his henchman.

"It's looks OK," he told him and looking around the room smiled at he looked at the statue Emma was hiding behind, who felt as though he was looking straight at her. "Get the security company to look tomorrow." He grabbed a briefcase from the vault and then pulled the vault door shut, spinning the wheel on the front and pressing three buttons on the panel. "These go nice in Kiev," he said, nodding towards his companions and holding up his briefcase, and then glanced around the room before striding up the passageway.

They heard a click at the end of the room and Emma peered out. The lights remained on for another twenty seconds and then dimmed; the only illumination coming from the flickering bulbs in the passageway. "See I told you it was a bad idea," Oliver blubbed.

"Oh shut up," Jamie replied and glanced at his ex-girlfriend. "Nice work with the cat."

Emma didn't respond to Jamie or to Oliver's weeping and just stared at the control panel, typing in a six digit number number. "What ya doing?" Jamie hissed and Emma turned and gave him a raffish smile as she pressed the green button.

"Didn't you watch as he typed it in? From my angle it was perfect, open enough to see him type his digits but not shielded by his body."

"So what's it then?" Jamie asked as there was a click from the door.

"123456," Emma replied with a grin. "The classics are always the best."

The light glowed green and Emma spun the wheel 180 degrees. The security door swung open when she pulled on the wheel to reveal a small box room, holding three shelves in a U-Shape.

Emma walked in, looking around the vault and then at the set of shelves bathed in muted red light. Jamie gasped and Emma strode forward picking up the three light-blue statues.

"We shouldn't be here," Oliver wailed from the doorway but Jamie just looked inside the vault. Emma picked up a small box of jewellery containing three necklaces and emptied it into her bag and then glanced over at two hold-alls on the floor.

Jamie opened them and they both gasped – the bags were stuffed full of banknotes and he slid one of them over to Emma.

"You didn't say anything about any money," Oliver told him and Jamie just shrugged. "Just the statues."

"We versatile," Emma whispered in response and they glanced around the vault before leaving it's empty steel shelves and leaving the door open. "I want a jackpot."

"We going to close it?" Oliver asked and Emma shook her head.

"He did something on the keypad when he closed it and I didn't see what it was," she replied. "I'd rather not set the alarms off again, we won't get away with a second time."

"But won't it go off?" Jamie asked and Emma shrugged.

"No fuckin' idea. But we'll be out of here in three minutes," she promised. Emma looked down the passageway and then putting her arms through her full backpack and throwing it over her shoulders jogged down towards the closed security door. Emma pushed the door access card Oliver had got them and it registered with a red light and a derisive tone.

"We are so fucked," Oliver tearfully cried and Jamie punched his brother in the top of his arm.

"Shut up," he snapped and looked at the door access panel. "Can we break it, from the inside?"

Emma shook her head and looked at Oliver. "Are you sure that this is the right sort of card?"

"Yes," Oliver replied and pulled out his wallet, sliding out his work card. "It's just like mine, look. And it is set up for 24 hour access everywhere."

"Well it bloody isn't," Jamie barked back and Oliver screwed up his face.

"I set it to expire on the sixth. That's today."

"Yesterday," Emma grunted and looked at him. "That's fuckin' yesterday."

Jamie snatched Oliver's card from his hand and pushed it against the panel. It glowed green and the door unlocked. "Nice one," he told him and grinned as they pushed the door open and stood at the bottom of some stairs.

"But that shows I was here," Oliver howled and Emma turned to face him gesturing wildly with her hands. "But it does," Oliver hissed. "They'll know it was me. I don't want to go to prison. I don't want to die."

Jamie pushed his brother up against the wooden panelling, holding him menacingly by the throat. "Shut it," he threatened, pushing a fist into his face and then glanced at Emma.

"Let's get the fuck out of here," she barked and, keeping to the wall side of the spiral stairs, tiptoed up the first few steps looking up.

Oliver followed, his feet echoing as he slapped them wearily against the marble and Emma put a finger to her mouth glaring at him. "Sorry," he muttered and slowly the two brothers inched their way up the stairs to get into the house. Emma froze when she heard some voices but they passed through another room, and she looked back at the two men beside her.

"This balaclava is still itchy," Oliver moaned in a low voice, but Emma had ran across the room and was alongside the opposing wall, making her way around the small corridor to the door they had come through.

"Come on," Jamie hissed at his brother, and a little louder they moved alongside the wall to reach Emma who was busy picking the lock to the door. Jamie reached up and picked up a handbag on a coat-stand, smiling at Oliver. "Bonus," he whispered.

"They've locked it," she whispered in annoyance but took out some metal implements and fiddled with the lock until it clicked. "Bingo," she whispered and opened it.

There was a barking sound from outside and Emma froze, listening. "It's a dog," Oliver whispered in panic, and Jamie reached into his backpack side pocket and took out a freezer bag.

"Just in case," he whispered and they quietly left through the door and onto a small patio. Light streamed across the garden from the windows and Emma looked around before running across the patio and leaping over a low wall to drop down onto the flower bed beneath.

She landed with a soft thud and listened. There was silence and she looked up, her eyes just reaching the top of the wall and gestured for Oliver and Jamie to do the same. Oliver landed with a squawk and was spread out in the flowerbed, his foot catching on the wall as he tried to leap over and landing face first in a row of pansies.

Jamie gave a muffled laugh as he landed. "You fucking retard," he muttered and they started moving across the garden. Jamie threw the meat he had got onto the grass and a small shadow sprinted across to devour it gratefully. "Bloody cat," he muttered. "It's for the dogs."

"Be fuckin' grateful that there are no dogs," Emma told him with a chuckle and they ran to the edge of Jaroslav's property and through the large gate, pulling it shut.

* * * * *

"I am so fucked," Oliver moaned the moment he got into Emma's Transit van. "They will only need to check the logs and see that it was me."

"Yeah," Emma replied. "And when we used the card to get in, they will just look back and see who issued it. You were always going to be in trouble."

"No. We all login as Administrator but I bet Charlotte did my card. She is always giving people complete access everywhere. But I am so fucked now. It is either me or Jamie nicking the card from me. I am a dead man."

"It's your own fault. A week you said, not six days. Set the card up right we wouldn't have used yours."

"Well I can't go to work tomorrow," Oliver said. "I need to go home, get a change of clothes and come with you."

Emma snorted. "We ain't goin' to your house," she said. "But we did it. We got lots of stuff."

"But—"

Oliver stared at her and Jamie gave a grin. "But we got loads of cash and the statues. Fuckin' stop mitherin' man, we must have a cool half million here. And I got some old lady's bag."

Emma groaned as he pulled out a phone and wallet, and Emma threw the phone out of the window with a snarl. "Do you want them to triangulate your position," she barked at him and Oliver whimpered. "You stupid cunt. Do you ever learn. And no logging into Facebook and saying that you've just raided Doszak."

"I'm not going to," Jamie muttered.

"Sort of fuckin' stupid thing you'd do," Emma barked. "See you with a picture of all the cash, the statues and our location."

"Yeah, and you said nothing about nicking any cash. Three statues worth fifty thousand each is all you said," Oliver told her.

"Yeah well, what can I say?" Emma replied aggressively. "We hit the jackpot. What is it with you two, bickerin' like old ladies." She turned the key in her ignition and the van lurched into life. The van turned into the country lane and she accelerated purposefully to put some distance between herself and the property.

"Well it's me that is going to get majorly fucked. I don't want a life of crime. I just want to settle down with a nice girl like Vicky and ... and I can't do this."

Oliver burst into tears and Jamie glanced at his friend. "Shall we dump him now? By the side of the road? It'll be for mercy, he can call Jaroslav and beg for forgiveness."

"And to think what Mum will say? She will kill me. Kill us."

"If Doszak doesn't manage it first," Emma joked and spun the Transit into another country lane, even narrower than the first and sped up to 80mph.

"Can we slow down please?" Oliver asked but Emma just ignored him and got the van up to ninety. "Please."

"Will you belt up?" Jamie snapped. "I want to get some distance between me-self and the mad Ukrainian."

"Yeah, and this van, it's done 100 thousand miles, and about ninety's been at this speed," Emma chuckled.

Oliver gulped and held onto the dashboard as Emma threw the van into a corner and he was propelled against his brother. Emma went up on the grass verge and struggled to get the van under control, but they made it to the main road and turned onto it, just as two Police cars shot past them. "Well I guess our little adventure has just been discovered," Emma told them with a smile and headed towards the motorway. "But I thought it would take them a little longer."

"Might not be us," Oliver said hopefully and Emma shrugged.

"I didn't think Doszak would call the Police, so it might be nothing. But who cares, we got tracks to make to a cottage."

She eventually pulled up forty miles away in a small cottage near the Welsh border. Jamie was asleep and Oliver had cried most of the way there, before moaning that he would never get to have sex as he would going to jail.

"Is that really all you think about?" Emma moaned as she slammed the door in the remote location.

Jamie woke with a start and Oliver climbed over him. "Well a bit. I just want to meet a nice girl, settle down. Have a family."

"There is nothing great about a family," Emma replied. "Getting up ten times a night, changing nappies. It's a bit nasty if you ask me. If you want to change shit filled nappies work at an old peoples home."

Jamie rubbed his eyes. "Oh, we are here."

"Yes," Oliver said firmly and caught up with Emma. "I just want a life, is that so much to ask?" She grunted as she unlocked the desolate cottage. The wind howled around them and Oliver shivered the moment he got inside. "You got yourself a third-share of hundreds of thousands. Go have that life in the Caribbean around pretty women and not in miserable England."