I’m in the safe now looking around for a bag. I’ve only been there a few moments but I can tell the building is empty. I would have thought they’d have security guards. Oh well. The door to the safe, nestled across the room begins to break free from the wall. It tumbles and rolls like a penny, finishing it’s spin. I run back to the front of the bank and look under the cashier desks. This will do. I don’t plan to steal more than I need so it’s not like I was looking for something big. I slowly walk back to the safe and start collecting the wads of bills and pile them into the bag. I’m very selective as I pick out the marked bills. My eye-site is heightened so I see them like they have a “do not touch” sign labeled on them. It was really like taking candy from a baby. There’s no other way of putting it. Soon, I can hear the police sirens and the crowds of people surrounding the building. Ignoring the rain and thunder they huddle together like cockroaches. I shake my head in annoyance trying to deafen their babble. As soon as I’m done I make my way to the spiraled stairs. Excellent. The spiral leaves an opening in the middle so I jump and reach the top of the building before the police can even dial the bank to start the negotiations. I’ve watched enough CSI and Criminal Minds to know what their next move is. As I open the doors to the roof I can hear their attempts to call downstairs. Too slow. I whistle casually as I walk out onto the roof heading towards the open parking lot I passed earlier. Before I reach the ledge I hear a click.
As quickly as I turn around I find a bullet tickle my forehead. I can feel the impact but I don’t budge and the bullet gets lost somewhere in my t-shirt, which wraps loosely now around my head. I start walking towards the security guard. He must have hid here the entire time. I kick myself for not paying more attention. As I get closer and closer his gun starts wailing and the police and the crowd move their attention to the roof. The sound echoes but is joined by the booming thunder. The elder man screams at me and tells me I’m an abomination sent from Hell. He shoots one last time as I stand a foot away and I slap the bullet like it’s nothing. The ricochet flies and bounces off the metal stairs and back at the man. Fuck! I try and stop the bullet but the man runs straight towards it not knowing I’m trying to save him. Like a movie in slow motion, I see the events unfold.
I lie holding his lifeless body, crouched on the floor. The rain still pouring, my t-shirt unfolds and falls from my face and covers his own. My tears are hidden, masked from the rain. What have I done? I lay his body inside the building, back at the staircase and flee the scene. Again the rain covers my tracks. I pounce from building to building, separating myself from this man I barely knew. I was only going to scare him. Maybe grab his gun and toss it away and snicker as I left him speechless. This wasn’t the plan. As I run, all I can think about is his family. His kids. Eugene. I’ll always remember. I’m so very sorry.
