Berlin's Last Love: A Money Heist Fanfic.

Time Is Money.

Sergio had asked us all to be in the classroom for 9, for once, I was the first to arrive and take the seat at the very front. I get my notes out and a pen, ready to learn. I feel like a teacher's pet, and smile to myself.

"Just us two then?" Nairobi says as she sits in the seat to my left. "Boys, huh?"

"Though I'm not surprised Tokyo is late." I laugh and Nairobi smiles happily at me.

"Her and Rio are making it pretty obvious, aren't they." She laughs but then stops, her beautiful smile disappears and turns glum. "Why are you here, Vienna?" 

"I've done bad things, Nairobi." I say quietly, but can see she's edging me for more. "Drugs and stealing and-."

"Drugs?" She repeats, and I nod cautiously.

"I was young, I was selling them to live and-"

"Me too." Nairobi smiles sympathetically. "Did you serve time?"

"Yeah, my parents handed me over to the police." I sigh. "You?"

"Yeah..." She trails off. "My little boy was taken away from me." My eyes grow wide, she was a mother? "When we escape with all this money, I'm going to get my boy back." She grins which makes me smile too.

"Nairobi, I'm so sorry." I mutter sadly. I really am. Because although our stories were similar, she has something to fight for, whereas I'm still young and pretty much still have my life ahead of me.

"Good morning ladies!" Denver bursts through the door with a beaming smile across his face, as he walks to his seat, Nairobi places her index finger to her lip. It's her secret that she trusts me with, and I won't tell a sole, not even Andrés - I value her too much.

The rest of the gang soon pile in, and the Professor trails in with several books in his hands.

"In the last class I told you that, in a way we're not actually stealing." He begins silencing us all. "We're not taking anything, right?" He looks around the room, eyeing us all. "Okay, I lied - because there is something that we're stealing here." He paces up and down the corridor of our chairs then he stops still. "We're stealing time from the police." One of my eyebrows raises whilst the other frowns, I knew Sergio spoke in riddles, but I struggled to understand this one.

"We're leaving bread crumbs that they'll follow that will then lead to dead ends. Which means they won't be able to focus on their main objectives which is getting us out of there. And when we get their time, and their attention, we just need to delay it." He explains.

"So the pressers can work overtime." Time literally means money, and this makes me smile. I never thought the catchphrase would become a real scenario, yet here we are.

"They're not stupid, and soon enough they'll realise it's all just a game. It's a red herring so that we can keep printing money. Even then, they won't be able to do anything because it's their duty to end this without injuring any of the hostages."

"Does everyone understand this?" Sergio asks and everyone nods, no questions are asked so he continues.

"They will get in. I don't know if it'll be an attack, or an emergency, or maybe a red cross doctor or a pizza guy..." Sergio lists the countless ways in which the police could get into the Mint under our noses. "But I know they are going to infiltrate us somehow." I look to my left to see Nairobi is doodling in her workbook, and as Sergio walks past, snatches her pen and keeps walking. She smiles at me, and rolls her eyes which I snigger at, but secretly I'm finding this lesson interesting.

"That is our opportunity for a Trojan Horse, what's that?" He asks the class.

I'm sure I did this at school, something about warriors climbing inside a wooden horse and it was given as a gift of peace to the other side. Once in, they attacked everyone. Even though I'm vaguely aware of the story, I don't raise my hand to speak, the last thing I need is to be picked on for being a know-it-all.

"Don't know, but you know what it sounds like?" Denver speaks up, and I know he's about to say something witty that'll make me laugh.

Sergio shuts it down immediately, showing that this story is very important to our plan. I turn around to him and stick my tongue out playfully, he winks back at me bantering. I know Andrés will be furious with Denver and I, but it's okay to make your partner jealous from time to time - it keeps them on their toes.

"The Trojan Whore!" Denver finally spits out which makes me snigger, he just couldn't contain his childish ways, and Moscow hits his head to get him to be quiet.

"Sorry." Denver apologises, Sergio just stares back at him angrily.

The Professor begins the story I had once learned in school, and I sit back to listen to see if my account matches his. Obviously, his is more accurate and more revised, but we're on the same page. I look around and see Sergio has captivated the gang with his story telling skills - it must run in the blood. I look to Andrés who is already looking at me, and I give a gentle smile which is returned - he's not angry with me, he's angry with Denver. I felt smug now, and relax into the back of my wooden chair.

"And that is exactly what we're going to do." Sergio finishes his story and begins to link it back to our heist. "When they're inside, and believe that they're winning the battle." Sergio smiles for the first time in class, knowing he has this part of the plan down perfectly. "That is when we will strike. I will tell you when I believe the police are in there, I'll be watching the cameras. The rest is up to you and how you play with it. Just make sure they come out with their tails between their legs."

"That's it for today, please go over this part in your notes. It's imperative you're ready for when they do come in. And remember - time is money."