Day Five: Eye on the Prize

The Verdict stared in awe inside the mystery building at the guns lining the walls. There could easily be enough guns inside for the whole Robber team, and there were also shelves of what appeared to be gadgets, and computer parts. Suddenly remembering he was supposed to bury those bags he quickly got back to work, finishing up in no time. He could not decide whether or not to tell his team about this discovery. These guns would definitely help the team as a whole to take more money, but they could also be his chance to eliminate the rest of the robbers and anyone else who stood in his way at a later point. Without a clear decision in mind, The Verdict headed back to the hideout.

At the Police Station, word had come in from a civilian that a shopkeeper had been killed at Flower Convenience. When Chief Pitman heard this he was immediately all over his radio, calling the officers to move towards Flower Convenience. He had also been called by a salesperson from Barbulli Shoes, and informed that they had also been robbed. Angry that his officers had not been patrolling effectively, Chief Pitman set out of the station to check out the convenience store and find a witness.

Hiding across the street there was a witness. Furiously writing information down about what he had seen, a Private Investigator knew this was his lucky day.

The following is the account of P.I. Patrick Sutherland.

Standing on the north side of Pewter St. across from Flower Convenience, Patrick Sutherland was in shock at first when he heard the gunshots. There were three shots and he had looked in the direction of the sound and saw a large man running out the front door and around the corner. A little ahead of the large man he had seen another smaller figure running south-east. Patrick thought of chasing them, but instead began taking notes on what he had seen. He described the physical attributes of the man with the gun so well that he could easily recognize him if he saw him again. The other figure had been farther off, but he had been shorter than the first, but with black hair and darker colored skin.

Of the other people that had been around Flower Convenience, no one else had been running or even looked at all suspicious. There had been a couple of middle-aged women, a fairly overweight young man, a young couple, and an old black man in the immediate area. Some of them didn’t even seem to notice the gunshots (from inside the shop they weren’t very loud) and others had stopped and went back to the store to check it out. Those who went right back to the store Pat ruled out right away, because someone who just committed a crime would not return seconds or minutes after it occurred.

After a few minutes, Pat could hear a siren coming from the east and he peeked out from around the building, and a police car was speeding down the road towards him. Despite the fact he had not done anything wrong, he had this sudden urge to run away. He needed however to see the cops and take notes on what they looked like, and how they observed the scene of the crime. Out of the police car came one officer wearing the full police uniform with three chevrons on the sleeves of his shirt. Pat didn’t know the official ranking system of the police, but he could tell that this man was confident, and he picked him as one of the leaders of the cop team. The officer walked right into the convenience store, but knowing he could not ask the “dead” shopkeeper any questions he just looked around to see if anything was left behind. Pat was watching this through the window across the street but he had a pretty clear view. Out of nowhere, he was tapped on the shoulder.

He spun around to find Micah George standing behind him with an astonished look on his face. Pat could not believe his eyes. He and Micah had been friends in real life for a long time, until a recent argument had split them up. They began talking, and they each told each other that they were Private Investigators. Knowing that Micah could be lying, Pat was careful not to reveal too much. He didn’t bring up the robbery that he had just witnessed, but he was sure that Micah knew about it too. Whether he was involved in it was another story. Pat decided not to talk strategy, because he didn’t want to give anything away, so he asked Micah how he got into the game. It turned out that Micah didn’t even apply to get in; he was confronted by the producers. At the time he didn’t know why they would approach him, but seeing that Pat was in the game too made sense to him.

Pat looked around the corner onto Pewter St. again, and there were 5 cops coming right towards them down the street. Even though he was not a robber and he had not done anything wrong, Pat ran. He bolted north towards the office buildings. Looking behind him he could see Micah running too, and to his dismay, the cops were chasing them.

Day Four - The First Move

So the Cops, mainly Officer Siebenmorgan and Sergeant Wells, had managed to arrest two Robbers and make a cool $150,000. The Swagger and The Drama Queen, currently in custody at the Police Station, were being constantly bombarded with questions and accusations from Deputy Chief Heidman. They had been caught hanging around Kerley’s Diamonds late at night, and upon their arrest there was no doubt that two from the opposing team had most definitely been captured. The Swagger had been doing a fantastic job keeping his mouth shut about the Robbers’ plans, but The Drama Queen was becoming lass stable. Some of the Cops felt Deputy Chief Heidman was being too harsh with The Drama Queen, but they couldn’t argue with the fact that he was getting valuable information out of her. She had told them that the Robbers were scoping Kerley’s and that they had planned to hit there first. When that information was brought to The Swagger, he vehemently denied it. The Cops decided that they would spend their day watching Kerley’s very closely, with a patrol schedule starting as soon as it could be made.

Silas Pedro Esq. had been watching the going-ons at the Police Station very closely. He knew that two Robbers were arrested so he was spending an increased amount of time watching and documenting others like him, people who stopped by the Police Station or its surrounding area frequently. He knew the Robbers would want to save their own, and he was waiting to find them.

At the Robbers’ hideout the discussion was heated again. Since the beginning of the game, the mood in the hideout had always been tense. There were 12, now 10, strangers all attempting to get their ideas out there, while also trying not to piss anyone off. One thing all the Robbers could agree on was their dire need of action. They had to start moving their pieces across the board and today had to be their first move.

The following is the account of Chris “The Muscle” Pitman on Day Four

The team of Robbers seemed to be split down the middle. Half the team thought they should pull off two simultaneous hold-ups in opposite parts of the city, and the other half thought they should stick with Kerley’s Diamonds. The Swagger had done a lot of research into how to break into Kerley’s, and if they stuck with those plans, they could do it right away and not waste any time. The Cold Killer told the group that the Cops were probably watching Kerley’s and they had to go for the dual-hold-up plan. The usually quiet Cold Killer seemed to convince the group, and they set to planning this action which would occur in mere hours.

Long into the night they discussed how to pull off a hold-up. Obviously none of the Robbers had ever done this before, so there was a lot of guessing and assumptions, but soon enough they seemed to have formulated a plan. Three Robbers would perform each hold-up. One Robber at each store would be the distraction, or be used, in one case, as bait. Only one or two bags would be taken from each store, so the remaining two Robbers would be there for a hand-off of the goods at an interval between the shops and the hideout. The Muscle volunteered right away to perform one of the hold-ups. He is quite large, and can be intimidating enough to hopefully scare the store-owners to give him and his team the goods.

The process of the hold-up began when The Hutt left the hideout for Flower Convenience on Pewter St. in the south-west sector, and the Stylist headed for Barbulli Shoes on King St. also in the south-west sector. After waiting ten minutes, the remaining eight robbers all set out one by one to their destinations. The Menace was the first to leave, and twenty seconds after he was out the door, The Muscle left as well. He walked west on Logger court towards King St. Walking across King St. he peered into the window of Barbulli Shoes. The Stylist was there trying on shoes, and The Menace had just entered the shop, apparently looking at high-heels. The Muscle passed them by. This was not his destination.

Passing a crowded Kerley’s Diamonds as well, The Muscle was soon walking around the back of Flower Convenience. He wasn’t even in the store yet, and he could already hear The Hutt’s voice in the store. It was his job to distract and make the shop-keeper angry to aggravate him prior to the actual hold-up. The Muscle stopped and looked behind him. The Legend was coming up close behind, and the Cold Killer was just behind him. This would be the team for the first heist of Cops and Robbers. The Muscle knew there would not be much time for this hold-up. The front windows of the store were facing Pewter St, which was normally pretty busy, so they had to get in and out and pass off the bags to The Verdict to hide. Behind the shop, The Muscle, The Legend and The Cold Killer looked around at each other and with a nod from The Cold Killer; they hustled around the corner, and into the store.

The Muscle pulled the laser pistol out of his jacket and pointed it right at the shop owner and yelled at him to get up against the wall. This was an old man. He had a white comb-over, glasses and what appeared to be a walking stick. The man didn’t move, because he actually appeared to be afraid. This did not stop The Cold Killer from grabbing his arm and pushing him against the cigarettes. The Hutt had moved away out of the action and was eating chips from a bag he had opened. The Legend pulled the duffle-bags out of his jacket and shoved them in the face of the old man. The Muscle walked towards him, pushed the gun against his chest and told him to open the register and give them any money that was in there, and anywhere else in the store. The man’s shock only lasted so long, and he opened the register and the Legend began shoving bills and change into the bags. The Muscle asked the man if there was a safe. He would not answer, and The Muscle cocked the gun and repeated his question. He knew the man would not want to be shot because then he would have to leave the game just like a contestant, and reluctantly the man opened a small door under the counter and opened a small safe.

Time was running out, and they knew they needed to get out of there. The Cold Killer grabbed the two full bags and ran out the door, followed closely by the Legend and The Hutt. The Verdict would be just around the back of the store for the hand-off of the bags. The Muscle was just about the leave when he saw the man reaching below the desk for something. Fearing it may be a phone (which would be used to call the cops) The Muscle lifted his gun and fired three shots into the chest of the old shop-keeper. He stumbled back and fell behind the counter and out of sight.

As the Muscle ran out the door he thought about what he had just done. The suit each person in the game was wearing was filled with tiny blood packets and laser censors, so when the man was shot it actually looked real. The Muscle really enjoyed this game, and knew he would be valuable to this team. Coming around the corner, The Legend and the Cold Killer were already out of sight, and The Verdict was running with the bags south towards some buildings on the other side of Nickel Drive. The Hutt was walking down the street not really worried about whether anyone saw him, because he was trying not to attract unusual attention. Without waiting to watch, The Muscle walked nonchalantly back to the hideout to hear of how the other hold-up had gone.

On the south side of Nickel Dr. the Verdict looked closely at the buildings he was burying the bags behind. They were very run down, and all the windows and doors were boarded shut. There were four different buildings and they all looked very similar, if different in shape. Curiosity getting the better of him, he used the shovel to pry one of the boards loose. The Verdict swung the board to the side of the window, and poked his head inside. It took some time for his eyes to get used to the pitch dark inside the building, but when they had adjusted, he could not believe what he saw.

Day Three: Late Night Surprise

With guns pointed at each other and curses flying, The Swagger and The Muscle were yelling violently, apparently in intense disagreement over something. It soon became evident that they were arguing over which store would be the best choice to rob first. The Swagger felt that Kerley’s Diamonds was the best choice, while The Muscle thought some afternoon holdups would be better to strike fear into the Cops. The two were not lowering the guns, and The Hutt was sitting in the corner goading them on, while The Menace was trying to get in the middle of them, while not putting his life at risk. One shot from those guns could potentially eliminate you from the game, and no one wanted to go home yet. The Drama Queen had not finished down the stairs as the shock from what she saw had frozen her in place.

The Menace slowly faced The Muscle and placed himself in the line of fire. He told the Muscle that they needed to be a team, and accept each others’ ideas, even if they were the Swagger’s ideas. Behind the Menace, the Swagger had already lowered his gun, appearing to want out of this dangerous situation. The Muscle lowered his gun reluctantly. The Swagger quickly handed his gun to the Menace and stalked out of the room, up the stairs past the Drama Queen, and out the door. The air in the hideout was still tense, and the Drama Queen wanted to get out of there, so she followed the Swagger out.

At the Police Station, the officers were still getting their office set up to their liking. Some officers were out patrolling, but it was late so others yet were at their homes sleeping. They had all these routines down to an exact schedule, which with discipline, they were going to stick to.

The following is the account of Officer Phil Siebenmorgan on Day Three.

It was midnight, and Officer Siebenmorgan was organizing files in his desk drawer. Over the past two days he, like the rest of his team, had been walking throughout Paradise City, taking notes on the owners of stores, as well as frequent customers and which places were better to protect. He had normally been partnered with Lt. Wilson, but he was at home right now, so when those currently on patrol returned, he would set out with Sergeant Wells. They had not talked much, but Phil figured Wells was a good guy, and that he could trust him. Even though the Cops were a team, Phil was having a tough time trusting those around him. He had only just met his partners and he knew that they had to work together, but he also knew that they had to split their winnings at the end of the game. Now if a cop killed another cop they would be eliminated from the game, so that option was a no-go, but Phil knew people would find other ways. He could only trust himself, but he still had to work with the team.

The patrol pairs started coming back to the station and Officer Siebenmorgan began preparing to head outside. Lt. Maurice and Sgt. Clements returned, and Officer Siebenmorgan wished them well before heading out the door with Sgt. Wells. They would be patrolling the south-west quadrant tonight to check out the shopping sector, which was always very dark at night, filled with shadows. Captain Hodge and Officer Eby would be checking the north-east quadrant tonight, and Phi wasn’t sure who the other pairing was, and what sector they were supposed to be searching.

Off. Siebenmorgan and Sgt. Wells walked west on the north side of Pewter street and soon they were standing in front of the Hospital. Just yesterday Phil was in the hospital checking it out, learning everything he needed to know about it. If a contestant in the game is shot, but not wounded mortally, they must try and get to this hospital as soon as possible. Depending on the severity of injury they will be given a time limit by the suit they are wearing after they are shot, and if they don’t make it to a hospital bed in that time, they will be dead and eliminated from the game. Phil remembered hearing that the Robbers had their own private doctor, but he wasn’t privy to where that building was. The robbers could use the Paradise City Hospital, but they were open to arrest while there. That would however seem like a good risk if you only had a five minute limit and you needed to get healed. Arrest wasn’t elimination, but it would be as good as if you weren’t rescued by your team.

Soon enough, Phil and Sgt. Wells were walking south across King St. and into the south-west quadrant. Especially in the middle of the night like it was, this sector was easily the most perfect to steal from. Both stores and shadows were abundant, and the Cops had taken note that a jewelry store was located in this sector, and they had been keeping a close eye on it. Upon walking around the corner of the jewelry store, Officer Siebenmorgan saw two figures in the shadows. He pushed Sgt. Wells up against the wall and pulled out his laser pistol. He wasn’t going to make any stupid mistakes, so he merely peeked around the corner, trying to hear any conversation that would appear incriminating. He could only barely make out what they were saying, and they were talking about the best way to break into the building.

Excitement took Officer Siebenmorgan over, and he whispered to Sgt. Wells what the situation was and told him to call the station for backup, as well as the Police car but without using the siren. Phil turned around the corner, pointed his gun and yelled at the two figures to stay where they were and hold their hands in the air. One figure, the male, tried to run but Phil pulled the trigger and shot in the air to scare the robber. The female stayed where she was and slowly the male stopped and put his hands in the air. Off. Siebenmorgan knew that the man would stop. It wasn't worth it for a robber to risk being killed.

So backup arrived in the form of Chief Pitman and Captain Dirks. The cuffed robbers were placed in the back seat of the police car, and Chief Pitman came over to Off. Siebenmorgan to congratulate him on the arrest. This was the first major happening in the game, and it was definitely a plus for the cops. Because of the way the game is set up, as long as these robbers don't escape custody, the Cops just made $150,000. For every robber that is arrested and held until the 30th day, the Cops make $75,000.

Back at the station, the two assailants were placed in separate cells for questioning. The robbers would not give their first names, but through some rigid interrogation Deputy Chief Heidman was able to find out that their robber nicknames were The Swagger and The Drama Queen. They would not give anymore information than that at this point, but more would come out eventually. Officer Siebenmorgan decided to go to his house for some sleep feeling very pleased with himself.

The Legend rushed down the stairs of the robber hideout to tell the others what he had seen. The Robbers were not very pleased that two of their team had been arrested already on the third day of the game. The Swagger’s plan for the jewelry store would not work now. Sitting in a corner, The Muscle chuckled to himself.

Next time on Cops and Robbers: The Robbers retaliate by attemptimg their first robbery.

Day Two: Organizing a Heist

Where we left off last time, the Cops had set up a patrol schedule which they were following through with. The Police Station was equipped with the same laser gun that the robbers had, but the cops get one each. They also have one Police car which they can take out on patrol. Only two officers can ride in the car, and they had decided that it should only be used for emergencies. The cops however, just like everyone else, were spending their time learning about how the city works, and more importantly getting a good idea of what stores need to be protected.
The Private Investigators were doing the same. They spent their time making contacts in the city. Getting phone numbers was very important for them, because they could find informants. The PIs knew they had a tough job in this game, and that they may not get any sleep.
The Robbers had split up, done some shopping, and basically made grids of the City and again would come back to the hideout at night and bring their ideas together.

The following is the account of Amanda “The Drama Queen” Fournie on Day Two

Midnight on the second day was much more organized than the first. The team had been out in the city all day, and many had even taken notes. They had once again sat down to discuss where to strike first. The Drama Queen saw that The Wit had an empty chair beside him, and she took the opportunity to ask if anyone had already occupied that chair. Upon the shake up his head, she sat right beside him, getting as close as possible. She was enjoying this very much because she knew how uncomfortable the Wit was and she wasn’t going to stop now.

The Drama Queen decided to take a back seat role in the discussion so she could read the faces of her team. She wanted to focus less on the heists themselves, and more about knowing her team, which would soon become her rivals as well. Again the Architect had snatched up the leading role in the discussion with others like The Menace and The Swagger putting in a lot as well. Others would share their thoughts too, and it seemed to be a productive conversation. The group talked late into the night, and soon the Drama Queen went to bed alone, after tucking the Wit in, much to his horror. She was really enjoying this.

In the late morning, The Drama Queen got up and headed back to the south-west quadrant to look at that jewelry store again. On the way she passed the Verdict, eating a sausage from a street vender, as well as the Stylist who was entering the clothing store on King Street. They didn’t look very focused on the game, and The Drama Queen was not too impressed with that.
She really felt that this was a good place to start, and with The Swagger’s knowledge of stones, they could probably get a good haul.

She reached the store and went right inside. First she felt weird about just going in when she had every intention of robbing it, but then she realized that the city was totally populated, and that people went shopping regularly. Hopefully the owner would think she was just an ordinary citizen like every one of his customers up to this point. Inside the store, which was called Kerley’s Diamonds, there was a bald man probably in his fifties standing behind the desk. He welcomed The Drama Queen as she came through the door. They locked eyes. She found it surprisingly easy to look in this man’s eyes even though she would be robbing him because this wasn’t really his shop.

As she passed over the shelves her view changed a little as she saw the man cleaning the glass on the counter with a meticulousness that made it seem like he loved this store. It seemed like his own store, his own livelihood. She briefly doubted her effectiveness in this game, but then she saw the man open up one of the glass cases to dust it. He placed his key-ring, which was filled with keys of various sizes behind the desk in a drawer on the right side.

The Drama Queen knew that if they could find a way into the store without setting an alarm, the key would be right there. The key to all the diamonds would be hers. Excitement filled The Drama Queen as she quickly said goodbye to the bald man and walked briskly back to the hideout on 53 Logger court to let her discovery be known.

As she disembarked from Kerley’s a private investigator named Pat Sutherland was watching her from around a corner. He began to take notes on her appearance because he was watching the south-west quadrant religiously for its large amount of stores. He knew something would be going down here in a few days, and when it did, he would be there.

It took The Drama Queen a little while to get back to the hideout, but soon enough she opened the front door and started down the stairs. She did not expect what she saw. The Swagger and The Muscle were standing opposite each other, each with a gun in hand pointed at the other.