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.