7. The Arms Heist

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***

The Chief was dead.

"Is it true?!" Ali exclaimed. Beyond her look of disbelief, I could sense her budding feeling of relief. She gripped my arms so hard, I thought it would burst as we watched some men take out three corpses from the ruins.

I left the Chief insane and wounded. He must have bled out in the morning. The anonymity of the thieves backfired on him. Yet it worked for me. No one would care to investigate a dead gang of criminals in a warzone.

"Yes. I thought you would be troubled knowing that the Chief giving you protection had died?" I asked, playing innocent. Although I had the chance to hear and confirm the unspeakable licentiousness of the Chief towards her, I kept it to myself. The way she acted, it was obvious she wanted that horror to be kept a secret.

I noticed the corner of Ali's eyes forming tears. It surprised me to see her vulnerable. After a quick sob, she wiped her face and smiled widely, embracing me in silence.

"No more Nightmares, Ali", I wanted to tell her just to give her assurance.

***

We hurriedly started to pack our things. Leaving the den was the most logical thing to do. Surprisingly, while the gang was anonymous in existence, the Chief made a name in town so the people shunned him and those that were under his protection. As much as I hate to admit, we wouldn't last long in the open without the Chief's influence.

"Where are we going?" I asked Ali. The money I took should be enough to last us for months. We could go any place we wanted. However, she would know I was involved with the Chief's death if I showed her the cash and decided where to go so I let her.

"Anywhere but here", she said, grinning. It was soothing to see her usual smile on her lips. "But first, we finish the Arms Heist."

Not knowing how to respond, I must have been frozen for a minute. Hope came to me when the Chief "died", leaving a lot of cash behind. Forgetting the life of thievery was now possible even for Ali who had been a thief long before I did.

The mere suggestion of the arms heist alarmed me. I almost wanted to reveal the cash I took so we could straight run away from all of these.

"Money's not enough to survive out there", Ali said which perplexed me. It's as if she already knew what I had done to get us money.

"What are you talking about?" Trying my best to hide the events of last night, I asked, playing innocent.

The wicked grin she had on her face indicated that she was seeing through me and my lies. She shook her head and clicked her tongue.

"You can't fool me Luc. I know what you did last night", she said but still, I continued to deny it with silence. She had no evidence. I cleaned up after disposing the ring leaders.

As if reading my thoughts, she raised her eyebrow and sighed when I didn't admit to the crime. Then she spoke like a detective.

"All right, you want to do it this way, huh?" She paused to stretch her arms and crack her fingers.

"For someone lazy like you, I thought it's odd that you changed clothes when going to bed", she started. That's true, and I did that because of my bloodied shirt but that didn't prove anything so I remained quiet.

"As we packed our things, I couldn't find the shirt you wore last night before I slept. So I figured you must have thrown it. But you're the most thrifty person I know, Luc", she said, leaning closer and only inches away from my face. I held my ground, still unwilling to confess.

"You threw that shirt because it was stained with blood. If the shirt would point to a crime you did, that's the only time you would get rid of your shirt. And that's because you sneaked in the Chief's room last night to take his money!" She declared like a detective with her now frowny face.

"What?" I exclaimed. If I was understanding her right, she was only accusing me of stealing the money and not the murder. I purposely gasped to lead her on.

"Come on, Luc. Don't deny it. I know you stole the Chief's money. You have sharp senses. Even if it was a silent assassin that killed the Chief, I'm sure if anyone would notice anything, it's you", she said, messing with my hair but I felt her nails claw my head. "You cunning wolf! Waited for the Chief to get killed before pouncing to steal his money."

"Ouch! You're the one with the sharp claws!" I exclaimed, pulling her arm away from my head. "Are you angry because I took the Chief's money?"

She answered my question with silence which confused me. Guessing games wasn't my forte.

"Did you want to steal his money yourself? Yes, that's it. You're mad because you're the master but the apprentice stole the Chief's money-" I was interrupted by a punch in my arm. Oddly enough, it felt nostalgically satisfying. The same punch that brought us together.

"No, you dummy! I'm mad because you said you would keep watch while I slept!" She exclaimed.

The realization struck me. Of course, stealing the Chief's money meant that I left her side which I promised not to do. There was nothing that I could do but say..

"Sorry. I figured that was the only chance to get quick cash. You would've done the same thing, right?" I tried to project it to her in hopes that she would agree.

Instead, she sighed and let out a bitter smile. Ultimately, she nodded her head and I was relieved but it was only temporary.

"We still need to finish the arms heist", she said.

"Why? We already have the money. We can go anywhere like you said. We don't need to go big! There's no need to do another heist", I justified.

Her eyes had never been more determined before. She looked at me like she made up her mind and she would go through it with or without the money.

"It's not about the money, Luc", she said, finishing packing our things. "This is about power. We need the arms to protect ourselves and if we want to survive outside the den."

Feeling defeated, I agreed to do the heist. The Chief might be dead and gone but the remnants of his evil lingered.

***

"I have a bad feeling about this", I thought. After a series of discussions, we ended up doing the heist as Ali suggested. It did make sense to get arms for protection. It's not like I could use my powers everytime.

The perfect opportunity also presented itself. A week ago, we received reports that there were three Israeli government officials that brought weapons for their troops on the ground. However, the troops had already advanced and would take days to get back.

True enough, we surveyed the men that camped in the former police station before it was trampled by war. The men were dressed in military uniforms but one look and it was obvious they were not military trained. The century-old dispute finally pushed Israel to mobilize even capable civilians to get drafted. Thus, these unsuspecting men right here.

"Same drill, Luc, got it?" Ali said and I nodded.

I swiftly moved to circle the station. Being around here for a year, I memorized not only the landscape but also almost all of the blueprints of important buildings.

"There's a backdoor here with an old lock that's easy to pick", I thought.

It was particularly dark that night. The smokes from the explosions that day covered the dimly lit moon. Using my spirit energy, I focused it on my feet and jumped over the four meter fence.

No one would see me use my powers in this dark night but I didn't intend to use it for fighting so I remained silent and stuck to the plan. Then I heard Ali's scream.

"Heeeelp!!" She screamed.

"That's my cue", I thought.

Ali's skills relied on her natural talent: acting. It was impossible to read her expression. When she showed you a happy face, that's the only thing you would see. When she showed you a panicked expression, all you could see was panic.

Most people would hide their true intentions beneath a poker face, but Ali was the opposite. She didn't need to hide her intentions because whatever expression and emotion she would show you was genuine and was guaranteed to convince anyone.

"There", I excitedly thought, successfully picking the lock. This path directly led to the weapon storage room. If these men were traditional bureaucrats, they couldn't help but follow things by the book.

It took me less than half a minute to pick the storage lock and as soon as I opened it, I knew that Ali and I were finally leaving that place.

"Bingo!" I whispered in the softest voice I could. The euphoria it gave me made me speak my mind when I saw the hundreds of arms in the storage.

I picked up two of the only weapons suitable for our build. Uzi. It should be light enough for us to carry. I grabbed a few extra magazines until I could carry no more. As a souvenir from this heist, I also grabbed two grenades. They would make beautiful keychains.

Heading my way out the station, I silently locked the doors I picked to cover my tracks. Even if they noticed something was missing, Ali and I would be long gone by then.

I came to our meeting place, an abandoned house three blocks away from the station. Making a smooth and solid job, I was a few minutes earlier than the agreed time. Ali should be walking here any minute now.

But five minutes past the agreed time and Ali didn't show up.

"Maybe those men escorted them back home", I said to myself, trying to sound convincing. When mother escaped with me to Israel, I remember she said that the soldiers of the country were kind and trained to treat all civilians equally regardless of their origin.

"Right, I should go back home", I thought, standing to go back to the ruins when I saw a figure emerging from the shadows of the road.

My instincts told me to be on guard which confused me. I was still hidden in the dark part of the house when the shadow stopped right at the front of the house. I almost got startled when he turned his head directly to me, as if he could actually see me!

"That's impossible", I thought, seeing that it was only a regular man. Or at least the way he looked, he was a regular man.

However, something feels off about him. Unlike Sister Ann and the fiends I fought, he had a different aura. But he was emanating the same sinister intent.

"How can a person emit that much spirit and killing intent", I started to wonder. If he was a person that could use spirit energy like me, then these guns would be useless against him. I put the guns down and waited for what would happen next.

My dagger was already in my hand, anticipating the danger. Still, the man stood still. He didn't feel like the Nightmares or the Spectres that I saw before.

Until the man whistled and spoke to confirm the horror I wished were not true.

"Yoohooo! Luke! Come out. Ali's waiting for you", he mockingly called as he sneered while saying our names!