9. Heist

The night was dark. Perfect for thieves to prove themselves scoring big. Both Tom and Viki slowly walked to the corner of the building which was the last one in the alley. He was carrying a wooden case with him, filled with hay. Ahead of it was the main street, which meant there might be some guards patrolling.

She peaked carefully looking for the men in uniforms. Black breastplates, and dark cloaks, which they were using. There was one furder on the left, standing right in front of the distillery she wanted to hit, holding a burning torch in his hand.

- Fuck - she whispered and stepped back.

- What? - asked Tom.

- There is one, right in front of the fucking building - she informed.

- So what now?

- Did you prepare the spot to hide the items where I told you?

- Yes, I did. We brought enough trash there to hide a barrel full of booze - he hissed. - But what are we going to do with the guard? We can't go in with him in front of the stupid distillery, he will notice us.

- I'll take care of him.

- How?

- I know how. Just be ready to go, when I'm back. Do you have the lockpicks?

- Yeah.

- Good, wait for me here. I'll be right back - she said and walked in the direction they originally came from until she disappeared in the darkness.

Tom waited patiently, munching on his own fingernails as he placed the case on the ground, and listening carefully. From time to time he peaked at the street carefully, but the guard was still there. At some point a loud noise struck his ears, then a cat wailed loudly. He decided to take another look at the guard. He was gone, probably going to check what happened in the direction the noise came from.

Viki returned shortly, with forehead beaded with sweat. She was breathing heavily but did her best to be as quiet as possible.

- Come - she said, and confidently walked out of the alley.

Tom picked up the case and followed her, looking around for potential trouble, but the night was really dark, so he had slim chances of noticing anything since they could barely see the outlines of buildings. She rushed straight to the door and checked if it was open. Obviously, it wasn't, but she had to check just in case since it would make things easier and faster.

- Open it - she whispered.

Tom gently pushed her out of his way with the case, placed it on the ground, and pulled out his tools. After few breaths, he was done, and they could get inside. Lately, he had so much practice in opening locks, that all of them felt easy to him. Thanks to both his sister and Nathan who was slowly getting more confident in his thief group, and allowing himself to steal more.

He picked up the case and they both vanished inside.

- Five steps right, two left, then the door on the right, then twelve steps ahead, and a door on the left - Viki whispered quietly, trying to remember the information they got about the location of what they were looking for.

It was a bit off, but either way, they got where they wanted to in complete darkness. There was a bit of rummaging involved, but they gathered everything that at least felt right since all they could do was use their hands to check the objects. Everything was placed in the case, they brought along, and covered in hay, to make sure it won't make too much ruckus during evacuation. They were careful to not make anything break, but making it without noise was impossible. So there was a bit of glass rattling from time to time mixed with quiet curses.

- I don't get why we have to do this - mumbled Tom, as they left the room, and following their traces headed towards the exit.

- We wouldn't have to do this if Nathan wouldn't take the money I got to buy most of those things. Those are the last items anyway, so you won't have to help me anymore.

He just snorted.

- You are so stupid, sister - he mumbled again.

She pretended like she didn't hear. They had no time for arguing as they were getting closer to the door. She couldn't see a thing, but she felt it, and also the step count was indicating so. Eventually, her hand touched the wood, and she quickly started looking for the handle. She found it and slowly opened the door, to peek outside.

- Shit! - she whispered.

- What?

- He is standing there.

His voice cracked a bit, and she noticed it. The boy was getting nervous, which wasn't a good sign. He tended to make bad decisions under pressure.

- What now? - asked Tom.

She didn't answer at first, thinking heavily about the solution to their problem, but she couldn't find any.

- We might wait. He will probably leave at some point - said Tom, since she wasn't speaking.

- No... Maybe he won't notice if we will be careful and quick. If he does, we can still outrun him. Just give me the case...

Tom swallowed his spit loudly and gave it to her, then they switched position, and the boy after taking few quick breaths opened the door in one swift move, then stepped outside, making space for his sister. She followed him immediately and they maybe did two steps before a loud shout spooked them both.

- Hey! Stop there!

It was the voice of the town guard, who rushed after them without any hesitation. They bolted ahead, not even looking over their shoulders.

Tom led them into a dark alley, hoping they will somehow lose the chaser, but he was a great runner, and instead of getting further away from them, was actually closing the distance. Tom at some point looked over his shoulder, and it became clear for him, that they won't lose the guy, no matter how many times they will change directions. He had a light source and could see them pretty clearly.

The fact that stolen goods were making noise wasn't helping. The kid made a decision, twisted his body and grabbed one of the bottles from the case, then stopped, letting his sister pass next to him, and threw the glass at the guard.

- Run, I'll lose him! - he shouted, then bolted into an alley on his right.

Viki didn't stop, and she saw the whole thing looking over her shoulder. The man dodged the bottle, and it vanished into the darkness behind him, to a second later shatter on the ground, making a lot of noise. Then he went after Tom.

She turned to look forward, so she wouldn't risk tripping, and made it somehow to the spot, where she was supposed to hide the goods. Then she returned, a bit slower, taking time to look into the darkness of the streets, trying to spot the torchlight, or hear a noise. Eventually, she heard something, and followed the sound, trying to suppress her heavy breathing in fear she might be heard.

She noticed few windows opened here and there with people looking into the darkness for the source of the ruckus that interrupted their sleep, but it was hard to see anything.

She ended up on the bigger street, and then she saw it. Tom was being pushed in front of the guard with one hand twisted behind his back, and the other tightly wrapped around his neck, still holding the torch.

He was grunting from time to time in pain.

- Fuck - escaped her widely open mouth. - Fuck...

She panicked, and almost ran after them, but then she realized that she won't be able to do anything alone. She needed help. Her first thoughts went to Nathan, but all he would do was shrug his shoulders. Tom wasn't a crucial part of his gang. He maybe was good with locks, but there were others, just as good as him. There was only one option left beside him, Bruno.

She rushed into the darkness to find him.