Chapter 5: Mask Off

"Hey, kid—get a move on!"

Claw, the burly gangster wearing a cat mask, peered back at Elias, who was still sitting in the van.

"It's almost midnight! Let's go! Hurry!"

Elias let out a weary sigh. Tonight's plan had only been to examine the Koko Cat plush and memorize its design for his real-world project. He hadn't planned on yet another bank heist. But Claw had practically dragged him here, rattling off about big money and big payoffs.

"Fine," Elias muttered. "Might as well see this through."

He hopped out of the van and followed Claw toward the bank.

Shff, shff, shff…

They reached the looming entrance.

"All set?" Claw barked at one of his men crouched by the door.

The underling nodded.

Bang!

A bullet tore through the henchman's skull, spraying blood across the wall.

Claw casually wiped his gun's barrel. "One less person to split the cash with."

Elias gave a solemn nod. "I get it—he had sticky fingers, yeah?"

Claw whipped around, eyes wide behind the cat mask. "Wait. How'd you know that?"

Elias shrugged. "He looked untrustworthy. It was written all over his face."

"Are you messing with me, kid?" Claw scratched at his masked forehead, baffled. But he shook it off. "Never mind—no time to argue. Let's move!"

***

They headed deeper into the corridor. Another minion snipped a fuse box wire.

Snip.

"Alarm system disabled!" the man announced.

Bang!

Blood spattered the bank's power junction.

Elias sniffed dismissively. "Serves him right for fooling around with your girl, Boss."

Claw nearly jumped out of his skin. "How the hell do you know that?!" he hissed. "Who squealed about me and my lady problems? Does everyone know?!"

Elias merely shrugged again. "Reading faces, right? It was… obvious."

Claw's masked face twitched. "Grr—fine, forget it. We're running late. Keep moving!"

They pressed on until a panting henchman emerged from a lower stairwell.

"Boss, I—"

Bang!

Yet another body dropped.

Claw glanced at Elias. "You know why I offed this one, smart guy?"

"No clue this time," Elias said honestly.

"That scumbag wanted to kill us all once we got the money. Thought he'd take it and run. I caught him planning it."

Elias snorted. "As if you're so different."

They continued until they reached the bank's underground vault area—a thick black wall, sealed by a gleaming silver-coded door.

"All right, kid," Claw said, pointing at the door. "Show me that expert hacking. Once the backup power comes on, the alarms go live again. So hurry!"

Elias just smirked. "Ten seconds is all I need."

"Ten seconds?" Claw echoed in disbelief. "Get outta here."

Before Claw could stop him, Elias reached behind the gangster's waist.

"Whoa, what are you—"

"Borrowing the C4."

Elias tapped the detonator, slapped the explosive onto the door, and calmly said, "Run."

"Shift!" Claw roared, diving for cover.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

A deafening blast tore through the vault entrance, showering debris in every direction. Once the smoke cleared, Elias strolled back, hearing Claw cough amid the settling dust.

"You call that expert work?!" Claw hollered, pushing to his feet. "That's not hacking—that's just demolition!"

Elias spread his hands. "Gets the job done, right?"

"Tsk." Claw brushed off caked plaster. "I saw you parkour clear across the walls. Didn't expect you to blow it that fast."

Dust hung in the air as the remains of the thick door fell away, revealing a large, empty storage room—just as Elias remembered. The walls were lined with steel deposit boxes and nothing else.

Claw dashed inside, scanning for the piles of cash or gold bars he'd expected to see.

Left, right, left again…

Nothing was there.

"Where's the money?" Claw rasped, spinning to face Elias. "You said there'd be heaps of money and gold! Where is it?!"

"Beats me," Elias replied, raising his hands.

"You told me about this bank, you—"

"Actually, I told you," came a woman's voice from the darkness.

Claw wheeled around. In that moment, Elias heard a single gunshot—Bang!—and felt a warm splash across his shoulder, like a watermelon exploding near his ear. Sticky red droplets trickled down his neck. Bone fragments littered the floor.

Claw's body slumped forward, half his skull gone.

"Whoa…" Elias murmured. Adrenaline raced through him. He'd been shot at many times in previous dream loops, but never had he stood this close to a point-blank headshot from a third party.

Footsteps clicked on the tile. The mysterious woman emerged, as she had the night before, cradling a still-smoking pistol.

"Why lie to Claw?" Elias asked, brushing the gore from his ear. "You told him there was cash here—but all you really wanted was these deposit boxes, right?"

She quirked an eyebrow. "None of your business."

"And yet," Elias said, wiping more blood from his neck, "you keep saving me. For a cold-blooded killer, you sure don't mind not killing me. Kinda contradictory, isn't it?"

She rolled her eyes. "Stop asking questions—or you'll give me reason to change my mind."

With that, she moved to the wall of steel boxes, scanning each engraved name.

Finally, she paused at one labeled "Elias Crane."

As Elias suspected, she threw aside a small hacking device and bent down to crack the combination dials, ignoring him completely.

***

Elias took a moment to compose himself—still rattled from Claw's final demise. Yet curiosity got the better of him. He stepped toward the woman.

"How about we make a deal?" he said calmly. "Tell me why you keep saving my neck, and I'll open that deposit box for you. That is worth your while."

She let out a short laugh. "You? Kid, you're not even a real hacker. Don't think I haven't noticed you're just wearing that hero mask for show. Whatever trick you pulled with the C4, that's not exactly 'password expertise.'"

Elias smirked. "I don't need to be a password expert."

"Why should I believe you?"

"Because…" Elias reached behind his head, unfastening the elastic strap. He pulled away the mask, revealing his face beneath. Dark-blue eyes met hers as he spoke without flinching:

"I'm Elias Crane."