#fridayflash - "The Bank Job"

It has been a very crazy week for me. Sometimes life jut punches you in the face, and everything else gets put on hold. I still wanted to post a #fridayflash today, so I took an old one from an old blog that I no longer update. Some of you may have read this one before, but if not I hope you enjoy.

The Bank Job

Johnny was never a real imposing person. He was always short and had been scrawny ever since he was a young kid. Now, at seventeen years old, he accepted the fact that this will never change. No one ever thought of him as threatening and he appeared invisible to most. Even now, no one noticed that he had been sitting in front of the bank for over ten minutes with his car engine idling.

Johnny never played sports. Mostly because he was never good at any of them. He never enjoyed social events. Beside the select few friends that he did have, he was very much a loner. Not even those close friends knew what he was about to do.

He looked at the clock on the dashboard and then double checked the time on his cell phone. The time on his dashboard was a few minutes faster than the time on his phone, but it did not matter. He focused his attention on the bank and stared at it as if he was squaring off with an old foe. He shifted his attention to the backpack on his passenger seat and then back to the bank.

The bank had been open for less than half an hour and was not busy this early in the morning. Now would be the perfect time, but he had to wait. Wait for the signal.

He checked his phone again. No messages and only a minute had passed since the last time he checked it. He could feel the nerves building inside of him and could not help but tap his hands on the steering wheel.

“Be calm Johnny.”

He took a deep breath. Then another.

“Just be calm. Nice and easy.”

The phone chimed a short tune, signaling a new text message. The sound of the phone made Johnny's heart beat hard and fast against the inside of his chest. He grabbed the phone and flipped it open as fast as he could.

He focused on the phone. His hands were shaking, making the message hard to read, but he could still make it out. Three little letters. “NOW” was all that appeared on the screen.

No hesitation now. He grabbed the backpack from the passenger seat and pushed himself out of the car, leaving the engine running. He gave the door a weak push as he walked toward the bank. The door did not shut all the way, but he did not take notice. All of his attention was focused on the bank.

Johnny did not go into the bank. Instead he walked up to the ATM that was located next to the front door. He stood close to the machine as if he was making a withdrawal, and planted the backpack next to his feet. He was motionless except for his foot pushing the backpack tight against the wall.

He looked at the machine and took a deep breath. His heart was still pounding against his chest. He turned and glanced around quickly. No one was in sight.

Johnny had to force himself not to run back to the car, but he still moved much faster than he was used to moving.

He shifted the car into drive and pulled out of the parking spot. He did not want to bring any attention to himself, but could not help driving faster than normal. His mind was racing. He tried to keep the car steady with one hand as he flipped open his cell phone with the other.

He pulled out of the parking lot and onto the main road. He tried to steady his hand as he cycled through the phone book and found a very specific phone number. Johnny looked into the rear view mirror and watched the bank as he pressed the send button.

# # #

“we interrupt our current broadcast for this breaking news. There have been reports of multiple explosions in Philadelphia and portions of South Jersey...”

*click*

“...started twenty minutes ago with simultaneous explosions...”

*click*

“...yet to be confirmed, but sources are saying over thirty seven targets, most of which are banks...”

*click*

“...Chopper 3 is above the scene of one of the explosions...”

*click*

“...the Emergency Broadcast System... This is not a test...”