Rain “Rebel” Crawford
People assumed pulling off a bank robbery took nerves of steel.
They were wrong. It took discipline. Each move had to be calculated and every second accounted for.
That’s why every job started the same way, with a steady heartbeat, a clear mind, and no room for mistakes.
There was no room for second-guessing once the clock started.
By then, the planning was over, and all that was left was execution.
Luck had never been part of the equation.
We trusted our preparation, our instincts, and each other.
If we didn’t, all of us would end up behind bars.
I wanted my freedom, and I damn sure wanted to get paid.
Besides, the nation’s capital wasn’t a place any of us wanted to go down for a bank robbery.
The feds didn’t play, and neither did we.
I took one deep breath, centering myself before stepping outside my hotel to find Kash and Dice already waiting for me.
Both of them leaned against their motorcycles, their helmets resting on the handlebars.
They’d flown in from Vegas the night before, where they lived now.
More than once, they’d asked me to move out there with them, but I never could.
Magnolia Valley was home. It was where my sister was buried.
Where Crow was. Some roots ran too deep to leave behind.
“You got everything?” Dice asked, breaking me out my thoughts.
I nodded. “Every camera inside the bank is running on a loop. The silent alarm won’t reach dispatch for three minutes, and the motion sensors are asleep until we’re long gone. Their network thinks everything is operating normally.”
“What about the vault?” Kash asked.
“It’ll unlock on schedule. Once the manager enters his code, the delay is gone.”
“And the backup system?” Dice asked.
“It won’t know we were there until after we’re gone.”
Kash gave a satisfied nod. “So... everything’s down?”
I zipped up my duffel bag and smiled. “Everything we need is.”
Dice grinned. “Then let’s go get paid.”
The three of us climbed onto our motorcycles.
Engines roared to life as we pulled away from the curb, blending into the afternoon traffic like everybody else heading to work.
It flowed like any other Wednesday afternoon as the three of us parked our motorcycles on different blocks surrounding SPJ Bank.
We met in the narrow alley behind the building, each of us already wearing our custom silicone masks.
Dice adjusted her gloves.. “Y’all ready to get this money?”
Kash smirked. “I’ve been ready.”
I checked the time on my watch before looking at both of them. “Same as always. Stay sharp, stick to the plan, and don’t get greedy.”
Dice said seriously, “Let’s make it home.”
Without another word, we pulled our pistols from beneath our jackets, keeping them low and out of sight as we walked toward the entrance.
The automatic doors slid open the moment we stepped onto the sensor.
I looked at my crew one last time. We crossed the threshold together, and in an instant, the ordinary afternoon inside SPJ Bank was over.
The moment we stepped through the doors, everything changed.
In one swift motion, we drew our guns, and I instantly saw fear wash over everyone’s fuckin faces.
“Nobody move!” I shouted, my voice echoing through the lobby.
Panic erupted instantly, and gasps filled the bank as customers froze in place.
A few screamed while others instinctively threw their hands into the air, their bodies trembling with fear.
Kash moved first. Before the security guard could reach for his weapon, she slammed him across the side of the head with the butt of his pistol, sending him crashing to the floor in a daze.
“Stay down,” Kash barked.
I swept my weapon across the room, making sure everyone stayed exactly where they were. We couldn’t take any chances. The last time we got comfortable, my sister ended up dead because a security guard got the drop on us. I wasn’t about to let history repeat itself.
“Nobody be a hero,” I warned. “Keep your hands where I can see them, and everybody walks out of here alive.”
While I kept the customers under control, Dice sprinted toward the teller line. Four women and two men stood frozen behind the counter, their eyes wide with terror as he leveled his gun at them.
“Open every drawer,” Dice ordered. “Move fast, and don’t make me ask twice.”
They did exactly as Dice ordered, but their hands trembled so badly they nearly dropped the stacks of cash as they hurried to fill the tote bags. One teller silently cried while another struggled to catch her breath. None of them wanted to be heroes. They just wanted to make it home alive.
Just as I turned, a little boy who couldn’t have been older than five suddenly broke away from his mother’s side and took off running across the lobby, crying as he reached for her.
Panic flashed across the woman’s face. Without thinking, she lunged after him.
Instinct kicked in. I swung my pistol in her direction, my finger tightening against the trigger for the briefest second before I caught myself.
My heart pounded as I lowered the barrel just enough.
“Stop!” I barked.
The woman froze mid-step, wrapping both arms around her son as tears streamed down her face.
“Please...” she whispered, clutching him against her chest. “He’s just scared.”
I held her gaze for a long second before giving a slight nod.
“Keep him with you,” I said, my voice firm. “Nobody moves unless I tell them to, and everybody gets to go home.”
She nodded frantically, pulling the boy tightly against her while he buried his face in her shoulder, sobbing.
The rest of the lobby remained frozen, too terrified to make another move.
I watched Dice step away from the teller line, the signature red soles of her Christian Louboutin boots flashing against the marble floor as she approached.
“Go handle what we came for,” Dice said.
“Hold it down here,” I replied before heading toward the vault.
I pulled a small electronic device from my backpack.
Then I knelt in front of the keypad and connected it with practiced hands before entering a series of numbers.
The screen flashed as I held my breath for a split second.
It quickly clicked, and a grin tugged at my lips as the locking mechanism disengaged.
Slowly, the massive vault door released its seal and began to swing open.
“We’re in,” I called over my shoulder. “Let’s move.”
After quickly restraining the security guard, we headed straight for the vault.
Dice and Kash grabbed the remaining tote bags while I started clearing the shelves.
Bundle after bundle disappeared into the bags until there wasn’t much left worth taking.
Within moments, the other two totes were packed to the brim.
I zipped mine shut and slung it over my shoulder before taking one last look around the vault.
“Looks like we’re done here,” Kash said.
The two of them nodded, and we headed back toward the lobby with the same confidence we’d walked in with.
Once we were done, we hurried back to our motorcycles.
Without exchanging a single word, we fired up the engines and peeled off.
Within moments, we melted into the afternoon traffic, surrounded by commuters heading home, delivery drivers making their rounds, and people simply going about their day.
To anyone watching, we were just three riders passing through the city.
Behind us, the wail of sirens began to echo in the distance, but by then we were already long gone.
We made it back to one of our safehouses without a hitch.
One by one, we dropped the heavy tote bags onto the scarred wooden table before unzipping them.
Bundles of cash spilled everywhere, quickly covering the worn wood in a sea of hundred-dollar bills.
It was a beautiful sight. The three of us started stacking the money into neat piles until there was barely an inch of tabletop left.
For a brief moment, the room fell silent as we admired our work. Then we burst out laughing.
“Baby,” I said, shaking my head with a grin. “This is what the hell I’m talking about.”
Dice rubbed her hands together as she admired the mountain of cash. “Now this is how we get in and do our thing.”
“In and out, baby,” I said, bumping my fist against hers.
Kash leaned back in her chair with a satisfied smile. “Smooth as hell. Just the way I like it.”
I started separating the stacks into neat bundles while Dice counted beside me. Kash pulled out a notebook and calculator, double-checking every total. As we stacked the money, Dice let out a quiet sigh. I didn’t have to look up to know something was on her mind.
“We can’t do this forever,” Dice said, her voice dead serious.
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t start that shit again, Dice.”
Dice looked over at me. “I’m serious, Rebel.”
“You back on this, huh?” Kash asked without looking up from her calculator.
Dice laughed and shook her head. “Yes, I am. Once we hit Ross Savings & Loan, I’m leaving the game. That was always the plan.”
I finally looked over at her before speaking. “You serious?”
Dice nodded without hesitation. “Dead serious. Ritz has been trying to get me to quit for a long time now. We got more money than we could spend in a lifetime. My babies, Revv and Koasta, deserve to have their mama at home instead of wondering if she’s gonna make it back after every job.”
Kash nodded in agreement. “Facts. My baby boy, Kashlyn, is my world. I don’t want anything happening to me either.”
I stared at both of them for a long moment before nodding. “I can’t even argue with that, ladies.”