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The plan he’d concocted to have the money laundered and make the funds accessible had gotten him out of that predicament, though, and as much as getting away with robbing banks gave Archer a massive fucking hard-on, he wasn’t about to mess with his plan. He’d always had an end goal, a number in mind that would net him enough to sit on a beach, sipping Mai Tais and earning twenty percent interest for the rest of his life.
And they were finally almost there. All they had to do was rob two more banks without getting caught, and a world where Archer wouldn’t have to worry about grinding the rest of his life away in a dead-end job he was far too smart for would be within reach. They’d divide the money, get the hell out of dodge, and maybe part ways, although that didn’t bother Archer much. He was going to have the forever he deserved, the happily ever after where he’d used his skills to game the system, not let the system claim him, and Portia would have hers. They’d finally be square.
Provided these last two robberies and the grand finale getaway went off without a hitch.
Archer looked at the detailed sketch he’d made of the lobby of the Maplewood Avenue branch of Prosperity Savings and Loan and smiled. He’d taken a day after the last robbery to lie low as a precaution, then made three visits to the place over the course of four days, each one under a different guise. A business owner looking for investment opportunities. A bank patron who had stood in a long line, only to have “forgotten” the check he’d wanted to cash at home. A misguided food delivery guy with an order none of the bank employees had actually placed.
He’d had to act—and dress—the part each time, but not being recognized as a repeat visitor had been far easier than expected. People were so fucking gullible. Of course a well-groomed business owner in a suit couldn’t possibly be the same guy as the scruffy DoorDasher wearing threadbare jeans, an even more threadbare baseball hat, and three days’ worth of unchecked stubble. Since this wasn’t his first rodeo—and, also, he wasn’t a dumbass—Archer had been sure to snuff out any echoes of familiarity that might’ve slipped through with changes to both his voice and demeanor. The ruses had allowed him the opportunity to not only memorize the layout of the bank, but to watch the patterns and habits of the guards and bank employees, note the location of every security camera, and get a sense of the number of customers who might be in the lobby at a given time.
These recon missions were never without risk, though. After all, he could only dodge the cameras to a point, and even though ninety-nine percent of people saw what he let them see, there were no guarantees a bank employee wouldn’t get hip to his disguises and call attention to his odd behavior. But having the intel meant knowing exactly how to infiltrate the place and empty the vault without complications, and Archer wasn’t about to leave anything to chance.
Hecouldn’t. Thorn had gotten too brash on their last job when they’d had to alter the plan, and Archer needed to keep him in line for just a little while longer. True, the guy had gone on a couple of heroin and whiskey-fueled benders since their last robbery, which would normally take a chunk out of the aggressive energy Thorn wore like a second skin. But now more than ever, Archer needed him to cooperate. The best way to do that was to have a plan so solid and well-practiced, the only option would be for them to follow it to success.
No time like the present to share with the class.
Pushing back from his desk, Archer scooped up the sketch of the lobby and a few pages he’d printed out at an internet café, then made his way to the kitchen. Thorn sat at the table with a cup of coffee in front of him, sleep-rumpled and bleary eyed even though it was—Archer checked the clock on the microwave—three o’clock on a Saturday afternoon. Portia sat across from Thorn, looking equally hungover, and an odd feeling plucked at Archer’s chest. What Portia did in her free time wasn’t any of Archer’s business, and Lord knew neither one of them were saints. Still, he’d need to keep a close eye on the situation. Portia had a long and storied track record of making shitty decisions. If she was partying with Thorn, Archer would need to play that carefully. He didn’t care what—or who—she did, as long as her allegiance rested with him over Thorn.
Shelving the thought, he lifted his chin at both of them and smiled. “I’ve got the plan for the next job.”
“Yeah?” Thorn asked, and although his tone was entirely bored, the spark of interest in his eyes gave him away.
Archer nodded and spread the drawing over the kitchen table, turning it toward Thorn but making sure Portia had a good view of it, too. “Yeah. Prosperity Savings and Loan. The layout is perfect—we can get in and out fast, and there are no places for anyone to run or hide. Plus, this branch is their busiest. If we time it right, I’m thinking there could be as much as four hundred grand in that vault.”
“Oh, nice,” Portia said, perking up, and even Thorn nodded.
“That’s a lot of cabbage.”
“It is. But we’re going to have to earn it.” Archer placed a printout from Google maps over the drawing of the bank’s interior. “There are three traffic cameras on Maplewood Avenue that we’ll need to avoid. We have a couple of options for escape routes, though. I’ll map those out today. Thorn, we’ll need a vehicle with remote ignition, like usual. We can leave the car right here, in front of the main entrance, while we grab the cash.” He tapped the spot he’d marked on the map, then slid the page away to reveal the hand-sketched blueprint again. “But like I said, the layout will make it easy. All told, there’s no reason we shouldn’t be in and out with plenty of time to get away.”
“Unless someone gets shitty, like that bitch in the vault,” Thorn said, and okay, guess he was still pissed about what had gone down at the last robbery.
Archer needed to de-escalate this conversation before Thorn gained momentum. “No one’s going to get shitty. The manager will comply and I’ll keep everyone in the lobby in check, just like always. What happened five days ago was an anomaly, and anyway, you handled it.”
“I should’ve put a fucking bullet in her face. The goddamn manager’s, too,” Thorn muttered, but he capped the words with a shrug, and Archer shook his head.
“If you had, every cop in the city would be on high alert. But now, we get to rob this bank for a nice, easy payday that gets us one step closer to daylight. It’s all good.”
Portia nodded. “Come on, Thorn. Archer’s right. You don’t want that kind of heat hanging over your head. We got out of that bank completely clean with nothing to worry about. We’re invincible, remember?”
“Yeah, we are,” Thorn said, a slow, dark smile splitting his stubble. “You’re right. We’re fucking invincible.”
The word kicked at Archer’s nerves, but he’d have to die on that hill another time. They weren’t invincible. They had to be strategic. Smart.
Which led him back to business. “Portia, we’re going to need intel on the bank managers at this branch.”
“Okay,” she said, nodding. She’d gotten good at doing online recon for each bank they’d robbed. Not that most financial institutions were too security-conscious when posting their managers’ names and headshots on their websites.
“Once I get the escape plan solidified and we get what we need on the managers, we’ll run through the whole thing, start to finish, just like always. Then all we’ll need is a vehicle and we’ll be good to go. I’m thinking Tuesday, Wednesday at the latest.”
Thorn looked at Archer, his stare unreadable. “Sounds like you’ve got it all planned out.”
This time, it was Portia who intervened to talk Thorn down. “He always does.” She paused to smile. “And it always works. Two more robberies, and we’ll have enough money to do whatever we want, whenever we want. We can party all the time and nothing else will matter.”
Thorn relented with a laugh, the tension in the air disappearing like smoke in the wind. “Now that’s what I’m fuckin’ talking about. The plan sounds good, Arch. No sense screwing with something that works. Let’s go get paid.”
Archer paused for a split second. But he couldn’t get too far up in his own head. He needed to stay steady. They’d robbed thirteen banks without a single hitch. They’d finish the job. Archerwouldhave the life he’d earned.
Nothing was going to stand in his way.
