I slide my phone out of my jacket pocket and sneak a glance. Avery, my best friend, had messaged me again, for the hundredth time, “You need to stop, Cade, please! You’re going to get yourself killed. After the last time you tried this, it’s just too risky.” I shook my head. She was right, but I was in this now, and I needed to contribute.

“Hey! Put your phone away, man! This is serious shit!”

I nod at Harvey and quickly apologize. There are four of us in a small room under Harvey’s house. We’re surrounding a table with the layout of the theatre, as if we hadn’t seen it hundreds of times and memorized it long ago.

Harvey begins his typical pump-up speech. If he wasn’t so damn charismatic, we probably would have stopped following him long ago. “Listen up, guys. We’re giving this theatre heist another shot. Last time was a close call. Way too close.”

It was more than close. We ended up in a gunfight with the Security and barely made it out alive. Now we were on the watch list and the Scanners were looking for us everywhere in Aura.

“Tonight is the Moving of the Money ceremony. I’ve heard Aura scraped together almost fifty-thousand dollars this month. We need to get that briefcase. Hopefully they do the same song and dance bullshit as last time, and then we’ll snatch it as they leave the building. If they change up the ceremony, well, we’ll have to improvise.”

Some plan.

“But we need to get our hands on that money.”

True statement. Aura was the slums. A pretty big slum, actually. People here live in these wide complexes, some that are ages old. If we could just give this city some money, we could all be a little better off. And Avery deserves even better.

“Let’s grab our guns and get ready to move out.”

Tony, apparently moved by Harvey’s speech, spoke up. “We taking the masks again?”

“Of course we are. Now he have a reputation.”

The nerves never go away. Even after I read Avery’s message, “Be safe. I know you will, but just be safe.” If it wasn’t for her, I don’t know if I’d be in this rag-tag group of wannabe criminals. I guess now we weren’t wannabes anymore, though.

Getting into the theater wouldn’t be hard; the whole city is invited to attend. Sometimes, but not often, they give away a bit of the money (like a few dollars, if you’re lucky) to one of the attendants. The Security gave us a bit of a closer eye as we entered the auditorium, but I assumed they would be doing that to everyone as security was probably heightened after our attempt at stealing the cash last month. We took our seats, a row from the absolute back of the theater, and awaited the ceremony. Typically, some official from the rich city comes in and our mayor hands him the briefcase, which is filled with all of the money Aura made that month through taxes, businesses, and the like. They make a fancy show of having dancers parade the briefcase around and then finally the official carries it out the side door of the stage into the waiting van. Last month, this was when we had acted. Harvey fired at the official, hit him, and sprinted for the briefcase while the rest of us covered him. We were shouting for the crowd to stay calm and for the security guards to not move. They moved. A gunfight ensued, and we had to leave the briefcase behind to get away. This time, Harvey felt that it was as good as his. I, however, was unsure.

The ceremony started. The official, now in an arm cast, started making jokes about the futility of the robber’s attempt at the cash last month. The crowd forced laughs, all of them secretly hoping we had taken it. Then the official asked those who were interested to come to the stage. Two assistants wheeled out carts filled to the brim with masks identical to the one we had used last month. Harvey looked at me confusedly. Another cart came onto the stage filled with fake guns. “Come on down!” shouted the official, dressed in his nice suit, to the crowd of us poor folks. Only out of interest did a throng of people move to the stage. We remained in our seats, eyeing the whole spectacle suspiciously. The people on stage were told to don a mask and gun. Once everyone was ready, they were commanded to move around randomly, passing the briefcase between them. Now we understood, they were mocking us and practically asking for us to steal it. This was bad news.

Harvey pulled his mask out of his pocket and slid it over his face. “If they want us to try and steal it, they’re going to get it. Time to improvise.”

The rest of the team put on their masks and headed to the stage, while I sat dumbfounded and mouth agape in my seat. This was a terrible idea. Soon enough, the guys were lost in the crowd of people dressed exactly the same. I watched the case get handed around to the tune of some awful music, wondering if any of the people holding it were my accomplices. On and on the ceremony went before I saw three masked men leave out of the side stage door. They didn’t have the briefcase. I waited until they came and sat back down beside me in the auditorium. “We didn’t get it,” Harvey grumbled. We watched the case get handed back to the official, and then out he went the same side door to be driven away back to splendor. We sat in silence for a while watching the theater clear out. Then a deep voice came from the row behind us.

“I caught you.”

Instinctively my hand went to my pistol in my waistband, but Harvey put his hand on my leg and I stopped. Turning around I saw a black man wearing a red bandana and a black jacket. As he spoke again I saw the gold that wrapped his teeth. “Stay put, the Security will be here in a minute.”

“What do you mean?” asked Harvey.

“I’ve been held up at Duane Point,” the man continued, revealing he was an inmate at Duane Point Prison. “They said if I could find the robbers from last month’s robbery attempt, they’d reduce my sentence by two months. Everything counts, and I need to get out of there.”

Harvey, in addition to being charismatic, was quick on his feet. “How can they allow that?”

The man grunted. “What you mean?”

Harvey smiled. “Didn’t you hear? There was a court case, this morning actually, that said the Security can’t offer reduced prison sentences in exchange for services outside of prison. It’s basically extortion. They tricked you.”

The man’s face dropped. “What?”

I was again, dumbfounded and mouth agape that this stupid story was actually working on the man.

“Listen, we could all get out of here before security comes. Don’t let them take you back there.”

The man started nodding his head vigorously. “Yeah! Fuck them! You guys are alright. Get out of here.”

We didn’t need to be told twice. We were outside into the evening air in no time. My pounding heart slowed with the descent of the sun as we walked down the street, arms around each other in consolation. “Next time,” Harvey muttered. “Next time.”

I pulled out my phone and sent a message to Avery that everything was fine, but that we didn’t have the money… All she sent back was “good.”

A Security car drove past us on the road before sliding out a few dozen feet in front of us. The passenger window rolled down and the barrel of a rifle stuck out. Harvey didn’t have time to tell us to duck before his chest exploded. The rest of us scrambled to get out our pistols as the rifle kept firing. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Tony go down. Pete and I began firing on the car as we ran. I dodged in-between one of the apartment complexes and bolted down the alley. From behind me I heard the car screech to a halt, as well as another familiar, but much hated sound. The Scanner had shown up. There was more gunfire and I heard Pete fall to the ground behind me as I turned out of the alley. There was a whir of turbines and I knew that the Scanner was flying over the complex towards me. I dashed into the nearest building I could and headed up the stairs.

By the looks of it, I was in a church that had been turned into a living complex. There were three floors, with each having a single hallway that expanded of it, I was in a church that had been turned into a living complex. There were three flohaving a single hallway that expanded deep into the building with doors lining each side. I headed to the top floor and ran down to the very end of the right hallway. Sweat was running down my face but I couldn’t stop until I had found some place to hide. At the end of the hallway, past the last room was another small staircase that led to a tiny door. Thank god for human ingenuity, I thought. Because these buildings were so old and people wanted to avoid tax collectors, they often found ways to hide rooms by adding extensions or in this case, tucked away little cubbies that allowed access to hidden parts of the building. Swinging open the small metal door I crawled into a small cube. I thought that was the extent of the room and was about to be upset before I looked up and saw a ladder. It was only a short climb up, but there were two doors at the top. I opened one, carefully, and saw that it was an office-type room with a desk, paper all over the walls and floor, and no windows. Perfect. I didn’t want to upset whoever this area belonged to, so I tried the other door. It was locked, but when I slammed into it with my shoulder it swung open and a startled man sat up in bed.

“Cade? Is that you?”

I knew this guy. “Jha!” By knew, I mean barely knew, but boy was I glad to see him. He jumped out of bed and gave me a tight hug.

“How have you been, man? What have you been up to?!”

I couldn’t help but notice the large window directly across from us that spanned the length of the wall and went about halfway down. I sat on the floor in front of him, so that he blocked me from the window.

“I’m in some trouble, man. I just need some place to hide for a while.”

“Well you’re good to stay here! Don’t worry about it! But, what did you do? If you don’t mind me asking?”

“Remember the attempted robbery on the briefcase last month?”

“Yeah, I heard about it,” he said. I said nothing and just looked at him. “Oh! No way! And now they found out who you are? They’re chasing you down?!”

I nodded. “Well,” he began. “Might as well catch me up on everything you’ve been doing! I haven’t seen you in months!”

“Tell me what’s up with you. I just need to get my mind off this.”

Jha nodded. “Ok, no problem. I managed to secure this hidden office and bedroom combo a couple of weeks ago. Only access is through that little metal door I see that you found. Most people ignore it, thinking it’s a maintenance access point or something. Lucky for me! I can get my work done here and sleep without having to worry about anything. It doesn’t have a shower, but the guy down the hall a ways on the first floor let’s me use his from time to time. Other than that, I only really go outside my room to get food.”

“Sweet deal,” I reply. Back home for me, I don’t have a shower either. I usually go over to Avery’s; she was lucky enough to get one of the rooms with an attached shower. Avery! I reached for my phone but it wasn’t in my pocket. I must have dropped it during the shootout. “Jha, tell me you have a phone.”

“No, man, sorry. Writing for the apartment’s newspaper doesn’t pay very well.”

I heard the whirring of the Scanner’s turbines only moments before it rose into view outside of the window. “Jha. Don’t move.” I try to make myself as small as possible in front of him. The Scanner begins scanning the room, the blue light sweeping over the whole room multiple times. Why didn’t I stay in the office, why didn’t I stay in the office? Jha was shaking nervously. “Jha, please don’t move.”

“I’m trying, man!”

He moved a little too much and a small ray of light from the scanner shone into my eye. The siren began and the light turned red. I didn’t have time to say goodbye to Jha before I burst through the door and slid down the ladder into the tiny metal box. Slipping out of the small door I saw a man eye me suspiciously before shaking his head and walking away. I ran past him as the sound of the siren grew. I had to get out of the building, soon Security would be busting down every door in this place trying to find me. I head down the stairs to the ground floor, skipping steps and trying not to break my ankle. As I exit the building I see the Scanner flying above the street scanning from the outside. A woman sees me and pulls me close to her, hugging me tightly. “Don’t move, sweetheart,” she whispers kindly into my ear. “I know they’re looking for you.”

I fight back tears. “Thank you. I need help.”

“Sh, honey. I’ll help.”

With perfect timing the Scanner’s blue light wave sweeps across the back of the lady. Through her dark hair I stare at my enemy and watch it continue to scan the area. Another Scanner descends into view to its right and also begins to scan. They’re huge, I think to myself. They’re as long as a light post and as wide as a bed, like long ovals with tips at the end and a big eye in the middle. If a Scanner finds you, you never get away. But here I was, hiding in the embrace of a stranger. The Scanners flew overhead to scan some other areas and the woman released me. “Thank you so much,” I managed to say over the pounding in my chest.

She smiled at me and nodded. “We fight back against them however we can. Are you going to be ok?”

I nod. She pats me on the shoulders and looks me straight in the eyes. “Don’t get caught now, ok?”

I nod again and walk quickly across the street in the direction of Avery’s place. Security is all over the town looking for me. As I walk I have to pull up my shirt to hide my face at least three times. Eventually, I finally saw Avery’s apartment complex and walked inside. This far outside the search zone I would probably be ok, but I still needed a place to hole up. Undoubtedly they were at my place going through all of my shit. I was smart though, and didn’t leave a single piece of incriminating evidence as to where I would be going or who I knew. Aside from Avery and her boyfriend, and my three dead accomplices, I didn’t know many people in this city. It made sense to stay anonymous. I reached Avery’s room on the fourth floor and let myself in. She was sitting on the bed, phone in hand, and looked up at me in surprise.

“Cade! Where have you been?!” She jumped off the bed and wrapped her arms around me and I wrapped mine around her. She was so slim and warm. I nuzzled my chin into her shoulder and let her hair tickle my face.

“I’m ok, I’m ok.”

She let me go and looked at me intensely. “What happened?!”

I sat on the bed and she sat next to me while I told her the whole story. By the end of it she was nearly in tears. “I told you not to do it,” she said, shoving me to the side jokingly. I knew she was trying to play off how worried she was, and I figured I’d get back to being normal with her too. Normal being very sexually provocative.

“So can we go take a shower now, I need to clean up.”

She laughed. “If by ‘we’ you mean: me and then you, then yes, ‘we’ can.”

I shrugged. “Fine but I’m coming to watch.”

“Cade!” she shook her head with a smile and went to grab some clothes from the dresser beside her bed. I looked around the room at all of her posters, pictures, and other nonsense placed randomly about. I caught a picture of her with her boyfriend, AJ, and my stomach turned in knots. If you haven’t figured it out by now, I’ve been in love with my best friend for a while now. What makes it even worse though, is that her boyfriend is actually a great guy. She deserves him and he deserves her. I guess things just work out this way.

“Stay in here, I’ll be right back. If you have to leave for some reason, leave a note if you can.”

I smile. “I’ll see you in there in a few minutes.”

She shakes her head and closes the door to the shower room behind her. Seeing the window beside her dresser I decide to go sit and wait in the closet. Once inside, I sit on the ground and put my head against my knees. What a day. Then I hear the turbines and nearly scream in anger. I see the blue light sweep her room and pray it doesn’t turn red. For minutes it scans every inch of her room. Then it leaves. And as it leaves the window I leave the closet and walk right into the shower room.

She freaks out as I enter and covers herself. But I’ve seen her body already and forget why I entered the shower room in the first place, as if I really had a reason beforehand. She laughs nervously as she grabs a towel that was hanging over the shower door and wraps it around herself. At this point I’ve seen everything I’ve always wanted to see. Her long, smooth legs, slim core, smallish, but nice sized breasts, and all of it was glistening with water.

“I didn’t think you’d actually do it,” she laughs.

“You were taking too long and I didn’t want you to use up all the hot water.”

She steps out of the shower and walks up to me. “Uh, Cade, you’re blocking the door.”

I reach up to her towel and beginning pulling it away from her body.

“Cade,” she whispers, leaning closer to me, “We can’t. What about AJ? He’s already going to be pissed when I tell him you came over.” He knew I loved her. Guys just get that feeling.

I lean towards her too, putting our lips inches apart. I pull the towel away and drop it to the floor. I look down at her body and take a nipple into my mouth, sucking on it probably a little harder than I normally would, but I’m just so nervous, scared, and excited at the same time. She hesitates and starts to move away, but stops and lets me, placing one hand on my shoulder and the other on my neck. After a while I stop and look back at her. “Cade, we can’t.”

She says that, but her eyes are saying a whole different story. If I’m going to come close to dying anymore today, I need to show her how I feel. I take her hand and place it on my crotch. “Oh fuck,” she says regretfully. Then she dives in towards my lips.

Light shines in through the window and forces me awake. It’s just sunlight, but even half-asleep I know the risks. Avery is beside me, tangled naked in the sheets. I lean over and kiss her and she fidgets before waking up. She looks up at me with those beautiful, pale blue eyes and I kiss her again. She places her hand on my face and kisses back. “I love you,” I whisper. “I’ve loved you for two years.”

She smiles faintly. “I feel the same way,” she pauses and I know what’s coming. “But we can’t do this. I love AJ, too. He’s the one I need to be with.”

I shake my head and purse my lips. I’m upset, but she’s right. I don’t deserve her. I kiss her again, but this time she isn’t as passionate about it. “You’re right. I’m sorry.” I get out of bed and get dressed while she watches me, eyes filling with tears. “If you tell AJ, tell him I’m sorry. Thanks for letting me stay here last night.” I walk out of her room, closing the door behind me and running my hands over my face.

Working my way outside I walk up to the first security guard I see. “I want to turn myself in.”