Resistance Is Useless

The guys and I were in the basement planning one last job. We’d been planning for the past few days or so after she went to bed for the night. Not that we had to keep it a secret anymore, but I felt better knowing she wasn’t really in this.
I sipped my beer while we conversed and went over the details. Rian had managed to get an inside map of the bank from Jeff, so we were pretty much set, like always.
“I could’ve sworn the last robbery was the final job,” I muttered.
“It was supposed to, but shit came up, you know,” Jack said.
“Like when we almost got caught?” Zack chimed in.
“Shut up. This is the last one, for sure. We’ll split it, move somewhere new without the whole county on our case,” Rian explained.
“Or the whole state,” I challenged. “You know the police raided the warehouse the other day.”
“Uh huh, your girlfriend was gonna get you locked up,” Jack rolled his eyes. “‘I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.’ This isn’t Life Alert.” He tried to mock her voice.
Zack laughed and I clenched my fist, ready to hit him.

“Can we all shut the fuck up and get this done so I can go home?” Rian intervened, being the peacemaker. “Now, the security room is over here.” He marked an x in blue ink on the map. “The vault in the back.” He made another x. “Before we even do shit, the security cameras and tapes need to be destroyed.”
“Someone needs to go in there inconspicuously. The guards are loaded now. Cops will be on every corner of every bank. If we even see SWAT or a helicopter or anything, we’re fucked,” Jack said.
“What if we let Karina go in?” Rian suggested.
“What? No, we can’t let anyone fuck this up for us,” Jack slammed his hand down on the table.
I gave him a glare. “No, I’m not letting her go in there. She’s not a part of this,” I defended her. “She won’t be a part of this. If anything, I’m trying to protect her, not throw her out there into the open.”
“Alex, what happened to her being a part of us now?” Rian asked.
“You thought I’d really put her in a position like that?” I shouted at him.
“You would with Jennifer!” Rian yelled back. “You’re getting way too fucking soft, man.” He should’ve known he’d crossed the line.

“Jennifer’s dead! There is no ‘would’ or ‘if’ about her!” I threw an empty beer bottle onto the floor. “I’m tired of you guys always bringing her up like it’s okay! Karina is not Jennifer!”
“Dude, calm down,” Zack held me back, pushing me into the corner. “I think Rian’s… right. They know who she is, they won’t pay attention to her if she goes in. Something goes wrong, we rush in. One of us go in, they’ll put us in handcuffs instantly. Just think about it.”
“I’m telling you, Alex, sending her in is a lot safer than one of us,” Rian shrugged. “I’m sorry. Talk to her about it later, or in the morning.”
“I get the feeling this meeting is over,” Jack said, rolling up the map.
“Fine.” I gave up and pushed Zack off of me. “I’ll ask her. But if something happens to her, I swear to God, I’ll kill you.”