I had the fidgets waiting for Barry to give us the go-ahead. We parked kitty-corner to the Trust Savings, close enough to eye the two lumbering security guards fighting off sleep inside. Barry’s idea was to hit the bank when one left to take a leak. With our masks on except for Jenny, guns in hand, Steph at the wheel feeling better, and Mom sitting shotgun, the hours ticked down until finally, one of the security guards signaled to the other that he was heading out back, and we made our move.
Barry, Troy, and I crept behind Jenny while hiding in the shadows, the street thankfully empty since it was past midnight. We told Jenny to start crying, and she turned on those waterworks faster than if she were Meryl Streep, her little fist knocking on the glass door.
The security guard perked up, squinted his eyes, which softened when he noticed Jenny. He got out of his seat and headed toward the door while waving. Jenny heightened the tears, a loud wail he was sure to hear behind the glass doors. He hurried out, removed his keys, and opened the door a crack.
“What is it, little girl?”
“My-my…I’m lost,” she cried.
“Where are your parents?”
“I dunno.”
That was when we left the shadows and burst toward the door, Barry nearly knocking Jenny over as he thrust the gun in the guard’s pale face. Troy used the shock to ram into the door, sending the guard to the floor. Barry got on top of him as Jenny, and I coolly waltzed inside and left it open a smidge for easy access out.
“Shut the fuck up,” Barry said, because the guard was murmuring. Troy had duct tape ready and ripped off a piece to cover the guard’s mouth. “The other guy in the bathroom?”
The guard gave a nervous nod that wiggled his few chins.
“Elvis, be on watch for him,” Barry said. “You too, Hendrix.”
We peered in the direction the guard had gone. In the distance, a hallway led to the bathroom. We’d learned that from scoping the place out the other day. No sign of the other guard.
“Keys,” Barry ordered as the guard fumbled around and passed over a ring of keys.
“Which one is for the safe?”
“Mmagrmsonleehavthatttt.”
“What the fuck did you say?”
Barry ripped off the tape enough for the guy to speak.
“Only managers have those, not security.”
Barry taped up the guy’s mouth again. “Lucky, I have a Plan B.”
I went about collecting chairs to stand on to spray the cameras. Since there were five in total, it would take some time.
“Any sign of the other guard?” Barry shout-whispered.
Troy had his eyes down the hallway but shook his Elvis head.
“What’s he taking a shi—”
Troy didn’t finish the sentence because a bullet came from out of nowhere and got him in the stomach. He doubled-back, lost his balance, and keeled over.
“Troy,” I yelled as Jenny screeched. “Fuck,” I said, realizing I said his actual name.
The guard who shot Troy was shaking as he held the gun at us. He moved it from me to Barry, then to Jenny, still screeching.
“Ah shit,” Troy said, taking his hand away from the bloody wound. The bullet staying in and not exiting, the blood spilling out at an alarming rate.
“I’m calling the police,” the other guard said. “Don’t move, don’t try any—”
Just as Troy had been cut off mid-sentence, Barry ran closer and fired a shot at the guard right in the head, his brain exploding like I was watching some Nickelodeon show where green slime should’ve been oozing out. Jenny screeched again.
“Stop,” Barry said, catching her eye through Jerry Garcia. “Just stop.” He leaped up and pulled the living guard to his feet. “You take me to the safe.”
“Itoluonleemnrgshavthekey.”
Barry gave him a push. “And I told you I have a Plan B.”
“Jerry,” I yelled, almost saying, “Dad.”
“Hendrix, make a tourniquet. Use your shirt. Keep the blood from spilling.”
“Shouldn’t we make a run for it?” I pleaded.
“No, no way.” Through the mask, his eyes were full of fire. “Do what I say.”
I jumped down from the chair, nearly slipping in the blood, tiptoeing around the guard with the exploded brain while wrenching off my shirt, and got down on my knees. I wrapped it around Troy’s stomach, but since I was small, it didn’t do much.
“Give me your jacket,” I screamed at Jenny.
She was frozen, taking a second for it to sink in, then threw her jacket on Troy. Blood kept squirting in a stream like a little kid pissing while getting his diaper changed. Troy didn’t look good. His face turned blue, then purple, his eyes receding into his skull.
“Jerry, he’s dying,” I said, unable to understand the words coming out of my mouth. How we’d react in this moment meant saving Troy’s life.
But Barry had already gone with the other guard to the safe. I could’ve tried to drag Troy out of the bank with Jenny’s help, but Troy was six foot and probably weighed two bucks, there’d be no way.
Jenny and I observed one another, silently asking what we should do. We could go to the RV and try to get Steph or Mom to help, but I knew that both of them right now couldn’t save Troy. Mom, too out of it, and Steph, too blinded by love. So we shrugged like dumb fools while he bled out.
“What’s happening?” Troy managed to ask as his eyes rolled back into place.
“You’re okay, buddy,” I said because that was what people did on TV and movies when someone was shot. Lies, lies, lies.
“I feel like a cannonball has been shot into my stomach,” he said, his eyes glancing down. Fear exploded in them. “Oh fuck, oh shit, oh damn.” The blood seemed to pour at an even more alarming rate once he noticed his fate. Even Jenny shook her head and whispered, “Dude isn’t making it out of this bank.”
And then an explosion rocked from downstairs. I wondered if it was an earthquake, having never felt one before. We could smell smoke.
“What was that…?” Troy asked before passing out entirely. I went to feel his pulse like I had learned in health class. It didn’t sound good. We watched the faraway darkness where Barry had gone, praying for him to return. Seconds passed like years. We were on camera all this time. Had the police been alerted? Did someone else in an undisclosed location monitor the security cam? I didn’t even know. Why hadn’t we done more reconnaissance?
I turned from Troy to the dead security guard, never experiencing seeing a body drained of its life in such a short amount of time. He no longer had a face, bits of it flung across the marbled floor. This man could’ve had a family who had no idea they’d never see him again. And then I nearly lost it because I thought of Heidi.
Troy’s breaths had gone short. He didn’t have much time. She was sleeping in bed right now with no idea her brother was about to die, all because of us. I knew whatever happened after this, she would never want anything to do with me again. And then I felt shitty for being so selfish. I didn’t deserve a girl as magical as her. In the grand scheme of good and evil, I’d toed the line already, but now there would be no chance of ever veering toward good again.
“Wooooooo,” we finally heard an echo, and Barry emerged with two weighted gym bags. The guard wasn’t with him. I wondered if he had killed him, too. Even though I couldn’t see Barry’s face, I knew he was smiling, a wicked grin.
“Let’s get the fuck outta here,” he said, passing us.
“What about Troy?” I asked.
The fire in his eyes grew dull, two dead marbles appearing in its place. His sigh full of sorrow, but did he actually care?
“There’s nothing we can do for him, Hendrix. He’s a liability.”
“We can take him to a…”
“Hospital? Fuck no. I just set off dynamite, and I’m guessing we have about two minutes to get away.” He motioned for Jenny to get up. She hung beside him as they ran toward the front door.
“Hendrix!” he shouted. To not follow them would be suicide. I rose on shaking legs and peered back for one last look at Troy. His arms sprawled wide, as if begging for us to show any kind of humanity. I had to turn away.
“We minimize the fallout with Steph,” Barry said as we burst out of the door. “She won’t drive away without Troy. You two pull her from behind the wheel, and I’ll put the pedal to the metal.”
From many streets away, in the flat Houston darkness, a red light blipped, the cops close. Barry kicked open the Gas-Guzzler’s door and threw the two gym bags inside. Jenny hopped in. She reached out her hand, and I jumped in, too.
“Where is Troy?” Steph said, swiveling her head around. She turned back to the bank. “Where is Troy?” Her cries so loud my eardrums hurt as I flung toward her, ripping her away from the driver’s seat as Barry took her place. We shot out of there fast enough to rattle everything inside like we were on a rocking boat headed into a violent storm.