Getaway Car

Every robbery was like surgery, or at least that’s the way Louise thought of it. She breaks in, extracts only the money and items she deems worthy without leaving any trace of evidence. Sometimes the store or establishment got their money back from insurance. So really, where was the harm? Plus, Louise's code is to only steal from snobby rich people, she doesn’t take money from the poor. In a nutshell, she’s like a modern-day Robin Hood, but a woman.   On the way, she kept thinking, she praised herself for not giving way to fear and remaining cool and calm every time she does her ‘job’.   The time read 1 a.m.   Most of the businesses and establishments are already closed. The only shops that are open are the ones that operate 24/7 such as a small coffee shop, a gas station, and a convenience store.   She’s dressed in an all-black ensemble, rocking a pair of skinny jeans, a turtleneck under a trench coat, and a hooded cowl with a mask that covered her face and blonde hair except for her blue eyes.   Louise is an outstanding thief. She hasn’t been caught ever which allowed her to hone her skills over the years. There have been a handful of times she was seen escaping from a job, but she’s never been identified successfully. And that’s because she moves quickly, gracefully, and stealthily.   She has a remarkable exit strategy. She’s very good at slipping into tight, unconventional spaces and alleyways, she can jump over high fences, and she knows every tortuous part of the streets of New York.   Right now, she’s at a corner store, and she knows where the office safe is. Louise has cased the joint for two weeks now, she knows every door, and ventilation system that leads to an exit. She sometimes disguises herself as an Auditor so she can enter restricted areas such as the back office and stockroom just so she can check where the vault is hidden.   Of course, she doesn’t have any knowledge of the safe’s combination but with her skills and gadgets, robbing is just a walk in the park.   When she reached the vault, she wasn’t at all surprised to find the manual underneath the safe itself giving away the most important information – the type of combination it has. Lucky for her, it’s just a 3-wheel combination safe.   You got this, Lou! She carefully turned the dial to the left three times past the first number, then she turned the dial two times to the right past the second number, and finally she turned it once to the left again past the third number. It was music to her ears when she heard the bolt retract.   She was all smiles when she turned the handle to pull the safe door towards her, but unlike ordinary office safes, this one seemed to have been modified because it triggered an alarm, no doubt alerting the authorities.   “s**t!” she cursed under her breath.   Louise took all the money inside the safe and placed it inside her crochet patterned bucket bag. She makes an exit through the backdoor of the stockroom where the deliveries are received. However, when she got out, there were already three police officers making their way to that exit. Louise rarely gets agitated but at that moment, she can’t help but feel nervous about having too many cops all over the place for such a small store.   Fortunately for her, there was a car parked on the opposite street at a nearby café. She squinted her eyes and noticed that the owner of the car was inside, listening to deafening music, drinking something out of a bottle, and eating a sandwich?   She has no time to be picky right now, or think of a misdirection, otherwise, she could end up in jail. She pulled out the dagger she hid from her coat and ran to the opposite side of the road to the parked car.   Since the car was blasting loud music, the driver didn’t notice nor hear her coming near. When she did enter the car and sat on the passenger seat, she immediately pointed the dagger at the driver.   The driver was shocked, stunned, and nothing short of afraid at the situation she’s in. She dropped her sandwich and had no choice but to gobble up the piece of her sandwich that she just took a bite from.   The realization hit her when she froze and stared at the person sticking a razor-sharp dagger at her.   “Drive,” Louise commanded.   “Please…please! Don’t hurt me,” she barely raised both her shaking arms. “Take whatever you want! My wallet, my phone, my sandwich. Just don’t hurt me!”   “I don’t need anything from you, just drive!”   The brunette was too stunned to properly hear what the masked person was saying, and she barely noticed if it was a man or a woman in the first place.   “I said, drive!!!” Louise orders one more time as she frantically looks behind the car to see if the cops followed her.   “Oh, okay!”   The brunette stepped on the gas as her heart accelerated every second along the way. Even if they were blocks away from the crime scene, she was still shaking from fear. She regrets going out of her apartment just to grab a midnight snack.   “Wh-Where do you want to go?” she asked, never taking her eyes off the road.   “Anywhere. As far as you can from the police.”   The brunette nods and continues to drive. When they were far enough from the cops, she slowed the car down. But she was still uneasy about having the dagger pointed towards her ribcage.   The masked robber lowered down the weapon and concealed it back to her coat’s inner pocket, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to use the dagger on you. I was just…caught off-guard and I needed to get away fast.”   The brunette didn’t answer, she only kept glancing at the stranger beside her but compared to earlier, she was now calm. She can feel that the masked robber won’t hurt her.   “Just…drop me on the next block.”   The driver nodded, did as she was told, and dropped the masked robber on the corner of the next block who immediately got out of the car.   “Thank you,” said the stranger as she pulled her hooded cowl over her eyes “And again, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. Be safe on your way home.”    The brunette didn’t respond, instead, her eyes followed the stranger heading towards a dark alley before disappearing completely. She couldn’t make out the face behind the mask, but she was certain of the striking blue eyes that were clearer than the Miami shallows.