Alarms. There weren’t supposed to be alarms.

“What did you idiots do?” Arly demanded, pulling off her black mask. Thick curls tumbled into her eyes, but both men could feel the rage behind them. “We had ten more minutes!”

Arly groaned to herself as they began arguing, trying to place blame on anyone but themselves. She didn’t care who did it (yes, she did), but they needed a plan or they would be facing several long years in prison. Her focus fell to the massive stacks of cash still laying in the safe. They couldn’t take any more without risking being caught.

She looked to her backpack once more and found that it was fuller than she thought. While they didn’t get as much as they were hoping for this time, what they did get would be enough to start. She took hold of the zipper and closed the bag, shouldering it before she barked another order at her friends. Kyran took the hint, taking hold of his own backpack, and grabbed hold of Tom’s shirt.

Kyran easily dwarfed Tom and pulled him along behind Arly, making sure to avoid any other potential traps. They didn’t need to set off another set of alarms. What went off was more than enough to get their asses in gear. It wouldn’t be long before officers showed up to the building, and that would make escape harder. She should’ve known that robbing Johnson Manufacturing was a terrible idea.

As they neared the service shaft they used to get inside the building, Arly heard more footsteps in the hallway. She peered around the corner and saw that the evening guards were blocking the path. She panicked, pushing the men backwards into an office. Quietly, she shut and locked the door.

Tom glanced out the window while the other two watched the hallway, commenting, “It can’t get any worse than this.”

Both turned to shush him, noticing the flashing red and blue lights that must’ve surrounded the building. Arly hadn’t considered how long it would take the police to arrive if the worst happened, but she knew it was a mistake to be so cocky. Maybe they deserved to get caught.

“Benny’s going to hate us,” Kyran mused. They deserved it. “This is bad.”

It was bad. Arly agreed entirely. She was the one who came up with this terrible idea, and they were all going to pay for it. Was it worth it?