The Plan

Mike slipped the jewels into his pouch and backed away from the display. So far everything had been going according to plan. He reached towards the hole cut in the ceiling above him, a hole that was a good ten feet above him.

The rope that was supposed to drop down so that he could escape never appeared. Joe’s smiling face never appeared in the hole above either. “Looking for something?” A voice rang out from behind. Mike knew what he would see before he turned around, Joe with his slicked back greasy hair and better than you smile. The knotted rope was in his left hand and a revolver was in his right.

“I was starting to think you weren’t going to show,” Mike said as he turned around.

“No sudden moves Mike,” Joe said as he kept the gun leveled at Mike. “You were right when you brought me in on this job, it was the perfect score. You had all the angles. Everything was worked out. All that I had to do was play my part and get my cut. Your plan was perfect, I’ll admit that, but it had one flaw that you didn’t count on. You needed me.”

Hands slightly raised in submission, Mike slowly approached his partner. “We’re a team, you don’t have to do this.”

“There is a new buyer on this deal. He wants me to bring in the jewels, alone.”

“You don’t have to do this. We can work this out.” Mike held out the pouch with the jewels. Jo hesitated as he grabbed the pouch out of his mentor’s hand. Mike seized the moment and leapt for Joe. The pair fell to the floor struggling for control of the gun. The tussle stopped with a crack of thunder that rumbled though the room.