The sinkhole, more gold and one way tickets

Tony kicks the last few bricks away from the opening. Then he sets the electric chipping tool down and surveys his work. The hole is big enough for him to get through. Furthermore, it’s large enough to accommodate the bags. He expects to be carrying several of them on the way back out. He feels a rush of excitement when he thinks about it. After all the months of planning, here he is, about to cash in on his dreams.

He takes a second or two, and surveys the inside, from the outside. Although he’s familiar with the vault, and with all the bank’s security measures, it’s better to be safe than sorry. After all, this is the one. The job to end all jobs. Tony is aware of at least several million dollars worth of gold in the vault. And that’s what he knows about. It’s unclear how much he’s going to find, once he’s in the vault.

He spends a few more minutes clearing debris away from the opening. All in all, it only took him two hours to get through the wall. It is just a couple of hours after midnight on a Saturday. This is a part of Tony’s plan. The vault will be picked clean, and Tony will be long gone, by sunrise. By the end of the day, he will be sitting on a beach at the equator. No more hustling. No more taking orders, and watching the clock tick away his days. Just smooth sailing on easy street, from here on out.

More Gold

The interior of the vault is dusty from his recent demolition work. However, he has no trouble locating the safe deposit boxes. Furthermore, he has a specialized tool that makes it a snap to open them. Therefore, ten minutes after he pulls his way into the vault, he has almost every safe deposit box emptied. Additionally, he has two duffel bags filled with gold and cash. He has the third bag open and is adding several stacks of cash when it hits him.

He should drop this bag, grab the other two, and run. Straight out through the hole in the wall. Make tracks and get out, he thinks. Then he blinks and shakes his head. What the…? He planned this for six months. There is no turning back now. He either makes this the big one, or he’s doomed back into the sinkhole of his old life. Or worse. Besides, there is nothing to worry about. He has a job on the other side of that vault door. This is his bank in more ways than one. He is also a bank teller here at this bank.

With this in mind he continues stuffing the bag with cash. Then he begins raiding the deposit boxes that have other items besides gold. Before long the third bag is stuffed full of cash and valuables of all kinds. In fact, it’s so heavy Tony can barely carry it. He ends up dragging it a few inches at a time. After what seems like an excessive amount of time, he has all three bags lined up by the hole in the wall.

The Sinkhole

This isn’t the largest bank in the city of Rogersville. However, it’s the oldest bank by far. It was built over one hundred years ago. Since then it has undergone three renovations. The allure of this bank is its age, relative to its clients. There is very old money here. Hence the large supplies of gold. Tony looks around the vault once more. There is no sense in leaving without making sure he has everything he can get.

His attention is so riveted on the safe deposit boxes, that he scarcely feels the rumble from beneath his feet. Then comes the overwhelming compulsion again. Run. Just forget everything and run. Don’t take time to climb back through the hole in the wall. Dive through it. Run. The feeling is so strong Tony nearly drops everything and runs like hell. In retrospect, it might have been best. However, he resists the urge, and decides to quickly check the boxes one last time. The floor beneath his feet rumbles again.

One Way Ticket

This time Tony feels it. The sensation is so strange, he stops and looks at the floor, as though the explanation will reveal itself. In fact, it does reveal itself. Faster than Tony can blink, hell, faster than he can even think, a crack forms under his feet. A split second later, the floor falls away. Tony has an obscene moment where he sees himself as one of those old cartoon characters. The ones hovering in mid air, just before the unpleasant fall.

Carter Stephens was running late this morning. Most days he gets to the bank twenty minutes early. He prefers to have everything ready five minutes before they open. He’s the branch manager, and he’s always on time. Except for today. And wouldn’t you know it, on the one day he’s running behind, all hell breaks loose. He signs the papers and hands them back to the detective. They are still investigating. By the looks of things they may not be able to open the bank today. Even though nothing is missing.

The Unlikely Sinkhole

It’s the oddest, almost, bank robbery Carter has ever heard about. All the contents of the vault, were still in the vault. Bagged and lined up, along the back wall, where the hole was made. Apparently the robbers left without their big haul. It makes very little sense, maybe it was a sinkhole. Carter chuckles to himself. Of course he felt stunned when he opened the vault and saw all the open safe deposit boxes. Then he saw the hole in the far back wall, and realization hit him like a ton of bricks.

Except that it makes no sense why they left without the loot. Even the police are stumped by that one. It looks as though the break-in happened over the weekend, so there would have been plenty of time to make a clean getaway. Carter surveys the inside of the vault once more, and still feels stunned. It looks like the making of the hole in the wall, caused a foundation crack, that runs across the length of the floor. There’s probably going to be lots of work to do for the repair. _^End

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sinkhole