• She’d had nothing. No time to think, no supplies, not her car keys or even the controversial pair of 6 inch heels she’d ended up wearing. Though she couldn’t have she missed the last item very much as she raced around another corner, bare feet proving more effective then the black dress shoes the man running in front of her wore. They ran another hundred feet before making another turn, erratic pattern a last desperate attempt to shake their pursuers. The hard concert slapped loudly against her feet and she’d wished there was something she could do to mask the noise. They needed all the help they could get, seeing as capture by these enemies would not lead to such a simple thing as prison. If they were found they wouldn’t have been allowed to live. Normally she would not be so sure in this matter but Ian’s sudden and violent end had dragged her into the reality of this situation. As they rounded yet another corner she began had to wonder if Danny actually knew a way out or if he was as lost as she was in this expansive warehouse. She had jumped into action at his demand of “Run!” but that was really all she’d heard of any sort of plan. In fact, this didn’t even count as a plan; Instinct maybe, but not a plan.
    Planning was her specialty. Planning, done correctly, was what had brought the folded-in-half envelope she clutched so desperately in her palm to her; and others like it to the rest of the team. Danny, with a level of foresight he could not have known, already placed his money in an inside pocket of his designer jacket. Ian had been waving his around in her face when his chest exploded, smattering her face and the chic backless black dress with his dark and sticky blood. Not being the girly-girly type the ear splitting scream that had leapt to her throat when Ian had been shot surprised even her. That event cleared her mind without a doubt that they were not dealing with the police, or any other type of law enforcement recognized by the United States government. Shooting first and asking questions later did not usually sit well with the American public. Whatever they were dealing with was something entirely different – though she couldn’t for the life of her figure what.
    Everything had been taken into account. Supplies bought by different team members on different days of the week with entirely different background stories if ever the same store was used. She had even driven out of state to use a phony driver’s license that required a picture for approval. This job had been set nearly a year in advance, an unheard of amount of time for a take of this size but the fate that she and her team where so completely untraceable had made it all worth it. They all had families and friends, though not in this state, therefore the reason for such subtlety was obvious. It had been done seemingly on a whim, authorities were supposed to be stumped, with no material evidence to speak of. Sure there was always the possibility something could have gone wrong, someone turned dirty, some tiny flaw blown out of proportion to cause really problems. But that was also the point. Getting captured by the police wasn’t a huge problem for any of them –an inconvenience yes, but not a serious problem - the most they could get was a year, minimum security. There was simply no evidence; not enough proof to make any more of a case then some sort of major conspiracy, possible involvement. So why had Ian been killed?
    Dashing by several other hallways she skidded to a halt, eyes locked onto something halfway down the adjacent corridor.
    “Danny!” she whispered harshly as loudly as she could.
    He seemed to have noticed her lack of footsteps and was already halfway turned around when she threw out his name. His longish prematurely grey hair was slightly ruffled sweat running down the side of his face. He had walked up quickly, grabbing her upper arm.
    “We have to keep going.” He’d said demandingly in an undertone. “If we can get outside someone is bound to have called the police, and getting arrested now seems to be the least of our-”
    “Look!” She had pointed down the hallway, leading his eyes to the form slumped against the wall.
    It was Rusty. He had been bleeding heavily from what looked like a gunshot wound to the arm, though from his pathetic attempts to stand he was clearly not dead. They both ran up to him, each with their own reasons for not leaving him to ensure their own self preservation.
    “Thought you guys would be long gone.” He’d slurred as they pulled him to his feet, each taking an arm that they then laced over their shoulders.
    “What, and leave you and your charming personality? Not a chance.” Danny had said before nodding to start walking.
    “The exit isn’t far, is it Dan?” she’d asked as she struggled to keep Rusty steady.
    “Nah…” He’d said casually as the dragged Rusty along. “In fact” he began between breaths “Should be just around the corner up here”
    They turned into the final corridor that ended in an ominous looking door.
    “Oh god I never thought I’d want to hear that noise” she’d said softly as the sharp whine of a police siren suddenly cut through the silence. They’d picked up there pace slightly, survival at this point seeming almost guaranteed. If they had bothered to look behind them, glance casually to check their progress they would have noticed that they weren’t alone. But they didn’t, sealing one of their fates, never considering what soft footsteps the blaring siren might be concealing.
    They had made it to the door, Danny jerking on the handle when their assailant had opened fire. She’d pushed them out into the street, towards the flashing lights and certain arrest, away from her now bullet ridden corpse. She had died without a sound, the unmistakable sound to shots being fired drawing the police far more effectively than any spoken words. By pushing them down the police’s retaliating fire went far over their head, into the body of their unknown attacker. They’d both been arrested then, those Rusty initially rushed to a hospital. The final sentence had been nowhere near the year that Danny would have been able to pull off if not for the money found in his inner jacket pocket that clearly linked him to the robbery that had taken place earlier that day. Rusty got off as an “innocent passerby” on account of ditching his incriminating cash once he arrived at the hospital.

    - Cue the beginning of “Oceans Eleven”