Sunday, March 22, 2009

The Heist

Morning again. Aaron yawned, as was his habit. Then he remembered. Today was the day. The day. The heist. He was excited. More alive than he had been in a long while.
He jumped out of bed, sending the covers flying. What a day! He began pacing from edge to edge in his room, going over the plan in his head. Find the blind dude. Make him unlock the pawn shop. Take the jade dragonfly. Come back successful. An old dog performing one last old trick. Thats it. No more.
There was one little problem. He didn't know how to find the blind guy. And, it was 7:00 in the morning. He was going to have to wait a whole 15 hours to start his work. Fifteen hours! A lifetime.
Ahhh well. Things were changing now, at least. The sun shone a little bit brighter. The trees in the woods were a little greener. The gutters were less filled with grime. Aaron had a hop in his step as he approached the coffeehouse. He ordered his coffee, and spilled the change into the Tips jar. He was running low on money anyway. Maybe he would take some from the regester. That would make the crime seem like a regular burglery anyway. Yeah. He smiled to himself. The girl behind the register smiled back. Aaron took his coffee to the back, and watched the place. His smile dimmed. The blind man was no where in sight... Aaron might have to find another locksmith. But where? He couldn't go back to the past: oh no. That was long gone- lost in his memory. He would never go back there.
He practically chugged his coffee- adding even more energy to his already insane walk. He would figure something out, he was sure. He wouldn't let anything get in his way. He walked in the woods to the well, only to find a certain blind individual kneeling in front of it. Aaron detected the hint of tears, and noticed that the dog was no where to be found. This was insane- this was luck- this was fate. Someone somewhere was smiling down at him. Maybe it was her... It didnt matter. He jogged up to the man.
"Hey dude," Aaron said. A differant voice came out of his throat than his own. An English accent- also higher- more nasal. This voice was untraceable.
"Yea..." the blind man replied.
"I've seen you with picks. For locks."
"Yea..." The blind man was distracted. Not really listening. Perfect.
"Do you know how to use them?"
"Yea. Sure. Whatever you want."
"So you'll do a job for me?"
"Sure." He wasnt wearing his glasses. His eyes were milky white. Staring directly at the bright rising sun. Staring into the distance.
"I'm a bit busy right now though," Aaron said, "I've got things to do all day. How about tonight at 10?" It was a horrible lie, a horrible coverup. But the blind man bought it.
"Yeah. Sure. If you want it that way. Just point me to my coffee now" he said, his voice sounding hollow. His eyes never moved. Not once through the entire conversation. Suddenly, he moved his head, pointing himself in Aaron's direction.
"Sure, man. Just head that way." Aaron pointed.
"Thanks," said the blind man. He obviously didn't actually care what Aaron did.
"Good," said Aaron. "See you around." He laughed at his cruel joke as he ran off. Who cared about a stupid blind locksmith.

The day dragged on, and yet also went very quickly. A crazy man on top of the bank was yelling "RAPTURE IS UPON US. REPENT. REPENT. WORSHIP ME!"
Aaron yelled back "WHY?"
"I'm Jesus! Belive me!" repied the man.
"I'm a fictional man who lived 2000 years ago! Believe me!" yelled Aaron before walking around.

He was happy. This was chaos. This was his life, or, at least what his life used to be like. He smiled once more, before running too and fro, fitfully passing the time. He went to the roof, but it bored him. Today was not a boring day. Today was not a day of thoughtfully considering others feelings and reactions. Today was not a day of reminiscing about the past and past mistakes. Today is not boring, stupid, wasteful. Today was a day of action. He went to the pub as soon as it opened, and ordered a drink from the pretty lady. He drank it, and thought about hitting on her. Nope. Not tonight. He watched the sports game, fidgeting in his seat. He never liked baseball anyway.

Soon enough, night came.

Aaron went to the well, where he had agreed to meet the blind man. The blind man was already there. In a sudden moment of thought, Aaron wondered if the blind man cared if it was day or night. Besides the temperature change, there wasn't much different to the blind... Aaron shook off the thought. This was the job, this was her memory, this was the one last hurrah. He was happy and alive. And he would never let someone else ruin that. He would not consider anyone else on this day. And with that thought, he smacked the blind man on the back of his head with the baseball bat he had found. The blind man crumpled. Aaron smiled, and dragged him to the alley near the pawn shop. After about 20 minutes, he threw the man over his shoulder, and began slurring. He threw on the mask of the drunk man very well. No one notices a drunk and his passed out friend. He stopped in front of the pawn shop, and threw some snow on the mans face. Wake up man. Wake up. The blind man woke up.
"Listen very carefully," Aaron said in a fierce whisper. "Open these two locks."
He slammed the blind man's hands into the barred door, and handed him his tools. "Now," Aaron added. For the sake of intimidation, Aaron spent his time knocking the baseball bat into his hand. Each hit left a satisfying thump sound. Thump. Thump. Thump. After five minutes of thumps the blind man was done. He asked for payment. Aaron thumped him a couple of times with the bat. That was payment enough. Aaron dragged him back to the well, and left him there. He smiled, and ran back to the pawn shop. He hadn't seen a soul all night. He ran in the shop. Took the jade dragonfly, and trashed the place. Stupid pawn shop. Stupid owner.
Aaron left as suddenly as he came. Just as he was leaving, a cop car drove past. Aaron bolted, but he felt the eyes of the cop on him. But she kept on driving. Aaron sprinted to the church, only to find that the priest had locked up. He hid the jade dragonfly under a stone, and wandered around town. There was a huge mass of reporters and police in front of the Jag. Aaron was pleased to notice that the female cop who drove by had her hands full there. No way she will check up on the pawn shop tonight. No way she will remember my face with a shit-fest like this on her hands. Stupid cop. Aaron returned home. He was feeling tired. He pulled out the jade dragonfly and stared at it. This was a bit of her, left behind. This was what he had from before. Suddenly, he bit back the urge to cry. Had he learned nothing from her mistakes? Had he learned nothing from the past? He had gone the whole damn day like nothing had happened, like the past didn't exist. Like he didn't know that she was dead. He had been happy. All day. And he had hurt people, all day. The blind man, the crazy on the bank. This was why he had come here. Not to do that. He had been so certain, so strong in his belief. He was going to do it right this time, find himself. Run away from that crowd. Be at peace. Spend all the cash, and when it ran out, find a job. He had a fucking plan. A beautiful plan. A plan made from her ashes. And he had just fucked it up, messed it all to hell. He stared down at the Jade Dragonfly, and silently cursed it. He cursed himself, who he used to be. He cursed her. He closed his palm and let the dragonfly's sharp corners bite into his soft skin. The feeling of defeat rolled over him like waves over a drowned man. Eventually sleep found him, in the snow, lying in the broken graffiti-stained churchyard.

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