Hear Us Out At Least

Kai pushed the door open with his shoulder, keys in one hand, phone barely holding a charge in the other, already thinking about collapsing onto his bed.

Instead, he heard voices.

Low. Focused. Not TV. Not music.

He stepped into the living room and saw all three of them—Chris, Shirley, and Orian—leaning forward, mid-conversation, suddenly very still.

They looked at him.

Kai looked at them.

There was a beat where nobody moved.

“I don’t wanna know,” Kai said, already turning toward the hallway.

“No. Wait.”

Shirley was on her feet before he made it two steps. She caught his wrist with both hands and held on.

“Hear us out at least.”

Kai didn’t turn right away. He stood there for a second, shoulders tight, eyes half-closed like he was trying to decide if this was worth it.

“I just got off work—”

“I know,” she said quickly. “This won’t take long.”

From the couch, Chris leaned forward. “It’s actually really simple.”

Kai let out a quiet breath through his nose.

“…Fine,” he said. “Thirty seconds.”

He pulled his wrist free and dropped into the armchair across from them.

Chris straightened, like he’d been waiting for permission.

“You see,” he said, lowering his voice slightly, “robbing a bank isn’t actually that difficult.”

Kai stared at him.

Chris kept going.

“All it takes is a great plan… and perfect execution.”

Shirley nodded immediately, turning to Kai with raised eyebrows.

Kai rubbed his face. “Thirty seconds,” he repeated.

“Right,” Chris said. “So. We go in, keep it quick, no complications. In and out.”

Orian leaned forward. “We’ve got timing figured out. Shift change. Less staff.”

“Minimal resistance,” Shirley added.

Kai looked between them.

“…You’re serious.”

“Completely,” Chris said.

Kai leaned back slightly.

“This is a bad idea.”

“Not with the plan,” Chris said. “That’s the point.”

Kai let that sit.

“What plan?”

Chris smiled.

They walked him through it.

“The branch on Maple,” Chris said. “Small. Two tellers, one manager. No security.”

“Cameras?” Kai asked.

“Old,” Orian said. “Half of them don’t even point at the counters.”

“Blind spots,” Shirley added. “We checked.”

Chris nodded. “We go in right before shift change. People moving around, no one paying attention to who’s coming or going.”

“I’m at the door,” Shirley said. “Keep it clear.”

“I’m at the counter,” Chris said. “Quick. No delays.”

Orian tapped the key lightly against his palm. “I drive.”

Kai frowned slightly. “And me?”

They all looked at him.

Chris smiled, as this had already been decided.

“You’re with me. Extra hands. Faster.”

Kai sat there for a second.

They’d thought about this. More than he expected.

“And then,” Chris said, leaning forward slightly, “we switch cars.”

Kai frowned. “Switch cars?”

“Yeah,” Orian said. “They’ll be looking for the one we drove in with.”

“So we ditch it and take the second one,” Shirley added.

Kai blinked. “Second car?”

Chris held up a key between two fingers.

“We’ve got it covered.”

Kai stared at the key.

“Where did you even get that?”

"It was in the recovery bin at work." Orian grinned, shaking his head. “I went out back on break. Hit the button.”

He made a small clicking motion with his thumb.

Kai paused.

“Lost,” Orian said, motioning toward the key. “Found.”

“Exactly,” Chris said. “So we have a second car.”

“It’s been sitting there for weeks,” Orian added. “Same spot.”

“No one’s touched it,” Shirley said.

Chris nodded. “Which means no one’s looking for it.”

Kai looked at the key, then at the three of them.

They all looked completely sure.

“We have the key,” Chris said.

Kai leaned back, looking at the key one more time, then away.

"Right.”

-----

It worked.

They went in clean. No alarms. No complications. People did what they were told. Nobody got hurt.

In and out.

Just like Chris said.

Kai didn’t say anything on the way out. Didn’t say anything getting into the car. Chris was grinning. Shirley was wired. Orian kept glancing over his shoulder.

“Smooth,” Chris said. “See? I told you.”

“Drive,” Kai said.

Chris did.

Two turns. Three.

Then the alley.

“There,” Orian said, pointing.

The car was exactly where he said it would be, sitting in the same spot like it had never moved.

Chris pulled in behind it.

“Perfect,” he said.

They got out fast. Orian, key already in hand, hit the button.

The car beeped.

Unlocked.

“See?” Chris said.

They piled in.

“Go,” Shirley said.

“I am,” Orian said, sliding into the driver’s seat.

He turned the key.

Click.

Nothing.

He tried again.

Click.

Nothing.

A pause.

“…Do it again,” Chris said.

“I am doing it again.”

Click.

Nothing.

Kai sat very still in the back seat.

Orian’s breathing got louder. “It’s just... hold on.”

Click.

Nothing.

“Why isn’t it starting?” Chris snapped.

“I don’t...”

“Try it again!”

“I am trying it!”

Click.

Nothing.

The silence settled all at once.

Then, “Okay,” Chris said quickly. “Let’s just go back to the first car.”

“Yeah,” Shirley said. “Just. Just go.”

They scrambled out, back to the original car, movements too fast, too loud.

Chris started the engine.

Sirens were already close.

Kai leaned his head back against the seat.

“Drive,” he said.

Chris did.

It didn’t matter.

------

Kai squinted at the group beside him on the bench.

“I don’t understand,” he said slowly. “None of you thought to make sure the getaway car could actually… get away?”

The words sat there.

Chris stared at the wall. Orian twisted his hands together, eyes fixed on the floor. Shirley dropped her head.

No one said anything.

Kai felt something hot rise up his neck. He pushed off the bench, the metal scraping against the floor, and paced to the front of the holding cell. He gripped his hair, then turned back.

They hadn’t moved.

Not one of them.

“Damn!” His voice cracked against the concrete. “I should’ve known not to trust you, idiots.”

A slight flinch. That was it.

Kai let out a short breath and turned away, gripping the bars, the cold metal pressing into his palms.

Behind him, nothing.

Just silence.

Great plan. Perfect execution.