Chapter 2
“Carmen – send her in”, the voice came through the intercom.
The woman at the reception desk stood up and opened a door at the back of the reception area. “Go on in”, she said with a smile. Tobin stood up, thanked her, ran her hands over her suit, and walked into the office.
“Tobin Heath – first day in L.A., welcome aboard”, the woman behind the large oak desk said briskly. “I’m Jill Ellis, Director of this office. I’ve been going over your file. Top ten in your class at Quantico. Particularly high scores in marksmanship, hand-to hand combat, and intuition.” Jill looked at Tobin and said, “That’s quite something. In fact, it would be really quite something if you knew that it meant nothing. But you don’t know, because you’re too green to know that you know nothing. Understand?”
“Uh…yes, ma’am”, Tobin answered, unsure of exactly what to say.
Jill stood up and walked out of her office, motioning for Tobin to follow her. “So, here we are. Bank robbery capital of the world”, Jill continued as they walked around the bank robbery section of the Los Angeles Federal Bureau of Investigation office. People were scurrying about, carrying out various tasks.
“1297 this year, up from 1134 last year”, Tobin said.
“That’s right. And we nailed over 1000 of them.” Jill stopped, turned and looked at Tobin. “Do know how we did it? Solid crime scene work and careful analysis.” She paused for a moment and then said, “Let’s be clear about something, Heath: we are not a bunch of cowboys. Cowboys don’t solve crimes. Smart, methodical, thorough investigators solve crimes. Got it?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Good”, Jill said, and then pointed towards a door. “Now, if you go through that door, you will be in the fitness area. Find the lead instructor in the red hat, and he will introduce you to your partner.” Jill turned around and walked off. Wow, she’s going to be a joy to work for, Tobin thought, as she headed through the door. She ended up in a large space that looked like a combination of a gymnasium and an indoor soccer arena. She spotted the lead instructor in the red hat and walked over to him. As she approached she could hear him talking with a woman. Or rather, the woman was ranting at the instructor. She looked to be in her mid-thirties and was wearing a blindfold. Tobin approached and tapped the instructor on the shoulder. The instructor turned around, acknowledged Tobin and held up a hand for her to wait quietly while the woman continued to rant.
“I’ve been on the job twelve years. Cracked over two hundred cases. Fired my piece over thirty times in the line of duty. Never once have I seen the correlation of what any of that has to do with being able to kick a soccer ball into a net while blindfolded." The woman pointed in the direction of a goal about twenty yards away and then continued. "Anyway, soccer's a stupid sport to being with. And speaking of stupid, to add to that, I’ve been assigned some young rookie hotshot soccer punk straight out of the University of North Carolina, some Toby, Tober, Tarheel, Topper Harley, whatever the fuck her name is-“
“Hey Abby”, the instructor interrupted. Abby stopped talking and removed her blindfold. She looked around for a moment and then her eyes settled on Tobin. She froze for a second, and then appraised Tobin with squinted eyes. “Meet your new partner”, the instructor said with a smirk and then walked away.
Abby stared at Tobin for another moment and then huffed. “Wambach. Abby Wambach”, she said by way of introduction and stuck out her hand.
“Punk”, Tobin said, taking her hand and smiling obnoxiously. “Soccer Punk.”
Abby stared at her for a moment and then turned around and launched the soccer ball towards the net. It clanked against the left side post. “Fuck”, she cursed, and Tobin bit her own lip to keep from laughing.
********
Just a few miles away, a windowless nondescript Ford Econoline van was headed for the First National Bank on South Main Street and 7th Ave in downtown Los Angeles. They were three minutes away from destination.
“Alright, suit up!” the leader commanded. The four robbers, all wearing white T-shirts, donned bulletproof vests. Then came the masks. Each robber donned the mask of a famous queen from history or pop culture: Queen Elizabeth, Mary Queen of Scots, Cleopatra, and Daenerys Targaryen. After putting on their masks, the robbers put on loose-fitting shirts over their bulletproof vests that matched their character. Then the robbers checked their weapons: pump-action shot guns for everyone. The leader, Elizabeth, also packed a 9MM pistol.
“We’re here”, Mary said and put the van in park. The robbers grabbed their guns and some empty duffel bags.
“Alright, Queens, let’s go!” Elizabeth barked. The robbers exited the van and rushed into the bank.
“Everybody down!” Elizabeth yelled and fired a warning shot at the ceiling. The sound boomed in the bank, and people screamed and hit the floor. The security guard near the front door grabbed Mary's ponytail, but Mary hit with the butt of the shotgun to his jaw, and he went down. Then she headed to the back of the bank, while Cleopatra covered the left side. Daenerys went behind the tellers on the right side and told them to unlock their cash drawers, while Elizabeth hopped up on a counter.
“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. We are the Queens, and we require just a few minutes of your time”, Elizabeth announced. She surveyed the room, shotgun in hand. Everyone was down on the ground, faces to the floor. No one moved. Elizabeth motioned to Cleopatra, and she joined Daenerys behind the tellers. “Go!” Elizabeth shouted, and Cleopatra and Daenerys started emptying the cash drawers.
“How we doin’ Cleo?” Elizabeth yelled.
“Super, Liz! Just grabbing funds for our next tea and crumpets party”, Cleopatra answered as she went from drawer to drawer, stuffing her duffel bag full of cash.
“Time, Mary!” Elizabeth yelled.
“Sixty”, Mary yelled back, looking at her watch as she covered the far side of the bank.
“Dani?” Elizabeth yelled.
“We’re stylin!” Daenerys yelled as she stuffed her own duffel bag full of cash. She and Cleopatra continued to stuff cash into their duffel bags while Elizabeth and Mary stood watch.
“Time!” Mary yelled.
“Okay, that’s it!” Elizabeth yelled as she jumped off the counter. Cleopatra and Daenerys immediately stopped emptying cash drawers, zipped up their duffel bags and headed out the front door. Elizabeth reached the front door and held it open for Mary, who was coming from the back of the room. Mary reached the front door, and as she did, she stopped, turned around to face the room, handed Elizabeth her shotgun, and then raised her arms and put both middle fingers up. She held her pose for a moment, and then she grabbed her gun back and ran out the front door. Elizabeth laughed and then addressed the room. “Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. We hope to see you again soon!” she called out, as if she was a rock star on stage, ending her performance. Then she turned around, headed out the front door, and she was gone, leaving a room full of frightened customers and an unconscious security guard.