Money Heist

The memories haunt him.

Somewhere in one of London’s most abandoned neighborhoods, in a battered old caravan, Sirius jolted awake drenched in sweat, his breath ragged. A gun trembled in his grip, aimed at the shadows—the same ghosts that had been stalking him for the past eleven days.

But there was nothing. No cops. No dead bodies. Just the sound of his own heavy breathing.

He exhaled shakily and lowered the gun, eyes drifting to the muted TV screen in front of him. Every channel. Every headline. Every news outlet—it was all about him.

Fifteen flawless heists, but the last one had turned into a goddamn nightmare. His face was plastered in every police station across the UK, and the authorities were hunting him like a rabid dog.

And he had no idea how the fuck he was still alive—let alone not locked in a cell.

They were looking for him everywhere.

It was time to move. He had stayed in this caravan far too long for his liking.

As Sirius stood up, his foot landed on an empty alcohol bottle, nearly shattering it. He cursed under his breath and started packing—not that he had much to take. Just his gun, a handful of bullets, and a pack of cigarettes. His fingers brushed the old locket hanging from his neck—the one he hadn’t taken off since he was sixteen. Its weight steadied him.

After several failed attempts to disguise himself with a wig, a cap, and sunglasses, he stepped out of the caravan that had served as his hideout for the past five days and walked down the near-empty street.

One thing was certain: he refused to go to prison. There was no fucking way he was setting a foot in a cell. Sirius wasn’t suicidal, but if the choice was between dying or wasting away behind bars, he knew exactly which one he’d take.

As he walked, his mind raced, already piecing together an escape plan. But before anything else, he needed to call Alphard.

His uncle must be worried sick. Sirius needed to let him know he was okay.

Alphard had always warned him about this. And now, as he stepped into a grimy telephone box, he braced himself—because he knew exactly what was coming.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

Sirius gripped the receiver tightly, scanning his surroundings through the scratched glass. Every nerve in his body was on edge.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

Then, finally—

“Hello?”

“Alphard.”

“Oh my god,” his uncle whispered. “Are you okay, son? What is going on?”

“I’m fine. Please, don’t worry. Have you been watching the news?”

“Of course, I’ve been watching. What the hell are you doing, Sirius?.”

“I’m thinking of going on a trip,” he said, forcing a lightness into his voice. “Find a job, get my shit together. You know, just like you always wanted me to.”

A long silence. Then a sigh.

“I know what this ‘trip’ really means. But does that also mean I won’t see you again?” The grief in his voice hit Sirius like a fist to the chest.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Of course we’ll see each other again. Maybe I can even get you a ticket to visit me.”

“Visit you where?” Alphard’s voice cracked. “The cemetery?”

Silence. It stretched between them, thick and suffocating. Sirius swallowed hard. He knew it was a risk, but he owed Alphard the truth.

“Are you alone?”

A sharp inhale on the other end. Then, after a hesitation—

“Yes.”

“Go down the street, towards the grocery store. I’ll find you.”

Sirius hung up, exhaled slowly, and pushed open the door of the telephone box. The air outside was sharp and cold. He took one last look around, then started walking.

That day—the day Sirius was walking straight into the slaughterhouse—his guardian angel appeared.

He thought he’d lost him years ago. But apparently, he hadn’t.

You never know what a guardian angel will look like. And Sirius never would have imagined his would be his little brother—the one he hadn’t seen since he was sixteen.

“I don’t think going on a trip and getting a job is going to save you from this mess.”

Sirius had never turned around so fast in his life. And there he was.

Regulus.

It had been ten years. A decade of silence. Of absence. But here he was, standing right in front of Sirius like no time had passed. He had grown—almost as tall as Sirius, just a few inches shorter. And for a moment, Sirius felt the ache of everything he’d missed.

But nostalgia could wait.

Before he even registered what he was doing, Sirius moved—launching himself at Regulus and shoving him hard against the nearest wall, his gun pressing into his throat.

Regulus didn’t flinch. Didn’t even blink. If anything, he looked… bored. Like he had expected this. Like he had allowed it.

“What the fuck, Reggie?”

“Don’t call me that.” And there—there it was. A flicker of emotion in Regulus’s face at the nickname.

“It’s a trap,” Regulus said, calm as ever. “The police are waiting for you. They’ve been following you.”

Sirius pressed the gun harder against his throat. “Why the hell would I believe you?”

Regulus rolled his eyes. “I knew you wouldn’t, so—” Slowly, carefully, he pulled his phone from his pocket, making sure not to make any sudden moves. He turned it toward Sirius.

Photos. Alphard’s house swarming with plainclothes officers. Snipers on the roofs. Surveillance vans on the corners. An entire goddamn unit waiting to take him down.

Somehow, Sirius wasn’t surprised. He knew Alphard had done this thinking it was best for him.

Still, it stung.

Regulus pocketed the phone and met his eyes. “I have a business proposal.”

Sirius let out a dry, humorless laugh. “We haven’t seen each other in ten years, and that’s why you found me? A fucking business proposal? What the fuck, Reggie—I’m your brother—”

“Shut the fuck up for one second, Sirius.” Regulus’s voice was sharp. Controlled. “Think of it as two birds with one stone. I saved your ass, and now I’m offering you a job. Isn’t that exactly what you need right now? A second chance?”

Sirius said nothing. Regulus took that as a sign to keep going. “Do you remember Father’s plan? The heist that would shake the world? The one that was supposed to go down in history?”

Sirius lowered the gun. Stared at Regulus, dumfounded. Then, slowly, he nodded. Because of course he remembered. That heist wasn’t just a plan. It was the only way he remembered their father.

“I’ve modified it since he died,” Regulus continued. “Two years after you left. Honestly, calling them his plans at this point is generous. What’s left is just the shell of an idea. They’re mine now. And they can be ours.”

Sirius narrowed his eyes. “Why me?”

“I could never pull this off without you, brother.” The word brother felt foreign—to say and to hear.

“Why?”

“Because you’re the only one who can. The only one who’s capable. And no matter how much time has passed… I’ve never trusted anyone the way I trust you.” He said it with certainty. And maybe even hope.

He meant it. Sirius could hear it in the way he said it—like he was betting everything on that truth. And Sirius knew his little brother—probably better than he knew himself. He couldn’t deny how cunning, how brilliant Regulus was. Other kids spent their childhoods in playgrounds. The Black brothers spent theirs studying, training, learning how to be thieves.

Regulus had been orchestrating heists before he was even old enough to drive. And Sirius had pulled them off. That had always been their system—Regulus planned, Sirius executed. That was how they were raised. That was how they survived.

And Regulus might be a genius, but no one—no one—is better than Sirius in the field.

Whatever his brother had planned… it was fucking gigantic.

And Sirius had no doubt that it would work.

After a few minutes of silence, Regulus leaned in slightly, his voice low, lips tugging upward with quiet excitement. “How does 2.5 billion dollars sound to you, brother?”

No one had ever scored that big.

If Sirius’s face was going to be back on the news, it might as well be for the biggest heist in history. And this time, he wouldn’t be alone, but with the only person he’d ever truly trusted. The only one he ever would.

And as much as he hated to admit it, Sirius had already made his choice. He had trusted Regulus with his life before.

And apparently… he was doing it again.