R.I.P Robbie Silva by Tony Black Page A
Authors: Tony Black
Where the fuck is it? ' said Ben. His voice whined and grated. I felt like giving him a backhander.
' Easy. We ' re ahead of schedule, ' I said.
' But they should be here, surely. '
' Not necessarily ... might have been heavy on the roads. '
Silva put on the blinkers and pulled the motor up at the edge of the carpark, facing the exit junction.
When the car came to a halt, Gail spoke. ' What now? '
' We wait. '
' For how long? '
' Long as it takes. '
It didn ' t take too long. I ' d no sooner uttered the words than the big dark van pulled in. It was a heavily-armoured job. I couldn ' t see the driver ' s face but he drove cautiously, passing a spot at the front of the Little Chef and reversing into another one at the side.
' This their routine? ' I said.
Silva was fiddling with the strap on his gloves. ' Yeah, yeah ... hang about, you ' ll see the bloke in the driver ' s side come out first. '
The driver ' s door of the security van opened. He was a short bloke, squat. He walked to the back of the van, stretched a bit and then did a 180 and tapped on the side as he walked back towards the front.
Silva stirred, went to grab the keys in the ignition.
' Wait! ' I said. ' Not until the other one ' s out. '
The second door of the van opened up and a slimmer figure got out. It was a woman. I could tell by the shape. She had long red hair coming out the sides of her helmet. This looked like bad luck to me, but it was too late to back away.
' Right, masks on! Gun the engine! '
* * * *
There ' s cons on the inside will tell you, looking back, these things happen in slow motion. Not for me they didn ' t. It was all happening at 100 mph.
The tyres of the Toyota screeched to a halt as the two guards headed for the Little Chef. It had all gone to plan. We were between them and the van; they had nowhere to run.
I was first out. Had the pair in my sights as I stared over the long barrel. ' Get your fucking hands up! ' I sensed Ben and Gail running beside me but my vision was blurred through the ski-mask.
' Fucking move it, you cunts! ' Ben had come from nowhere. He pointed the gun at the woman ' s head. He was close enough to blow her fucking nut right off, helmet and all. She started to scream.
' Shut your fucking hole! ' roared Ben. He was side-stepping, dancing on his toes. The woman kept spinning. The whole scene made me dizzy.
' You. Get the fucking van open. ' I grabbed the stout bloke by the collar and marched him back to the van. He rattled keys as he went.
' Fucking move, faster. '
Gail kept at my rear as we went. We left Ben with the other guard but she was screaming her head off. I turned to Gail. ' Shut her the fuck up. '
As I glanced back I saw Gail turn and look at her brother. He was slapping the redhead about. His gun was pushed right up in her helmet now.
I roared at Gail again. ' Fucking hell ... sort that out! ' She looked back at me and didn ' t seem to know what to do. The stocky bloke stood at the back of the van; he dropped the keys. I knew it was all delaying tactics. I pushed the gun into his gut. ' What are you fucking playing at? '
' You haven ' t thought about this, have you? ' he said.
' What? '
' You ' ll do thirty years. '
I gave him a slap, bust his nose; it started to bleed. ' You ' ll not see another fucking day if you don ' t open that fucking van and get the money on the street. '
He wiped the blood away from his face and kneeled down to retrieve the keys. I looked at my watch; we ' d already wasted three of our six minutes. ' Hurry the fuck up! '
' What ' s going on up there? ' shouted Silva.
It was chaos.
The redhead was still screaming.
Silva was revving the engine.
I kicked the guard in the gut. ' Fucking move it! '
' I ' m looking for the keys. '
I saw the keys on the ground; he ' d shoved them out of his reach. I grabbed him by the collar and yanked him up. Gail was back at my side; she bent down and got the keys and gave them to me.
The van door had a
' Easy. We ' re ahead of schedule, ' I said.
' But they should be here, surely. '
' Not necessarily ... might have been heavy on the roads. '
Silva put on the blinkers and pulled the motor up at the edge of the carpark, facing the exit junction.
When the car came to a halt, Gail spoke. ' What now? '
' We wait. '
' For how long? '
' Long as it takes. '
It didn ' t take too long. I ' d no sooner uttered the words than the big dark van pulled in. It was a heavily-armoured job. I couldn ' t see the driver ' s face but he drove cautiously, passing a spot at the front of the Little Chef and reversing into another one at the side.
' This their routine? ' I said.
Silva was fiddling with the strap on his gloves. ' Yeah, yeah ... hang about, you ' ll see the bloke in the driver ' s side come out first. '
The driver ' s door of the security van opened. He was a short bloke, squat. He walked to the back of the van, stretched a bit and then did a 180 and tapped on the side as he walked back towards the front.
Silva stirred, went to grab the keys in the ignition.
' Wait! ' I said. ' Not until the other one ' s out. '
The second door of the van opened up and a slimmer figure got out. It was a woman. I could tell by the shape. She had long red hair coming out the sides of her helmet. This looked like bad luck to me, but it was too late to back away.
' Right, masks on! Gun the engine! '
* * * *
There ' s cons on the inside will tell you, looking back, these things happen in slow motion. Not for me they didn ' t. It was all happening at 100 mph.
The tyres of the Toyota screeched to a halt as the two guards headed for the Little Chef. It had all gone to plan. We were between them and the van; they had nowhere to run.
I was first out. Had the pair in my sights as I stared over the long barrel. ' Get your fucking hands up! ' I sensed Ben and Gail running beside me but my vision was blurred through the ski-mask.
' Fucking move it, you cunts! ' Ben had come from nowhere. He pointed the gun at the woman ' s head. He was close enough to blow her fucking nut right off, helmet and all. She started to scream.
' Shut your fucking hole! ' roared Ben. He was side-stepping, dancing on his toes. The woman kept spinning. The whole scene made me dizzy.
' You. Get the fucking van open. ' I grabbed the stout bloke by the collar and marched him back to the van. He rattled keys as he went.
' Fucking move, faster. '
Gail kept at my rear as we went. We left Ben with the other guard but she was screaming her head off. I turned to Gail. ' Shut her the fuck up. '
As I glanced back I saw Gail turn and look at her brother. He was slapping the redhead about. His gun was pushed right up in her helmet now.
I roared at Gail again. ' Fucking hell ... sort that out! ' She looked back at me and didn ' t seem to know what to do. The stocky bloke stood at the back of the van; he dropped the keys. I knew it was all delaying tactics. I pushed the gun into his gut. ' What are you fucking playing at? '
' You haven ' t thought about this, have you? ' he said.
' What? '
' You ' ll do thirty years. '
I gave him a slap, bust his nose; it started to bleed. ' You ' ll not see another fucking day if you don ' t open that fucking van and get the money on the street. '
He wiped the blood away from his face and kneeled down to retrieve the keys. I looked at my watch; we ' d already wasted three of our six minutes. ' Hurry the fuck up! '
' What ' s going on up there? ' shouted Silva.
It was chaos.
The redhead was still screaming.
Silva was revving the engine.
I kicked the guard in the gut. ' Fucking move it! '
' I ' m looking for the keys. '
I saw the keys on the ground; he ' d shoved them out of his reach. I grabbed him by the collar and yanked him up. Gail was back at my side; she bent down and got the keys and gave them to me.
The van door had a