…
I didn’t sleep very well on Winter’s couch. I woke up every couple of hours, tormenting myself with the ‘what ifs’. What if the radio failed? What if the fake fingerprint didn’t work? What if my friends were sprung?
Boges arrived, just as nervous and excited as me. Winter disappeared to get ready.
‘Wow!’ I said, when Winter emerged in full costume. She wore a tight purple suit, red patent-leather high heels, a huge pair of sunglasses with leopard-print frames, and a silver handbag. A delicate scarf was wrapped around her elaborately styled red hair.
‘Spitting image,’ added Boges, as he bulked up his own outfit. With his crew cut, mirrored sunglasses hiding his eyes, and his suit jacket bulging, he seemed to have grown taller as well.
‘I borrowed Uncle Vladi’s boots,’ he explained, showing them off.
‘The heels are almost as high as mine!’ scoffed Winter.
Boges dug into his school bag and pulled out the two-way radio. He popped the earpiece into his ear, pulled the transparent cable down under his collar, and slipped the small radio connector into the inside pocket of his suit coat.
Very carefully, with tweezers, he drew out a small object from a little plastic box. ‘And here’s the fingerprint,’ he announced.
Winter looked mesmerised. ‘It fits perfectly,’ she said, slipping it over her forefinger. It was almost invisible and covered her own fingertip completely.
‘Looks like all systems are go,’ I said.
I stood outside, near the road, watching my friends—‘Oriana’ and ‘Cyril’—approach the steps of the bank. Winter walked with an odd gait, exactly like Oriana, and Boges lumbered beside her as Sumo, suitably hulking and menacing.
They charged through the automatic doors, striding in as if they owned the bank. They walked straight past reception and the teller counter, heading towards the biometric scanner.
I was tense and edgy, leaning on a bus stop bench, trying to look inconspicuous. I was constantly scanning the street for unexpected dangers.
Boges’s voice in my ear made me jump.
‘So far, so good, dude,’ he whispered, his voice crackling just slightly. ‘We’re coming up to the first big hurdle.’
From what I could see, nobody in the bank had given them a second look. They swept towards the furthest corner where the biometric scanner was.
This was the moment. I could just make them out, pausing as they approached the scanner. Blood pumped in my temples.
Right now, Winter would be steadily pressing her finger—with its tiny transparency over it—down onto the sensitive reader.
I held my breath.
I heard a dull beep and hoped it wasn’t an error reading.
Boges swore in my ear.
‘Try again,’ I hissed, keeping my head down, pretending to talk on my mobile phone.
The dull beep sounded again.
‘It’s not working!’ he said. I could hear the distress and despair in his voice. ‘I don’t know why, but it’s not working!’
I turned away, closing my eyes in disbelief. Wecouldn’t let all our hard work go to waste. ‘Get out of there,’ I hissed. ‘All is not lost. You just have to make another fingerprint. We can do it again. Just get out of there before you blow your cover.’
There was no answer. I looked back into the bank and blinked. I couldn’t see them. Had they been stopped? Were they being arrested?
I ran up to the bank’s double doors, which parted as I approached.
They were on the other side of the scanner! Quickly I retreated to the bus stop.
‘We’re through!’ came Boges’s voice, finally. ‘Took us three attempts—wow, that was intense! I thought the machine was going to swallow her finger or something! Like the ATM does to your bank card if you get the PIN wrong too many times!’
On my portable radio I could hear their footsteps echoing on the hard surface of the floor. I pictured my friends on their way to the security boxes.
‘We’re walking along a wide, marble hallway,’ whispered Boges.
I didn’t sleep very well on Winter’s couch. I woke up every couple of hours, tormenting myself with the ‘what ifs’. What if the radio failed? What if the fake fingerprint didn’t work? What if my friends were sprung?
Boges arrived, just as nervous and excited as me. Winter disappeared to get ready.
‘Wow!’ I said, when Winter emerged in full costume. She wore a tight purple suit, red patent-leather high heels, a huge pair of sunglasses with leopard-print frames, and a silver handbag. A delicate scarf was wrapped around her elaborately styled red hair.
‘Spitting image,’ added Boges, as he bulked up his own outfit. With his crew cut, mirrored sunglasses hiding his eyes, and his suit jacket bulging, he seemed to have grown taller as well.
‘I borrowed Uncle Vladi’s boots,’ he explained, showing them off.
‘The heels are almost as high as mine!’ scoffed Winter.
Boges dug into his school bag and pulled out the two-way radio. He popped the earpiece into his ear, pulled the transparent cable down under his collar, and slipped the small radio connector into the inside pocket of his suit coat.
Very carefully, with tweezers, he drew out a small object from a little plastic box. ‘And here’s the fingerprint,’ he announced.
Winter looked mesmerised. ‘It fits perfectly,’ she said, slipping it over her forefinger. It was almost invisible and covered her own fingertip completely.
‘Looks like all systems are go,’ I said.
I stood outside, near the road, watching my friends—‘Oriana’ and ‘Cyril’—approach the steps of the bank. Winter walked with an odd gait, exactly like Oriana, and Boges lumbered beside her as Sumo, suitably hulking and menacing.
They charged through the automatic doors, striding in as if they owned the bank. They walked straight past reception and the teller counter, heading towards the biometric scanner.
I was tense and edgy, leaning on a bus stop bench, trying to look inconspicuous. I was constantly scanning the street for unexpected dangers.
Boges’s voice in my ear made me jump.
‘So far, so good, dude,’ he whispered, his voice crackling just slightly. ‘We’re coming up to the first big hurdle.’
From what I could see, nobody in the bank had given them a second look. They swept towards the furthest corner where the biometric scanner was.
This was the moment. I could just make them out, pausing as they approached the scanner. Blood pumped in my temples.
Right now, Winter would be steadily pressing her finger—with its tiny transparency over it—down onto the sensitive reader.
I held my breath.
I heard a dull beep and hoped it wasn’t an error reading.
Boges swore in my ear.
‘Try again,’ I hissed, keeping my head down, pretending to talk on my mobile phone.
The dull beep sounded again.
‘It’s not working!’ he said. I could hear the distress and despair in his voice. ‘I don’t know why, but it’s not working!’
I turned away, closing my eyes in disbelief. Wecouldn’t let all our hard work go to waste. ‘Get out of there,’ I hissed. ‘All is not lost. You just have to make another fingerprint. We can do it again. Just get out of there before you blow your cover.’
There was no answer. I looked back into the bank and blinked. I couldn’t see them. Had they been stopped? Were they being arrested?
I ran up to the bank’s double doors, which parted as I approached.
They were on the other side of the scanner! Quickly I retreated to the bus stop.
‘We’re through!’ came Boges’s voice, finally. ‘Took us three attempts—wow, that was intense! I thought the machine was going to swallow her finger or something! Like the ATM does to your bank card if you get the PIN wrong too many times!’
On my portable radio I could hear their footsteps echoing on the hard surface of the floor. I pictured my friends on their way to the security boxes.
‘We’re walking along a wide, marble hallway,’ whispered Boges.
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