Breaking and Entering: Team B.E.S.T’s Guide to Thievery

by TheAlgebriacHamster

Summary:

Meet the most infamous crime group in the land: Team B.E.S.T, consisting of quick fingered thief Bdubs, tactician and martial arts specialist, Etho, master of deception and disguise, Skizz, and their leader and weapons and computer expert, Tango, as well as a little help from their driver Impulse. Together they pull off the craziest kinds of heists, the likes of which you thought only existed in storybooks or television shows.

But they’re just about to face their hardest challenge yet: Doc M’s Goathorn Casino. With a short time deadline and some of their highest stakes, Team B.E.S.T are going to need every ace up their sleeve to succeed.

But in a profession like this, can you really trust everyone? Even your closest friends?

They’re going to find out the hard way.

Updated most Fridays (I'll try, I swear)

Chapter 1: Chapter 1

Notes:

So! This is my new book I'm going to be writing over the next little while for you guys! I actually got inspired to write this by a book called The House Always Wins by greenkangaroo over on AO3 which I highly recommend you check out.

I've had this idea for a bit after Tango, Skizz and Bdubs made a joke about doing a heist on Doc’s casino but it just kind of came and went until I read The House Always Wins and the casino in that made me think “Oh yeah, I've got that Ocean's 11 style heist au haven't I?” And then proceeded to write the first chapter in a day.

I will try to upload this every Friday, but unlike Trouble in the Waters, this hasn't been pre-written and so I might miss a few weeks, but I'll try to stick to the schedule as much as possible. (Although I still couldn't stick to the schedule with the other book even though it was pre-written lol XD).

There will probably be blood and gore in this, and there is a bit of shipping. No smut, no swearing, you know the drill. The chapters will contain any needed content warnings at the beginning.

I hope you enjoy!

It was night. A silence echoed through the Hermitdale Museum, undisturbed by any sound.

Well. Almost any.

The whispers of quiet squabbling split the silence like a knife.

“He said to go left!”

“No he did not!”

A pair of figures in black outfits were glaring at each other in the main room of the Museum, both arguing about something.

“The most expensive items are this way!” One scowled, pointing left. They were a short man with big brown eyes and brown hair that stuck up in a quiff at the front, kept out his eyes by a red headband.

“No, Top said it was the other way!” The other hissed, gesturing right. They were much taller, probably about 6ft, with scruffy raven black hair streaked with grey which he pulled at now in frustration. His eyes were blue and filled with annoyance.

“You never listen!” The brown haired one retorted.

The blue eyed one snorted, “Hah! That’s rich coming from you, shorty!”

“I AM NOT SHORT!”

“You’re literally 5ft 6.”

“YOU TAKE THAT BACK OR I’LL-”

“That’s enough.”

Another voice made them both fall silent.

And a third figure walked in.

They were fairly short but still seemed to tower over the other two. Their red eyes and blonde hair shone in the dim moonlight shining in from the windows. They were in a slim, form-fitting black jumpsuit with gadgets and gizmos hanging from a belt and sticking out of pockets. They walked with authority and were clearly the group's leader.

“If you talk any louder, they’ll hear and then we’ll all be fodder for the fuzz,” They snapped, “I clearly said it was straight ahead. If either of you had been listening, you would have known that.”

“Sorry Tango,” The first person apologised.

The leader, Tango, rolled his eyes, “Come on. We don’t have all night here.”

The three of them sprinted through the room and into another. It was huge, and lined wall to wall with precious artifacts and treasures.

“Jackpot,” Tango grinned, flexing his gloved hands, “Alright boys, let’s get to work!”

They set to, grabbing what they could carry and stashing it in sacks, wrapping the more fragile items in bubblewrap before they were stowed away.

“Where’s Etho?” Tango asked as he examined a particularly pretty chalice.

“Grabbing some of the smaller stuff up the other end of the museum,” The blue eyed one said.

“And our ride?”

“Impulse is ready and waiting for the signal,” The brown eyed one said.

Tango nodded, “Signal him now Bdubs, this should only take us a couple minutes. I’ll call Etho when he shows up. Skizz, give me a hand with this painting.”

Bdubs (brown eyes) nodded and tapped something on a small tablet he was holding, then went back to stealing. Skizz (blue eyes) helped Tango carry a huge painting across to the window.

It was a few minutes later when suddenly a fourth person came sprinting in, breathing heavily, with a bag full of stolen items. A black mask covered their face and their hair was shaggy and dyed white, kept out of their face in a bun at the back of their head. One eye was grey and the other was red and scarred.

“Etho!” Tango greeted, “You ok? You got the goods?”

“Yeah,” Etho nodded, handing Skizz his bag, “But security caught me in the act. They’re on their way here right now. I downed at least seven but there are more coming.”

Tango groaned, “Fantastic. Bdubs, what’s Impulse’s ETA?”

Bdubs checked the tablet, “Three minutes.”

“Three minutes isn’t good enough!” Tango yelled. He growled and grabbed a knife from his belt and then went running back into the corridor.

“Where are you going?” Etho asked.

“To go buy us time,” Tango shouted back.

“Don’t do anything stupid!” Skizz called.

Tango stopped and spun around, grinning.

“Come on Skizz,” He smirked, “It’s me we’re talking about here. Stupid is what I do best!”

He turned and ran down the hallway.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tango heard the guards before he saw them, stopping and pressing himself up against the wall before peering round a corner and taking in the details. Five of them, all armed with what looked like tasers. One hit from those things and he’d be toast. But he still had the element of surprise.

He grinned. He could work with this.

He pulled a gadget from his pocket and pressed a few buttons on it before rolling it like a bowling ball around the corner.

It stopped at one of the guard’s feet.

“What the-” One of them started.

The thing exploded.

It burst into a huge cloud of smoke, leaving the guards coughing and blinded. Tango slid his visor down over his eyes and pulled the bandana around his neck over his mouth and nose before running around the corner, sinking the knife into one of the guards’ arms. The guard let out a cry and slumped to the floor. The other four still standing were panicking and shouting, “Where are they? I can’t see!”

Tango kept low to the ground and stabbed another guard in the leg, watching as they fell too. By the time the smoke had cleared, all five guards were unconscious on the floor and Tango was standing over them, spinning his knife between his fingers, bandana removed, showing his satisfied smile.

Despite being a criminal, Tango hated killing people, and only took lives if it was absolutely necessary. His knife was specially made to be used to incapacitate but not kill. It was tipped with a sedative that would leave the victim out cold for a good few hours, but never end them.

Tango checked his wrist watch. Three minutes. Impulse should have just shown up, but they’d need more time to load it all into the van.

Footsteps came sprinting down the hallway towards him and Tango steeled himself. More guards.

They came around the corner.

There were six.

And they all had guns.

Wonderful.

Tango held the knife tightly in one hand and switched on his wrist communicator.

“Etho, do you read me?” he spoke into it.

“Yes, what’s up?” Etho responded.

“I’m about to do something and I’m gonna need you to come bust me out,” Tango explained.

He heard Etho audibly sigh with annoyance.

“What are you going to do?” He asked.

“Just signal me when everything is loaded up, then come find me,” Tango said, “I’ll see you in a minute.”

He switched off his communicator before Etho could complain and then readied himself as the guards ran at him, surrounding him, not shooting yet but resting their fingers on the triggers. Waiting for him to make the first move.

Tango frowned. He didn’t like that. He preferred to fight on his own terms.

“Surrender!” One of the guards barked, “There’s nowhere to run!”

“Drop the weapon, raise your hands above your head and come peacefully, or we will shoot to kill!” Another guard yelled.

To their surprise, Tango slid the knife back into his belt, pushed his visor back up and raised his hands.

“Alright,” He said, “You got me.”

“You aren’t going to fight?” A third guard asked, seemingly surprised.

“I can’t beat odds like this and I’d rather not die,” Tango reasoned, completely rationally.

The first guard took his hands and clipped them behind his back in handcuffs, then they led him back down the hallway away from where the others were. Tango was whistling cheerily as they walked, until one of the guards jabbed the handle of their gun in his side.

“Ow! Now that was just uncalled for,” Tango glared. The guards made no response.

After a few moments of silence, Tango turned to the guards and asked, “So, how’s your evening going then?”

“Fine until your little gang of thieves showed up,” The third guard said. Another guard gave him a dig in the ribs to tell him not to respond. He was clearly new at this, poor guy. Tango almost felt sorry for him.

“Well, we’re only doing our job, you understand,” Tango mused, “The same way you guys do yours. It’s just such a shame we don’t see eye to eye about things. I’m sure we’d get along well if it weren’t for our occupations.”

His wrist com buzzed slightly and a smile slid across his face. He discretely clicked a button on it and then went back to talking, “It’s just that there’s so many things you don’t understand.”

“Oh?” The third guard retorted, “Like what?”

The second guard clipped him around the ear.

Tango could hear the footsteps running down the corridor behind them that the guards hadn’t noticed yet and grinned, “Lots of things, but one thing in particular: Team Best always wins.”

A tranquiliser dart went flying into one of the guards shoulders and they fell to the ground. More darts came soaring through the air and in a few seconds all the guards were passed out on the floor.

Tango smiled as Etho stepped over them to get to him, “Nice shot. Your aim’s getting better with that thing.”

“That was a stupid idea, Tango,” Etho glared, freeing Tango’s hands, the handcuffs falling to the ground with a clink.

“That was all part of the plan,” Tango said breezily, massaging his wrists, “Everything’s loaded up?”

“All ready to go,” Etho nodded, “Impulse says he’s got a five minute window before the fuzz shows up.”

“Then let’s get moving,” Tango said, grabbing one of the guards’ guns just in case he needed it before the pair went running down the hallway.

But just before they reached the room where the others were loading the van, something caught Tango’s eye and he stopped.

It was a gem in a display case in a separate room, glittering in the dim light. It was huge, almost the size of Tango’s hand. The kind of things you see in cartoon heists.

And it probably cost a fortune.

Tango was almost salivating at the thought of how much it would sell for.

Etho noticed and stopped, “Dude, we’ve gotta go.”

“But it’s so shiny!” Tango cooed, sounding like a kid in a candy store, “And think how much money that’s worth!”

“We’ve got to go,” Etho pressed, firmly, “Impulse can’t wait forever.”

Tango paused, then said, “Go. I’ll catch up.”

“Tango-”

“You tell the others to go. I’ll find my own way out and meet you out there.”

Etho huffed angrily, “Fine! But if you get caught, I am NOT bailing you out again.”

“That’s why I won’t get caught!” Tango grinned, running into the room, shooting Etho a mock salute. Etho growled and headed through to the other room.

“Is everything loaded?” He asked as he ran in.

“Yep,” Bdubs nodded, “Where’s Tango?”

“He’s… preoccupied,” Etho sighed, “He said to get going and that he’d catch us up.”

“You know what he’s like,” Skizz shook his head, smiling, “Alright, I’ll let Dippledop know.”

He jumped out the window and onto the pavement and Bdubs and Etho followed suit.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tango slammed the door of the room shut and shoved a pedestal in front of it, stopping it from opening. That would buy him a little extra time should he need it. Then he walked up to the glass case and gazed inside. The gem was even prettier from this angle, and he could identify it now as a diamond.

“Alright, pretty little baby,” He whispered to it, “Come to Tango.”

He took a look at the case. Breaking it would make too much noise. He didn’t need to worry about getting seen; he’d hacked into the security cameras a long time ago and they were down for the count, but the sound would draw way too much attention. Fortunately, the maintenance lock looked easy to get into. He pulled out a lockpick and a screwdriver and fiddled with the lock for a few seconds, his gloved fingers working nimbly, before it fell to the floor. He pushed the door open and carefully took the diamond off the pedestal.

But there had clearly been a weight sensor for the pedestal since the moment the diamond was removed, a loud alarm blared throughout the building.

Tango flinched as the lights went red, “Oops.”

He got to his feet, stashing the diamond away safely in his bag before looking for a way out. The whole room was on lockdown with bars having been dropped down over all the windows.

But there was nothing over the skylight in the middle of the room.

Tango looked around and in the end spotted a statue of… something and grabbed it, then threw it at the skylight.

“Get statued!” He yelled as it shattered.

He could hear footsteps coming down the corridor. He was almost out of time. He snatched something from his belt - an automatic grappling hook, a contraption he'd built yesterday and hadn't properly tested yet. If it broke, he'd be in big trouble.

He fired it and it latched onto the roof, holding firm. He smiled. Another gizmo to add to the list of successes. He’d thank Zed for the idea later.

He climbed effortlessly up the rope with a practiced ease that showed he’d done it hundreds of times and detached the rope just as the guards ran into the room to find it empty. Then he walked across the roof to the edge, taking a look at his surroundings. He spotted the van pulling out from the pick-up point and watched it drive past. He sprinted so he was parallel with it and then took a running jump onto it, tucking into a roll as he landed.

He walked to the driver’s cab and poked his head in upside down through the open window.

“Hi Impy!” He chirped.

Impulse gave a yell of surprise and the van swerved, almost shaking Tango off, who was laughing at Impulse’s reaction.

“Dude, don’t scare me when I’m driving!” He snapped, regaining control.

“Sorry,” Tango grinned, “Can I come in?”

Impulse flicked a button and the door opened, barely giving Tango time to move his head back out the window. He swung inside and into the passenger seat, slipping on his seatbelt and pulling the door shut.

“You got a pretty big haul,” Impulse said as they drove away, turning on the van stereo, which started blaring out some old tune from the 1980s.

“From what I could tell,” Tango nodded. He rummaged around in his bag, “I snagged this.”

Impulse looked to see him holding the diamond and whistled, “Wow. That’s a nice find.”

“She is a beauty, isn’t she?” Tango polished the diamond with his sleeve and held it up to the light, sending shimmering rays around the cab, before he tucked it away again. He kicked back in his seat, “So, where we headin’?”

“Zed’s waiting at HQ,” Impulse said, turning a corner, “Apparently the boss wants to chat. Oh, and Jimmy’s there too.”

“Cool,” Tango shut his eyes and rested his head on the headrest of his chair, listening to the music. He could hear Skizz, Etho and Bdubs laughing over something in the back, and Impulse was drumming along to the music on the steering wheel and occasionally singing the chorus.

Tango smiled. His life wasn’t particularly legal, but it was times like this that he felt he never wanted to be anywhere else.

Notes:

So there's the team and what they do for a living! Honestly Tango was really tricky to write. I wanted him to seem serious and kinda playful at the same time and it's hard. Hope you enjoyed it anyway!

Keep being awesome!

Hamster =D

Chapter 2: Chapter 2

Notes:

Chapter 2! Here we go!

This one is quite long and not too much happens so I hope it’s not boring. It’s a lot of explanations about the story and similar stuff, so it is fairly important. Hope you enjoy!

Cw: Shipping, use of cigarettes/smoking

The van drove onto the road leading to the Headquarters and Impulse nudged Tango gently. They’d been driving for a few hours and Tango was currently asleep.

“Wakey wakey Tango,” Impulse said, shaking him gently with one hand. Tango groaned and rubbed his eyes, blinking.

“Wha?” He asked blearily.

“We’re almost there,” Impulse said.

Tango nodded, “Sorry, I dozed off there, didn’t I?”

“You were out late and it was a big job, I understand,” Impulse smiled back, “Can you let the others know we’re almost there?”

“Will do,” Tango grabbed the PA system wired up to the back of the van and spoke into it, “Alright gentlemen, we are reaching our destination. Please prepare to disembark the vehicle.”

The van pulled round into an alleyway and rolled up to a garage door that was currently open. A short man with curly blonde hair and indigo eyes was waiting for them, waving.

“Took you long enough!” He beamed as Tango and Impulse climbed out of the driver’s cab.

“Heya Zed,” Tango grinned, shaking his friend’s hand.

“Oho, is that sexy morning voice Tango I hear?” Zed smirked at Tango’s sleepy, gravelly voice.

Tango laughed and punched him playfully in the shoulder, “Shut your mouth before Jimmy hears!”

“Before I hear what?” A voice asked. The pair turned round to see another blonde walking towards them. It was Jimmy.

“Zed called my voice sexy,” Tango grinned.

“Did he now?” Jimmy raised an eyebrow, amused.

“You know I’d never steal your man,” Zed chuckled.

“I know,” Jimmy smiled. He wrapped his arms around Tango’s shoulders and pulled him into a hug, “Hello love.”

“Hi sweetheart,” Tango kissed Jimmy and then slipped out of his arms, searching for something in his bag. After a few moments, he pulled out a necklace and handed it to Jimmy, “A little gift from the heist.”

“Aw, darling, that’s so sweet of you,” Jimmy examined the jewels on the necklace and then kissed Tango’s forehead. Tango took the necklace and clipped it around Jimmy’s neck.

“It suits you,” Tango said, “Although you are far more beautiful than it is.”

Jimmy blushed at the compliment and pulled Tango in for another kiss-

“Ugh, can you two get a room?” A voice asked. The pair turned to see Bdubs watching with his tongue out, fake gagging into his hand, and Skizz standing against the truck with his arms crossed and a grin plastered on his face.

“Seriously, Double-Down is right,” Skizz said, “You two need to stop snogging in public, Top and Jiggles.”

Tango laughed at the nicknames and Jimmy giggled, letting go, “Sorry.”

“It’s fine, it’s kinda cute,” Etho said, coming from the back of the van and dragging the huge painting along, “Could really use a hand here though.”

“Coming,” Tango ran to help him carry it. In the end, all seven of them pitched in to get the van empty. Seeing it all laid out across the floor made Tango realise how much of a good haul it had been.

“Nice work guys!” He smiled, “How much do you reckon this is all worth Zed?”

“It's a pretty impressive outcome,” Zed nodded, “I'll take a look and let you know.”

Tango's bag bounced against his knee as he nodded and he remembered the diamond.

“What about this?” He pulled it out and handed it to Zed.

Zed's eyes practically fell out of his head.

“Woah!” He took it carefully and examined it, “Where did you find this?!”

“Just in a glass case in a room,” Tango shrugged, “I grabbed it as I was leaving. No biggie.”

“No biggie?!” Zed stared at him, “Tango, this is probably worth $200,000!”

Jimmy gasped and Skizz exclaimed, “What?!”

“That much?” Etho asked with wide eyes.

“At least, yeah!” Zed was bouncing up and down in excitement, “This is the best paying job you've pulled in a while!”

“Told ya I was right to go back for it,” Tango nudged Etho in the ribs with a smug smile.

Etho rolled his eyes.

“I'll evaluate everything and get back to you as soon as possible, hopefully by tomorrow,” Zed said, “Then I'll send it out to be sold and we'll cash in the big buck!”

“Thanks buddy,” Tango smiled.

It's my job,” Zed patted his shoulder and walked with Impulse back to the van, “I'm always happy to help.”

“I'll make sure you get a raise for this one!” Tango called after him. Zed grinned and shot finger guns at him.

“Tango,” Jimmy's voice drew Tango's attention away from Zed, “Can we have a chat?”

“Sure thing love,” Tango nodded. Jimmy took his hand and led him to a small store room out the back of the garage. Tango shut the door as he entered.

“What did you-” He was cut off as Jimmy dragged their lips together. A small chuckle escaped from the corner of his mouth at Jimmy’s eagerness and he kissed him back.

Eventually Jimmy pulled away.

“I want to catch up,” he smiled, “I haven’t seen you for a week except for facetime when I wasn't busy with the business trip. I’ve missed you.” Jimmy smiled.

“Missed you too Rancher,” Tango beamed. ‘Rancher’ was one of Tango’s wacky pet names for Jimmy. Jimmy couldn’t even remember why he had come up with it, but it was his favourite term of endearment that Tango used.

“So, what were you up to while I was gone?” Tango asked.

“Well,” Jimmy paused, looking a little embarrassed at the floor, “I got a promotion.”

Tango gasped, “Jimmy that’s awesome! I’m so proud of you!”

Jimmy grinned, “Yeah. And this makes the whole thing even better.”

He pulled a pair of small things out his pocket and handed it to Tango, who took a good look at it and then stared in amazement.

“Are those-” he started.

“My boss’ favourite pair of earrings?” Jimmy smirked, “Yep. I swiped them off her desk. She had no idea. I just smiled politely and gave her compliments and she practically ate out of my hand.”

“Won’t she think you stole them though?” Tango questioned.

“What? Me? Jimmy Solidarity, the perfect employee she thinks can do no wrong?” Jimmy laughed, “Of course she won’t. I’m not a professional at this for nothing. She’ll probably blame one of the cleaners.”

Jimmy was not only Tango’s boyfriend but a professional pickpocket and conman. He could charm anyone whilst robbing them blind and the victim had no idea until the deed was done, and most of them didn’t even realise it was Jimmy even after they’d been stolen from.

Jimmy’s illegal occupation was actually how the pair had met. Jimmy had been at a nightclub, picking the pockets of rich ladies and gents too intoxicated to notice and had ended up trying to steal from Tango. Tango had caught him in the act and Jimmy had complimented him for how quick he was. Tango had thanked him and they’d exchanged names, before he offered Jimmy a drink. A few rounds later and the pair were making out in an alleyway round the back of the club. Somehow they’d both ended up at Tango’s house at the end of the night, and the rest was history.

“Well done love,” Tango cupped Jimmy’s face and pressed a small kiss to his lips, “My little pickpocket.”

“I’m literally taller than you,” Jimmy smirked.

“Yeah, but I’m older,” Tango argued.

“You’re impossible.”

“You know you love me,” Tango grinned dopily.

Jimmy smiled and pulled him closer by his hips, resting their lips together, “Yeah, I do.”
Tango ran a hand through Jimmy’s hair, tugging him even closer as they kissed.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and the pair pulled apart, both breathing heavily.

“Come in,” Tango called breathlessly.

The door swung open and Bdubs stuck his head inside.

“Tango, you’re-” He paused, taking in the scene, then asked, “Sorry, am I interrupting something?”

“No,” Jimmy let go of Tango with one last quick kiss on his hairline, “We were just talking.”

“Really?” Bdubs raised an eyebrow.

“Well, maybe not just talking,” Tango admitted, grinning sheepishly, “What did you need?”

“The boss wanted to speak to you,” Bdubs said.

“Got it,” Tango nodded, “I’ll head up there now. Thanks for the heads up ‘Dubs. See you later sweetheart.”

“Aw, I get a cute petname,” Bdubs joked. Jimmy laughed and Tango rolled his eyes good naturedly, bonking Bdubs on the head as he walked past him and into the lift at the end of the garage.

He pressed the button for floor twelve and tapped his fingers together as the quirky lift music played and the doors slid shut. He hated the music and had no idea why the boss had installed it, but he supposed it was better than dead silence.

Eventually, the lift doors creaked back open and he walked out and down a corridor, stopping at the door at the end. The sign on it read Mr. S. Goodtimes, Entrepreneur.

Tango knocked on the door.

“Come in!” A voice trilled.

He pulled it open.

A young man was sitting with his feet kicked up on his desk, stroking a grey and white cat. He had combed brown hair that had been tied up in a short ponytail. He was wearing a black shirt that was currently unbuttoned, showing his scarred chest. There was a red rose sitting in the breast pocket which he was fiddling with with his other hand. An untied red tie hung around his neck. His trousers were brown leather held up with a silver belt and a pair of black leather boots. His face lit up as Tango walked in.

“Tango!” He grinned, “My best and favourite employee!”

“Hi Scar,” Tango smiled. Scar was Tango’s boss and the leader of their crime faction, as well as an old friend. His name wasn’t actually Scar, but no one knew what his name really was so everyone called him Scar because of the scars on his face and body, none of which Tango knew the origin of. Despite being friends, he didn't actually know that much about Scar. He was a man who kept his cards close to his chest.

“Please, take a seat!” Scar swung his legs back down from the desk and gestured for Tango to sit, which he did.

“It’s lovely to see you, I’ve had a tricky day with difficult clients. You’re so much more competent than all of them,” Scar said, pulling out a packet of cigarettes and a lighter. He offered the packet to Tango, “Want one?”

“I’ll pass,” Tango said politely.

Scar shrugged, “Your loss. These are the best you’ll find this far downtown. Anywho, how are you, friend?”

“I’m hanging in there,” Tango replied, “How are you? How’s Jellie and her kittens?”

“I’m doing absolutely wonderful!” Scar beamed, “And Jellie is too. She’s acting like the queen she is.”

He scratched his cat behind her ears, “Isn’t that right darling?”

“You spoil her too much,” Tango chuckled, shaking his head.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Scar argued, “Right, Jellie?”

Jellie mewed.

“I heard the job went well,” Scar continued, twirling a cigarette between his fingers

“You would have done better,” Tango muttered, rubbing his neck, “I fluffed up at the end, triggering that weight sensor alarm.”

Scar shook his head, “Nah, you've always been better than me. Always.”

A shadow fell over his face for a few seconds, barely noticeable but there, then he brightened again.

“Anyway, down to business,” he said, “I’ve got another job for you.”

“Another?” Tango exclaimed incredulously, “We’ve been at it nonstop the past few weeks.”

“Hey, it’s good business,” Scar countered, lighting the cigarette and slipping it into the corner of his mouth, “And that means more money for both of us.”

“Can’t we take a little break?” Tango groaned, “We’ve been working ourselves to the bone!”

“I’m afraid not,” Scar said, “This one’s on a tight time constraint.” He handed Tango a piece of paper with the needed intel on it. Tango read it over, eyes widening as he did so.

Eventually, he spoke.

“Are you serious?”

“I’m always serious,” Scar took a long drag from his cigarette before removing it from his mouth and tapping the end out on an ashtray.

“But the Goathorn Casino?!” Tango gawped, “That’s impossible!”

“Impossibility never stopped you before,” Scar shrugged.

Tango stared at the paper. Goathorn Casino. It was the most prestigious and well known casino in the entirety of Hermit City. Owned by the mastermind, Doc M. Trying to rob it would be a fool’s errand.

“It’s a suicide job Scar,” Tango protested, “We wouldn’t make it out alive! And I quite like living actually!”

“Stop making such a fuss,” Scar rolled his eyes, “It’s simple. Get in, get the money and get out.”

“But security there is impenetrable!” Tango slammed the paper on the desk, “After the poker scandal where that crazy guy held everyone at gunpoint until they gave him the winnings, they upped their security level. There’s no way we could get in undetected!”

He pushed the paper back across to Scar.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t take the job,” he said, “I can’t risk my teams’ lives like this. Find someone else to take this.”

He got up and walked to the door.

“Well then maybe we’ll have to reconsider our terms,” Scar’s statement made Tango stop dead, his hand resting on the door handle.

“What?”

“You know the rules, Tango,” Scar tsked, “I give you a job and you do it. No questions asked. You never had a problem with that before.”

He pushed the paper back across the table.

“That was because everything you asked of me was feasible,” Tango retorted, snatching it back up, crumpling it in his hand.

“And this isn’t?”

“No!” Tango glared at him, “It’s not!”

“If you don’t do this job, you can walk out this building and not come back,” Scar’s voice turned steely cold and threatening, “You’ve got a day to decide.”

Tango clenched his fists and nodded, leaving the room and slamming the door behind him. Jellie jumped a little at the loud noise.

Scar stroked her head, “It's alright sweetie, he's just a meanie. He'll come right, just you wait.”

He grinned almost evilly, “Just you wait.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The van had been reloaded up for transporting when Tango came back down from Scar's office. Skizz noticed him first.

“Hey Top!” He beamed, “You're back!”

Tango didn't say anything, just walked to the van.

“Hey, Tango?” Skizz's face turned concerned, “You alright?”

Tango still didn't answer.

“Tango,” Skizz's hand landed on Tango's shoulder, startling him out of his thoughts.

“You ok?” Skizz asked.

“Oh, um, yeah,” Tango nodded, “I'm… well…”

He sighed and sat down on a crate, “No, I'm not.”

“What's the problem?” Skizz questioned gently.

Tango wordlessly passed him the crumpled up paper.

Skizz unwrapped it and gave a whistle.

“Doc's Casino? That's a massive job!” He exclaimed, “No wonder you're so worried.”

“That's not it,” Tango shook his head.

“Then what is it?” Etho asked, who'd been listening to them talking.

“We're not taking the job.”

Everyone froze.

“We're not what?” Etho said.

“We're not taking it,” Tango repeated, staring at the floor, “It's too dangerous and I don't want you guys to get hurt.”

“But if you don't take it-” Bdubs started, joining the conversation.

“I know, I know,” Tango sighed, “I can wave goodbye to my job here. But I'm not putting you that far in harm's way. You mean too much to me.”

“Top, that sentiment is incredibly sweet,” Skizz knelt down to look Tango in the eye, “But think of how much money we could make on this job!”

Tango looked up, “What?”

“We’re doing this job,” Etho deadpanned.

“But I-”

“We can do this Tango,” Bdubs added, “We’re good enough!”

“It’s not that you’re not!” Tango huffed, frustrated, “I never said you weren’t! But I want to keep you guys safe!”

“Tango, love,” Jimmy sat down next to Tango, taking one of his hands, “We understand you’re trying to protect us, and we really appreciate you for it, but if the others think they can do this, I think it too.”

“Skill isn’t the problem,” Tango sighed, tugging at his hair with his free hand, “I know you guys are perfectly capable of walking straight in there and getting the job done, but the security there is impossible to get past. If one of you got caught, or worse, I’d never be able to forgive myself.”

“And we get that,” Jimmy nodded, “But I know that you trust your team's judgment just as much as your own, if not more so sometimes. Trust us on this.”

Tango took a deep breath, staring at the ground.

“Fine,” he said in a quiet voice, “We’ll do it.”

“Yeah baby!” Skizz fist-pumped in the air, “We’re going casino heisting!”

“But,” Tango raised a hand. Everyone fell silent.

“The minute something goes wrong, we get the heck out of there, ok?” He ordered, “No arguments. Understood?”

They all nodded.

Tango took the paper from Skizz and took a look at it again.

“Against my better judgment, this is happening, so we need to get as much intel as we can,” he said, “Skizz, that’s your job. Find out whatever you can about the casino, its weaknesses, anything.”

“Yes sir!” Skizz saluted.

Tango smiled dryly at him, then continued, “We’ll need some high tech weapons and explosives. I’ll work on those. Bdubs and Etho, you two are on supply duty. Anything we can’t make, you guys get. We can use the money from the museum to buy it.”

“Why supply duty?” Bdubs moaned, “Supply duty sucks!”

“Keep complaining and you can mop the van floor,” Tango threatened.

Bdubs shut up.

“Speaking of the van,” Impulse said, chuckling at Bdubs’ response, “I’ll give her a tune-up, just in case we need to make a quick exit. I think her oil’s running low.”

“Good idea,” Tango nodded.

“And Jimmy and I can be moral support!” Zed grinned, wrapping an arm around Jimmy’s shoulder (or at least attempting to. It was tricky when Jimmy was a good 5 or so inches taller), “Right Jim?”

“We’ll help in any way we can,” Jimmy smiled.

“We’re gonna need it,” Tango said grimly, “This job is going to be our hardest one ever. We’ll meet here in two days’ time to discuss plans. You can take tomorrow to rest. Goodness knows I need one.”

At this, he stifled a yawn.

“We should probably head out,” Zed agreed, “Should I tell Scar about the job then?”

“Yeah thanks,” Tango said, “That’d be appreciated. I’ll see you guys later.”

“See ya Top!”

“Night Tango.”

“Bye Tangy!”

Tango waved and smiled as he and Jimmy walked to where Jimmy had parked the car. Tango slumped into the passenger seat and slammed the door shut and Jimmy climbed into the driver’s chair.

There was a second of silence, then Tango said, “This is a bad idea.”

“You’re really against this, aren’t you?” Jimmy turned to look at him.

“I’m just worried,” Tango sighed, “Maybe I’m being paranoid, but I have a gut feeling that something is going to go badly wrong.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Jimmy said breezily, turning on the ignition and pulling away, “What could possibly go wrong?”

Tango stared at him, “You’re seriously saying that?”

“Are you suggesting I just jinxed us?” Jimmy grinned, “I didn’t think you were that superstitious.”

“I’m not,” Tango pinched the bridge of his nose, “But this is not something to be made fun of.”

“Alright, sorry Rancher. I was just trying to cheer you up.”

“I know,” Tango touched Jimmy’s arm with a smile, “And I appreciate it.”

Jimmy smiled back, “Anything for you sweetheart.”

Eventually, they got home, and Tango immediately crashed on the bed upstairs, not even taking off his shoes.

He heard Jimmy chuckle as he walked into the room.

“Tango, I know you’re tired, but you can’t sleep like that.”

“Says who?” Tango’s voice was muffled by his pillow.

“Both common sense and me,” Jimmy pulled both of Tango’s shoes off for him, “You need to get ready.”

“I don’t wanna!” Tango complained.

“You’re acting like a child,” Jimmy rolled his eyes. He grabbed Tango’s ankles and dragged him off the bed. Tango squawked and landed with a thud on the floor.

“Jimmy!” He glared at his boyfriend, who had stuffed his hands in his mouth in the attempt not to laugh. It was unsuccessful.

“Sorry,” Jimmy giggled, “But you were too stubborn for me to do anything else.”

Tango couldn’t stop the amused smile that tugged at his lips from showing as Jimmy laughed. Jimmy’s laugh was so infectious.

“Fine, I’ll get ready,” he muttered begrudgingly, getting up and heading to the bathroom.

Jimmy ruffled his hair, “That’s my rancher.”

Notes:

There we go! The big heist has been revealed! Kind of. I hope you guys enjoyed meeting Tango’s boss and his boyfriend! Things are gonna start ramping up next week!

Keep being awesome!

Hamster =D

Chapter 3: Chapter 3

Notes:

Early upload cause I’m off school sick and bored so I’m doing this now, this chapter was surprisingly tricky to write. I hope you enjoy it though!

Cws: Blood, death, injury, fighting, not necessarily needles but like a dart gun so I don’t know if that counts, and a lil bit of shipping.

Tango woke up later that afternoon, feeling much more well rested than earlier. After Jimmy had dragged him off the bed, he’d pulled off his jumpsuit, pulled on a pair of pyjama trousers and then fallen asleep before he’d had a chance to put a shirt on, and so he woke shirtless and feeling a bit sore and achy from the heist.

Jimmy was sitting on the bed next to him reading a book when he sat up, yawning.

“Afternoon sweetheart,” Jimmy smiled.

“Afternoon? What time is it?” Tango mumbled.

“It’s about 3:00pm,” Jimmy said, putting his book down.

Tango nodded and stretched, wincing as his back popped.

“That sounded like it hurt,” Jimmy grimaced.

Tango shrugged, “I tried to lift that massive painting by myself and my back really didn’t like it. This is the result.”

“Here, let me see if this helps,” Jimmy gestured for Tango to sit in front of him on the bed. Tango shuffled over and Jimmy started massaging Tango’s back. Tango gave a relieved sigh as he felt the ache in it start to disappear.

“Better?” Jimmy asked, smiling as Tango slowly melted into the touch.

“Yup,” Tango nodded, his eyes closed. Jimmy’s hands were cool and soft on his skin and soon all the pain had gone.

“Thank you,” He turned a little and nuzzled his face into Jimmy’s neck. Jimmy giggled as Tango’s hair tickled his chin. He kissed Tango’s head and rummaged for something in his pocket, pushing it into Tango’s hands. Tango pulled away and unfolded it. It was a shopping list.

“Hey, could you run to the grocery store for me?” JImmy asked, “I’ve got some important errands to run around the house but I really need to grab some stuff for dinner tonight.”

“Sure thing,” Tango got up and grabbed a black shirt from the wardrobe, pulling it on along with a jumper, before he pecked a kiss on Jimmy's cheek.

He sprinted downstairs and grabbed his coat on the way out the door, “See you in 10!”

“See you later, love!” Jimmy called down.

Tango locked the door behind him and strolled down the street. It was surprisingly empty for a Friday afternoon, and Tango was the only one there. He frowned. That was odd. Maybe there was something happening that he wasn’t aware of.

He walked down the road, whistling, the sound echoing into the emptiness. A cold wind flicked up his hair and the grey clouds above foretold the rain that was forecast to fall later.

And then he heard footsteps.

Not behind him, or next to him. Above him. Tango stopped whistling and cast a discreet sideways glance at the rooftop of a building to his left. There was someone following him, dressed entirely in black. His heart dropped. An assassin. After him?

He kept his composure, cool, like he hadn’t noticed, but he gripped the knife he always kept hidden up his sleeve tightly.

He heard the footsteps stop.

And then someone landed behind him.

Tango drew the knife and swung, sweeping round with it. It met another blade with a clash of iron. The assailant parried and leapt back, dodging the blade.

“You thought you could get the jump on me?” Tango growled, “You obviously didn’t do your research. I’m a bit quicker than the average person.”

“I know what I’m doing,” the person spat. Their voice was robotic, talking through a voice changer.

“Clearly not!” Tango made another swipe, driving the person back further. He didn’t have to kill them, just cut them. Then the sedative on the knife would do the rest of the work.

The assassin threw a knife from their belt at Tango, who dodged it with ease.

“Pathetic,” he snarked, “Why send someone to kill me when they can’t even scratch me? You’re a terrible assassin.”

The person made a frustrated noise and swung at Tango. Tango parried with his knife, and they fought like knights with swords for a few moments.

“Just stay still and let me kill you!” The assassin was losing patience.

“How about no?” Tango lunged, trying to make contact. The assailant grabbed his wrist, stopping him a few inches short of pushing the blade into his chest.

“Huh,” Tango muttered, trying to pull free of his grip, “Maybe you're quicker than I thought.”

“Thanks,” the person twisted Tango's wrist hard. Tango cried out and dropped his knife and the person took the opportunity to slam him to the floor, pinning him to the ground by his arms. Tango struggled in vain as the assassin positioned his knife above Tango’s heart and drew back.

“Finally,” he spat, “I’ll make this quick.”

“You wish!” Tango kicked upwards with his legs, knocking the knife from the person’s hand with one foot and hitting him hard in the stomach with the other. The assassin recoiled, winded, and with his hands free, Tango snatched up the knife and sank it into the assassin’s chest.

The assailant choked, coughing up blood, eyes wide as the knife was driven deeper.

“I didn’t want to do that,” Tango hissed, “But you gave me no choice.”

The person had gone limp and Tango pulled out the knife with a grunt, pushing the person away. He stood up, rubbing his wrists which were sore after being pinned down, then took a look at the assassin. They didn’t have any badges or sigils that might show where he came from.

Tango hummed, searching their pockets. Nothing. He had no idea who had sent this assassin after him, or why. He just hoped they hadn’t tracked him from the house and that Jimmy was ok.

There was the sound of crunching glass shards in his coat pocket, and Tango frowned, rooting around inside it. He pulled out a shard and his face fell.

He’d had his heist visor inside his pocket and the fight had smashed it into multiple glass pieces. He tried to see if they could fit together and were able to be fixed, but it had been shattered beyond recognition.

“Come on!” He yelled, “That was a new visor too!”

He went to turn back to head home, muttering swears under his breath, when more footsteps came from behind him. Tango looked around to see another two people in black with knives running at him.

He groaned, “Seriously? More of these guys?”

He picked his knife and the other one the first person dropped and held them tightly.

“I’m really not in the mood for this today,” he shouted to them.

“Then let us get this over with,” one of the new people said.

“Did you not see what I just did to your buddy here?” Tango gestured to the dead body a few metres away. The assassins paused.

“Yeah,” Tango twirled the knives, “Maybe don’t mess with me.”

The two glanced at each other, then the second one said, “We have our orders.”

They jumped at Tango who dodged and met each blade. They fought furiously, Tango quick and elegant, the others looking clumsy compared to him. But they were stronger and soon resorted to using brute force.

Tango went for a swing at one of them but they dodged and the other managed to cut him in the arm. Tango made a pained noise and winced, trying for another swipe. Suddenly, he felt one of them grip the back of his collar and drag him back. He gasped as the fabric pulled tight against his throat as he was pulled towards the knife, positioned to plunge right into his back.

Tango summoned all his agility and sprang backwards and over the assassin’s head, landing behind him and slicing the collar of the back of his shirt, freeing himself. He took a swing with his sedative knife and finally made contact, cutting the person slightly in the arm. They collapsed to the ground with a cut off cry, out cold.

“That was way too much effort,” Tango huffed a breath, pressing a hand to his own arm to stem the bleeding, looking around for the second person. Where were they?

Suddenly a knife came flying at him from the side, scratching past his face and cutting his cheek. He gasped in shock and pain and spun round to see the other assassin running at him. They took a huge swing at Tango who ducked under their arm and managed to make a shallow cut on the assailant’s neck. They staggered a few metres and then fell to the floor.

Tango sighed and wiped his knives off on the inside of his coat. Finally, he could go-

Snkt!

Something sunk into his leg. He screamed and looked down to see a dart sticking out of it.

Fantastic. He wasn’t out of the woods yet.

He looked around and just spotted the next dart in time to dodge it as it skidded over his head. He started running towards town as more darts fell behind him. He saw another person in black on the rooftops, this one with a gun.

“Be nice if I could catch a break!” He yelled as he sprinted further into town.

Fortunately, the town, unlike the street, was fairly full of people and he found he could get lost in the crowds fairly quickly. He kept his head down and kept running in the hope the shooter would lose him.

His leg had started throbbing in pain and he was starting to lose feeling in it. He could feel himself limping and slowing down.

“This is just peachy,” Tango muttered, looking for somewhere he could go to find cover.

His eyes fell on a clothes shop and an idea crossed his mind. He smiled and hobbled inside the shop. If he had to guess, the sniper wouldn’t go inside and wait to shoot him when he came back out. Perfect.

The shooter watched him walk in the shop and stopped, increasing the range on their gun’s sight.

“I lost him,” they spoke into a communicator, “He headed into a shop. I’m waiting outside until he comes out.”

“Keep your position until he exits.”

“Yes sir.”

The shooter waited and waited, but Tango didn’t walk out the building. They watched a man in a blue hoodie with the hood pulled up and sunglasses limp out of the store and sighed.

“He’s not come out,” he said, “Should I move in?”

“Hold your position,” The communicator crackled, “He’ll come out eventually. Be patient. There’s no back exit, right?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Then he can only come out the front. Stay put. He can’t stay in there forever.”

The man in the blue hoodie smiled as he watched the shooter waiting on the roof, lifting his glasses just a little, his red eyes glittering. He’d needed a new pair of sunglasses, and he could just give Jimmy the hoodie. He’d guessed correctly that the shooter wouldn’t recognise him in a different outfit.

He pulled out a slightly bloody and screwed up piece of paper: the shopping list.

He sighed. Those groceries weren’t going to buy themselves.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Getting the groceries and getting back was fortunately uneventful. The assassins had all gone by the time Tango reached the empty street again.

His leg had gotten even worse, and his other wounds were sore and stinging, staining his clothes a dark crimson. He could hardly drag himself across the road and knock on the door of the house.

It opened, Jimmy standing behind it.

“Hi love! You got the-” He took in the state of Tango in different clothes and limping with what looked like bloodstains seeping through the fabric.

“Oh my gosh! What happened!” He exclaimed, concerned, helping Tango inside.

“I got attacked,” Tango panted.

“Attacked?!” The blood drained from Jimmy’s face.

“Yep,” Tango pulled off the new jumper and his coat, “I got jumped by some assassins. My visor got smashed too. Honestly that’s what I’m most annoyed about.”

“Assassins?” Jimmy went even paler, “Someone was targeting you?”

“Seems like it,” Tango nodded. He flinched at his leg, “I’m not in the best shape right now.”

Jimmy picked him up in a bridal carry, “I’ll get you cleaned up.”

“Thanks love.”

Jimmy placed Tango carefully on the couch and pulled Tango’s shirt off to assess the damage. A cut on his arm which seemed to have gone quite deep but was still fortunately a flesh wound, a shallower cut on his cheek and a sore wrist. Tango pulled up his trouser legs a little so Jimmy could take a look at his left leg. Jimmy gasped at the fact that Tango’s leg had turned purple and swollen.

“What did they do?” He whispered.

“Sniper with a dart gun,” Tango winced as Jimmy carefully prodded at his leg to see how sore it was, “I don’t think it was a knock-me-out kind of sedative so my next best guess is poison.”

“But then what’s the antidote?” Jimmy questioned, scared.

Tango thought for a second, then asked, “Do you have Zed’s number?”

“Yes,” Jimmy nodded.

“Then call him,” Tango said, “Zed’s an expert when it comes to poisons and antidotes and all that chemistry stuff.”

“Got it,” Jimmy grabbed his phone and walked out to call Zed. Tango waited, lying back on the armrest of the couch, staring at the ceiling. Today had been a complete trainwreck.

Jimmy came back in a few minutes later.

“Zed’s on his way now to come take a look,” he said, “He told me to monitor it and see if it kept spreading.”

Tango nodded and the pair waited, Jimmy playing with his hair and occasionally pecking kisses to his cheeks to keep him calm and comfortable. Eventually, there was a knock on the window and the pair turned their heads to see Zed waving into the living room. Jimmy got up and opened the door for him.

“Doctor Zedaph is here!” Zed announced as he walked into the living room with a big grin. Tango chuckled.

“Right, let me take a look,” Zed knelt down next to Tango and took a look at his leg. He made a sympathetic noise from between his teeth.

“Do you have the dart?” He asked.

“It’s in my coat pocket,” Tango said, “Jimmy, could you-”

“On it,” Jimmy rushed out the room and returned a few moments later with the dart, which he carefully handed to Zed who took a good look at it.

Eventually, he hummed and said, “It’s some kind of paralyzing substance but I don’t think it’s a poison, seems more like a type of very mild anaesthetic. The purple colour is your body trying to fight it off. I think. That’s my best guess. I’d need more equipment to be sure.”

“I trust your judgment,” Tango smiled, “Thanks Zed.”

“No problem,” Zed handed him a small vial of liquid from a bag, “This should help ease the pain and numbness, and hopefully stop you from looking like you stole a leg from Barney the dinosaur.”

All three of them laughed at that, and Tango swallowed the liquid. Sure enough, about ten minutes later, Tango’s leg looked a lot less like a fat aubergine and he could feel it again.

But Jimmy still looked pensive.

“Who attacked you?” He questioned.

Tango frowned, “I checked for an ID or syndicate symbol or something, but they had nothing I could identify them with unfortunately. I don’t know who came after me.”

Zed and Jimmy looked at each other, almost nervously.

“What’s the matter?” Tango asked, “I don’t like that look.”

“Well,” Jimmy sighed, “Maybe you were right.”

“About what?”

“About this job,” Zed said, “The casino. If you’re getting targeted like this, a big job may not be the best idea.”

“I can’t back out now,” Tango shrugged, wincing a little at his sore arm as he did so, “I’ve agreed to the job. Quitting would not end well for any of us. Scar really wants this done. I’ll be fine, don’t be paranoid.”

“It’s not paranoia if something is really out to get you,” Zed criticised.

“I agree with Zed,” Jimmy nodded, “Maybe we should rethink the job.”

“We’ll just cross our fingers and hope for the best,” Tango said, “I already said to the boys that if it goes wrong we get out, no arguments. It’s gonna be fine.”

The other two nodded, but Tango could tell that the worry was sticking to all three of them like glue.

He gave a cheeky grin to try and calm their worries, “Come on guys. What could possibly go wrong?”

Notes:

So who had assassins and knife fights on their bingo card lol XD.

Fight scenes are so difficult to write, this was a proper struggle but I think it came out ok. Not too pleased with the ending but I wanted to get this out on time so I compromised. Hope you still liked it!

Keep being awesome!

Hamster =D

Chapter 4: Chapter 4

Notes:

New chapter! This one’s pretty important, I hope it’s not boring or anything, it’s been a little tricky to write, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless.

Cws: Smoking/use of cigars and pipes, very mild violence (someone gets hit across the face) and mentions of violence, death and discussion of cause of death, mentions of injury, I think that's everything.

“You idiot!”

The assassin flinched as he was hit across the face.

“You had a perfect opportunity and you let him go!” A figure in pure black stood opposite them.

“He tricked me! There must have been another exit to the shop or something!” The assassin insisted, rubbing their face.

“It doesn’t matter, he still got away!” The figure spat.

“I was so close and he just slipped through my fingers! He’s just too good at this!”

The figure chuckled darkly, “Oh, trust me, I know. He’s a tricky one to pin down. There’s a reason he’s one of the most elusive thieves to walk the planet.” They took a deep breath from a pipe and blew smoke right into the assassins’ face, making them splutter.

“I can try again!” The assassin pleaded, “I-”

“And fail again?” The figure growled, “He’ll see us coming, he knows us now, or at least knows we’re looking for him. He’d have to trust us like a member of his team to-”

The figure paused.

“That’s it,” They muttered, “That’s it! We don’t have to do anything! We can hit him where it hurts and we won’t even have to get our hands dirty.”

He grabbed something and fiddled with an electronic device before he tossed it to the assassin, “Gather up a few other men. Head to this address and look for this man,” He showed a photograph with an address on the bottom, “Find him and show him that device. I’m pretty sure it’s an offer he can’t refuse.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Etho was the first to the garage. He’d walked there from his house and still beat the others. He hummed, smiling to himself and sat down on a crate, kicking his feet up on a barrel. Him and Bdubs had already managed to gather a tonne of supplies from a list Tango had sent them yesterday and he was looking forward to getting to this heist.

Eventually, Zed showed up, although not for the meeting. He was staring at his phone when he walked in, nearly walking into the side of the van. He greeted Etho with a mere wave and a quiet, “Hiya,” which meant he was obviously planning out some kind of new gadget for Tango and was already knee deep in ideas. Etho just smiled as he watched Zed shut himself in his workshop. He had a feeling - no, he knew - that none of them would see Zed for the next 6 hours. He chuckled.

Bdubs was the next to arrive, yelling something incoherent about traffic as he ran in, then stopping when he saw it was only Etho there.

“Where’s the others?” He asked.

“Who knows,” Etho shrugged, “You know what Tango and Skizz are like.”

“Well, they’re late,” Bdubs pouted, checking his watch and sitting down next to Etho. They lapsed into small talk, chatting about their days and other pieces of news they’d heard about.

Skizz came next.

“Sorry I'm late,” he sighed, straightening his hoodie, “Kevin and Drax got into a fight and I had to stop Snitch and Griff getting involved.”

“You have the weirdest names for your dogs,” Bdubs said.

“I do not!” Skizz glared, “Kevin is a perfectly normal name.”

“What's his full name?” Etho smirked.

Skizz turned red and stared sheepishly at the floor, “Kevin Bubbles Malone Refrigerator Mad-Eye Dugan.”

“Point proven,” Bdubs sniffed.

Etho rolled his eyes as the pair kicked off into an argument over names, “And you think ‘Bdubs’ is a normal name?!” “Well neither is Skizz!”. The pair bickered a lot, but it was all in good nature and never meant anything. Even so, Etho couldn't wait for Tango to show and shut the pair up.

Eventually Jimmy's car pulled up outside.

“Finally,” Etho muttered.

“He's the leader and yet he's the latest!” Bdubs complained.

But they were all surprised to see that Jimmy was helping a limping Tango out of the car. All three of them jumped to their feet and ran over.

“Oh my gosh Top!” Skizz exclaimed, concerned, “Are you ok? What happened?”

“We'll talk about it inside,” Tango said, letting Etho take over helping him and letting Jimmy get back to the car, “Have a good day at work Jim.”

“See you later Rancher,” Jimmy waved, climbing back into the car, “Be careful.”

“I will,” Tango replied, waving back.

Etho helped Tango over to sit him down on a crate.

“What the heck happened?” Bdubs demanded, face pale.

“I got attacked by some assassins yesterday,” Tango explained, “Took a dart to the leg and haven’t quite recovered yet. I should be ok by tomorrow but-”

“Wait wait wait,” Skizz raised a hand, “You were attacked by assassins?!”

“Yes,” Tango nodded, “I’m ok. A few scratches and a sore leg, that’s all.”

“But isn’t that a bit worrying?” Skizz countered, looking anxious, “Someone wants you dead Tango. That’s not a good thing.”

“It’s fine,” Tango dismissed, “I’m pretty sure they don’t know where I live or else they would have tried again. We’ve got bigger things to worry about.”

The other three all exchanged a worried glance but decided not to question it further. They helped Tango sit down on a crate and dragged up boxes to sit on.

“How’s the planning for the heist going?” Tango asked.

“Me and Bdubs have already pretty much finished collecting supplies,” Etho said, “It was surprisingly easy.”

“Yeah!” Bdubs added, “Who knew you could get explosives so cheap! I didn’t!”

Tango smiled, “You can if you know where to look.”
He turned to Skizz, “How did the information gathering go?”

“Poorly,” Skizz sighed, “I couldn’t find anything on that place anywhere! I checked online, in books, I even called a few people but I got nothing. Sorry Top.”

“You did your best,” Tango patted his shoulder, “We knew it would be tricky to find intel. I’ve got a few shadier contacts I can speak to and see what I can find.”

“Tango!” Zed’s voice came from across the garage, “Scar wants to see you!”

“What does he want now?” Tango huffed, staggering to his feet. Skizz went to help him but Tango brushed him off.

“I’ll be ok,” he said, “But thanks.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tango knocked on the door to Scar’s office, waited for the “Come in!” and then pushed it open. Scar was sitting at his desk in surprisingly formal attire, his shirt fully buttoned and his hair smartly parted. Someone in a suit and tie was sitting in a chair to the side of him that Tango didn’t recognise.

“Tango my friend!” Scar greeted, “Wonderful to see you, please take a seat!”

Tango pulled out the chair at the end of the desk and sat down, giving a slightly stiff nod to whoever was sitting next to him and a more cheerful one to Scar.

“I heard you wanted to talk to me,” he said.

“Yes, I did,” Scar poured the remainder of a bottle of some kind of alcohol spirit into a glass and pushed it across the table to Tango, before opening a new bottle and pouring another pair of glasses for him and the visitor, “I don’t think you’ve met Mr Albert Friar here.”

“I haven’t,” Tango eyed up the man in the suit. He looked nice enough, but Tango knew looks didn’t mean everything.

“He’s a new informant I ran into,” Scar explained, “Apparently he can help you out on your casino troubles.”

“Oh!” Tango said, surprised, “I mean, sure, we’ll take all the help we can get.”

“Fantastic!” Scar clapped his hands together, “Mr Friar, the table is yours!”

Mr Friar picked up the glass on his left and drank some from it, “Thank you, Mr Goodtimes. May I just say how honoured I feel to be meeting with such a high level thief.”

“It’s a pleasure,” Tango nodded.

“I heard you were looking for some information on a certain casino,” Mr Friar continued, “I bumped into your driver in a bar yesterday and he explained your situation. Oh don’t worry, he didn’t tell me everything, he was extremely vague,” he added, as Tango’s face turned stony at the thought of Impulse blabbing their secrets to a random stranger, “But I said I might be able to help. I happened to know some people who had some information that they were kind enough to share. I got into contact with Scar and agreed to hand it over - at a fair price, of course.”

“Fair price my backside,” Scar muttered under his breath, picking up and lighting a cigarette, slipping it into his mouth.

“So,” Mr Friar pushed something across the desk to Tango, “Here is your information. I hope this can suffice.”

“Thank you,” Tango took it. It was a blue scroll of paper. He unrolled it and gasped.

“A blueprint!” He stared in amazement, “How the heck did you find a blueprint of Goathorn Casino? I thought they all got destroyed for security measures!”

“I was just as surprised as you,” Mr Friar said, “If I knew where they found it I’d tell you. For an extra fee, sure, but I still would have told you.”

Tango rolled the scroll back up and smiled, “Well it’s much appreciated, thank you so much.”

“It’s no problem,” Mr Friar got to his feet, “Anyways, I must get going. You understand I’m a busy man.”

“Of course,” Scar nodded, “Thank you for the help, I’ll have my assistant transfer the money to your account.”

The pair shook hands across the table and Mr Friar left the room. He accidentally tripped over his own feet as he reached for the door handle.

“Clumsy me,” he chuckled, leaving and shutting the door behind him.

Scar sighed once he had left, taking a long breath from his cigar, “So. How’s the planning going?”

“It’s been ok,” Tango made a ‘so-so’ gesture with his hand, “But this blueprint is definitely going to help.”

“I heard from Zed about the attack yesterday,” Scar pressed a hand to his heart, “I was truly worried about you. I hope you’re ok.”

“I… thank you,” Tango was slightly taken aback by how genuine Scar sounded, “I’m hanging in there.”

“Don’t look so surprised. I know I’m your boss, but I’m still your friend Tango,” Scar said, “We always looked out for each other back then, and we still do now.”

“We do,” Tango smiled.

Suddenly, the door was slammed open and a panicked looking Skizz stood by the door.

“What’s up Skizz?” Scar asked, looking concerned, “What’s got you barging in like this?”

“I just got to the garage, but something’s happened. The informant you both just spoke to,” Skizz’s face was white, “I just found him dead outside.”

Tango and Scar exchanged a stunned look and jumped to their feet, running from the room, Scar in such a hurry that he knocked one of the glasses to the floor, smashing it. Soon all three of them were down on the street outside. The man lay face down on the pavement. He wasn’t breathing. Etho and Bdubs were already there, checking his pulse and arguing about giving him mouth to mouth.

“Who would do this?” Scar’s face was scarily pale. Tango cast a worried glance at him. He didn’t think he’d ever seen Scar look this terrified.

“I can guess,” Etho said, his expression grim.

Tango knelt down next to the body, looking it over.

“There’s no knife or gun wounds,” he said, “He wasn’t shot or stabbed.”

He rolled the man over to check for more wounds when he spotted something.

“Look at his neck!” He exclaimed. The others knelt down next to him to look.

The man’s neck was a horrible bruised purple colour, the veins looking sore and swollen.

“He was strangled,” Bdubs realised, “I thought I heard someone choking. That’s what made me check outside.”

“It definitely looks like he was strangled,” Tango nodded grimly, “But why go for the informant and not for me?”

“Maybe as a warning,” Skizz suggested, “They couldn’t get to you so they killed him instead. They’re warning you.”

“It’s a worry,” Scar said, “What if it’s not just a warning to Tango but to all of us?”

The thought left a bitter taste in all three of their mouths.

“Me and Bdubs will sort him out and call an ambulance and the police,” Etho said, lifting the man up. Bdubs rushed to help him and they carried him away from the garage.

“Maybe we shouldn’t go through with this job after all,” Skizz said eventually, after a long silence, “If they’re targeting us-”

“What are you talking about?” Scar looked up, “Yes we’re going through with this job! Do you know how much money this could make us?!”

“Money isn’t helpful if we’re dead Scar!” Skizz retorted.

“No,” Tango interrupted both of them, “We’re doing this job.”

The pair turned to face him.

“We’ve come this far,” Tango said. His face was determined, “We’ve put in money, got intel we thought would be impossible. Whoever this is seems to be trying to scare us, possibly out of this job. We’re not going to be intimidated by these low level thugs.”

Scar grinned, “Exactly! Well spoken!”

“I don’t know about this,” Skizz sighed, “But what Tango says goes, so I guess this is happening. It’s a good thing I trust you Top.”

Tango got to his feet with a little difficulty, “Honestly? I’m not sure I trust myself. But I do know one thing.”

He smiled as the three of them headed back into the garage.

“Those assassins messed with the wrong team of criminals.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bdubs walked towards the bus stop, humming to himself and walking down a back alley shortcut, trying to calm his nerves. Him and Etho had sorted out the informant and now he was looking forward to a nice relaxing afternoon. Maybe he could go check on the horses, maybe-

“Hey!”

Bdubs stopped and spun around, then jumped backwards in fear.

A man in all black stood behind him. A belt full of knives was wrapped around his waist.

An assassin.

Bdubs gasped and turned to run, but stopped when he saw there were more behind him. He made a grab for his phone to call Tango, terror running through his veins. He had to tell Tango that the assassins had come back for him.

But the assassin threw a knife that knocked the phone out of his hand. The screen smashed

“We don’t want to hurt you,” they said, “We just want to talk.”

Bdubs’ fear turned to confusion, “Talk?”

“We have an offer for you,” the assassin said, throwing something at Bdubs’ feet. It was some kind of device with writing on it. He picked it up and read it. It had Tango’s name and an amount of money bullet-pointed down underneath a description. Bdubs’ eyes nearly fell out of his head when he saw how much money it was.

“5 million?!” He gawped.

“Yep,” the assassin nodded, “And if you get him for us, the money’s yours.”

Bdubs froze.

“Are you asking me to betray my leader?” he glared, “Because that’s not going to happen.”

“But it’s 5 million dollars,” The assassin argued, “We know you’re struggling with finances and this could be your lucky break.”

Bdubs paused. 5 million dollars did sound - no, what was he thinking?! He couldn’t betray Tango. That was out of the question.

“I can’t do it,” he shook his head.

“You don’t have to hurt him even,” The assassin pressed, “Just leave him for the police to pick up.”

Bdubs said nothing for a moment, then said his next words carefully.

“He wouldn’t get hurt?”

“No,” the assassin nodded, “At least not by our hands. You don't have to hurt him either. All we need to know is where your next job is, and you can't let him leave the building. But we swear we wouldn't kill him.”

“What happens if I refuse?” Bdubs asked, nervously.

“Then we let you go, but you keep your mouth shut,” The assassin shrugged nonchalantly, “We do know where you and your family and friends live. If you tell anyone anything, then they may pay the price for it.”

Bdubs froze, fear and indecisiveness seeping into his bones. If he didn't betray Tango, his family could die, but if he did, then Tango might get hurt.

But 5 million dollars…

He stuck out his hand.

“I'll do it.”

A huge smile lit up the assassin's face under his mask and he shook Bdubs' hand, “Wonderful! Make sure we get Tango and you'll get your reward and your family will be safe.”

Bdubs nodded, his heart sinking as they shook hands.

He picked up the device and ran for the bus stop, leaving the assassins grinning behind him.

Betrayal or not, he still had a bus to catch.

Notes:

Dun dun dunnnnn! The drama! How we all feeling about this twist? Honestly I feel kinda bad for Mr Friar though lol, he had like one scene and then I killed him off. It’s all about the principle and for the plot though!

Casino heist starts next week! So strap in!

Keep being awesome!

Hamster =D

Chapter 5: Chapter 5

Notes:

New chapter!

This one may not be as good as some of the others and that’s because it was a little rushed to get it out on time and I did struggle with this quite a lot. It is a bit longer though, so I hope that’s good!

I was also a little worried about a scene in this that might have come across as a little offensive and sexist, having read it through I think it’s alright, but I want to say anyway that I mean no offence in any way, shape or form. As a female myself, I just wrote it because I thought it was a funny bit and did not mean it to be seen as anything other than a bit silly (it’s the flirting scene after Skizz goes to talk to the guards that I’m referring to btw, it’s fairly late in the chapter) but if it seems bad I’ll remove it so feedback would be great thanks. Maybe I’m overthinking it but I hate upsetting people and don’t want to seem sexist so I just wanted to make that clear.

Anyway, enjoy!

<6 days later…>

Tango tugged at the corners of his gloves, a small smile playing at his lips. It was sunset and he was waiting for Impulse to arrive with the van.

This was it. Their most ambitious heist they’d ever pulled.

Tonight was the Goathorn Casino’s Anniversary, 50 years since it had opened, and they were throwing a huge celebration because of it. Security was going to be tighter than ever, but with the crowds, it’d be easy to slip in and out unseen.

“You got everything?” Jimmy walked out from the back room.

“Pretty much,” Tango said, “Just waiting for the others; Impulse is picking them up and bringing them here with some of the equipment.”

Jimmy nodded and stood there for a moment, then said, “Tango.” His voice was quiet and edged with something that sounded like fear.

Tango turned around, “Yes love?”

“I…” Jimmy sighed, “I’ve got a really bad feeling about this.”

“Oh sweetheart,” Tango smiled and leaned on his tiptoes to kiss Jimmy’s forehead, “It’s gonna be ok.”

“It’s just…with everything that’s been going on, I’m just worried that you might get hurt. What if you don’t come back?” Jimmy turned away, hiding his face in his elbow, “I’m just scared.”

Tango gently moved Jimmy’s elbow and took his boyfriend’s face in his hands. A single tear trickled down Jimmy’s cheek and Tango wiped it away with his fingers.

“I’m going to come back,” he said, “Everything is going to work out, we’re going to get enough money that we’ll never have to worry about finances again, and I’m going to come back.”

He reached around his neck and unclipped something, pressing it into Jimmy’s hand. Jimmy looked at it, holding it gently.

“Your necklace,” he said, wiping his eyes with one hand. It was a necklace that Jimmy had brought for Tango about a year ago for Tango’s birthday.

“Yeah. I’m gonna want that back, so don’t lose it,” Tango chuckled.

“But why?” Jimmy asked, sniffling.

Tango took the necklace and clipped it around Jimmy’s neck, “It’s another reason to return, isn’t it? I’ll come back for it, and for my darling Rancher.”

He drew Jimmy down for a kiss, his lips lingering a little longer than they normally would. Whether to comfort Jimmy or as a goodbye in case things did go south, Tango wasn’t sure. He himself was full of jittery nerves, but he was doing his best to keep it together.

“Just…stay safe, ok?” Jimmy whispered.

“I will,” Tango replied.

There was the sound of wheels and the pair turned around to see the van pulling up just outside the garage. It parked and Impulse climbed out of the cab.

“Nice parallel parking!” Tango called, grinning.

Impulse laughed and swept a jokey bow, “Thank you Tango.”

“Everything ready to go?”

“Yep, all sorted,” Impulse nodded, “There’s a handful of suit jackets and ties there for you for when you need them and the boys are all ready to go.”

Tango smiled, “Awesome. Thanks Impy.”

“Oh,” Impulse handed Tango a bag he’d been carrying, “And I got you this.”

Tango rooted around in the bag, frowning in confusion as he pulled out a shirt, “Clothes?”

“Yep,” Impulse said, “As good as your jumpsuits are, they’re a little monochrome, so I got in contact with my friend Cleo. I’ve told you about her, right?”

“You’ve brought her up in conversation before, yeah,” Tango nodded.

“Well, she’s a seamstress, so I asked her if she could make some proper heist outfits, like from the movies,” Impulse explained, “Go try it on!”

Tango took the bag and headed for the toilet to change, Jimmy and Impulse exchanging small talk while they waited. They’d just got into a debate about music when Tango yelled, “I’m ready!” from the bathroom and walked out.

Impulse and Jimmy gasped.

Tango was wearing a sleek red crop shirt and a pair of black trousers with red chevrons on the knees, a black sleeveless leather jacket over the top with a lot of pockets. He had a different pair of gloves on, black and red with a few orange stripes along them. On his feet were a pair of sturdy looking black walking boots.

It was a pretty good look.

“What do you think?” Tango asked, spinning around like he was on a catwalk.

“It looks epic dude!” Impulse exclaimed, “This was definitely worth the money I paid Cleo!”

Tango glanced at Jimmy, “What do you think sweetheart?”

Jimmy just stared for a moment, then said, “And I didn’t think you could look any more hot than you already did.”

Impulse burst out laughing, and Tango grinned, rushing over to give Jimmy a hug.

“Thank you love,” he chuckled.

“Only telling the truth Rancher,” Jimmy smiled, hugging him back.

“Hey! Guys!” A voice yelled from the back of the garage. They all looked round to see Zed running towards them, waving something as he ran.

“Hey Zed!” Tango called, “How long have you been here without us knowing?”

“Couple hours,” Zed panted, “I was putting the finishing touches on a few new gadgets for you.”

He sprinted round to the back of the van and Tango followed. The other three were all there, already in their suit jackets, black trousers and ties. Skizz whistled as he walked in.

“Wow Top, if you didn’t already have a boyfriend, I’d have to ask you out,” He looked Tango up and down, “That’s a nice outfit you got.”

“Oh Skizz, you’re making me blush,” Tango joked, fanning his face with his hand. They all laughed at his silly antics.

“I’ve got stuff for you guys!” Zed shouted, drawing the attention back. Everyone gathered around him.

“Etho, got this for you,” Zed handed Etho a little silver cylinder with a button on it and a handful of small silver discs. Etho stared at them in confusion.

“What does it do?” He asked, pressing the button.

“No don’t-!” Zed started, but it was too late. A flash of red light shot out of the end of the device. Etho jumped as it shot a tiny hole through the floor of the van.

“Hey!” Impulse yelled from outside, “Watch the paintwork! Do you know how much time I spent getting this girl ready for tonight?”

“Sorry Impulse!” Etho called sheepishly. Zed sighed and rolled his eyes.

“This is a hand held laser cutter,” he explained, “It’ll cut through almost anything. The only thing it can’t cut through is tungsten, which is what these are made of.”

He gestured to the discs in Etho’s hands, “They’re mirrors. You can stick them on the wall and bounce the laser off of them to reach places you couldn’t reach, or create a laser field to stop guards.”

“Nice,” Etho twirled them between his fingers, “Thanks Zed.”

“Just be careful,” Zed warned, “As you’ve seen, this stuff goes through metal like a hot knife through butter, which means it’ll also go through skin and bone. Watch what you’re doing with this thing.”

“Next up, Skizz,” Zed continued, “Here you go.” He passed Skizz a pair of odd looking gauntlet shaped devices with claws on the end. Skizz stared at them, confused, “What are these exactly?”

“Hydraulics,” Zed said proudly, “Some of my best work. It makes it ten times easier to pick stuff up or pull open locked doors. Or punch someone extra hard. You can combine your brute force with a little more accuracy.”

“Plus,” he added, grinning, “How could the ladies refuse such a strong man like yourself with these things to help?”

Skizz chuckled and tried them on, flexing the claw-like fingers.

“Ooh yeah, I like these!” He exclaimed, “I bet I can pick Tango up with these no problem!”

“Wait, what?” Tango spun around to see Skizz grab him and lift him off the floor, “Hey! Skizz, put me down!”

“Now, Bdubs,” Zed ignored the chaos and turned to the shortest member in the team, “This is yours.” He handed him a small swiss army knife.

Bdubs pouted, “A swiss army knife? Etho gets lasers and Skizz gets hydraulics and I get a swiss army knife?!”

“Not just any swiss army knife,” Zed said, looking smug, “It’s the best and most sophisticated swiss army knife in the world! Take a look at it!”

Bdubs unflicked it a little apprehensively.

It had about 15 different attachments on it, some of which Bdubs recognised. Others he had no idea what they were.

“What are these?” He asked.

“All the lockpicking devices you could ever need!” Zed explained excitedly, “As well as a small handgun with darts, a penknife, a bottle opener and that tiny thing for getting stones out of horse’s hooves. I don’t know how that last one is helpful, but you never know.”

“Right,” Bdubs nodded a little uncertainly.

“And finally Tango,” Zed turned to the other blonde and handed him a small package of cloth. Tango unwrapped it and stared at it.

“Are these…” He trailed off and lifted them up.

It was a pair of goggles with red lenses and silver rims, chrome and shiny and very well crafted.

“Yeah, I didn’t have enough glass to make a visor, so I made the next best thing,” Zed rubbed the back of his neck, “They’re not perfect but-”

“Zed I love them,” Tango beamed, “I haven’t used goggles in years!”

“They’ve got a zoom function if you twist the rims,” Zed said, a small smile on his face. Tango slipped them on his head, nestling them in his hair, then pulled Zed into a hug.

“Thanks buddy,” He said.

“No problem,” Zed replied, “Hey, stay safe, ok?”

“I will,” Tango nodded, letting go and patting Zed on the back.

Impulse came in from the back of the van, “All ready to close up and go?”

“Ready,” Tango said. Zed and Jimmy had come round the back to wave them off, Jimmy still looking a little worried. Tango made a silly face at him and he giggled, his face brightening. Tango laughed and blew him a kiss. Jimmy pretended to catch it, smiling.

“Godspeed!” Zed saluted as the van door rolled up, Jimmy joining him. The others in the van all saluted back.

Impulse settled into the driver's seat and pulled out of the garage, speaking into the PA, “Alright, seatbelts on! Let’s get moving.”

The four of them took their seats on the benches and buckled up, Tango slipping on the suit and tie. The drive was fortunately only about half an hour away, and they did what they could to keep their spirits up and keep their nerves down. Impulse played a few songs on the radio through the PA and they had an impromptu karaoke session, as well as making jokes and telling stories.

Bdubs sat silently through all of it, fiddling with the edge of his swiss army knife, pensive, thoughts whirling through his head like a hurricane. He needed to calm down and play it cool or they’d suspect something and-

“Hey, ‘Dubs? You ok?”

Bdubs looked up. Tango was looking at him, concerned.
“You look a bit worried there. Everything alright?” He asked.

“Oh, I’m fine,” Bdubs assured him, “Just a bit nervous.”

Tango’s face broke into a kind, gentle smile, “I get it. This is probably our biggest ever job. I understand the nerves. But we’ve got this, yeah?”

Bdubs smiled back but it was forced and felt too big for his face, “Yeah. We got this.”

Tango patted his leg and sat back, “Hey. How about, once this job’s done, we go out for dinner, the four of us, maybe bring a plus one. My treat.”

“If it was ‘bring a plus one’, you’d just bring Jimmy and stare into each other’s eyes romantically the whole time,” Skizz scoffed. Tango gasped, mock offended.

“How dare you Skizz!” He exclaimed, “You wound me!”

“He’s not wrong,” Etho chuckled.

Tango pouted and crossed his arms, but he couldn’t stop the smile tugging at his lips and the laugh that slipped out of his mouth. Soon all four of them were giggling. But Bdubs’ laugh felt too fake in his own ears and his mood eventually affected the others, all of them falling silent for the last stretch of the journey.

Soon, Impulse called into the PA, “Alright boys, I’m dropping you off here. Make sure you’ve got everything, and good luck.”

“We don’t need luck Dippledop,” Skizz called back, grinning.

“I dunno,” Tango mused, “We’ll take all the help we can get. Thanks Impy.”

“No problem,” Impulse replied, “Just stay safe you guys.”

There was a general chorus of agreement and they all jumped out the back of the van and onto the pavement.

Etho fiddled with his tie.
“I hate formalwear,” he muttered.

“I know, so do I buddy,” Tango patted his shoulder, “But you know we need it. We can ditch it when it’s no longer needed.”

“Hopefully soon,” Etho mumbled to himself. Tango chuckled.

They reached the doors of the Casino. It was busy and easy to get lost in the crowd, and Tango struggled to keep an eye on the others. Eventually, Bdubs found him and practically latched himself onto Tango’s arm.

“You ok?” Tango had to shout to be heard over the huge crowd.

Bdubs nodded, “Yeah! Where are the others?”

Tango shrugged, “I have no idea!”

The Casino was huge, made of quartz and gold and diamonds. The building itself had to be worth a fortune. If what was inside was more expensive, this was going to be a good heist.

Eventually, Etho and Skizz found them again and the four headed into the massive casino. They all gasped when they entered.

“Well this is something else,” Tango muttered, looking around. The other three nodded.

The inside was even more beautiful than the outside, tall marble pillars holding up spiral staircases. The floors were carpeted in red velvet and gold lined the walls. This wasn’t some kind of dark murky little casino hidden from the authorities. This stood tall and proud and was all bright lights and glitz and glamour.

Skizz whistled, “I had no idea anywhere in the world could be made of this much marble. I feel very out of place.”

“We look fine,” Tango assured him.

“This place is practically made of money,” Etho muttered, “The amount people spend here is ludicrous.”

“And all those riches are in a vault downstairs,” Tango grinned, cracking his knuckles, “All we have to do is get there unseen.”

“And how exactly do we do that?” Bdubs asked, snappily. Etho cast a sideways glance at him. Bdubs had been in an odd tense mood since this evening. Etho mouthed, “Are you ok?”

Bdubs completely ignored him. Etho frowned.

“Simple. There are heating vents dotted around the casino. All we have to do is find one we can jump into without anyone seeing us.” Tango said.

“Found one,” Skizz pointed to a small vent in the bottom of a wall not too far away from them. A pair of security guards stood by it, watching the conversations uninterested.

“But there are guards right there,” Bdubs added, “There’s no way we could sneak past them.”

“Not to mention that gaggle of girls,” Etho added, pointing to a group of three young ladies that were clearly already very drunk, “They’ll blab us to security for sure if they spot us.”

Skizz flexed his hands and rolled his shoulders, “Leave the guards to me gentlemen, I got this covered.”

He walked over to the security guards, flashing that signature Skizz smile, full of charm.

“I’ve a feeling he’s gonna be a bit,” Tango sighed, “Etho, what’s your charming skills like?”

“Nothing like Skizz’s, but they’re ok,” Etho said, “Why?”

“We’ve gotta get those girlies out the way,” Tango explained, “And I’ve a hunch we’re gonna have to get a little up close and personal.”

Etho groaned, “Flirting? Seriously Tango?”

“What else are we going to do?” Tango argued, “We can’t just ask them to get out of the way, we’ll come across as rude! You think they’ll listen if we do?”

“Sure they will!” Bdubs said, and with that he walked over to the girls.

He came back a few moments later red in the face.

“You were right,” He admitted reluctantly, “They just told me to eff off.”

“Dang,” Etho remarked.

“Come on, we’ll handle it tactfully,” Tango said, putting on a strut and swanning over, looking a lot more confident than he felt.

“Hey ladies!” He smiled charmingly, “How are we all?”

They all smiled and made simultaneous answers, none of which Tango caught.

“Woah, slow it down a bit,” He chuckled, “I guess you’re well! How’s your evening been?”

“Oh absolutely fabulous!” One of the girls said, “It’s been super fun! I love a good casino and this one is superb!”

“Totally!” Tango agreed, “Anything here tickles your fancy? You guys gamble?”

“Oh no, I don’t have the poker face for it,” Another said coyly, “We’re just here for the glamour you know! It’s a big deal! Some of our friends didn’t want to come and are going to be SO jealous when we come back!”

“I can imagine, I know I would be,” Tango nodded. He grinned, “You know, I heard the Casino has a big theatre stage and they’re putting on live music. Apparently the lead singer of the band is a pretty piece of work, if ya know what I mean.” He winked playfully and all the women laughed.

“Oh you’re cheeky, I like it!” The third girl giggled.

Tango laughed, “They all say that dearie. Hey, I think they’re starting now. You’d better run if you want to catch it!”

“Sure thing! Thank you mister!” The first lady waved.

“No problem sweetie,” Tango gently took her hand and pressed a light kiss to it. The lady turned bright red and the other two gasped and giggled before they hurried off.

Tango walked back to Etho, wiping his hands on his trousers, the smile gone.

“I hate flirting,” he muttered.

“You’re good with the girls though,” Etho countered.

Tango glared, “I have a boyfriend Etho.”

That made Etho laugh.
“Fair,” He nodded.

“It was impressive,” Bdubs admitted, a little begrudgingly.

Skizz came back over grinning as the guards he’d been talking to left their post.

“There you go,” He smirked, “Dealt with.”

“How did you-” Bdubs started, but Tango cut him off.

“He’s Skizz,” the blonde chuckled, “He’s an enigma to all of us.”

“It’s fairly simple,” Skizz giggled, “Turns out those two are really into birdwatching. I told them I saw an eagle outside and that they should go and take a look. They were worried about leaving their post but I said that it’s not like anyone would see them in a place like this and, you know, it’s not every day you see an eagle.”

“Was there really an eagle?” Etho asked.

“Heck no,” Skizz laughed, “An eagle in the city at a place and time like this? You’d have to be incredibly gullible to believe that, but they can’t prove I didn’t.”

“Honestly, you could make me believe anything Skizz,” Tango chuckled, “You’re a real charmer.”

“Aw, thanks Top,” Skizz elbowed him playfully. Tango just rolled his eyes fondly.

“Enough messing around, can we please get going?!” Bdubs bounced anxiously on his feet. He seemed very fidgety and nervous for some reason, “Please?”

“Jeez, cool your jets Double-Down,” Skizz said as they walked over, “We’re not in a huge rush, what’s got you in such a tizz?”

“I don’t like this,” Bdubs fiddled with his hands, “The guards are going to be back any second and we could get spotted and I hate it.”

“It’s no different to any other job we’ve done,” Etho challenged, “Why is it getting to you now?”

“It’s very different!” Bdubs protested, “Security is much tighter, we could be really easily spotted and there’s a lot at stake here!”

“Hey,” Tango took Bdubs by the shoulders as Skizz and Etho started working on the vent, “I know you’re worried, but you need to focus ok? I get this is a lot, and honestly I’m worried too, but it’s going to be ok. You need to trust in us and in yourself, alright?”

Bdubs sighed, “Alright.”

“Good man,” Tango patted his shoulders, “It’ll all be worth it, trust me.”

“Vent’s ready to go!” Skizz called. Etho slipped down into it and Tango followed. He cast Bdubs one last look as he did so.

“You got this,” He said, then disappeared down into the hole.

Bdubs nodded and took a deep breath, climbing into the vent, repeating Tango’s words like a mantra, “I got this, I got this, I got this…”

He slid down the hole and landed a little hard on the ground. There was a long heating system tunnel ahead of him and he crawled along it, following the others.

“This thing is tiny,” Etho complained.

“So Bdubs should be having it easy,” Tango giggled.

Bdubs glared, “Hey! No short jokes!”

Eventually, Etho reached a hatch in the tunnel’s floor.

“Here,” He said, unlatching it and climbing out of it, the other two following. They landed in a small metallic corridor, lit brightly by white lights.

There was a grunt from the vent as Skizz tried to go through it and then a yell of, “I’m stuck!”

Tango groaned and Bdubs dropped his head in his hands.

“How are you stuck?” Tango demanded.

“I’m stuck!” Skizz repeated, “This vent is too darn small!”

“Or maybe you’re too darn big!” Tango countered. He sighed, “Just figure something out!”

There was a pause and then a loud bang. Some of the ceiling tiles came falling to the floor, Skizz falling with them, screaming. He landed with a thud and an “ow!”

“Shhhh!” Tango hissed, “They’ll hear us!”

“That really hurt,” Skizz groaned. The other three ran to help him up.

“Are you injured?” Etho asked.

Skizz shook his head, getting to his feet, “I’m ok. It’ll bruise but that’s it.”

Suddenly the sound of heavy footsteps echoed down the hallway and half a dozen armed guards appeared at the end of it.

“Down there!” One yelled, pointing at the four thieves.

“Run!” Tango yelled.

They sprinted down the hallway, the guards in hot pursuit, guns loaded.

“Well done Skizz!” Bdubs shouted as they ran, “You really brought the house down - literally!”

“It wasn’t my fault they designed the ceilings so poorly!” Skizz snapped back.

The guards took a couple of shots, which fortunately they all dodged. But they had another problem. The corridor wasn’t going to last forever so they’d have to find another route out.

“What do we do?” Etho asked.

Tango thought for a second, then snapped his fingers, “We split up. The corridor splits slightly further ahead. They’ll have to divide forces to keep up with all of us and that’ll make them easier to lose. Etho and Bdubs, you go left, me and Skizz will go right.”

The others nodded.

“We’ll meet you on the other side,” Skizz said. Bdubs flashed the pair a mock salute.

The corridor split came into view up ahead.

“Now!” Tango yelled, and the group split into pairs, running down the corridors like their lives depended on it.

Which, at this moment, they did.

Notes:

There we go! This ended up being way longer than intended lol but I think it really worked. I hope you all enjoyed it. I’m really looking forward to next week, I’ve got some interesting ideas for the next chapter.

Also want to say that I’m sorry about the slow uploads outside of this fic, my friend got me addicted to terraria so I’m playing that a lot lol and I’ve been swallowed up by another fandom that I’m spending an unhealthy amount of time looking at and also exams are coming up so I’m also in study mode on top of that, plus homework is CRAZY. So yeah. I’m trying to work on a request I should have done a month ago but I’ve been a bit stuck, but I’m really trying to get it done. There may, not definitely, but possibly be some Ranchers stuff coming up, but I don’t know, I’m throwing around some ideas. I’ve also been toying with a mean gills idea and something for Zed and Dot to celebrate their wedding, but both of those are fairly unlikely. We’ll see though.

Anyways I’mma crash out now, that was a lot of writing lol.

Keep being awesome!

Hamster =D