PLAN B

  • 12 Jan - 18 Jan, 2019
  • Salaar Laghari
  • Fiction


A shton held that man from his coat and exclaimed:

“Where are you trying to hide from me?”

“I’m not. I don’t want to talk about our old offer.”

“Do you think you can abandon me that easily?” Ashton demanded angrily, grabbing the man’s jaw.

“I do not want to talk about anything with you.” he replied trying to resist. “Please let me go.”

“People who even think of dumping me the way you have, don’t live for quite long after they make this mistake. They die a brutal death. What should I do with you?”

“I have not dumped anyone. I just rejected an idea.”

“I don’t care. You’re coming with me.”

“I am a family man. I have a wife and two…”

Ashton took out his knife. The aged guy stopped speaking at once in fright.

However, under the mall at the sewage, Billy and Kennedy had filled their bags and more than half of the cash was collected. Kennedy suggested:

“I think we have collected enough. We should leave. Don’t you think?”

“No no. We are not leaving until we gather the entire amount. Let’s go and deposit this amount.”

“Deposit?”

“I meant let’s keep it inside our wagon and return.”

Outside the mall on the road, Nicholas was sitting on the footpath. He heard his cell phone ringing. It was Kennedy’s call. He answered the the phone:

“Yes? What’s the progress?”

“We’re about to come up, get the wagon ready!”

“Oh ok!”

The very next moment, he heard the sirens of police vehicles. He got vigilante and looked towards his left side. The red and blue lights were blinking at some distance. He exclaimed:

“Oh no. Police!”

Nicholas got back on his call and instructed in a panicking tone:

“Kennedy! Stop whatever you guys are doing and come up!”

“What do you mean?” Kennedy asked in an unclear voice.

“The cops are coming. They are probably getting this side. Just leave whatever you’re holding and let’s go. Now!”

“But what about the money. I mean to ask shouldn’t we bring the four bags that we have filled already.”

Seeing the cars getting closer, Nicholas yelled out:

“There’s no time! Just get yourselves up or I’m leaving without you.”

He disconnected the call. Next thing he saw before hiding inside the car was Ashton running towards him. He felt a bit surprised seeing him. As Ashton passed by him, he heard Ashton saying:

“Turn the engine on, we have to run!”

“But how did…?” Ashton felt confused and didn’t know how to respond exactly.

“The cops have entered inside the mall and they are enquiring about the robbery.” Ashton answered Nicholas’ query before he could even ask.

“Oh, so what about others?”

“I’m leaving, you guys manage.” Ashton replied as he sat on his bike.

Nicholas heard some different sound. He saw someone pushing out the lid and coming outside. It was Billy.

“Oh, thank God.” Nicholas uttered.

Billy also got startled as he heard the sound of the police sirens. He jumped out immediately and rushed towards the car. Kennedy followed him and rushed towards Ashton who hadn’t left yet. He jumped over his bike and before he could sit completely, Ashton rode the bike away.

Nicholas was seated on the driver’s seat and Billy was seated at the back side. Their doors were open.

“Shouldn’t we wait for Cornelius?” Billy asked.

“I think it’s too late. The cops are right behind us.”

Nicholas turned the engine on and began driving. He accelerated the vehicle’s speed and they finally left.

Meanwhile inside the mall, a crowd of several people was gathered in a circle. They all were looking at the aged guy who was lying dead on the ground with his slashed throat bleeding uncontrollably.

Cornelius who was standing behind the crowd looked around and spoke:

“I better leave, before the cops get here.”

********

Three hours later at Nicholas’ house, all the crime partners except Cornelius were seated at the lounge. They had just reached. Ashton appeared to be furious. Kennedy was drinking some water. Ashton snatched the glass from him and stood up.

“Hey!” Kennedy exclaimed, getting offended.

“Don’t hey me.” Ashton spat angrily. “You guys couldn’t be a little quicker so we could have half of the money?”

“Hey don’t say that!” Nicholas said to Ashton. “They did their best. It was our bad luck that cops arrived. And besides, you were the one who told us that this job would be like a piece of cake.”

“I’m not blaming anyone to be lazy or inattentive.”

“Yes you are. That’s what you just said to them.”

“Alright I take that back.” Ashton spoke raising up his hands. “But what I’m trying to say is that something is not right here. Someone has tried to double cross us here.”

Nicholas looked down realising that they all were initially planning to cheat on him making the robbery unsuccessful. And it failed, but unintentionally.

Nicholas’ phone began to ring. He checked the caller’s ID, it was Cornelius’ call. He stood up and left the room to answer the call.

“Who is it?” Ashton asked.

Nicholas didn’t respond and answered the call in another room:

“Hello Cornelius?”

“Yeah, it’s me. Where are you guys?”

“We are at my house but where are you?”

“I’m fine, I have escaped. I’ll be coming right over.”

“Listen, listen to me. Don’t hang up. Tell me something here. You told us that this plan was supposed to fail. You were supposed to make the alarm ring.”

“I know it just didn’t work. I tried to make that happen but it just didn’t. But anyways now that our plan has failed, we can move to plan B.”

“Ashton suspects that there is someone among us who has cheated over him.”

“Don’t worry about him. He won’t harm us now. He needs all of to become a millionaire. We are now going to work on Plan B. Just wait till I come.”

Nicholas disconnected the call. He went back to the room.

Ashton asked as he entered inside:

“Was it Cornelius’ call?”

“Yes, he is coming over”

“Look guys I don’t want to talk about it in front of him. Because at the moment I suspect all of you to be involved in this.”

“Excuse me?” Nicholas asked, offended.

“I’m sorry to say this. I know it’s a little harsh but I get this feeling. Don’t worry it’s a temporary feeling. I need to go home and rest now.”

“You know very well that we are not behind this.” Billy said to him.

“I know but I wish I could believe you. I just can’t. Not right now.”

He kept the glass that he was holding on the table and picked up his coat.

“I’m leaving. We’ll meet tomorrow.”

He left the house immediately. Billy spoke getting enraged:

“He better leave or I would kick him out”

“Don’t lose your temper.” Nicholas warned him. “Cornelius is coming. I hope he will come up with something better.”

“You know what Nick,” Billy said angrily. “Your guys are just unreliable and good for nothing. They didn’t even know what might happen. They weren’t even clear about the plan, especially Cornelius.”

“I have talked to Cornelius. I trust this guy. And secondly we have no other way to become millionaires, or do we?”

“He’s right Billy...” Kennedy said to Billy touching his shoulder.

“Alright fine.” Billy said holding his forehead.

One hour later, Cornelius was standing outside their gate. He read the text message he just received from Ashton:

“Don’t tell them about the murder”

He replied to the text message:

“Okay.”

He rang the bell and waited. Nicholas came and opened the door in a minute. He said to Cornelius:

“Oh finally… Come on in.”

A minute later, they all were seated in the guest room. Billy and Kennedy were looking at Cornelius angrily. Kennedy broke the silence:

“We’re waiting for an explanation”

“Alright listen to me. You guys have to stay calm and do not lose hope. Our plan was supposed to fail anyway, so it did.”

“Not the way it did.” Billy spoke raising his voice. “The cops were not a part of our plan. You were supposed to make the alarm ring.”

“You guys have no idea about why those cops came to that place. I’ll tell you.”

Nicholas paid attention to what he was about to say.

“Somebody was murdered.” Cornelius continued. “When he got murdered, the crowd gathered and someone called the cops.”

“Wait a second,” Kennedy spoke, “who was murdered?”

“I don’t know who, but it was some old man around fifty. He was found murdered. He was the real reason behind why they had to call the cops. It had nothing to do with us.”

“Oh I see.” Kennedy spoke.

“So what about the money?” Nicholas asked. “Would it still be there?”

“It must be but I’m not sure that it’s safe to go there at this moment,” Cornelius answered. “The cops must have surrounded the place and the management inside must be trying to hide the safe. And they would have found the cash left over by you guys.”

“You’re right,” Kennedy added.

“Anyways, the good news is that now we can move to plan B. The plan B will make us multi billionaires.”

“Oh dear God,” Billy uttered and asked. “What is plan B. What are we planning to steal this time?”

“It’s a painting. Worth four and a half billion.”

The three guys who just heard him were left shocked as never before.

“Wow!” Kennedy spilled out.

“Just follow my lead, and we’ll get it” Cornelius spoke.

He stood up and then spoke:

“Alright I better go home now.”

“Already?” Nicholas asked.

“I’m afraid so,”

Cornelius left without wasting a single moment.

Several hours later, Cornelius was sitting with a blonde woman at some public bench. They were talking romantically and were unaware of anything happening around.

Nicholas was sitting near a fountain watching them. He had secretly followed him all the way from his home. He wondered:

So this Cornelius has a girlfriend? I never knew about it. If he can keep this secret then he can be hiding several other secrets. I think I need to follow him even more.

He took out his cell phone and took some photos through the camera.

******

Next day’s evening, while Nicholas and Billy were lying on separate sofas, they heard their doorbell. They both expected each other to stand up and go and get it. But no one stood up and they kept on lying like that.

A minute later, they heard Kennedy’s voice:

“Guys, Ashton’s here.”

Nicholas sat up immediately and looked towards the room’s door. There he saw Ashton standing with Kennedy. Ashton had worn black suit with red tie. He appeared a bit attractive. He said to Nicholas:

“It’s time for plan B.”

“Sure, why not?”

“Call Cornelius. We need to discuss it in front of him. He’ll be our leader this time.”

That liar Nicholas whispered to himself.

“Excuse me!” Ashton said to him.

“Nothing, I’m just saying that we need to discuss plan B right now.”

“Of course…Anyways, can I sit?”

“Sure,” Kennedy and Nicholas spoke together.

So after a while as they all were seated in the room and Ashton was having a drink, Nicholas spoke:

“So shall we begin?”

“Guys, there’s one thing I need to say. And I am serious about it,”

“Ok, we’re listening.” Billy spoke curiously.

“There is a traitor in the gang. Someone among is planning to backstab us. All of us.”

They all were silent. Ashton was hoping for a response but there was none. So he spoke again:

“If anyone among you three was behind those cops then let me know right now. Because if I catch that person by myself then I swear I won’t spare him alive.”

“Look Ashton,” Nicholas answered him, “all we know is that there was a murder. Cornelius told us.”

Ashton’s eyes opened out wide and he asked spontaneously:

“What else did he tell you? About the murder?”

“He just said that somebody was murdered and the cops came to see what happened.”

Ashton felt relieved realising that Cornelius didn’t reveal the complete truth to them.

Nicholas felt something suspicious but he didn’t ask even though he wanted to.

“Guys I need to make a phone call..” Ashton said to them. “In the meantime, you guys wait for Cornelius. I’ll be right back”

Ashton stood up and left the room taking out his cell phone.

As he had left, Nicholas looked at him with suspicion but then avoided his thoughts. He said to Kennedy and Billy:

“He just claimed that there is a traitor in the gang.”

“Yeah” Billy replied. “And he is not talking about us, is he?”

“You guys have no clue. Even he doesn’t have a clue.”

“About what?”

“There is a traitor in this gang, and I know him very well. He is an opportunist.”

“Wait, whom are you talking about?” Billy asked.

“Cornelius?” Kennedy asked Nicholas.

“Exactly…Yesterday I followed him all night and you guys will never believe what I found out...”

to be continued...

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