Chapter 17, Chapter 06: Please Beg Me
Chapter 06 Please Beg Me
There was only one bank, Lloyds Bank, located right at the intersection of Baker Street and Marie Leben Road.
However, the construction on Marie-Laben Road also affected banks within a one-kilometer radius of the intersection.
Therefore, with Lloyds Bank as the center, the nearest banks to be investigated are HSBC on Baker Street (200 meters away), Habib Bank AG Zurich (300 meters away), and Barclays Bank (700 meters to the southwest).
However, there is no doubt that the first bank investigated was Lloyds Bank.
Besides its prime location at the intersection of the target streets, the fact that bank manager Tucker Rich was also among the police officers saved him a significant step in contacting the person in charge.
Similarly, according to bank security guidelines, Manager Tucker Rich was not allowed to open the bank's underground vault outside of business hours.
However, due to this sudden emergency, Manager Richie was escorted by the police and rushed back to Lloyds Bank.
The underground vault was eerily quiet.
Normally, this kind of quietness gives people a sense of peace and security.
But now, as if sensing a theft, the silence was so intense it made one's eardrums throb, like the stillness before an impending storm.
Everyone's heartbeats and breathing were forced to slow down, yet they felt so tight that they seemed ready to explode at any moment.
All the officers instinctively reached for their holsters, their knuckles turning white from the pressure.
As the heavy iron door of the vault clicked open with both the key and the combination lock, a faint gust of air emanated from the underground vault.
Just as the door was about to be pushed open, Albert, who was standing at the front, grabbed Manager Richie's shoulder and made him hide behind him in case bullets or shadows shot out from behind the door in the next second.
The best outcome is that it was a false alarm.
The worst-case scenario is a bloody battle.
Everyone was on high alert.
Just then, Milwaukee's gaze swept past the tense officers, thoughtfully scanning the vault door before he was about to approach it.
Albert quickly grabbed his shoulder and pushed him to the back.
"Don't get in my way here."
"We don't need your help here."
Milwald raised an eyebrow slightly but did not refute. He simply stepped behind Albert, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes.
*
at night.
Terry and his team quickly pried open the safe inside the vault.
They have more than 260 safes, which is clearly not enough for just one night.
Fortunately, they still have a whole day on Sunday.
In addition, the joy of accumulating wealth is direct and intense. When the first safe was opened and a dazzling array of gems was seen, the enthusiasm of the entire team was greatly mobilized, and they worked enthusiastically and tirelessly.
The training they received from digging the tunnel over the past few days had subtly honed their endurance, so after their rest period, they had been working continuously for five hours. When they returned to the leather goods store to rest around 8:30 PM, someone in the team actually ordered fried chicken from the Le Sac leather goods store.
"This restaurant seems to have inexplicably become more delicious. The aromas wafting over lately are different." Before the tall, skinny guy in the team could even enjoy the food, Terry tapped him on the head.
"Are you crazy, ordering takeout at this time of year?"
Terry was startled by the knocking at the leather goods store door, thinking it was the police patrolling again.
After being hit on the head, the tall, thin man continued to grab the chicken leg and put it in his mouth. The crispy skin, enhanced by the Maillard effect, brought out an ultimate flavor, and the oil was like a delicious, hot bomb that exploded in his mouth.
"It's so delicious!"
The aroma immediately attracted others, who couldn't help but gather around.
Martin was the only woman on the team and one of the main planners of the heist. She had noticed the fried chicken shop during her previous investigations of banks and surrounding businesses. In her memory, the fried chicken shop was doing extremely poor business; the food was not only stale but also poorly prepared.
Once, she even went to the store next door to buy a portion to fill her stomach, but after taking a bite, she threw the fried chicken into the trash can.
Not to mention that the crispy skin of the fried chicken was so hard it looked like it had been sitting out overnight, the sour taste of the fried chicken itself made her think it had been picked up from a garbage can.
This box of fried chicken has now undergone a complete transformation.
"Did they change the chef next door?" Martin has been busy digging the tunnel lately and has no idea what's going on outside.
Terry countered, "What does that matter?"
After Terry discovered that his ex-girlfriend Martin was acting alone after the tunnel was opened, he became very wary of whether Martin was hiding any other secrets from him.
After they all entered the underground vault, Terry kept a close eye on Martin's movements. Seeing that she was indeed retrieving the film and television data that MI6 had mentioned, Terry immediately grabbed the USB drive.
"We have to make the MI6 agents deliver on their promises."
"I'll take charge of the negotiations."
Martin had nothing left to hide from him, not to mention that Terry was now the leader of the team, and Martin had no way to compete with him, nor would anyone stand by his side.
So Martin didn't say anything more and let him do as he pleased.
Unexpectedly, Terry became so paranoid about a mere box of fried chicken.
Martin retorted, "What's there to be careful about with this fried chicken? You can't possibly poison it, can you?"
"Poison? Why would you put poison in delicious food?" The tall, simple-minded man was completely confused.
Terry did not tell the rest of the team about Martin's plan to involve everyone in MI6.
Firstly, he didn't want his ex-girlfriend Martin to get hurt;
Secondly, now is a critical moment for cooperation, and it would be unwise to suddenly create division;
Thirdly, the benefits of cooperating with MI6 actually outweigh the drawbacks, as long as they promise that everyone in Terry's team can leave unscathed.
Terry replied, "It was just a casual joke, why are you taking it so seriously? Just eat your food."
Seeing that everyone was engrossed in the meal, Terry pulled Martin aside to confirm again, "Will MI6 definitely guarantee our success?"
Martin said, "They want us to steal everything, so they'll definitely give us plenty of time to help us. The last few times the police came, it was just a formality, wasn't it?"
That made sense, and Terry finally felt relieved.
But the next second, Terry suddenly sensed something was wrong, "Steal them all?"
"Isn't it good? You think the money is too little?" Martin was speechless and laughed at Terry's startled reaction.
Was Terry truly a partner Martin approved of, or was he not easily distracted? "If the goal is just to create the illusion of stealing film and television materials, stealing half would suffice. Why steal everything? Didn't we say before that even if things are lost, no one will dare to retrieve them? So as long as the 'theft' occurs, and they get the materials, we can simply steal what we need. Why take everything?"
"What do you mean?" Martin still didn't understand.
"What I mean is, all they need to do is take the data and then steal what they need. Why would an agent choose the riskier, more complicated, and unnecessary 'steal everything' approach? Doesn't that seem redundant and dangerous?" Terry pointed out the suspicious points directly.
Martin couldn't help but hesitate, "This..."
"Are you hiding some other secrets, or planning to continue double-crossing, hoarding, or reselling other information?" Terry pressed.
Martin opened her eyes wide and shook her head, saying, "No, I really told you the truth."
After careful consideration, Terry ultimately chose to believe Martin, saying, "If that's the case, then I have to suspect that 'stealing everything' was an order from higher levels of MI6, designed to make the scene look more like a large-scale theft than a precise steal by an insider."
He paused, then added, "There's something else hidden in this underground vault. It's definitely leverage we can use to negotiate further with the agents."
What could it be?
“It’s definitely not just the valuable items on the surface.” Terry thought carefully. “We’ll split into two groups. You’ll be responsible for loading the stuff onto the truck and then quickly collecting all the documents, files, and USB drives to see if there’s anything important inside.”
Martin's heart began to race.
Clearly, she had realized they had fallen into a trap, and now Terry was going to lead them out of it.
"What if they ask?" Martin worried that the rest of the team would become suspicious.
Terry said, "Just tell them to pick out some things you don't need and throw them aside, so you don't have to carry these burdens if you're running away."
Martin nodded.
After agreeing, Terry paused for a few seconds, looked into Martin's eyes, and asked, "Martin, I can trust you, right?"
A few years ago, Martin would have likely rushed over with a kiss, expressing her true feelings. But now Terry is married, and Martin can only say, "What I want is still in your hands."
Time has returned to the work phase once again.
They worked continuously for more than three hours.
The contents of the safe had been mostly taken, and the other three were exhausted. They sat on the ground, hesitating, "Should we stop now, or rest a bit longer and then rob everything?"
Terry didn't respond directly, but instead used the walkie-talkie to ask the lookout outside, "Has Thomas noticed anything amiss?"
"It's very quiet and boring. At most, a few cars drove by on the road just now."
The lookout responded.
Terry: "Be serious, our lives are in your hands."
"I know, I know it's not easy for me to get out of the wind on the roof, is it?" Thomas said, half complaining and half just going through the motions.
As soon as he finished speaking, the walkie-talkie suddenly started dropping frequencies intermittently.
Terry tapped the walkie-talkie. "Hello—what's up?"
“I…don’t know, the signal…suddenly…the signal is bad…I’ll fix it again.” Thomas’s voice, tapping on the walkie-talkie, also came into the underground vault.
Terry had a bad feeling. "The walkie-talkie is malfunctioning. Should we get out of here quickly?"
The tall, clumsy guy then spoke up, "We're still missing a dozen or so safes. Let's just pry them open before we leave."
An elderly man traveling with us remarked, "I don't know where they got this walkie-talkie from; the quality is terrible."
Terry glanced at the unopened safe, calculated the time, and said, "Let's get moving now. Finish within 20 minutes, or we'll forget about it."
After saying this, he also instructed Thomas to maintain contact.
Time always seems to drag on when you're in a tense mood.
As they pried open the second-to-last safe, a faint noise suddenly came from outside. The group of thieves held their breath simultaneously, silently communicating as they backed away.
The tall, clumsy man didn't notice anyone's commotion, especially since he had already loosened a safe. Hearing the familiar sound, he instinctively tightened his grip.
As the vault door opened wide, the vault lights were also turned on.
With a sharp "bang," under the bright white light, a group of police officers stood with guns at the ready, shouting, "Everyone, stay still!"
"Aa ...
The tall, clumsy man had just taken something out of the cabinet when he was startled by this sudden appearance.
The startled screams nearly stopped everyone's hearts.
Albert was the first to notice the chaotic scene inside, and he spotted the notebook in the tall, dumb guy's hand almost immediately.
“The police are here.” Albert began to persuade the other party, glancing up at the bright lights. “If you surrender, it’s not too late.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Lestrade, who was holding a gun beside him, was stunned for a moment, "..."
How did this person steal his lines?
But it's hard to say now.
Lestrade then added a line, "Take off your hoods."
Because the high temperature burned open a hole, the entire underground vault had a persistent unpleasant smell and dust floating in the air, and the group of people ended up wearing dust masks all the time.
Their identities have not yet been revealed.
At that moment, Terry also noticed the tattered notebook in the tall, clumsy man's hand.
Who would hide something like this in a safe these days?
Terry knew almost instantly that this was what he wanted.
At the same time, he also noticed the light tubes.
He slowly backed away, shielding the tall, clumsy man behind him.
He raised his hand and said, “Officers, don’t be too nervous. We don’t have any guns on us, you can put them away. These days, it’s a very troublesome thing for the police to accidentally shoot and injure a criminal.”
Lestrade didn't move. "Then follow our instructions: take off your hoods and put your things down. The four of you stand in a line."
"speed!"
Upon receiving the order, everyone looked at Terry at the same time.
“We understand what you mean, but at least the back row shouldn’t be holding up guns.”
Lestrade glanced back, and the officers behind him put their guns away.
At the same time, Terry took a small step forward, one hand behind his back giving instructions to the thief, while the other hand, hidden behind his back, held the spray gun.
three,
two,
one!
Taking advantage of a moment when the officer's attention was diverted, Terry suddenly grabbed the spray gun and slashed it at the overhead light tube.
The metal charred and cracked instantly under the high temperature, and flames shot out, forcing the police officers to instinctively retreat.
"Watch out!" Lestrade growled.
Before he could finish speaking, the charred wire emitted a piercing crack.
A short circuit occurred, and the entire underground vault was instantly swallowed by darkness once again.
As darkness fell, Terry and his accomplices ran wildly along the previously scouted pit, their footsteps echoing erratically and urgently in the vault.
Albert chased after them almost instinctively.
"You can't escape."
He followed the sound of fleeing footsteps into the tunnel and, by the flashing red light of the emergency lights, saw Terry's silhouette moving rapidly ahead.
Albert quickened his pace, lunged forward, and grabbed Terry's coat.
Both of them lost their balance and crashed hard into the stone wall beside them.
The tunnel was narrow, but it wasn't solid as I had imagined.
The two collided and somehow created another hole in the tunnel, falling straight into an old air-raid shelter built in London.
The depth wasn't great; Terry, lying on the ground, still had the strength to throw a backhand elbow, but Albert blocked it.
Albert grabbed his shoulders and pressed down, trying to subdue him completely.
"Let go!" Terry roared, desperately using his elbows to create distance.
In the chaos, the tattered notebook slipped from Terry's hand, arcing through the air as it flipped in the swaying red light.
Snap!
The laptop fell in a spot where neither of them could reach it.
Just then, a flashlight beam and the head of a silver-haired youth appeared from the top of the cave.
He leisurely followed and jumped into the air-raid shelter, the notebook landing right at his feet.
Milwald quickly bent down, picked up the notebook, and held it firmly in his palm.
This scene startled the two young men who were locked in combat.
But Albert reacted faster, instinctively subduing Terry first.
Albert ripped off Terry's jacket, which slid to the ground, revealing his bodysuit.
Terry instinctively reached out to grab it, but it was too late. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the floor not far away suddenly sink a few inches, as if warning of a deeper collapse.
Terry steeled himself and used all his strength to push Albert in that direction.
Sure enough, as soon as Albert fell, cracks appeared in the ground again. Before he could react, Albert was pulled into an even deeper hole by the weightlessness.
His strong physique allowed him to quickly grab onto the protruding iron pipe at the entrance of the pit before half of his body was submerged in the dark depths.
Terry, on the other side, didn't even glance at Albert, but rushed quickly to Milwaukee.
Albert struggled as he watched helplessly as Terry effortlessly snatched the notebook from Milwald's hands.
"..."
Unsure whether to be angry or resentful, Albert couldn't help but exert force with his hands, causing the gravel to fall with a "rustling" sound. Clearly, the pit couldn't support his body either.
He clenched his teeth, his fingers turning white from the force, but Albert's fingertips still began to slide because of the sweat on his hands.
In one more second, he will fall.
In that instant, a hand reached out from the side and firmly gripped his wrist and shoulder.
It was Milwaukee!
Albert was startled, but he could indeed sense Milvolton's power.
“Grab me,” Milvolton whispered.
This statement made Albert feel as if he had never truly understood this person.
Did you not expect to fall into a trap and have your laptop stolen?
Albert's heart unconsciously followed suit, and he began to subconsciously rely on Milverton's assistance.
But when he placed 80 percent of his support on Milford and stabilized the situation, he suddenly felt a loosening in his shoulders and wrists.
Milwald actually let go at this moment!
Albert's expression changed instantly, and his body fell uncontrollably into another two-meter-high hole.
A loud bang!
Despite being prepared, the two-meter drop still made Albert's legs go numb, and dust choked his nose and mouth. He steadied himself and looked up almost without pausing, his green eyes burning with suppressed rage.
"What are you doing? Shouldn't we be chasing after the robbers?"
Milverton, looking down at me, remained unmoved. "I suddenly remembered someone telling me not to get in the way. Besides, this isn't something I'm supposed to do. I don't have time to break a sweat."
Albert: "..."
Seeing that he was angry with him, Milwaldton's tone became even more cheerful and teasing, "How about it? Beg me and I'll pull you up."
Albert's green eyes flashed with a dark fire, and he briefly forgot about the notebook for a second. "No need."
It's just a hole that's two meters high.
However, before climbing into the hole, he first grabbed a handful of ash from the ground.
A note from the author:
----------------------
I'm trying to finish writing this case, but I just can't seem to finish it. [crying emoji]
It's already 3 a.m., I can't go on.
Bye-bye, see you tomorrow. I'll try to finish the case by updating daily these next few days!
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