Categories > Celebrities > My Chemical Romance > Five Beautiful Boys
“One thing I should tell you now.” Bob spoke quietly looking to one side as he did.
Before replying, Frank noticed that from the expression on Ray’s face, he knew exactly what was coming.
“What’s wrong?” Frank asked; the curiosity he felt was more than evident on his face.
Bob turned his head back, but still averted his eyes.
“This is my last job, Frank. I’m going to find Alison and try to get custody of Dan, legally, through the courts. I know it’ll be tough, and having a record won’t help, but I have to get him away from her. She’s a drunk, and I’m pretty sure she hits him.”
The revelation hit hard from two angles, certainly Frank, but not even Ray knew how bad things were for his son and whilst they completely understood what Bob needed to do, the loss to their group would be severe. Bob stared at the pair in front of him; he believed he knew Ray’s thoughts on the matter; after all it had been Ray who had finally convinced him to try for custody, but Frank? Frank was an unknown entity on this subject. Bob was always much closer to Ray on a social level and had poured his heart out to him on more than one occasion.
“I’m sorry, Frank, I don’t want to leave you high and dry, but this is something…”
“Bob!” Frank interrupted with a sympathetic smile. “It’s fine, really. I know I don’t know much about it, but I knew enough to realise that this day would happen sooner rather than later. I’m sorry your son’s having such a raw deal. He’s lucky he has such a caring dad.”
“But… you and Ray…”
“We’ll manage,” Frank reassured him. “The proceeds of this raid are going to be higher than we’ve ever seen, so who knows, this may be our last job too?”
“You’re sure it’s okay?”
“Of course I’m sure,” Frank’s smile broadened into a grin. “In fact, my gift to will be to get a private investigator on the case to prove the mistreatment. I know it won’t be pleasant for you to see, but it’ll help you win your case.”
“Frank… I…”
Bob was speechless at the gesture and merely threw his arms around him by way of a thank you. Joining the hug, Ray added his encouragement to the troubled ex-soldier.
*
Gerard heard the doorbell and glanced at his watch with some surprise. Pushing himself out of the chair he headed for the hallway. On opening the door, Gerard took a sharp step back as Mikey, still handcuffed, was pushed towards him, immediately followed by Frank, Ray and Bob.
“Mikes! Are you okay?” he asked surprised by their arrival.
“I’m fine, Gee,” Mikey replied, surprisingly convincingly; emphasising his answer with a firm nod. “Are you okay? You seem nervous.”
“I… I’m fine, I was just worried about you, that’s all.”
“Ah, touching,” Frank smiled as he closed the door. “But you’re lying. You weren’t expecting us, where you, Mister Way? You were expecting the cops, weren’t you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Gerard pulled Mikey aside and stood next to him protectively.
“Ray,” Frank sighed, “why don’t you show him?”
Ray stepped past Gerard, shouldering him as the walked towards the phone. Deftly removing the cover, Ray extracted a small disc, no larger than a watch battery.
“We’ve listened to every call you’ve made, including several to the cops. That’s very rude, Gerard. And after we showed you so much trust, too.”
Gerard frowned deeply; at once bitterly disappointed that he had been found out and irritated by their condescending manner.
“So much that you bugged my phone?”
Frank merely smiled in return.
“You’ll be pleased to hear that your brother didn’t suffer for your transgressions.”
“That’s very big of you,” Gerard snapped unable to contain his resentment.
Frank took a deep, angry breath.
“Bob.”
“No!” Gerard cried as he shielded Mikey from whatever was coming.
“No, Gerard,” Mikey begged, “don’t be like this, please.”
It was as if Mikey had an inkling of what was about to happen. Bob launched a right hook, but instead of aiming for Mikey, his fist connected sharply with Gerard’s jaw, sending him spinning to the floor. Gerard lay for a few moments, sprawled on the floor, dizzy and in considerable pain.
“Get up!” Frank ordered. “And stop wasting our time, we’re leaving now, before the cops arrive. I know you think you’re smart, Way, but I’ve been doing this for years.”
Gerard pushed himself first to his knees as he regained his composure, then to his feet, glaring harshly at Bob, who stared impassively back. There seemed little he could do to stall; they were heading immediately for the bank, an hour earlier than he had expected. It seemed likely that the robbery would be completed before the police had even arrived at Gerard’s apartment. Inwardly and silently, Gerard cursed himself for using his house phone to make the calls to the police.
“Let’s go,” Frank ordered.
As he headed towards the door, Bob pushed Gerard into the wall and held him there.
“Oh, I nearly forgot,” Frank said with a chuckle. “Like your brother, you’ll be handcuffed. And,” Frank drew near, “I don’t expect any trouble out of you. You step out of line… well, I think you know.”
Gerard gritted his teeth bitterly as his hands were pulled behind him and secured with cold steel
“It’s okay, Gee,” Mikey reassured him. “Just go with it. Trust me, it’ll be okay.”
Gerard glanced briefly at his brother as they were both led from the apartment. Was he naïve or did he have a plan of his own? Gerard could only hope that he would find out soon.
*
“Your car’s a nice drive, Way,” Frank commented as he pulled into Gerard’s parking space at the bank.
Gerard scowled at him from the back seat. He and Mikey, now both handcuffed, were seated in the back of Gerard’s own car with Bob sitting between them.
“What’s wrong with using your car?” Gerard asked bitterly.
“Who’s going to question that the assistant manager’s car is sitting in its own space?”
“At this time of night, they might,” Gerard replied.
“Well, possibly, or they’ll think you’ve gone out for the night and left it here? Or they won’t think about it at all. But they will notice if it’s another car.”
Gerard frowned; was there anything he hadn’t considered?
Ray, sitting in the passenger seat, opened a small laptop computer and began to type furiously. Briefly pausing, he tapped the side of the keyboard irritably.
“There’s another code here, Way, what are you keeping from us?”
“N… nothing,” Gerard stammered, glancing briefly at Mikey, before noticing the glare Frank had aimed at him.
“What’re you trying to pull?” Frank growled.
“You were there! You saw me write everything down.”
“Well, there’s something else,” Ray added. “And I don’t know how to disable it. If we can’t do this now, Way, you’re a dead man. Trust me.”
“Wait,” Gerard stared at nothing as he concentrated hard. “Can you see where it is? It might help.”
“It’s somewhere in the vault room, I can’t be more accurate than that.”
Gerard sighed and nodded.
“It’s the bunker,” he replied with relief, drawing in a deep breath.
“Bunker?” Frank repeated incredulously.
“Yeah,” Gerard nodded, “the bank was built during the height of the cold war. It was fitted with a secure bunker to protect priceless art and things like that, in the event of a war.”
Frank laughed at the idea. “The world is an apocalyptic wasteland, but at least the paintings are safe?”
“Something like that,” Gerard replied dryly.
“Okay,” Ray replied, satisfied by the explanation, “give me a few more minutes.”
“What are you doing?” Gerard asked irritably. “Even if you can get the alarm systems down, you won’t be able to open the vaults, they’re on a timer. They can’t be opened until the morning.”
“Yes and one other thing you failed to tell us,” Frank turned to Gerard again. “The vault doors are linked to a tremor alert that goes straight to the police if we try to blow it.”
“How did you find that out?” Gerard replied, open-mouthed.
“We’re good at what we do, Way, that’s how were still doing it!”
“So you know you can’t blow the vault, why are you even bothering?” Gerard asked.
“Gee,” Mikey whispered. “Why are you doing this? They’ll hurt you. Ditch the attitude.”
Frank glanced at Mikey and nodded.
“Bob,” he said with a deep sigh. “Check him for a wire.”
“Gee?” Mikey gasped at the idea that his brother would do something so stupid and worse, that he would draw attention to it.
“I’m not wearing a wire!” Gerard insisted as Bob ripped open his shirt without even bothering with the buttons.
The search of his upper body revealed nothing.
“I’m going to have to search all over,” Bob explained. “If you’ve got one, you’re…”
“I’m dead? Is that what you’re gonna say? That’s original!”
“Don’t worry, Way, I won’t kill you, I can keep you alive for hours.”
“For someone who thinks I’m wearing a wire, you’ve got a lot to say for yourself,” Gerard snapped, trying hard to pull away.
Bob shook his head. “You’re clear, there’s nothing under your shirt and let’s face facts, nothing could hide in those pants.”
Gerard looked down, averting his eyes from everyone; the reference was far too personal.
“So,” Frank laughed, “just an attitude then? Oh and to answer your earlier question… actually, I think Ray should field this one.”
Ray nodded with a smile as he closed the laptop.
“Just finished,” he confirmed.
“Finished what?” Gerard asked with a great deal of uncertainty in his voice.
“I’ve overridden the signal that gives the vault and locks the time of day. They now think it’s eight-forty and business as usual. You can open up the bank, the vault, everything and it won’t register as a problem. There’s just the mini-vault that’s on a separate system that’s not time-dependant, but Bob’s got that under control, haven’t you?”
Bob smiled. “Everything’s ready.”
Gerard frowned in defeat and turned his eyes away. They had a way of getting in to the bank, even to the main and small vaults. It hadn’t taken long to get to the bank, certainly no more than ten minutes. It would be another twenty minutes before the police arrived at Gerard’s apartment and perhaps a few more minutes until they realised that he was no longer there. Another fifteen minutes to get to the bank. It was going to be some considerable time before they arrived.
Frank really had thought of everything, or, he at least believed he had. Gerard smiled faintly as he considered the trap set for them in the vault room, grateful that they had believed him about the bunker security. There was, indeed, a bunker built for the purpose he described, but it wasn’t protected by anything more elaborate than a pass key. He was surprised that Frank, of all people, had not realised that in the event of complete destruction, an electrically operated door would be useless. It was a risky lie; his life had depended on them believing him, but they had and they would pay for it.
Before replying, Frank noticed that from the expression on Ray’s face, he knew exactly what was coming.
“What’s wrong?” Frank asked; the curiosity he felt was more than evident on his face.
Bob turned his head back, but still averted his eyes.
“This is my last job, Frank. I’m going to find Alison and try to get custody of Dan, legally, through the courts. I know it’ll be tough, and having a record won’t help, but I have to get him away from her. She’s a drunk, and I’m pretty sure she hits him.”
The revelation hit hard from two angles, certainly Frank, but not even Ray knew how bad things were for his son and whilst they completely understood what Bob needed to do, the loss to their group would be severe. Bob stared at the pair in front of him; he believed he knew Ray’s thoughts on the matter; after all it had been Ray who had finally convinced him to try for custody, but Frank? Frank was an unknown entity on this subject. Bob was always much closer to Ray on a social level and had poured his heart out to him on more than one occasion.
“I’m sorry, Frank, I don’t want to leave you high and dry, but this is something…”
“Bob!” Frank interrupted with a sympathetic smile. “It’s fine, really. I know I don’t know much about it, but I knew enough to realise that this day would happen sooner rather than later. I’m sorry your son’s having such a raw deal. He’s lucky he has such a caring dad.”
“But… you and Ray…”
“We’ll manage,” Frank reassured him. “The proceeds of this raid are going to be higher than we’ve ever seen, so who knows, this may be our last job too?”
“You’re sure it’s okay?”
“Of course I’m sure,” Frank’s smile broadened into a grin. “In fact, my gift to will be to get a private investigator on the case to prove the mistreatment. I know it won’t be pleasant for you to see, but it’ll help you win your case.”
“Frank… I…”
Bob was speechless at the gesture and merely threw his arms around him by way of a thank you. Joining the hug, Ray added his encouragement to the troubled ex-soldier.
*
Gerard heard the doorbell and glanced at his watch with some surprise. Pushing himself out of the chair he headed for the hallway. On opening the door, Gerard took a sharp step back as Mikey, still handcuffed, was pushed towards him, immediately followed by Frank, Ray and Bob.
“Mikes! Are you okay?” he asked surprised by their arrival.
“I’m fine, Gee,” Mikey replied, surprisingly convincingly; emphasising his answer with a firm nod. “Are you okay? You seem nervous.”
“I… I’m fine, I was just worried about you, that’s all.”
“Ah, touching,” Frank smiled as he closed the door. “But you’re lying. You weren’t expecting us, where you, Mister Way? You were expecting the cops, weren’t you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Gerard pulled Mikey aside and stood next to him protectively.
“Ray,” Frank sighed, “why don’t you show him?”
Ray stepped past Gerard, shouldering him as the walked towards the phone. Deftly removing the cover, Ray extracted a small disc, no larger than a watch battery.
“We’ve listened to every call you’ve made, including several to the cops. That’s very rude, Gerard. And after we showed you so much trust, too.”
Gerard frowned deeply; at once bitterly disappointed that he had been found out and irritated by their condescending manner.
“So much that you bugged my phone?”
Frank merely smiled in return.
“You’ll be pleased to hear that your brother didn’t suffer for your transgressions.”
“That’s very big of you,” Gerard snapped unable to contain his resentment.
Frank took a deep, angry breath.
“Bob.”
“No!” Gerard cried as he shielded Mikey from whatever was coming.
“No, Gerard,” Mikey begged, “don’t be like this, please.”
It was as if Mikey had an inkling of what was about to happen. Bob launched a right hook, but instead of aiming for Mikey, his fist connected sharply with Gerard’s jaw, sending him spinning to the floor. Gerard lay for a few moments, sprawled on the floor, dizzy and in considerable pain.
“Get up!” Frank ordered. “And stop wasting our time, we’re leaving now, before the cops arrive. I know you think you’re smart, Way, but I’ve been doing this for years.”
Gerard pushed himself first to his knees as he regained his composure, then to his feet, glaring harshly at Bob, who stared impassively back. There seemed little he could do to stall; they were heading immediately for the bank, an hour earlier than he had expected. It seemed likely that the robbery would be completed before the police had even arrived at Gerard’s apartment. Inwardly and silently, Gerard cursed himself for using his house phone to make the calls to the police.
“Let’s go,” Frank ordered.
As he headed towards the door, Bob pushed Gerard into the wall and held him there.
“Oh, I nearly forgot,” Frank said with a chuckle. “Like your brother, you’ll be handcuffed. And,” Frank drew near, “I don’t expect any trouble out of you. You step out of line… well, I think you know.”
Gerard gritted his teeth bitterly as his hands were pulled behind him and secured with cold steel
“It’s okay, Gee,” Mikey reassured him. “Just go with it. Trust me, it’ll be okay.”
Gerard glanced briefly at his brother as they were both led from the apartment. Was he naïve or did he have a plan of his own? Gerard could only hope that he would find out soon.
*
“Your car’s a nice drive, Way,” Frank commented as he pulled into Gerard’s parking space at the bank.
Gerard scowled at him from the back seat. He and Mikey, now both handcuffed, were seated in the back of Gerard’s own car with Bob sitting between them.
“What’s wrong with using your car?” Gerard asked bitterly.
“Who’s going to question that the assistant manager’s car is sitting in its own space?”
“At this time of night, they might,” Gerard replied.
“Well, possibly, or they’ll think you’ve gone out for the night and left it here? Or they won’t think about it at all. But they will notice if it’s another car.”
Gerard frowned; was there anything he hadn’t considered?
Ray, sitting in the passenger seat, opened a small laptop computer and began to type furiously. Briefly pausing, he tapped the side of the keyboard irritably.
“There’s another code here, Way, what are you keeping from us?”
“N… nothing,” Gerard stammered, glancing briefly at Mikey, before noticing the glare Frank had aimed at him.
“What’re you trying to pull?” Frank growled.
“You were there! You saw me write everything down.”
“Well, there’s something else,” Ray added. “And I don’t know how to disable it. If we can’t do this now, Way, you’re a dead man. Trust me.”
“Wait,” Gerard stared at nothing as he concentrated hard. “Can you see where it is? It might help.”
“It’s somewhere in the vault room, I can’t be more accurate than that.”
Gerard sighed and nodded.
“It’s the bunker,” he replied with relief, drawing in a deep breath.
“Bunker?” Frank repeated incredulously.
“Yeah,” Gerard nodded, “the bank was built during the height of the cold war. It was fitted with a secure bunker to protect priceless art and things like that, in the event of a war.”
Frank laughed at the idea. “The world is an apocalyptic wasteland, but at least the paintings are safe?”
“Something like that,” Gerard replied dryly.
“Okay,” Ray replied, satisfied by the explanation, “give me a few more minutes.”
“What are you doing?” Gerard asked irritably. “Even if you can get the alarm systems down, you won’t be able to open the vaults, they’re on a timer. They can’t be opened until the morning.”
“Yes and one other thing you failed to tell us,” Frank turned to Gerard again. “The vault doors are linked to a tremor alert that goes straight to the police if we try to blow it.”
“How did you find that out?” Gerard replied, open-mouthed.
“We’re good at what we do, Way, that’s how were still doing it!”
“So you know you can’t blow the vault, why are you even bothering?” Gerard asked.
“Gee,” Mikey whispered. “Why are you doing this? They’ll hurt you. Ditch the attitude.”
Frank glanced at Mikey and nodded.
“Bob,” he said with a deep sigh. “Check him for a wire.”
“Gee?” Mikey gasped at the idea that his brother would do something so stupid and worse, that he would draw attention to it.
“I’m not wearing a wire!” Gerard insisted as Bob ripped open his shirt without even bothering with the buttons.
The search of his upper body revealed nothing.
“I’m going to have to search all over,” Bob explained. “If you’ve got one, you’re…”
“I’m dead? Is that what you’re gonna say? That’s original!”
“Don’t worry, Way, I won’t kill you, I can keep you alive for hours.”
“For someone who thinks I’m wearing a wire, you’ve got a lot to say for yourself,” Gerard snapped, trying hard to pull away.
Bob shook his head. “You’re clear, there’s nothing under your shirt and let’s face facts, nothing could hide in those pants.”
Gerard looked down, averting his eyes from everyone; the reference was far too personal.
“So,” Frank laughed, “just an attitude then? Oh and to answer your earlier question… actually, I think Ray should field this one.”
Ray nodded with a smile as he closed the laptop.
“Just finished,” he confirmed.
“Finished what?” Gerard asked with a great deal of uncertainty in his voice.
“I’ve overridden the signal that gives the vault and locks the time of day. They now think it’s eight-forty and business as usual. You can open up the bank, the vault, everything and it won’t register as a problem. There’s just the mini-vault that’s on a separate system that’s not time-dependant, but Bob’s got that under control, haven’t you?”
Bob smiled. “Everything’s ready.”
Gerard frowned in defeat and turned his eyes away. They had a way of getting in to the bank, even to the main and small vaults. It hadn’t taken long to get to the bank, certainly no more than ten minutes. It would be another twenty minutes before the police arrived at Gerard’s apartment and perhaps a few more minutes until they realised that he was no longer there. Another fifteen minutes to get to the bank. It was going to be some considerable time before they arrived.
Frank really had thought of everything, or, he at least believed he had. Gerard smiled faintly as he considered the trap set for them in the vault room, grateful that they had believed him about the bunker security. There was, indeed, a bunker built for the purpose he described, but it wasn’t protected by anything more elaborate than a pass key. He was surprised that Frank, of all people, had not realised that in the event of complete destruction, an electrically operated door would be useless. It was a risky lie; his life had depended on them believing him, but they had and they would pay for it.
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