Chapter 13:

13. Like a Pendulum Clock at Sea

Shocking Blue

Haruka jumped out of her bed with her alarm clock. It was still dark and she swiftly got ready, already puffing. She stared at herself in the mirror and controlled her breathing, her heart and her face, until she was smiling and calm to anyone who would see her.

- "Operator-san, is everything correct on your side?"
- "All smooth as butter, Haruka-chan."
- "That's what I like to hear. It will be hard to trust the rebels. Please try to monitor whether they will follow the plan or not. If they do not enter the bank on the appointed time, tell me right away."
- "For sure. We have already set monitoring equipment on the bank's entrances and we should be ready for whatever happens."
- "Thank you. When the time is right I will go, I don't want to arrive too early."
- "Sure. And Haruka-chan."
- "What?"
- "Take care."
- "Always."
- "Operator handing it over to Haruka-chan, over and out." - Haruka then waited the first light of the day to leave for the bank.

***

Kazuki jumped out of his bed his her alarm clock. It was still dark and he swiftly got ready, already puffing. He stretched, breathed and did small exercises to control his reactions and focused on the task ahead. Then, he left the apartment straight to the office. He prepared his equipment and met his team. It was a tactical unit of six police officers equipped with bullet proof vests, camouflaged clothing, helmets and powerful weaponry. Four of them were equipped with assault rifles, two with tranquilizers and two with rubber rounds. The other two were armed with sniper rifles, these with live rounds in case things got out of control. Colonel Husky was also there and did a quick briefing:
- "Attention!"
- "Yes sir!" - they all replied.
- "You already know the mission, so I am going to be quick here. Your objective is to capture the rebels on their way out of the bank through the back door. Ideally, you will only use tranquilizers and handcuffs. We want a quick and clean action, most of all, because this is a civilian area. And remember, one of our assets, Raikubo Haruka of Shocking Blue is there, it is also your job to keep her safe. Our operators will monitor the bank and stay in touch. If anything goes out of the ordinary, Yukiya Kazuki is your leader and remember again to keep it clean. Is everything clear?"
- "Yes sir!"
- "Now you all leave separately, in order not to draw any attention of the rebels. Dismissed!" - with that, the agents went separate ways to meet in the bank.

***

Haruka arrived at the bank on her motorcycle. She removed her helmet and observed the streets, which were still quite empty. The bank itself was a large imposing structure, with large walls of concrete, an imposing front with the name "Nouveau National Bank" in blue letters and a glass wall with revolving doors. Not distracted by the impressive building, Haruka continued searching the streets. She was able to find Hammer and Renegade, and one of NUMO's tactical agents. Haruka sighed with relief while she hid her reactions and kept her distance.

***

Kazuki arrived on the back of the bank. It was a small alley with two ways leading to the street. "The bank is needing some better protection down here..." - he thought to himself. When the agents on the ground arrived, the operator called him:
- "Kazuki-kun, the entire team has arrived, monitoring is up and the snipers are in position."
- "Perfect, only ten minutes left for the heist."
- "Exactly. I will keep the channel open and only close if I talk to Haruka."
- "Sure, thank you Operator-san." - Kazuki asked for the other agents to wait.

***

it was 8am sharp when the heist started.

- "The distraction worked" - Eisubel said, looking at the managers and other works preoccupied with the music playing computer - "let's go."

The four of them walked together and all used suits. Renegade picked up her phone, and used it to show them the camera feed of the corridor. They waited for the guard to be distant and then entered one by one on the corridor, first Eisubel who sprayed black ink on the camera and then the others. The corridor was pale, and on both walls there were lots of black square shaped safes with dials. The corridor continued after a corner and probably boasted more safes. Eisubel snapped his fingers, which prompted Hammer to rush towards the guard and knock him down. After that the four advanced to a single shining white safe in the middle of the black ones.
- "This is a more resistant material" - said Renegade. - "it may be a little too flashy, but it means that blowing up this safe will explode us and the bank before blowing up this safe."
- "So, it's nice that we have velvet hands here, isn't it?" - Eisubel said with a wry smile.
- "Well, my turn then" - Haruka said, not sharing on his smile. She signaled for the others to give her room to work. Haruka took a deep breath. She put her right hand and on the handle of the safe and started feeding it with an electrical current. She also charged her left hand and put it on the safe to feel the electricity flow and direct it in such a way that the safe would open.

However, it did not budge.

Haruka felt something was wrong, something besides the handle, dial and machinery was reacting with her electricity. She tried other things, like moving the handle, moving the dial and moving her hands around. She set her ears on the dial and there between the clinks and clanks, no sound helped her. Something inside the chest was interfering with her magic, and due to that, she was incapable of manipulating the mechanisms.
- "Hey, Velvet-san, we don't have all day!" - said Eiusbel.
- "Safes are delicate things! This one is of a special material, please keep silent." - Haruka replied. Eisubel gesticulated, spreading his arms as if unarmed.

Haruka took a breath. "I'm just going to input the secret and pretend it was me" - she decided. Still with sparks flowing from her fingers, she slowly input the combination, listening to the safe and moving her right hand pretending she was manipulating the lock. When Eisubel was approaching to complain again, the safe door unlocked with a thud. She looked at him, proud:
- "I told you." - then, she looked back and opened the door to the safe. In the top shelf, she saw documents and straps of bills and on the bottom one, gold bars. Right beside the bills, she saw a solitaire diamond ring. She quickly picked up the bills, and was pushed aside by Eisubel who said:
- "It is I who get the things from the chest."
- "I was just getting my part" - Haruka replied showing the bills, which she put quickly on her grey purse. Eisubel, with the help of Renegade put the documents, the gold bars and the ring on their black sack. What he didn't notice is that Haruka had swapped her ring with the one on the safe. Haruka acted on instinct, she hypothesised that what interfered with her magic was Brumetium. So, she acted quickly to keep the rebels from getting it, whether they were aware of it or not.

- "Let's go guys, it is time" - said Haruka noticing the guard would soon return and they had already robbed everything.
- "Wait a minute" - said Eisubel while looking on the corridor.
- "Come on, we gotta be quick" - said Renegade.
- "Wait" - Eisubel continued looking at the corridor. - "Hammer-kun, now" - Hammer rushed to the corner and punched the guard who was returning. He then got the guards' pistol and pointed at him. The guard's face was scared and he remained on the floor.
- "What the hell, Eisubel!" - shouted Renegade - "Why make hostages? We just need to escape!"
- "Sorry, but change of plans" - he was smiling - "plans have the sad tendency of leaking, so I always make a last minute change, just to be safe."
- "That's not what I agreed to! We were going to avoid violence!"
- "Avoid violence? Against who? The bank, the government? Did they avoid violence against your brother?!" - Renegade was suddenly scared.
- "How do you know that?" - Eisubel laughed:
- "I know everything." - he got serious - "Now, if you are not willing to choose violence, I am." - he dashed towards her and stroke her ribs with his pistol. She shrank in pain and he took her pistol and pointed it at her. - "now we have another hostage to negotiate!" - he laughed again while Renegade's eyes widened at his treason.

It took a split second for Haruka slightly lower her knees and with straightened arms point her pistol into Eisubel's heart. She said:
- "Release her. We got here together. And we leave together too." - Eisubel's eyes went to the left to watch her while still pointing his gun towards Renegade and said:
- "Have we got a hero here?" - he again laughed - "I felt strange that you actually input the combination on the safe, and now you point the gun to save a stranger. Why I think? Why does a thief act like a hero?" - he briefly looked down and up again - "because you are no thief, you are an undercover cop. Or maybe something like special forces." - Haruka kept staring at him, ready to shoot - "but still I find it funny. If you are special forces how were you so easily defeated?"
- "What?" - Haruka replied when Hammer hit her nape and knocked her down.