Generational Heist Excerpt 1 (Life Altering First Date)

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Lewis enjoyed college and studying architecture, but he never let those two summers slip from his consciousness. I know he actually worked with my brother because if I or his sister truly needed money during the past six years he had it. If he did anything illegal in college it wasn't to the same magnitude. The amount of money he made with his uncle was too considerable for a grown man let alone a maturing one to ignore and more than anything else he enjoyed the work. Two years of being underemployed, unemployed and a discouraged worker and an hourly rate never reaching ten dollars caused him to question his legal goals. After his date with Elaine, the girl at the bar, he discarded them all.

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Hundreds of shining stars made it a beautiful night to eat dinner outside. Lewis' selection for a date impressed Elaine. It was a restaurant off a lake that used a deck as a dining area and had plenty of dinner specials. He had a hard time accepting her compliments of his selection because he couldn't get over how good she looked. The bar's lighting did her no justice the night they met. It was warm enough for her to throw her jacket on the back of her chair giving him a good look at what he attracted. Her brown skin's natural shine gleamed in the restaurant's lighting, jet black hair couldn't stop from curling, smile full, breast and butt big enough to keep his attention and red dress complimented her dedication to fitness. He was a bit embarrassed that he'd done no more than throw on a collar shirt and a pair of blue jeans.

Swapping casual information began their date, but both had been on enough dates to care little for it. After taking a sip from her cup of water, Elaine decided to state her observation of Lewis' bar activities, "I've seen you a bunch of times at the bar."

"Can't be. I would have noticed you."

"You and your friends are too busy hustling people out of their money."

He smiled. "Just competitive games of pool."

"So the pretty boy watching the news and you playing horribly with the Filipino guy for a hundred dollar a game isn't a ploy."

He laughed a little, "You actually know what he is, and the pretty guy is more crazy than he is pretty. He demands the T.V. be turned to the news. We are there enough for them to oblige." He took a sip from his glass. "Someone is observant."

"A little bit. Is it true I have to get a special?" He responded swiftly with a serious look of concern. She quickly raised her hands to ensure she was being playful. "My friend behind you said that's what I had to get." He relaxed his face. "You can get whatever you want."

"So if I get a few martinis and maybe a dessert at the end I will still be in the running for a second date."

Lewis constricted his face and began drawing numbers in the air. "If you get the drink on the special," he continued to draw in the air then got lost. "I think you were subtracting thirty-three, eighty-seven from thirty five." He shifted his eyes to her for a second then continued to add and subtract. "We should be straight."

Skepticism and regret resonated off her face. He erupted in laughter, "Get what you want." She did, leaving Lewis to calculate how much more he would have to pay in his head as they enjoyed each other's company.

After both had their fill, she asked the question that had ruined several dates for him in the past. "So outside of pool hustling, what do you do?"

He rubbed his lower face, "I work part-time at a greeting card shop."

"Are you going to school or searching for a new job," She asked trying to salvage something he obviously wasn't proud of.

"Done the first and have been doing the second for a while."

"So we have that in common."

"Well, if you feel the way I feel about it, I suggest we leave it for date three."

She looked at the lake behind him. "Agreed." She rose from her seat, grabbed his hand and pulled him to the deck's railing. They looked out onto the lake until Lewis felt her thigh lightly brush against his butt. He turned to see if it was more than an accident and saw her watching a well-dressed husky man getting out of a BMW sedan in the distance. The stare didn't bother him too much until he walked her to her car.

"I hope you had a great night," he stated.

"It was wonderful." Lewis went to kiss her goodnight but she began rambling through her purse. "Shoot, I left my keys on the table."

"I'll go back and get them for you."

"NO, NO, NO that's alright."

"You sure." She stood on her toes, kissed him and said, "I'm sure. Call you later."

She walked back to the table, as he got into his car. Instead of driving off he watched her. She actually left her keys at the table, but for someone that observant he knew there was more to it. He was right. She caught the attention of the man getting out of the BMW who sat at the counter. As she picked up her keys she gave him the same gaze she gave Lewis at the bar.

Generational Heist Excerpt 2 (Ontop of Neighbor's Roof)

Maria, Lewis and Tao laid on the level roof of the graphic art studio adjacent to the square two–store brick structure known as Whales' Bank. Only the laser pointer in Maria's hand peaked over the building's three foot concrete railing. The three dawned black fatigues and black linen masks covered their faces. The linen over their eyes and mouths had been replaced with thinner fabric that allowed them to breathe and see clearly.

They laid there like awkwardly positioned corpses as the laser received a variety of measurements. It wasn't until the device received two measurements of eleven hundred feet in a row did the blood in Maria's veins begin to pulsate. She grabbed the modified rifle that lie next to her and aimed it at the motion sensors on the bank's roof. As the pellets exploded from the rifle they began to disintegrate leaving only a layer of slime to coat the sensor. The slime let the sensors emit their signals but didn't allow it to detect any disturbances. Maria hit her targets and resumed her position on the roof.

Tao's unease showed as he began to sweat during the unusually cool summer night. The mask concealing his identity was also stopping a puddle from forming where his head lay. His comfort came from his companion's rhythmic breathing and Maria's military like precision.

Lewis was so committed to his new direction in life he analyzed the bank's size and concluded there couldn't be enough money inside to fund what Todd and Maria had put together, but he knew at that moment what he thought didn't matter. He appreciated the opportunity he had been given and the only other people he would have traded being with at that moment in life was his uncle and Courtland.

A third accurate measurement prompted Lewis to yank a large metal board with a latch on the end out of one of the six duffle bags they brought along with them. He attached the latch to the edge of the building's roof then pushed a button at the butt of the board causing it to extend to the bank's roof. Maria wielded an empty bag around her shoulder, while Lewis and Tao totted a bag of equipment and an empty bag on their way across. After reaching the top of the bank, Lewis and Tao let the heavy bags drop to the roof then pulled the plank onto the bank's roof. Maria went into a bag and pulled out a long, thick cord. She secured the cord on to a pier at the top of the roof as Tao and Lewis began working on the skylight. Tao clasped suction cups against the window's pane leaving enough space for Lewis to dig his blade into the edges of it. After Lewis cleanly cut the pane out of its home, Tao muscled the glass to the ground.

Before the night's air could mix with the conditioned air, Maria opened fire. She rotated around the opening making sure she hit all her targets. Her knowledge of the sensors' locations came from a source extremely familiar with the bank's security. She threw the cord inside, hooked a motorized pulley to it then connected herself to the repelling equipment. She repelled off the roof onto the second floor of the bank. She scurried to the bank manager's office, pulled a screw driver from her back pocket and began unscrewing the lock from the door. It took the master thief less than a minute to accomplish the basic task. She straight-lined to the computer, shoved a jump drive into one of the USB ports and began downloading files from the jump drive to the computer. Giving Courtland more control than the email he sent earlier in the week had.