Williams sat against his mahogany desk with his eyes fluttering about. He had a stern look, and not an iota of a smile was seen on his face. The leather chair appealed so much to his back, and he seemed to love it.

His eyes darted around the room like osurveyinne g his territory. There was silence in the hall.

The air was thick with anxiety and bore the fright of everyone seated there. They all knew the importance of the gathering and couldn't help but keep mute while they waited for Williams to speak.

In their hands was a book; it had only a few pages but was quite important. The book contained the necessary details of their most daunting project. 

The silence in the room bore was barely different from that at a graveyard, and the only sound that was heard was the ticking of the clock with every second that went by. Some of them were brave enough to mutter a few words to each other, but no more.

Williams cleared his throat, and a heavy silence came upon them. "Hello everyone!" His voice resonated through the silence, sending chills down their spines.

"I'm certain everyone here knows what this meeting is about." He paused, allowing his words to sink through. He pressed on almost immediately. 

"Your rapt attention is the one thing I value most at this moment. This project before us is one of the biggest we've ever had.." his eyes moved through the lot of them to be sure he had their attention.

Their faces were dead serious and their gaze? Wholly on Williams.

"We cannot afford to make mistakes, regardless of their size." I need everyone to go through the booklet that has been handed to you, even after this meeting. Remember, we cannot afford to make mistakes.

They shook their heads in response and grunted. That was enough for Williams who didn't find their noise appealing anyway. 

Williams' words sank into them as their lips remained pursed together. He fiddled with the booklet in his hands and raised it to them.

"This book here has every information we'll be needing as well as the floor plan of the bank. The plan is quite simple, and we should have no problem if you all act with prudence."

He proceeded, "You move from the underground parking lot, which has little or no security, into the first floor of the bank and ensure everyone falls asleep with the contaminated gas."

"We should get no interference from the police or any security outfit... The only situation where they might show up is if they receive a phone call from anyone. Stick to the plan and success would be ours.." 

"Remember the consequences you'll face if anyone acts out of place." He jumped to his feet, resting his hands against the mahogany table. He exhaled and scanned the room again. "Meeting dismissed."

They rose one after the other, muttering to one another as they found their way out of the room. William's instructions were heavy on their hearts and gave no chance for petty talks. They knew him, and they were aware of exactly what he could do if they went wrong.

Williams returned to his house in his Rolls Royce, parked outside the building. His chauffeur stood in wait for him, and the moment he was in, the short, bulky man turned to the other side of the car and got in.

He started the car's ignition and drove off as quickly as he could. His earbuds remained in his ears, basking himself in serene music.

Though he tried to act cool and reserved, his heart was heavy with the fate of their robbery that was to happen the next day.

Morning came faster than a shadow. The rays of sunlight seeped into the room through the tiny holes. The alarm by the bedside rang off, and immediately Williams jerked awake.

He had a broad frown on his face as he stared. Grunting, he sat upright and stretched his hands in the air. The clock ticked nonstop and made a kind of weird music that appealed to him.

He got up, sauntered towards the bathroom, and washed his face. It was the day he had been awaiting for weeks. His heart raced with anxiety, and pretending to be cool was all he could do.

Just as he stepped out of the washing room, his bedside telephone rang. "Speak!"

"Everyone on today's mission has assembled outside the building, sir." His eyes widened, immediately dressed himself up, after which he made his way out of the room. Like everyone else, Williams felt fully energized and had high hopes. 

He was certain they were going to return with good news in a few hours. 

****

Williams, alongside his men in their bulletproof vehicle, drove down to the underground garage of the bank as planned and got off as quickly as possible. Their intercoms remained fixed in their ears, and not an iota of a smile was to be seen on their faces.

They broke into the hall and quickly threw the contaminated gas as planned. They had their masks on, protecting them from the effects of the gas.

Seconds later, everyone in the hall was fast asleep and couldn't tell what was going on. They quickly made their way to the second floor, where the bank's vault was. He led this team and had his entire attention fixed ahead.

"Every surveillance camera is to be destroyed," he ordered once again as they couldn't afford to take any chances. Shots flew about as they did as he had instructed.

The second floor was in view in minutes, and they flooded the place with gas as well. The few staff in there fell asleep at once. "Make your way into the vault, now! You have the passcode to unlock it," he commanded again, but this time to only one man. The middle-aged man did as instructed at once as there was no time to waste.

The one who had gone in raced out almost immediately. "Get me the bags..." They passed them to him at once, p*ss*d that he had forgotten something as important as that. 

They stood still and were completely alert, even though they were expecting no repellant. William's hand clutched tightly against his gun and he was ready to pull the trigger if anything went wrong. 

Less than ten minutes later, they were done with their operation and were heading down the stairs when they heard a loud bang from the ground floor. They were startled.

"That's strange. We need to check it out." Williams' eyes traveled around as he spoke. The men clenched their hands and had it fixed to their guns. Through the smoke that was starting to fade away, they saw about a dozen men barge in. 

Shocked to the marrow, they cocked their guns, ready to open fire. They paused the moment they saw the sophisticated weapons in the hands of those who had burst in.

Williams was the most flabbergasted, and at that moment, he regretted paying less attention to their weapons. He had settled everyone who could try interrupting hence the shock on his face.

"The police? Did they back out on us at the last minute?" he wondered aloud, but he was wrong. 

It wasn't the police and definitely not a security outfit. From the way they dressed, it was obvious they were from a rivalry gang." 

How was it possible? Did their plans get leaked? The leader of the other gang who had suddenly come towards them was a woman. They all had their faces covered with masks, making it impossible for anyone to see their faces.

"If you know what is good for you, you would hand over those bags to us." she boomed, her voice sounding all muffled up. Her mask was a different type though. One could see her eyes and a little part of her head and no more.

"And what makes you think we would do that?" Williams asked, his gaze locked on her.

She chuckled, her gun held straight. "I'm sure you can tell from our weapons that you stand no chance against us, Williams Albert.."

Williams was stunned that she knew his name, but he kept a straight face, his hand still clenched against his gun.

"It's nice that you know my name. It shows how popular I am.." he muttered, trying to decipher who the woman before him was. Her eyes.. They were beautiful and appealing as well.

"Yeah! You should glory because I know your name. That would at least serve as compensation for the money you are going to lose.

Williams laughed. "I must admit that you've got beautiful eyes and would definitely be beautiful as well. But I must admit that you are such a dull lady."

"Really? Dull?" she scoffed.

"Yes. If you aren't dull, you would realize I'm never going to hand these monies to you.."

It was her turn to laugh. Soft and tender, but still sent chills down William's spine. He couldn't get her out of his mind and he found that strange.

"Do you know why I like you, Williams? You think highly of yourself and I love men who are like that, but at this moment, there is no way you can get those bags of money from here. I am going to get them from you and make use of them for myself…" she winked seductively at him, her hand still clutching her gun tightly.

William's gaze lowered a bit, and that was when he saw the tattoo on her arm. "Death.." that was the word inscribed onto it. He found it weird and cool at the same time. "D*mn it, Williams. What has come over you?" he scolded himself and began racking his head as to what to do.

He was pretty aware that they stood no chance against the woman before him and her team who were with her. They had more sophisticated guns and that gave them the upper hand. There was only one thing to be done.

"Run everyone!" he yelled at the top of his voice and immediately, they went off as quickly as their feet could carry them. Unfortunately, one of them, with one of the money bags, was shot in the arm. The bag with him fell to the floor, and immediately the enemy reached for it.

They tried to retrieve it, but bullets flying around made it impossible for them to go back. They dashed into their vehicle and raced off as quickly as they could.