Bank Heist

Thriller Guy stumbled across an interesting contest that might be rewarding for one of his clever readers: a contest to write a proposal for a bank heist. We’ll get to that in a minute. TG has read many heist novels and seen many movies in the genre. They are, even the crappy ones, almost always interesting, and the best of them can be fabulous. Most hew to the standard form: the intricate research and planning stage, gathering the crew, outfitting and weaponry, the actual robbery as it unfolds by-the-numbers, and then the escape, which is where most of these well-laid schemes come a cropper. It’s a solid format that has held up well over the years. Here’s TG’s true bank heist story, which doesn’t quite fit the mold..

Many years ago, when TG was a poor and struggling photographer, a friend asked to borrow some photographic developing trays. Ever willing to oblige, TG did so. A year or so later, TG asked for the trays back and when he received them he found them stained a bright pink color that could not be removed. He asked his friend what this was.

It seems that TG’s friend had a friend from New England, let’s call him Steve (not his real name) who would come to town several times a year. This friend would hang around the house for a couple of days then rob a bank in the DC area. A young man, Steve, dressed in jeans, a t-shirt, a baseball hat and a light jacket. would go to a teller and slide across a note saying he had a gun and wanted all the cash in the drawer. He would then leave and make his getaway.

By bicycle. On his trusty ten-speed. No one connected the young man on a bicycle to the guy who had just robbed a bank. The problem was, there was always an exploding dye-pack in the bag that would go off. When the robber got to my friend’s house he would wash the money in the trays and hang it up with clothespins to dry. In fact. If readers will look at their cash, every once in awhile they will see bright pink on the edges, evidence that this money has been in a robbery sometime in the past.

Steve continued his felonious ways for several years, coming to DC when he needed cash, hitting a bank, going back to New England. Eventually, his mother-in-law convinced him to turn himself in. It was a sin, she said, and he should pay his debt to God and society. He did so and sat in prison for a couple of years. TG would have counseled the guy to simply give up his bandit ways before someone got hurt. But those old bugaboos, sin, God and a mother-in-law can be powerful forces. Or, maybe the guy just traded a harping mother-in-law and persistent money problems for a couple of year’s peace and quiet.

So do you think you can plan a bank heist that’s worthy of a thousand dollar prize?  GO HERE for details. If you don’t win the prize, you can always put your plan into action. And make sure there’s plenty of air in your bicycle tires.

Meanwhile, for all your Christmas Kindle needs, you can’t go wrong perusing THE APPEL STORE for fine reading and writing products. A purchase there just might keep TG from having to plan and carry out his own bank robbery to meet his pressing financial responsibilities.