Chaos of the Century

… And so Eli sprints to the back door, their footsteps inaudible over the blaring alarm. They've finally got the Angel's Eye, a priceless gem that the five criminals are risking their lives over. A couple steps away from freedom, she is tackled by a guard. They reach for the sand in their pocket, but alas, there is none left. The guard handcuffs them, and stands up with a smirk. He feels a tap on his shoulder, and turns around, only to be greeted by a Crowbar. Scott picks up the Eye while Eli is unlocking her handcuffs, and they sneak into the back entrance staircase.

A few moments later, Avery runs up to them, hopping over a few fences to escape from a guard. “Scott! Eli! Where are the others?”, they say, shifting to a whisper as Eli gestures to stay quiet. Their heart sinks as they see a shrug as a response. “We have to… We have to find them”. Scott steps up, playfully spinning Esther the Crowbar in his hand. Eli hesitates for a moment: “I should probably stay here, to guard the gem”. As the two humans and a Crowbar re-enter through the door, she adds: “Good luck!”

The trio run around the building, trying to find Roscoe and Anne. Once they reach the atrium, they see Anne, as she is about to leave through the front entrance. A shriek pierces the air, somehow drowning out the sounds of the alarm: “*HHEEEEELLPP!*”. It's Guard_03, who's been handcuffed to the atrium stairs. Guards pour through the doors and surround Anne. Scott adjusts the grip on the Crowbar and rushes into battle, while Avery is paralysed by the severity of the situation and misses the chance. Swords cut through the air; Anne and Scott are putting up a good fight. But unfortunately, there's just too many guards, and eventually someone grabs Scott from behind and topples him over Anne. The guards pile on, trying to restrain the two.

Worried for their partners in crime, Avery looks through their bag, hoping that something could be of use. Trying to stall for time, they throw a bottle of oil at the guards. This turns the skirmish into total chaos. People get pushed around, get grabbed, slip out of the grip, and fall back onto the pile. Taking the opportunity, Avery throws a lasso at the Crowbar and pulls it, together with Scott and Anne, from the bottom of the pile. Once the criminals reunite, they realise that they are missing some of the boots, with guards in the pile still clutching onto them. With a worried “Go, go, go!”, the trio rush out of the room. The footsteps are catching up to Scott and Anne, and Avery refuses to leave them behind. They chuck another bottle of oil behind them, only to turn around and see the guards slip and slide into each other at the next turn.

Having gotten rid of the tailing guards, the trio rejoin with Eli. A collective catching of breath is made throughout the group, recovering from the exhausting combination of running from the guards and laughing at them slipping helplessly. In the world’s fastest headcount, Eli realises that four is one less than the number of people who they began the heist with:

“Where’s Roscoe?”

The group look at each other, some of them thinking ‘Good question’ and others thinking ‘Who gives a damn about Roscoe?’ The Angel's Eye sits comfortably on a stair and judgementally watches over the group. Anne seems to almost be lured by it… What if she were to just take it? Scott notices the avaricious look in her eye and grips his Crowbar a little tighter, but does not say anything.

Eventually the tense silence is broken by Avery, “You all take care of the eye, I’ll go find Roscoe, then we can meet you outside and escape.” There are far too many guards in the building to fight them all. “I’ll come with you.” Eli says definitively, “it’s safer that way.” So the four scoundrels (to say nothing of the Crowbar), split into two.

There is a stilted silence as Scott eyes Anne, who in turn eyes the Eye. Even through the closed door, they can still hear the guards’ heavy steps and frantic shouting in the corridors. They both know it’s a matter of time until they are discovered.

Avery flies through the air, dodging around the guards and leaping over the oil puddles; Eli takes it slower, sticking to the shadows. They both gradually retrace all the places where Roscoe had been during the heist: the atrium, storage, the corridors, the back entrance. Nothing is found except the still helplessly handcuffed Guard_03, tears on his cheeks. When they finally check the guard canteen, they finally see Roscoe, or ‘Ellwood’. He is sat at the table eating stew with Guard_01, acting far too relaxed for a criminal.

Back on the stairs, the footsteps grow louder and louder and louder. The door flies open. Scott and Anne pummel the guards, while playing hot potato with the Angel’s Eye to keep it safe from stray grabby hands.

In the canteen, Ellwood is wrapped in rope as Avery silently lassos and yanks him away, whilst Eli is distracting the other guards.

“Unhand me!” – Ellwood tries to fight off his assailants, not recognising them. “Roscoe? It’s us, Eli and Avery, we need to leave now.” But all their words fall on unfamiliar, unwilling ears. Eli looks at Avery and motions “we gotta go”, so with some reluctance Avery cuts their losses and heads for the back exit, following Eli, closing the door on the debilitated guards.

The four almost crash into each other in the atrium, the gem being cradled by Anne, who echoes “Where’s Roscoe?”. Eli mumbles “He’s… gone”, getting a puzzled look from Avery. So although they lost one in the process, the criminals have successfully tricked, fought and spidered their way through a heist of the century. Nothing is taking away the Angel’s Eye from them. But the question of what they will do with the money lingers in the air…