There were burn marks on the wall, a broken desk lying crookedly to the side, and two guards sprawled unconscious on the marble floor with no visible injuries on them, but very much out cold.
Closer to the far end of the vault, the massive steel door hung open, the air thick with the metallic scent of magic discharge.
Stacks of gold bars gleamed under the flickering red of the alarm light, neat and untouched, except for the part where a middle-aged woman lay on the ground, a piece of a shattered baton impaled clean through her chest.
Standing over her with an uh-oh expression and a very clear sense of none regret was Kai.
"...Shit," he said, blinking at the scene.
Behind him, Elliot, Quentin, Penny, and Kady came running out of the vault.
Eliot stopped mid-stride, looked at the body, then at Kai, and deadpanned, "Well..."
15 MINUTES EARLIER
It was another ordinary day at the bank with people chatting, pens scribbling, and the faint scent of perfume and polished glass lingering in the air.
At one of the counters, a sharply dressed man leaned forward with an easy smile. "If God made something better than money," he said smoothly, "he kept it for himself."
The teller laughed politely. She was blonde, maybe mid-twenties, clearly used to charming clients. "Well," she said, tilting her head, "I can think of a few things better than money."
The man smiled wider, gaze shamelessly dropping to her neckline and down at her cleavage. "Mmm, I'm sure you can, my dear."
Her lips curved, faintly amused. "And your name again, sir?"
"Parker. Malachai Parker," he said, flashing her a disarming wink. "But you can call me Kai."
She smiled back, typing into her computer. "And what business do you have with us today, Mr. Parker?"
"Oh, I'm here for a quick withdrawal."
That was when a man a few counters down shouted in surprise. "Ow! What the."
"What?" the cashier blinked.
"A bee! It just stung me!"
"That's not possible," she began—
—and then came the buzzing.
Hundreds of bees poured out of the sprinkler system like a golden, furious waterfall.
Chaos erupted instantly. People screamed. Papers flew. One man dropped his coffee and bolted for the door.
Kai, amid the confusion, shouted, "Everyone get out now!"
The crowd didn't need to be told twice. They surged toward the exit, stumbling over one another as the bees swarmed, their wings glinting under fluorescent light.
Then, three figures in white hazmat-style bee suits coming through the main doors, carrying canisters.
"Everyone remain calm!" one of them barked. "Kindly evacuate the building in an orderly fashion!"
Outside, more people in suits, four of them directed civilians away from the scene. One of the suited women turned to another and snapped, "Hey! Move it, sweetheart! We don't have all day!"
The blonde teller, looking dazed, glanced around. "Wait... where's Mr. Parker?"
—————————-
The three inside used a spell to direct the bees back out and then peeled off their bee suits, tossing them aside.
Kai grinned. "Beautifully done, guys. Now, let's get to our withdrawal, shall we?"
Kady rolled her eyes. "You're enjoying this way too much."
"Guilty," Kai said cheerfully, stretching his neck. "We need to move fast. Margo and the rest are outside keeping the local authorities off our backs. Let's make it worth their effort."
As they moved through the corridor toward the vault, Kai mused aloud, "You know... we should've used cockroaches instead of bees."
Eliot stopped mid-step and stared at him like he'd just confessed to murder. "I'm sorry, what insane plane of thought makes you think that's a better idea?"
"No, no, hear me out first," Kai said, holding up a finger. "Cockroaches don't sting, right? So nobody panics too early. Plus, they're durable, numerous, and they get everywhere. Perfect cover."
Eliot blinked. "You know when you asked if you were psychotic and I didn't give you a direct answer because I thought you were just being dramatic? Yeah. I take that back. You're not dramatic. You're textbook."
Quentin, without looking up from the ward panel, muttered, "I'd rather be stung to death by bees than chased by flying cockroaches, thanks."
Kady shuddered. "Okay, first of all, ew. Second, never say that out loud again. My skin literally crawled."
"Suit yourselves," Kai said with a shrug. "Bees it is."
Moments later, the wards flickered out. "We're in and the wards are down" Quentin said.
——————-
Inside the vault, Penny appeared in a shimmer of air, floating several feet above the ground thanks to the gravity belt gotten from the physical kids.
He reached for a gold bar, then another, slipping them into his bag. But as he lifted the third, the belt strained and his toe barely grazed the floor.
Beep-beep-beep!
Penny froze. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me." He looked down, exasperated. "There's a weight limit to this thing?!"
He removed a bar and tried to teleport but for some reason he couldn't until he looked down and saw his toe touching the floor, then sighed. "Goddamn it, fuck the Physical Kids."
He then removed the felt and sat down before attempting to reach out mentally. 'Kai.'
A voice chimed back in his head, too chipper for the situation. 'Heeeeeey Penny! How's it hanging?'
"I swear to God, I'm going to punch you the second I see you."
Kai's voice laughed. 'That's fair. But maybe don't move. We're on our way.'
"Fantastic," Penny grumbled. "That's why you wanted to come get me physically, huh? You sneaky bastard."
He sat cross-legged, glaring at the pile of gold like it was personally mocking him.
————————-
Outside, Alicia chatted smoothly with a uniformed security officer, maintaining a glamour spell that clouded his suspicion.
Margo and Julia stood near the entrance, holding spray canisters disguised as fumigation equipment. Alice was off corralling bystanders.
Margo tapped her foot impatiently. "What the fuck is taking them so long? They should've been done by now."
Julia frowned. "You think something happened?"
Margo shrugged. "I hope not. They better get mama her money or it's don't come home for them."
Julia huffed, running a hand through her hair. "Never thought I'd be robbing a bank in my life."
Margo grinned, wicked and unbothered. "Sweetheart, this is life. Danger, chaos, glitter, and regret. Where's the fun if no one's screaming especially while getting fucked to orgasm or killed?"
Julia rolled her eyes. "You have a very strange definition of fun."
"Thank you," Margo said proudly.
And then, from inside, came the faintest boom.
Both women turned toward the bank.
Julia groaned. "Tell me that wasn't them."
Margo sighed, already pulling her phone out. "Oh, it's them alright."
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