"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"There's no room for argument. We have to get our pride back."

"They're still college students-"

"We have no choice." A figure rose from the cushioned chair behind the desk, his masked eyes trained on the computer screen just beside him. Four separate videos, four separate people, all being watched. The light from the screen was the only thing that brought life to the person operating it as the rest of the room was darkened. "If we want to succeed, we must take action."

It was quiet before a voice answered. "Yes, sir." Footsteps followed until the door was opened, the man walking out in silence.

A young man sat down at an empty table inside a local café, a laptop opened in front of him. His frame suggested a lack of muscle and the slight bags under his eyes made him look older than twenty-three. His lips were placed in an almost permanent scowl, his glasses reflecting the subject that was on screen: a large, detailed blueprint of the building just across from his current location. People walked by him, unaware of what he was planning. A Bluetooth was hooked into his ear, the voice on the other end giving him much needed information.

"I see three cameras by the front entrance and two near the vault. The security guard makes his round every hour until nine, which is when the night guard comes. Our best bet is to sneak in then." Another man spoke to his ear piece, clad in a green hoodie, a T-shirt, and beige pants. The most outstanding feature was his freckles, which were hardly visible unless seen close-up. He was seated in one of the waiting chairs around the spacious lobby, alone except for a boy with bouncy orange curls seated just a few rows behind. It wasn't until the boy left to go elsewhere did the watcher breathe a sigh of relief.

The blond man only nodded from his location, his fingers tapping swiftly over the keyboard in a fluid motion. "Good, that's what I needed." His eyes scanned his computer screen before his accomplice muttered something else.

"There's someone on the roof."

His fingers halted their motion for a second, throwing off the rhythmic tapping before he settled them over the keys again. "What?"

The man with freckles slowly stood from his seat, inching away from the window where he had spotted a black figure kneeling on top of a nearby building's roof. "Do you think-"

"No. Not a chance." The hacker, despite his answer, only typed faster, eager to get the job done and leave before they were possibly found out. "Meet me here, I'm almost finished." He heard a weak reply before a heavy silence fell. As worried as he was for his friend, he was just a few seconds away from completing his mission. He hurriedly typed the last line of code and was about to hit enter when an explosion sounded, his fingers smashing into the wrong keys and destroying all of his hard work in an instant.

Shattered glass and debris rained over the pavement across the street from the blond's position, his body ducking down onto the ground out of pure instinct as people in the café screamed and rushed towards the exit, some of them on their phones already alerting the police.

His Bluetooth had relayed the sound on the other end, the muffled blast sounding like a mix of a malfunctioning computer and static. He scrambled to his feet, ignoring the throbbing pain in his knee before turning his head to see the blooming smoke from the building spread out and clear until he could spot the ruined entrance of the bank.

He began to panic, his mind racing along with the sickening questions that pounded his head with growing terror.

Had his friend made it out alive?

Was he injured?

Was he buried underneath the rubble before he could escape in time?

The longer he thought, the more his palms turned clammy and he suddenly felt the overwhelming need to vomit. He took shallow breaths, squeezing his eyes shut and keeping himself from hyperventilating. He could feel the rapid beat of his heart, like it was slamming into his ribcage. Damn, he felt like his throat was going to close up.

He swallowed heavily, breathing out once before he shut his laptop and shoved it into his bag, rushing out of the shop before jogging over to the wreckage. Police cars were already swarming the place, an ambulance stopping just short of the man as his shoes made contact with the crumbling sidewalk.

Some people were limping out of the mess, their limbs bloody and others were being carried by the lesser injured. His head whipped around frantically, searching for any sign of his friend before a heavy hand was clasped over his shoulder. He turned quickly and stumbled back, his eyes focusing at the pair of familiar brown eyes staring at him with a look of exhaustion.

"I didn't know if you already left or not," the freckled man said, the side of his cheek decorated with dust from the earlier blast.

The other searched his body for any signs of blood or bruises, finding nothing, much to his relief. He turned his attention to his partner's clenched hand, lifting it up and uncurling his fingers to find the shattered pieces of his Bluetooth buried in his palm.

"Sorry, it sort of broke when I-"

The shorter of the two was cut off by a sudden embrace. He could feel that his friend was sweaty and his breath was a bit shaky but the hug was something that would have been welcomed if it were under normal circumstances. They certainly weren't out of place: others were hugging and crying together, running to their loved ones and holding them close after witnessing the accident.

"Don't apologize, stupid." The hacker muttered quietly, slipping his hands away and standing up straight after he adjusted his glasses. He seemed under control now, taking those few precious moments to collect his conscious and revert back to his default expression. "Now that our job is gone in the rubble, I think we should get out of here before we possibly draw attention to ourselves."

He nodded in agreement, dropping the broken pieces of his device into his pocket and casting a glance at the short boy from earlier covered in dirt who was explaining his story to the police with tears running down his face. His arms were waving about animatedly, telling the men in uniform about the explosion before he hiccupped and let out a sob.

He looked over at the neighboring building next to the bank, staring up at the roof. It was void of movement, save for a raven perched silently on the edge, its wings spread out motionlessly under the sun. The figure from before was gone.