The Motor City Bank was the newest financial institution in Downtown. It boasted of the best security around to store your valuables, with guards and police constantly patrolling the area. All of Detroit's elite clamored to store their finest within the bank's safety deposit boxes, worried about the rumored mafia activity within their city. Newspapers continually ran stories about the growing crime rate, and banks were constantly pilfered of their valuables. However, The Motor City Bank claimed impossible to infiltrate.

"Pfft," Solace scoffed to herself, tossing the latest edition of the local newspaper aside. Surely it couldn't be that hard to break into. Money was short with the amount of it she fed up her nose, so she was always looking for a new business venture. Especially with her next tribute due soon. "This shouldn't take long," she muttered as she scooped up her things and set out for her car. Her day's plans were set: rob The Motor City Bank, get in and out as quickly as possible, and reap the rewards. 

After arriving, she scoped out the building, planning her escape route if anything went awry. Hopefully she'd just walk directly in and out of the front door, but it seemed there were several doors that led into an alleyway further back. She made a mental note to check where these were as she continued. The guards weren't hard to get past. Solace had an innocent air about her - one that was quickly demolished if you spent any excessive amount of time around her - but it had long helped her stay out of jail. They paid her no mind as she walked into the building and through the main lobby.

Solace waltzed passed the line of tellers, quickly reaching into the last drawer as she rounded the corner while the unaware employee chatted to the woman next to her. This was too easy, she didn't even have to pull her 9mm out of her purse and she'd already made out. But her real mission was the safety deposit boxes. What kind of riches would be in them? Diamonds? Jewels? Stacks of money banded together? It took every bit of willpower not to get lost in her daydreams, but she had to stay focused!

Her eyes widened as she saw a large room lined with metal safety deposit boxes. They called to her. Taking one last look around her, she stepped through the doorway. *WOOP WOOP WOOP WOOP* "Shit!!" she exclaimed, startled by the alarm. Solace skipped backwards out of the room as quick as she could, the alarm blaring throughout the building. Cursing herself for not checking where the outer doors led first, she went back the way she came. She'd only made it back to the teller line before a sharp voice cracked: the employee she'd so recently scammed. "Just WHAT do you think you're doing?!" The other tellers huddled around, interested in what was happening.

"Well gosh, y'all," Solace began, ramping up her southern drawl as she looked innocently at the line of tellers. "I must have got turned around in your big fancy building. I'm not used to all of this in my hometown." An idea hit her as she rambled. "I was just.. looking for the manager? I was hoping to get an application, it looks like such a nice place to work."

"We're not hiring," the closest teller said, scowling at Solace. Apparently she hadn't bought the act. Maybe she'd already noticed her drawer was short? Either way, this bitch had to go. Luckily, the manager heard the commotion and rushed over. Old, unattractive, honestly kind of smelly, but male. She could work with this.

"What's going on here?!" the manager bellowed as he tottered over. "Well goodness me," Solace laid it on thick as she fluttered her eyelashes at him. "I didn't mean to cause such a commotion, sir. I was trying to find the man in charge and I peeked my head in that room, thinking such a big room must belong to the most important person here. I suppose that's you?" She beamed a smile at him as she continued, "I was just trying to find a place to work, I'm new in this big city. But she," Solace nodded her head at the bitchy teller and pouted. "She told me you didn't have any openings available. I'm awfully sorry for wasting your time, sir." She dug the toe of her boot into the carpet as she looked at him with wide eyes. 

"Well urrhhh.." he stammered, growing red in the face. "I'm sure we could find a position for you. I've been looking for a new secretary, actually. Do you have any experience?" Solace internalized her success as she watched the teller's mouth drop open. She was definitely going to have to do something about her. 

"Oh my word, really?? You'd be willing to do that for lil' old me? Even after I wasted your time? Gosh, you're sweeter than molasses." She tried not to gag as she won him over, even she couldn't believe the words coming out of her mouth. But he seemed to eat it up, and that was all that mattered at this point. "I was a secretary for a legal firm for five years back in Texas!" She was lying through her teeth, but this man was clearly not going to check her references.

"Well sure thing, darlin'," he emphasized in a terrible fake southern drawl as he winked at her. "But I expect you to be on time tomorrow - 8 o'clock sharp. Wear somethin' nice." Solace grinned at him and her new coworkers. "Yes sir! I won't let you down! I can't wait to work with all y'all tomorrow!" 

And with that, Solace gave a quick wave and spun on her heels, progressing towards the exit. She stopped by the greeter's desk on the way and introduced herself as she newest employee. She was handed a binder, which she took before scurrying out to her car. Settling into her vehicle, she flipped through the binder. New employee paperwork... rules and regulations... oooh! A handy fucking evacuation routes map! Solace started her car and headed back to the HQ. It looked like the heist was still on - but she was going to need some help.

Later, back at The Damned HQ

Fiend was sprawled out across the large leather chair, an extra-large cone hanging comfortably from the corner of his mouth. He hadn't spoken for a while - Solaces mouth had taken its own route, overpowered with excitement as she exclaimed her pitch. Meanwhile, he sat still in his chair - almost morbidly. After managing to pause her mouth, the two shared a moment of silence before he began to show signs of life again. Raising his arm to remove his shades, he looked up at Solace - her cheery face staring back at him. He held eye contact for a moment before bursting into speech with surprise,

"You got a job?! Like.. A real one..?" Her face grew confused at his reaction, almost as if the entire plan she just threw at him was never suggested.

He shook his head in disbelief, dropping the glasses back to his nose and resting his head back against his chair.

"Well.. Enjoy your 9-5," he scoffed, shaking his head again before taking another pull from his hand-rolled medicinal cone of joy - or so he'd joke.

"The Motor City Bank has never been touched! I need your help, Fiend. C'mon... Please?" She began to beg, hungry for a chance to prove her worth a little more.

He rested his joint in the ash-tray before rising to his feet. His confused eyes escaped the cover of his shades as he lifted them from his head. He scratched his head, looking at her still-cheery face.

"Please..?" she repeated.

He shook his head in disbelief before nodding, "Okay. Fine. But we do it my way."

She squealed, jiggling her body in excitement.

He took the offering of the binder and made his way over to his desk, neatly collecting his waiting documents to one side before resting the binder down perfectly square in the middle of the desk. To ease the increasing shake in his legs, he plonked himself down into his black swivel-chair before placing his shades neatly in the corner of the beautifully varnished, dark oak desk. He brushed a speck of dust from the face of his gleaming and otherwise perfectly-shined photo frame, seen sporting his favourite photo of his Father, proudly displaying their old pet snake Patsy - the name was chosen by 8-year-old Fiend, clearly. In his comfort, his thoughts settled, allowing a rush of air to escape his nostrils before beginning to speak.

"Okay, yes we're gonna do this. But first we need to get serious and think. You can't just gather up a rucksack and a black hat and get away with this sort of booty. Obviously, to think, we need a 'livener'..." His smile grew sharper, he bolted upright in his chair and wiggled his fingers almost uncomfortably before rubbing his palms together.

He reached into the bottom drawer of his desk, rummaging gently before his hands reappeared, placing a glass tray on the desk - readily prepared for the two of them. He lifted the metal tube from the surface and proceeded to sniff excessively before offering his associate the same courtesy. The two of them spent hours sharing thoughts and ideas on how to pull off this extremely risky heist - or maybe even obscenely or insanely risky! As the night passed by, Fiend knew he'd bored Solace at least twice already with the repeating of old stories he'd heard or even took part in, but he'd never deny her the opportunity to be so polite in accepting the aural punishment - and so he continued. After the abuse of many substances, the two of them had come up with nothing solid but Fiend wasn't worried - he still had his backup plan. He'd had Solace repeat the events leading up to her recent employment and he'd been considering the one plan all night. He just had to convince himself there was no saner way of doing it. Ultimately, he didn't need the saner way - just one that would work would suffice and with that thought, he banged his hand against the desk, startling Solace back to alertness, 

"FUCK IT. I know how we do it. We'll do it tomorrow. Saturday - you already know Saturday is a day dedicated to this thing of ours. Tomorrow, we do our thing." He'd made his mind up and now it was a waiting game.

Solace jumped as his hand slammed down on his desk, jarring her out of her thoughts. It seemed he’d settled on a plan without her. Fiend was a mystery: a drug-fueled, raging mystery. While it made him incredibly fun to be around, (or was that the drugs?) it was also a bit alarming that he had yet to share what this so-called “plan” was. Solace was never able to get a clear read on him, but he proved continually able to read her like a book. She had to work on her fucking poker face. 

Instead of allowing her ignorance to annoy her, she smiled brightly. At least he’d given in to helping her. She’d already explained what she wanted to do: go to work like any normal first day employee, find the keys to the safety deposit boxes, locate the alarm controls, get the shit to Fiend, and then distract everyone else while Fiend made out like a fucking bandit. Since she’d be there the entire time, ensuring the other employees noticed her presence, she’d be cleared of any suspicions. When things settled down, she’d quit that hell hole and return to her full life of crime.

But if she knew one thing about Fiend in their short time together, when he came up with a plan, there was nothing that could change his mind. She could only hope he stuck close enough to the plan that they wouldn’t need busting out of jail later. It was a bitch when your one daily phone call didn’t answer their damn phone. “Right, then! I guess I better go get my shit sorted before we do this,” she said, grinning at him. 

“Wear something nice,” Solaced mocked aloud as she rummaged through her closet. The cocaine was still coursing through her system, and she couldn’t stay still to save her life. Her mind was racing, not able to settle on a single thought. She needed to DO something. Exasperated with trying to find something to wear in only a couple hours, she grabbed every article of clothing out of her closet and threw it on her bed. There! Perfect, serene, blank. She turned back to her bed and groaned at the mountain of clothes. How quickly one forgets things in the middle of a high. At least she’d found something to keep her busy; there was no way she could sleep before they carried out their plan.

An hour or so later, she stood in front of a completely organized, gleaming closet. Solace ran her hand across her clothes: everything was perfect. The dresses, shirts, pants, all organized by style and then color. Drugs were obviously good for something. She sighed contentedly and grabbed a dress out of her closet. It hugged every curve but would only aid in her new boss’ distraction. Checking her watch, she swore to herself. She still had a couple hours before she had to be there. Solace laid her outfit on her bed and grabbed her cigarettes, heading for the fresh air. Her fingers twitched as she eyed a small bag on her nightstand containing amphetamines. After considering the pros and cons of getting even higher before carrying this out, her addictions won and she snatched it up. On her way outside, she popped one, then another… and poked her head into Fiend’s room, tossing him the bag. Damned if she wasn’t a bad influence. 

They managed to arrive at The Motor City Bank, surprisingly without running anyone over, and parked around back in the employee parking lot. Solace tried not to let Fiend get to her as he teased her about her job. He knew full well this was only a means to an end, but like a favorite toy, he wound her up just to watch her go. “Ohhh, you just hush,” she said, glaring at him. Her senses were on overload. She stared at the evacuation routes, trying to memorize the exits as her vision blurred. Giving up, she handed the map to Fiend and checked herself in the mirror. Her pupils were dilated to fuck, but her dark brown eyes hid it well. Otherwise, she looked innocent as ever. 

“You ready to do this, darlin’?” she asked, allowing herself to slip back into her full blown southern accent. Fiend rolled his eyes and merely waved his hand, ushering her out. Solace stepped out of the car and leaned her head down, as she continued. “I’ll find the keys first and set them in the pocket of my jacket. It will be hanging on..” The car door slammed as Fiend reached over and shut it in the middle of her sentence. He obviously didn’t give a damn about what she planned to do.

Solace huffed to herself and turned to walk around to the front of the building. She shook off her annoyance and plastered a sickeningly sweet smile across her face. This was going to work, and they were going to make a ton of money. All she had to do was put up with a slime ball of a boss for a couple days. She amped herself up as she walked through the door: She was fully capable! She was empowered! She was still obviously drugged!

Walking past the tellers' line, she winked at her new friend scowling at her before turning the corner. Honestly, Solace hoped that the bitch caused trouble today. She'd love nothing more than to shove a deposit bag over her face and shoot her, execution style. She eyed the room that she knew contained the safety deposit boxes and instead cut left, rapping her knuckles against the manager's door. 

"Well howdy, boss!" she beamed as he opened the door. The dress might have been a bit much. It seemed he was having a hard time formulating words, and he ushered her in. "I uh, thought you could help me get this filing done," he said, nodding towards a small stool next to a filing cabinet. There was a stack of papers on his desk. She'd literally spend the entire day bending over in front of her desk. Ha, she thought not. 

"My goodness, look at the state of this place!" she bat her eyelashes at him before looking around the room. Keys. Keys were her mission. "Gosh boss, I might have to whip this whole office into shape! Don't you worry, I'll make it extra nice for you. But I want it to be a surprise! Go on, go get yourself a cup of coffee while I get started." As soon as he left, she began her search.