Guardian angel

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"Next time you try acting like a brave girl, I'll kill you. Oh, wait. There won't be a next time"

This was the last thing I heard before Berlin pushed me out of the building, tied down. I was rolling down the stairs, but I couldn't be scared, I couldn't cry. I just wanted it to be over. I was too weak for a heist like this. Thinking was my strength, not physical power, I couldn't even hold a gun normally. But I didn't want to let the team down. Especially not the professor. Since the moment I saw him, I felt safe around him. I trusted him with all my heart, I did not want to disappoint him. But here we were.

Flashback-

The night before the heist

I was going around in my room. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't stay in one place. My mind was racing, I was pretty close to collapsing. As I was circling, I tripped in the leg of my bed and fell on the ground. I chuckled at my clumsiness, but crying in the same time. If a bed put me to the ground, what would the police do? Or the hostages? I was weak. As my tears were falling, I heard steps from the corridor. I slowly stood up and walked to the door. Someone was standing outside, I felt it. I decided to open the door. With a sudden and fast movement I opened it, the professor was standing in front of it. He was as surprised as I was.

"Good evening, Athens!" he said awkwardly, "I heard some noise, I just wanted to check if you're okay"

"Everything is fine," I said, wiping away some leftover tears, "Thanks for checking in!"

I wanted to close the door, but he put his left foot inside.

"Don't try to lie to me, I can see right through you. What's wrong? Are you nervous about the heist?" he asked as he came in my room and closed the door behind him.

I sat down on my bed, covering my face with my hands and started crying again. He silently sat down next to me, put one hand over my shoulder and just stayed there. He didn't say a word. I looked up at him. He also seemed worried, but I didn't know whether he was worried about the heist or me.

"Look, Athens. We have a plan that will certainly go as it should. But there will be surprises. A lot of them, actually." He took a deep breath, turned my face towards his and looked me deep in my eyes. "But whatever will happen, I promise you right now, right here, that I will do anything to save you from any possible danger. And anyone else, of course. I will be your..." he was thinking of the perfect word.

"Guardian angel?" I asked.

"Exactly!" he smiled. For the first time that day I smiled too.

"And what if you get caught?" I asked him, stepping out of my temporary happiness.

"Athens, you should not be thinking about all the worst possibilities. Please, have some rest. Tomorrow will be a long day. I want you to be focused, you're an important piece of this whole plan."

I was indeed important, I would make the calculations around the money, start the machine, set up the printing. I was learning about these kind of machines all my life. I nodded to the professor.

"I will try and get some rest... Professor, what do you do when you can't stop worrying about something?" I asked him, waiting for his advice. He always gave good ones.

"I usually read a book," he said nothing more.

We sat there in silence again. He stood up, wanting to leave. I followed him to the door, to say good night. He stopped before opening the door, turned around and wrapped his hands around me in the tightest embrace ever. I was surprised but hugged him back. We were standing there for like a minute. Then he gave me a kiss on my forehead and said goodbye.

"Thank you, professor!" I said. He smiled and left.

I searched my room for a book, and I found one. A book full or fairytales that my brother used to read to me when I was little. I started reading it and fell asleep after a few minutes.

-End of flashback


A team of armed people took the tape and ropes off my body and escorted me to the tent where the investigators of the heist were staying. They tried to get some information out of me, but all I could think about was the professor. The inspector saw that something was off, she started asking me about my thoughts. She was asking things continuously, she was loud, harsh, I couldn't take it anymore.

"I'm thinking about the professor, how I let him and the team down, how they threw me out of there like a dog, but I deserved it. I was the weakest. The useless one," I said furiously, "Get me out of here, please. I want this to be over".

"Tell me the name of that professor of yours, and you're free to leave the tent. Cooperation will help us - and help you," suggested the inspector.

"Sergio. His name is Sergio Marquina. But you won't find shit about him, you'll see. He doesn't exist in any of your databases. He's invisible and invincible," I said as I was finally being escorted out of the tent.

They put me in the back of a car with 4 guards and we headed towards a jail in the countryside. I expected my mind to blow up with thoughts, but I was calm. It was over. This heist was over, at least for me. I hoped my mates would get out of there - but not the way I did. Suddenly the car stopped. I heard noises when the backdoor opened. I saw a few big, tattooed guys holding guns at the policemen. They got me out of there, tied the policemen up and took me to a place which had weapons, vehicles and all kinds of useful stuff. They checked whether I had some sort of microphone hidden on me or not, but fortunately there weren't any. One of them gave me an envelope. I immediately opened it and recognized the handwriting - it was Sergio's.

Trust me - DISCONTINUED:(Where stories live. Discover now