Bonnie & Claudia

Prologue

Sweat ran down her temples and into her eyes. The roaring in her ears blocked out the distant siren of a cop car. A sound she knew all too well. Heart hammering, her breathing came fast and shallow.

Come on, come on! Her brain screamed, scanning the doorway. Where is she?

Claudia was painfully aware of each precious second that ticked by. The sirens got louder, closer. In another thirty seconds, she would have to make the decision: wait and risk being caught, or run and leave her partner.

The door burst open, and a figure shot out. Claudia reached over and threw the side door of the van open, and the person leapt inside.

"GO!" Claudia's partner screamed, slamming the door shut as Claudia hit the gas. They flew down outer London's deserted streets, weaving around abandoned warehouses and tankers.

"Bonnie, do you have the cargo?" Claudia demanded. If she didn't... Claudia didn't want to think about that. About what she would be forced to do to Bonnie. In the review mirror, Claudia watched as Bonnie ripped the ski mask off her head and shook out her long brown hair. A pair of ice blue eyes met her grey ones in the mirror.

Instead of responding, she simply lifted up the black duffel at her side, and shook it. The heavy clatter of jewels could be heard, and it was the most beautiful sound.

"Yes!" Claudia roared, pumping her fist against the steering wheel. Bonnie cracked her knuckles and climbed into the passenger seat, dropping the bag of diamonds at her feet. Out of her bra she pulled two cigarettes and a lighter.

She placed her feet up on the dashboard, simultaneously lighting her cigarette. Claudia held her neck out and opened her mouth, still thrumming with nervous energy. But Bonnie was as cool as a corpse, as always. Bonnie, aware of what the silent request meant, stuck the other cigarette between Claudia's lips, and lit it with her own.

"We're gonna be filthy rich." Bonnie whispered and Claudia looked over at her. The two partners in crime made eye contact, slow grins spreading across their faces.

A car honk filled the air. Claudia looked back to the road just as Bonnie screamed.

"LOOK OUT!" But it was too late. A car on a perpendicular road had skipped the red light, and slammed into the side of their van.

Time froze. The scrape of metal against metal, the snap of broken bones, the smell of burnt tyres on asphalt. The van was lifted off the ground and thrown, rolling not once but twice before landing on its head.

Claudias entire body screamed in agony, morphed into the metal, becoming one. The metallic taste of blood and overwhelming smell of petrol filled Claudia's senses. She forced her eyes open, and through slits, the last thing she saw was Bonnie's crumpled body, before the world turned black.