PSLE: Bank Robbery

I took in a deep breath, knowing that once I started, there would be no turning back.  I gazed at Ah Xiang, my childhood buddy who was a scrawny man with tousled hair beneath his cap.   Our eyes met and I whispered, “One, two, three.  Let's go, buddy!”

Putting on our Sesame Street masks, we stormed into the OCBC bank and I roared, “Robbery!  Don’t move!” 

The busy bank instantly became as quiet as a church mouse.  Impatient frowns that creased the customers’ foreheads became expressions that were blanched with trepidation.  I rushed to work the tellers with the sniper in my left hand and a machine gun in my right while Ah Xiang watched over the hostages with a pistol.  They were all quivering in great fear, not daring to move an inch.

“Dump the money into the bag now,” I lashed out at the panic-stricken tellers as I pointed my guns at them.  Beads of perspiration formed on their foreheads and their pale lips were quivering as they filled up the bags with chimney of cold hard cash.  Bubbles of excitement arose within me as my mouth drew wide in awe at all the money in the canvas bag.  

“Rich!  I am going to be filthy rich!”  I thought to myself, in blissful ignorance of the tragedy that would soon unfold.

There was a sudden flash of blue and a Cisco policeman appeared from behind the office and yelled, “Don’t move or I will shoot!”

Immediately, I saw red and my fist clenched my guns tightly.  Steam was blowing out of my ears and without thinking, I fired at him mercilessly, six shots altogether, and the bullets bulldozed past his ribs, into his heart.  The guard dropped his gun, staggered a few steps backwards and collapsed in a pool of blood.  The customers screamed but none dared to move.  No one wanted to end up in the same fate.  Ah Xiang and I were terrified.  Clutching the bags of money, we broke into a run. 

However, Lady Luck was not on our side.  A bank teller had secretly pressed the emergency alarm which alerted the police headquarters.  All was too late!  As we stepped out of the bank, guns were all pointing at us.  We gave ourselves up and the policemen rushed forward to arrest us.  I could feel the cold metallic handcuffs on my eyes as we sat in the patrol car and were whisked off to the police station.

Ah Xiang and I were subsequently charged for robbery and murder.  Ah Xiang was sentenced to life imprisonment while I was found guilty of murder and was sentenced to death by hanging.  The weight of repentance hung over my heart but it was too late – I had to pay with my life for it.