Four Digits
So is it a four or a seven?’ I said, my finger hesitating an inch above the security pad. I found myself doing circle eights with my index finger over both numbers. ‘Jeez Staceman, you’re going to kill me,’ hissed Topps. ‘I told you it was four, but you said you were positive it was seven!’
‘Yeah, I was. But now I’m not so sure.’
‘Well, push seven. We’ve still got two more tries after that.’
It was Friday night. Three days after Topps installed his surveillance camera. We’d decided to wait in case Vince had been spooked by our last effort (although Topps thought that since we locked the door, security would consider it a malfunction) and I was confident Crass was more likely to load up the basement for the weekend on a Friday night, since Vince rarely worked on Saturdays. We could also sleep in tomorrow. It was almost one o’clock in the morning and I liked my ten hours sleep.
I’d spent the evening with Skye. Topps had to go to a family dinner. She knew something was going on after Will, the big dope, had wished me good luck for my “midnight adventure” in front of her at the bus stop.
‘What was Will saying today?’ said Skye as we sat on her floor reading her Cosmo and Smash Hits simultaneously.
I told her. It wouldn’t have been fair otherwise, and she was a best friend. Anyway, if I hadn’t said anything, Will or Ray would have, and I’d be in trouble. Besides, she’d put up with the week long snub between Topps and I.
‘Oh, Stacey,’ she said. ‘And you’re really going to go and break in to the Video Saloon Friday night? It’s just so risky.’
‘Yeah. I’m not that cool about it anymore myself. I was at first. Revenge, getting Crass back for making me leave the store. Lots of reasons. But it sounds stupid when I talk about it, doesn’t it? Like something out of an action movie.’
‘What do you think will happen when you get the DVDs anyway? What will the police do?’ said Skye.
‘I don’t know,’ I had said truthfully. ‘I never thought that far ahead.’
I wish I had. Because right then I was in the middle of setting off the alarm for the second time in a week. I wish I had really thought this through, because I’m sure I’d have come up with a far better plan this.
I entered the first three digits: 3 – 3 – 5. Then with a grimace I pushed 7.
The alarm gave its by now familiar warning flash and high pitched squeal. It was the wrong code.
‘I told you it was four! Man, you never listen to me,’ said Topps. ‘Come on, do it again. Press four.’
I re-entered the three digits, then pushed the number four. The alarm refused to die.
‘It was wrong too!’ I said. ‘We must’ve stuffed up. They’re both wrong! Damn it!’
‘Oh man, only one attempt left Staceman. What’re we going to do?’ said Topps.
The alarm’s red “activate” flashed ominously, as if it were alive, a Cyclops staring out of its cave, waiting, just waiting for a victim to pass by. It’d activate in a few moments, regardless if I entered another code or not.
I entered the first three digits, as I was sure they were correct. But what was the fourth number? I could only come up with Ray’s suggestion – one.
My finger hit the one button on the security pad and I pushed OK with my head against the wall and my eyes shut, expecting the shrill alarm to send us sprinting out of the store again. Topps had already unlocked and opened the door, ready for a fast exit.
The alarm died.
For a second neither of us moved. I looked at the alarm in disbelief. It serenely displayed its green light – disarmed. Topps looked at me with a grin and raised his eyebrows.
‘One. Ray was right after all.’
‘Damn. Like always,’ said Topps. ‘We won’t tell him though. He’s up himself enough as it is. Just say it was four.’
‘Forget that, Topps! I reckon it was seven all along!’
Leaving the lights off, we walked down the empty and dark aisles to the back room. Topps turned his head lamp on and illuminated the stairs. ‘That’s a long way to fall,’ he said. I pushed past him. I was beginning to feel really anxious. The memories of this place weren’t good. I wanted to get this over and done with. Besides, Dad thought I was sleeping. He’d die if he came in to the room to find me gone.
I turned on the basement light. Back to the scene of the crime.
I could hear Topps breathing heavily as we walked down to the basement. I was sweating. The alarm episode had spooked us both. I half expected it to re-activate.
I reached the corner of the basement first, pulled the broken shelving away and then pushed it against the wall. It slid away easily.
The table behind the shelving was crammed with DVD and game discs, coloured labels, a pile of DVD covers and postal envelopes. One pile of envelopes had already been labelled. A number of coloured marker pens lay on the table.
‘I think we just hit it lucky big time,’ Topps said.
‘Dragon’s gold,’ I laughed.
Topps handed me the letter we’d carefully written and to Detective Rooks and a sticky label we’d made up earlier that night.
I selected a large empty Postpack envelope from the table. ‘Let’s be selective with the movies,’ I said. ‘Don’t take too many.’
Topps chose a collector’s edition of Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith (it was one of the few DVDs with an-almost original cover. I was pretty sure Crass had copied this one himself from the store, considering how old the movie was) and I chose a George Clooney action film and a Johnny Depp flick. The cover of the Johnny Depp DVD had Chinese lettering on the front of it. Obviously an import. We threw in some Nintendo Wii and Playstation console games for a bit of variety.
After exploring the piles of discs further, I found a collection of movies at the back. I picked up one called College Hot Tub Chicks.
‘Hey, you think it’d be wrong if we actually kept a few of these…as back up,’ Crass said when I showed him the cover. Disgusted, I didn’t answer him. ‘Just one more reason not to feel guilty about dobbing Crass in,’ I said, dropping the DVD into an envelope. I only wanted to take a handful of DVDs so Crass wouldn’t be suspicious. Then I put in the letter, stuck the address label onto the package and sealed it.
‘You’ve got a date with Australia Post,’ said Topps, putting it into his backpack.
We walked up the stairs and to the door. Just before I re-entered the code I turned and looked around the Video Saloon. ‘Adios Amigo,’ I said, saluting the store. ‘It was nice working with you.’
One sure thing, I was never coming back in here again.
‘I’m going to miss the free X-Box 360 rentals, for sure,’ sighed Topps. ‘Oh, the agony of departure!’
I went to re-arm the alarm when a set of headlights burst through the front door and swept across the store.
‘Get down!’ hissed Topps, pushing me to the floor as the lights passed over our heads. We heard the running of a car outside, then the lights died and so did the engine.
‘Someone’s parked outside,’ said Topps, clicking his head lamp off.
I heard a car door open and footsteps coming towards the glass door. Luckily for us the Knocked Up poster covered the lower half of the door or we would’ve been seen for sure.
‘Quick, get into the kid’s section, we haven’t got time to get to the basement,’ I said. We both scurried along the carpet (I never realised just how revolting and dirty it was) and made it to the kid’s section, which was enclosed in wooden, chipped yellow walls made to look like a castle and surrounded by shelves of DVDs. We rolled along the floor behind a mini table full of jigsaw puzzles that Vince thought would distract kids from pulling covers off the shelves. Topps hit his head on the kids table and swore.
A pair of keys rattled in the lock before the door opened. From the security light outside the store we saw a shaven headed stocky man with three earrings and a blue uniform walk in. A patch on his sleeve said “TUBBS SECURITY”.
Great! Vince doesn’t bother fixing the alarm to the police station but he decides to use the local security firm to help him out. Just our luck.
The security man shone a torch at the alarm system, took a walkie-talkie from his pocket and said: ‘Hey, it’s Ahmet. Yeah, you’re right, the Video Saloon alarm was disarmed but the door’s locked. I’ll have a quick look around, but it looks like a malfunction again. Yeah. Right, mate. Get back to you.’
I was praying Ahmet wouldn’t turn the lights on; we’d be seen for sure crouched in the corner of the kid’s section. He reached for the switch, but then suddenly changed his mind. Instead he walked to the back of the store, shining the torch around the shelving as he went. I was almost tempted to make a run for it but Topps held me back. ‘Don’t even move,’ he whispered.
We heard the guard tapping the register and small safe, perhaps making sure nothing was missing. Seemingly satisfied, he walked back down the aisle. I could hear his leather boots squeaking ominously and then he was so close I could smell the last cigarette he had had.
‘Hey, it’s Ahmet again. I’m re-arming the alarm. Nothing disturbed in the store. Yeah, definitely…the alarm’s as old as my aunt’s chin growth. I’ll put in a report. It needs replacing. Yeah, I’m heading down to the industrial estate now.’ He punched in the numbers, locked the door and headed back to his car.
‘We’ll set the alarm off as soon as we move,’ I said in desperation. ‘We’re fried.’
‘Security alarms give you clearance time,’ said Topps. ‘We’ve got about half a minute to get out the door. Just wait for the car to go.’
The alarm gave off three short sharp beeps as the security guard started his car and reversed fast out of the angle parking at the front of the store.
‘C’mon, let’s go,’ said Topps. We both made a run for the door. I stuck the key in and tried to open the door too fast.
‘Turn off the alarm!’ I said. ‘It’ll go any second!’
‘No! Just get the door open. Move it!’ said Topps. He reached for the key but I refused to let go. We both grasped at it as we unlocked the door, threw it open and crashed into each other as tried to get out.
‘Hold on idiot,’ I said, ‘let me out first!’
‘Just hurry up dopey! shouted Topps.
The tension had gone to our heads. I re-locked the door just as the alarm let go with a longwinded beep. It had re-armed itself.
‘Man, let’s get home before I wet myself,’ said Topps. ‘This is, like, full on ridiculous.’
‘Hey,’ I said, ‘you’re always playing those stupid shooter X-Box games. Now you’re living one. Don’t tell me that didn’t get you pumped. Besides, it was your idea.’
I was right. It was his idea. And I was also pumped. This had been the best night of my life. I felt like I could do anything. As if no-one could stop me from doing anything in my life every again. Most of all, I felt the sweet, sweet euphoria of perfect revenge. ‘Let’s go via the post,’ I said. ‘I won’t feel good until that parcel sits right at the bottom of the post box.’
‘We haven’t got any stamps,’ Topps reminded me.
‘Oh man, you’re such a stickler for the rules,’ I said, laughing hard with nervous energy.
Topps grinned. ‘I’ll send it tomorrow. Man, I just can’t wait to see Vince’s face once Detective Rooks gets this.’
‘Let’s hope my letter works,’ I said. ‘I want to leave this all behind me now. I just want to forget the Video Saloon even exists.’
‘After Detective Rooks get this little package, it probably won’t for much longer.’
Topps walked with me home and then took his bike and peddled back to Melrose Hill, his head lamp throwing spots of light across the road.
As I was getting into bed I noticed my Video Saloon staff card on top of my lamp stand. I took and threw it, Frisbee-like, across the room. It bounced off the wall and into the cane rubbish bin.
It felt like closure.