Wyatt - 05 - Port Vila Blues Read Online Free PDF Page A

Niekirk stepped into the vault and began to empty it. Their first
job, back in February, had involved hitting the safety-deposit boxes of a bank
in suburban Brighton, seizing bonds, cash, jewellery; this time the orders were
cleartake the money only. The money was in small plastic containers similar to
margarine tubs, stacked neatly along a shelf. As Niekirk piled them outside the
vault, Riggs carried them away to the rear door of the bank, next to his tools.

    Then things began to go wrong.
Mansell came on the air and said, A security patrol van just pulled in behind
the bank.

    Hes early, Niekirk said.

    Ill keep you posted.

    Niekirk joined Riggs at the steel
door. They heard a handbrake crank on just outside, heard a car door slam, and
footsteps approached the bank. A moment later the door was rattled
experimentally and they heard a faint slither as the patrolman slipped a
calling card under the door. They expected the man to drive away then but
instead he seemed content to wait there for a while. They heard him urinate
against the wall, farting once with a sharp brap, and then a second vehicle
arrived. Niekirk and Riggs heard whispers, a giggle or two, and knew they were
stuck there inside the bank for the time being.

    Niekirk walked back along the
corridor to a point where his voice wouldnt be heard outside the bank. Looks
like his girlfriend has just turned up. Well go with the other plan.

    Right, Mansell said.

    This was their third heist. The
newspapers had begun to call them the magnetic drill gang, stressing that
they stamped their raids with efficiency and professionalism. Part of that was
being ready whenever a situation reversed itself. Thats why they always had a
backup plan to put into place. Theyd each studied the bank earlier in the
week, defining the likely problems. How could they get out if their planned
route was blocked? The front door was no goodit faced the main street. They
couldnt burrow out or blast a hole in the wall, so that left the roof.

    Working swiftly and silently, Riggs
and Niekirk dragged desks and chairs to the centre of the main room and built a
tower. Four desks placed together formed the base; two desks stacked on top of
them formed the second tier; a single desk formed the third. Niekirk climbed to
the top and reached up. His fingers brushed the ceiling, white acoustic
battens. He called Riggs to bring him a couple of chairs. Now he could slide
the battens away, giving him access to the space under the roof.

    With Riggs passing to him from
below, Niekirk stacked the money in the ceiling. Then he climbed down and both
men ranged quickly through the bank, flashing the pencil torch at all the
doors. They chose the storeroom door; it was long and sturdy and lifted free of
its hinges as though it had been oiled for just that purpose. They went back to
the desk tower. Niekirk climbed to the top, took the door from Riggs and slid
it up into the ceiling.

    It was warm and airless under the
roof. Using the rafters for support, and working with the aid of the camping light,
the two men carted the money and the door to the wall opposite the side wall of
the radio station. The roof was steeply pitched here and they had to carry out
the next stage doubled over. Removing the terracotta roof tiles one by one,
stacking them silently, they opened a gap to the sky. Cool air poured in;
clouds drifted across the face of the moon.

    The roof of Radio 3UY was a little
lower and less than two metres away from the roof of the bank. It was also
flat. Niekirk saw a tarred surface, an airconditioning shack and a manhole
cover. Using the storeroom door as a bridge, he crossed to the other side. For
the next two minutes he stacked the money as Riggs slid the containers across
to him. He could feel vibrations under his feet. Radio 3UY was blasting the
night away.

    They took the disc jockey with .38s
in their hands and balaclavas over their faces. The DJ was playing an early
Animals track, running his