Bad People, Good Things

Some people say that you are either good or bad; that you can’t be anything else. Those people don’t believe in gray areas, they don’t like what they can’t understand or fit into a box or under a label. But others believe that people can do both good and bad things. That one person can be a shade of gray that consists of good actions/intentions as well as bad actions/intentions. Before yesterday I was the former. I only thought that I could be bad; that all changed April 3rd 1999. My friends and I had been planning a bank robbery for a couple of months and we had planned it all out.

We all needed the money for different reasons. Rick needed money for this huge bill that, if gone unpaid, the bank would take his house and everything with it. Joel needed tagged along because he was behind on his child support. Me, Aaron, I needed the money because my baby girl was about to be brought into the world and I couldn’t afford to get her anything; not even the basics like diapers. We all needed money and had certain skills that would help pull off a successful heist. Rick could handle a gun no problem so he was in charge of the hostages; Joel was an expert at lock-picking so he could get into the safe deposit boxes without a doubt; and me, you’d be looking at the bagger. Any money Joel brought out I would put in big duffel bags and put them in the truck.

To us it seemed like a flawless plan. We waited until the sky was dark and the bank employees were starting to pack up for the night; this way there would be no customers and just the employees, limiting the number of hostages to handle. Night also provided us with a cover; we were able to wear all black so it was hard to spot us, even with the street lights. We didn’t think of getting a getaway driver because it seemed to full-proof.

Rick waited until he was sure there were only a handful of people left inside and then went in as quietly as possible. He acted like a customer, begging them to help him. When they agreed, he pulled the gun on them, not giving them enough time to hit the silent alarm. I saw him nod for us to enter and I followed Joel inside the bank.

It was a pretty small bank but we knew there was a lot of money in the vault and safety boxes. I followed Rick around behind the counter and started emptying the drawers, being careful not to get the dye-pack or set off the alarm. After about five minutes I heard Rick yelling his head off at one of the hostages. I left the bag on the counter and walked up to him.

“It’s all your fault! This whole thing is your fault you son of a bitch! You think you can take my house! Hmmm? Everything I’ve worked for?” He was yelling. I looked at the bank of the room where Joel had disappeared to but there was no sign of him.

“I’m sorry sir. I don’t know what you’re talking about” The man said simply. Clearly having a raving gunman in front of him didn’t bother him, but it bothered me.

“Stop lying to me!” Rick screamed and aimed the gun right at the man’s head, that’s when I stepped in front of him. His face was red from screaming as I could see tears forming in his eyes.

“Rick, calm down” I stated gently. However, right after I said it I regretted it. You see, you never tell Rick to calm down; it just gets him more riled up.

“Calm down?” He asked rather calmly but I knew what was coming. I pushed the gun quickly to the let just as he pulled the trigger. The sound shot out loudly. It seemed to have stunned Rick a little so I took the opportunity to grab the gun from his hand and flick it across the room away from everyone. That’s when I heard a noise behind me and turned around. Joel had come out from the back and now had the gun in his hands. He looked at the group of us. Rick with his face still beet red and breathing heavily; Me with a worried looked; and the four bank employees, including the man, who just looked plain scared.

“I think it’s time we left” Was all he said. I nodded and grabbed the bag from behind the counter but not before I “accidentally” hit the silent alarm. Walking out I nodded to the man who smiled back and mouthed “thank you”. Smiling, I climbed back into the truck and we drove away.

You see, I could have let Rick shoot that man. A man who probably had nothing to do with his current situation but I could have let him shoot him; knowing that he would regret it and it would haunt him for the rest of his life. But I didn’t. I saved that man’s life when I could have simply looked the other way; something I honestly think Joel would have let happen considering his speedy entrance into the room.

Yes, I may have robbed that bank but when an innocent life was in danger I tried to save it, and I succeed. So, if you’re one of those people who think that you can only be good or bad, I just want you to think about what happened to me. People can be whatever they want to be; good, bad or a shade of gray.