Page 71 of Goose

26

Ally

Manipulating a locked safe isn’t as difficult as one might think. With proper knowledge of a safe’s inner workings and a sensitive set of fingertips, a poorly-trained safe cracker could manipulate a conventional safe in no more than a few hours.

Normally, it took me fifteen minutes.

I was on the last number. With the care and precision my father taught me, I turned the dial ever so slowly. The tip of the fence connected with the drive cam’s contact point.

Yes!

Slowly, I turned the dial in the other direction. The fence connected the other contact point. A chill ran along my spine. It was the equivalent of feeling a piece of dust under one’s ass when sitting on a sofa. Some had the knack, and some didn’t. My heart raced. I paused and wiped the sweat from my brow with my free forearm.

I was there.

I wiggled the dial back and forth until the fence fell into place with a click!

I twisted the handle. It snapped into the open position. I paused. I lifted my chin and gazed at the ceiling.

I love you, Daddy.

The sense of accomplishment I obtained from opening an “impenetrable” safe by using nothing more than a delicate hand and a mind filled with knowledge was unexplainable.

A heightened sense of elation filled me. I pulled against the door’s handle. The two-inch-thick chunk of steel swung open, revealing just what Ghost had indicated.

My heart thrashed against my ribs.

Holy. Shit.

Contrary to the preconceived notions of most people, money doesn’t take up much space. Ten thousand dollars is a stack of hundred-dollar bills a half inch in height. Consequently, eight stacks of bills six inches high is a million dollars. The money could easily be picked up and placed in a plastic Target grocery bag, along with a gallon of milk and a dozen apples. It seems illogical, but it’s true.

I stared at the neatly stacked bills. Each was bound by a yellow band marked $10,000. I quickly calculated the height, depth, and width.

A little over seven million dollars.

Goose had once asked what my biggest job was. The answer was staring me in the face.

The entire safe’s contents would weigh roughly a hundred and fifty pounds. Although I knew I should have an ample amount of time, I divided the money into four equal stacks and quickly carried them to my car. After making certain no traces of my visit had been left behind, I closed the door to he safe, turned the dial, and locked it.

On the drive home, one of Goose’s other questions came to mind. How I justified stealing from those I stole from.

Although many would perceive my night’s “victim” as being nothing more than another one of SoCal’s quirky citizens, I knew better. Deep down inside—at the core of his very being—he was nothing short of a monster. A monster who now had no means of financing any further operations.

As Bob Dylan’s Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright played on my cassette player, the corners of my mouth curled into a smile of accomplishment.

I wore that smile all the way home.