Noah Boyd - The Bricklayer

A S MICKEY STILLSON STARED AT THE GUN IN HIS HAND, HE ABSENTMINDEDLY reached up and adjusted the fake ear that was his entire disguise and wondered how a born-again Christian like himself had wound up in the middle of a bank robbery.

A year earlier, he had been so certain of his religious con-version that when he went before the Illinois parole board, he let his inner peace sell itself. He asked its members to address him as Michaela name that he felt emitted a soft, evangelical glowbecause like Saul giving way to Paul, prison had been his personal road to Damascus. Confinement, he explained to the stony faces in front of him, had actually been his salvation. Without it, he would never have found God, the void that had sent his previous life tumbling end over end, resulting in a three-year-long incarceration for forgery.

He couldnt help but wonder now if finding God hadnt in fact been strictly a means of survival. After all, his ear had been cut off by an inmate they called Nam the first week Mickey had been released into the prisons general population, leaving little argument that surviving on his own would be difficult. Although Nam had never been in the military, Stillsons was the third ear he had collected in as many years. No matter how thoroughly Nams cell was searched after each incident, the appendages were never found, giving rise, due largely to inmates need of fiction, to the rumor that he had devoured them in some sort of ritual he had become addicted to in Vietnam.

Within a month, Stillson had found God. As his wounds healed, he found the gnarled stump did have some benefit. While some men displayed tattoos or scars as warning to others, Stillson was missing an earan entire earwhich was something that even heavyweight champions couldnt claim.

He pulled his hand away from the fake ear in disgust. Maybe he was just a jailhouse Christian, but none of that seemed to matter at the moment. He would have liked to believe that just committing an armed felony demanded that his faith be reevaluated, but he had to admit that the police officers who had surrounded the bank probably had something to do with it. He cursed himself for thinking he could ever be a real bank robber. Hell, he wasnt even much of a forger.

He peeked outside, around the frame of one of the banks full-length front windows, to see if the police had moved any closer, but they were still the same distance away, lying with weapons at the ready across the trunks and hoods of their cars, apparently waiting only for the slightest provocation. At a safe distance behind them were satellite dishes on top of the television news vans, ensuring this was going to play out to the end.

Greedythats what he and his partner, John Ronson, had become. They hadnt been satisfied with just robbing the tellers. Instead, they decided the take could be doubled, or even tripled, by getting the vault. It was Ronsons idea; actually he had insisted on it. Stillson had deferred to him, since he was the expert, if a previous conviction and prison stretch for bank robbery could be considered know-how.

Nervously, Stillson reached up again and touched the artificial ear. Ronson had made him wear it. Dont you watch TV? The cops are lousy with technology since we went inside. All they got to do is check their computers for convicted felons with one ear and they got you. And once they got youno offense, Mickeythey got me. So they went to a costume shop and bought a half-dozen fake ears, trying, with minimal success, to match the color of Stillsons skin. He also had to let his hair grow a little longer so when they tied the ear in place with clear fishing line, he could comb his hair over the almost invisible filament. Ronson thought the disguise looked good; Stillson was fairly certain he looked ridiculous.

Stillson stood on his tiptoes to look over the counter and into the vault, where Ronson was stuffing bundles of cash into an optimistically large hockey bag. Tall and extremely thin, Ronson had been released six months earlier from the state prison at Joliet, where he had been paroled after serving one-third of his twenty-year sentence for attempted murder and the armed robbery of a bank. The deadly assault charge stemmed from shooting it out with the arresting detectives. He had surrendered only after running out of ammunition.

Stillsons job during the robberies was to keep all the customers and employees covered while Ronson vaulted the counter and cleaned out the tellers drawers. This time, as Ronson was taking the time to force the manager to open the vaults day gate, the first police car showed up in response to a silent alarm. At the moment, everyone was aware of the increasing potential for violence and was lying facedown obediently, trying not to be noticed.

How are we going to get out of here? Stillson yelled over the counter.

One thing at a time, Ronson shot back, and continued stuffing the bag with money.

How can you think about the money?

Because if we get out of here, were going to need every dime of it. After zipping up the bag, Ronson threw it ahead of him and vaulted back over the counter. He yanked an elderly woman to her feet.

No, no, please dont!

Shut up, you old broad. Youve already lived long enough. He pushed her toward the front door, and as they disappeared around a wall that separated the doors alcove from the rest of the bank, he yelled back to Stillson, Just keep everybody covered.

Stillson couldnt deny that he liked the control he had over everyone during the robberies. And for some reason, with the cops outside, that feeling was even more intense. To demonstrate his willingness to fully execute his partners orders, he backed up a couple of steps and slowly swung his gun from side to side. That was when he noticed a man lying next to a watercooler. His gold-colored Carhartt work pants as well as his boots were covered with concrete dust. His faded black T-shirt clung to his thick shoulders and arms. He was the only one with his head raised, and he seemed to be watching the gunman with a mixture of curiosity and insolence.

The one-eared bank robber didnt know it, but the man had been tracking and analyzing his movements, measuring his agility, the length of his stride, his reaction time. He judged Stillson as a man who had not built a career on physical prowess or intimidation. His only authority seemed to be the gun in his hand, which he was holding too tightly.

As the man continued to stare at Stillson, he admonished himself: You dont carry a gun anymore, stupid. Next time, you use the drive-through.

Whatre you looking at? Stillson demanded.

The mans mouth went crooked with a sneer as he silently mouthed words, causing Stillson to think he was having trouble hearing. He reached up and checked the rubber ear to make sure it wasnt blocking the auditory canal. When he found it in place, he realized that the man had figured out it was fake and was taunting him. Think thats funny?

The man spoke a little too loudly now. I said, Im watching you so Ill get it right at the lineup.

Stillson took two quick steps toward him, thrusting the black automatic forward, being careful not to get too close. Are you nuts? You some sort of tough-guy construction worker? Is that it?

Bricklayer.

What?

Im a brick mason, the man said.

Stillson took another half step, raising the gun to eye level. Well, meat, youre about to undergo a career change. You can be either a floor kisser or a brain donor. Your call.

The bricklayer slowly lowered his head.

Next time, meat, definitely the drive-through.

Shielded by the woman hostage, Ronson opened the front door enough to expose her and yelled a demand for the cops to leave and, even though he couldnt see any, to clear out the snipers. Almost before he finished speaking, a loudspeaker ordered him to surrender. Ronson cocked his gun and pressed it against the side of the womans head. Youve got five minutes, and then Im going to begin shooting people, starting with this old goat. Understand?