Chapter 1

Buzz Chiltern is a streetwise, tough guy. He's got scars, tattoos, and smells like roadkill. He's a no-nonsense, mean-talking son of a bitch. Buzz never goes to church, except to steal the silver. He smokes like a chimney, swears like a trooper and drinks like a sailor. In short, Buzz Chiltern is not a nice man.

                To make matters worse, Buzz was having a bad day. In fact, it was the pits. To begin with, the car he had stolen wouldn't start, which made him late getting to the bank he was going to rob. When he eventually arrived, he got stuck at the back of the longest and slowest queue.

                When Buzz finally saw a clerk, he pointed his gun and made his demands. However, a savage old woman behind him saw what he was doing. She yelled out, leapt forward, and bit his finger. The security alarm went off; the police rushed in. Buzz made a run for it as a cop shot him in the leg. With his exit blocked, Buzz fled to the roof.

                The door burst open, and Buzz stumbled out into the pouring rain. He shut the door and barred it. But the bag containing the cash snagged on the handle and split open. Buzz lunged forward and watched open-mouthed as the money fluttered down to the street below.

A bang came from the door. It was the cops; they were trying to break through. Buzz hated authority figures, especially when they captured him and put him in jail. But he wasn't going back inside; not again. He'd had his fill of slopping out and sharing cells with weirdos. No way on God's green earth was he doing another stretch inside.

                Buzz glanced back down at the street. Cop cars, fire crews, and ambulances flooded the area. Lights flashed and sirens wailed. Buzz tightened his grip on his gun and sneered at the hordes of people below, grabbing fistfuls of his lost fortune.

                In the distance, came a whirring sound. Buzz glanced upwards and saw a beam of light scanning the area. It was coming from a helicopter, and it was looking for him. Buzz fired a shot, but it went wide of the mark. He grunted in pain and dived for cover. The helicopter dipped and disappeared from view. Buzz glanced towards the door. The hinges were buckling, and the shouts were getting louder. The cops were nearly through.

                Buzz sat huddled in the rain and pondered the day's events. All his months of planning had gone down the toilet. Robbing the Pearly Gates Bank plc was supposed to be his last job. Get rich and escape the dirty city. This would be the jewel in the crown of his criminal career. At least, that was his plan.

                 Yeah, things hadn't always gone great. His past mistakes had kept him in prison for most of his adult life. But he had used that time wisely to learn new skills. However, it was on his latest release that he noticed an opportunity to relieve the Pearly Gates Bank of some of its cash. Weeks followed as Buzz watched, calculated, and waited for the perfect day. But sitting there, thinking about it, today obviously wasn't it.