Bob and Cikizwa gathered the team in a conference room once more. Saydaa kicked her feet up on the table, chewing a piece of bubble gum.

“What’s the deal, boss-man? I mean, any excuse to escape from that demon is a good one, but what gives?”

“Your first assignment.”

Saydaa immediately dropped her feet, slamming her hands on the table.

“You mean…”

“No, your training is not complete. But you are at the stage where you need to start getting real experience in the field.”

Saydaa dropped on the table.

“Why?! Why’d you have to give me hope like that?! Haven’t I suffered enough?! What did I do to deserve this?!”

Kiyosuke scoffed.

“Today, or in general?”

“Why don’t you go talk to the demon about revenge again, you jerk!”

“Enough.”

Bob shook his head, then hit a remote, turning on a monitor in the room. The monitor showed a large skyscraper.

“Your first mission is to rob this bank.”

Saydaa’s eyes started to shine.

“I like this mission! I had you all wrong, boss-man! When do we start?”

Arvid nodded his head as well.

“I did wonder about the lack of plunder. This shall be a fine raid for our band.”

Kiyosuke crossed his arms, frowning.

“You want the first test of my new power to be a mere company?”

“You aren’t testing anything. You’re doing a job. And do not underestimate the power of greed and wealth.”

“I’ll do anything for you, Bob-sama. We’ll definitely succeed!”

“Acknowledgement: Current mission updated. Elise requesting mission parameters.”

Bob nodded, hitting a button on the remote. The screen shifted to show a detailed layout of the building, as well as highlighting security features.

“Every good heist starts with a good plan. Cikizwa, take it away.”

“As you can see, the bank’s vault is heavily guarded. It is located several floors underground, each floor featuring heavier security and tighter restrictions.”

“The first layer of defense is the lobby of the bank itself. This layer features standard bank security, cameras, guards just a door away, a full suite of alarms both loud and silent, and methods to immediately contact emergency services. On the flip side, this layer is open to the public, and so can be entered at will, provided you do not indicate foul intent. Within this layer is an employee-only area that provides access to the underground, via either stairs or an elevator.”

Arvid crossed his arms and smirked.

“Tis but a trifle. I’ve bested tougher defenses before on my own.”

“Correct, but the first layer of defense is only aimed at the common folk. In the event of a super attack, it is merely there to buy time. The trick here is not to get past the defenses, but to do so either quickly or stealthily. If you trip up and show your hand here, the actual defenses will be much, much harder to get past.”

“The first underground floor mainly features employee amenities for the ground level staff. Security is mostly similar to the ground level but it does include a rest area for guards, where most of the normal guards spend their time. Again, in the event of a super attack, this level is meant only to buy time. The key is not to get bogged down here.”

“The second floor down is where the real security starts. This floor features a number of detection methods, not limited to cameras, infrared and thermal, trip lasers, pressure pads, motion sensors, and electromagnetic monitoring. We have also heard there are automated defenses here as well, designed to incapacitate an unwary super who has bypassed more conventional defenses.”

Kiyosuke scoffed.

“Mere traps won’t stop me.”

“They don’t have to. While the traps would ideally incapacitate someone unaware of them, they are designed to take a long time and care to bypass, even if you’re aware of them. The goal is to maximize the chance of detection for someone who was able to sneak past the first layers, or to slow down someone who doesn’t care about stealth.”

“The third floor features the vault itself, with four layers of defenses. First is an area with heavy automated defenses. As anyone who has reached this level is clearly dangerous and intending to strike the vault, the defenses here are designed to be lethal. If these defenses are bypassed, there is a massive blast door, designed to withstand super levels of force and destruction. This would delay an intruder while the bank coordinates a response with the authorities, at this point potentially including the ILS. Should an intruder pass this defense before a response is organized, the bank keeps one of its own hired super security agents in front of the vault at all times. This super would then engage the intruder directly.”

Saydaa raised an eyebrow.

“Wait, there are supers working for banks? Don’t they all like, join the ILS or something?”

Cikizwa shook her head.

“There are plenty of supers who have no interest in hero work, yourselves included. These days, banks will offer a lot of money for skilled security.”

“And they don’t, like, just steal the money for themselves? Seems weird that they’d just become some rich guy’s lackey just like that.”

“Says the girl who joined for a case of cash.”

“What was that, jerk?! Wanna go?!”

Arvid crossed his arms and nodded his head, humming lightly.

“Indeed, a case of cash is a great temptation. Moreso when you need not evade the police after receiving it.”

“ANYWAYS, if someone manages to actually defeat the super, the vault itself is protected by the best and latest technology money can buy. Actually cracking into it will take a great deal of time. And at that point, ILS intervention is all but guaranteed.”

“If someone does manage to actually crack the vault, then comes the hard part. By the time they leave, they will now have to exit with their prize back the same way they came. Against the now fully gathered and prepared security forces of the bank, featuring whichever of their own supers they could call in, plus cooperation from law enforcement and the ILS.”

“Why don’t they just leave a different way then?”

“There is no other way.”

“Then make one! We’re assuming supers, right? Why not just punch through the walls or something?”

“The foundations of the structure are even thicker and tougher than the defensive barriers. Breaking through those would take even longer, and wear the infiltrator out. Plus it would be very loud and obvious what they were attempting, and so the responders would have no trouble locating and surrounding the exit point. Not to mention the risk of collapsing one or more of the floors above and burying yourself alive.”

“I-I see…ok so no breaking the walls, got it.”

Bob shrugged.

“It’s not an impossible idea, but it would require a great deal of planning, setup, and specialized equipment. Your team, specifically, will not always have those luxuries, and so will not have access to them on this job. We want this raid to be profitable, after all.”

“And because of that goal, there is one additional requirement. You are absolutely forbidden from killing anyone on this mission.”

Kiyosuke raised an eyebrow.

“That doesn’t seem smart.”

“I hate to agree with the jerk, but we’re robbing a bank! What are we, Robin Hood?”

“Tis often unavoidable in the heat of battle.”

Bob looked each of the team in the eye.

“Because killing is a choice with heavy consequences, not least of all creating immediate and potentially permanent hostility among the victim’s allies. It is a choice to be made with careful consideration of the benefits and costs, and only when it is confirmed as the sole best option available, in both the short term and the long term.”

“In this case? You are conducting a quick raid with the goal of profit, which will also serve as a test of your team’s value to me. You kill anyone on this mission, and the ILS will hunt you down even if you manage to escape. In that case, you will become a severe detriment to our organization, and we will cut all contact. Am I understood?”

“What about the demon? I can’t imagine she cares.”

“Xiong Huang doesn’t work for me, and is an immortal demigod who cannot be equaled by anyone the ILS can muster. Neither of those things are true for you. Again, kill anyone on this mission, and you’ll be handed over to the ILS. Show me that you have what it takes to work for our organization. Am I understood?”

The team nodded. Even Kiyosuke, albeit reluctantly. Bob let out a sigh.

“Then let’s discuss the plan…you will start by entering dressed as employees. The first level of security relies on card readers and ID badges, Elise can hack those fairly easily. Next, you’ll need to…”

After laying out the plan, Bob watched as the team prepared, each in their own way. Kiyosuke scoffed and complained about a waste of time. Saydaa made no secret of her daydreams, and went on and on about what she would do with a mountain of cash. Arvid laughed as he described the feast they would have to celebrate. Nana was fidgeting, no doubt worrying about the mission itself. Elise…well Elise was Elise, but he figured she was running the plan through a simulation or something.

Bob shook his head and sighed.

In the end, they had all missed the most important detail of all.

They never asked which bank they were robbing.

And…well…

Nobody robbed EL Bank, and lived to tell the tale.