Elena stood at the computer; her eyes fixed on the screen. The detective watched the footage of the latest crime in the town.
“Strangely, the robbers didn’t cover or break the cameras,” Elena murmured. “As if they wanted to be caught, or maybe they wanted to feel some thrill.”
They were five boys, only caps covering their faces. But when the robbers were leaving the bank with two huge bags of money, one of them looked up straight into the camera. The detective couldn’t believe her eyes. Why would he do that and especially at the end of their mission? His features were apparent: light-colored eyes, fair skin, pursed lips. Elena zoomed in on the paused video. He looked like a regular boy, but there was something unique, something alarming in his face. She couldn’t pinpoint what until she realized it was his eyes. Elena had seen lots of criminals during her long career, but no one had an expression like him. She felt like his eyes were staring into her soul. The chills ran down her spine. The detective had never seen a gaze so melancholic and so full of life at the same time. Elena kept staring at his face; sure, his eyes were trying to tell her something.
That night Elena couldn’t close sleep a wink. The memories floated on the surface of her mind.
“I have to find him,” she whispered. “I have to learn the meaning of his look.”
The following day in the office, while everyone did their job in silence, they heard police officers running out of the building. Looking outside, Elena saw the. Preparing their equipment, the silver guns dazzling n the dim lights.
“Another filial of the bank is being robbed,” some let out. “The robbers are in there right now.”
As soon as Elena heard these words, she put on her coat. Rushing outside, a strange thought lurked from the back of her head, a thought that she would get to see that boy.
After a few minutes, they guarded the bank. The police held guns aiming at the building where, behind the glass walls, few silhouettes kept on flashing by.
“I need to do this alone,” Elena murmured to the captain, and as he tried to stop her, she seized her arm out of his grip. “If I’m not back in ten minutes, you can open the fire.”
His furious gaze didn’t stop Elena from running to the building and breaking in through the back door. Holding the gun, she walked up the stairs, aware they were five, and she was only one. But her fear had vanished without a trace.
Finally, she got to the second floor and saw a stair with boys walking up on it, back to the rooftop, the money bags on the floor. Three of them were already on the rooftop, and the last one had started lifting the bags when she shouted.
“Stop there!”
The two boys looked at her in terror. Her heart skipped a beat as she saw the last one and his familiar face.
The first robber ran up the stairs and jumped up on the rooftop. He shouted something before all of them ran.
Elena pointed the gun at the boy, unmoving, staring at her.
“Come down,” she said with a low tone, “I’m not going to hurt you.”
He slowly walked down the stairs, landing on the floor next to the bags, wearing jeans, a shirt, and a cap – all in black. But Elena could see him on the dim streetlights coming through the window.
“I just want to talk.”
“Talk to me?” he scoffed. His voice – deep and velvety – sounded like a smooth melody like a song of an exotic bird.
“You, the police, want to talk to me, the robber?” He smirked sarcastically, “Why don’t you just arrest me?”
“I’m not the police; I’m a detective,” Elena answered. “I just want to ask you some questions.”
Giving up, he sat at the table, standing by the window. Elena slowly approached it and sat across him.
“Take off your hat,” she emitted. He was not moving for a minute, but then he obeyed. Dark blonde hair fell to his jawline. Now his features were distinctive, his brows furrowing from anger or frustration but not fear. His lips pursed, his eyes staring at her without a blink. She saw it again- the melancholic gaze. Even though he was not saying anything, his eyes were expressive.
“Why are you and your gang always wearing a cap instead of covering your whole face?” she asked.
“That’s how we differ from other criminals,” he said and then mumbled, “At least that’s what he says…”
“Who?”
“Someone who’s making us do all this,” he pointed at the bags full of money.
“What’s their name?”
He sat loose, with his arms folded as if unable to see the gun that Elena held.
“So they are making you do this?” her voice vibrated through the vacant room.
He hesitated for a second.
“Yes.”
“Then why don’t you just go to the police and ask for help?”
The boy laughed bitterly.
“Do you know what they do to people who try to expose them? You don’t even wanna know,”
“I want to know; I’m a detective; I’ll try to find them.”
He shook his head.
“The whole city is powerless against them.”
With the dark under-eyes, the boy looked exhausted not only physically but also emotionally.
“How do they make you take part in these crimes?”
“They come to my house and put a gun to my mother’s head” his voice was dreary.
“Tell me the whole story,” Elena almost whispered.
He stared half-lidded, a subtle smile splitting his lips.
“My mother is sick,” he looked out of the window. It was still raining, and when he fell silent, its sound was all they could hear. “She has second-stage cancer. She is the only one I have. I’ve known these people from my friends who had been doing some small robberies in the streets. They asked me to join, but I denied it. One night three men broke into my house with guns in their hands and threatened us. One of them put a gun to my mother’s head and told me he’d shoot if I didn’t join their group and take part in crimes. They needed lots of young scared boys who would obey them and rob different places in various cities. I would never give up trying to save my mother, so I started doing what they told me. It’s been more than a year, and finally, I have a way to escape: I saved up enough money to leave the country with my mother. She is sick, but I can make sure she gets treatment, but not here. Here everything’s complicated; everyone’s always watching me, controlling my every step. If they know I have money for my mother’s treatment; they will beat me to death and take the money. So today, this was my last crime. My mom and I were going to run away in two days. But I guess my plan was worthless, and I’ll be in jail and not in the airport,” his head dropped.” I don’t care about myself. I’m only worried about my mother,”
His every word pierced through Elena’s heart like blades. Teardrops sparkled in the boy’s eyes. This was the secret of his look – Elena saw the real person behind his criminal mask.
“No,” she let out.
“What?” he looked up, confused.
“You won’t be in jail in a week. You’ll leave the country with your mother”.
“Are you joking?” the boy mumbled.
“Get up and leave. Don’t turn on your flashlight and leave from the rooftop”.
The boy was not moving, his face bewildered.
“Go!” Elena said loudly, and the boy jumped up. He rushed to the stairs and started walking up, but suddenly he stopped and turned his head.
“Thank you,” whispers left his mouth, his eyes filled with gratitude.
The detective nodded before he left the cap next to the bags, went up on the rooftop, and his silhouette mingled with the darkness.
A year had passed, and Elena lay on her bed after a long day at work and scrolling on social media.
Everyone was chatting about a new song that had been released a few days before. Even though she wasn’t young anymore, she always liked keeping up with recent trends, especially in art. So Elena looked up the song and started listening to it. The soft, calming, and touching tunes soothed her soul.
“This kind of music is rare nowadays,” she murmured.
The voice was deep and velvety, almost familiar. In the end, the singer thanked his fans and the viewers. The memories hit Elena, and she remembered. It was him. this was the voice of the boy she had let go on that rainy night.