I dropped through the hole in the roof, bare feet making just an inkling of a thud. The task was simple: get in, grab the cash, and get out. And try not to die along the way. The attic was all musty wood and puffs of pink insulation, which I could just make out in the trickles of light bleeding through from the vault below. I tightened my gloves and adjusted my mask before gingerly easing one of the vault’s ceiling tiles open. The whole building was ensconced in a deathlike quiet, and every noise I made was an explosion. Splinters poked at my feet as I crept to the hole, and particles of insulation made me want to sneeze. Just as I was gripping the edge of the hole to swing down, I caught a flash of movement to my left. I dropped lower, arms and legs stretched out like a spider while I tried to catch a second glimpse of whatever I’d seen. My heart thudded in my chest and through my ears, and I was suddenly hit with a knotting sense of dread. I wasn’t alone. All at once I was pulled to the ground from behind, and a dark figure loomed above me. I struggled for breath, trying to wriggle out from under him. I reached for my knife but it was quickly knocked from my hands. I was painfully aware of the amount of noise we were making, and a surge of anger coursed through me at the thought of all my hard work wasted. My brain worked furiously searching for an escape. I stopped struggling all at once, bringing my arms together from wrist to elbow. Then I threw them outwards as hard as I could, knocking his hands from my shoulders and causing him to fall forward. With nothing to catch himself on, his forehead slammed against mine and I sucked in a pained gasp. I bunched my fists into the front of his shirt and wrenched my body into a roll. I pushed away from him before he could react and scrambled to my feet. If this intruder thought he could get in between me and that prize, he was sorely mistaken. By the time he’d gotten an elbow underneath him I was running to the hole and dropping down into the vault. A stab of pain raced through the arch of my foot when I landed, and I hissed. Whoever the guy upstairs was, he must’ve stepped on my foot at some point during our struggle. I’d quickly begun filling my backpack with cash, but then I heard a noise and turned to see a dark shape crouched on the floor behind me. Our eyes locked from across the vault and he turned his head sideways as if evaluating me. I hoped he could see the anger in my gaze. Without my knife I was weaponless, but I’d already bested him once with just my hands. I could do this. When he lunged for me I dodged left and crouched like a lion waiting to spring. We continued our deadly dance until I caught a glimpse of the door. A green sensor blinked on and off and in its flash I read the sign taped beneath it. “Alarm will sound if sensor is broken.” Perfect. The next time my assailant lunged for me I let him. He’d expected me to push back or dodge again and therefore we were both thrown backwards by the impact: directly into the sensor. My backpack took the brunt of the force and my heart soared at the sound of breaking glass. It only took half a second for the alarm to begin screaming as the room was suffused in a red glow. The shadow before me cursed and pushed me away, doubtless more concerned about escaping than any threat I posed to him. That was a mistake. The second he turned towards the sound I grabbed his head and shoved it against the door of the vault. With a dull thud he slumped to the ground and I sprinted for the opening in the roof. By the time he regained consciousness I’d be long gone.