Cover of The Impossible Fortune

The Impossible Fortune

by Richard Osman


Genre
Mystery, Crime, Suspense
Year
2025
Pages
369
Contents

Chapter 43

Overview

Tia and Hassan execute the warehouse robbery well enough to seize the Rolex lorry, but a concealed security system stops the vehicle and turns the getaway into a public failure. The botched escape forces Tia to flee empty-handed and deepens her growing sense that crime is not the life she wants. Connie's quick intervention saves Tia from immediate capture and moves Tia's story toward hiding, reassessment, and a possible break from armed robbery.

Summary

Tia enters the warehouse for the planned Rolex theft by exploiting weak security. She keeps producing metal items until a new guard, reluctant to keep delaying her, switches off the detector and lets her through. Inside, Tia passes Hassan a gun, retrieves her cleaning trolley, and waits for the delivery while thinking uneasily about what she is doing.

As Tia cleans, she reflects that honest work might suit her better than crime. She likes order, believes she could succeed in a legitimate job, and starts questioning whether threatening ordinary workers with a gun can ever be a proper way to live. That uncertainty dulls the excitement she expected to feel before the robbery.

When the delivery lorry arrives, Hassan positions the fork-lift and gets into place while Tia confronts the two warehouse guards and the driver. After they initially hesitate, Tia fires into the roof, forces them to the floor, ties them up, and takes their phones. Hassan drives the lorry out through the security posts and gates, and the theft appears to have succeeded.

The escape collapses almost immediately. After Hassan stops at a red light, a hidden anti-theft system locks the cab, immobilizes the vehicle, releases red smoke, and broadcasts that the lorry is being stolen. Unable to open the doors or windows, Tia shoots out the windscreen despite the risk and she and Hassan climb out and flee on foot in different directions while bystanders start filming.

Tia avoids returning to Connie because she does not want to endanger her, and she heads toward the South Downs to escape cameras. Before she can disappear, Connie intercepts her in a silver Tesla, reassures her, and drives her away from the police response. Tia admits she did not enjoy the robbery and says she may need a real job, and Connie agrees to hide her somewhere safer than South London.

Who Appears

  • Tia
    Leads the warehouse robbery, escapes the trapped lorry, and begins doubting her criminal future.
  • Connie
    Monitors the robbery from a distance, rescues Tia, and offers her a safer hiding place.
  • Hassan
    Drives the fork-lift and stolen lorry, then flees when the anti-theft system activates.
  • Bobby
    Warehouse guard forced to the floor and tied up during the robbery.
  • Benny
    Warehouse guard handling the delivery paperwork before Tia overpowers him.
  • Delivery driver
    Hands over the shipment, is threatened by Tia, and gets tied up with the guards.
  • Security guard
    New guard who switches off the metal detector, unknowingly letting Tia smuggle in guns.
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