Aahana Swrup
Menhaj Huda’s ‘Heist 88’ is a crime drama film about an expert swindler who masterminds a bank robbery for $80 million in 1988 Chicago. Jeremy Horne plans to exploit the security protocols in place at the First Bank of Chicago and uses his nephew, Marshall King, to recruit a group of amateurs with promising potential. Once Jeremy secures a team of young bank employers, namely Danny Pugh, Rick Lewis, and LaDonna, the heist of the century is set afoot.
The film tracks a fascinating heist story with the characters putting their entire lives and livelihoods at stake. As such, the scheme’s outcome proposes life-altering implications for every character. Therefore, if you want to know how this undertaking ends for ringmaster Jeremy Horne and his team here is everything you need to know about the ending of ‘Heist 88.’ SPOILERS AHEAD!
Heist 88 Plot Synopsis
In town for the attendance of his brother’s passing, Jeremy Horne rolls into town and meets his nephew, Marshall. Even though the latter’s recently deceased father had warned him about getting involved with his uncle, Marshall approaches Jeremy, seeking help to escape his current predicament. Having invested the money he doesn’t have in bringing house music to Chicago, Marshall has gotten on the bad side of a loan shark. Thus, in an effort to convince his uncle to solve his ten thousand dollar problem, Marshall introduces him to some of his friends.
Upon meeting Marshall’s pals, LaDonna, Rick, and Danny, all employees at First Bank, Jeremy, currently donning a covert ankle monitor with the police after his surrender, plots a plan. At the time, Chicago, the biggest banking hub in the country, was still uncomputerized and used confirmation codes to transfer large sums of money from account to account. As a result, Rick and Danny’s employment at the bank and LaDonna’s involvement in the wire transfer process proposes the perfect scheme.
Over the following days, Jeremy keeps an eye on Marshall’s friends to gain insight into their lives. Rick and Danny have been working for minimum wage at the bank for years. While Rick remains optimistic and hopes to climb the ladder, Danny is cynical of the system and recognizes the odds working against his favor. Eventually, despite Rick’s enthusiastic work ethic, his boss, Harriet, informs him that he failed to get the promotion he has been working toward for a long time. Likewise, Danny’s home life worsens as he and his pregnant wife struggle with making ends meet.
Meanwhile, LaDonna deals with her own issues as she tries to be there for her sisters in the face of their irresponsible mother’s neglect. As Jeremy works up to pitching his heist plan to the young individuals, he seeks out some of his old friends, Bree and Buddha Ray. The pair had been Jeremy’s former accomplices during his BreezeAir fraud. After the fallout from the mission, Bree and Buddha Ray have both retired into mundane life, and each insists they want no part in Jeremy’s latest plan.
Soon, Jeremy finally makes his move and proposes his heist plan to Marshall and his friends. There are two confirmation codes required before anyone can transfer funds across channels. LaDonna, a bank employee, has access to one of those codes, while the other code will come from the corporate representative. To counter that, Jeremy plans to divert the call to another number, helmed by Rick and Danny, who will pretend to be the corporates and confirm the transfers.
In preparation for the same, Jeremy trains Danny and Rick to study four distinct targets and learn to impersonate them. However, as the branch’s computerization nears, a new problem arises. Nonetheless, Jeremy deals with it by convincing Bree and Buddha Ray to return for one last con and uses them as decoys, while Danny helps him steal key information from Harriet’s office. Eventually, as the day of the heist arrives, the stage is set for Jeremy’s perfect robbery.
Heist 88 Ending: Does Jeremy Horne Get Caught?
Jeremy Horne has been using illegal means to get what he wants for a long time. Born with a penchant for numbers, Jeremy succeeded academically and was an honor-roll student. Yet, his family couldn’t afford to send him to a high-profile college, setting him up for a social disadvantage despite his talent. Similarly, when Jeremy tried to succeed in the workplace, his numbers were commendable, even as an intern, but he never scored a job due to the employer’s whims.
As such, Jeremy had turned to using his talents differently and taking opportunities as they presented themselves to him, regardless of their ethics. Previously, during BreezeAir, Jeremy gets burned in con due to one bad apple and has the cops after him. Still, he wishes to right all wrongs with his newest attempt.
Jeremy plans every step of the con, refusing to take any chances. On the day of the heist, everything goes according to plan, with only a minor bump in the road. The team manages to transfer all $80 million out of various corporate accounts and into ones they control. Afterward, LaDonna, Danny, and Rick seamlessly flee the building after blending into a protest crowd and driving away with Marshall.
Yet, when Jeremy tries to get the stolen funds out of the dummy accounts into overseas bank accounts in Geneva, Switzerland, he discovers that he has to physically appear at a branch for such a hefty transaction. Nevertheless, faced with the bank workers, Jeremy keeps his cool and succeeds. As such, after Marshall and the others doubt Jeremy’s loyalty as they wait for news at the hotel, Jeremy proves them wrong.
After informing the team of the transaction, Jeremy takes them to the airport, from where they will be escaping the country and starting their lives anew as millionaires. Nonetheless, the day doesn’t end well for Jeremy. Recognizing Danny’s nervousness, Jeremy confronts the man just in time for the police to storm the place.
Despite the fact that Danny sold Jeremy out, the latter man asks the former to run and tries to escape the cops himself, to no avail. In the end, the cops catch Jeremy. During his conviction, Jeremy divulges his regret at being caught and shows remorse for his actions.
Why Does Danny Betray Jeremy?
Initially, Rick’s character, an aspiring by-the-book bank employee, seems like the obvious suspect for the narrative’s would-be saboteur. Therefore, the climactic reveal of Danny’s betrayal comes as a big surprise. Danny has been a severe critic of the system from the very start. He has long realized that numerous institutions, including the bank, are rigged against Black people and that it’s nearly impossible to succeed under these circumstances.
The most glaring example lies in a story Danny regales to Rick about his friend, Joe Simmons. Joe had found a discrepancy of one dollar in the employees’ paychecks that has been costing the company millions of dollars. However, when Joe brought the issue to Harriet’s attention, the person responsible for the slip-up, a white man, wasn’t even fired. Worse yet, all Joe got in appreciation for his efforts was a coupon for a restaurant.
Although the story depicts Danny’s glaring dislike for the system, it is also the precise reason for Danny’s betrayal. Like Jeremy, Danny knows that as a Black man, he faces a systemic disadvantage. However, where Jeremy’s answer to this is to rob the system, Danny chooses to play it. Just as the bank robbery had presented an opportunity to Jeremy, it presented a different opportunity to Danny, too.
Yet, unlike Jeremy, Danny doesn’t wish to live life on the run as a criminal, even if it means gaining millions of dollars. Furthermore, Danny has his family, a wife, and a kid on the way to think of. Therefore, after realizing Jeremy is on the lam after spotting his ankle monitor, Danny reports him to the bank in exchange for sizeable compensation. Moreover, he also demands immunity for himself and his friends, Marshall, LaDonna, and Rick. Thus, Jeremy takes the brunt of the crime, and Danny walks unscathed.
Read More: Heist 88’s True Story: Exploring the Real Crime Behind the Movie
