Chapter Text
“Let's get moving,” Evan said, hopping onto the truck. Vienna grunted as she heaved the heavy duffel bag up after him, the weight nearly pulling her back down. She managed to shove it inside and climb in.
“Shit, that was back breaking,” she groaned, slumping against the cold metal wall of the truck.
Brianne scoffed as she slammed one of the truck doors shut. “Looks like you'll have to do this one on your own, Evan. Vienna can't even carry a bag,” her voice was dripping with sarcasm but a small smirk tugged on her lips, betraying her amusement. Vienna glared at her but Brianne just stuck her tongue out. She dramatically flipped her blonde hair over her shoulders before shutting the other door, sealing them in darkness.
The truck hummed in silence as another sound of the truck’s passenger and driver doors shut. The ignition roared to life and the truck began to move. Evan propped a hand on the metal of the vehicle to steady himself.
Then, a strange whirring sound came from behind them. The overhead lights flickered on, revealing a figure sprawled lazily on a gaming chair. A single laptop glowed on the table before him, its screen casting shifting shadows across his face. The figure lifted his hoodie, revealing a pair of emerald eyes that glinted under the artificial blue light.
“Took you long enough,” he said, voice smooth but edged with teasing. He ran a hand through his tousled curls, glancing up at Evan. “Did you bring the earpiece?”
Evan’s heartbeat stumbled just for a second before he quickly composed himself. He tossed a small device in the air with what he hoped looked like casual ease.
Carlos caught it, the corner of his mouth lifting. “This is going to be so much fun.”
Vienna rolled her eyes as she plugged her own earpiece in and tapped the device twice. “We’re on a job, you know? This is not a playground.”
Carlos leaned back in his chair, spinning lazily to face her. “Your lack of imagination bores me.”
Evan smothered a laugh, earning a sharp look from Vienna. He raised his hands in mock surrender but could not stop the grin tugging at his lips.
The truck lurched as it hit a hump, the faint hum of the city fading beneath the heavy rattle of the engine. Over the comms, Brianne’s voice came through, loud and slightly static, “In five minutes, I’ll drop Lola off at the park. She’ll make her way to the museum entrance.”
Evan nodded, even though he knew Brianne could not see him. “Lola, remember to have your comms on at all times. About seven minutes after the distraction, get to the south wing of the Apollo Gallery. Don’t be nervous.”
Lola’s voice crackled through the comms. “Copy!”
She was the youngest of them all, at only seventeen and this was her first heist, her first time as decoy. It would be understandable if she was nervous, though her voice remained confident. She was a crucial part of their heist and Evan did not want this to be her last heist with them. She was a bubbly girl, a special addition to their rather dull group.
Carlos’ fingers typed profusely on the laptop, his eyes glued to the screen. Evan watched him, unable to tear his eyes away from him, as though he was in a trance. The faint glow from the screen caught in his brown hair, and his eyes seemed to sparkle even more as he got to work.
“Evan,” Carlos said suddenly without looking up.
He straightened instinctively.
“I can only cut the signal from the cameras in Apollo Gallery. You and Vienna will have to climb through the window instead of going from the corridor.”
“Got it,” Evan’s voice came out steadier than he felt. The heist was not what nerved him. It was the way Carlos seemed to glow despite the harsh light. Whenever Evan glanced at him, everything else seemed to blur out and his heartbeat quickened. Evan had met Carlos for the first time when they were twelve and their friendship had grown after seven years of friendship. Evan knew that he was not supposed to feel that way for a friend, but the heart wants what it wants, leaving him stuck with the unfleeting feeling. His crush for Carlos started when they were seventeen and it had stayed that way, if not grown stronger over the past two years. Carlos was oblivious, unbeknownst to Evan’s intensifying emotions.
The truck slowed to a stop and the sound of a door opening and closing reverberated through the truck. Lola was heading towards the museum. The truck started. Evan shook his head, in a feeble attempt to push Carlos out of his mind and focus on the mission.
A sharp hiss of brakes and the truck stopped again.
Vienna cracked her knuckles and hauled the bag over her shoulder. “Showtime.”
“Masks on,” Evan said, pulling a black ski mask over his head as Vienna did the same.
Carlos stood, closing the laptop with a quiet click. “Good luck.” His tone was even, but a flicker of anticipation in his eyes made Evan’s chest tighten.
For a heartbeat, their gazes met in the dim light. Evan silently sucked in a ball of air as his heart struggled to stay in his chest. Then, Carlos turned away. Brianne opened the truck back door and Vienna jumped out. Evan followed suit as he exhaled a shaky breath, trying to clear his mind of the way Carlos looked at him.
Brianne had extended the ladder on the truck upwards, allowing Evan and Vienna to climb up to the window of the Apollo Gallery at the Devon Wing. Through the comms, Evan could hear Lola’s shrill scream as she accused someone of stealing her wallet. As he approached the window, he could make out figures gathering around to watch as Lola created a huge commotion. Vienna dumped the duffel bag on the ladder and pulled out two disc grinders and handed one to Evan. They got to work, using the metal blade to cut through the glass window.
He secured the rope harness and slipped through the window. His palms were slick, his ear ricocheting with the shouts of Lola and the panic gibberish from the poor stranger she framed. He lowered himself slowly, boots brushing against the cold marble wall. If he was not on a heist, he would stare in awe at the beauty of the museum. The ceiling was a dizzying spectacle, an entire cosmology rendered in oil paint, with the Greek god, Apollo, slaying a serpent. The room seemed to glitter under the morning light, baroque paintings framed proudly on the walls and the French jewels rested beneath the glass like captured constellations.
Too bad he was not here to admire and learn about French history.
His boots touched the museum’s polished floor and he unclipped his harness. Vienna was right behind and followed suit.
“Cameras in Apollo Gallery are down. You got four minutes to get everything and come back in the truck,” Carlos’ voice came through the earpiece, steady and low despite the crackling static.
Evan and Vienna weaved through the displays of ancient artifacts, making a beeline to their target: jewels.
A diamond-studded crown sat under one of the glass boxes, the gems on its body twinkling under the warm light. Beside it lay a necklace dripped with emeralds, shimmering with quiet arrogance. It reminded Evan of Carlos’ eyes.
“Beautiful,” Vienna breathed.
In the far distance, Evan could still hear Lola’s voice.
“She won’t be able to last long,” Brianne said through the comms, a slight hint of urgency in her voice.
They had to hurry.
“Let’s pick up our pace,” Evan reminded, snapping Vienna out of her trance. They each grabbed a glass cutter, each working on a glass box of priceless jewels.
The soft whir of their glass cutter filled the silence. Orange light traced a circle across the glass panel, melting through it with surgical precision. A thin curl of smoke rose into the air as the cutter made its way through the glass.
“Two minutes,” Carlos’ voice came through.
The circle of glass gave way with a soft click and Evan’s hand shot out, preventing the glass from shattering on the ground. A light sheen of sweat formed on his forehead, soaking the ski mask as he breathed a sigh of relief. He reached in and grabbed the crown, setting it as gently as he could into the velvet-lined bag. He did the same for the necklace and other jewels.
“One minute. Time to get going,” Carlos urged.
Evan and Vienna, hands full with bags of jewels, sprinted to their harness. Vienna started to climb up first and Evan was about to follow behind her when a voice shouted, “Stop!”
Whipping his head towards the sound of the direction, he saw a man dressed in navy blue with ‘SECURITY’ written on his vest. The man pulled out a walkie talkie, rambling into it as he ran towards where Evan stood.
“Just climb!” Evan shouted at Vienna as he scrambled around the bags of jewellery. He fished out the diamond crown and brandished it in the air.
Vienna gritted her teeth as she continued to climb.
“Evan, what are you doing?!” Carlos’ voice came through the earpiece, filled with uncertainty.
That’s a first, Evan thought to himself. Carlos barely showed any emotion other than cockiness. Was he… concerned for him?
“Put the stolen items down and put your hands behind your back!” The security guard screamed, eyes trained on the crown as he aimed a gun at Evan.
Tilting his head slightly, Evan saw Vienna had safely made it to the window where their ladder was, the rope swaying slightly.
“Come on!” She hissed, motioning for him to climb.
He slowly crouched, the crown gleaming coldly in his hands. He glanced at it and watched as the gems winked like tiny eyes. His fingers around the crown loosened as he prepared to set it down.
“That’s right, put it down and place your hands on your head. You have every right to remain silent and anything you say will be —”
Then, Evan moved.
With a sharp flick of his wrist, he hurled the crown high into the air. The jewels caught the light and scattered it wildly across the room, a burst of blinding brilliance.
Evan jumped onto the rope and climbed the fastest he has ever climbed in his nineteen years of living. The ropes strained under the sudden weight and movement. Vienna leaned out the window, reaching for him as she shouted his name. He grabbed her arm, boots scraping against the expensive marble as she heaved him up with every ounce of strength she had.
The warm sunlight greeted his skin and the cool rush of outside air brushed his face.
They made it!
Evan wanted to burst into laughter. The heist was over and weight of the jewels in his bag reminded him of the wealth they were about to possess. The crown may have been the most expensive out of all the jewels but it was nothing like all these jewels combined.
He could already picture the celebration waiting for them. Squeezed in their little apartment with a cheap disco ball glued to the cracked ceiling as they popped open bottles of alcohol. Lola had been counting down to her first sip of alcohol, bragging that she could outdrink everyone. Brianne had smuggled five bottles of champagne, one for each of them, and declared that she would make a toast ‘to the idiots who became rich with her’.
Vienna had made a list of what she would do with her share of the money. She had been so animated that even Carlos cracked a smile, soft and rare, the kind that had made Evan’s heart flutter so hard he thought he was having a stroke.
He could imagine their voices, the laughter, the warmth of belonging. For once, he had a home. That apartment that was definitely too small to fit five teenagers, with friends who became family, and Carlos sitting beside him as they drank themselves away.
Evan had been planning to tell him the night after the heist. Not some grand, dramatic confession, just quietly, when everyone else was half-drunk and distracted. He would tell Carlos that he made him feel like there was something worth staying alive for, that he made him feel so much. Maybe Carlos would not say anything back. Maybe he would just look at Evan the way he usually did: calm, unreadable but not unkind.
That would be enough. More than enough.
But unfortunately, Lady Luck was not on his side that day.
BANG!
Evan’s body jerked as the bullet tore through his side. Pain exploded through his body and his mind went blank. His grip slipped, fingers slick and trembling. Vienna’s voice cracked when she screamed, clutching at him as she struggled to pull his limp body up.
Somewhere in the museum, the crown hit the floor below them.
Clink.
Guess the guard decided that killing a puny thief was more important than catching a priceless crown.
And in that terrible stillness that followed, Evan realised that he had miscalculated. Darkness engulfed him.