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Ash 🇮🇳 (21) good with computers, hacked the mainframe
Squiddo 🏴 (21) planned everything, made disguises
Minute 🇺🇸 (21) mastermind/leader, dropped the crown on purpose
Pentar 🇷🇸 (19) strong and good at fighting
Jumper 🇺🇸 (19) manipulated and distracted the staff
"Is everyone ready?"
"Minute, you've asked that about four times now," Squiddo responded. "And every time we all said yes."
"Well they're clearly not ready!" He jabbed an accusing finger at Pentar and Jumper, who were doing some kind of handshake. "Guys can you lock in?"
"We are locked in!" They said simultaneously, then Jumper added. "We're making us a secret handshake."
Minute rubbed his eyes, exasperated. "What could we possibly use a secret handshake for?"
"It's secret, no?" Pentar grinned, clearly just trying to piss him off now.
It was working.
Minute decided to just leave them to it, instead he pulled the mini microphone towards his face. "Ash? You there?"
"Hm?" A voice responded through his earpiece.
"Any updates?"
The response was laced with annoyance. "Dude. I already told you I'd tell you as soon as the guards moved, they haven't yet. I'm trying to get the schedule, leave me be."
Squiddo looked at him. "Minute you need to stop stressing. We haven't even gotten to the difficult bit yet."
He sighed and held his hands up in mock surrender. "Alright. I'm chill."
Squiddo gave him a look that made it obvious she didn't believe him, but left him alone nonetheless.
They waited around outside the establishment, which would probably look suspicious but luckily Squiddo had planned ahead and made them all disguises. They all looked like clueless tourists.
Well, except Ash. He was back at the airbnb they'd rented nearby for him to work in during this heist, he was sat with a laptop and a hoard of notes that he'd relay to them throughout the heist if necessary. Him and Squiddo had done extensive research to ensure this plan would not fail.
It was Minute's job to make sure everyone followed said plan.
Sounds easy enough, but not when you have two idiotic teenagers in on the plan.
But he did need them, they both had key parts to play. Jumper would be the one distracting the guards, he'd never seen anyone as efficient as Jumper when it came to manipulation, so including her was a must. Pentar was also an important addition, while he was indeed an extra set of hands for stealing, he was mainly there in case things went haywire. That guy was insane at fighting, plus he could tank hits like no other.
So while they both may drive him crazy, they were a necessary part of the plan. And they were his friends, probably the only people he could rely on these days alongside Ash and Squiddo.
Speaking of, it wasn't long until Ash's voice rang through all their earpieces. "Guards are on the move. You have less than ten minutes until they're all in position."
"Ten?!" Pentar exclaimed, then got elbowed by Jumper for the volume of his voice.
"Come on guys, it's achievable!" Squiddo was beaming with excitement.
"Yeah, it would be achievable if you guys stopped waiting around and got a move on." Ash mumbled.
"Alright," Minute turned to them. "Stick exactly to the plan, no improvising and absolutely no heroics."
"Why are you looking at me?" Pentar said.
They all turned towars the Louvre, bones tense and hands trembling, but minds sharp with determination as they made their way over.
"Why was he looking at me?" Pentar muttered behind Minute. "You saw that, right?"
"Pentar, shut up." Jumper hissed.
Pentar opened his mouth to respond, but Minute shot them both a look that ended their bickering immediately.
The glass pyramid towered above them all, making them look like dwarves. They were really going to do this… they were going to pull off the heist of the decade. They wouldn't fail. No way, too much preparation and effort had gone into this. They all knew the plan off by heart, as long as things went smoothly, they'd be back out here in less than ten minutes. Except they'd be millions of dollars richer.
Once they reached the entrance, the group turned towards Jumper.
"I've got this," She reassured them. "Go ahead."
They all nodded, Minute added. "We'll see you soon."
"You bet you will." She grinned at them before skipping over to the staff who were stationed at the entrance.
With Jumper distracting them, getting in undetected was light work for the other three.
Once they got to an area with a large crowd, they enacted the next stage of their plan.
Minute spoke in a hushed whisper. "Squiddo, you go for the sapphire set, Pentar, you're getting the emerald set. I'll get the Empress's stuff. We meet back here before sneaking out the way we came in, are we clear?"
"Clear." The other two responded.
They'd been over this countless times, it was Squiddo's plan, she'd relayed it to them at least three times a night for the past couple months. It had been basically drilled into their heads.
Minute nodded at them, then set off towards those precious items.
Ash's voice in his ear rose above the crowd. "Hey, Minute, I see you on the camera bro. Wait, turn like 45 degrees left and wave."
Minute nearly actually did that, then caught himself. "Why the hell would I wave at the camera? Am I trying to get caught?"
"Oh. Yeah, I forgot." Ash laughed.
Squiddo's voice suddenly broke in. "Guys can we hurry up? I already have my stuff, I'm on the way back."
Damn, that was fast. Minute began quickening his pace as Pentar whisper-yelled. "Already?!"
"Pentar bro, how are you not there yet?!" Ash demanded. "There's gonna be a guard there any second now."
"Well then I'll fight him." Pentar muttered.
"What? No. No, you aren’t fighting him," Minute scolded. "Ash, stop him!"
"What do you want me to do through a computer screen?!"
"Oh my gosh…" Minute groaned.
His goal was in sight now. He pulled his hood up and a balaclava on as he made his way over to the items he'd been assigned to steal. He brought out the power tools from his bag to quickly and cleanly gather the items and place them in his bag.
Other people stared at him, some muttering in confusion. Luckily, none of them dared to say or do anything.
"Alright," Minute spoke into the mic once finished, voice now slightly muffled from the balaclava. "I'm done. Heading back now."
"Great," Squiddo responded. "I'm nearly there."
"Pentar?" Minute asked.
No response.
"Ash? You got a location on him?"
"Looking through the cameras now," Ash replied. "Pentar I know you can hear us, fucking respond bro!"
Seconds later, a crackling noise hit Minute's ears and then some kind of crashing played through his earpiece. "Pentar?!"
"Yeah," The guy's voice was strained with effort. "I got the stuff but uhhh, I might be a moment."
"What happened?" Squiddo questioned.
"Ran into a couple guards. Go on without me, I'll catch up."
"That wasn't part of the plan." Minute reminded him.
"Freak the plan!" Pentar yelled, causing Minute and probably everyone else to wince at the noise level.
"Alright, alright. We'll meet you outside. Ash, keep an eye on him." Minute said, trying to remain calm.
"Yeah, I found him," Ash responded, then added in shock. "Pentar you said a couple guards!"
Minute sighed. "How many are there?"
"Fucking eight!"
"What? Their security's not supposed to be that good!" Squiddo exclaimed.
"Well, I guess since there's none on us they've all been called over to Pentar. Those eight are probably the only ones in the building," Minute explained. "Good for us, bad for Pentar."
"Nope!" Pentar's voice broke in again, accompanied by another crash. "I'm good!"
Minute continued pushing his way through the crowd. "You don't sound good."
"Just focus on getting to the exit, Minute." Ash told him. "Squiddo's already waiting, and I imagine Jumper's running out of things to talk to those staff about."
"Alright," He quickened his pace until he was at the place they'd split up earlier. He glanced at the clock, only four minutes had gone by. Wow. It felt like a lifetime.
"Hey!" Squiddo grabbed his shoulder, causing Minute to nearly jump out of his skin. "We gotta go, come on!"
"What about Pentar?"
"He'll catch up!"
They both began jogging towards the entrance, no use in being sneaky now since someone had given them away. They signalled Jumper, who said something to the staff member she was talking to then backpedaled away. Leaving them looking very confused.
She looked confused too as she ran to join them. "Where's Pentar?"
Right. She didn't have an earpiece.
"He's in a bit of a situation at the moment!" Squiddo informed her as they ran out the building.
"What?" She squawked. "And you're leaving him?!"
"No." Minute's response was immediate. "I've got an idea."
"What kind of idea?"
"Go and wait around that corner," He pointed towards the corner of a building that was nearest to the Louvre. "I'll rescue Pentar and meet you."
They obliged without a word, always trusting him. Minute set off towards the opposite corner.
Then, he spoke into the mic. "Pentar? You still alive?"
"Yep." Was the sharp response, followed by the sound of a fist connecting with skin, Minute couldn't be sure whether it was Pentar's fist or he was the one getting punched.
Either way, he had an idea. Risky. Ridiculous. But it could work. It had to work.
"Can you run?" Minute asked.
"What?"
"Run. I'm telling you to make a run for it."
"And go where, genius? They'll be right on my tail."
"I have a plan for that," Minute assured him. "Trust me."
There was a pause, then one word. "Always."
Minute grinned. Then, he took the crown out of his bag. He held it up, ignorant to the tourists in the surrounding area who may see. Trembling in his hands, the crown seemed so powerful, so beautiful, so precious.
He smashed it on the ground.
Picking up his bag and carefully zipping away the rest of his belongings and stolen goods, Minute spoke again into the earpiece. "Pentar, where are you now?"
"Uhhh, pretty much where we split up." His voice was breathless, Minute could hear pounding footsteps following him through the mic.
"Pentar, listen to me very carefully," Minute began. "When you get out of the entrance, you're going to run to the nearest corner. Don't let them see you turn the corner, sprint like your life depends on it."
"Because it does?"
"Because it does." Minute repeated grimly.
Minute crossed the area towards the corner he was talking about, the one where Squiddo and Jumper were concealed behind. If this plan failed… it wouldn't just be the end of him, it'd be the end of him and three of his friends, his bestfriends.
This had to work.
"Come on, Pentar…" He mumbled, staring at the entrance, stance ready to start running.
Then a flash of red caught his eye. Before he could even blink, Pentar came sprinting out of the building towards him. Upon seeing him, Minute turned and started running too.
Pentar's footsteps followed closely behind, his breathless pants practically next to Minute now, the guy really had sprinted like his life depended on it.
They both rounded the corner, barrelling straight into Squiddo and Jumper. Minute and Squiddo stumbled but managed to stay on their feet, Pentar and Jumper on the other hand were both sent toppling to the floor. Minute grabbed their arms, dragging both of them back behind the corner, out of sight.
Then, he peeked out.
The guards had spilled out of the entrance, swivelling their heads around, looking for something. The boy in red probably, but they wouldn't find him.
They'd find something else though.
Minute grinned with satisfaction as the guards made their way over to the crown he'd 'dropped' and began searching in that direction, the opposite direction to them.
Minute turned to his gang, who were all blinking up at him with a mix of shock and awe.
It was Squiddo who dared to ask. "What did you do?"
"Gave them a distraction," He replied.
”We did it!” Jumper cheered.
Jumper and Pentar both stumbled to their feet and did a celebratory handshake.
Minute raised a brow. “That’s what the handshake was for? A victory?”
They both nodded, Squiddo snorted.
Minute just rolled his eyes fondly. "Come on, let's go find Ash."
Ash had stopped responding into the earpieces a while ago, his final job was to get in the van and drive over.
Their getaway van.
And as they ran towards the road, it lay waiting for them.
Minute ran to the back and opened the sliding door, ushering Jumper and Pentar inside before clambering in himself. Squiddo didn't even open the car door, she just dived through the open window into the front seat.
"Go!" They all yelled in unison.
Ash slammed his foot on the pedal, the car skidded slightly then began speeding away. They all swayed around in the car, laughing and cheering.
"What happened?" Ash asked, looking into the rearview mirror, since he'd missed the last part of the heist, too busy getting their escape vehicle ready.
"Minute smashed the crown!" Pentar told him, laughing uncontrollably.
Ash did not share his amusement. "What?"
"I strategically smashed the crown," Minute corrected, then looked at Pentar "And I only did it to save your sorry ass."
"Hey! I fought off eight guards, I feel like that deserves a medal."
"Eight?!" Jumper screeched. "How on earth did that happen?"
Pentar shrugged. "They cornered me, but don't worry, I got them good."
"It looks like they got you good." Ash muttered, again glancing in the rearview mirror.
Squiddo turned around. "Did you break your nose?"
It was only now that Minute got a look at Pentar. Blood was drying around his nose, but that was the only obvious injury. And his friend was smiling so much that Minute didn't bother worrying.
"Who cares!" Pentar yelled. "We just pulled off the greatest heist in freaking history!"
"I don't know about that…" Minute said.
"Lighten up!" Jumper nudged him. "How quick did we do that heist huh?"
"I timed it," Squiddo told them. "Seven minutes!"
A chorus of cheers went around the car.
"How we feeling, guys?" Pentar asked.
"I feel like fucking James Bond." Squiddo replied, leaning back in her seat.
They all laughed, none of them had felt this light in forever.
They had each other, the open road, and now a ton of cash.
They could do whatever the hell they wanted.
They were free.