Regular font indicates the present.
Italic font indicates flashbacking.
Bold italic font indicates thought.
Bold regular font indicates writing/typing.
It had been a week since the Ganymede jewelry—the highlight of the Metropolitan Museum's collection and a priceless piece of Greece's ancient history—was stolen with nothing more than an empty glass container, a broken lunette window, and a few trampled bushes to serve as proof that such artifacts were stolen.
The event had taken the media by storm, as rumors began to spread and people began to wonder what occurred on that night. What was the purpose of stealing the artifacts, if they were stolen at all? Was it for the vast amounts of money the jewelry was worth, or was it for the glory of having managed to escape without a trace (save for the aforementioned glass container, broken lunette window, and trampled bushes?)
The press had a field day as all journalists and news reporters would with such an event as that. Countless articles ripped the police to shreds and cursed their inability to catch the thief, rejoicing in their failure as taking advantage of public interest increased the sales of their magazines and newspapers.
Out of all forms of media, none was more excited than the internet. With the internet, people could take sides without a second thought as they wouldn't face repercussions for hiding behind a computer screen. They could spread rumors and share opinions to their hearts' content without fear of their identities being revealed or their images being ruined.
News of the Metropolitan heist spread like wildfire across the web as people began to question numerous things regarding the theft. Why those particular artifacts when they obviously had the skills to steal more? How did they manage to get past the security and take the guarded items? Most importantly, who was responsible for sneaking in, robbing the museum, and slinking under the radar of both the NYPD and America, New York's finest superhero?
Little did New York—no, the WORLD at this point—realize that the man in question, the criminal who had become the bane of the police's existence and was quickly becoming recognized as a renowned thief, was sitting in the corner of a Starbucks' café on his laptop and sipping lukewarm tea.
I anticipated that the museum and the NYPD would work to cover up the situation as best as they could, Arthur thought as he took a drink from his brewed Earl Grey, cringing a bit at how quickly the beverage had cooled. Knowing the museum, they would dismiss the Ganymede's disappearance by saying it was taken in for restoration to prevent their standing from being tarnished, which they did.
He drained the rest of his drink and pushed the Styrofoam cup to the side, typing 'Identity of Metropolitan thief' into his Google search and clicking the enter button on his keyboard. And, knowing the police, they would force America to keep quiet about the whole affair, which they did. Since America serves as a mascot for the police, they can't afford him to let slip any information that could make them look bad. Even though the heist occurred a week ago, he hasn't released any information that could point to a criminal responsible for the incident.
The Brit's brow crinkled a miniscule amount at the millions of results found in 0.26 seconds, his hand resting on his cheek as he scrolled his wireless mouse up and down the screen. He clicked on the first website at the top of the page with a small smirk etching onto his features when he caught sight of it.
He leaned in his chair after a moment, still staring at the screen. "I knew I asked Kiku to upload some footage to the internet," he mumbled beneath his breath as he exited out of the site and clicked on the other sites, all of them showing the same sets of pictures. "But I didn't think he'd do it so quickly."
In order for his goal to be completed, several tasks had to be undertaken. The first task was to steal a few items, items well-known for their worth in the black market, to set the stage and begin molding his reputation. He didn't want to steal an artifact like the Ganymede jewels on his first heist; otherwise it would look like he was taking the credit for someone else's work.
The second task was to get in contact with other criminals for the purpose of making connections that could prove to be beneficial in the future. Arthur was especially careful during this task as it was a risky move on his end. If he dropped one tidbit of personal information, whether his true name or where he lived (although he would never be stupid enough to go about blabbing about such things to begin with), it could be his undoing. Though this was around the time he met Kiku, his dorm mate who turned out to be an expert in the field of hacking and technological manipulation. While it had taken a good amount of time to develop trust with the Japanese male, the Englishman found it to be a lot easier working with a partner than by himself. After all, the enemy of his enemy was his friend, right?
The third task was to create his pièce de résistance as a thief by stealing the Ganymede jewelry and evading capture from the NYPD. While he hadn't anticipated that America would show up in his best-cast scenario (even if the pesky American had somehow managed to find him during his past, less-significant heists), it did improve his image as he had stolen the jewelry and evaded capture from both the NYPD and New York's famous superhero.
Now that he had stolen the Ganymede artifacts, he figured it was about time for him to give the media a face to associate with the crime they became so infatuated with in so short a time. If he waited any longer, he wouldn't be surprised if some other thief stepped forward and took the credit for his work.
I asked Kiku to submit a few snapshots from what security footage wasn't interrupted by 'O' to various websites, newspapers, and magazines, Arthur continued to think as he closed the internet tabs on his laptop, erased his browser history, and exited out of his fake user IP address online. Ever since he began his criminal activities, he found it useful to create a few IP addresses to prevent being traced. A simple protocol he and Kiku established when they first formed their partnership, as they both agreed that precaution was an absolute necessity if they wanted to stay out of jail. That way, both the NYPD and America could be hounded by the press for not revealing that information sooner and decrease their public support. And after that, it won't be long before-
"-All the tasks at hand have been cleared," Arthur finished out loud beneath his breath.
"What tasks at hand?" A familiar voice wondered, causing the Brit to almost jump out of his seat considering dear God for a minute he thought it was-
"Alfred!" Arthur gasped, holding his heart in an attempt to catch his breath. "You need to stop sneaking up on me like that!"
The American laughed at the sight of the blond looking so distressed, the sound causing a blush to emerge amongst the Englishman's previously-pale features.
"Sorry," Alfred apologized, pulling out the chair across from Arthur and sitting down. "I saw you were in here and decided to surprise you. I didn't think you were a Starbucks' person."
"If by surprise you meant scare within an inch of my life, then yes, you surprised me," Arthur replied while crossing his arms over his chest. "And I'm not one for Starbucks. Since Kiku began studying for his exams for his summer classes, I've been coming here to get my tea."
In actuality, Kiku began creating the replicas for the Ganymede artifacts like we discussed recently, the Brit admitted within the contents of his mind, getting up and throwing his empty Styrofoam cup in the trash considering he finished it some time ago. He requested that I stay out of the dorm because the slightest distraction could result in inadequate impersonations.
"Huh, and here I thought you had the unhealthy studying habit," the American remarked when he sat down again, an impish smile playing amongst his features again as he rested his hand on his cheek. "But off goes Kiku studying a week before his summer exams are to start."
"You know how we both are," Arthur retorted, hoping the blond couldn't see through his lie however true to Kiku's personality it was. "We take our education very seriously as we both need 4.0s to maintain our scholarships."
Alfred drew out an over-dramatic sigh, flopping his arms on the table. "I would have gotten a scholarship like you guys if I didn't flunk my English final-"
"Which, based on what you read, didn't surprise me all that much."
"Comic books are a form of literature!"
"As much literature as a children's coloring book."
"You're just jelly 'cuz my English is gooder than yours~"
"Good God, just hearing that statement made me lose brain cells," Arthur moaned, raking a hand through his messy blond hair to tease the American further, unable to help the small smile brightening up his features. "I'm amazed you passed high school, Jones."
It was Alfred's turn to smile. "That's because you insisted on tutoring me, Kirkland," he winked, snickering at the blush that bloomed across the Englishman's cheekbones.
"S-shut up, you moron," the Brit coughed out, trying/failing to fight the raging red on his face by averting his embarrassed emerald gaze from mischievous sapphire.
"If I ask, will you tutor me again," Alfred implored, leaning forward until his nose was barely brushing the boy sitting across from him. "Kirkland-sempai?"
Arthur lost it, having to cover his mouth to prevent himself from bursting into a fit of unadulterated laughter, his face brighter than a Mediterranean tomato and his stomach hurting from how badly he was holding it in.
"You just go off and ruin it, Jones," he managed to say between his fingers, burying his face on the table so he could quietly laugh his guts out in peace. "You burger-loving twat."
The American only grinned, ruffling the hair of the Englishman knowing how he felt about his hair being tampered with, the smile dancing across his features excellently concealing his confusion likely towards why that particular insult sounded familiar.
~ na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na~
He glanced over the blueprints with a curious smile residing amongst his shadowy features, loving the way that the metal glinted in the bright light of his computer. Even though it would have been easier to simply purchase one off the internet, it wouldn't have been as fun as making one directly. Besides, since he had finished making the replica of the Ganymede jewelry as he and Alfred agreed beforehand, 'O' had much more time dedicated to his more…personal projects.
He was efficient; deadly efficient, if the decapitation move he demonstrated during the Metropolitan heist against England's presumed sidekick was anything to go off of. While it was undeniably tricky to access England's feed and disconnect it, he felt it was worth it in watching the thief struggle akin to a squashed bug desperately clinging to life.
"Though the fact that people could potentially learn our secrets is proof that my abilities leave much to be desired," 'O' mumbled, glancing over the blueprints one last time to check for any possible mistakes he could have made. After England's helper had managed to infiltrate his computer and enact his own form of a decapitation move (granted, much more subtle than his own), he had no choice but to be even more cautious to prevent such mistakes from happening again. "However, with luck, I'll only have to wait a little longer before I can finally test this out and prove myself."
Another glance to the machine caused a miniscule smile to grow upon their features. An excited smile.
Author's Note: Yeah, I couldn't sleep at all, so I decided to type up chapter three. This is the kind of stuff that pops out of my mind when my brain can't go to sleep, it's kind of weird.
However, I quite like where this is going. Sorry that the chapter isn't longer and that my author's note isn't longer, but I'm going to try to get some sleep soon. Please favorite/follow/review as you see fit, as I'd like you to continue this journey with me, and I appreciate feedback whether positive or negative.
Until then? Stay awesome.