Natalie fidgeted impatiently. The trio had been standing before the glass case housing the nation's most treasured document for at least twenty minutes, and she was getting quite bored. The awe that had come over Kim's face momentarily unsettled her, and uneasily, she wondered if she'd have to convince Jessica to help her drag the other girl away from the elaborate chamber. Maybe that wouldn't be such a bad idea, after all.
" ... written on the back, " Kimberly was muttering furiously under her breath, staring between the papers still in Nat's hands, and the Declaration of Independence. "Then, that must mean that there's something on the back of the Declaration of Independence, assuming it's the document with the 'words of iron'."
"That does make sense, " Jessica agreed with a little nod, "but how are we going to get a look at the back of this thing? The back of the case is solid and opaque; I guess they figured the public wouldn't be interested in looking at the back of the document."
An eager expression began to insert itself on Nat's visage, quickly followed by a gleeful, scheming grin. "Well, " she drawled, with the air of having to state the obvious, "there's only one way to get to see all of it, you know." Shooting a glance at the nearby guard, she edged closer to the other two girls, and pretended to be absorbed with beholding the grandeur of the Declaration. Her expression betrayed her.
Kim pursed her lips in a no-nonsense manner as she turned her head slightly in the blonde's direction. "Don't go getting any ideas, " she warned, then paused, exhaling frustratedly before adding, "I know you have a plan already made, obviously. You might as well share it with us."
"It's really quite simple, " Nat responded with a shrug. "Why don't we steal it?"
Kim and Jess turned incredulous eyes onto her. Silence. "You're crazy, " they both said at last.
Natalie merely bowed deeply. "I know, " was her smug reply.
"But, Nat, you do know that it's virtually impossible to steal anything as well-protected as, well, this?" Jessica ventured in a whisper, pointing to the glass case.
"Seriously, Nat, the Declaration is guarded constantly. There are armed guards in this room, even now, watching our every move. There are cameras at every corner, not to mention those that we can't even see. And this room is constantly being filled with common tourists, like you and me, who come to oogle at our nation's most revered piece of paper. That doesn't even take into consideration the fact that at night, the entire case, as it stands now, is lowered into a secret, underground vault, and locked who-knows-how-many-times while scanners and laser-guns are activated around the perimeter." Kimberly paused in her spiel for breath. "It just can't be done. Besides, we'd end up going to prison, for sure, at the very least. Surely a crime like that would be right up there with threatening the President."
"Fine, " Nat said, determinedly. "Don't listen to my ideas. You obviously don't want to live a little, and you obviously want other people to get to the treasure first, and claim and use it for entirely wrong reasons."
Kim groaned aloud. "I hate it when she manipulates me this way, Jess. I really do, " she muttered, at which Jess could only grin slightly. "Alright, " she sighed, reluctantly. "Let's get out of here and hear the rest of your hare-brained scheme. We have to hope that somehow, the rest of our group won't notice that we're missing, and that Mr. B won't come back looking for us -- because if he does, our little venture is all over with. And we'll probably be expelled from school while we sit in prison."
"Oh, it'll work, " Natalie responded matter-of-factly, even as another grin spread over her face. "I saw a café just outside the building and off to the right; let's go get something to eat there and I'll fill you in on the way."
Hesitantly, Kimberly followed Nat out of the National Archives, with Jess a step behind her, still casting worried glances behind them as they exited the building and headed slightly east.
Drawing her companions close with both arms, she cast them both an evil grin before beginning, "Now, all we have to do is ... "
"That is never going to work, " Kimberly repeated vehemently with a flippant wave of her hand. "You're telling me that you expect us to sneak into the National Archives during a time when the Declaration is least likely to be guarded, somehow remove it from its case without attracting the attention of any security cameras, roll it up, and walk out just as jauntily as if we were mere tourists?"
"Well, not exactly. You see, there's more to it, " Natalie answered almost boredly, toeing a crack in the sidewalk. Glancing across the cast-iron table at her friends, she raised her brows slightly. "You did leave out many of the important details. According to the guide from the National Archives, the Declaration is only removed from its case while it's being cleaned. Cleanings are done every day, and usually around eight o'clock at night. We'd have to gain access to the cleaning room by stealing someone's identification card, or by acquiring his or her thumbprint, and then get the paper out of there before the FBI show up." She paused. "And see, no one's going to know that we're doing this because the security cameras are going to be ... fooled with, a little. If we could get a picture of the empty hallway and broadcast that into the security room, no one will see us sneaking around the building."
In the silence that followed, Kim and Jess stared wordlessly at Nat, who shrugged a little. "I told you, it's foolproof."
"That's impossible, " Jess breathed with a shake of her head. "Nat, you've come up with some pretty insane plans, but I think that this one takes the cake."
"This would take extensive equipment, time, and an incredible amount of luck, " Kimberly said at last. "We'd have to acquire a computer, without doubt, a small webcam, most likely wire-cutters to hack into their security system, a drill to undo the screws holding the Declaration in its case, and a way to establish communication between ourselves. Not to mention something to carry the document out of the building in, and we'd also need a way to hack into their computer system and duplicate some security badges."
"Oh, I know where we could easily find a computer to use, " Nat sniffed airily. "And the other tools can also rather easily be ... acquired."
Kim nearly choked on her lemonade. "Nat, don't you dare steal anything from anyone!"
"If we're going to attempt to steal the Declaration, Kim, then stealing other smaller things surely won't be as noticeable ... and they pale in comparison, anyway. Even if we stole a whole car we'd be put away for less time than stealing the Declaration, " Nat pointed out in a huff.
"There must be another way, " Jessica interrupted determinedly. "We can't just run off and take other people's property."
"Why not?" Nat responded nonchalantly. "We'd just be ... borrowing it permanently."
Kimberly opened her mouth to issue an indignant response -- but nothing came out except the incessant, suddenly-annoying ring of a cellphone. Grumbling, the girl pulled the device out of her black mini-backpack and accepted the call. "Hello? Oh! Yes, we're all perfectly fine. No, no, we didn't exactly get lost ... yes, they're right here with me." Pause. "Um. We're sitting at a small café near the National Archives. Well, we decided to grab a snack after losing track of the group. But it never exactly dawned on us to well, call you and let you know that we were here! We assumed that we'd be able to meet up with you later ... " Her voice trailed off slightly, brow furrowing at Nat's rapt-eyed attention. "Oh. Back at the hotel? Oh." Her face fell. "You're coming when? Now?" She ignored Nat's groan and Jess's look of relief. "Okay, Mr. B, " she said at last in a small voice. "We'll be here waiting then. Thanks."
"He's coming to get us?" Natalie demanded the moment she ended the call.
"Well ... yes, " Kim admitted with a shrug. "He's not exactly very happy that we got separated from the group, either. I think he's under the impression that we went off on our own, although he knows that I'm not the type of person that would do that."
"So basically, we either go back to the hotel with him, or -- "
"Or what?" Kim interjected sharply, staring narrow-eyed at Natalie. "There is no 'or' in this situation."
"Would you let me finish!" Nat returned in kind. "Either we go back to the hotel with him, or ... we convince him to help us."
"Now I'm convinced that you've truly lost your mind, " Kim muttered under her breath. "Then again, you never exactly had one to begin with."
"True, " Nat agreed with a complacent smile. "Now. Do you know if Mr. B has a laptop -- and if so, d'you think he'd let us use it?"
"Don't even think about borrowing it, " Kim growled. "You'd better have a good excuse for him when he asks us why we're here and what, exactly, you want to do with his computer."
"I'd be very interested to hear your reasons, ladies, " came a strict, gravelly voice from behind Kimberly. Startled, she turned around and stared up into the very intimidating gaze of her history teacher. "Oh. H-Hello there, sir. Would you um, care to join us briefly? I'm sure that I have enough money left on me to buy you a lemonade as well -- and meanwhile, Natalie can fill you in on exactly what we're doing here away from the group, can't you, Nat?"
Ignoring her friend's far-too-saccharine smile, Nat took a deep breath and began relating her plan and Kim's saga.