Chapter Twelve – The Fake ID and the Key

Squall didn't have time to hang around after Rinoa had left them. It was time to make their plans reality and pull off the greatest heist ever recorded. He had four vehicles in four locations in the city. He had a black car stationed at the airfield across the Zepher River and a red motorbike in the town, parked in some garages not far from where the heist was to take place, a silver bike in the underground car swap, and a brand new car that he had traded for his old silver car. All of them were ready and waiting to pick up anybody left behind at the scene and to take them to wherever they needed to be.

The getaway engines were in place, but his team seemed a little unmotivated. After setting their home alight, everyone realized that they had nowhere to go and couldn't turn back. Squall felt this, too. It was an infectious fear that was swallowing them all. If they were caught tonight, they would spend the rest of their lives in prison, but if they succeeded, they would spend the rest of their lives in luxury. There was no longer any middle ground, no empty warehouse to hide in.

There was only one question on everybody's mind, and that was, would they succeed? Rather than call in favours from people, they had all taken taxis to their various locations. Squall had loathed the idea of letting strangers see them so up close on the day, but he was more afraid that those he bribed would give them away. He was hoping the taxi drivers would be too busy thinking of their fares and not thinking about them.

Quistis had the longest journey to make. She was going out to the airfield where she would later use the car that Zell had parked there to collect Zell and bring him, and the stolen item to the airplane. She was setting up her equipment inside the plane. This way there would not be a mad scramble at the last minute to pack the stuff away, in order to not leave any evidence behind.

The pilot of the plane was paid by their boss, Cid, so there was no need to disguise themselves in front of him, which was lucky because Quistis soon realized that she'd never be able to hide what she was doing to an outsider.

Selphie had managed to perfect the earpieces in the short time that was available to her. They all worked via radio to Quistis' computer. She was the one looking at all the video cameras, the road traffic, and had also hacked into the police alarm system, so that she would know exactly the moment that their alarms were triggered. She could send all this information to the gang by speaking into a microphone; they would receive it through their earpieces.

Irvine was dressed in the most convincing business suit that they could and would afford--nothing too flashy or cheap looking. He had to appear wealthy and important and not seem too rich for a business man. In his hand, he carried a suitcase, and, instead of being filled with what it was claiming to be filled with (information for the important meeting), it in fact contained every fake ID that the gang could manufacture or buy.

He was standing outside of the building when he phoned Quistis, looking up at the many windows and wondering if he would ever get inside and if they would ever pull this off, as it looked a long way to the top from the ground.

"Hi, Irvine. I'm still setting up. You got there already?" After a long pause of silence, which had made Irvine worry the call was being intercepted, Quistis spoke to him again. "The others haven't checked in yet, but they can't be far. The roads look pretty calm. Hold on, I'm getting another call…"

The line went silent for a while, and Irvine remained looking up at the building with a sick feeling in his stomach. The line buzzed and Quistis was back.

"They're all ready and set, so you can begin whenever you like. The foyer is pretty crowded, so it's perfect for slipping by unnoticed. So what would you like to know? I've got the cameras working."

"How about...is it a man or a woman on the desk?" Irvine asked. He had a feeling he'd have better luck with a woman.

"It's your lucky day, Irvine. It's a girl. Now, no flirting, as we need to move quickly, got it?" Quistis reminded and answered him.

Irvine rolled his eyes and hung up. Quistis could be annoying sometimes, especially now when she announced over the earpieces that 'Irvine was in the building' and 'Irvine was at the desk.' He supposed the others needed to know, but it was slightly alarming to be so watched and monitored.

The girl on the desk looked flustered, like she was having a bad day, and Irvine was only slightly sorry that he was about to make it ten times worse. She looked up at him and told him to wait a moment before he had even said anything. Finally she stopped tapping on her computer and looked at him wearily.

"Sorry to be such a bother. You are clearly very busy, but I'm here for the meeting on safe carbon emissions from the workplace, but like the idiot that I am I've gone and left my cardkey at the hotel."

The girl looked at him like he really was an idiot.

"I can't just go giving cardkeys out willy-nilly. I suppose your letter told you to bring it with you," she said. Irvine was about to try again, but she continued. "Let me see your ID."

"Mr. Alan Grants, director of the East Sheet Metal Company," Irvine said, handing over the ID.

Mr. Alan Grants was indeed invited to the meeting, but hopefully by the time he showed up they'd all be long gone. It was chance they had to take. Quistis had a camera pointed at his hotel front door so they would know his movements. They'd been watching him for weeks; he moved slowly.

"You check out," the girl said. "Look, I'll do you a favor. I'll let you use the elevator. Go and see the meetings organizer on floor 12, and she'll validate the card so that you can enter the room."

Irvine gave her the most genuine smile of gratitude that he could muster and set off for the elevator. He didn't need to validate the card. He was only going to go to the first floor, and he knew that he could enter that room without swiping his card, for it was a cafeteria.

Walking to the window to admire the view, he rested his arm on the open window frame. At that moment he let go of the card key and it fell to the ground below.

Squall was waiting outside, leaning against the wall, looking at the ice-cream shop over the road. He knew it was a very bad time for wanting an ice-cream, but he couldn't stop thinking about it. Finally, something hit the ground in front of him. It had fallen a fair way since it had landed with a heavy crack. He went over to retrieve it. It was Irvine's card key. He checked in with Quistis.

"Received card. Tell Selphie I'll see her inside."

"Right you are, boss!" Quistis told him. She then spoke over the earpieces to tell Irvine that Squall had the key and to tell Selphie to get inside.

Selphie and Squall looked at the lift. There was a slight queue so they hung back, but when it was clear they swiped their card and stepped inside.

"Ready?" Squall asked.

Selphie shook her head.

"Never."

A/N: Yes, sorry everyone, Rinoa lost her nerve once they began threatening her with prosecution… I think anyone would. I checked it out, according to British law you can get up to a five year prison sentence for being involved in stealing a car. Of course most people would lie and say that they didn't know it was stolen, but that's a bit of a risk.

Thank you for the reviews guys! And thank you to Bianka-Chan for beta-ing, especially this chapter, after your computer decided to die. Thank You!