Chapter 2 – I am Belle Velius
I really should get this outfit to the tailor. I do wish I didn't have to have my first public appearance looking like this. Last heist I pulled I ended up getting my thigh caught on a sharp protrusion on a window as I made my exit from the Louvre. If this whole situation with L hadn't called for my attention so immediately, I probably would've gotten my suit fixed up first. I suppose I can't complain too much though, this should be fun regardless.
I shifted a little bit in my crouch; my feet were beginning to go numb. The ring of law enforcement around the museum across the street had been there since mid-day yesterday. The poor families trying to enjoy a nice visit to the museum on a Friday afternoon were subject to thorough checks on the way in as well as the way out of the museum. Pointless, really. No self-respecting thief would do something as boring as walking in the front door. It's not like any of the law enforcement officers had an IQ even close to substantial, it would have been child's play getting past them. But where's the fun in that? My method was much better. Speaking of which, I think it's time for me to start. Let's get this show on the road.
I felt the familiar tingle of excitement in the pit of my stomach that accompanies pulling off a job. I took the large bag off of my back and opened it, removing a flat, retractable 3 inch wide rod with thick two inch long spikes on the bottom of either end made of an extremely strong type of carbon steel used in aircraft landing gears that was capable of supporting extremely high weight as well as a blowtorch with condensed oxygen enriched propane. Extending the rod to its full length of thirty feet, I used the blowtorch on the steel spike on one end. Once it reached the hottest the torch could make it at over one thousand five hundred degrees Celsius, I quickly moved the rod over the open space between the building I was on and the museum across the way. The spike quickly melted into the ceramic roof with a melting point of only six hundred fifty degrees Celsius. I began torching the spike on the end of the rod I still had, and once hot, melted it into the roof I was on. I waited a little to make sure the spikes and roof had cooled, and put my blowtorch away and my bag back on my back, then quickly made my way across the makeshift bridge. The matte black of my clothes and mask and the unreflective black of the rod worked as cover enough from the law enforcement at the height I was at, and I made it across without incident.
Ughh… I hate this part. It's always so dusty in there. Leaving the rod where it was, I opened the ventilation vent on the roof of the museum, climbed in, and started crawling. Alright now it was…. Left turn left turn right, exit the second one after the bend. Reading blueprints wasn't exactly my forte, but after hacking the contractor who had originally constructed the museum, it was a simple matter to find the blueprints and figure out the fastest way to the Vessel's display. Aaand here we are. The Vessel's display room. The room was very large, a good thirty feet tall, and filled with four armed officers, two by the door and two on either side of the display, and a decent amount of guests oogling the display.
After brushing myself off I attached a strong cord to the inside of the ventilation system with a powerful adhesive and waited for it to dry while unscrewing the vent cover. Now for the fun part. Removing the vent cover I placed it behind me in the ventilation shaft, and pulled out my tranquilizer gun from its resting place on my thigh. The officers aren't even wearing bulletproof vests. It's like they're handing the Vessel to me. I shot the two officers by the door, and by the time the other two officers had noticed someone had just shot their companions, they had a hypodermic needle in their necks. A few seconds later, I was lowering myself into a room filled with four snoring officers and some very startled guests. A lot of the guests were staring at the officers I had downed by the door in confusion, so I wasn't too quiet about smashing the glass display with the Vessel. Oh I have everyone's attention. Good.
Picking up the Vessel I look up at my audience and lifted the Vessel up.
"Cheers, loves!"
With the aid of the cord, I half climbed and half ran up the wall back to the opened vent. The people should be getting over their shock any time now. I should hurry. I cut the cord I was attached to, dropped the Vessel into my bag, and started making my way out. As I climbed back the way I had come, I couldn't help but give myself a mental pat on the back. Cheers. Brilliant, Belle, truly Brilliant. Your first public appearance and you pulled it off flawlessly. Back on the roof, I made my way across the bar, not bothering to remove it as I knew I didn't have the time to. From the building I was on I climbed down the side farthest from the museum and dropped to the street below where my motorcycle was waiting. I started the motorcycle up, took my mask off, and mussed my short red hair.
Feels nice to have that mask off. Now, where was I? Oh yeah. Lauding myself for that perfectly performed burglary and going to find a tailor to fix my outfit. There's no way I'm going to have two appearances in a row with a tear in my suit.
