AN: This took a while since I was hit by author's block and a case of burnout. After two weeks of university and trying to write a draft for an assessment, bruh. I'm really slow, lmao. So it might take a while for me to update my current stories. But hang tight as more will come on its way! Hope you enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 15

I think I am starting to regret working with this guy.

Not because he was part of a super-shady, morally-questionable and close-to-vicious criminal ring who had done nothing but steal objects randomly, blow up restaurants, indications of murders and have weapons that could disarm even the most magical of rocks.

"So what's the plan?" I asked, leaning back on my tail.

"I'm thinking of having a full break-in and snatching that diamond!" said Willy, crackling his knuckles.

"Wait, what? Are you insane? That's going to get us exposed!"

"I'm positive that a full break-in will work."

I sighed. "Oh my goodness. That would work if you're in the desert. That place might have a lot of security, guards waiting by and a good amount of police cars that will ram into us without further question. Not to mention it would draw in a lot of attention. You see my point?"

"I do…" Willy's grin widened. "And it's going to be awesome!"

"Are there any other plans you have for this?"

"Oh, just that. Breaking and entering is my specialty. Well, I'm not good at breaking out. I just usually rely on others to do that part."

"That explains a lot," I said, shaking my head.

"Well, but wouldn't it be fun? We show up explosive, we kick around several objects, get the diamond, we ride with our getaway ride and drive into the sunset!" He laughed, rubbing his belly. "Oh, how I love the smell of debris and smoke in the night time."

This was why I began having second thoughts about going on a heist with him. It was the mere fact that he was incompetent. Was this how Zero felt when it came to dealing with the younger members? Did he think of me like this whenever I goofed off?

"You're forgetting how many obstacles in the area," I pointed out. "It might not even be enough to blow a hole in the wall! Who knows if the museum isn't vulnerable to the bombs you stole? Aren't you worried that the destruction you propose would even break the diamond?"

Willy opened his mouth to speak, only for a low dry note to squeak out from his note.

"So you're saying we use stealth?" he asked.

"Yes," I said. "Aren't you flexible? You were fast yesterday."

Willy thought about it. "Well, yeah. I'm acrobatic as well. However…I don't think I can keep things quiet. Being quiet when being stealthy is not my strong suit. OK, what are you exactly worried about? Is it bad to be chaotic like how your squad did it?"

"We only had a full attack if our target is vulnerable or if it's too complex to break in," I explained. "OK, I'm still not savvy on technology. Do you perhaps know how to handle the electricity and stuff like that?"

The walrus nodded, pulling in a chair, already intrigued with this discussion. "A little bit, but I'm no hacker. I did manage to bring over override USBs to deactivate security cameras, systems and lights. I connected them to two phones I brought along, though the problem comes with choosing the right room since the system would label them in different names."

"Then these will have to work," I said, pulling over the chair I was previously tied up in. "OK, from my experience, it's usually the leaders and top strategists who plan the best robberies. But when doing a heist that includes no casualties or high property damage, then Paz was the guy to know this kind of thing. He was quite crafty on planning heists, so I'm gonna go through what I learned from him. But first, is there anything else we should know about the museum?"

Willy had a thoughtful look. "Well, I already said where the diamond will be at. Right in the Diamond Dynasty Museum, it'll be in the historical section where it'll be presented in a room next to multiple family collections Pilot carried for a long time. This room will be separated from the public hallways behind a glass wall."

"We're getting somewhere here," I said, nodding. "What else?"

"The room has two levels of security. The first level will be the entrance to the family collection room. Guarded by two bodyguards who are armed with tasers and baseball bats. This door can only be unlocked by a normal employee ID card."

"A normal employee? Is there like…any specific card level or role the owner would need to have?"

"Pilot Diamond isn't too strict, so that's our advantage. But the second level of security comes to taking the diamond from the display glass. We need the manager's card to open it up. But we need to be quick since it'll automatically close."

"Now this is the information we need," I said. "How come you didn't acknowledge them?"

"I did," said Wally bluntly. "The Lightning Bolt Society once planned to rob that place. But I know several heist films that make a heist like this fictional. How can we know that it won't go 'perfectly'?"

"Then it looks like we have to try," I said. "Not only we might have to place the protocol into the security system's hard drive, but we'll need to grab those cards for our tickets while being undetected the whole time. Now, is there anything else that will happen tonight?"

Willy sighed. "Well, the museum is closed for now since Pilot Diamond wants to keep the family collection room really secret. Therefore, not that many workers inside. Before the museum opens, Pilot Diamond will have a dinner event where multiple guests and workers will be right outside the building."

"So this could mean we can sneak in to take the cards," I summed up. "Though, we must be careful due to the likely number of guards there. Anything else we should note?"

"This is kind of the reason why I went to break in," said Wally. "If we try to hunt down the cards, it won't be long until the museum opens. That way, more people will come in and catch us, even if they're not workers. Not to mention they might recognize you."

I hissed under my breath. "Is there a way to deter them?"

Wally hummed, scratching his chin. "Well, I did hear that Pilot Diamond is one of the people who control when tour groups will come in. Tonight, everyone has to be in groups since it's not a casual event. While he usually just sends emails and texts to the tour guides, he ultimately gives them each a clipboard with final notes on where they should go to. That way, they won't have to keep pulling out their phones to check."

"So this could mean that we can change the tour guide schedule so that they won't come close to where we will be heading to!" I said, standing up. "Genius! Though, we have to be careful when changing the final schedule since they can come close whenever they want to."

"Got it then," said Willy, pumping his fist. "Say, this is actually exciting! Been a while since I got into this kind of small planning discussion."

I chuckled. "Well…it feels a little fun reciting what we should do."

Even though I was previously annoyed that I had to work with this guy to walk out without him killing himself, I found myself…smiling strangely. Even in the midst of making a serious plan, I was excited. It felt like when I did those robberies with my squad back in the good old days. And whether getting the gold out or not, it was fun together. Having our own roles to it.

I blinked and found myself staring at Willy for too long.

Wait, but…I lost the desire to continue being a mercenary when I lost my squad. This shouldn't happen, right? I already swore that I would live a good life here and use my abilities for the better. And I even grew tired of my bad life, so why did it feel so good to do this all again?

I gulped to myself, becoming worried about this.

"Erm, Agent Obsidian?" called Willy, waving his hand in front of my eyes. "You're there?"

"Oh, yes," I said, quickly shaking my head. "Sorry."

"Anything wrong because you look mad at me?"

"What, no, no, I'm not mad at you or anything."

I stared for too long again, did I? Though, why did he say I look mad at him?

Maybe it was just due to my own thoughts.

"OK then," said Willy, weirded out. "What I want to know is how we will be able to get the cards. I'm not big on stealth."

I hummed, rubbing my chin. That was a really good question. Going through the vents wouldn't be a good idea, especially due to how fat Willy was. I prodded his stomach a little with my foot but immediately stepped back when remembered that he was still wearing that suicide bomb vest. It could go off with the simplest of touches. Turning around, I looked around for what else we could use.

And then, I spotted a folded pink coat and a purple fedora behind my chair.

"Wait," I said. "That's Molly's stuff?"

"Oh yeah, your friend got a lot of good loot!" said Willy with a smirk. "The coat was kind of heavy though."

Uh oh. Remember what Molly said to me before she went to use the toilet?

"Seriously, if anything happens to my hat, then I'll kill you."

And if Willy ultimately takes her hat away, how am I gonna explain this to Molly? I could imagine her standing right in front of me, holding that stupid gun right on my forehead. All the while I stand there like an idiot as she threatened to blow my brain into smithereens. Oh, I could already imagine her just dumping my body in the desert and letting the vultures peck at my beautiful brain…

Maybe I was being overdramatic.

Surely, Molly won't try to shoot me.

Right?

And then, an idea came to mind.

"Oh…bummer!" I said, heading closer to the pink coat and fedora. "I'm just gonna take these."

"Wait, you're gonna use her stuff?" asked Willy curiously.

"Well…at least it's not gonna be a total loss!" I said, wrapping the pink coat over my body. "What she HOPEFULLY won't know won't hurt her."

"What are you exactly doing?"

"There are many ways to use stealth," I said, picking up the purple fedora. "We need to blend in first."

I tried to appear cool by flipping the hat in the air, watching it spin and letting it land on my head. However, it didn't even come close to my scalp. Thanks to my tall ears, it was just hanging on top of them awkwardly. I groaned, forcing my ears to bend back so that the fedora could rest on my hat properly.

"This is gonna be really sore after this," I groaned, trying not to lift my ears upwards.

6 o'clock, Diamond Dynasty Museum.

Halfway through starting event of a dinner buffet for all to feast on first before they could feast their eyes on Pilot Diamond's museum. Right now, he should be on stage making a speech. Half an hour later, he would be off the stage to talk with other people, even willing to give interviews for those who just applied. And another half an hour later, the museum will open.

Got to say that Pilot picked the right spot to hold this grand reopening of his museum. And it was set in a town square of Central City. G.U.N wasn't around there, so that would I mean I didn't have to worry about being caught. The town squad had a mix of suburban streets and a big city feel, attracting all kinds of traditional appeals to many.

I already made sure that I wore Molly's pink coat and purple fedora properly. To make sure that I looked unrecognizable, I had my hair slicked back and wore a fake mustache underneath my nose. I was also wearing a pair of white gloves, a black collared shirt with a lavender tie, black trousers held up by a belt and black slacks. Didn't think that I would come out looking this fancy, so I had to thank Willy for the disguise.

The walrus had to make sure that he was unrecognizable as well. With a black top hat, he had a mop of fake purple hair that reached to his shoulders. He made sure to apply a belly slimmer to make his belly look flatter. He was also wearing a white stiff shirt, a heavy maroon coat and red shoes with grey socks.

"This actually makes me feel strange," I said, adjusting my collar.

"Me too," said Willy. "I didn't even want to add pants to this."

"Do you think these colors fit me? Because it ain't green."

"Hmm, to be honest, you don't look too bad in this," said Willy. "You look rather smart! Well, but maybe the pink is not fitting."

"Clearly," I muttered.

"You know, it's a good eye catch of what might be expected to be worn at an event like this."

"Hey, you told me about the event they're having tonight. You contributed a good part to this plan."

Willy raised an eye, surprised. "Why…thank you. I know that I'm not really the best when it comes to trying to find a clear exit, but don't you worry. I'm gonna be the best partner-in-crime you'll ever see-OOF!"

I stumbled backward when a random human bumped into Willy. He was all wearing shades of grey with a face mask covering his mouth and a black fedora covering the top of his head. The two of them tripped over, nearly on top of each other before they hit the floor. Immediately, the human quickly got back up and helped the walrus back to his feet.

"Oh dear," said the human in a noticeable accent. "I'm so sorry, dear! You're good?"

"Yes, yes, yes," grumbled Willy as the human wiped his coat. "I'm fine. I'm fine."

But something didn't tell me that he was fine at all as when the human patted his stomach during his cleaning, an ELECTRICAL GRENADE dropped from Willy's shirt. Immediately, I tackled it and hid it underneath. Both Willy and the human looked down at me. With my knee placed against the floor, I leaned my head on my arm and wore a sheepish smile.

"I just found a penny!" I said quickly. "I dropped a penny right here. I love a good penny!"

It was pathetic and it worked.

"Okey dokey, little man!" said the human, ruffling my hat. "Hope that you have a good night, boys! Heard that Pilot is running a dinner."

"And that's why we're heading right there," said Willy.

"Works for me! See you later!"

Without batting an eye, the human skipped away merrily. Getting back up, I lifted up the grenade in my hand and glared at Willy. The walrus took about a good chunk of three seconds to come up with an excuse.

"I forgot," he said, taking the grenade. "I still have my bomb vest underneath."

"Why did you bring it?!" I snarled.

"In case of emergencies!"

"Like what?"

"Like if you need a clear escape or a distraction, then this will do the trick!"

I could only give him a blank stare. "That's the stupidest sacrifice I ever heard. We're not like up against aliens."

"We might sometime tonight."

I rolled my eyes. "Let's continue now."

It didn't take long until we arrived at the town square. I couldn't help, but coo in awe. As the sun set on the horizon, they already had the building lights on. Without needing flashy billboards and monitors, they let the light show happen. The LED lights were arranged beautifully with some forming different shapes on the walls. Meanwhile, there were a couple of statues and structures, glowing in the dark.

On the right was the museum itself. The front part of the building made it look like a Greek building. This was due to how the pillars were made and the smooth stone material used to create them. It was currently blocked by a line of guards. A few workers walked by and they didn't budge to stop them from entering.

Right on the streets was a large dining area set with a camp roof covering the place. White circular tables were evenly spread around with guests already dining. On the side was a table of food, watched over by workers who had to collect the money given when their customers pay for the dish. At the moment, Pilot Diamond was on a small stage, making a lengthy speech.

"Now not only our family is still surviving," he said with a smooth voice. "We're thriving! Just imagine, the second you see the new room, you'll be amazed by how much we've collected. It'll let you think back to the beauties of the special room in your own family house…even if you don't have a family ever since you're born."

Willy cringed at the sound of this as we came closer. "Yeah, that guy is far from innocent."

"I don't know," I said, my tail wagging a little. "He somehow makes it sound…arousing? I guess?"

The walrus turned to me. "You're OK, Obsidian?"

"I'm fine. I'm fine."

But for some reason, it was hard not to marvel at this guy despite that awful joke he made. He was already dressed in a nice white shirt with short sleeves, blue trousers, a silver belt with a gold buckle and black slacks. Even though he was wearing half of what the guests were wearing, he still looked sharp.

"Anyway, we still got a couple of minutes until Pilot leaves the stage," said Willy. "Do you think our target is right here?"

Thanks to a list of employee information Willy previously stole (or at least got a copy from one of the Lightning Bolt Society members previously hacked into), our target for collecting a normal employee card came from this technician and computer guy by the name of Nigel. He was already at a table, telling some kind of magical story to his friends. They laughed while he gave a smug smile albeit confident and happy.

"Nigel Lincoln," I narrated. "Our easy ticket into the security room. Remember, when it's time, I'll lead Pilot to his office to have a personal talk with him. You'll head to the kitchen to be a waiter, serve Nigel the dish and guide him to the bathroom right near Pilot's office."

"You got it, sir," said Willy. "Though, will this work?"

"Well, you're fast in changing clothes, so if you're equally fast in placing in that 'poison' you brought along into his soup, then we'll be right on time."

"Right then," said Willy, ruffling his coat pocket. "Because I hate carrying around that small bottle of liquid that would cause nausea and we picked the one that makes fake burns in the lungs. And you know how they get out of control if the person ends up vomiting too much until acid burns their throat away…"

"Are we doing this or not?" I asked. "This is what you wanted, right?"

The walrus nodded. "Yes, sir. So, what now?"

"Let's just wait for a few minutes until we get into position. 15 minutes left and then you'll be up."

"So now…to act natural?"

Well, we looked unnatural. Just standing there in front of the dining area, looking like a bunch of creeps. Just wondering how that would make us look less suspicious in the guards' eyes. When it was clear that standing there doing nothing was doing the trick, we eventually decided to get ourselves comfortable for the time being.

"But first we should take a snack," said Willy, "I'm starving."

I shrugged, about to point out that I didn't have money. But Willy barely paid attention, already waddling to the food table. Guess that we might have to snatch a couple of food off the table. Unless…I immediately dug my hands into the pink coat. I didn't know why, but Willy did say that it was heavy.

So that could mean Molly had a couple of things in this coat other than guns.

When I managed to grab onto something really thin, I whipped it out. Three 100-dollar notes! Jackpot!

I bit my lip. "Molly won't be happy about this…but hopefully just buying a treat won't be a total loss."

By the time I got to the table, fortunately, Willy didn't start ransacking the food displayed on the table. There wasn't that much left due to the guests already taking some, but there was a good range of variations to pick from. He was just looking through the food in front of him, deciding. I decided to take a look, admiring the different sweet pastries now on sale to buy.

And then, my eyes laid upon a couple of sugary cones with what appeared to be dollars of colorful cream on them, held up by metal cups.

"Can we take these?" I asked.

"Wait, you mean those ice cream cones?" asked Willy. "Why take these when you can have gourmet pies?"

"Well, I never got the chance to try ice cream before," I said, nearly innocently.

Willy gave me an odd look before shrugging. "OK then. Two ice cream cones it will be then."

They didn't cost too much until Willy asked if we could have toppings. At first, I wasn't sure why we should until the servant at the table poured gooey chocolate over the vanilla scoops. She then showered them in grounded nuts, gold glitter and some powdered sugar. Finishing off with a chocolate wafer on top. It reminded me a lot of the first breakfast meal I had from Stone.

Willy didn't seem too impressed, taking his cone. However, when I took mine, I took a huge bite at the top. The first thing that came to mind was how COLD the ice cream was! But then came in the sweetness. The feeling of the crunchy nuts, the smooth and velvet chocolate, and the cool vanilla ice cream melting in my mouth.

Like the first time, all the layers aligned with each other smoothly.

"How does it taste?" asked Willy, idly licking off the chocolate sauce from his cone.

I found myself bouncing on my heels. "It's really nice!" I turned to the servant behind the table with a grin. "This is amazing! You should be proud!"

The servant appeared confused, but she gave a sincere smile before moving on to greeting the other guests who arrived.

Willy seemed concerned. "How…long have you been out there as a child?"

A couple of minutes passed and I think I made a bit of a mess on my white muzzle. I had to use at least two napkins to rub the chocolate off my face. Willy seemed to eat his more carefully and quicker as well. Though, he appeared fine having the ice cream cone. Maybe he wasn't a really big fan of it.

As we waited for the time to come, me and Willy decided to sit at one of the tables, trying to for a conversation. Willy was friendly enough to talk. He told me a lot about the Lightning Bolt Society. Well, before it went 'awful' in his words. He didn't mention how they were formed, but he told me about the moments he made with them.

I watched and listened silently as he went over some of the many pranks he and his friends would do back in the old days. He went over some of the crimes they tried doing and ended up running away from a pack of dogs. He nearly laughed out loud when he fondly recalled a time when they tried fighting against Sonic the Hedgehog, only to be decimated in the span of seconds.

There were quite a lot of adventures he had with his friends. It reminded me a lot of my squad back when they were alive.

It made me wonder why they went out of their way to be 'great' criminals since…they had fun doing what they like.

6:15 pm hit and Willy immediately ran off to get into position.

By the time 6:30 pm came, I stood up from my table.

Pilot Diamond was already making his way off the stage. He seemed to become really tired, snapping his fingers at his assistants to grab him his needs. A fluffy jacket, a bottle of water and a polish on his shoes for…some reason. His shoes were already shiny before. I knew that he was gonna walk around from table to table to talk to the guests, so this was my chance to get up and personal.

At the same time as I got up, I found Willy coming right in. He was already dressed in a large white coat and a white chef hat, pushing a large white cart with several dishes ordered earlier. He wheeled the cart near Nigel's table, greeting him with a smile. Nigel smiled back before his face lit up when he saw his soup arrive.

The soup bowl might look tasty - a rich, brown creamy chicken soup - but we all know what was added to it.

I turned back to my target. And I was up close.

"Mr. Diamond," I said. "Looking…good today!"

Pilot raised an eyebrow, turning to me. A smile flashed over his face. "Oh! I didn't notice you, pup. What are a few centimeters between brilliant minds like me?"

"Well, nice to meet you, Pilot Diamond. My name is Oooooo-Bujang?"

Pilot smirked, seemingly not noticing that I changed my name. "Obujang?"

"Yeah, Bujang!" I said. "My parents named me Bujang because I was born in Malaysia. Though, I grew up here all my life, which is why I don't have an accent. Though, thinking about it, jackals aren't usually born in Malaysia, are they-?"

"Anyway, kid," interrupted Pilot. "What do you want?"

"Well, I'm an…international transfer student." Just right after I claimed that I lived in the States all my life. "...and I'm looking around for current jobs to fit my tight schedule. So I looked at the websites…and decided to even come to ask you before I could decide."

Pilot groaned. "I think you allocated your call quite late. I'm quite tired now."

"That's a shame," I said, turning around. "I might as well try looking at the next job due to my schedule."

And just like that, Pilot blocked me from leaving. "Oh no, no, no, no. That won't be necessary. Come along with me! Let's have a talk in the office."

I knew that this was going to work. Praise to Willy who knew about this information and the two of us found a way with fooling Pilot so that I could not only swipe his card but change the tour schedule for tonight. As he led me to the museum, I looked behind to see the walrus giving me the thumbs-up.

I thought of doing the same, but I decided to just give a smile.

Willy couldn't help but gulp to himself. He already delivered the soup to his target, but he feared that it might not go according to plan.

He had no idea that dressing up to look like one of the chefs would fool the people in the kitchen. Guess that he arrived at the right time since they were all busy trying to send out the last few dishes that needed to be served. Apparently, last-meal orders could become hectic since you would need to make more dishes after the prepared batch was already gone.

Once he entered and headed straight to the soup bowl Nigel ordered, he made sure to add at least two droplets of the 'poison' right on top. He nearly freaked out since there were too many people around. Nobody bothered him nor notice the dark spots. The dark spots already blended in the brown soup.

After placing the cart away, he returned to the dining area to observe. Nigel was already halfway through his soup. He must have a big appetite! And sure enough, the droplets the walrus injected in must have been digested in that guy's system. So in a couple of seconds, he was gonna double over soon.

Willy was aware that doing this kind of thing was cheesy as hell. He and his friends used to do these kinds of things based on movies they watched. Trying to copy all the predictable things villains do. Good three-quarters of it didn't go well, but he remembered that they often laugh it off. Sometimes joked around how many bones they broke or coins they managed to steal.

When they did try a heist like this, the only thing they managed to steal was food from the cafeteria. Though, museum food wasn't all that great.

The walrus felt a pang of regret. He felt bad that he had to leave his friends so suddenly. He only left a hurried lie that he was retiring for a while but didn't reveal his big plans. Dave might not be happy that Willy betrayed their ultimate plan of getting Obsidian, but he felt that the leader should see this kind of thing coming.

What about the Weasel Bandits? Or Chameleon?

What about the people he got along with?

The newbies who looked up to him?

Willy could only hope that they would still remember him, even if he might be on a different side.

The sound of gagging snapped him out of his thoughts. He turned his eyes to see Nigel looking quite uncomfortable. He forced a nervous grin on his face as he continued talking, but he was clearly trying to not speak too loud. As if trying not to SPIT something right out of his throat.

And then, the effects came in when he slumped, his forehead nearly close to his empty bowl.

"Oh my goodness!" said one of the guests. "Are you alright, Nigel?"

"I'm alright," giggled Nigel, his cheeks puffing up randomly. "Just…as sharp as a fiddle!"

"You're sure?" asked another friend of his. "Because you look like a blueberry now."

"No, no. I swear! I never get sick on a work day-" He placed two hands over his mouth, trying to swallow back what he ate. "I…I have to go now!"

He stood up on his feet and tried walking away. Or at least he did try with any superhuman strength. As soon as his friends turned away, he suddenly fell onto one knee. His head was clearly spinning due to the groans he kept making. Taking it as his cue to step in, Willy came to the struggling human's aid.

"You need help, buddy?" asked Willy.

"It's fine," said Nigel, grinning. "I don't need your help. I got this!"

He tried leaning against one of the poles holding up the tent roof, only to slip and fall down.

"You're sure you got this?" asked Willy, picking Nigel up without sweat. "You're sure?"

"You're so strong!" chuckled Nigel.

Willy sighed. "Let me lead you to the bathroom."

Nigel finally gave in. "OK. OK. Fine. Lead the-" He hiccupped, placing his hand over his mouth again. "...way."

It looked like the 'poison' was doing a good job. It was going to make him sick and want to puke, but the fact that Nigel now couldn't walk properly gave Willy the excuse to carry him all the way into the museum's front entrance. Those nearby gave him odd looks, but the walrus didn't mind. Surely they've seen a strong guy carrying a guy over their shoulder every night, right?

To say that I kind of got my highs a bit too high for Pilot Diamond was an understatement. As soon as we stepped into his office room, I was baffled by the number of self-portraits he had.

His entire room was covered in pictures of himself. In different kinds of poses, moments; a majority of them were him carrying lots of money and trophies. Some of them had him in more sensual poses with questionable and revealing outfits. I felt myself slowly becoming disgusted with feeling a little aroused by the first image of this guy.

Yet, that little moment was kept safe in a tiny box where it should be crushed later on.

When it came to asking this guy about his museum, it should be kept at a shorter length like a summary of what to expect. What to really see. It would be like in a job interview. I remembered when I sometimes had my small part-time jobs in the desert, ranging from being a guard to a teacher during my holiday break. It would be on general questions and a run-down of what I should know.

But against all expectations of a manager, this guy couldn't stop talking.

"It's a chill time when working at Diamond Dynasty!" narrated Pilot, already standing up with a cane in his hands. "I'm telling you that we don't pay our workers just money. We give them diamonds as well! Like our family motto. I'm sure that you know the Diamond family better than anyone, right?"

How was I supposed to respond to something I had little knowledge of?

I knew I should have taken my time to research this guy.

"Well…you look…" I started, trying my best not to stare at his chest for too long.

"Oh yes," interrupted Pilot. "Charming, popular, supernatural understanding of diamonds! We all took it from our ancestors who found them in the rough. And once it was right there for him to grab, then he made sure to swallow it. That's where we get our knowledge from!"

I was about to question how a person could gain knowledge of a diamond by swallowing it. However, it would be hypocritical since I had a ruby attached to my body and I also have a supernatural connection with it.

"Right then…right," I said. "Well, good for you then. So…another question. Does it matter who can apply? I'm still new to this and I'm pretty sure that my… bachelor's degree might not fit."

"We can just give you the janitor option," said Pilot, booping my nose with his cane. "That way, it's a start. Blame the council for the little pay."

"Right, right. Well, you're sure that anyone can apply for a job here?"

Pilot smirked. "Why yes. I actually do need more workers because several gave up on me."

No questions as to why's that.

"And I'm hoping not to get a bad review on the workplace! They say that art can be built anywhere by anyone." He crept closer to me, a sly smile crossed over his face. "But it cannot be presented nicely if there are birds who'll fly over to rip it apart."

Maybe he was a bit too close to me. I flinched when he tapped two fingers on my shoulders, puppeteering them to walk like legs.

"Once it comes out as the sun that warms the land," said Pilot, placing his hand around my cheeks. "It's…irresistible. It's a whole world of Diamonds still around in every corner, just knowing such intelligence that can only be matched by the brave."

At this, he squeezed my cheeks like I was some kind of squishy toy. Any feelings of vulnerability were overtaken by slight annoyance.

"You're kind of making me uncomfortable," I muttered.

Willy was lucky that Nigel didn't try getting up. While the human needed to vomit, the walrus wasn't sure if the dizziness would clear anytime soon. Well, it might be still there, but he wasn't gonna take any chances. He made sure to use the signs to get to the right bathroom place he needs to be at.

Right there through the hall, next to Pilot's office. As he passed by the office door, he could see through the window an interesting sight. The human manager was currently squeezing Obsidian's cheeks as he seemed to gesture to the universe in front of them. At least Obsidian was stalling Pilot for long to get into place.

And with Pilot close, it gave Obsidian the perfect opportunity to take his ID card.

The second Willy opened the bathroom door, Nigel hopped off him with adrenaline kicking back in. Once close to a toilet cubicle, he bent down and vomited right into the toilet bowl.

The walrus sighed. He was going to hate this part. Fortunately, Nigel wasn't making a mess as he directed all of his dinner down the bowl instead of all over the floor. Willy bent down, one hand patting on the human's back and the other rubbing his head.

"Now, now," said Willy gently. "Take it easy. Just let it all out."

"Let all the fun out?" slurred Nigel.

"...yeah. Let all the fun out."

Nigel nearly placed his head further in. As he did so, Willy spotted the card poking out from his back pocket. He snatched it out, hoping that Nigel wouldn't sense this at all.

One normal employee ID card collected!

Now, onto the next part in order to progress further.

"Oh, hey, Nigey!" sang Willy. "I have something to break you out of your misery."

Nigel groaned, dribble drooling from his mouth. "What is it?"

When he turned around, his face was met by Willy's fist.

"And this would be where we'll mark our spot. Right in the skies for everyone to see! Once the star constellations align in the name of this museum, then the legacy will live on forever! I know it will! Heh heh heh!"

There was a lot of touching from this guy. He was awful. At the moment, he was talking on about his plans with a hand around my back. My tail was wagging meekly, practically obeying this show-off. My right arm slowly lifted upwards in an urge to rub my eyes, only for my left arm to quickly pull it down. This was already a waste of my time.

And he was too touchy. He only touched my muzzle and back, but I was still uncomfortable. A strange feeling rumbled in my stomach. Was this kind of thing normal in this society? Was this even a casual activity for all to do?

Wait, no, that sounds creepy.

Despite being caught up in this obnoxious manager's arm, I noticed that he had his ID card poking out from his pants pocket. I was hoping to wait until he was truly unaware, but he seemed to be too lost in his speech. He was currently talking about peanut butter sandwiches for some reason. As quickly as possible, I snatched the card and stuffed it in my pink coat.

Right on time, loud music blasted from the other side of the room.

Just like we planned.

Pilot snapped out of his speech, suddenly looking confused. "Wait…huh? What's that…noise?"

"I think someone's playing that in the bathroom," I said robotically.

Pilot sighed. "Oh no. This better not be. I'll be right back, pup. You stay here."

I nodded and smiled, leaning back in my chair. Once he vanished out of the door, I twirled around to his desk. It was a good thing all of those clipboards were still there or they might have already been taken to the tour guides. There seemed to be about at least 10 of them, so might as well try to do them quickly.

Scanning through them, I noticed that all the schedule lists didn't cover at least one or two rooms. Hope they were in maintenance. Nigel seemed to keep the schedule list simply since he did write down 'Historical Section' in each list for the trou groups. I already went to replace them with another section's name not used on the lists.

I could have taken all the time I needed since when Pilot returned, I just finished checking through the clipboards 10 minutes ago.

"Everything alright?" I asked.

Pilot groaned. "Nigel was at it again. Found him unconscious in nothing but his love heart shorties. He already had a pool of saliva on the floor. And I thought I told him to cut it out with the drugs…"

"...well, that's weird."

Not long after that, I asked if I could leave and 'promised' that I would email Pilot if I made the decision to work for him. Honestly, I was trying to run out of the room since Pilot tried to do his own version of the 'bow' and I was scared to see how it might go.

With his manager card in my pocket, I arrived right where the security office should be at. Two guards were right near it. They didn't flinch when a whistling Willy excited. He was already in Nigel's clothes…without the pants, of course.

"You got the card?" he whispered, taking me around the corner.

"Yeah," I said quietly. "I also managed to change the schedule tour group lists. You got the employee ID card?"

"Oh yeah, it's with me. I also managed to override the security system with the USB." He pulled out a phone, placing it in my hands. It was still on with a long list of coded names for what appeared to be for locations. "Now remember, thanks to the complex override protocols activated on their computers, we now can be able to turn off the electrical functions for specific rooms. Just press a location name on the list on this phone, but be careful; the system labeled the rooms differently."

"Got it then! Looks like we might be able to get the diamond."

"You know, this is actually a great plan!" said Willy, playfully punching me in the shoulder. "Never thought that it would go well!"

"Oh, um…thanks, man?" I said, playfully punching him back. "You did a good job following-"

I cut myself off when I saw ANOTHER bomb in front of Willy's feet. I snatched it and stuffed it into the walrus' hands before anyone saw it. Thankfully, the guards nearby didn't notice.

"Why are you still wearing that suicidal vest underneath?!" I hissed.

"In case of emergencies!" insisted Willy.

I felt that at this point, the rest of the heist would be easy to do. With the cards ready and nearly full control of the electrical system of the museum, it looked like we could get to the diamond right on time! However, by the time we overrode the electrical system, the doors were opened and people were starting to come right in.

I thought of needing to change clothes, but Willy insisted that I should be fine like this since he was already dressed like a staff worker. Thankfully, nobody noticed that we might look out of place as we walked through the museum. Guess that the guards we bumped into before were already in different places. It was a little crowded, but it was easy finding the historical section of the museum.

Changing the schedule clipboards seemed to work since there were fewer people coming around there. But as we approached, we noticed that there were nearly one or two tour groups already at the place. We still got a lot of time before Pilot revealed his family collection artifacts, but Willy already wanted them to go. He did try to come up to them to tell them that they need to go.

"You're sure about this?" asked one tour guide. "Cause I remembered clearly that this is what I'm supposed to show…"

"I'm sure of that," said Willy. "Some…bad leaks going on here. It might be too safe."

I was hiding behind the corner, pressing a couple of buttons on my device. I actually didn't test which function connected to which one earlier since I was pressing only pressing randomly. There was only one ceiling light that seemed to flicker. Just a few feet away from the tour group Willy was trying to steer away.

From the corner of my eye, a few lights turned off and I think I heard some guy crashing into a glass display.

Guess that we should have taken the time to see which code names relate to which place of the room. Just like needing to get familiar with which office room to go to at work.

The flicking light did cause the tour guide to appear concerned. He shifted his eyes to the ceiling and back at Willy. The walrus was trying to suppress a grin, eager to hear the answer. However, it dropped the instant the tour guide spoke.

"Eh, it's just a broken light," he said. "I'm almost done with this area. Just let me wrap things up and then it's your turn, alright?"

Willy gritted his teeth, trying not to sigh loudly. "Fine…"

"Good. Don't worry! I will be done! Everyone, let's keep moving."

The walrus slouched and waddled back to me. The tour group continued looking around the historical section. Looks like we might have to wait another ten minutes for them to get out so that we could get to the last step of this heist. I could only offer a shrug as he leaned against the wall, nearly sliding down.

"Dang it," he muttered. "And yet, I thought that you managed to change all the schedule clipboards for those sycophants."

"Maybe they just have other sources to look at," I said. "So, you don't want me to start trying to make the lights in there go crazy?"

"Let's not. Let's not. That'll draw more attention in if it causes panic with the visitors."

I nodded, rolling around my shoulders. Didn't think that we would actually make it this far, so there wasn't that much to worry about at this point. I glanced at Willy, noting the impatient look. At first sight, it could look like he was willing to risk everything to get to the diamond. Or probably had other plans he didn't tell me. When I got to that point in mind, it got me to realize something about his behavior so far.

He surprisingly went along with what I told him to do. He was nervous at the start, but he did his best and we got this far. I thought that he might try to backstab me, but he didn't without having a problem with me. And this was coming from a former member of a group who was considered a nuisance to the world; I thought that he wouldn't cooperate, but he did. It made me feel that Willy had a lot of experience on his end.

"So…" I asked. "How…really long have you been with the Lightning Bolt Society?"

Willy chuckled softly. "Well, only for a couple of years. We were just kids back then. How we met up, coming to any of our backyards to have an 'official meeting' and pretending to be supervillains in the neighborhood. I…I remember this one time when we tried robbing a milk store. It was hilarious; you should have seen the look on Chameleon's face when he couldn't rip the register off the counter. We eventually got arrested and charged, but we laughed it off. Gave us a front-up experience of being robbers…wait, did I say too much?"

I smiled. "No. That sounds really nice. It sounds like you had a lot of fun with your team. You know that I had my squad before, but I was close to them as well."

"You do? Cause the Jackal Squad was said to be ruthless and filled with psychopaths."

I couldn't help but laugh at his claim. "No, no. We aren't. Zero would want to take that image, but…OK, my mind is still confused about how his words impacted everyone, but we didn't really take being strong too seriously. Had a lot of fun in our free time. With the freedom of running around in the empty desert." I let out a low sigh, sadly smiling. "It was a pleasure while it lasted."

Willy nodded, surprised. "Wow, I…I didn't know. Do you think it's now a good time to run away from them? Because they would see me as…a traitor."

"Hey there, big guy," I said, placing a hand over his shoulder. "They'll understand."

"You think so? Even with Dave and what he said? I know that what he intended wasn't right, but he was still my friend."

A sense of deja vu came to me. It felt like how I made the choice to leave Zero long ago. It was still fresh in my mind, the argument memory telling me off for leaving him. However, I remembered that Zero had ideas that weren't mine and I knew that he was wrong. Remembering this made me feel sorry for Willy making the decision to leave his friends.

But there was a sense that maybe our previous leaders might know why we wanted to take some time away from them.

"They'll understand," I reassured. "That's what I'm sure of. One incident can't ruin everything, right?"

I nearly choked, feeling that it was a lie. Even Willy looked like he wanted to point out the obvious, but he stopped for a moment. He eventually shrugged, looking a little tired.

"You know, you're not so bad," he said. "I thought that you might be like…dangerous. A really serious, bloodthirsty mercenary who only came to G.U.N due to restraining orders."

My ears lowered. "Oh. Do I…take the look?"

The walrus smirked. "Initially. But, now, you more look like a harmless, cute face."

That was more embarrassing. "Harmless. Smooth."

"Take the compliment," said Willy casually. "Most criminals can be scary-looking, mean or creepy. These are the reasons why me and my friends struggled being villains in the first place. But you don't have those hallmarks. It's nice talking to someone who isn't gonna treat me like garbage in this criminal world."

That I was surprised about. I wondered if he was playing mind games. However, he didn't look like the proud and tough walrus he presented himself as. Maybe it was due to looking tired, but he was loosening his stance. Like he was no longer in danger.

And unlike the Weasel Bandits, he wasn't jealous of me being given a chance by G.U.N to redeem myself.

He reminded me a lot of Ace. While he could have been seen as the youngest, Ace took the role of Zero's second-in-command. He never let himself open in a fight, but when not on missions, he took the time to play around. I remembered when me and Ace used to train together, sometimes play-fighting with our weapons. He was quite cheerful; his childlike curiosity not diminished when he was taught to toughen up.

Seeing Willy at this moment, it felt like he was like Ace; both of them took their job seriously, but they cherished the friends and moments they have.

"Thanks," I said. "You aren't so bad as well. Though, if we're really judging by our faces, then I thought that you would be the least kind of person willing to be a megalomaniac villain."

Willy sighed. "I…don't want to be that kind of villain. I don't want to be a villain to take over the world. Well…look, can I be frank here?"

I immediately nodded. All signs of self-doubt vanished from his face.

"You see here, before, I was young, pathetic and incompetent. I never really amount to anything perfectly; if you don't work enough to have a job, then you have no life! They all said practice makes perfect…until I dropped out of high school since it no longer felt easy. So I thought 'hey, why not try to do a burglary? That way, I can earn more money for myself faster!' Well, one turned into another and…now I'm here!"

"And what was the purpose of doing burglaries?" I wondered.

"The same reason why I joined the Lightning Bolt Society in the first place. It's to have fun. Before, we weren't completely bad as you 'think' since at the end of the day, we share the same struggle. I just find that it's more stressful doing…other things in life. Looking at you, you're cute, but you're a badass mercenary! You get to show who's boss!"

Hearing this nearly made me roll my eyes. Seriously, why were there many people wanting to be criminals when they already have their fancy gadgets and services for their needs? But this was coming from a street criminal who ultimately broke away from the chance to be powerful. He was still in this zone where it was easier being against the law, getting to be confident in what he was 'best' at.

That being said, he might not know the true problems with being a criminal.

"Listen, Willy," I said firmly. "I gave up being a mercenary since my boss let the power get to his head. Maybe…it wasn't fun anymore. Like he ruined the whole purpose."

Willy nodded. "Oh man, I know how that feels. And I don't know if Dave will ever come to his senses."

"I know, right?" I said. "Just like when my boss planned to place a-" I immediately slapped a hand over my mouth. I didn't want to give Willy ideas about the Phantom Ruby. "I mean…well, yes, it's…not easy now trying to have a better life. But it turns out to be one of the greatest things ever. I got that second chance because G.U.N knew that I want to change. It may look easy to get away with crimes, but it would suck thinking that it's only you against the world. And stealing would also threaten other people's chances to have good lives themselves, don't you think?"

"I'm aware of that," pointed out Willy. "Sometimes, it's hard to feel sorry for them."

"I'm honest here that taking the right choice will be the best thing you'll ever make," I promised. "Taking this path might not be easy, but then, you'll find the right people who want to guide you. And they will help you learn to adapt."

Willy snorted. "You already had respect from the normies. I wonder what that would be like if I ever stopped being a villain."

"Well, maybe after we get that diamond, all that bad shame will be left behind," I suggested. "Maybe there are better places you haven't been to yet. Just like how I found this place. If you don't start searching, then waiting may never reward you."

I was still wary that Willy might not listen to me. However, his demeanor changed once again. He had his arms wrapped around his chest, but it wasn't making him look tough. He barely reacted, but his eyes were aimed at the floor, too afraid to reveal. His back was nearly hunched up, but he was trying to do it subtly.

My words must have had a huge impact on him.

The walrus only lifted his head when the tour group made their way out from this historical section.

"Get ready," he said, his tone changing back to being serious.

AN: As already explained, the small story took inspiration from Sunset Paradise with the heist itself taking some inspirations from Ocean Eight. It felt a little boring when it came to writing the second half of the plan and I felt that the way I described the events going on was flat. Like it sounded a bit robotic and didn't carry the previous energy from before. But don't you worry since we're close to the end of the heist…and it might not be what you expect. It's going to be intense and sillier.

Obsidian's little moment of having an ice cream references a scene from the 2017 movie Wonder Woman. Might be small, but I thought of touching back on how he tries new food.

Pilot Diamond is a narcissistic piece of hot body, always vain and coming up with tactless words. I actually imagine Brandon Rogers' voice (more specifically his voice impression of Blitzo) for him, so it was really funny or really annoying. Pilot is such a ridiculous character that even Obsidian points out why he briefly fell for him. But that's another story for later…

Thank you for reading this chapter! If you enjoy this story, be sure to follow or favorite this story, so you can get updates about this story. If there is any honest feedback or constructive criticism you want to share, let me know in your review. Any spam, flames or threats will be questioned and I'm not kidding.

Until next time, keep on rocking!