Running Out of Time (Part Three)

            An hour later, Carmen stepped out of the car after arriving at the Wellington mansion.  Glancing down at herself, she was embarrassed by her rumpled and grungy clothing.

            Walking towards the house, Carmen noticed the multitude of cameras surveying the area and the many guards lurking in the shadows, who were ready to pounce at the first hint of a threat.

            Before Carmen could stop the memory flooding her mind, she was suddenly eleven years old again…

            “Tell me again.  What do you look for when approaching a building?” Her father asked.

            “Umm… You look for the cameras, if there are some.  Then, you find if there are guards and if they are armed. Umm… Then, you… Umm…” Young Carmen struggled to remember the next step.

            “The next thing you look for is what kind of alarms the house has.”

            “Oh, yeah! I can’t believe I forgot that.”

            Carmen shook the memory from her head and once again was ashamed of her father’s career. As a young naïve child, she had admired her father and his vast knowledge, before she understood he was only a lowly criminal.

            Brushing off her anger towards her father, Carmen instinctively made mental notes of the protection around the house.  Slowly, Carmen walked up the steps to the front door and knocked.

            The door flew open to reveal the austere butler. “What do you want?” He asked in a crisp monotone voice.

            “I was wondering if any of the Wellingtons were in. I am a friend of the family.” Carmen’s voice held more confidence than she felt.

            “Who, may I ask, are you?” The butler stiffly inquired.

            “I am Carmen James. No, Ford! Carmen Ford.” Carmen decided to giver her father’s surname rather than her mother’s maiden name.  She had changed her name when she had wanted to distance herself from her father.

            The butler allowed Carmen to enter the house but commanded, “Stay here and don’t touch anything.” Carmen bitterly chuckled to herself, remembering her purpose for being here.

            Gazing around the room, Carmen tried to guess just were the vase would be.  Thinking back to what the voice had told her during the long car ride, she cautiously took a few steps to get a better look into one of the other rooms.

            “Carmen, dear!” Mrs. Wellington glided into the room with perfect poise. “Well, this is a surprise.  How’s your dear father?” Dear? How could anyone call my father ‘dear?’

            “He passed away a few weeks ago.” Carmen’s voice held no remorse.

            “Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that.  He was such a kind man and very generous, too.” Mrs. Wellington mussed.

            “Why do you call him generous?” Carmen was shocked at Mrs. Wellington’s words.

            “Oh, for Mr. Wellington and I’s twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, which we just celebrated, he gave us the Qianlong Vase, a pretty expensive piece. Did you know it was auctioned off for approximately sixty-six million dollars just last year?” Then how did my father manage to get it, I wonder… He never bought anything.

            Recognizing this was the vase she needed, Carmen asked, “Would you be so kind as to show it to me?”

            “I would love to. It’s this way.” Mrs. Wellington led Carmen to it. Carmen stared at the vase, wondering how she would get it out of the house unnoticed.

            Recalling her time constraint, Carmen looked down only to realize she had just twenty-five minutes left.  Panic rose within her.  She needed this vase but didn’t have a plan to get it out of this well-protected fortress. Luckily, Carmen observed, there didn’t appear to be any sensors around it to sound the alarm if it was moved.

            “Isn’t it such a beautiful piece?” Mrs. Wellington’s voice broke through Carmen’s thoughts.

            “Huh? Oh, yeah, it is.” Carmen distractedly answered.

To Be Continued…