Inspecting the room, Carmen glanced
at the camera swiveling for surveillance and noticed a slender cord, which was
painted the same color as the walls to disguise it. Proud of her observation,
Carmen asked, “Could I use your bathroom?”
“Oh, yes. It’s down the hall, last
door to the right.” Mrs. Wellington instructed.
“Thanks.” Carmen left Mrs.
Wellington to follow the track of the cord to its source.
Passing through the kitchen, Carmen
subtly grabbed a knife and slipped it in the sleeve of her soiled jacket, just
as her father had taught her when she was young…
“Is that how you do it, daddy?”
Carmen’s innocent voice asked.
“No, honey, it’s more like
this. Watch closely to what I am doing.”
With skill and precision, Carmen’s father picked an item out of her pocket,
which she didn’t feel being taken.
“Wow, daddy! You’re so good at this.
I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to get it right.” Young Carmen couldn’t stop
a small tear from rolling down her face because of her disappointment in
herself.
Her father tenderly wiped away the
tear rolling down Carmen’s cheek. “Carmen, dear, don’t worry. You will catch
on. It just takes some practice.”
Carmen shook her head to dislodge
the memory. She had no desire to relive the times she had spent with her father,
when he taught her all his tricks for being a criminal.
Continuing to follow the path of the
cord, Carmen constantly glanced at the cameras to find their blind spot. She traced where the cord led, until it
disappeared into the wall. Stopping, she
held the knife and began to saw the wires.
As she worked, Carmen contemplated
if a burst of electricity could fry the circuit in the explosive wristband she
was wearing. Tempted to try it, she forced herself to remember that it could
backfire and detonate instead.
Breaking through the wires to the
cameras, Carmen quickly turned and calmly rushed back to the room with the
Qianlong vase. When she reached it, she was surprised to see Mrs. Wellington
absent. She’s probably already been
alerted to the security treat, Carmen thought.
Quickly, Carmen grabbed the vase and
moved to the window. Recalling the security system, she gently set down the
vase and took the time to open the window rather that break through it. Slipping out of the opening, she looked from
side to side, hoping not to find any guards lurking.
Picking up the vase again, she
sprinted to her awaiting car and jumped in, “Go now!” Carmen commanded.
Looking back, Carmen saw a swarm of
guards charging toward the idle car. All the guards swiftly pulled out their
firearms and started peppering the car with bullets. Ducking in her seat, for
fear of getting hit, she eventually noticed the car was equipped with
bullet-proof glass. “I should have guessed.” Carmen mumbled to herself.
As the driver sped away from the
house, the phone chirped a happy little melody. Grudgingly, Carmen answered, “I
got your stupid vase.”
“You made good time, ten minutes to
spare. Truly, I didn’t think you could do it.”
“Oh, thanks for the reassurance,
scumbag.” Carmen’s anger got the better of her and she couldn’t hold her words
back.
“I wouldn’t talk like that if I was
you.” The voice warned. “Don’t forget I can have you killed with just the push
of a button.” Carmen heard the pride in his voice at the power he held over
her. “Now, I need you to look at the vase to find some sort of etching your
father carved into the vase.”
Curious, Carmen had to know, “How do
you know all this?”
“A little security birdie from your
father’s house. It was really quite easy
to loosen a few lips when the right price was negotiated.” Once again the voice
rang through the phone with pride of his devious accomplishments. “Get to your
task.”
The line abruptly went dead.
To Be Continued…
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