A Hotel in NYC:
Oliver and Calvin were sitting in a hotel room and Oliver was typing furiously at his computer keyboard. After waiting for about twenty minutes, Calvin decided to ask Oliver exactly what it was that he was doing.
“You better not be playing a video game,” said Calvin in his deep voice.
Oliver looked up from the computer screen and said, “Why must you disturb me exactly when I am doing something important? Didn’t you have to arrange some uniforms for us?”
“Relax, I am the best at what I do, the uniforms are taken care of.”
Oliver nodded approvingly and said, “In that case, I can tell you what I’m doing. I am currently chatting with the agent who hopes to put us behind bars.”
Calvin looked up sharply and said, “What? You are talking to Jefferson Brown?”
“Chatting, not talking. But yes, the name is correct.”
Calvin got up and walked over to where Oliver was seated. He stood behind him so that he could get a clear view of his screen.
After trying to understand what was going on for a few minutes and failing miserably, Calvin said, “How are you chatting with him?”
“I have a program that uses the internet to send text messages. That way he wouldn’t know who is on the other end.”
“But can’t he trace the message back to us?”
“No, he can’t, I am bouncing the signal all over the globe.”
Calvin looked satisfied. His partner was like him, the best at what he did.
“What message did you send?”
Instead of replying, Oliver pointed towards the top right area of his screen where a message was showing – Hello Jefferson
A moment later another message popped up below that, this time it was from Jefferson – Who is this?
I think you know.
Why contact me like this? Too afraid to show yourself?
These primitive psychological tricks won’t work on me.
After this message, Oliver did not receive any reply. He waited five seconds and then said, “Right now he is running around and trying to get hold of someone who can try to track me.”
After two minutes, Oliver received a new message – You still there, copycat?
I am still here, former protector of Les Morceaux de Lumiere 😀
I will get you, you little fool.
Quit stalling. You can’t track me, now listen, I’m warning you, if you come after me, the only thing you will get is embarrassment.
We know how you pulled off the heist, we are on your trail.
The trail that ended with Rafool Edmunds?
You have twenty-four hours to surrender.
And you have a few days to prevent a robbery, that is, if you ever find out about the collection.
This will end with you in handcuffs.
The fun has barely begun agent.
Bring it on.
You better buckle up, it’s going to be quite a ride.
After this message, Oliver terminated the connection. There was nothing more to be said, both sides had tried to intimidate each other but were not sure if they had succeeded or not. However, Oliver was confident that the plan was perfect.
Calvin said, “What did he mean that they were onto us?”
“Relax, they were bluffing. Ask your contact who has been keeping an eye on Harold if Jefferson visited him today.”
Calvin sent a message and received a reply almost instantly. He read the message and said, “Yes, he did.”
“Then that is what Jefferson meant, they don’t have anything else.”
“You better be right.”
“I usually am.”
FBI Field Office, NYC:
The man sitting at the computer waited for a few moments. He had to be sure before he said anything. Finally, he said, “The connection is terminated. The trace failed.”
Jefferson slapped the table with his open palm. Michael let out a breath he had been holding. The only inhabitants of the room were Michael, Sam, Jefferson, and the man who had been trying to trace the source of the connection. To state the obvious, the situation in the room was tense. While everyone was quiet, the guy from tech support quickly got up and left, excusing himself from a very awkward situation. Michel and Sam were at a loss for words. They did not know what to say to make Jefferson feel better without making him feel offended.
“There was one good thing about that,” said Michael.
“What was that?” asked Jefferson. “I think I missed it.”
“They don’t know about the paint. They think our trail ended with Rafool Edmunds.”
Sam said, “That’s not much of a lead.”
“And yet that is exactly why they overlooked it, it is their first mistake and our best chance at getting them.”
“Our best chance will be with us by tomorrow morning,” stated Jefferson as he left the room.
Sam looked at Michael and said, “So I guess we are still getting the help from the convicts.”
Michael did not reply. Sam stared at him and said, “Hello? Michael?”
“Yeah?”
“I said we are still getting the help from the convicts.”
“Yeah, right,” said Michael before leaving the room.
The truth was that he had not heard a word that Sam had said. His mind was elsewhere, he could not help but think that the package he had received the previous night had something to do with the thieves. He had not told anyone about it yet, in fact, he had convinced himself that it was some foolish prank by some kid. But now he was forced to reconsider his opinions. Yet, there were two things that did not make sense, why go through the trouble of delivering a physical package when the thieves could have contacted him through digital means and thus, reduced the chances of getting caught and the second and more pressing question was, why contact him? What could he do?
Maximum Security Women’s Prison:
Olivia Andrews was pacing her cell. She was a beautiful woman to the extent that even the years in prison had done little to suppress her attractive features. Her black hair was cut such that the length was till the mid-point of her neck, and her hazel eyes were constantly shifting focus from one thing to another. On her bed lay an unfinished Sudoku puzzle and that was an indication of the seriousness of the matter. Once she started solving a puzzle, she never left it unfinished, but today was different. Her boring and monotonous routine had been interrupted by a call. She had received a call from her husband, which was an exceedingly rare pleasure and that call had changed her perspective towards life. Usually, she spent her time thinking about the past, but now, it appeared, she had a future to think of. Her mind was constantly replaying the conversation she had with her husband, a conversation regarding a deal that was offered to them by the same man who was responsible for their separation and incarceration. But still, a deal was a deal, you did something, and you got something in return, there was no need to like the other party.
Some people get reformed in prison, some people become bitter, and their case worsens, but some people, the rare ones, remain unchanged. They are the ones who silently bid their time and dream about the wonderful, wonderful for them, things they would do when they got out. Olivia stopped pacing and took up the sudoku puzzle once again. She looked at the numbers, but her brain was thinking about the moment when she would finally see her husband again and get to step out of the prison. That was an idea which opened an infinite number of possibilities for her. A smile spread on her lips as she realized that this was the same thought that must have crossed her husband’s mind.
Aurum Regium 