Paralyzed

Encubierto

Andrés spent the next two months studying and devising the perfect plan for the heist. He followed his father closely, hiding and listening carefully to every detail, but he nearly got caught multiple times. Tired of constantly shadowing him, one day he decided to take a break. As he wandered around town, trying to piece together his puzzle while listening to music, he made his way to the park to think.

He settled onto a bench, and soon after, two police officers sat beside him. They exchanged glances, nodded, and continued with their conversation. As Andrés sat in silence, absorbed in his music, he noticed the officers chatting nearby. He lowered the volume on his Walkman to hear better.

"Have you heard about Juan's undercover job?" one officer asked.

"Shut the fuck up, Pablo. There's a kid right beside us," the other officer, Miguel, replied.

Pablo glanced at Andrés, who was staring at the fountain and didn't seem to be paying attention.

"Pffff, everything is fine, Miguel. The kid is in his own world, listening to music. He can't hear us," Pablo insisted.

But Pablo was completely wrong. Andrés could hear every single word of their conversation, yet he didn't care about their case. Instead, he focused on how Juan managed to go undercover, which sparked an idea in his mind. He absolutely needed to know how and when the Egyptian jewelry would arrive in town. Initially, he considered going undercover within the mob, but he quickly realized that would be far too dangerous.

Then he remembered that the ancient jewelry would be on display at the museum. The thought of going undercover as a museum employee struck him as a brilliant plan. However, he first needed to secure a job there. The only position available was as a janitor. Ironically, that was the perfect job for him.

Being a janitor would give him access to every room in the museum, allowing him to move around freely without arousing suspicion. Moreover, he would blend in seamlessly; who would ever suspect a janitor of plotting a heist? And lastly, he would get to admire art up close and for free.

Two days later, Andrés found himself in the curator's office for an interview. He desperately wanted that job. To be more persuasive, he showed up wearing a t-shirt, some old, dirty pants he had found in a dumpster, and he was shoeless. He even smeared himself with mud and garbage before entering the museum.

Andrés had just taken a seat when the curator entered the office.

"Ah, Mister Ruiz, how are you? My name is—oh gosh, what is that smell?" The curator wrinkled his nose as he looked at Andrés.

"I suppose you are here for the position of janitor. Excuse me, where are my manners? As I was saying, my name is Franco Castro, and I'm the curator of the museum."

"It's nice to meet you, sir," Andrés said in a shy voice.

"Please tell me, Mister Ruiz, what is your full name?"

"Sergio Ruiz."

"Okay, Sergio. Can I call you Sergio?"

Andrés nodded.

"Well, Sergio, could you explain to me why you want this job?"

Andrés stared at Franco, feeling the pressure of the moment.

"Go on, don't be scared," Castro said in a calm voice.

Andrés lowered his head and replied, "Well, I've been living my whole life with my abuela, and she's been very sick. Unfortunately, she has a rare cancer that can only be treated at a specific clinic. It costs a lot of money, and we don't have it. I wanted this job so I can earn some money to help her pay for her treatment." Tears welled in his eyes, and Franco leaned back in his chair.

"I see. Is there another reason for wanting to work here? I mean, there are other places where you could have applied for a janitor position."

Andrés sniffed and said, "Well, I love art. I've been reading about many painters, and I've been painting and drawing myself; it's kind of my therapy and hobby."

"Oh really? You love art? Could you name any famous painters?"

"Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet, Michelangelo..."

"That's enough," Castro said, genuinely impressed. "Wow, I must say that I'm very impressed that a boy like you knows so much about art. Well, I see that you are very interested in the job, so..." Franco picked up the phone from his desk, pressed some numbers, and said, "Hello, Carmen? Could you tell Antonio to come to my office, please? Thank you."

Two minutes later, there was a knock on the door. It was Antonio.

"You asked for me, sir?"

"Yes, Antonio, meet the new janitor, Sergio Ruiz."

Andrés's jaw almost dropped; he couldn't believe it.

"Now, please show him around, let him have a shower, and give him some new clothes, would you? Thank you."

Franco looked at his wrist. "Oh my, I'm late for a meeting. I have to leave. Sergio, it was nice to meet you. I'll let you with Antonio; he will show you around... Oh, and before I forget, you'll start next Monday." Franco left the office.

Antonio looked at Andrés. "Well, kid, c'mon. It's time for you to take a shower and get some new clothes."

After a hot shower and a change into fresh clothes, Antonio and Andrés walked through the museum.

"Okay, kiddo, here's the rundown," Antonio said, gesturing around the museum. "Every morning, you take out the garbage from all the trash cans—every single one of them. Then, you mop the floors. After that, you clean and stock the bathrooms. Next, you dust the museum exhibits, and finally, you clean the windows. Any questions?"

Andrés shook his head, indicating he understood. Just then, a man walked between them, balancing a stack of chairs.

"Good," Antonio continued. "Now, I have to apologize; we're a bit rushed at the moment. There's an exhibition coming up in about six months, and we need to get everything ready before the artifacts arrive."

Andrés raised an eyebrow. "What exhibition?"

"Oh, you don't know? There's going to be an ancient Egypt exhibition. It's really important for Mister Castro because the artifacts are coming from one of the most famous museums in the world: The Smithsonian."

"Wow," Andrés exclaimed, excitement bubbling inside him.

"Exactly! So, now that you know what you have to do, here's your uniform and your keys. I'll see you on Monday, kid." Antonio tapped Andrés on the shoulder and left.

Andrés waved goodbye, leaving the museum with a huge grin on his face. Everything was going according to plan. The only things left to do were to work hard, memorize every detail of every room in the museum, and wait for the exhibition to start.