The Great Heist

Chapter One

The Lusail Iconic stadium was a madhouse.

Presently, its 105 m x 68 m (344 ft by 223 ft) grass pitch was nothing short of a crime scene from a mystery flick with the current buzz of activity. Everyone from standard security personnel at the stadium to stewards, and the smart-looking police officers and their counterparts from other Qatari Intelligence agencies-mainly, the Qatar State Security had one thing, or the other to attend to at the moment.

This had been the new normal in the stadium ever since The World Cup Trophy had been pronounced missing by FIFA Officials. And had lasted for about thirty minutes, or so, with each and every one of the men responsible for security and policing present here at the stadium being thrown into total restiveness.

Things happened really fast after the smoke incident. Men from the Rescue Police Department-otherwise known here as Al Fazaa- heavily dressed and equipped as stormtroopers had stormed the scene, joining with the stewards and the stadium security personnel to evacuate at once the high-profile targets present at the arena. The list began with the Emir of Qatar, the FIFA President and his retinue of high-ranking FIFA officials, and other powerful Heads of State. Followed by the crowds-women and children first-before men as it was protocol.

Neck-deep in the onerous task of ensuring the safety of lives and possessions at the stadium, none of the men had noticed the World Cup Trophy was being moved from its place on the pedestal before its actual disappearance. Even those that did, hadn't a cause to worry then since it had been with the stewards, which as it appears at the time was also standard protocol.

It was not until much later that the real tragedy struck. When the FIFA officials, who after an overdue time of expecting the trophy to return to their care declared it missing.

All hell had broken loose then. Every stadium security personnel and policeman trained men as they were had been tossed into instant action, fanning out, and covering every ground of the stadium in search of the missing trophy.

Security protocols have been set in place almost instantly. The stadium itself had been placed on lockdown. Stop and search of the spectators within the walls of the stadium had been initiated as well. After being searched, spectators have been advised to exit the stadium proper via a single entrance.

After a long time of searching and combing through most of the sections of the stadium, a police posse eventually stumbled upon a hole in the wall in one of the dressing rooms. Further searches by the same team of policemen had yielded the discovery of the hole in the wall linking to one of the malls in the Stadium's shopping complex.

The search continued much afterward. Better yet, a wider search net had since been cast by the stadium securities to apprehend the suspects responsible for the disappearance of the World Cup Trophy.

But, unfortunately, all those efforts put in by every one of these men had yielded nothing of worth so far.

In other words, the World Cup Trophy is still very much missing, and yet to be found.

***
Outside the stadium was no different.

In fact, the precinct around the football stadium, which features major facilities such as the circular plaza, shopping centers, car park, and the wide pedestrian concourse that extends outward from the water was crowded with an overflowing mass of crowds.

Among these are policemen and stewards, who coordinated searches at major strategic points of the ground. The scrum of reporters and their mobile trucks pooling around the area closest to the Police line. And also, the stern-faced military policemen stationed within the stadium's perimeter, who were on red alert, and looked ready and set to bring down even a fly at the slightest detection of threat.