Lost

THE KEY (9):

Today's the day. The day I become rich, the day that everything stops - all the fighting, all the stealing. I can go anywhere, be anyone, do anything. But for some reason, a part of me just wants everything to be the same. I want to stay here - with Alexis.

Alexis. Memories of last night flash back to me. Charlie's face, red with anger, his fist driving into my stomach, stealing breath. But my breath was stolen for two reasons that night. The first - the fight. I thought I would die right there. If she hadn't stepped in, I probably would have. But the second reason was her. She took my breath away by just being her. How is that possible?

And then I kissed her. It wasn't even a kiss, just a brush of our lips, but it felt so right.

My thoughts are interrupted when Lucky calls out, "Alright, let's go!" With that, we all pile up into the van, Akira on one side of me, Violet on the other, Alexis sits across from me, and when our eyes meet, it's like I'm burning. But I don't want to stop this, whatever it is.

Akira nudges me. "Don't hurt her, otherwise I'll come after you and make your life miserable." Next to me, Violet looks at me, confused.

We finally arrive. Dexter parks in an alley near the building, and the rest of us pile out. He gives us a thumbs up through the driver's window, and we head out into the street. We climb up the side of a building, using the fire escape. Once we're on the roof. I turn around to check that everyone made it.

"All right, here we go. Does everyone have everything?" Four nods. I nod back, then pull out some rope from my backpack. Handing it over to Kevin, I watch as he uses a gun-like machine to shoot the rope to make it hook onto a railing on the Empire State Building. A/N: This isn't realistic, but for the sake of the story just pretend the building they're on is taller than the Empire State.

Once finished he gestures to Akira, who's dressed as a security guard. She attaches a hook to the line, connected to her belt. She eyes the guard on the roof, waiting until he's out of sight to zip down the line. Kevin goes next, then Violet. I nod at Alexis as she passes, but she doesn't meet my gaze. Don't think about last night, don't think about it, don't think about it. It's hard not to.

She lands on the other side safely, and I take a deep breath, readying myself to zip down the line, just like the rest of them. The minute my feet leave the roof, I feel like I'm flying, and I don't want to stop. But then it's over, and I'm on the roof of the Empire State Building, getting ready to steal a vial for ten million dollars. If someone had told me this would happen two weeks ago, I would have laughed at them.

Akira's knocked out the guard, dragging him over to the door, away from the sight of the cameras. A second later, Dexter's voice comes in through my earpiece. "Cameras are disabled, and all the alarms too." I breathe a sigh of relief. So far, so good.

"Let's go," I say, and head for the door. I gesture to Kevin, also dressed as a guard. He pulls out a keycard that he stole earlier. He swipes the door, and it opens. We follow him into the building, taking the stairs down one flight, to the 102nd floor. An image of the blueprint pops up into my mind. Take a left, then another one. 2nd door on the right. Kevin swipes his keycard, and the door opens. I hold my breath, waiting, but nothing happens. No alarms, no guards rushing at us. I release the breath, following Violet and Alexis into the room. Kevin nods at me, then closes the door.

I scan the room. A couch sits on one side of the room, with bookshelves behind it. A desk is on the other side. Alexis goes over there to search for the safe, and I go to the bookcase. Violet checks the coffee table and the walls for hidden compartments.

I run my hands over the bookshelf, pulling out books here and there. I take out a particular one - Throne of Glass - and the shelf opens, revealing a safe. Bingo.

"Over here," I call. Violet walks up, and she twists the knob, pressing her ear against the safe. A few more twists and a look of frustration flits across her face.

"It's not opening," she grunts, and tries again. And again. And again. I start to panic. This wasn't how I thought this would happen.

"What do we do now?" Alexis asks, also looking nervous.

"There's a keyhole. I could try to pick the lock, but while I do that, look around for a key that could fit. Any key."

So we start searching, opening drawers and searching through them. Nothing. Alexis turns up empty-handed as well. Then I see it. Around Alexis' neck is a key, worn as a necklace.

"What about that one," I ask, pointing to it. Alexis rolls her eyes.

"She said any key, but I'm pretty sure she didn't mean to get a key from anywhere. She meant in this office."

"Why not give it a try? The key is currently in this office."

She gives me an exasperated look, but then says, "Fine. But only to prove you wrong." She takes off her necklace, then walks up to the safe. Violet gives me a look saying, this is a waste of time. I shrug, because I have a feeling that this will work.

And I'm right, because as Alexis inserts the key and turns it, the safe opens.