The Ultimate Heist - The Phoenix's Feather

✪ Three | That's Just Plan A

'We could replicate it with simple golden ink. She wouldn't be able to tell the difference, unless she tests it,' Xavier said, grinning gleefully at the last phrase.

'Exactly, she wouldn't test it for no reason,' Ariel said, sinisterly smiling at her 'eureka' moment.

'I don't get it,' Carrie said. 'What's the point of replicating her favourite plate?'

'It's a distraction while we grab the diamond. We'll craft an exact replica, with a few stains here and there. Phoenix'll wonder why her dear plate is stained, drive to get it cleaned, and come back. When she's back, the diamond'll be in our grasp, and the plate too. It's a win-lose situation, and we take the cake. It's a scheme to win more than what we planned, it's perfect,' Ariel said.

'What if she doesn't go get it cleaned? What if she just continues on? What if her actions don't go as we planned?' Carrie asked continuously. She always had questions ready to contradict her allies' plans.

'We cook up another heist, a better one. As long as we get that gem, we're good. This is just Plan A, the beginning.'

'Actually,' Harris said, 'Carrie's a little right. Stealing her plate could be pernicious to her, everything. You said it yourself, it's one of her treasures she wouldn't dream of selling.'

'I guess if you put it like that, it would be a little mean to steal her plate for no apparent reason.'

'Right. So, we brainstorm a plan B. If all else fails, we'll go with your solution,' Carrie said, walking to the sink while Ariel still washed her plate.

They all washed their dishes, with Ariel still thinking hard about her plan for the heist. It was a clever one, but her friends knew better. They always objected and found the flaws in her strategies. She would never rebel against them, even against all odds.

Would she?

That stuck in her mind for a while. Even when they ate watermelon for dessert, along with a tub of ice cream, her thinking was mostly about how she might double-cross her friends, not the current heist. The penultimate heist for the Tiger Topaz had already had her identity almost uncovered, because Harris had pushed her out of their hiding spots on accident, while she still clutched the stone. She had almost gotten caught, if she hadn't left her beekeeper mask on. (They had disguised as rookie beekeepers at the stone owner's bee farm, the biggest in London.) She made a run for it, and to this day, held the topaz in her pocket.

The group snuggled in their single mattress, with Carrie, Xavier and Jacqueline still thinking about plan B. They would discuss what they figured out, and try to make it before Sunday. This was going to be their ultimate heist, finally getting the cash they deserved. All it might take would be a grim replica of the diamond, just like Harris said, and the destruction of who knows what hid under the blood red blanket that covered the Phoenix's Feather's 'stand'.