The Things We Do (Under Editing)

How Hard Could it Be?

"For nearly 3,000 years, ancient Egypt prospered as one the most progressive civilizations, characterized by advanced architecture, art and philosophy." 

I followed the overly peppy museum tour guide through the Egyptian exhibit, letting most of what he said flow in one ear and out the other. This man knew way too much information about every single object in the exhibit, stopping every couple of feet to go on a five minute lecture about a slab of stone or a piece of pottery. On any other day, the glass cases full of artifacts would have easily held my attention, but I was far too anxious about my assignment.

The exhibit was so large that it took up half of the museum, and several rooms had been altered to hold portions of real and replica tombs. We'd been wandering for nearly an hour and I had yet to find anything useful. 

I dragged my fingers across the top of a sarcophagus as I passed, ignoring the very obvious "Do Not Touch" sign. Though it was made of gold, I highly doubted that it was something I could haul out of here on my own, even if I wasn't worried about getting caught. 

"Although ancient Egypt's innovations set it apart from other bygone cultures, it shares at least one thing in common: Ancient Egyptians were fascinated by gold." 

There it was: the magic word.  I barely kept myself from snapping to attention at the sound of it.

 Mister Peppy continued his practiced rant, oblivious to my train of thought. "In fact, Egypt's association with gold reaches back more than 5,500 years, which makes the culture largely responsible for humans' obsession with this precious metal." 

This was interesting and all, but it was getting me nowhere. 

"The ancient Egyptians perceived gold as a spiritual object, but they were not above its allure as jewelry. At first only kings wore it, but it soon extended to priests and members of the royal court." 

Blah, blah, blah. I didn't need a history lesson, I needed modern information. 

"These are some of the things the Egyptians wore." 

Finally! The man gestured to a glass case full of masks, trinkets, and all manner of jewelry, each one a beautiful piece of solid gold.

Tracing my fingers across the glass, I looked for a way in. There wasn't an obvious way that it opened, and I suspected it had numerous sensors that would set off an alarm if I moved or damaged it in any way. 

I tossed my gaze around the room under the pretense of admiring the exhibits. Only one security camera watched this particular room, and there were two exits. One led back into the heart of the museum, while the other led to a giant room made to house a temple. To my luck, the entire room was made of glass (probably bulletproof glass, but I could deal with that). A

 slight smile danced across my face. This would be easier than I thought.

"10:00 sharp." I grinned. 

The security here might suck, but they were prompt if nothing else. The guard locked the door right as the hour changed. From my standpoint behind a large plant, I could see the guard easily. This place really needed more than one security guard. I mean, they were just asking to be robbed. As the woman walked back toward the security room, I made my way to the Egyptian exhibit, waving at a camera as I passed. 

Luckily for me, I was in exactly the right major for this job. After spending years studying computers and other technology, it was a simple task to sneak into the security room while the guard was locking the door and hack the security cameras to convince them to keep replaying the last 20 seconds. 

I found the room of gold with a bit more difficulty that I would have preferred. The map I picked up at the front desk was a big help.  There was no way for me to open the cases without setting off an alarm, so I barricaded the door and shoved some earplugs into my ears. I was ready for a fast escape. My path planned perfectly, I danced about the room, smashing the glass and scooping everything into my open bag. After several fruitless attempts, the guard finally managed to break through the doorway, but I had already made my escape into the glass room beyond. 

Already, police were pulling up on the other side. Flashing the cops my most attractive smile, I opened my mouth and pressed the button on the device at my side. My special gadget, Amelia Hohn designed and built, altered and amplified my voice, causing a high pitched sound. Not that it accomplished anything. 

Scowling, I readjusted the frequency. It took two more tries before I managed to get the sound waves to vibrate like I needed them to, but in the end the glass shattered into a million glimmering shards and fell to the earth like rain. All the cops in front of me and the security guard behind me fell to their knees hands clasped tightly over their ears. I cut off the sound and dashed through the opening, my boots crunching one the sea of glass. Each shard caught the lights of the cop cars like diamonds. 

Now there's a thought: diamonds. Maybe I'd go for some of them next. Wraith would be happy that I was already thinking about my next move, but I needed to finish this job first. I wasn't in the clear yet. 

The police began to regain their senses as I wove between them, a few even making an unsteady attempt to tackle me.

"Stop!" one of them yelled.

I spun on my heel, other leg swinging wide, and brought them together with a sharp click. Flashing another dazzling smile, I replied, "Sorry. I'm in a bit of a rush tonight. Maybe next time."

I jumped to the right, behind the corner, and made for my hiding spot. I slid through an open door, closing it behind me. From the outside, it looked like it hadn't been opened in years and was barely visible anymore. The police ran right past, paying the spot no mind, chasing after a thief that had seemingly disappeared. I was free.

Back at my apartment, I stashed my bag under my bed. I would turn it in in the morning, but right then I had to make sure everything was hidden before my roommate came back from... where ever the heck she was. Pulling the pieces of my thrift store costume out of the bag, I tucked it neatly into the very back of one of my drawers. Finally, I plopped onto my bed. 

It had been a long day and I was ready for some sleep, but I wouldn't be granted that wish any time soon. Unfortunately, I still had homework to do. 

Really, I should have thought things through before entering grad school, but it was too late; I'd given them all the money I had and I clearly didn't have the time to get a job. I had to get my grades up. There was no way I was crawling back to either of my parents and asking for help paying to retake classes. Life just sucks, doesn't it?