Joker's Trick

An eighteen-year-old male with uneven gray hair stood before the thick, glass case which rested on a fine-wood podium. He wore an elegant, black and yellow themed outfit which consisted of a small jacket for his thin frame, simple black dress pants, a top hat which might've been too big for his head, and of course the masquerade mask which concealed his identity. His purple and yellow eyes gazed upon the gleaming diamond which sat in it's box peacefully. It glittered in millions, no, billions of dollars worth in value. The room was silent besides the slight echoing of heeled shoes as the boy stepped up cautiously to his objective.

He was greedy for it. But he couldn't let down his guard. Even the best of the best jewel thieves who made grand escapes didn't let any detail go past them. This was the first time the rookie thief, Atsushi Nakajima, had gone on a heist on his own. This was his final test to prove himself to his mentor, Dazai Osamu, one of the most prominent and honored thief's in the community. Dazai had taught him the arts of sneak, combat, and sophistication in becoming a jewel thief. Tonight, all of that was being put to use without his guidance. Atsushi's success would be determined on his escape and the condition of the diamond.

And now, here he was in the famous Museum of Nobility at two in the morning by himself, standing before his objective. He had made it past all reception, security guards, and secured areas to make it to this room.

I've made it this far, now's not the time to screw up, Atsushi told himself as he flicked the master key between his fingers — the master key he had subtly snatched from one of the security leads earlier as a normal guest in the museum.

Listening to the silence around him for any specks of movement, Atsushi confirmed his presence to be completely alone. He slipped the key into the lock of the glass box without allowing any of the edges even slightly click against the lock. Once ensuring the key was perfectly in place, he turned it.

The box clicked open.

With gloved hands that had no trances of his finger prints, Atsushi lifted the top of the box open, allowing the air from outside to touch the glistening diamond. Heart pounding in his ears, he reached out carefully and gently embraced the diamond in his clothed fingers. He lifted it from it's plate.

An alarm blared louder than an ambulance, it rang like a wailing child. Telling from the depth of it's echoes, Atsushi knew it was sounding throughout the entire museum. This alarm was not just any security breach, it was specifically for the diamond.

Crap — there must have been a certain way to lift it off that I didn't know about it. Atsushi started panicking, a sweat drop rolled down the side of his face. But now was not the time to think over his actions. He had to make his escape now.

- - -

Not far away at a nearby bank, a detective wearing a long, brown checkered coat and a patchy hat had caught onto the screams of the alarms. The frowning expression on his face shifted into a grin. "Excuse me," he said as he exited the building, making sure to take his briefcase with him. He signaled his driver to the museum.

Akutagawa Ryunosuke, a twenty-year-old prodigy at criminal studies, had already been certified as a professional detective since the age of fifteen. Since then, he had uncovered murders, robberies, and top secret investigations. Jewel thieves were his favorite cases. The unique thing about jewel thieves were that they did everything as if it were an art. They never left traces of themselves — only a missing jewel and an open window. And his favorite jewel thief was Dazai Osamu — the only one who had gotten away from him twice.

The detective cleansed his gloves, making sure to remove oil and any finger prints. He couldn't hold back the excitement building in his core. "Tell all authorities at the scene not to follow me," he said to his assistant, Higuchi.