FALLEN ─ marvel

IV. Chaos And Disorder

Chapter Four
John

The British Museum has hundreds of people in here today, a bunch of chatty tourists snapping pictures and ogling at the artifacts. A lot of these artifacts are beautiful, definitely expensive. I can see why a thief like Quinn would want to target a place like this.

This museum is filled with jewels, all of which are placed in thick glass cases and guarded by invisible laser barriers. Soroya didn't mention that he has powers of any kind, so he's just a regular man. Even a man with skills like he's been described to have, could never steal any of these jewels in broad daylight with this many people here. I think we're wasting our time being here in the middle of the day. I tell Wilson as much.

Wilson is wearing a large brown coat with a fur collar, a baseball cap, a long prosthetic nose, and a pair of glasses. I chose a long black haired wig, a leather jacket, a pair of sunglasses and a fake beard. Caden Harvey is certainly a quirky pain in the ass, but he is good at disguises.

Wilson lets out a sigh through his long nose, looking at me over his shoulder through narrowed eyes.

"This mission is hard enough without having to listen to you complain."

"Yes, because staring at diamonds in a box is so taxing."

Wilson turns fully towards me now, his face fuming. "If you're so bored, why don't you go stand guard near another jewel encasement. I don't have the time or the patience to deal with a man who doesn't care about the mission."

"I do care."

"Oh please, you're just here for appearances. All you care about is the shield, not what it stands for."

I roll my eyes. "Great, another person to lecture me. I already get enough of that from Soroya, I don't need it from you."

"You don't seem to mind it when Soroya lectures you."

I raise a brow his way. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Just something I've observed."

"Well I don't need your observations. Don't pretend you're all pure and noble, you want the shield just as badly as I do."

"Because that's what Steve wanted," Wilson hisses, the sincerity in his words taking me aback as he says: "It was Steve's wish for me to take up that shield, he left his legacy in my hands. And now he's dead. If I thought that you would be a worthy successor to Steve, then I would back off, but you're not. You're selfish and arrogant, you're everything Steve wasn't. You don't deserve that shield no matter what Ross tells you."

I want to say something back, I want to deliver a final blow to him, but I can't. I'm left staring at him, my mouth gaping open, words failing to come out.

Once Wilson realizes I'm not going to reply, he turns back towards the case in front of us. But as he turns away from me, something behind me catches his eye. I look to where he's looking to, to find an empty case behind red velvet rope, with a sign in front of it that says 'Coming Soon: the lost diamond bracelet of Queen Elizabeth I'.

I turn back to Wilson and inquire: "What's so interesting? You enticed by the pretty rope?"

Wilson glares at me before replying: "No, the empty case has me thinking. Harvey said that Quinn mentions liking a museum quiet to loud. We thought that meant he likes to come here at night...but what if he likes to go to a place in the museum without noise? Every museum has a basement where they keep new exhibits and artifacts in vaults until they are ready to be displayed. Maybe Quinn wants something down there."