Bonus Art - Royal Heist (Plus Short Story)

"Okay, listen up, guys! " Vanessa proudly proclaimed as she swept the remnants of an unhealthy takeaway dinner off of the table and slapped down a blueprint of a building in its stead. "Another job just came our way--and it's a big one!"

The excitement was evident in the buxom blonde's voice who was practically buzzing at the prospect of what lay ahead of them, yet neither of her two partners in crime seemed to muster much enthusiasm.

"...Guys...?" she asked again, spirits dampened just a little now. "C'mon! I mean it! This could be the opportunity of a lifetime!"

...This didn't earn much interest either, save for a very lengthy yawn that came from Gwen who had curled up into an impressively small ball in her chair. And she wasn't even sure if their supposed 'leader', Redd, was awake at all, who had seen fit to lounge in the shadows of the dreary, abandoned office they'd holed themselves up in, with one half of himself supported by a desk chair, with his feet lazily propped up against another. If Vanessa listened closely enough, she was sure she could hear snoring.

Indeed. It was quite the showing for a bunch of supposed 'legendary thieves'. Or at least that was the moniker they'd earned for themselves after pulling off several heists that had been thought impossible at the time. And Vanessa had thought quite highly of that title that had been 'bestowed' upon them. Apparently she was alone in that.

Unable to contain the frustration that surged up inside her any longer, she vented her anger with a slam of her fist against the table.

"Hello?! I'm talking here!"

Redd jolted awake with a grunt, whilst Gwen very slowly stirred from her post-meal nap. Vanessa thumped her fist again the table a few more times for good measure, just to speed things along--tempted to start wailing on the sleepy girl instead if she didn't come to quick enough. Really, now, was 10 hours of sleep not enough for her?

"Mmmnn... What's all the racket? Is it breakfast time already?" Gwen murmured as she straightened up in her chair with a stretch, flaunting the length of her slender body with effortless grace. With short, dark hair styled into a bobcut and no chest to speak of, she was like the complete opposite of Vanessa's long, silky blonde locks and curves that just barely fit within the tank-top she wore.

Vanessa shot the girl a dirty look. "No. You just ate ten minutes ago, y'stupid ditz! It's not food time--it's work time! Remember? That thing you do sometimes?"

...At the mention of work, Gwen made to curl back up into a ball, but was cut short with another fist to the table. Blinking through a good amount of tears, the dozy girl scooted forward in her chair to finally pore over the blueprint that Vanessa had been so excited to share.

That just left...

"...Boss... Redd... You joining us?"

The man in question--still shrouded largely in shadow--waved a charred hand lazily. "I'm listening," he said in a manner that suggested he most likely wasn't. At least not with his full, undivided attention. Vanessa sighed. Honestly, he never used to be THIS lazy. He was beginning to think the man was spending too much time around a certain OTHER lazy individual.

Still, this was as good as it was going to get, so Vanessa directed her attention back to the blueprint.

"Okay... So like I was TRYING to say before..." She pushed down the anger with a sigh, lest she completely lose her temper. And...whenever the pouty blonde girl did lose it...well...it was never a pretty sight. "This is a big job. And a really important one. Our target'll be Rhan's National Museum!"

She jabbed a slender finger down at the blueprint in question for emphasis, hoping to revitalise the rather lacking amount of energy in the air right now. But Gwen only sagged down over the table.

"A museum...? Sounds boring. A bunch of...mrnnn...bones...and rocks...right?" the sleepy thief mumbled, halfway drooling onto the schematics now as she saw fit to use the paper as a very thin pillow. Vanessa pushed her off.

"Well...if you'd let me FINISH before you keep rudely interrupting...!" The blonde was this close to lunging over the table and throttling the girl. Something Gwen was no stranger to, either. But for the sake of actually briefing everyone on the task at hand without it devolving into violence--a rarity for this group--she hissed through her teeth and soldiered on.

"Yeah. It's true. Most of the junk there probably isn't worth much to any serious collector. But there's one item in particular that serves as the museum's pride and joy, and their main attraction."

Gwen lifted her head and blinked, something almost resembling interest shining in her dozy eyes. "Which is...?"

Vanessa leaned in over the table with a sway of her enormous chest and pounded her fists against the surface with a scowl. Throttling time was drawing close. "Haven't you ever heard of pausing for dramatic tension?! Why can't you just let me talk?!"

"Ladies, please... No fighting," Redd interjected before things could come to too much of a boil, carrying the tone of a very frazzled parent who was on the verge of a migraine.

"But...she's the one who--...ohhh...!" Vanessa trailed off with a frustrated noise before shaking her head. Fine. Whatever. She wasn't going to be suckered into it. She would be the bigger person here and keep her head held high.

"Now, what is this thing you're talking about?" Redd urged her along, clearly trying to keep the peace.

Pushing up back off of the table and straightening up, Vanessa took a deep breath and tried to compose herself. She would get through this briefing even if it killed her. Or Gwen. There was too much at stake here.

"Okay, okay. It's the Anzaran Crown. Apparently it was worn by a Queen once, a really long time ago. I'm not much of a history buff, so all the little details escape me... But she was like THE Queen! Beloved by all, responsible for leading the country into new age, yadda, yadda, yadda. You get the idea."

"Ohh... Queen Deidra? I know her!" Gwen chimed in, suddenly sitting up far straighter than before. Vanessa cocked an eyebrow at her in disbelief.

"How do you know ANYTHING when you're zonked out of your head every hour of the day? I'm surprised you have any brain cells left with how much you're snorting that fairy dust."

Gwen met Vanessa's disbelief with another sleepy grin. Nothing fazed this girl. In fact, Vanessa was sure she lacked the capacity to be fazed by anything at all. That was just how far-gone she was.

"Heehee... I remember seeing some pictures of her in a magazine once--portraits that were perfectly preserved. They said she always had an ageless beauty about her, which is pretty fascinating. I'd sure like to borrow whatever face cream she used..."

Vanessa wanted to bonk her on the head for such a stupid remark...but at the same time...she couldn't deny that if the Queen did indeed have some sort of ancient beauty secret that was lost to time over the years...it'd certainly be nice to know about.

"Gah--wait... Why am I being suckered in by your nonsense?" Vanessa ran her hands through her hair in increasing distress. Honestly, every conversation with this girl resulted in about a hundred different tangents before they ever got back to the point. "Queen Deedee, or whatever her name is, isn't the point here. She's dead. Long gone. It's her crown that's important. And we're gonna get it!"

"Who wants the crown, anyway...? And what are they paying?" Gwen mused aloud with a finger to her glossy lips. She tilted her head for good measure. Vanessa was astounded--for once, the dozy girl was actually following up with something that made sense.

"Good question. Never thought I'd say that...ahem... But this job is coming from a most esteemed...collector of sorts. Some older lady with freckles and really scary eyes. She'll pay us a premium for it--since apparently not even the museum knows of its true value."

"And a 'premium' is...?" This time it was Redd who interjected. Which was typical, considering the subject was money right now--the man's true love.

"If we can get it by tonight, we're looking at splitting a good few million bucks between ourselves. How's THAT for a premium, huh?" Vanessa said quite proudly, puffing her chest out for good measure. Yeah. NOW all eyes were on her. "We'd be set for life. And wouldn't have to hide away in crappy, damp spots like this."

Redd let out a low whistle, whilst Gwen's lips parted in awe.

"Oooh... Wow... That's a lot of money, right?" The sleepy girl had to ask, glancing between her partners in crime.

Vanessa slapped a palm to her own face. "Yes, Gwen. A million is a lot."

"Heehee... Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

"We gotta make a plan of action first, y'ditz! Or what, did expect them to hand it over to us if we just waltz in through the front door?"

"...If we asked nicely enough, and really batted our eyes..."

...Okay. To give Gwen some credit, that had indeed been how they'd suckered some people in the past. Apparently people have a hard time saying no if you sidle up alongside them in something that shows off a lot of cleavage and get all touchy-feely. But in this particular case, with a high-security museum...she very much doubted the lasers would look the other way with a flirty wink or two. Sadly.

"Alright, so... If we can't just walk in... What IS the plan, then, Nessa~?"

The pouty blonde glowered at Gwen. "The plan is, if you ever call me 'Nessa' again, I'm going to ball up this blueprint and shove it so far down your throat that--..."

"Oh my god, girls...please!" Redd cut in with convenient timing before things could get too explicit. Vanessa shrunk back and smoothed out the blueprint that she really was about to scoop up and force feed to the ditzy girl.

Huffing and giving a toss of her silken locks, Vanessa dropped her gaze to the overview of the building. A good deal of colour graced her tan cheeks. Maybe she had lost her temper just a tiny bit more than she intended there.

"...The plan. Okay. So, the crown is holed up in a central exhibition hall here." She traced a finger along a particularly open area in the blueprint. "It's the main draw of the place, after all, so they don't make it too hard to find, which is lucky for us. But at the same time..." Her finger moved along a few paths that connected to the hall. Effectively, the hall was boxed in by a number of rooms around it--meaning there was no convenient side door or fire escape they could use in place of the main entrance.

"So the hall is right in the middle... Hrmm..." Gwen cupped her chin and pored over the schematic from the opposite end of the table. Looks like her brain was finally starting to kick into gear. 'Work mode' Gwen was just a bit more tolerable. "No maintenance tunnels we can get into from the sewers, either?"

Vanessa shook her head with a sway of her golden locks. "Nah. I checked. Otherwise drilling in would have been my go-to plan as well."

"A shame... I love when we get to use the drills...and the bombs, heehee... Kaboom~!"

"...But not all hope is lost. 'Cuz remember, this is their central exhibit. It isn't crammed into some dingy corridor or room off to the side. But rather, it's a HUGE, open area. They wanted it to be as fancy as they could. And what do big halls like this usually have when they wanna be bright and airy?"

She gave the floor to Gwen with a glossy grin, hoping she'd be able to follow along. And for a moment, from how hard the girl was thinking, it looked like that would indeed be the case... And then she opened her mouth.

"...Lights...?"

A clench of the fist. A heavy sigh. Okay. Maybe Vanessa was giving the girl too much credit. She WAS only working off of 10 hours of sleep, after all.

"...No. I'm talking about skylights! Big open windows in the ceiling!" Vanessa waved her arms about to further emphasise this. A skylight would have been nice right about now in such a dilapidated office... All this mould she was breathing in COULDN'T have been good for her lungs.

"Oh. Well. It still had light in the name. So I was partially right, heehee..."

"That...I... Oh..." A range of exasperated, bewildered noises escaped the pouty blonde before she finally settled on a sigh. Whatever. At least they were finally moving things along. At a snail's pace, yes, but it was progress all the same. "Anyway... ANYWAY. Y'see where I'm getting at with this, don't you?"

"Hrmmm... I think I do. So we break in from above?"

"Yes! Exactly that!" Vanessa wanted to sweep her ditzy partner up in a hug and kiss her. For once, she was actually following along. It was a miracle!

"Okay... But... We'll be quite high up, won't we? I don't think we'd survive the fall. Unless breaking our legs was part of the plan...?"

Okay. She was still...sort of following along, and asking relevant questions. Even if they were a bit silly. But Vanessa could work with this. Keeping a smile up, albeit a strained one, she slapped a hand back on the table.

"See--that's where the winch'll come in."

Gwen tilted her head. "We have a winch?"

"Mrnn... It's in storage. Alongside the grappling hooks and glass cutters." Redd mumbled somewhat absent-mindedly. Honestly, he'd been so quiet up until now that Vanessa was sure he'd fallen back asleep.

Vanessa nodded between them. "See--we bought them thinking they'd be a good investment, but never had a chance to use them with the more mundane heists. But this is our chance to pull off something really amazing!"

"Okay... I think I'm starting to see the plan now... So we come in from above, by grappling up the wall."

"Uh-huh!"

"We break open the lock on the skylight..."

"Uh-huh!"

"Then, we set up the winch...hook me up to some wires, and lower me down to grab the crown, which should be right below?"

"Yes! Now you're getting it--... Wait..." Before Vanessa could get TOO excited about Gwen finally following along, she couldn't help but take pause at that last part. Narrowing her eyes, she shot her partner a sour look. "Who said anything about YOU being lowered down? Y'think I'm gonna entrust something as important to swiping the crown to a ditz like you?!"

"Oh, but...ah..." Gwen made a face. Hugging her hands to herself, she wriggled about on the spot as she averted her glance.

"Look, if you've got something to say, just say it already!" Vanessa demanded as once more she found herself leaning over the table, practically crawling on top of it at this point.

Whatever was on her mind, Gwen REALLY hesitated to bring it up as she continued to wring her hands...before finally shooting Vanessa a sheepish, sleepy grin.

"It's just... The winch is going to have to be manually operated, right?"

Vanessa's eyes narrowed even more in a really dangerous look. "Yeah. So?"

"Eh-heh-heh... So we'd have to support the weight of whoever goes down?"

"More or less. That's how it works. What's your point?"

"In that case... When we're factoring in...weight...wouldn't it make more sense for me to go down?"

"Why...?"

At this point, Gwen was pushing her index fingers in together in a manner that was really getting on Vanessa's nerves. If she had something to say, she should really just come out and say it already!

"It's just...well... You're a lot heavier than me. Eh-heh..." she finally said with a sleepy chuckle.

Vanessa gritted her teeth. She felt something snap inside her as she lunged over the table and hauled Gwen in by the scruff of her top. Pushing their faces together, she snarled at the girl. "Huuuuh?! Y'wanna say that again, y'scrawny flat-chested junkie?!"

Gwen had been bracing herself even before Vanessa had made a grab for her. As if she knew that this was going to happen. Hence her initial hesitation. But in spite of the blonde practically ROARING in her face now and coating her dozy features in flecks of spit, she smiled through it all the same.

"Ahh--oh...! V-Vanessa! Calm down! I didn't mean it in any bad way! Mostly! But it's just a fact! You're carrying around a lot of extra...weight is all! Which might make it more difficult to lower you down..."

Vanessa rattled the girl around in her grasp some more. "Would y'quit saying it like that! It's not MY fault my boobs are bigger than yours!"

"O-okay! My mistake! P-please...stop shaking me, Vanessa! I'm getting dizzy...!"

Vanessa didn't want to. But for the sake of the mission at hand...and realising they were getting nowhere fast if she let her emotions lead the way, she dropped the girl down onto the table and leaned back with a huff. Crossing her arms for good measure over the heft of her supposedly inconvenient bust, she glanced her boss's way.

"Ugh. Fine. So we'll get Redd to work the winch. He can manage!"

Another lazy wave came from out of the darkness. "Pass. I'm not hauling Vanessa's fat butt up. You girls are on your own there."

"R-Redd!" Vanessa sputtered back at his shrouded form, cheeks burning. She wasn't THAT fat! Plus, it wasn't like her...decidedly curvaceous body...was ever an issue any other time with him. Seriously now!

But regardless of what either of them thought, this wasn't something she was going to budge on. Especially not with how complex the security was in the museum. She hadn't even had the chance to brief them properly on the lasers yet. The lasers!

"Look--I don't care how heavy y'think I am. I need to be the one who goes down. Period. Or what--do you seriously think you can handle cutting into a glass display case while being suspended in the air AND avoiding motion detectors?"

"...Oh, fine. Have it your way." Gwen relented as she curled back into the safety of her chair--far from Vanessa's vengeful grasp. She stifled a yawn. "Just...mmrnn...don't say I didn't warn you, if it all goes wrong..."

"Hmph. When has a plan of mine ever gone wrong?" She heard both Gwen and Redd open their mouths simultaneously, and quickly cut in. "Apart from those times. They don't count."

...Yeah. Everything was going to be fine. They were the legendary thieves for a reason, after all!

--

After that most...eventful briefing, the plan quickly went into motion. They geared up and set off within a matter of hours.

It was just a little past midnight when they arrived at the museum under the cover of night. Driven there by Redd in a nondescript black van, both Vanessa and Gwen hopped out from the back and onto a desolate street, a bag of tools in hand. As per their initial discussion, Redd wasn't going to be joining them for this. He'd just wait in the van and serve as their getaway.

It wasn't like Redd to be so passive when it came to heists, but for whatever reason...whenever the plan involved needing to lift Vanessa up, or lower her somewhere, he dipped out completely. What kind of man was he, really...?

"We'll be in and out in minutes. Keep the engine running!" Vanessa assured her very lazy boss as she set off towards the museum with Gwen in tow.

Each of them having changed out of more casual clothes, they now stalked the streets clad completely in black as to better blend into the shadows.

You could consider what Vanessa wore to be something of a traditional catsuit--a tight-fitting garment of leather that stretched over her curvy form in a manner that left very little to the imagination. Especially in regards to how the front of it couldn't quite be zipped up all the way over the immense heft of her chest, leading to far more cleavage on display than may have been reasonable. But...it had its advantages in some scenarios. More than once was she able to leave a guard utterly stunned as she made her escape in the past. Plus, it drew attention away from her face. Always a bonus in this line of work.

Alongside equally black gloves and a utility belt around her waist--and a set of night-vision goggles atop her head--she was the complete package. She was almost kitted out more like a spy than a thief in some regards, but honestly, the line was so blurry between the two.

And to her side, her partner was dressed in something a little more...atypical for a master thief, given what she wore was more like a leotard with heels...but it gave her the mobility needed all the same. Vanessa had given up trying to get her in a more traditional catsuit. It only ever ended up in more arguments. And they'd had enough of those for a life time.

Not a single soul spotted the two thieves as they cut from street to street and alley to alley in their journey to close in on the museum proper. Well, maybe a stray drunk might have caught just a tiny glimpse of them...but who was going to believe a raving lunatic like them if they started yelling out about how two leather-clad babes just flitted by? Yeah.

And once they reached the museum--a grandiose building whose entrance consisted of a marble stairway flanked by arches--it was but a simple matter of navigating around the side of it. As it turns out, they were so confident in their security systems that they hadn't even thought to post guards outside. That would be their downfall.

One grappling hook, and a slightly arduous scaling up a wall later, and the pair of them were on the ledge of the grand museum, pressed right up against the luxurious skylight that formed something of a dome over the central hall that they could look down into.

"Ooh... I think I see it~" Gwen cooed as she smushed her face up against the glass. "It's so sparkly! Queen Deidra really had a sense of style! Is this whole exhibit dedicated to her?"

"Yeah, yeah... But take your eyes off of the shiny thing for one second and tell me if there's any guards. I gotta get a feeling for their patrols!" Vanessa grumbled as she set the bag they were carrying down and began to fish out everything they'd need.

Both of them conversed quite naturally in spite of being so high up at the dead of night, with nary a light between them save for the moon itself. If she ever really needed to see something more clearly, Vanessa would just pull her goggles on. It was honestly all so routine at this point that they'd grown quite accustomed to it. Like it was another night out for the pair. At least until she descended. Then it would prove to be interesting.

"Hmm... Nobody that I can see, except--oh... Hello! There's one Mr. Guard. And there's a second. They meet up to say 'hello~' in the middle before they go down the corridors again. What fun~"

"Time it, okay? See if it's consistent. I need to know how long we have when we finally bust in."

Gwen fell silent at that--no doubt actually counting each second in her head like a human timer. For as ditzy as she could be, she was reliable when it counted. Though the slight amount of drool leaking from her mouth--and subsequently running down the window she was smushed up against was always worrying.

Leaving her partner to that most important of tasks, Vanessa began to set up the winch and looked for the best spot to operate it. Whilst the main handle would remain out on the ledge, they'd need to hook it up to some central part of the ceiling. And...there. Perfect. Peering in through the window, she spotted a convenient section of the skylight where the beams converged and offered up a nice little niche for the wire to be fed through. It was all coming together. All she needed to know now was...

"...Seven minutes and ten seconds. On average. Sometimes they're a few seconds late. Sometimes early. Maybe that's when Mr. Guard stops to answer his radio, or get a snack? Or maybe even a toilet break, heehee..."

"Huh. More than I thought it'd be. Good job." Vanessa slapped her partner on the back, almost sending her tumbling right back off the precarious ledge they found themselves on. "Should be plenty to get down there--swipe the thing--and then get out of here. If we're lucky, they might not even notice anything's amiss until the morning!"

"Hmm... But the last time you said that--..."

"I-it'll be different now! Just trust me, y'ditz. Okay?!"

"'Kay~"

Once the guards diverged from their meeting spot in the middle, the countdown began. The lock on the skylight window was easily broken and swung aside, letting them through the hook on the end of the winch through. Then, clipping that hook onto the harness that Vanessa had worn just for the occasion...the terrifying realisation that her life was now quite literally in Gwen's hands suddenly dawned on her.

Keeping a firm grip of the window frame, Vanessa gazed down at what awaited her inside--a crown encased in glass alongside a historic display of other such artifacts. Along with an array of security beams that would tip the whole museum off of a break-in the moment she even so much as breathed their way.

She sucked in a breath in an effort to calm herself. She'd known this was what awaited her from the moment she first conceived the plan... But finally facing it...well...only now did she realise just how insane it was. To be lowered down through criss-crossing beams like something straight from a spy movie. To hope that she could maintain her balance, and not have Gwen let her down too slow or too fast. Was it really going to work?

One way to find out, she supposed.

"Okay, now listen. And I mean REALLY listen, Gwen," Vanessa began as she turned to her partner who was now positioned on the winch. "If I hold my hand like this, it means to lower me. SLOWLY. If I make a fist like this, it means to STOP. If I do it like this, I want you to pull me back up. And if I swing both arms around, it just means to get me the hell out of here and wind me in as fast as you can. Understand?"

She nodded. Which was a relief. But then she opened her mouth. And Vanessa hated it when she did that.

"Roger, roger, Nessa! But...what one do you make when you want me to just let go of the winch entirely and save my own life?"

"...I'm going to go now. I think we have five minutes left. DON'T screw this up, Gwen. Or I swear to god...!"

With one last threatening fist shaken her partner's way, Vanessa took a deep breath and leapt off of the ledge. Through the window. Into the museum. And for the briefest of moments she was free-falling--until the slack from the wire ran out and she jerked to a halt--now completely suspended in the air with but a flimsy length of metal as her lifeline.

It was a strange sensation swaying like this. With her arms and legs stretched out in a manner which ensured perfect equilibrium, she cheated gravity with reckless abandon. No matter how much it wanted to pull her down and crush her against that hard...hard ground below.

So far so good. She wasn't dead. She could work with this. With a wave of her hand Gwen's way--ignoring the clear sounds of exertion already coming from the far scrawnier girl--her body was slowly lowered.

Lower and lower she went. Sometimes a little too fast for her liking when Gwen struggled to keep a firm grip on the winch...but thankfully she didn't lose ALL control. And it took a few strategic flashes of her fist along the way to avoid dropping into any of the prominent beams around her, contorting and twisting her buxom frame in all manner of unnatural ways to JUST avoid touching the lasers of death.

In one particularly bold moment, she even set herself off swaying whilst being lowered at the same time, sailing by one of the trickier beams with just enough momentum--sure that she'd been a hair's breadth away from setting the damn thing off.

Her heart was pounding in her chest the closer she drew to the glass display. Her jaw was firmly set, plump lips drawn together in a determined line. And in spite of the nervousness that brewed within, she was a beacon of calm on the outside. Not a single anxious twitch or tremor to be found--knowing full well that would lead to her demise with beams THIS numerous.

The only thing she hadn't banked on--and probably should have in hindsight--was her chest. Those enormous, tan, pillowy mounds that she prided herself on. And saw as one of her defining features alongside her dazzling eyes and perfect, plush lips. They were...getting in the way more than she would liked. They contributed to far too many close calls than she otherwise would have run into if she were more petite and slender.

Maybe Gwen would have been the better fit after all? No! Of course not! That was just the nerves speaking.

Still... The closer she drew to the crown--now within arm's reach of it...the more uncomfortable things became as she had to twist and lean to avoid any part of her--massive assets included--from grazing up against any of the glaring beams that seem to surround her now.

Sweat beaded against her brow. A droplet raced down the large, rounded expanse of her cleavage--hanging precariously off of the edge. Just before a beam. If it dripped off now...it would set the alarm off for sure. And yet, she couldn't afford to wipe it off. And the knowledge that her sweat might be her downfall only made her sweat more. Every bead of perspiration a threat to the operation. She had to end this. And fast.

Coming to one last halt before the crown with a flail of her fist at Gwen--who against all odds, had managed to keep a firm hold of her--Vanessa reached for her belt and produced the one tool she needed for the occasion--a glass-cutter. Because no doubt if she tried to lift the whole glass case up, the museum would be alight in alarm in seconds. Instead, she had to cut through it. Go the sneaky route. And glass wasn't nearly as resilient as it liked to think it was.

When one imagines a glass cutting tool...they most likely think of something as mundane as a circular device you plonk down and swivel the blade around. But Vanessa wasn't a 'legendary thief' for nothing. She'd transcended well past such a primitive method. Instead, she produced something that was no larger than a pen in her hand and brought it up to the glass.

One click of the button and the tip of this 'pen' sparked to life with a focused laser. The sound--and smell--of melting glass pervaded Vanessa's senses as she carefully...and as calmly as she could...cut out what was near enough a perfect square pane she was able to hoist up and set to the side. Then, she was able to swipe the crown. It long last.

Hoisting it up from the plush cushion it sat upon, it was...far heavier than she anticipated...but she wasn't about to complain. That'd be Gwen's job, now that she just a little extra weight to heave back up.

"Heh... Sorry, Deedee. It's ours now~" Vanessa muttered under her breath with a sly smirk as she caught sight of a portrait just out of the corner of her eye, crown now in hand. Just like Gwen said...the Queen really did have an ageless look about her. And it felt as though those motherly, blue eyes of hers were boring right into Vanessa. Did she disapprove of the heist? It mattered now, because...

"Oh... Crap...!" Clutching the crown safely to her chest with one arm, Vanessa gave a start as she used her free hand to keep a drop of sweat from hitting a beam just below. It was a close call. But...unfortunately...the sudden motion had set her off swinging. Just as she glanced over her shoulder to make sure everything was still a-ok...she saw it happen in slow motion. Like a car crash. Like a train wreck. The tip of her foot...ever so slightly...just the tippiest...toeist part of it...grazed across a beam. Only for a fraction of a second. But that was enough.

The entire building lit up in alarm all at once. Red flights flashed from every which way, blinding Vanessa. A deafening siren blared. The sound of dozens of footsteps converging on her location could be heard--even over the cacophony of the alarms.

Vanessa didn't even have to do the secret hand signs. Gwen was already winding her back up with a sudden urgency as a semi-blind Vanessa clutched the crown for dear life. This wasn't ideal, yes... But she still technically had what they'd come for. So long as they got away in one piece!

Up...and up...and up... Vanessa watched in awe as the marble floor beneath her shrunk rapidly. Gwen must have been giving it her all, even after having already run herself so ragged already. Which couldn't have been an easy feat. She'd have to treat the girl to a drink later, in spite of their differences.

Before she knew it, she was staring right at a very ragged, sweaty looking Gwen who was panting so much it looked like she might just keel over of a heart attack. But there was no time to be concerned! For now, Vanessa rocked herself over just enough to reach the ledge, feet touching solid ground at long last. And just as she did, a small army of guards swarmed into the exhibit hall in mass alarm and panic.

"I think they know we're here now..." Gwen said between ragged gasps of air as she was finally able to let go of the winch and flop onto her back.

Vanessa clicked tongue, clutching to the crown for dear life as the alarm only got louder. And was that...police sirens in the distance? Of course. "Y-y'think?! C'mon, unhook me already!" She waggled around, in no condition to it herself. Gwen was just about able to drag herself up and detach the blonde from the winch.

Not wanting to leave any trace of their break-in--you know, beyond the fact the crown was MISSING now--they packed up their tools, stuffed the crown into the bag atop everything else, and scaled back down the side of the building in record time. All before a single guard had thought to look up whilst examining the hall. What a lucky break!

But they weren't out of the woods yet. Not until they were back at the hideout!

"C'mon! Go, go, go! Pick up the pace!" Vanessa urged as they bolted from the museum and into a series of alleys. Sirens blared all around them, and understandably, Gwen was FAR more exhausted than her buxom companion...but they couldn't afford to stop. Not now. Not when they'd come so far!

"M-my poor arms...my poor legs... Go on without me, Vanessa...! This is the end!" Gwen swooned dramatically as they took up a position at the mouth of an alley to peer out into the streets. Police cars whizzed by periodically, every single one on full alert. Vanessa supposed it was because they DID make off with something considered a national treasure, after all. Not many would get off lightly for such a thing.

"Oh, quit moaning!" Vanessa clicked her tongue as she glanced back at her partner...who had now collapsed into a pile of trashbags. Fitting--but now wasn't the time! "Y'can rest all you want once we reach the van. It's just one more street! You can manage that much, can't you?"

"Mmrnnnnn..." The groan she let out suggested very much the opposite. The poor girl was fading. Fast. Not dying, of course, but once she closed her eyes, Vanessa knew there'd be no waking her up for at least ten more hours.

"Of for--... Fine. I have to do everything, do I?" Saying that, Vanessa, adjusted the hefty bag strapped to herself and hoisted the slender girl up onto her free shoulder. Huh. She really was just as light as she'd boasted. "Don't say I never do anything for you, okay?!"

...She got nothing but tired mumbles back in response, the girl pretty much comatose in her grasp now. Vanessa suppressed a sigh and focused back on the streets. If she spent too long here, they'd close in on her before she knew it. Entire streets would be cordoned off, and she'd be forced to go back through the sewers to get home. And she HATED the sewers. It was awful for her skin--and worse yet, she might bump into that one, creepy little thing that seemed to thrive down there. Honestly... Who could live in a sewer, of all things?! What was she--some kind of mutant?!

When the coast seemed relatively clear, Vanessa decided to make a break for it. From one side of the street, to the other, where another safe haven of an alley awaited her. The bag containing her spoils jostled on one side of her, Gwen swayed in the other, and above all else, her chest bounced frantically with every bounding step she took. Honestly, she was at more of a risk of these things knocking her out sometimes than she was anything else. Both a curse and a blessing...

Having reached the other alley, she powered through. Surely Redd would be on the other side, waiting to--...

"Freeze! Don't move!"

In a blur of red and blue, a car screeched to a halt just beyond the alley, blocking the way forward. Silhouetted officers backed by the harsh glare of the headlights screamed at her, weapons drawn. Vanessa screeched to a halt, heart pounding. No...! She'd been so close...! Was this really how it ended for the legendary thief?! Held up in a dingy alley?! She ground her teeth with mounting fear and frustration alike.

"Put the bag...and the uh...person...down. Slowly. This doesn't have to end badly," one of the officers assured her--their tone firm, and their figure that much more imposing when she could discern very little of them but a backlit shadow.

Time came to a standstill for the blonde thief. Her brain raced, desperately seeking some way out of this. If she made even the slightest of unexpected movements now, they wouldn't hesitate to open fire. And her hands were full. What was she supposed to do? Throw Gwen at them and make a run for it in the opposite direction?

...No... As much as she had her disagreements with drug addict of a girl...she couldn't bring herself to hate her entirely. Nor ditch her, after everything she'd done for tonight. So, what? Throw the bag instead, which contained the priceless crown; their ticket to a better life?

...That didn't sound appealing either.

Nor did simply complying and letting them take her away. She'd worked too hard to get to where she is today. Come too far.

...This was just the worst. And definitely not a two-person job. If only--...

"Get down."

A familiar voice called out from behind her, and Vanessa dove to the floor without question. What followed was a hailstorm of gunfire that set the officers on the other side scrambling for cover and yelling for backup.

"Redd!" Vanessa cried out in relief as she quickly got back up with bag and sleepy Gwen in tow--who somehow hadn't woke up even in the middle of a gunfight--eyes shimmering in admiration for the grizzled man who stood with a submachine gun in hand, smoke still sizzling from the barrel. He offered nothing more than a grunt and a jut of his chin out of the alley.

"C'mon. Van's this way. I figured something was up once I started hearing sirens...so started trying to find you before they did." The man ran a hand through his messy dark locks, showing just a hint of scarred skin on one side of his face before his hair fell back over it. "Trust you two to make a mess of a simple job..."

Vanessa didn't even argue with that. She was just relieved to see him. For as grumpy as he was, he never left them hanging, even if he made it seem like they were nothing but one big burden to him. That was just how he showed he cared.

One short journey later and they were all in the van as it sped down the streets, just narrowly avoiding the watchful eye of the law all the while. Sprawled out in the back with her partner in crime, Vanessa opened the bag just to confirm the crown was all in one piece. Yup. Just as sparkly and radiant as she imagined.

"...So you got it after all, then?" Redd remarked from the driver's seat, sparing a glance at the treasure in question before fixing his scarred gaze back on the road.

"Just about... Was way too close of a call, though..." She flopped over with a sigh, utterly drenched in sweat now. But at the same time...the excitement that came with such close calls...the adrenaline...it was...addicting, in some strange way. It made it all worth it.

"What was it that ended up tripping the alarm in the end, anyway? My money was on your chest," he said without a hint of humour in his voice. Vanessa sat back up abruptly and shot him a dirty look.

"R-Redd! Come on! ...And it was my foot, okay. It could have happened to anybody! Not every heist that goes wrong is because of my huge boobs! Just...an abnormally large amount of them."

Redd clicked his tongue. "Tch... Looks like I owe Gwen $100, then..."

"Wh-..." Vanessa was at a loss for words. Her face began to rapidly heat up. "Just what the hell do you and Gwen talk about when I'm not around? When did you even find the time to make such a stupid bet?! Ahhh--stupid...stupid...stupid! You're both so stupid!"

Bop, bop, bop. Vanessa took out her mounting anger on the sleeping Gwen. All the while, Redd broke into a chuckle that he was able to stifle just as quickly as it surfaced.

...Yup. This was just another typical heist by the 'legendary thieves' of Rhan.